Conversations with the Inspiring Mary Mac

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Mac.

Mary, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started my apprenticeship under Lex in Gilbert in 2010. After completing my training and a few years of walk-in tattooing, I moved to Mastodon Custom Tattoo and have been here since May of 2014.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It was fairly smooth sailing. It was (and somewhat still is) a male-dominated industry, so there have been times I felt I wasn’t taken as seriously or times I’ve had to let clients go because they made me feel uncomfortable. My advice would to stand your ground and make it clear you’re a determined and hard working professional. Your clients should be coming to you for the work you produce, not based on whether they find you attractive or not.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Mary Mac @ Mastodon Tattoo story. Tell us more about the business.
I am a custom tattoo artist (generally “neotraditional” style), so I mainly focus on pieces I designed or creating a design from ideas requested by a client. I take pride in my clients coming to me with their ideas, specifically for MY style and execution. It’s a very large industry with a lot of competition, so it feels good to be chosen by my portfolio.

Do you have any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general? What has worked well for you?
Get tattooed by artists you admire. Draw, draw, draw. Never tattoo out of your home, it will only hurt your chances of finding an apprenticeship. Artists want to see not only that you can draw, but that you have a respect for the industry itself.

Pricing:

• $60 shop minimum
• $60 deposit
• $120/hourly for large-scale projects

Contact Info:

• Address: 1925 W University Dr
  Mesa, Arizona 85201
• Website: mastodonpiercing.com
• Phone: 480-833-2639
• Email: mmmayray@yahoo.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/mmmarymac

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.