Life & Work with Sarah Ransom of Woodbine/Berry Hill

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Ransom

Sarah, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I have always had a deep appreciation for tattooing and body modification. As a child I was fascinated by the look of tattoos and as I’ve gotten older I have fallen in love with the community and its history. I started tattooing professionally in 2020 during the covid pandemic. It was terrifying going into a new career during such an unsure time, but I can’t imagine doing anything else. Having a job making art is the ultimate dream for me and I get to live it every day. I started in Dallas, TX, moved to Massachusetts for a few years, and now have the great pleasure of tattooing in Nashville.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I didn’t have a traditional learning experience. I had an extremely short lived apprenticeship and then was later thrown to the wolves to a certain extent. It took me a lot longer to get to a level I was proud of because of this. Every time someone says they’re just gonna teach themselves I try to explain to them that yes it worked out for me but it was 1000x harder than it should have been. Always always always go the apprenticeship route.

Additionally being a female tattoo artist comes with its pros and cons. I have had numerous men tell me they wouldn’t let a female tattoo them. I always laugh about the time a man told my (now ex) that he loved his tattoos and showered him with compliments about them and when my ex mentioned that I had done them the man looked at me and said “wow they’re actually pretty good”. One second they were amazing and then once he saw it was a young female that did them they became “actually pretty good” as though that’s a surprise.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Im a tattoo artist specializing in color and realism. I love tattooing animals (especially sea creatures and amphibians), florals, and anything shiny/sparkly. I do work in black and grey as well, but color tattoos tickle my brain just right.

I like to think I make my clients feel seen and understood. I want all of my clients to leave just as stoked about the experience as they are about the tattoo. The team I work with at Monolith Tattoo really help with that. Theres never a dull moment between us.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I’ve moved states 2 times since starting tattooing. Its always a huge risk as it takes a while to build clientele in a new place, but thankfully Nashville has been incredibly kind to me so far. I’ve always lived by the motto “i will try anything twice” and I think taking risks is scary but necessary if you want to grow.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahransom.tattoos?igsh=NTB5am1sbG1nMmlq&utm_source=qr