PASSING THE MIC TO PEOPLE MAKING A DIFFERENCE:
As we've been showing you all month through our special series, there are all kinds of ways people can give back and make a difference.
We've shared the voices of a police officer changing kids' lives, a farmer sharing his love of agriculture, a professor who started swim classesfor kids with autism, and abarber who started life as an orphan, but now shares his story of success with others as a form of inspiration.
In this week's installment, we want to introduce you to someone else who gives back in another unique way.
Once a philosophy major destined for law school, this local tattoo artist took a chance to pursue her passion for art, leading to a 21-year career creating one-of-a-kind, wearable art.
JESSIE'S STORY:
Jessie Hopeless is an award-winning tattoo artist in Kansas City, Missouri.
Hopeless is so in demand she often has clients waiting several years to see her.
A big part of why people wait for Jesse is the quality of her work, the intricate designs, and the painstaking attention to detail.
She said her style is hard to describe, more eclectic than anything else.
"I enjoy realism, so you know realistic, portrait-style stuff with hand-drawn things, and sometimes patterns or like a designing motif kind of stuff," she adds.
Her beautiful, bold pieces are a draw to those who grace her tattoo table. But that's not the only reason she's so popular in the metro area and beyond.
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Just like her work isn't one-dimensional, neither is her job.
Sitting in on one of her sessions, you quickly realize she's essentially creating permanent, commissioned artwork, administered with kindness and compassion, helping people celebrate the joy of the piece she's creating or walking them through a journey of grief as they commemorate a loss.
"I've done full arms dedicated to children that have been lost, or you know pets that have been loved or lost," she said. "Tattooing is so personal, getting tattooed is so personal, so... I get to like, actually connect with people, you know, and hear real stuff."
As the sides of artist and confidant converge, Jessie's able to connect with her clients and leave a lasting impression.
"She shared as much as I did, and that was unexpected, I guess," Matt Hazlett, a client said. "And so I left feeling more like a friend than I did a client, and that was very unique."
Like many others before him, he'd been waiting a couple of years to get in to see Jessie so she could create a large sleeve to honor his wife of almost 30 years.
"I'm getting a three-quarter sleeve, and it's a tattoo of Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and that's where my wife and I got married," Hazlett said.
In addition to replicating a historic building, Jessie and Matt came up with smaller details to sprinkle throughout the piece to pay homage to Matt and his wife's love story and the couple's four daughters.
The size and scope of the piece will take multiple sittings before it is complete.
Matt says the hours spent sitting patiently fly by as he and Jessie share the give and take of conversation, connecting in a unique way, if only for a matter of hours.
Because so many of her pieces are so elaborate and because she's so in demand, Jessie has to say no to a lot of people.
By being selective about the pieces she says yes to, she ensures she's putting in her very best work while doing something that fulfills her creatively.
"I do whatever feels fun at the moment, you know? And I'm really glad that other people think that's good because I'm just doing what I think is fun!" Jessie exclaims with a laugh.
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