Practice Is Key, Says Blind Tattoo Artist Ketan Saindane

You are high on motivation and pursue your dreams and goals relentlessly. Day in day out, you make sure you do your best to get one step closer to the life you envision for yourself. Now imagine if you woke up to a sightless world tomorrow. Would you still have the same amount of energy and enthusiasm towards achieving your life’s purpose? While you ponder over that hypothetical scenario, meet Ketan Saindane, a blind man who didn’t let the loss of his vision deter him from making it as a tattoo artist and entrepreneur. Over to Ketan.

What inspired you to become a tattoo artist?

Drawing was my love and passion since childhood, and despite low vision, I always practiced it. A pencil and paper was all I needed to go into my creative zone, away from the world of Trigonometry and Pythagoras theorem. I mastered the art of drawing so well that I even represented my school on several occasions and won competitions as well.

By the time I cleared my school exams, I was clear about what I wanted to do. I wanted to be an artist. A tattoo artist to be precise!

I immediately joined the Art course at L.S.Raheja School of Art after my Graduation. It was a five-year course, and I was looking forward to immersing myself in the world of art. And boy, it didn’t disappoint me one bit. I learned so much about art that there were days when I would stay back in college just to work on some creative stuff. It was also a great leveler for me because I realized that everybody was an equally good artist. We had a healthy competition between us and learned a lot from each other.

The beauty of art is that once you learn the fundamentals, everything–walls, books, desk, etc.–becomes your canvas. For me, my canvas was skin.

I found tattoo making to be an interesting form of art. I have seen old women with their husband’s name tattooed on their forearms; I had seen people making tattoos with rudimentary equipment on railway platforms. Tattoos had always interested me, and I decided to explore the field further.

The sad part was no one could teach me to make tattoos. In fact, there were no tattoo shops in my time when I thought about becoming a tattoo artist. So armed with the power of the Internet, I decided to learn it on my own. The best part about tattoo art is that your canvas is constantly on the move and that itself is an advertising medium for your art.

As an individual and as a tattoo artist, what did you do to cope with the loss of your eyesight?

When I lost my eyesight partially, I was in a dilemma for some days. I refused to accept that I could no longer be a tattoo artist. After all, apart from skill and talent, an artist also needs his eyes. At least, that’s what I thought at the time.

Still, I was adamant enough not to give up on this art form as I had struggled my way through the slack time of tattooing. No way was I going to quit now that I was living in a time when the tattoo industry was booming.

As an Individual, I am still trying to cope with my daily routine but as an artist and entrepreneur, I quickly decided to teach tattooing to not only my colleagues but also my students (who I then employ) so that my legacy goes on. By God’s grace, I have got superb people working as a team for my tattoo and art studio, Inkholics.

Given that we live in a world that has a hard time accepting people outside the spectrum of “normal”, how do you deal with discrimination from clients or the tattoo industry?

Well, I am a joyful and affable person, so I think people take to me quite easily. Luckily I never felt unaccepted or out of the spectrum of normal. There wasn’t any discrimination from any of our clients nor in the tattoo industry. My peers, colleagues, and clients have never made me feel different or excluded.

But of course, if there ever is any discrimination, I will not stand for it and will speak up against it. Nobody deserves to be treated poorly for not being what the world believes is “normal”.

You succeeded against all odds and today, you are the proud owner of your very own tattoo studio. Is there any message you would like to give to aspiring tattoo artists?

Passion has been my fuel to success, so make sure you are becoming a tattoo artist because you can’t imagine living without your art. Also, like any other skilled ar from, practice is the key to tattooing.

Also, it is really important to stay connected with all the people in the industry. Lastly, try and keep yourself updated. Remember, tattooing as a career or business is not just about making tattoos, there are many more things involved. So be patient, be humble and keep learning because learning never ends.

Ketan Saindane is the founder and owner of Inkholics Tattoos in Navi Mumbai, India. You can get in touch with him at https://www.inkholics.com/.