Apprentice Spotlight: From DNA Lab Manager to Tattoo Apprentice, Solana Blantz’s Career Change
Growing up, Solana Blantz loved line work, sacred geometry, and the kind of ink work she saw on people around her. Her brother kept telling her she should get into tattooing, but she always pushed the idea aside. Instead, she went to college and built a career in science. She researched plants, isolated DNA, and managed a lab, where she also took over lab safety. Eventually, she realized corporate science wasn’t the right fit.
Today, she’s in Phase Two of Ink Different’s Traditional Tattoo Apprenticeship and preparing to train in a tattoo studio in San Diego. We sat down with Solana to hear about the switch.
Key Takeaways
Who: Solana Blantz is a former lab manager now in Phase Two of the Traditional Tattoo Apprenticeship.
Why she switched: She loved the science and lab safety, but corporate work wasn’t for her.
Why Ink Different: She wanted a structured path and the chance to learn from many different Tattoo Artists.
How she fits it in: She does flexible gig work and balances class time and paid work week to week.
The timeline: The Traditional Tattoo Apprenticeship takes 18 to 24 months, with licensing support and a guaranteed job offer.
Who Is Solana Blantz?
Solana Blantz is an Ink Different tattoo apprentice who left a science career to pursue tattooing.
In college, she researched plants. Her work focused on building an inducible construct, where adding a chemical could make a plant glow. After college, she moved into industry. She isolated DNA, worked with different companies and protocols, and made sure samples were properly sequenced.
She also managed her lab for a time. When the lab needed to get up to code, she took over lab safety and worked with OSHA.
She still brings that biologist’s eye to her art. Many of her design assignments feature animals and mushrooms.
Why Would Someone Leave a DNA Lab for Tattooing?
For Solana, it came down to fit. She loved the science, but the corporate side wasn’t right for her.
She especially enjoyed lab safety. She liked making sure her coworkers knew what chemicals they were handling, what the risks were, and how to stay safe. But the corporate level of the work just wasn’t agreeable to her.
Tattooing offered her something different: a craft she can improve at every day. She also knew she wanted to learn from many different people, which is part of what drew her to Ink Different.
What Does It Take to Make a Career Change Like This?
It takes a structured plan, willingness to be a beginner again, and a way to balance training with real life.
Solana had a few concerns before she started. Money was one. Family support helped with the cost of her tattoo apprenticeship, but she still had rent to pay. She also worried about balancing work, training, and her energy.
Today, she does part-time gig work with a flexible schedule. Some weeks, she focuses more on classes and tattoo practice. Other weeks, she leans more on paid work.
That flexibility is intentional. Ink Different designed the Traditional Tattoo Apprenticeship for people with jobs and responsibilities. The question behind it was simple: could a single mom working full time do this?
Class times are flexible, too. If you can’t make a Thursday session, you can join on Wednesday or Friday. Solana has met fellow apprentices joining reviews on their lunch breaks or right after 12-hour shifts.
Her biggest concern was actually the people she’d learn from. In college, she’d had both great and not-so-great teachers. At Ink Different, she says her Mentors have consistently cared and been passionate.
Mentor Tip: Solana’s Mentors remind apprentices to take care of their bodies. Ease up on caffeine and don’t grip the machine too hard, because your body is part of your work.
How Can You Switch Careers Into Tattooing Step by Step?
You can switch careers by choosing a structured tattoo apprenticeship, building your design skills, and practicing patiently before you tattoo real clients.
Step 1: Choose a structured path
Solana wanted structure so she’d know what to expect. Ink Different gives exactly that.
Step 2: Learn the styles in Phase One
Phase One covers art and design. Solana’s biggest challenge was new school, with its bright colors and exaggerated, cartoonish shapes. She spent a couple of hours a day for a couple of weeks on her new school flash sheet of whimsical animals. She asked for plenty of feedback, especially on coloring.
Step 3: Compare the styles side by side
One assignment asks you to draw one subject in three styles. Solana chose mushrooms. A classic mushroom became American traditional. A green parasol mushroom with moss and glowing motes became neo-traditional. For new school, she gave an inky cap legs, fishnets, and a 3D color pop.
Step 4: Learn tattoo history
Apprentices read Ink Americana: A History of Modern Tattooing in the United States by Gabriel Jaksich. Then they join a Zoom lesson where they can ask the author questions. Solana loved learning how machines and inks shaped the styles we see today.
Step 5: Start Phase Two practice
Phase Two puts a machine in your hands. Solana’s first assignment was lines in different directions, and she learned she’s heavy-handed. Getting the depth right was hard at first, so she still warms up with a line sheet and a curve sheet every time.
Step 6: Look back to see your progress
After spider webs and fruit assignments, Solana looked at her old practice pads. That’s when she saw how much steadier her lines had become.
What Skills Transfer From a Science Career to Tattooing?
Solana’s lab safety experience gives her a strong foundation for keeping clients and herself safe.
She has worked with OSHA to bring a lab up to code. She also knows how to help people understand risks and stay safe. That matters in tattooing, where clients trust you to work in a clean, professional environment.
It also protects Tattoo Artists. If you’re tattooing three or four people a day, you’re the one exposed to everything. That’s why bloodborne pathogens training based on OSHA standards is a key part of Ink Different’s training.
Solana’s drawing has improved, too:
Single-pass lining: She used to build lines with lots of small sketchy strokes. Now she draws clean lines in one pass, which is faster and more accurate.
Faster sketching: Her red pencil preliminary sketches, where she blocks out shapes, come together much faster.
Patience: Her Mentors’ advice to do the reps, stay mindful, and not rush fits the careful habits she built in the lab.
How Does Ink Different Tattoos Guide a Career Change?
Ink Different guides career changers with small classes, direct access to Mentors, and a structured four-phase tattoo apprenticeship.
Solana compares it to college. Both have a consistent curriculum. But at a big university, she says, you might be one of 200 students and mostly talk to teaching assistants. At Ink Different, it feels personal.
Here’s what she’s found:
Small classes: Phase Two classes have about 10 people at most, and they run longer, so there’s time for everyone’s questions.
Access between classes: Many Mentors respond to messages outside class, so you can get quick answers during independent study.
Experienced Mentors: Some have decades of experience. Matt has more than 20 years, and Martin has 15 or 16.
Lessons from the past: Mentors share what it was like to learn on coil machines. Apprentices today start with a quality rotary machine.
Feedback you can see: Apprentices submit time-lapse videos of their designs, so Mentors can see every step.
You’ll also join Ink Different’s “Good Humans” culture. Ink Different has trained Tattoo Artists for 15 years.
What Is the Traditional Tattoo Apprenticeship?
The Traditional Tattoo Apprenticeship is an 18 to 24 month, four-phase tattoo apprenticeship that takes beginners to job-ready Tattoo Artists with licensing support.
Online foundations: Phases One and Two happen online through small Zoom classes, so you can train around work.
In-studio training: Phases Three and Four take place in a tattoo studio under a Mentor’s supervision. Solana will train in San Diego.
Licensing support: Guidance through your state’s requirements.
A guaranteed job offer: You’ll receive a guaranteed job offer at one of Ink Different’s tattoo studios.
This is a career that comes with confidence. You’ll finish with job-ready skills, licensing support, and a guaranteed job offer at one of Ink Different’s 60+ tattoo studios nationwide.
What Is the Master Mentorship Program?
Once you’ve built your foundation, you can keep growing with Ink Different’s Master Mentors. They include Al Fliction, Liz Cook, Kyle Dunbar, Boneface, and Jordi Pla.
Learning from Tattoo Artists at that level sharpens your technique, your style, and your business sense. For someone like Solana, who loves blackwork and line work, that kind of mentorship can help shape a signature style.
Making Tattoo Training Accessible for Everyone
Ink Different offers Spanish-speaking locations in Denver, Orange County, NYC, Miami, San Antonio, and San Diego, so language is never a barrier to your tattoo career.
With 60+ locations nationwide and online early phases, you can start training close to home.
Remember: Seats are limited, with only two apprentices per tattoo studio per Mentor.
Ready to Become a Tattoo Artist?
Solana left corporate science to pursue a craft she can grow in every day. She’s still learning, still asking questions, and already lining up friends for her first free tattoos once she’s in the tattoo studio.
She’s excited to meet her Mentor in San Diego and see how her skills translate onto real skin.
Ready to become a tattoo artist? Apply now to Ink Different's Traditional Tattoo Apprenticeship and start building an AI-proof career with licensing support and a guaranteed job offer. Prefer to explore first? Fill out our quick questionnaire to see if the Traditional Tattoo Apprenticeship is right for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I become a tattoo artist with no art experience?
Yes. The Traditional Tattoo Apprenticeship is built for beginners and teaches drawing, machine handling, and skin practice.
How long does the Traditional Tattoo Apprenticeship take?
The Traditional Tattoo Apprenticeship takes 18 to 24 months across four phases.
Can I work while doing the Traditional Tattoo Apprenticeship?
Yes. Phases One and Two happen online with flexible class times. Solana balances training with part-time gig work.
How big are the classes?
In Phase Two, classes usually have about 10 people at most, so there’s time to ask questions.
Does Ink Different offer training in Spanish?
Yes. Ink Different offers Spanish-speaking locations in Denver, Orange County, NYC, Miami, San Antonio, and San Diego.
Is tattooing a stable career in an AI world?
Tattooing depends on human hands, judgment, and trust between a Tattoo Artist and a client, which AI can’t replicate.
