- Tattoos are no longer taboo, they're intentional Learn how women across generations are embracing ink as a powerful form of self-expression.

Coming up next on Inspire, - Inspire is sponsored by the Raymond C and Marguerite Gibson Foundation, and by the estate of Ray and Anne Goldsmith.

- Hello and welcome to Inspire.

I am so excited and honored to be here with my co-host, Leslie Fleuranges.

We're gonna have some meaningful conversation today, and for meaningful quotes to Delicate Florals.

Tattoos have become a modern language and women are leading the conversation - In is confidence.

You can see.

And today we're diving into the art trends and meanings behind women and tattoos - To share with us about the art of tattooing, we're joined by Lisa Soller, deputy Director of Lyon County History Center, and Judith White, owner of Looking Glass Tattoo.

Welcome to Inspire ladies.

We're glad you're here.

- Thank you.

Thank you.

- This is a topic that I am all about, which I'll get into in just a moment, but I read that 38% of women say that they have at least one tattoo and even higher than men's rates.

So from your experience, both of you, why do you think that women are turning towards this trend?

- Oh gosh.

I think because it's beautiful.

I think it's a great way to take back your own beauty and, and your body and make it, you know, something that really belongs to you and that you're really proud of and feel good about.

So I think that's really a, a big part of it is the confidence level, but also I think that women need a place to relax and relax.

You know, do something where it's just about them and getting a tattoo, obviously it is all about you.

There's, you know, you have no responsibilities during that time.

So it's, it's kind of a nice way to stop moving around and, you know, sit down and, and be calm and focus on something other than your daily, you know, it kind of takes you outside of your day to day.

It's painful, but women are tough.

Women are tough with a needle.

- Yeah.

Maybe it's this sort of analogous to maybe getting a deep tissue massage or something, but, sure.

I, I, you know, I think, which is painful, hello.

- I think that the pain distracts from some of the stress of your daily life.

It kind of helps you to remember what's important and what's not important.

You know, we get all caught up about traffic or, you know, deadlines and things like that.

And the pain really forces you to focus on what's real.

And I think a lot of us need that in our lives.

- Okay.

And so what is the background to tattoos?

Because this isn't new.

This is something that's been going on, I don't know, since Cleopatra.

I don't know.

Is that true?

- Oh, absolutely.

Yeah.

I mean, tattoos date back centuries and it's, it's a way for people to tell a story.

I mean, yeah, the, the getting to escape, especially for women.

And, but I think it's, it's the story behind it.

Why do you want the tattoo?

What's the tattoo of?

And so I am not one of that 38%.

I don't have a tattoo, not yet, not yet.

I might leave one from today, you know, from here today.

But anyway, it's, they just, I think anybody wants to tell a story early on, it was about tribes and, and very tribal.

It was a rite of passage.

Well, now it's, it's more about that story.

- Mm.

So who is Maud?

Stevens Wagner.

And before you even answer, I've been talking to other people about this show for the past couple of weeks because this show is fascinating to me, especially when so many of my friends have tattoos and I'm trying to get their, you know, like, why did you do it?

What drew you to the art?

So tell me who Maude Stevens Wagner is.

- Well, I have a picture of her.

- Okay.

- Right here.

So Maude Wow.

This is an iconic photo.

Like everybody, when we came in, you were saying almost every tattoo studio, you know, has this picture.

So Mod was an aerialist and a contortionist - With - Traveling circuses.

And at some point she met, met a gentleman by the name of Gus Wagner.

He was a tattoo artist, and also had, I believe like 400 plus tattoos.

Wow.

On him.

Anyway, he was, he billed himself as the most artistically marked up man in the world.

So he would also travel around.

So at some point they met.

Now whether they met before the St.

Louis World's Fair, or whether they met at the St.

World, or at the St.

Louis World's Fair, they got together.

So the folklore is, she wanted to learn the art of tattooing.

He wanted to date her.

So they exchanged a, it's a trade.

Yeah, it was a trade.

They exchanged a date for a lesson.

Who knows if that's actually what really happened.

But what we do know is by 1907, and so that would've been 1904.

So within three years she was completely tattooed.

- Wow.

- And he did, if you know, most, if not all of those tattoos, and he did the hand poking.

- Oh, - Wow.

This was, I mean, he did some of it with electric, but his forte was hand poking tattoo.

Oh.

Which was basically just the stick with the ink.

- So is, so is that something that's still done?

I mean, has the art Absolutely.

Mechanics of tattooing changed or is it exactly the same as - It's been?

Oh, it's changed a lot.

But there are still people that do it.

The, you know, - Old fashioned - Way.

Old fashioned, yeah.

The oldest way that can be done.

- So what are the ways that you can get tattooed?

- Well, the way that I tattoo, I use a rotary machine.

So it's a quieter machine.

It's a little bit of a gentler machine.

I know a lot of people who know tattoos from, you know, 10, 20 years ago, they automatically think of that loud electromagnetic clacker clicker machine.

And those are still around too.

And those have, you know, a great purpose.

And a lot of people use those.

It just kind of depends on your style and your approach.

My stuff tends to be a little more painterly, a little more elegant.

So my machine is a little more delicate of a machine, but it still packs a good punch.

But - Yeah, really it's still pa it's still painful.

- Yeah.

Well, yes, it's still painful.

But also I, you know, the thing of it is, is that the, the key is the most amount of ink with the least amount of trauma.

So that's what I really try for, is to get, you know, a, a good powerful image that's gonna stay around for a long time without causing a lot of trauma and a lot of extra pain.

You know, pain is unavoidable when it comes to tattoos, but you don't have to suffer.

- Right.

- You shouldn't be suffering.

- So the other day I saw Justin Bieber on the Grammys.

The Grammys, and he seemed to be whoa, to sort of looking like this young lady here.

Any, I don't know if, did you guys see that at - All?

I haven't seen it yet, but I've seen pictures of him.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

I was sort of wondering what his story, you know, what story he was trying to tell.

'cause there was a, I think there was a lion and a, and some, some other animal on him, and then a whole bunch of other stuff.

So are men as storyteller driven as women are, would you say?

- I think so, - Yeah.

Okay.

- I think so.

I mean, I think it just, it depends, you know, and as tattoos have gotten more and more popular, there's a lot more really unique famous tattoo artists that have their own specific style.

So a lot of people have also leaned into getting tattoos by a specific artist in the same way that you would collect a painting by a specific artist.

So the story that they are telling at that point is, I really love this artist's work and I want a piece of, of their work.

So a lot of times the story is almost a little bit more of the story of the artist being expressed, you know, with the skin as the medium.

So that's kind of an interesting thing that started to happen more and more, which I really like that it's kind of gone into a little bit more of an artistic vein.

You know, the nice thing is, is that if someone has a certain style and you love it, you know what they're gonna make for you is gonna be something that you love.

'cause you already love the style of what they do.

So that kind of helps with the storytelling part, you know?

Right.

I think a lot of people are worried that they're gonna make a wrong choice, or that they need to contribute to their tattoo in some way to make sure it's good.

So when you get an artist whose work you really like, that's, you know, that's half the battle you're already doing great.

It's gonna be great.

- I think early on, men were getting tattoos because it was that rite of passage.

Hmm.

It was the expectation.

And now it can tell the story, even though those told the a story.

Also, it was very different because they, I don't wanna say they were mass produced, but if you look at a lot of men, 120, 130 years ago, their tattoos were very similar.

Whereas now you can truly get a tattoo that means something that is telling something from your - Life.

So I was thinking of how women are getting very, like, yours are so colorful, is there a different technique to getting color versus, you know, just a single ink color?

- Oh yeah.

There, I mean, getting a color tattoo can be as involved as, as doing a painting.

I, we can do layers of color off and on, like big projects.

We'll do a first pass and let that heal and then come back and do another layer and let that heal.

So yeah, there's a, a whole different technique.

You'll find that a lot of artists are specifically more color or all black and gray.

You know, people kind of find what works really well for them.

I like to do both.

I like the combination of the two, but I'm definitely, if I had to pick, I'd lean more towards color.

I started as a painter here at Washburn.

Wow.

Wow.

Really?

Yeah.

Kansas connection.

Yes, absolutely.

- Absolutely.

That's fabulous.

That's great.

Well, ink doesn't define a woman, but it can reflect her journey.

When we return, we'll learn more about some of the trends that women can check out in 2026.

So stay tuned with us, whether you're inked or ink Curious, we have the latest trends for you to consider from our guests.

Lisa Soer, deputy director of Lyon County History Center, and Judith White owner of Looking Glass Tattoo.

- So I want to go back to the Kansas connection.

So Maude, the tattooed lady we saw in the previous segment.

- Yes.

- She has a Kansas connection.

And you have a Kansas connection too, because not only do you tattoo, you're a muralist, you're a painter.

So I wanna get to all of that.

But tell us about Maude.

- So Maude was born here in Kansas, in Lyon County.

And she grew up around the Emporia along with her sister Dora and her parents, of course, David and Sarah Stevens.

So she was raised, I mean she spent her formative years, you know, in Emporia.

They eventually moved to Chase County, just the next county over from Lyon County.

And being a housewife or a farm wife just was not going to be her thing.

She knew that early on.

And so she joined the traveling circus and, and then traveled all over the United States along with her sister Dora.

They were both aerialists and contortionists.

And again, I mean she skirted convention.

So here it's, it's, you know, she was born in 1877, so it's, you know, around 1900.

And she just wanted to create her own path.

And again, skirted convention and I learned about her.

So we had just moved to our new location in Emporia, the Lyon County History Center and moved and we were looking at different exhibits to do, and we wanted to do one that was, you know, people who were known beyond Lyon County borders.

And I was, you know, on the internet looking and I came across her that somebody had put, that she was born in, in Lyon County, had this iconic photo of her.

And I was like, I need to know more about this woman.

And so I have a friend who's a tattoo artist in Emporia and she hadn't even, she hadn't even heard of her.

Oh - Really?

- And this was probably about 15 years ago.

So she has been on my radar that whole time.

And I just took a deep dive because she did something that a lot of women during that time didn't do.

A lot of women settled into those traditional roles and she was like, nah, I think I'm gonna be an aerialist and a contortionist.

And then it's like, oh, now I'm gonna be a tattoo artist and, and then become a canvas for my husband.

And, and so yeah, I, I just love her story that she didn't do what was expected of her.

- I love that.

She's very a, a guard.

- Very much, very much.

- Talk about your connections, especially with Washburn University.

'cause did, did you go here?

Are you - Alumnus?

Yeah, yeah.

I got a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Washburn.

Nice.

Yeah, I studied under Ed Navone and Glenda Taylor.

They were both just great inspirations to me.

So yeah, I, I focused on painting and ceramics while I was doing studio art here.

And after I graduated I went to Spokane, Washington and learned how to tattoo.

And I thought it was just gonna be another like, oh, you know, let me learn this new medium.

You know, I've done ceramics, I've done painting, I've, you know, tried different types of things and I'll just try this out.

And once I did it, it was, it was over.

That was my thing.

That was it.

That was all I was gonna do.

And I knew that we needed custom artists that would be kind to people and maybe have just a little bit of a different approach here in Topeka.

So I, I knew that there was a market for that because as an artist myself, you know, it's tough to find someone that you can collaborate with comfortably when you don't know anything about tattoos.

So I knew that that was something I could really help people to be able to bring their ideas to life in a way that maybe hadn't been done before.

So.

Wow.

- Yeah.

I love it.

So can you give us a little bit about your arm, your sleeves?

Right, that's what we call the - Sleeves.

Yeah, my sleeves.

So I started on this side, which I highly recommend if someone is starting a tattoo journey to kind stick everything together because that sort of tells the story of who you were during this time in your life.

And this is who I was during this time of my life.

This arm has several different artists work on it.

I started it in Spokane at Lady Luck Tattoo, which is where I learned how to tattoo from an artist named Christy Kelborn.

And so I've got pieces on this arm.

I started out getting pieces from all the artists at that shop when I opened my own shop.

I, you know, had a few other artists kind of fill in the gaps here and there.

But this, yeah, this is State Bird of Oklahoma.

That's where I grew up.

Wow.

I've got my little Baby Buddha, 'cause the Art of Asia was one of my very favorite subjects when I was studying art here at Washburn and Peach Blossoms for a friend of mine.

And so, you know, just like little sentimental things on there.

This one, however, was done, this was done by an artist named Laura Jade and she's up in Washington State and she's a world famous, amazing artist.

I got this done while I was at a seminar learning about tattooing.

And it was basically tattooers tattooing others tattooers up in Massachusetts, a seminar called, well it's Paradise Tattoo Gathering is where she tattooed me.

And she drew all this on with a Sharpie marker.

She freehanded it all in one day and we spent the whole day working on - It.

Wow.

- So that's kind of when we were talking about earlier, you know, the difference between getting specific things to tell specific stories versus one big beautiful painting by an artist that I've admired for years and years.

So, you know, and both are equally meaningful and that experience was a big deal for me.

So yeah, that's kind of what I got going on.

- So what are the trends?

Because I don't know that I've shared this with you.

No, but I'm curious about getting a tattoo.

I've been thinking about it for decades.

It's my mama's fault.

Oh, okay.

Lemme just put that out there because she got her first one at 50, you know, the good, you know, Pentecostal preacher's wife and she's like, I'm step out for just a second.

And she got her first tattoo, which is one now of five.

So I want to know what are some of the trends?

What should I be thinking through help?

Help me get a thought.

- I would say when it comes to trends and tattoos, throw it out the window.

I just, do you sch?

Yeah.

Do you trends come and go.

You know, it's like fashion, you know, we, we had the bell bottoms or the low rise and then it wasn't cool anymore and now it's cool again.

So I really think that, you know, tattoos, that's an opportunity for you to be you a hundred percent who you are and stand in your own truth.

I mean, trends are fine too.

And I think sometimes they give people comfort To know, you know, okay, people are getting an infinity symbol or, you know, whatever is a popular thing.

Lot Asian Japanese rioting.

Oh yeah.

For a while because they perfected it, you know, they really, the traditional Japanese and then the traditional American tattoos are like the two just really well done versions of, of this art form.

So yeah, that's, that's classic.

And it's kind of interesting 'cause you get people in the western world we're really into uniqueness among art and, you know, being an individual.

But in the eastern world where, you know, a lot of that tattooing was really refined, A lot of it is about perfecting and, you know, you, you copy the masters until you can get it just right.

So there is a little bit of a duality there of do I want a piece of history, you know, a piece of like traditional American flash that's been done multiple times, but it's, you know, hasn't been done on me by this artist in this way.

So it's still unique versus, you know, do I wanna make my own design?

And I think that's probably the trend I would say I lean towards is let go with the zodiac symbols.

If you're not a zodiac person, you know, you don't have to go find a mother daughter symbol in a book or online, make your own.

And you know, when you find an artist that you click with, you should be able to sit down and really have them help you to come up with things that are really, really unique and special to you.

So that's, that's what I would say is rather than just a, a canned symbol that means something, you know, think about a memory or you know, a, a favorite flower in your garden or I don't know, a, a meal that you had that was really special or now that - Would be a trip.

- Got steak and potatoes - On my arm.

I gonna say, you know, telling a story is always gonna be a trend.

I mean, being able to, to tell that story but also to make that connection.

And you know, we live in such a, a world where we don't have a lot of connections anymore because we're behind a screen or, you know, and I mean, I've always said, you know, we working at a museum, we're storytellers and we're searching for those connections.

And I think tattoos are just another way to be able to connect with somebody else, a stranger and to, you know, not talk about anything else but that single thing, that tattoo.

Why did you get it?

Why is it important to you?

And that will always be trendy.

- Well Lisa and Judah, thank you so much for being on today.

You've given us a lot to have conversation about and a lot for me to think about going forward.

So whether bold or subtle tattoos aren't just ink, they are living stories that I'm gonna check into.

We're gonna be back with a few closing thoughts in just a moment.

So please stay with us, Leslie.

We have learned a whole lot about tattoos today and the role that they play in modern culture.

So we wanna continue our discussion with Lisa and Judith.

So now I'm gonna ask the big question.

When I go to get a tattoo, what's the experience gonna be like?

Because I've probably trumped it up in my head a whole lot more than it is.

Should I do anything ahead of time or what's, what's the procedure like?

- Well, I would say first off visit, you know, do your research.

Find, find the shop that does the work that you like, that has the philosophy that you like, that has the vibe that you like.

You know, these days you can research online, but there's nothing better than just going into a shop just to really get the feel for something.

So that's first and foremost.

I highly recommend that just going in in person if you want something that's a little bit more elaborate.

I also think getting a consultation is great and that way you can sit down with your artist and kind of tell them what you're expecting and do a back and forth and they can explain to you how the process is gonna work.

I think that really helps people out a lot.

Once you make your appointment, usually you put down a deposit towards the appointment and that comes off of your final bill.

But that is basically a commitment that you're gonna come back, you're gonna get the tattoo, and then that way the artist knows that they're gonna sit down and they're gonna draw your custom art for you.

Usually on the day that you get tattooed is when you see your artwork.

And I always tell people, be really honest, don't worry about hurting your tattoo artist's feelings.

You know, you're, you're the customer, you're gonna, you know, they're gonna mark you and hurt you and take your money, so don't you apologize to them.

They, they need to take care of you.

So I think that's really important to find an artist that's gonna take care of you is a big deal, especially for women.

I, I just think it's important for us to have someone we can feel comfortable with when we're vulnerable.

But on the day of your tattoo, once you decide you like it and you get it placed and everything, your number one thing is just to relax.

Just relax.

I highly recommend eating before you get tattooed.

Tattooing, it will lower your blood sugar, all of the good chemicals, the adrenaline and the endorphin that feeds on blood sugar.

So when you hear about people passing out, it's just 'cause their blood sugar dropped real rapidly.

So, you know, get a, get a nice meal in ahead of time, get good sleep, don't be hung over.

That's worse.

That's, I always say cocktails and ice cream after the, maybe a Benadryl or something - Like that.

Exactly.

It's just something to just, - Yeah.

Yeah.

- So you said get the art placed.

What does that mean?

- Well, you know, if you want something on your arm and we, we have a stencil, you know, once we agree on the design, we'll put a stencil on on you so that we know exactly where it's gonna sit.

So it's real important at that point, you know, be picky then.

'cause you can't be picky afterwards.

So yeah.

You know, you get it placed exactly where you want it and the artist likes it and the client likes it and then we go for it.

Go for it.

Yeah.

- Okay.

Alright.

Where can we find you?

Here in Topeka?

- Yeah, I'm at Looking Glass Tattooing Gallery.

We are a block west of 21st and Wanamaker, like I told you, we're behind the bunt cake - Please.

- Hello.

Right behind the bunt cake, please.

- We love nothing bunt cake.

- Yes, exactly.

Okay.

- And tell us where we could find - You.

Lyon County History Center in downtown Emporia at seven 11 commercial.

- Awesome.

All right.

Fabulous.

Well, unfortunately that's all the time that we have today, but we hope you've been entertained and inspired by today's conversations.

We wanna thank Lisa Soller and Judith White for joining us on Inspire.

And as a reminder, you can watch this program again at watch.ktwu.org.

- And if you're so inspired to learn more about our guests, find out what's coming up on future shows and get access to additional content, be sure to visit our website at ktwu.org/inspire - Inspiring women, inspiring people to celebrate their authentic selves in a variety of ways.

Inspiring you on KTWU.

Thank you for watching.

- Inspire is sponsored by the Raymond C and Marguerite Gibson Foundation and by the estate of Ray and Anne Goldsmith.