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attoo artist Nadya ‘Nadcil’ Natassya was sitting comfortably as she drew a colorful design for her client while listening to a playlist of chill-out music in her studio, Sidespace Tattoo Parlor, in Kuningan, South Jakarta, on Saturday.

Her colleagues, two male tattoo artists and a female apprentice who were on duty that day, were at their stations tattooing their own clients.

“In this day and age, there is no segregation between male and female tattoo artists. What matters is your work,” Nadcil told The Jakarta Post.

She has been tattooing since 2008, learning the art herself through friends and experience.

“In the tattoo industry, we pass skills down to the next generation like you would in a Shaolin temple,” she said with a laugh. “You come to an artist you admire and learn from them.”

Nadcil holds a bachelor’s degree in visual communication design and used to work in an office as a product designer. She used to tattoo her clients in her apartment only during her spare time. However, as her clientele grew bigger, she saw an opportunity to become a full-time tattooist.

After years of working solo or in other people’s studios, she decided to open her own parlor in February this year.

With a decade of experience under her belt, Nadcil has made a name for herself, with prominent celebrities listed as her clients. For her signature-style watercolor illustrations, she sets her hourly rate at Rp 1.65 million (US$113.43). For people who want to be inked by her hands, the waiting list is up to a year.

Although business is now her top priority, Nadcil also aims to pass down her skills and knowledge on the body art to other aspiring female tattoo artists.

Jennifer Florencia, 22, joined Nadcil’s studio in July, where she works as a tattoo artist but is also still as a student to her boss.

“I liked drawing ever since I was a little girl but never really pursued it. Only when I entered the tattoo scene did I find a way to live out my passion,” she said.

Nadcil had agreed to mentor Jenni after reviewing photos of her illustrations.

As an apprentice of an experienced tattoo artist, Jenni said she learned all the basics: setting up a hygienic station, creating designs that can be transferred to the human skin, mastering the technique to inject colors to the skin and much more.

Before trying it out on human skin, Jenni practiced by tattooing fruits for a whole month to familiarize herself with the tattoo gun.

Because of her day job at a private-sector company, Jenni can only tattoo clients on the weekends. As a new tattoo artist, unlike Nadcil, who charges clients by the hour, Jenni’s rates range from Rp 800,000 to Rp 900,000 depending on the complexity of the design.

In West Jakarta, another female tattoo artist, Christine So, owns and runs the Revolver tattoo parlor at Metro Park Residence in Kebon Jeruk.

Venturing into the tattoo business in 2011, Christine said she had initially learned tattooing from friends, before enrolling in a four-month course at the Kent Tattoo Studio in Bandung, West Java.

She ran her parlor with a colleague named Jessica, who was initially her client.

“Maybe she was impressed, because I had brought my own design, instead of having her draw one for me. And then she offered me an apprenticeship,” Jessica said.

In the apprenticeship, Christine taught Jessica various styles to make her versatile.

The two women have the same hourly rate of Rp 1.5 million for new tattoos and Rp 1.75 million for cover-up tattoos.