She’s A Tattoo Artist, And She’s Legally Blind

by Kevin Burton

   I should probably just be quiet. Been sitting on this story for a while. Should I do it?

   For a while there I made a career out of advocating for the blind. I’ve made a lot of speeches, tried to talk sense into sighted hiring managers to give us blind people a chance.

   But here’s a story out of Poland, Ohio that brought me up short. No, actually, it stopped me cold, got me saying no, no a thousand times no. This is about a legally blind woman, doing tattoos.

   It was written by WKBN-TV27, Youngstown, Ohio.

   “Nicole Morrone was born legally blind, but she still creates detailed, colorful artwork — on her clients’ skin.”

   “Morrone is an award-winning tattoo artist who was born with nystagmus. Her eyes uncontrollably shake and can’t focus on objects far away.”

   “I can only see clearly a few inches in front of me. My vision is 20/400, and it’s quite impaired from that,” Morrone said. “I can legally tattoo, but I cannot legally drive. And I had always just been fascinated by tattooing ever since I was in high school.”

   “She has a degree in studio art and had a few different careers before jumping into tattooing two years ago.”

   “The owner of Trademarked Society Tattoo in Poland, Ohio, took a chance on her and gave her an apprenticeship. Now, she’s booked months out.”

   “At first, it was kind of like something that I felt like I had to warn people about,” Morrone said. “Now, it’s just really become part of my brand and just part of who I am, and I’ve embraced it.”

   “She has won several awards for her expressive, colorful pieces.”

   “I just love playing with color. I love expressing myself through color,” Morrone said. “It’s something that I don’t have to look close at to see.”

   “She wasn’t always so comfortable talking about her visual impairment. The support of her family, friends, coworkers and clients has given her the courage.”

   “I’ve never had a client, like, not want to get tattooed because of my condition or because of my disability,” Morrone said. “They’ve just all super embraced it. They loved my story, which made me want to share it.”

   She recently made a video sharing her story, and it’s gotten over 100,000 views.

   “I didn’t know until I had a tattoo machine in my hand if I could do it,” Morrone said. “This is the best thing I’ve ever done for myself.”

   “Good for her but it’s a no from me,” said Antoinette Gurule, who commented on a Facebook story about Morrone.

   I wish WKBN had quoted or at least identified the Trademarked Society Tattoo owner, who had the courage to hire Morrone. They deserve some credit too. I didn’t see anything on their website or Facebook page that identifies who owns the shop.

   I’m not the best one to be talking about this. My queasiness here is about tattooing in general. I don’t want anything printed on my skin, unless maybe it’s a stamp on the back of the hand that gets me into a local rock and roll concert by an up-and-coming band.

   That’s as much ink as I’m willing to take. And I’m not subjecting myself to any pain to get it.

   Morrone’s 20/400 vision is plenty good enough, no barrier at all to doing art. I know blind artists who do impressive work. But that’s pictures on paper or canvas, not pictures on me.

   Seriously though, good for Morrone. She is obviously more successful than I ever was at overcoming people’s doubts about the capabilities of the blind.

  I mean it’s all well and good to root for the underdog, or applaud a worker with unconventional methods or backgrounds. But Morrone’s clients have skin in the game – literally.