Phuong Anh tattooed her mother by herself
Girls tattooing and practicing tattooing still suffer from many prejudices even though society has become more open to this art. There are girls who are rejected by their families when they study tattooing and are ridiculed by people when they have strange tattoos on their bodies. To be able to pursue this passion, they need to be really strong and brave.
Hand-held tattoo needles for mom
Phan Thi Phuong Anh (born in 1998, Hai Phong), famous tattoo artist Ha Thanh is fortunately not among them. The whole process from deciding to pursue a career in tattooing, until learning and practicing, Phuong Anh was fully supported by her mother. Understanding her daughter’s passion for drawing and creativity, Phuong Anh’s mother spent money for her to go to tattoo school, together with her overcome the arduous new days of entering the profession and have a stable career as it is now.
“I remember, at that time, when I decided to go to tattoo school away from home, someone said something like, ‘Girls are still young, they can’t think yet, but they went to learn tattoo art. My mother told me: “You just follow your passion, whatever job you need to earn is genuine and honest money”, then she invested in me to learn tattooing for a few years”, Phuong Anh recounted.
Phuong Anh is happy to get the first tattoo for her mother
More than 5 years of pursuing a tattoo career, having tattooed many customers, but the guest Phuong Anh remembers, impresses and makes her most emotional is her mother. One early winter afternoon, her mother took a bus from Hai Phong to Hanoi, bringing her food supplies. She was very surprised when she heard that her mother wanted to get a tattoo.
“Mom talks about tattoos as casually as she’s telling a story about the weather: “Can I get a tattoo for you?”. My mother said that she wanted to get a tattoo for a long time, but due to the COVID-19 epidemic, she was far away, so only now had the opportunity to ask me to tattoo her. I feel very proud and happy. I have to trust my daughter a lot to decide to let me get the first tattoo for my mother,” Phuong Anh confided.
Phuong Anh studied seriously to become a professional tattoo artist
Phuong Anh personally tattooed her mother with two Vietnamese words on her arm: “Diamonds are formed from pressure” and “Simple living for a serene life”. Her mother, who works in business, often lives under pressure, so she wants to tattoo these two words to remind herself to live strong and brave in the face of life’s fluctuations. She sharpened every needle in her mother’s skin, understanding even more the difficulties her mother had to face over the years.
“If I wasn’t a tattooist, I wouldn’t have had such a great experience. My mother is a determined, independent and strong woman, although a bit short-tempered, she is always a solid support for her children. I learned the most from my mother about being independent, mastering my economy and emotions,” Phuong Anh shared.
Grateful to be able to tell stories with tattoos
Phuong Anh is a beautiful tattoo artist
Tattooing for Hai Phong girls is a special predestined relationship. Phuong Anh said, from a young age, she was passionate about drawing. Graduating from high school, she studied for the entrance exam to an art university, the highest department and only registered for one wish. Unfortunately, she failed college. Sad and disappointed, Phuong Anh decided not to take the university exam again, but switched to studying tattooing.
“My parents know that I love to draw. When I was in 11th grade, I sneaked my parents to tattoo school. When I found out, my mother told me: “I beat you because you lied, not because you went to tattoo school. Now I focus on studying, later on, my parents will support my dream with all my heart.” My parents were very realistic, when my dream of studying Fine Arts did not come true, I expressed my desire to study tattoo professionally. My parents didn’t hesitate to agree, even came to the studio to ask for me to study. I am very grateful to my parents”, Phuong Anh recalled.
She persistently pursued her passion for tattoos for many years
Phuong Anh learns to tattoo with all seriousness. She learns the most basic things such as: how to hold the camera, how to distinguish different types of machines, tattoo styles. Later, she took several advanced courses to perfect her skills, then opened her own tattoo parlor.
“When I was invited to a tattoo group as a tattoo artist, I learned a lot from my predecessors. After 3 years of working in a professional environment, interacting with foreign guests a lot, I am much more mature in terms of working and creative thinking”, Phuong Anh said.
Phuong Anh pursues a unique tattoo style, each image mainly focuses on strokes and only has two main black and white colors. Phuong Anh’s customers are mostly foreigners and through each tattoo, she wants to convey the traditional beauty, folklore, and customs of Vietnam… Ao dai, conical hat, lotus flower, dishes Pure Vietnamese food… was transformed into tattoos by her as a way of promoting Vietnam to friends in five continents.
Tattoo work gives Phuong Anh many interesting experiences
Tattooing also gives Phuong Anh many special experiences. Whenever she gets a tattoo, she often spends time confiding and sharing with guests to understand them, connect with them and create emotions when tattooing. Every story with Phuong Anh is a beautiful memory.
“A guest named Huy told me: “I am very happy and proud to have grown up in a family of women.” Huy came to me with the desire to have a tattoo of a young girl who volunteered quickly, resourcefully, always with a smile on her lips. Huy said, her father died early, her mother raised her as a person alone. Huy’s grandmother also single-handedly raised her children and grandchildren. Having grown up in the arms of hardworking women, she is very grateful.
Or Erina – an American girl who wants to design and tattoo female poet Ho Xuan Huong because she is so… cool. I just found out that her husband is Vietnamese and she is very interested in Vietnamese poetic culture… Countless stories I am honored to be told through tattoos. That’s what I’m grateful for when I do this job,” Phuong Anh said.
And that is also the reason why Phuong An confidently dismisses all the reputations and prejudices of people when pursuing a tattoo career. For her, the valuable experience that the profession brings surpasses all those mixed opinions.
Phuong Anh is an independent girl both economically and emotionally.
