Creativity meets corporate

S
ade Terblanche recently joined the EY Africa team as an auditing assistant. Her passions include tattoo artistry (a full-time job) and living life to the fullest while also studying for the ITC. With a full schedule such as hers, we wonder where she gets the time to do anything else?

EY: Tell us more about your role at EY and your role as a tattoo artist.

Sade: I am currently involved in auditing asset management entities and/or departments within the financial services sector. I started in January this year and so I am still finding my feet. I also work as a tattoo artist in the time I’m not hard at work at EY. I worked as a tattoo artist in 2019 and 2020 while completing my undergraduate and honours degrees and I design tattoos for clients based on their ideas and concepts and then tattooed the image.

EY: How do you think the two roles complement each other and inspire each other?

Sade: The contrasts are far more obvious and numerous than the similarities. I believe the two roles complement each other in that both require strict attention to detail and continuous learning.

In both, you need to have a solid reputation because you are in a position of trust, although with tattooing that trust is on an individual level and not on a public level.

I believe that continuing to follow my passion in the creative arts provides balance to my life and allows me to be creative as well as practical.  Managing the tattooing whilst studying also taught me rather immense discipline.  When one tattoos a client, they often talk in detail about very personal things (as to the meaning of the tattoo, for example) and this has taught me to be a better listener and to see the world from many different perspectives. Obviously, the need for confidentiality in both professions are important.