Inspired by Ink – Julia Ahlberg designs tattoos with meaning

BY PATTI SMITH PHOTOS BY ERIC MARCUS

Julia Ahlberg was about 5-years-old when she discovered her talent for drawing. “I loved it! I would draw on the walls, the couches… everything,” she remembers. “I got into a bit of trouble.”

Julia’s Uncle Rodney made a living drawing tattoos and he let Julia help when she was little. The two would spend hours hunched over sketch paper. He taught Julia to draw and use oil pastels to color in the designs. When Julia was about ten-years-old, her parents, Jim and Gina Ahlberg, enrolled her in private art lessons.

Now, at 17, Julia’s artistry has evolved into a custom tattoo design business. Gina, who is a hairstylist, has many opportunities to talk about her daughter’s work with her clients. “I get tons of people in my chair that have tattoos or want tattoos. Julia’s work is awesome. She has a lot of talent and she has a real passion,” Gina says with pride.

Julia started selling her own designs at age14. Her first custom image was an anchor with two roses—one on each hook. Since then, the Arnold High School senior has drawn lighthouses, birds, ships, and roses among the other images people request. Currently she is working on perfecting mermaids.

While it is always rewarding to see the finished product tattooed on someone’s skin, the most important part of her work is the conversation Julia has with a client before she puts pencil to paper. Julia may be young, but she is an artist who thinks well beyond her years and approaches her craft realistically and with maturity. When someone approaches her about designing a tattoo, the first questions are: “Why do you want this tattoo? What does it mean to you?” One of her most recent assignments was a sunflower image in honor of a grandfather who passed away. “It will be a reminder that he’s always there with her,” Julia says about her client. “She wants it to look like it’s growing out of her body. She was really close to her grandfather. It’s going to make me cry when I draw it.”

The conversation Julia has with her clients is equally as vital for Julia as it is for them. It not only affirms their decision to place a permanent image on their body, it also helps Julia understand the heart she needs to put into her design. “It makes me feel like they trust me and respect me,” she says. “It’s a whole new connection with me and my client. They’re more than clients. They are more like my family now.”

Julia has sold 50 designs in the last three years. The cost for her designs depends upon the amount of detail that goes into it and how much time a client gives her to draw it out. Although her parents were wary about her entering the tattoo field, now they are her greatest supporters. Both of them have brought their daughter clients. Julia believes she is proof that tattoos don’t have to be dark and scary. She embraces the beauty and the artistry. Her dream is to open a professional tattoo shop filled with uplifting, inspirational and moving images.

“I’ve always wanted to open my own studio. I want it to be friendly where people aren’t scared to go inside,” she said. “I want them to be comfortable. It will be a beachy and homey place for my designs.”

Her favorites are animals, realistic mermaids, and flowers. Some of her best designs come from an image she literally dreamed up. “Sometimes I will wake up at three o’clock in the morning and decide to draw something.”

Julia doesn’t have any tattoos right now, but when she decides she’s ready for one, she will draw something to honor her parents for the support they have given her. Julia markets her designs through social media. To view her designs, go to Julia_tattoos_u on Instagram.

 

[author image=”https://www.panamacityliving.com/media/2014/07/Patti-Smith.jpg” ]Patti Smith is an award-winning professional writer and editor with more than 25 years experience in U.S. markets including Metropolitan areas of Connecticut, California, Indiana, Kentucky and Florida. She currently writes columns, features and faith testimonies for local and national publications. She believes everyone has a story to tell and that others’ lives may be changed or enriched by reading it. She is married to a devoted husband, mother to three amazing children and grandmother to one precious grandchild.[/author]