Photography Yuvie Styles.
Deanna James has always loved the art of art.
James has been inspired by the beauty and creativity of tattooing since high school.
Having gone through a traumatizing experience during one of her apprenticeships, James declared herself a tattoo artist and worked on opening her own shop, where she vowed never to treat another apprentice or female artist the way she was treated.
In 2021, James opened Eden Body Art Studios on Preston Road near Dilbeck Lane, where she specializes in baroque style of tattooing. The baroque style is characterized by dark backgrounds, high contrast and lots of emotion.
Along with running her own studio, the winner of reality TV show Ink Master: Angels teaches seminars throughout the year to share her knowledge of tattooing and the industry with aspiring tattoo artists.
When did your interest in tattooing begin?
My interest in tattooing began when I was 16. I was in art school at that time at Booker T. Washington HSPVA in Dallas. I was getting hired to do a lot of drawing and painting portraits in school and started to get bored of it. When I discovered tattooing, I just had this realization that I could do something really cool and really neat with my art. And it could be something I even make money off of.
How long have you been tattooing?
I had an apprenticeship for like five years, honestly a pretty torturous apprenticeship. I officially became a tattooer when I was 21, but I did my first tattoo when I was 16. I got somebody who was old enough to go to the smoke shop to get a tattoo kit for me, and I’ve been working ever since.
When did you open Eden Body Art Studios, and how large is your team?
I opened Eden Body Art Studios with my husband two years ago. So it’s fairly new, but we fill up our spots, and we’re doing really well. It is booked out for at least a month in advance, and I am very proud of that. We have 11 artists, two assistants, a manager and a full-time content creator.
You also offer free tattooing services to those that have been affected by breast cancer?
Yes, I’ve been doing free nipple tattoos on people who’ve had breast cancer and double mastectomies. I’ve been able to help a lot of people, and I’ve also recently taught a free seminar for those who also want to provide the service so that people have more access to it. The service doesn’t only include people who have gone through breast cancer, but I also work with people who transitioned and have had top surgery. It’s been the most rewarding part of this whole job, honestly.
You were very successful on the show Ink Master multiple times. What was that experience like?
Being that I am fairly introverted myself it was a bit scary for me. The first time that I was on an Ink Master show, it was on a spin-off called Ink Master: Angels. It was three days of tattooing in front of a big audience and learning the ropes of what goes on behind the scenes of a TV show. I ended up winning my episode, and then I won a spot on season 10 of Ink Master. Being on Ink Master was such an incredible opportunity. I gained so much notoriety, and it really jump-started my career.
Did you face any challenges being a woman in this industry?
Yes, especially back then when I was 16, about 15 years ago. When I was coming into the industry, there were a lot fewer women in the industry compared to now. So you can imagine what it would be like for a 16-17-year-old girl to just walk into a tattoo shop and ask to be an apprentice. There were a lot of people who really took advantage of young women wanting to learn. Usually, an apprenticeship should be two years or less; it took five years for me to finally get through all of it. Even at the end of the 5 years, I was still doing more cleaning than all the guy apprentices. I asked the owner about it, and he told me, “I don’t know, you know, girls get treated differently than guys in this industry.” At that point, I took it upon myself to call myself a tattoo artist and go to a shop that knew my worth. I had to make a name for myself at that point instead of waiting on others to let me in.
Do you have any advice for women starting out in this industry? Is there anything you wish someone told you starting out?
I just wish I had someone to give me advice when starting out. Someone to look out for me. Unfortunately, that never happened. The biggest thing that I learned when I was an apprentice and that I would share with someone else is to always be yourself and to do whatever it takes (within reason to where you feel safe). My biggest suggestion for women is that if you’re uncomfortable in a shop, there’s another shop out there that you can learn and feel safe in.
Where do you think the tattoo industry is headed? Is the industry more accepting of women and diversity?
It’s been a lot more accepting. The change started to show around 10 years ago. What’s exciting about this time is I truly believe we’re in a renaissance of tattooing at the moment. It’s the best work that’s ever been produced. It’s really an art form at this point. If women want to get educated on what’s happening out there in the tattoo world, they can. They will truly be blown away with all of the things that they can do.
