![]() I hold myself to such a high standard that I’ll leave work with a stomach ache sometimes. My work gets better and better and I tweak things and become aware of things, and I’ll never stop. Jessica Knapik: I honestly learn with every single client I do. I have a warthog, two rats, a lynx, a racoon, a vulture, a blowfish, a frog, eagles, my dog’s head. I do have a tonne of animals though, animals make the best tattoos. Jessica Knapik: In terms of my work, it’s very delicate and girly, but for me as a person it's the harder the better – gnarly thick lines, bold, weird designs, basically I want all my tattoos to look like they’re on a man. At that time there were only a few big standout cosmetic artists, and I knew I wanted to have my own voice. ![]() I officially started as a tattoo artist in 2017, then later the same year I dreamt up AstroFrecks. I trained in brows and became certified, but my freckle work is self-taught. Machine work is way more popular in Europe and Asia, but I discovered a programme in Canada so I went and trained there. work with a microblade but I use a cosmetic tattoo machine. Jessica Knapik: Most cosmetic artists here in the U.S. I remember a funny moment my little sister was watching me get ready in the bathroom, she was only five or six, and my shirt went up and she saw my stomach tattoos, and she goes, “did they do those with a needle?” I tried my best to convince her they were temporary tattoos, but sure enough, she went and told my dad… But now she’s covered in them too. Pretty sure I hid them for as long as possible. I started getting tattoos right at 18, the earliest you’re legally allowed here. Jessica Knapik: I was always into punk and rock and roll, so I was very used to seeing them. Were you always a fan of tattoos growing up? We caught up with the artist to talk about the future of tattooing and her love of all things metaphysical. Combining her interest in astrology with her technical prowess in 2017 she launched AstroFrecks. Keen to pursue her passion, Knapik moved to Canada where she trained as a cosmetic tattooist, before moving back to the States, setting up shop in Depot Town Tattoo in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Growing up, Knapik has always had an interest in art: “I used to draw caricatures of famous people when I was little, fashion designs, animals.” She got her first tattoo aged 18 and has been covering her body in bold designs ever since. ![]() “It’s a cute, personal, secret way to connect your sign and the universe to your body,” says Knapik. On the surface, they look like regular freckles but on closer inspection, if you connect the dots, a hidden star sign will be revealed. The concept forms the basis of her latest project AstroFrecks, in which she uses semi-permanent cosmetic ink to create covert constellations of freckles in the shape of her client’s astrological sign. More than a sign of beauty, have you ever thought about how freckles can, in fact, represent a person’s metaphysical existence in the universe? Probably not… Well, Detroit born and raised tattoo artist, Jessica Knapik has. Because those small dots of pigmentation you see scattered on your skin, long disregarded as imperfections, are now rightfully seen as beautiful. Thank brands like Faux Freckle Cosmetics who have created temporary, self-applicable and realistic looking freckle make-up. Thank Instagram accounts like beautiful_girls_with_freckles, which regularly spotlights beautiful girls with beautiful freckles. Thank freckled faces Adwoa Aboah, Maeva Giani Marshall, Aleece Wilson and Salem Mitchell.
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