Jessica Lockard

Third Dimension Tattoos

- Dan Henk 

Dan Henk: OK, let's get the basic stuff out of the way. When did the whole art thing come into your radar?

Jessica Lockard: The whole “artist for a living” idea, came up when I was around 18 years old. I was always into art, but around 17 I realized could do it for a career. Only problem was, at that particular time, I didn’t have a medium in mind.

DH: What led you to tattooing? Was that your first choice?

JL: No, the first artistic career that I had in mind was actually being an art teacher but to be perfectly honest, I don’t like children. At 19 I got my first tattoo and it was immediate, like a smack in the face. This is what I could do for a living!

DH: What was your journey from there?

JL: I got an apprenticeship at a shop that was basically a low-end street shop. Stayed there for about eight months until I realized the whole situation was pretty negative. Lots of drugs, I barely learned anything, and my boss even got stabbed! All this was in 2008. After that I was like, “hell no I don’t wanna be a part of this, it’s too much madness”. Still, I couldn’t get the idea out of my head that I wanted tattoo, and I knew it couldn’t all be like that. Eventually, with the guidance of an accidental mentor, Ainslie Heinlich, I worked at two more shops with a calmer but still similar atmosphere over the course of the next three years. I finally settled at Third Dimension Studio and found my forever home. I’ve been there for almost nine years now.

DH: Would you say it was all chaotic, to the point where you weren't even sure if being a tattoo artist was for you, until you arrived at Third Dimension?