Roots Local Artist of the Month: Rae Brooks-Pauli finds spiritual connection through intuitive-based tattooing

From a young age, Rae Brooks-Pauli found themself drawn to a spiritual nature and discovered art as a strong medium to connect their stories with others. Now, as an intuitive-based tattoo artist, mentor and business owner, Brooks-Pauli seeks methods to establish a deeper connection between their artistry and clients' spirituality. 

Through hard work and dedication to their craft, Brooks-Pauli is set to open their own studio, Haven Tattoo Studio, in Ypsilanti at the end of January 2026. The private studio will allow for deeper client connection and future personal and professional growth. 

Before tattooing, Brooks-Pauli followed their mother down a path of education and creation through a variety of avenues, including coaching, childcare and a year of teaching. After teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, Brooks-Pauli decided that education was not the right path for them.  

Brooks-Pauli entered the tattoo industry in 2021, seeking a career with flexibility. After finding an apprenticeship to fill summer break, Brooks-Pauli made the career shift into tattooing at the age of 22. 

While exploring their artistic style in tattooing, Brooks-Pauli prioritized learning as much as possible from multiple artists. Finding their style took time, as they searched for what came most naturally and with ease. Drawing from childhood experiences, Brooks-Pauli found that floral, organic and free shapes connected them back to memories of playing and planting in the garden with their mom. Natural creatures, including insects, animals and birds, are other sources of inspiration for the artist as well.

Learning from other tattoo artists consistently helped Brooks-Pauli foster authenticity and honesty with clients. Brooks-Pauli seeks continuous improvement with themself and found that learning to be more honest, kind and supportive in their personal life helped elevate their client experiences.

Eventually, Brooks-Pauli found themself addicted to work and functioning within a scarcity mindset, which they found physically and emotionally draining. Knowing that a change needed to be made, the artist worked through this period by nourishing their body and mind with meditation and mindfulness exercises to find inner peace and establish a work-life balance. 

“I ground myself, practice routine and lifestyle changes and commit to myself," Brooks-Pauli said. "I don't find myself overextending myself because I don't feel like I have to with these systems in place.” 

Creating a sustainable lifestyle and allowing for personal growth increased their demand and anticipation of future work. Once Brooks-Pauli found that taking breaks increased their creative flow, it became an established part of their regimen.

After moving from their first studio, Brooks-Pauli's artistic style transitioned from traditional tattooing work into experimenting with intuitive-based tattooing. Intuitive-based tattooing is a spiritual artistic process where the artist and client collaborate to create a tattoo based on current themes, experiences and the energy in the client's life. This transition increased Brooks-Pauli’s desire to create a meaningful connection with their artistry and bring tattooing back to its roots.

Brooks-Pauli finds intuitive-based tattooing as a way to fuel the mind-body connection through astrology and tarot readings. The artist has studied astrology for the last decade and is currently working toward completing a natal chart delineation certification at Kepler University. These methods can individualize the tattooing practice by connecting art to patterns, cycles and themes occurring in clients' lives.

“It’s beautiful that the planets and the stars create metaphors and bring out stories to life, and whole perspectives, and connect us with humanity,” Brooks-Pauli said.

In the beginning stages of tattooing and establishing their artistic identity, Brooks-Pauli sought out mentorship from Aubri McEachern, owner of Rat King Tattoo. Under McEachern's guidance, Brooks-Pauli practiced neutrality, boundary and energy work and learned how to stay grounded during tattooing sessions. These methods are important to intuitive tattooing work as they are vital to establishing a strong artist-client connection.

In June of 2025, Brooks-Pauli officially rebranded their tattoo brand, formerly known as Luminous Lamb Tattoo, to Rae Brooks Artistry. Originally, the name was a premature decision as Brooks-Pauli moved from a previous studio. In their new era of tattooing, Brooks-Pauli felt it was time to step back into themselves and bring their name into their brand.

Rebranding also came with new client offerings. Brooks-Pauli now offers more intuitive tattooing packages, along with mentorship and apprenticeship opportunities as well.  

Brooks-Pauli knew that mentorship would be a part of their future. Through their rebranding, the artist has been able to reconnect with their roots in education and create tattoo apprenticeships with more nuance than the industry standard. Brooks-Pauli seeks to curate apprenticeship experiences in this way to decrease gatekeeping in the industry.

“I really want to be the person that can help others flip the script in their lives, make changes in their life and help those with similar situations as I,” Brooks-Pauli said.

Intuitive tattoo bookings are set to reopen with Brooks-Pauli on Jan. 31, 2026, at Haven Tattoo Studio. For bookings and more, those interested can visit Brooks-Pauli's website, raebrooksartistry.com. Brooks-Pauli's mailing list is found at the bottom of the homepage on their website, which can be joined for updates on tattoo openings and more. Brooks-Pauli can also be found on Instagram @raebrooksartistry.