Rising Stars: Meet Maiza Albuquerque of National

Today we’d like to introduce you to Maiza Albuquerque.

Maiza, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
# From a Young Mother in Brazil to a Tattoo Artist Building a Life Around Her Art

I was born in the countryside of Pernambuco, Brazil, and I grew up in a difficult environment. I always wanted freedom, but I didn’t know what that freedom would look like or how I could build a different life for myself.

At 18, I left home and moved to São Paulo, hoping to find new possibilities. I never imagined that tattooing would become my career. In fact, I could barely draw at the time.

Then, my life changed completely.

A few days after the end of my first serious relationship, I discovered I was pregnant. The father decided he didn’t want to be part of our lives, and suddenly I was facing motherhood alone, far from the life I had imagined.

I was earning less than $150 a month, sometimes eating only once a day. I was depressed and terrified about the future. I wanted to give my son a good life, but I couldn’t see how I was going to make that happen.

During that period, I started painting.

I would spend hours painting my ideas, sometimes crying while I worked. I didn’t know it then, but those paintings were opening a new door for me. My boss at the time encouraged me to learn tattooing, believing it could give me a way to support my son.

So I started practicing every Sunday, tattooing for free and painting every day.

After my son was born, he developed serious health problems and spent two months in intensive care. He needed special milk that we could barely afford. My family sold belongings to help us survive, and I reached a point where I had to make one of the most difficult decisions of my life.

I decided to leave my son with my mother and return to São Paulo to find work as a tattoo artist.

It wasn’t because I wanted to be away from him. It was because I wanted to create a future where I could provide for him. I had to choose between staying close to him in a situation where we had almost nothing, or facing the pain of being apart while trying to build something better for us.

I chose to try.

I found work in a tattoo studio, earning very little and often having no clients. I barely knew how to draw, but somewhere inside me, I believed I was going to become an artist. I couldn’t explain why. I simply couldn’t imagine giving up.

For years, I worked, studied, improved my art, and saved money. Eventually, an opportunity to travel to Europe opened up a new possibility I had never considered before: building an international career as a tattoo artist.

That first trip changed how I saw the world and what I believed was possible for my life.

Over time, I began traveling internationally for guest spots, meeting people from different cultures, developing my artistic style, and creating a career that allowed me to experience life beyond the limits I once knew.

Today, after 11 years as a tattoo artist and five years traveling the world, my relationship with art has become much deeper than technique or making a living.

I want to create original artwork that expresses how I see the world. I want my tattoos to carry meaning, emotion, and a connection to something personal within each person who wears them.

I also want to help other tattoo artists understand that their current circumstances don’t have to define their future. I know what it feels like to have a dream without knowing how to reach it, to doubt yourself, and to keep moving forward without guarantees.

My journey began when I was a young mother trying to survive. Today, I’m building a life around art, freedom, and the possibility of becoming who I truly want to be.

And perhaps the most important thing I’ve learned is that you don’t need to know exactly how your story will unfold before you begin. Sometimes, you just need to keep taking the next step, even when you are afraid.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My work comes from a rich world of imagination, where mystical creatures, hybrid beings, and botanical details meet. Nature is an important element in my art, bringing an earthy feeling to these imaginary worlds.

I love playing with the boundary between what is real and what isn’t. The shapes I create don’t always exist in the real world, but somehow, they feel real within their own universe. My work isn’t minimalist; it’s rich in details, forms, and unexpected combinations, with no limits to where imagination and creativity can go.

I love creating pieces that make people stop and look twice. Sometimes they feel fascinated, sometimes confused, sometimes even a little disturbed. And I love that. I want people to look at my work and wonder, What am I looking at? What is happening here?

I once heard that good art evokes emotions and questions, and that idea has stayed with me ever since. It shaped the way I see art and the kind of artist I want to be.

What I’m most proud of is developing a visual world that feels like my own, rather than following trends or trying to make my work fit into what people already expect from tattooing.

For me, art doesn’t always need to be immediately understood or explained. Sometimes, its beauty is in the mystery, in the details you discover after looking a little longer, or in the strange feeling it leaves you with.

I want my work to create that moment of curiosity — when something feels unfamiliar, yet somehow draws you in. A little strange, a little mystical, and open to everyone’s own interpretation.

What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to me is serving people through my art. I love helping people express parts of themselves that may feel unusual, mystical, or difficult to explain. I often notice that the people who connect with my work share something with me, and that’s where the magic happens.

Throughout my career, clients have told me how their tattoos gave them confidence, courage, or a reminder of the person they want to become. For me, art has the power to bring something we feel inside into the physical world, allowing us to connect with it and carry it with us.

Pricing:

• +++3 500usd

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/withmaizah/

Image Credits
Those photos were taken during my tattoo sessions in nature, where I bring together three things that are deeply important to me: art, travel, and wellness. My sessions are designed to be more than a tattoo appointment — they offer a space to slow down, reconnect with yourself, and experience art in a peaceful, natural environment.