Meet Donatella Azygous | Entrepreneurial Artist & Tattooer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Donatella Azygous and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Donatella, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My thought process behind creating the Azygous Art Haüs was that I wanted to create a new approach to being tattooed. I wanted a studio that felt like an immersive art experience rather than a Tattoo shop. I know for a lot of my clients and a lot of first time receivers of tattoos walking into a traditional tattoo shop can be a rather intimidating experience. I sought to create the antithesis of that by providing clients with a safe, nurturing, private, and inspiring environment in which to receive their ink.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
To choose the life of an artist I don’t think is ever an easy path. It feels more like a tumultuous roller coaster filled with quickly fleeting accomplishments and harsh self criticism. Even then I still wouldn’t choose anything else. Every hardship, every failure and every setback has shaped me into a stronger version of myself. More capable of dealing with the challenges that life throws at me. I’ve been surrounded by amazing examples that taught me and guided me and I’ve also been surrounded by people that taught me what not to do and how not to behave, I think that it’s key to evolution of the self to be able to calmly navigate the seas of life, observe and learn, from every occurrence, whether positive or negative.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’d definitely start a visit to LA with lunch at one of my favorite Mexican seafood restaurants, Holbox- their shrimp cocktail, and everything else is to die for. A visit to the Broad museum to see their latest exhibit. Maybe a little shopping at Westfield Century City, followed by dinner at my favorite, Italian rooftop restaurant, Terra. End the night with catching a movie at the Alamo in downtown or with a cocktail at Cara Cara.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d love to thank all of the mentors and guides that I have had in my artistic career. My amazing cousin, Chef Karla Lemos that introduced me to the world of tattooing by chance, Sneeks from Deadmans studio that gave me the opportunity to learn how to tattoo, Defier from Forgotten Art that always pushed me critically, Erik Mark Sandberg for shaping me as an artist, Freddy Negrete for always believing in me and all of my amazing clients for trusting me & my vision.

Website: DonatellaAzygous.com

Instagram: Donatella.azygous

Linkedin: Donatella Azygous

Image Credits
@baz Did the photos