MARIA
ZUNZUNEGUI-NAVARRO

Professional Tattoo Artist

Location:

Mesa, Arizona

Studio:

Ink Hive Tattoo Collective

5050 E University Dr Suite 108

Mesa, Arizona 85205

Specialty:

Black and Grey Realism (open to all styles)

Secret Past Life:

Masters in Accounting, Licensed CPA, and Big 4 Public Accounting

Go-To Vacation Vibe:

Beach Volleyball & Passport Stamps

Favorite Food:

Mocha Almond Fudge Ice Cream

A Bit More About Me

Hi hi! I’m Maria, a black and grey realism tattoo artist based in Mesa, Arizona at Ink Hive Tattoo Collective. My tattoo journey started in August 2024 when I began apprenticing under the insanely talented (and multi-award-winning) Xavier Price. After wrapping up my 8-month apprenticeship with over 180 tattoos, I officially began my professional tattooing career in April 2025. My favorite style to tattoo is black and grey realism, but I'm open to all styles (I never say no to a challenge).

Before all this, I actually spent almost a decade working in Big 4 public accounting. I have my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting and I’m a licensed CPA in the state of Arizona (for now at least). But after years of being a corporate workaholic, I realized that chasing my dreams meant more to me than chasing money. Tattooing was something I always admired from afar, and now I get to wake up every day and do what I love - making meaningful, custom art that lasts forever.

When you’re sitting in my chair, my goal is to make you feel comfortable, safe and seen. Whether it’s your first piece with me or we're finishing your sleeve, I want you to feel as excited about your new tattoo as I am. Outside of the shop, you can usually find me playing beach volleyball, traveling with my partner, or snuggling with my dog, Tofu.

Thanks so much for reading and hope to hear from you soon :)

kloveyoubye! 💕

Feminine fine lines for @laurenn.hh ☺️

Done in July 2025

Learning Moment #7: I’ve said this many times but as a tattoo apprentice, linework was my BIGGEST OP 😤 After I pulled my very first line on fake skin, I had a moment of doubt and thought to myself “there’s no way I can do this, maybe I should stick to accounting” 😭 I was a realism artist on paper, so pulling straight lines was definitely not my strong suit. But after months of practice and direction from my mentor, it slowly started to click. My biggest issue was 1) not stretching the skin enough and 2) not going deep enough to hit the dermis. I was so afraid of blowouts that it took quite a bit of time for me to sink my needle deep enough in the skin to feel the vibration change in my machine. And once I felt the difference and learned how to hold a proper stretch, everything made sense.

For something that felt so impossible at first, I know that consistent practice is what helped me improve every day. I went from 0% single pass lines to 90% since pass lines over the course of 100 tattoos. I just kept envisioning a future version of myself that could pull clean lines without struggling, and that motivated me to keep trying. And even now, I constantly remember the best advice my mentor told me: “pull each line as if it was the entire tattoo. Every single line matters. Take your time and do it right.”

I’m glad I never gave up, but I know I still have plenty to learn and improve upon. Even though my goal is to specialize in black and grey realism, I’m thankful for all the illustrative and lettering projects that come my way because it helps me stay on top of my progress. Maybe one day I’ll be cool enough to hit 100% single pass lines, but that remains to be seen 😂 I’ll keep working hard and practicing, one line at a time :)

TLDR: practice makes progress

#tattoo #tattooartist #arizonatattoo #arizonatattooartist #femaletattooartist #ink #inktherapy #tattooideas #tattoolinework #finelinetattoo

My longest tattoo session so far for @daddy.gzus 🙏🏼

Done in August 2025 :)

Learning Moment #6: After learning more and more about the tattoo industry, there’s one thing I NEVER want to succumb to: my own ego. My mentor taught me early on that this industry is full of narcissists and egomaniacs who think they walk on water because of how talented they are, and they’ll purposely treat others, even their own clients, like absolute garbage. I know for a fact - that could never be me. Growing up, I’ve always stayed pretty humble about my abilities and accomplishments, but I also recognize that my drive and my hard work are what help me reach whatever goal I set for myself. And that goal post continues to move forward every day, because there will never be a day when I can’t improve.

My mentor constantly tells me that I’m doing an exceptional job for a first year artist, and although I appreciate and respect his judgment as a veteran artist himself, I never want his compliments to get to my head. Positive feedback is an amazing feeling, but constructive feedback keeps me growing. I tattoo with confidence because I want my clients to love the art I create for them, but I truly hope that my confidence is never mistaken for arrogance. I have so much more to do and so much left to learn as a tattooer, as an artist, and as a human.

TLDR: stay humble🙏🏼

#tattoo #tattooartist #arizonatattoo #arizonatattooartist #femaletattooartist #ink #inktherapy #tattooideas #blackandgreyrealism #blackandgreytattoo #realismtattoo #snaketattoo

My first sea turtle! Additional florals added in a second session. Thank you for the fun project @f.e.bowie 🫶🏼

Done in July 2025 (first session) and October 2025 (second session)

Learning Moment #5: As a 30-something year old entering the tattoo industry, one of the first things my mentor explained to me was how age doesn’t mean a thing when it comes to talent. “It’s going to happen a lot - you’ll meet people 10 years younger than you that are way better at tattooing. They might wanna teach you some things and give you critiques on your work, and you have to stay humble about that.”

This feeling was actually familiar to me, and it wasn’t a bothersome one at all. In my last career, there were times when I led teams of staff that were older than me, and it was definitely a different dynamic. If I ever corrected them or gave constructive feedback on their work, I remember dealing with more pushback than my other staff. “Do they not respect me because I’m younger than them?” Remembering how it felt not to be taken seriously back then, I made sure to take my mentor’s advice. Age doesn’t matter here. Talent and experience are all that count. And more than anything, I’m extremely proud of the young artists I work with for finding their calling so early in life, and I know I will always be learning from them.

TLDR: Age doesn’t matter! Ok wait out of context this sounds awful so I think you should actually read this one in full 😅

#tattoo #tattooartist #arizonatattoo #arizonatattooartist #femaletattooartist #ink #inktherapy #tattooideas #blackandgreytattoo #blackandgreyrealism #seaturtletattoo #floraltattoo

Black and grey realism TO THE FRONT 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

#tattoo #tattooartist #arizonatattoo #arizonatattooartist #femaletattooartist #ink #inktherapy #tattooideas #blackandgreytattoo #blackandgreyrealism

Another coverup project for Jason! This was also another milestone tattoo for me because it was my first attempt at color realism :) can you spot where the penguin used to be? 😆 thank you for the trust again @jasonnewkicks 🙏🏼

Done in July 2025 :)

Learning Moment #4: As a new tattoo artist, I know that my support system played a huge role in shaping my progress. I have an amazing mentor who will always have my back along with other extremely talented artists in the shop to learn new things from. Having people who believe in you is so motivating, but ironically, the opposite can be just as true.

Whether it was to intimidate me or just to flex on me, there were moments during my apprenticeship where certain artists would try and make me feel small, incapable, or undeserving. I was fresh meat at the bottom of the totem pole, so that’s just how it goes sometimes. I knew my place as an apprentice and wanted to earn my keep, so at first I just tried to ignore the negativity and kept my head down. But over time, I realized that having people doubt my abilities motivated me to work even harder. “People only want your tattoos because they’re free” turned into “Just wait until your tattoos aren’t discounted anymore” and eventually “. . .”

Compared to most apprenticeships, I’m well aware I had it pretty easy. Many people believe in the “old head” way of doing things, where apprentices are hazed and degraded as a means to prove their grit and earn their place. So I get it - for people whose apprenticeships were dehumanizing, it’s annoying seeing a newbie like me build a healthy relationship with her mentor and still succeed. But regardless of what others think, I’m proud of the work I’ve put into learning this craft, and I’m forever grateful for finding such an amazing mentor who believed in me from the start. I’m staying in my lane and competing with myself - what other artists think of me is absolutely none of my business. But once in a while it might just motivate me to keep getting better.

TLDR: haters gonna hate 🤷🏻‍♀️

#tattoo #tattooartist #arizonatattoo #arizonatattooartist #femaletattooartist #ink #colorrealismtattoo
#colortattoo

A feminine, badass wolf for @jsparkpn 🐺

Done in June 2025

Learning Moment #3: As a new tattoo artist, I know that I’ll forever be indebted to the power of social media. My mentor stressed the importance of it to me right away: “You can be a top-notch, highly-skilled tattooer and STILL be hurting for work if you don’t market yourself enough.” To make sure I fully leaned in, my mentor required me to post 3-4 reels every week as an apprentice (and I never missed a mark). As some of you know, I documented my entire apprenticeship journey through daily and weekly vlogs where I shared every errand, assignment, and tattoo that I did. And the more I tattooed, the more progress and content there was for me to share. I also had to throw in some silly videos because it’s fun to make people (even if it’s just myself) laugh.

About 5 months into my apprenticeship, it was obvious that my videos were working. I had appointments every day, 6-7 days a week. My mentor would always cheer me on and tell me that what I was doing wasn’t normal. “It’s hard to gain people’s trust when you’re first starting out, so most apprentices would be sitting at the shop drawing or practicing on fake skin.” And that most likely would have been me if it wasn’t for my social media reach. I’m so thankful for every person who found my videos, took a risk, and let me practice on them.

I know some tattooers really hate creating content, but I actually love it. It’s a fun way to share my work and a little about myself at the same time. It gave me the craziest jump start I could have ever asked for as a newbie to this industry. So if it keeps me busy with fun projects, it’ll always be a win-win in my book.

TLDR: post the damn video!

#tattoo #tattooartist #arizonatattoo #arizonatattooartist #femaletattooartist #ink #inktherapy #tattooideas #blackandgreytattoo #blackandgreyrealism #wolftattoo

For my ✨portfolio✨🙂‍↕️

#tattoo #tattooartist #arizonatattoo #arizonatattooartist #femaletattooartist #ink #inktherapy #tattooideas #blackandgreytattoo #blackandgreyrealism
#colortattoo #tattoophoto

For one of my best friends @gladstone__ 🥰 ilyforever Chenay!

Done in June 2025 :)

Learning Moment #2: As a new tattoo artist, making my own schedule was a completely foreign concept to me. Even during my apprenticeship, my mentor let me choose whenever I wanted to work. But if you let a recovering workaholic pick their own schedule, they’re still gonna come in 6-7 days a week. And even though the long hours aren’t new to me, the ungodly beatdown of body aches and back pain after 8+ hours of tattooing while bent over at a 90-degree angle IS. There have been days when my back pain was absolutely unbearable. I even reached a point where I had a hard time sitting down and standing up normally. I’ve had back pain before from volleyball and sitting at a desk all day, but this was an ABYSMAL level of strain.

By the end of my apprenticeship, I was booking myself 6 days a week for 3 months out, not even thinking about how tired my body would be with only 1 day to recover each week. By mid-summer, I naively booked the rest of 2025 the same way. I finally came to my senses and started booking only 5 days a week, but I won’t get to enjoy that until February 2026 😅. I definitely got a little ahead of myself, but in my defense it’s because I just love tattooing. My ultimate goal is to make this a long-standing career, and I know I can’t do that if I don’t take better care of my body. So in case anyone else needs to hear it: take the time to rest and recover when your mind and body are asking for it.

TLDR: my back hurts 🥴

#tattoo #tattooartist #arizonatattoo #arizonatattooartist #femaletattooartist #ink #inktherapy #tattooideas #fineline #finelinetattoo #colortattoo #stamptattoo #deserttattoo

12 months in with 10 toes DOWN 😤

#tattoo #tattooartist #arizonatattoo #arizonatattooartist #femaletattooartist #ink #inktherapy #tattooideas #blackandgreytattoo #blackandgreyrealism
#colortattoo

My first Medusa tattoo! Started in May 2025 and finished June 2025 :) Thank you Fabian!

Learning Moment #1: As a new tattoo artist, one of the first things I grappled with was the extremely scary concept of complete self-reliance. Before tattooing, I worked in the corporate world where I was paid a handsome salary topped with health & wellness benefits, meal & travel perks, 401K contributions, and even a pension. If I took 2 weeks off from work, I knew my paycheck would still hit my account. If I got sick, I knew my insurance would cover it. It was safe, predictable, and comfortable to say the least.

This new life as a tattoo artist is completely different - no benefits, no health insurance, and no guaranteed measure of income. If I don’t work, I don’t make a dime. If I get sick, I pay out of pocket. The safety net I had before is no longer there, and sometimes it feels like I’m completely exposed and at the mercy of happenstance. No one is deciding what my annual raise or salary should be - it’s up to ME every single day to make this living.

I will admit, when I was doing free tattoos at the beginning of my apprenticeship, all of these changes were always heavy on my mind.

“What if I’m no good at this?”
“What if no one books with me?”
“What if I can’t pay the mortgage?”
“What if I get really sick?”

A year later, and most of these fears have completely dissipated (the only thing I’m still worried about is getting really sick 😂). I can hardly believe it whenever I say this, but y’all, I’m currently 7 months booked out and still booking 😭🙏🏼 There are over 150 of you waiting to get tattooed by me, and that’s absolutely insane. I couldn’t be more grateful - I wake up every single day excited to tattoo and meet new clients. I’m so thankful for this life and I’m gonna stop writing now before I start crying about it again.

TLDR: The trade offs and risks are 100% worth the happiness of being a tattoo artist.

#tattoo #tattooartist #arizonatattoo #arizonatattooartist #femaletattooartist #ink #inktherapy #tattooideas #blackandgreytattoo #blackandgreyrealism #medusatattoo

TOUGHHHHHHHH 😤😤😤😤😤 like tatted-on-the-back-of-both-hands tough 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨

Done in May and June 2025

You’re my hero @iamlizet.t 💪🏼

I love doing hand tattoos but just know that if you ask to book one with me I have to ask you 21 questions about it first. Don’t hate me I just love you 🫶🏼

#tattoo #tattooartist #arizonatattoo #arizonatattooartist #femaletattooartist #ink #inktherapy #tattooideas #blackandgreytattoo #blackandgreyrealism #handtattoos

Who’s that Pokémon?🫐

Done in May 2025 :)

Thank you @impulsivelysimple 🙏🏼

#tattoo #tattooartist #arizonatattoo #arizonatattooartist #femaletattooartist #ink #inktherapy #tattooideas
#colortattoo #pokemon #pokemontattoo

Butterflies for Gabby. It was an honor to do this for you @gabrielleplatte 🫶🏼

Done in May 2025 :)

#tattoo #tattooartist #arizonatattoo #arizonatattooartist #femaletattooartist #ink #inktherapy #tattooideas #blackandgreytattoo #butterflytattoo

Monster jam fans raise your hand!

Done in May 2025 :)

Thank you @ashley_moody89 🫶🏼

#tattoo #tattooartist #arizonatattoo #arizonatattooartist #femaletattooartist #ink #inktherapy #tattooideas #monsterjam #gravedigger
#colortattoo

A rootin’ tootin’ tattoo for Robert 🤠

Done in May 2025!

Thank you for the trust @noderer.robert 🙏🏼

#tattoo #tattooartist #arizonatattoo #arizonatattooartist #femaletattooartist #ink #inktherapy #tattooideas #blackandgreytattoo #blackandgreyrealism
#colortattoo

A pretty poppy flower for her daughter 🥰

Thank you @eerie_fae 🫶🏼

#tattoos #tattooartist #arizonatattooartist #femaletattooartist #floraltattoos #blackandgreyrealism #realismtattoo

Who’s a good boy? 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

Done in May 2025

Thank you @emilysleiman 🙏🏼

#tattoos #arizonatattoo #artizonatattooartist #femaletattooartist #blackandgreyrealism #blackandgreytattoo #petportrait

First time tattooing cherry blossoms in color!

Done in May 2025, which was right after I got to see REAL cherry blossoms in Japan! It was a huge bucket list item for me ever since I was a little girl, so the timing of Amy’s appointment was perfect :)

Thank you @aebevans 🫶🏼

#tattoos #tattooartist #arizonatattoo #arizonatattooartist #colortattoo #floraltattoo #cherryblossomtattoo #femaletattooartist

A handsome little quail for Josie 🥰

Done in April 2025!

Thank you @josie_rosie94 🫶🏼

#tattoos #femaletattooartist #quailtattoo #realismtattoo #blackandgreyrealism #arizonatattoo #arizonatattooartist

My first and definitely not my last Lord of the Rings tattoo! LOTR is the best trilogy of all time and I will DIE on this hill 😤

Done in April 2025 :)

Thank you for the trust @jacobwulfkuhle 🙏🏼

#tattoo #tattooartist #arizonatattoo #arizonatattooartist #femaletattooartist #lotr #sauron #eyeofsauron #colortattoo #blackandgreytattoo

My first anatomical heart! 🫀Done in April 2025 :)

Thank you Jasmine 🙏🏼

#tattoos #blackandgreytattoo #realismtattoo #arizonatattoo #femaletattooartist

Story time: Back in April 2025, I spent all night designing a spine tattoo for an appointment I had the following day. The next morning, my client told me they couldn’t make it after all and unfortunately had to cancel their appointment. I was super bummed about it, but I decided to hang out at the shop anyways. Shortly after, a lovely woman named Toni walked into our shop hoping to get a butterfly tattoo in color. I was happy to take it and super excited because it was only my 3rd walk in ever! We both really liked the way it came out, and apparently so did a lot of people - to date, this butterfly has received the most interaction on social media than any other piece that I’ve done! It also helped me get a BUNCH of new appointments for color tattoos🙏🏼

Moral of the story: when life gives you no shows, shake it off and make cool tattoos :)

Thank you for the trust, @gonzohunters2 ! 🫶🏼

#tattoo #tattoos #tattooartist #arizonatattoo #arizonatattooartist #femaletattooartist #colortattoo #butterflytattoo

Started this sci-fi/fantasy sleeve for Josh back in April! This was my first official “professional” tattoo the day I graduated my apprenticeship :)

Thank you for the trust @taco_josh00 🙏🏼

#tattoos #tattooartist #arizonatattoo #arizonatattooartist #femaletattooartist #finelinetattoo #fantasytattoo #scifitattoo #blackandgreytattoo #stargatetattoo

My first portrait tattoo! I did this piece as an apprentice in March 2025 but I wanted to post it separately because it was a milestone tattoo for me. Portraits and faces are my favorite thing to draw, so I hope I can do more of them in the future!

Shoutout to my mentor @xavierpricetattoo for sitting with me during this tattoo to guide me through it even though we fought about me chasing the stencil half the time 😂

And shoutout to @malicemadetattoo for always letting me practice on him 🙏🏼

#tattoos #apprenticetattoo #blackandgreyrealism #portraittattoo #femaletattooartist

Finally posting still photos of my tattoos, starting from the very beginning :)

Apprentice Tattoo Dump: Black and Grey Realism (December 2024 - April 2025)

MY FAVORITE STYLE!!!!!!! I’m mostly a charcoal portrait artist on paper, so this style feels like home to me. Learning how to work a drop system felt like using different hard/black pencils, so it wasn’t too difficult for me to pick up on. Details are my jammmm 🙂‍↕️ I always get extra excited when a black and grey realism piece comes my way, but that doesn’t mean I won’t stay open to all styles. I just hope I can call myself a specialist in this area one day!!

#tattoos #apprenticetattoos #blackandgreytattoo #blackandgreyrealism #femaletattooartist #arizonatattooartist

Finally posting still photos of my tattoos, starting from the very beginning!

Apprentice Tattoo Dump: Medium Sized + Coverups (December 2024 - April 2025)

After my first 2 months of tattooing small designs, I started getting more comfortable with medium to larger sized pieces. My pace was pretty slow at first, but I could feel myself picking up speed with every tattoo. Honestly I still think I’m pretty slow, but I’d rather take my time and do it right than rush through and not do my best. Everyone tells me that speed will come more with time, so for now I’ll follow my mentor’s advice and not worry about speed - I just wanna do really good tattoos :)

#tattoos #apprenticetattoos #arizonatattoo #femaletattooartist #coveruptattoo

Finally posting still photos of my tattoos, starting from the very beginning :)

Apprentice Tattoo Dump: Illustrative Color (Nov 2024-March 2025)

It’s so funny how I initially didn’t plan on doing any color tattoos since I rarely use color on paper. Black and grey was my comfort zone, but I told my mentor I was open to everything, so he agreed to teach me the basics. After learning how to pack and blend color, I realized how fun it actually is! I’m glad I kept an open mind - some of my favorite tattoos have been my color projects and I’m excited to keep doing more :)

#tattoos #apprenticetattoos #colortattoos #arizonatattoo #arizonatattooartist #femaletattooartist

Finally posting still photos of my tattoos, starting from the very beginning!

Apprentice Tattoo Dump: Fineline (January - March 2025)

Let me tell you, linework was my absolute ENEMY during my apprenticeship 😂 My mentor knew that as a realism artist on paper, linework would be my toughest learning curve (and he was completely right). He knew shading and realism would come naturally to me, so he wanted me to lean heavy into linework first to make sure I didn’t shy away from it. And I’m so glad I followed his advice. Fineline is extremely challenging even though it seems so simple - there’s no where to hide and no room for error. But practice makes progress, and I’m excited to continue developing my fineline skills :) Shoutout to @xavierpricetattoo for being an amazing mentor - thanks for making me better, Coach! 🫶🏼

#tattoos #apprenticetattoos #finelinetattoos #fineline #tattooartist #femaletattooartist

Finally posting still photos of my tattoos, starting from the very beginning!

Apprentice Tattoo Dump: Script and Lettering (Nov 2024-March 2025)

These tattoos really challenged me to work on my precision and control. Tattooing different fonts was also super fun and helped me practice different application methods. Roman numerals seemed to be the hardest for me, but it was great consistency practice. Always grateful for script and lettering projects!

#tattoos #apprenticetattoos #scripttattoos #letteringtattoos #femaletattooartist #arizonatattooartist

Finally posting still photos of my tattoos, starting from the very beginning :)

Apprentice Tattoo Dump: Small Black and Grey Illustrative (Oct-Nov 2024)

When I first started out tattooing on real skin, I was so afraid of blowing out lines. I had an extremely light hand and had to work my way towards tattooing more intentionally and confidently. I learned something new with every tattoo, and I was lucky enough to have consistent practice everyday. To all my clients who were brave enough to let me practice on them: I hope your pockets are always full and your WiFi is always strong 🥰

#tattoos #tattooapprentice #apprenticetattoos #arizonatattoo #femaletattooartist

A little about me for anyone who cares to know :)

Omg didn’t see you there 🫢 #femaletattooartist #arizonatattoo #mesatattoo #tattooshop #arizonatattooartist #shortandtall #tattoo #tattoos #ink

Give me your skin 🙂‍↕️ #femaletattooartist #arizonatattoo #mesatattoo #tattooideas #arizonatattooartist #blackandgreytattoo #colorrealismtattoo #colortattoo #ink #tattoos #tattooartist

11 months ago my mentor showed me how to pull lines on fake skin, and now I’m actually tattooing with him?! Will I ever be this cool again?! 😎 You’re the best, Coach! 🙏🏼

And thanks for sitting Liz, you’re a champ 💪🏼

#femaletattooartist #arizonatattoo #mesatattoo #tempetattoo #tattoos #tattooapprentice #tattoolife #arizonatattooartist #ink #inktherapy #howitstartedvshowitsgoing

Ink Island, USA 👀 #femaletattooartist #arizonatattoo #mesatattoo #tattoolife #arizonatattooartist #tattooideas #tattoo #tattoos #ink #inktherapy #blackandgreyrealism #colortattoo #finelinetattoo

My first Friday the 13th flash event! I had to leave a little early for a weekend trip, but I did 13 tattoos total and had so much fun! Looking forward to the next one already :)

#femaletattooartist #arizonatattoo #mesatattoo #tattooshop #tattoolife #fridaythe13th

Did you book with me yet? 🌝 #tattoos #tattooartist #arizonatattooartist #femaletattooartist #arizonatattoo #mesatattoo #blackandgreytattoo #colortattoo #realismtattoo #alsofuckicedontbookwithmeifyousupportthatshit

Didn’t you get my calendar invite? 🥺 #tattooartist #femaletattooartist #arizonatattoo #mesatattoo #tattooshop #tattoolife #noshow #tattooappointment

Let me get you next 😉 #femaletattooartist #arizonatattoo #mesatattoo #tattoolife #arizonatattooartist #tattooideas #blackandgreyrealism #colortattoos #ink #inktherapy

My official Day 1 as a Tattoo ARTIST!!! Your girl finally GRADUATED!!! 🥳🥳🥳 If you let me tattoo you during my apprenticeship, I hope your pillow is always cold and your WiFi is always strong 🥰 and if you’ve watched my journey from the very beginning, I appreciate you sm for being here!

Biggest thank you ever to @xavierpricetattoo for being such an amazing mentor and human. I appreciate you beyond words, Coach. Like you said, you and I were cut from the same cloth, and it’s been an absolute honor and privilege to learn from you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being my guide, my hype man, my confidence, and my friend throughout this journey.

I also want to thank @alexismarijke.art @malicemadetattoo and @xandratattoos - whether you took the time to show me tips or physically let me tattoo you (shoutout to Drewcifer). You guys were always there to answer my questions and help push me along!

I also have to thank my ugly big sister @stellanspice and my awesome brother-in-law (who I cannot tag) for unknowingly keeping the artist in me alive. The more I lost my way as a corporate workaholic, the less and less I drew. In fact, I stopped drawing all together at one point. My sister and brother-in-law were the ones who gave me reasons to keep drawing, and ironically enough, the realism portraits I gifted to them were the ones that got me my apprenticeship. Love you guys so much!

Last and most importantly, thank you to my amazing boyfriend @dandjesus93 ♥️ Babe, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay you for how drastically you’ve changed my life for the better. In another reality, there’s a version of me that never felt brave enough to chase my dreams of being an artist, and it all hinged on meeting you. You gave me a door to walk through by introducing me to Xavier and then confidently pushed me through it. I thank my lucky stars that fate brought us together. I love you more than you know ♥️

Cheers to the next chapter!! 🥳
#tattooapprentice #tattooapprenticeship #femaletattooartist #arizonatattoo #mesatattoo #tattoolife #arizonatattooartist #grad

How’s it going down there? #tattooshop #tattoolife #arizonatattooartist #femaletattooartist #arizonatattoo #mesatattoo #ink #inktherapy #shortgirl #tallgirl

I’ll pay you $1 to yell “LET HER COOK” in my general direction #tattooapprentice #tattooapprenticeship #apprenticetattoos #femaletattooartist #arizonatattoo #mesatattoo #tattooshop #tattoolife #tattooideas #ink #inktherapy #tattoos

Month 8 as a Tattoo Apprentice! 🌝 #tattooapprentice #femaletattooartist #arizonatattoo #mesatattoo #tattooapprenticeship #tattooshop #tattoolife #arizonatattooartist #apprenticetattoos #tattooideas #ink #inktherapy #blackandgreyrealism #realismtattoo #finelinetattoo #colortattoo

Practice spelled backwards is…

Idk I’m too busy practicing 🙂‍↕️

#tattooapprentice #femaletattooartist #arizonatattoo #mesatattoo #tattooapprenticeship #tattooshop #tattoolife #arizonatattooartist #apprenticetattoos #tattooideas

I cried making this 😂 #tattooapprentice #femaletattooartist #arizonatattoo #mesatattoo #tattooapprenticeship #tattooshop #tattoolife #arizonatattooartist #apprenticetattoos #tattooideas #grateful

My mentor says I’m THIS CLOSE 🤏🏼 Booking July and August, DM me with your ideas!

Week 25 as a tattoo apprentice! Narrated by my boyfriend and mentor while we were drunk in a bar in Japan 😂 @dandjesus93 @xavierpricetattoo #tattooapprentice #femaletattooartist #arizonatattoo #mesatattoo #tattooapprenticeship #tattooshop #tattoolife #arizonatattooartist #apprenticetattoos #tattooideas

I BELIEVE IN YOU 🫵🏼✨ #tattooapprentice #arizonatattoo #mesatattoo #tattooapprenticeship #tattooshop #tattoolife #arizonatattooartist #circletattoo #femaletattooartist #tempetattoo

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MARIA
ZUNZUNEGUI-NAVARRO

A Bit More About Me

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TATTOO ARTIST AT INK HIVE TATTOO COLLECTIVE

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kloveyoubye!

MARIA ZUNZUNEGUI-NAVARRO

A Bit More About Me

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Follow me on Instagram

TATTOO ARTIST AT INK HIVE TATTOO COLLECTIVE

FOLLOW ME

kloveyoubye!

MARIA
ZUNZUNEGUI-NAVARRO