From immigrating to America as a teen to the cover of Inked magazine, Alisha Gory’s journey is every wannabe tattoo artist’s dream.
Luckily, she’s not shy to share stories about her successful journey to being a respected career artist. Celebrated tattoo artists usually don’t start at the top of the industry, but Alisha Gory’s rise has been quite phenomenal.
She’s been breaking new grounds since bursting onto the scene with her rebellious art pieces. Born Yoo Jung Ha in South Korea, Alisha migrated to the US as an 18-year old. Before her move to America, Gory already developed a soft spot for tattoos back home.
She attributes her love for tattoos to her exposure to a tribal design on a friend’s back while in Korea: “I was 14 at the time and found a tramp stamp on my friend’s back quite badass.
After that encounter, I nurtured the desire to migrate to an enabling environment to support my dream to become a tattoo artist” Her migration to become a tattoo artist wasn’t supported by folks back home, but that didn’t deter Glory.
She didn’t start off immediately in the tattoo industry, but worked her way up running paid jobs. Her paid jobs got her enough to round off her bachelor’s degree at the SAIC in Chicago.
Looking through most of Alisha’s photos on her Instagram handle (@alishagory), it’s easy to spot her dynamic body of work. Gory attributes this success to her mentor at SAIC, who was an established tattoo artist at the time: “I focused more on abstract art while getting my BFA, and that gave me enough courage to hone my tattooing skills.
Nowadays, I focus on working with two color palettes and most of my work is in black and grey” Working in a male-dominated environment is quite a challenge for women in the tattoo industry.
Gory didn’t find it easy at first, but found her way to thrive in the industry: “The life of a female artist has several struggles. I had to pay many prices to work in an industry where men feel they have more control. But I didn’t let that get in the way, and I always do what I need to” Apart from being an expert tattoo artist, Alisha Gory has made a name for herself in the tattoo industry.
Content on her Instagram (@alishagory), Twitter (@AlishaGory) and Facebook (Alisha Gory) handles show how she’s progressed as the face of female tattoo artists.
So much recognition has come from her tattoos, and Glory recently featured as the first foreign female tattoo artist on Inked magazine. Gory confesses that her body of work focuses on “de-criminalizing” body art.
In her own words, she said “To me, tattoos are lively and beautiful pieces of work, and it’s my aim to change how Asian women see body art and other fascinating modifications”.
Alisha Gory apprenticed at Sacred Tattoo NYC. She currently offers her signature body art services at Grit N Glory (run by Megan Massacre). You can reach Alisha Gory for appointments through her social media handles or by email (alishagorytattoos@gmail.com)
