Life & Work with Tess Cervantes

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tess Cervantes. 

Hi Tess, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I’ve worked mostly in the corporate world my entire life and while I loved the 9-5 environment at first, I recently realized it ultimately wasn’t in alignment with who I was as a person. Once I identified I wasn’t happy with my career path I knew I needed to make a huge change. I grew up with a very artistic family. My dad is a graphic designer, my aunt was a tattoo artist, and I drew all the time as a kid so getting into the cosmetic tattoo world was very much a natural progression for me. Being able to help people feel their best every day is in alignment with my why and I realized I could do that AND be creative at the same time. From there I got into the fine line/tiny tattoo world and I’ve just fallen in love with it. It sets my soul on fire and I’m grateful to have the opportunity and the support.

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?
I’m still on the journey! What I can say is that I had to really learn to trust my gut and be true to myself. In the beginning, when I was working on who I wanted to be I strayed so far from my natural self because that’s what I felt I HAD to do in order to get clients. It wasn’t authentic so I quickly had to pivot and ask myself “Okay, who are you? How do you want to show up every day? What do you want people to remember about you?” And once I knew the answers to those questions, I found I was acting more authentically. Also, the fear of starting is REAL. Imposter syndrome is such a roadblock for me sometimes so I’ve really had to push through those feelings and force myself out of my comfort zone. Once you’re outside your comfort zone that’s when the real growth happens!

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I do cosmetic tattoos (lip blush specifically) along with tiny tattoos and body contouring! I’m really proud of how far I’ve come in a short time. I put in the work every single day to get closer to my goal and I’m incredibly proud of that. My #1 focus right now is continuing my education and the safety/health of my clients. Tattooing someone is a huge responsibility that can come with a lot of risk if not done properly and I take that very seriously.

Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I’m a firm believer in calculated risk-taking! I believe in order to make big changes and grow you need to take risks but it doesn’t have to be at the detriment to your finances or mental health. I wouldn’t be starting my own business if risk-taking wasn’t something I was comfortable with. That being said, you can be diligent about it! For me that looks a lot like “okay I want to do X, and here are all the possible downfalls. If this fails, my backup plan is Y and ultimately I’ll be okay.”

Contact Info:

• Email: alternativeartistryaz@gmail.com
• Website: alternativeartistry.glossgenius.com
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