Daily Inspiration: Meet Dawn Smith

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dawn Smith.

Hi Dawn , please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I have been tattooing for 25 years. I’ve been painting for over 10 years. At the time when I began tattooing, there were not a lot of women Tattoo artist in the country let alone in the area. I was able to land an apprenticeship with a friend‘s boyfriend who tattooed at the time. He was kind enough to take me on and for $1000, he also gave me a bunch of beginner equipment. I spent a couple of years as an apprentice overall. But at the shop, I worked for free in exchange for the knowledge that I learned. But I didn’t feel like I learned a ton and maybe that’s because there’s so much to learn. I got some of the beginning basics under my belt. And from there, I went to Tattoo in Ann Arbor at namebrand Tattoo. I learned the most. I also learned by traveling around the country and working with other artists. I opened my first shop with a partner, Mike Emmett and we opened Depot Town tattoo together. We took on another partner Bill Falsetta, and then the three of us opened Front Street tattoo. Mike Emmett went on to run Front Street tattoo on his own and Bill and I opened Harlequin tattoo together. Later, we parted ways so that I could run Harlequin tattoo on my own. It turns out it’s really difficult to run multiple businesses even with partners. So, I just needed to focus on one thing and Harlequin was my baby.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road. Early on in my career I got divorced from my first marriage. That was very difficult time. At that time I decided to go to college and I earned a bachelors degree from College for Creative Studies and Detroit. At the same time, I opened a tattoo shop while I was going to school. Did I mention that I was a single mother to two children at that time as well? It was very rigorous. I somehow managed to get through it. But we live in a world where you have to work extremely hard to succeed. I grew up poor so I didn’t have The financial support that some people have. I didn’t let it stop me but It shouldn’t have to be that hard just to make ends meet. But unfortunately it is and it’s not for the weak. Tattooing just by itself is really difficult. Opening a tattoo shop is also fairly difficult and costly. I had a lot of help from family and friends along the way. And I couldn’t have done it without my current partner, Dave. He was always so supportive and helping me build out shops and helping me take care of my kids. He always supported my wild dreams.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I specialize in traditional and neotraditional tattooing. But I have cultivated my own image language. As a painter, some of the imagery that I use in my paintings finds its way into my tattooing. But my paintings look very different from my tattooing. I believe that a tattoo has to have certain components to make it a viable image over time. Where as a painting is a completely different thing altogether. The only place where these things intersect would be in the image itself. So I find myself Approaching a concept or an image in multiple different stylistic ways. I would consider myself a neo surrealist painter, but I’m also a performer. People call that interdisciplinary these days. I think that my art is all about reclaiming female agency and the human body as vessel.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
I feel that if I have enough to support myself and do what I love every day then I am successful. If I can facilitate what I consider to be my purpose then I am successful. If I can inspire other people and continue being inspired, then I am successful. It sounds really simple because it is to me. I don’t want lavish things. I just want to love and be loved by my friends and my family and bring some joy or something of value to people in my life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.dawnmariesmith.com
• Instagram: https://Www.Instagram.com/dawnsmith_art