TATTOOER
STEVIE RANDALLYN
Desert Mama- Who is Stevie and where can we find her? Tell us about yourself:
Stevie Randallyn- Tattooer, Mama to two girls, adventure seeker, stroke survivor!
I own a shop in Kingman, AZ called Black Water Tattoo and I can also be found regularly guest spotting in Las Vegas at Bad Apple Tattoo.
D- How and when did the love for tattooing come about?
S- I actually hand poke tattooed myself at 13. I didn’t know how serious my love would become.
It was the music scene that really opened my eyes to the tattooed world which was in highschool. I lived in AZ and you can get tattooed underage with parental consent, I got tattooed at 15 and 17 and I knew after seeing them draw for a living, all the paintings and art that was what I wanted to do and I dedicated my time to graduating early at 17 so I could jump straight into the tattoo world.
D- Why did you specialize in traditional and neotraditional tattoos?
S-Honestly It was the style I liked and was pulled towards.
I can’t appreciate all styles but I think traditional and neo traditional stands the test of time and looks good forever. I knew that was the style I’d gravitate towards when I started.
D-What inspires you, and what other artist currently working do you admire?
S- Def just my love for artwork and creating things. It has always been everything to be since I was a kid!
I feel privileged to have found a career where I was able to draw every day of my life.
Man I feel like I could write an endless list of artists I admire but just some that are on the top of my list right now (I’ll put IG handles cause I don’t know everyone’s full names) @unclea @alixge @stupagdintattooer @pauldobleman @rockofagesdrake @dresdenmade @baileyhrobinson @steffanross, etc.
D- Show us what you think is your best tattoo by now and tell us why you love it:
S- Man this is hard.
I was a right handed tattooer for a really long time but I had a stroke two years ago and then was told I’d never tattoo again.
I wasn’t having that so I learned to tattoo left handed and now I’m a lefty for a year as of august! So I’m going to put a right hand tattoo and left hand tattoo because I’m def in different places with each.
This was right handed
This was left handed.
Mind you I had 11 years with one hand and 1 year with the other so I’ve def got a long ways to go, and honestly picking is entirely to hard so these are just my favorites.
D- The part you love the most of what you do, and the worst part:
S- I love making art and being able to draw everyday and the industry itself!
The worst is people who don’t understand tattoo etiquette. The bad clients, whiners, no calls no shows…
D- We know you have a beautiful family, is it easy to move to other cities to work? Do you find easy to combine family life with your job?
S- I’ve always been 1000 mph, and have always traveled lots so it wasn’t hard for me.
I plan guest spots in advance and only usually go for a weekend and I plan it around my kids schedule. Most of the cities I frequent tho we’ve lived in or have family as well and I do travel with my kids often as well.
D- Where and how would you like to see yourself 10 years from now?
S- Man, we’ll these days… I hope to be at the same place I was with my right hand but with my left hand as a tattooer. I want to be as recovered as can be and tattooing how I was before.
D- Which is your best memory of when you were a child:
S- Probably my 7th birthday getting my Golden Retriever, Oliver. I didn’t have much of a childhood!
D- Your best quality and your worst defect:
S- Best I would say is that when I put my mind to something I do not take no for an answer, I accomplish what I set out for.
Worst is definitely my stubborn independent attitude. I’m so used to my whole life figuring things out on my own I don’t know how to ask for help or let people in.
D- How is a perfect day in your life:
S- I’m happy tattooing and traveling, I def don’t like to sit still, so anyway life allows me to do that!
D- A success and a failure:
S- Success would definitely be my career, figuring it out, not giving up, and getting to make art for a living.
Failure… Honestly I don’t do failure. I had to think long and hard and about it and if I’ve really failed at anything I’ve tried. But honestly I don’t think I have.
I fear for sure 100% but if you try and you want it bad enough, it works out. I mean I had a stroke and was told tattooing was over for me, but I refused!
RECOMMENDATIONS
– A phrase: “Keep your head high and your middle finger higher.”
– A film: «Dazed and confused» is an all time fave for me.
– A song: My best Girl-Lucero
– A drink: Iced Chai Tea
– A book: I do not have the free time for books unfortunately, also struggle reading and concentrating since the stroke.
– A city: One thing I’ve always said is I can commit to a tattoo but you can’t commit me to a location…
I’ve never found a place I was head over heels to stick with. The desert is definitely home though, but still can’t pick a city.
WHAT DOES STEVIE PREFER?
- Ten years in a coma / Ten years in jail
- City life / Country life
- Talking to animals / Talking to the dead
- Having more time / Having more money
- A good book /A good movie
- Only being able to whisper / Only being able to scream
- Lifetime free wifi /Lifetime free coffee
- Only eating salty food/ Only eating sweet food
- Waking up in a desert / In a boat in the middle of the Ocean
- Something organized / Something improvised
- Visiting the past / Visiting the future
- Being unable to see / Being unable to hear
- Reality / Fiction
- Never leaving your city / Not being able to return
- Continuing with your life / Restarting your life
- Knowing what you will die of / Knowing what day you will
- Music concert / Theater play
