Todd Wilson is an artist at Icon Tattoo & Piercing, 115 E. Lytle St., Murfreesboro, and is also the owner of Two-Tone Art Gallery.

Murfreesboro Pulse: What made you decide to become a tattoo artist?
Wilson: I didn’t want to be a tattoo artist until I got my first tattoo. Until then I thought that they weren’t real art. I came from a small town that didn’t have much love for tattoos.

What was your experience learning the art and process of tattooing like?
Sometimes I think going to hell would have felt like a nice vacation. I washed cars in miniskirts, did more yard work than I thought was possible, and suffered many other indignities. I never regretted it. I didn’t know it at the time but that training shaped my character and turned me into the person I needed to be to do the job.

What do you do, if anything, to make your clients feel more at ease and, as a tattoo artist, how big of a responsibility do you feel that is?
I try to make people feel comfortable; I try to play relaxing music, and help people stay calm. It’s a super-big deal, and neither party can forget that the decisions made in the process will be permanent

Where do you find inspiration, and is this something you get a chance to incorporate into your work? Or is it left out since most people already know what they want as a tattoo?
Being an artist outside of tattooing I can honestly say that I look up to every other artist or anyone brave enough to try to brighten the word through expression. When it comes to doing tattoos I always try to make it better than what the client comes in with.

How often do people give you creative control?
People often allow me to do whatever I want on their tattoos; I never really questioned why. (P.S. Rest in peace, tribal. Please stay dead.) [referring to the trend of tribal tattoos]

View more work from Todd Wilson here