NORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. Through the doors of a quiet tattoo shop in North Kansas City, Missouri, a local artist sits in a small room, carefully laying out her tools for her first appointment of the day.

Her neck and arms are covered in elaborate designs, and her hair is rolled up in a messy bun, showing the bright green underlayer of her hair. But despite this edgy, rock-star appearance, she speaks gently and with empathy as she prepares her first client for the healing journey that is about to begin.

Kat Farris has been working at Enova Ink and Body Art for nearly two years. For the last year, she has been offering clients a unique special that has the power to turn a difficult piece of their past into a beautiful work of art.

“So, for about the last year now, I have been working with people on like, discounted rate tattoos, or free tattoos, or for people that have had to deal with a plethora of issues, from self-harm scars to domestic violence scars, suicide attempt scars, anything like that,” Farris said.

Kansas City tattoo artist discovered passion for art at young age

Farris discovered her passion for art at a young age and would even sell her work to businesses in her hometown of Harrisonville, Missouri. And in some cases, like at her local bank, customers could walk in and find her artwork hanging on the wall.

“I remember my mom coming home to me one day. She was like, ‘I’m standing in line at the bank, and I looked over, and there was this piece of art on the wall,” Farris said. “She goes, ‘It was super cool. Of course, I went over there to look at it and looked at the name tag, and it was yours.'”

Over time, this creative outlet grew into a full-fledged career for Farris, and eventually, she joined the Enova team.

Once she started, though, it took Farris very little time to discover there was a need for a specific type of service — one that focuses on self-harm scars and cosmetic tattoos especially amongst women.

“When I first started tattooing, there wasn’t a lot of females in the tattoo community,” Farris said.

“And so, when it came to self-harm scars, there were a lot of females that were afraid to go talk to a man about getting such an intimate part of their past covered. So, when I got into the industry, I started tattooing a lot of females, and it was something that casually, women were starting to work into conversations like, ‘Oh, hey, how do you feel about, you know, covering this?'”

“And I realized that there was a huge demand for women seeking another woman to help them basically cover that part of their past.”

Artist helps clients create meaningful tattoos

Despite being a valuable resource for women, her services extend to every person who walks through Enova’s door.

Take 18-year-old Jacob Jones, for example. Jones, a Lee’s Summit native, faced struggles with self-harm in the past. But, through Farris’ artistry, he said he can start the process of healing.

“This is important to me because I’ve dealt with self harm before, and I’ve had suicide attempts, but I’ve learned that life is worth living, and I want to, I want, like, a memento and a reminder that just like tell me to move on from that and to keep me from going back to where I was,” Jones said.

With the help of Farris, Jones was able to design a tattoo that was creative and personal.

They both settled on an ornate pendant tattoo over his left wrist. Inside the pendant, a swirling pool of red, blue, green and yellow watercolor ink with a large semicolon in the center a piece Farris had previously tattooed.

“I’m wanting to get a pendant of like a semicolon over here, just like to remind myself that life is worth living and we gotta move forward and just move on past what we’ve been through,” Jones said.

In the tattoo world, the semicolon is a small yet bold statement, reminding people that although hardships may put life on pause, there is still hope that you can pick up the pieces and carry on.

Tattoo artist’s friend wanted to reclaim her past

According to Farris, her introduction to self-harm-covering tattoos began through a personal connection one of her close friends.

She said her friend had a history of self-harm and wanted to reclaim her past and feel more confident in her body.

“One of my best friends, she self-harmed scarred when she was younger, and it was something that she really struggled with as an adult, just being confident in her own body, with it as she grew,” Farris said.

“She ended up getting a position as a teacher, and, you know, her little kids would be asking her questions about it that she didn’t really feel comfortable explaining to children, you know. So it’s just a part of her, her past that she really wanted to cover up, and I really wanted to help her in that journey.”

Kansas City artist wants to give people a fresh start

Since offering this service, Farris has helped dozens of clients find strength and confidence through a reimagined canvas.

Her motivation for doing so? A genuine desire to give someone a fresh start.

“I feel like, especially with self-harm scars, or like suicide attempt scars, that’s something that’s really personal to that person that they don’t really want to like talk about. They don’t want to relive that trauma,” Farris said.

“So, helping somebody get rid of that entirely to where, when they look down, they’re like, ‘Oh, my God, that’s beautiful!’ Instead of being, ‘Oh my god, I hate myself,’ you know. I’m all about helping somebody do that.”

Word of Farris’ work and her unique offer has spread throughout the local tattoo community and on social media. Her clientele has now grown into a diverse community of loyal customers and supporters.

Kansas City tattoo artist wants to help those with cancer, stretch marks

From mothers and fathers to barely out-of-school teens to individuals simply trying to heal from a rough past, Farris extends her artistry to anyone and everyone who needs help, and she said she plans to offer this service for the rest of her career.

“I will do this for the rest of my life,” Farris said. “But I also want to get into cosmetic tattooing.”

She added that at some point down the line, she plans to learn how to tattoo permanent makeup for clients with other types of insecurities, like cancer patients who have lost their eyebrows or mothers who have stretch marks.

“That’s all definitely coming down the road. It’s coming down the pipeline right now. But I want to be able to help everybody in any type of beautifying situation,” she said.

Until then, Farris will continue honing her craft, building relationships and reminding clients that beauty can always be found in brokenness.

For more information about Kat Farris’ services, click here.