A good parent wants what is best for their children. That usually means good health, loving relationships and a stable career. For Alondra Segundo, that meant a career in nursing, which she began attending college classes for in 2019. Her parents, who immigrated from Michoacán 30 years ago, were happy with her noble choice in careers. After many years of orchard work, which continue today, they were glad their daughter would be taking advantage of the opportunities the United States promised.
But, by the time Alondra started college she had so many tattoos – down her arms and on her legs – she started getting feedback. “I still remember getting those kind of fishy looks of, like, ‘dang, that girl’s really tattooed!’” she said. By 20 years old, she had nearly full sleeves and more across her body. “Even my friends would tell me, ‘Hey, you have a lot of tattoos.’ It was something that they didn’t really even like,” she said.
To Alondra, it was beautiful, “I always looked at it as art. Every time I looked at it, I just couldn’t believe how our body was capable of taking ink and leaving it there forever.” She said it never occurred to her that someone with tattoos was dirty or dangerous, and always felt that anyone should be able to get them and still be respected, including police officers or nurses.
In her many hours of sessions receiving tattoos from male artists, it never occurred to Alondra that she might be able to learn to do it, too. Never… even after years of art classes and an obvious love for the art. That all changed at home in Quincy, during a summer off from nursing school, with her first tattoo from Oliver “Ollie” Venegas, owner and artist at Ollie Tattoo Studio. They stayed in touch and when the shop got busier, she was offered a job as an assistant.
She moved home, and had about three months around the shop before dropping out of nursing school and starting an official tattoo apprenticeship with Ollie. Before then, “Never did I get the idea of ‘Should I do this?’ just because there wasn’t female tattoo artists around here,” and, Alondra said, “When I started I felt lonely! It was just me and there was no other [woman] I could see doing it. Every time I see a new [female] tattoo artist I think, ‘Cool!’”
Her training went at a steady pace, practicing on pig skins purchased down the street at a carniceria, and eventually friends. She said the first time she cut a line in front of Ollie he said, “’You know what? I think you’re going to be good for this,’ and so that’s when I was just like, okay, I’m just going to commit to this full time and see what happens.” Practice is important when it comes to tattooing since an artist can only add, not take away once ink is in the skin. Lessons include how deeply to go into skin with ink, which is different for line work, shading, and colors. It’s also important to learn to listen to clients. “My job is to make your piece the most perfect way you want it,” Alondra said, “That’s one thing Ollie had always told me. You have to have a lot of patience and an open mind. You have to take your time even if it takes hours.”
Alondra finds inspiration from other artists, including Ollie, her studio bestie Jorge Rodriguez, and other, especially female, tattoo artists on Instagram. Her work consists of mostly illustrative and fine line work, pepper shading (which she learned from Jorge), and delicate scripts in black or red ink, and fits well on the hands, neck and anywhere else. Her personal style comes from drawing for so many years, “Sometimes when I get drawing I just start drawing and drawing and I feel like it’s just my hand moving at points like not even me anymore just kind of like the flow.” She said, “Every time I see something with lots of lines or super thin lines it looks like a challenge to me, a super good challenge. I’ve done a lot of practice making sure my lines are perfect.” Although all the artists at Ollie Tattoo Studio can and do line work, it is Alondra’s specialty, and other artists sometimes send clients her way to get the more delicate pieces done, and vice versa for large, realistic and colorful pieces which she sometimes sends to other artists at the studio – although she can also do those and occasionally enjoys them.
Alondra has made a name for herself – literally with her eponymous business name, ‘Alondra Tattoos’ – with clients from all over Washington, Oregon and California. All the artists at Ollie Tattoo Studio are warm, inviting and professional, including Alondra. “I love talking to my clients the whole appointment,” she said, “I talk with them and really get to know them, I’ve created a lot of friendships with my clients.” Alondra and the team have become a cornerstone of Quincy’s downtown, attracting both tourists and locals – several summers they’ve even welcomed groups of elementary school kids and their parents to learn about tattooing as a profession!
Outside of the shop you can find Alondra grabbing coffee at Whipped or Gotta Have Java, or lunch at Rich Tacos or The Salad Bar. “In the summer I practically live at the Gorge,” she said, and keeps busy with events in Seattle, hiking or spending time with her fiancé. Alondra is living a wonderful, interesting life, even if it didn’t look like she – or her parents – thought it would. She’s inspired every day to make art that lasts a lifetime, and wants to inspire others. She said, “Go for your dreams… don’t be scared put yourself out there even if sometimes it’s scary, sometimes you even overthink a lot, but at the end of the day it’s like… we got to put ourselves out there, chase our dreams, and if you have ideas put them out there. It doesn’t matter even if there might be one person that doesn’t like it. Still do it. Don’t be scared to do it!”
