BTL: I love that you refer to yourself as a “body artist” in lieu of tattooer. What is the distinction for you?

Shasho: I guess I refer to myself as a body artist because I don't look at a tattoo as just a drawings on the body. In my perspective, a tattoo has to work with the body and not just be on it. The tattoos I make are built 50 percent from my design and 50 percent from the body it is on. One cannot be without the other. Together they make the whole tattoo. That is why I design specifically for the body that is going to wear the tattoo and I don’t have ready made designs. I think a tattoo has to give confidence and I see it as a way to enhance certain parts of the body and hide other parts. Sometimes I think of myself more as a fashion designer than a tattoo artist. I can buy the most beautiful dress, but if it doesn’t flatter my body, it will always stay in my closet. A good tattoo has the power to make you feel proud and confident about a body part you didn’t like before, and a bad tattoo has the power to do exactly the opposite.

BTL: How did you get started tattooing?

Shasho: I first thought of being a tattoo artist when I was very young. I used to watch a show on tv about tattoos and thought it would really suit me because I like art, I like working with people, and I was always fascinated by the human body and biology. But that was a different time and tattooing was not very common, especially for women. I couldn’t find a teacher so I decided to study art instead. I got a degree in fine arts and education and forgot about this dream until I went to India for a trip and met my boyfriend who used to be a tattooer. I told him it was always a dream of mine so he showed me what to do and we started tattooing ourselves and other friends. I guess he was trying to impress me, and it worked because we are still together eight years later. :-)

BTL: Your artistic range is so expansive. How would you categorize your style?

Shasho: My style is basically geometric but I use it in a different way than most geometric artists who usually cover the full body part with shapes. If I have to put a name to it, I would call it ‘geometric body flow’. Geometry allows me to flow with the body without taking over it because there is no object or subject, so the body can be the subject.

BTL: From where do you derive inspiration?

Shasho: I am really inspired from the artwork of HR Giger and lot of tribal tattoos and drawings. Also a lot of other tattooers, but I try to be inspired more from art than tattoos.

cover ups

From mastectomy scars, keloid scars, burn scars to stretch marks, Shasho runs towards projects most tattoo artists would shy away from.

BTL: Atypical skin textures would naturally pose more of a challenge to work with. What motivated you to specialize in scar cover ups?

Shasho: Yes, scar cover ups are definitely more difficult to make but they also give much more satisfaction. To take a scar and turn it into a beautiful artwork is the most amazing feeling because it changes the person in the process. They stop seeing themselves as a scar and start being proud of the body part they hated the most. That contrast is so beautiful and inspiring.

BTL: What was the first cover up you did and what was the learning curve?

Shasho: My first scar cover up was a big scar on the chest of a young guy. He was such a sweet and shy person. He had this scar since he was an infant and it affected his confidence so much. He wanted a phoenix on it to symbolize his re-birth and change. He was really scared and nervous because it was a big tattoo on half of his chest and he didn’t know how it would look and honestly, I didn’t know as well. When we finished the tattoo it was all red and swollen and we couldn’t see so much how it turned out. He came back six months after to cover another small piece of the scar that we left off and told me that he is a different person. He went to the beach for the first time because he finally wasn’t shy to take his shirt off. Now he has much more confidence with women and he loves the tattoo. It was then I realized how much it can mean to a person.

I’ve had to overcome a big learning curve since then—mainly I figured out how to combine my own geometric style of work with covers and what techniques works better on what scars. I’m still learning from each tattoo I make.

BTL: Most memorable session?

Shasho: I’ve had a lot of memorable sessions, but this week I finished a massive cover up for an amazing woman and she is still on my mind. She had a voluntary double mastectomy after dealing with breast cancer and losing her mom to it. She decided to do the surgery for her own children. Her breasts were very asymmetrical after the implants she had due to complications and she didn’t have nipples, only scars on both breasts. We covered it and fixed the asymmetry and in the end she was smiling like a little girl. She said she finally can come to peace with her new body now, even if it’s not the “ideal” woman’s body. It’s too beautiful not to like it now.

BTL: Lastly, the most important question of all: Are your books open?!

Shasho: My booking is now open for March and April of 2023 but is about be closed. I usually open it and book only 3-5 months ahead and then close it again so I am not committed to projects I have booked a year or two ago. This way I can focus on what interest me in the present time and always grow and change.