Phoenix tattoo artist says key to success is constantly learning

Arizona native and lifelong art learner Samm Taylor of Tenku Tattoo specializes in custom designs that range from anime and nature to geometric and vintage cartoon pieces. What makes her approach distinctive is her drive to continuously grow and discover new techniques to employ in her work. Fully embracing the idea of outdoing her last successful design, she regularly seeks ways to refine her approach, believing that evolving alongside clients helps keep her style fresh.

According to Taylor, learning is fundamental to the art of tattooing.

“We're surgically painting the skin, so you are constantly learning — learning how you can do something better, learning about people's health problems and how you can approach things differently every day. I've been learning since day one and still am.”

Coming from a family of artists, Taylor learned by watching those around her. One of her earliest memories at age 5 was teaming up with her sister to airbrush a "Lilo & Stitch" scene on the back of a Camaro using their father's equipment. Over the years, she practiced in different mediums and loved them all, but never considered art as a career until she stumbled upon tattooing by accident. Divinity Tattoo was where she had her first experience getting a tattoo in a shop. After seeing wall-to-wall original art by shop owner and tattoo artist Paolo Acuna, she immediately wanted to become a tattooer. Taylor was the youngest apprentice he had ever accepted, and she attributes her growth to his teachings about tattooing as well as lessons on “how to train for life and be a healthier person.”


Like many artists, Taylor’s journey has been filled with twists and turns. Entering a male-centric industry at a young age, she faced significant challenges, including being treated differently than an apprentice who was 20 years her senior. Many times, her clients have never met a female tattoo artist before. Reflecting on these experiences, Taylor acknowledges how they shaped her development as a tattoo artist, pushing growth in an environment that sometimes underestimated her abilities.

“It didn't matter how many hundreds of thousands of hours I put in, or how much blood, sweat, and tears I shed; my age really kept me back a lot for many years,” she says.

However, Taylor just let her artistic style and portfolio speak for itself. After finding support in what she calls her “tattoo family,” gratitude for these experiences fueled the fire. The approach served Taylor well, igniting a community of regular clientele she values collaborating with. Eight years later, she is now a veteran artist and owner of her own practice, helping make ink wishes a reality as part of Revival Art Collective in Phoenix, a cooperative tattoo-based enterprise.

Although she accepts a diverse range of requests, working on large-scale tattoos is her true passion. This allows time to connect more with clients to make each custom design intricate and personal. Researching to understand the subject matter and planning the design’s composition is also a main component in customizing each design.

“My art becomes believable to not only the person, but the eye and (the) brain picks it up a certain way. I hope to captivate different perspectives every time I redesign the same thing,” Taylor says.

According to Taylor, creating a space that is positive for the client is essential to the process. She regularly meditates beforehand and ensures the client is in the right mindset to receive their tattoo. She's not afraid to turn down requests if she feels clients aren’t fully prepared and many have expressed gratitude for her decision once they were ready to proceed.

“It's energy, it's vibes and whatever you're reflecting or picking up and putting down, that shows a lot, because what we do as a service is a physical contact service. It's a really beautiful process and for some cultures, it's a very intimate process. I treat it as spiritually as possible. It's a very scary process, but it doesn't have to be,” she says.

As for Taylor's blueprint for her career’s future, it centers around client satisfaction, emphasizing the value of traditional apprenticeships, advocating for eliminating unsafe tattoo practices and exploring as many artistic mediums as she can.

“If you don't get an apprenticeship and don't respect the trade like that, you're not going to get anywhere fast — or at all," she says.


Her philosophy of staying curious is integral to her ongoing development as an artist. Taylor has sculptures and paintings for purchase and also seeks commissioned requests that challenge her to try out new mediums.

“One day, I'll wake up and I'm inspired by metalworking. I want to do drawings and tattoos that are chrome. Then one day, I'll wake up and I'm so obsessed with oil painting, and I want more color pieces. So, it's like a Pandora's box of ever-changing answers for me,” Taylor says.

Revival Art Collective is located at 335 W. McDowell Road, #1. Email [email protected], call 480-565-0238 or follow @tenkutattoo on Instagram.