Today we’d like to introduce you to Olivia Scott.
Hi Olivia, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve been drawing and painting for as long as I can remember. I even had a small toddler-sized easel my grandfather made for me that I would scribble on all day long. Around 14 or so, I got super interested in tattooing, much to my parents worry. When I graduated high school I started searching for an apprenticeship. I didn’t have much luck for a couple of years. Some places didn’t take me very seriously, and other places were super shady.
After some time, I started to wonder if I was ever going to land an apprenticeship, and decided that if I went to college and got an art degree that it might help. I started at some local community colleges with the plan to transfer to an art college after a couple of years, but within my sophomore year I finally landed an apprenticeship! So naturally, I drop out of college.
After getting my apprenticeship license, and eventually my tattoo license, I set out to achieve some goals. With some hard work behind it all, I can say that I’m a member of Eco-Tattooing, and the Alliance of Professional Tattooists. My best friends, Kat & Jo Coyne of Tempest Piercing, and I opened our own studio, Hawthorn Body Art, in April of 2025. I’m also now in a place where I am able to give back to my community by hosting various community events at the studio. We just finished our first official event, a coat drive, in October and it went amazingly!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Getting into the tattoo industry is a bumpy road in and of itself for anyone, yet alone for someone who knows no one, is a woman, soft-hearted, and whose other hobbies are best described as “something your grandparent does”. I wasn’t exactly the archetype people thought of when they thought “tattoo artist.” I experienced my fair share of inappropriate situations caused by various shop owners and other artists. Luckily, I was able to get out before anything really bad happened.
When I finally found somewhere that was willing to give me a shot, I latched on and decided that I wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip away. I worked as reception for 2-3 years while I waited for my apprenticeship to start. Over time my schedule turned into a 6-day work week, leaving little to no time for anything outside of work.
I had a lot of huge changes in my personal life around that time making things more difficult. My mental health started to plummet assuming that all of this work was probably for nothing. But then, over the horizon, I could see it. My apprenticeship license! My apprenticeship finally starts, and BOOM, Covid-19. Everything shuts down. Fast forward, the shop reopens after some months, I continue my apprenticeship and eventually get my full tattoo license in 2021. A lot of things happened during the apprenticeship, but that will make the story too long. I stayed with that shop for some time. The longer I stayed the more I realized that I was not in a place that was right for me.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I really enjoy a wide variety of creative outlets. I’m most known for my tattoos, but which style I’m honestly not so sure. I’m still looking for “my thing.” I change creative direction so frequently in attempt to challenge myself, or to feed the need of artistic satisfaction. I really enjoy learning how to do different things. One of my goals as an artist is to get to a point where people see something I’ve done, and they still know that it was me that did it. Even if it’s in a different style, or medium, that I’m known for. I will say that my favorite style of tattooing is black and gray, especially when I get to do something that’s very naturalistic, surreal, spooky, or all of the above combined. That feeds my soul in a way that I can’t explain.
People around me say that I put a lot of heart into my designs and thoughtfulness into my sessions for clients. In my eyes, I’m doing what I feel is best. Which is making sure the client is comfortable, heard, and treated like a human being. I’m putting something on them forever, so the least I can do is make sure that the experience is a good one. Honestly, I’m not sure what sets me apart from other artists in the area, because I’m just doing what I think is right.
What does success mean to you?
Success in what you do is defined by what is in your heart. If you are happy, fulfilled, and still dreaming then I would say you are successful. Not all success comes from what you do for work, it’s about everything as a whole. It is more of a feeling, not really an action, if that makes sense. That is the best way I can describe it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.unfreakish.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_unfreakish_
- Other: https://www.hawthornbodyart.com
