Born as Maud Stevens in Lyon County, Kansas. She became an acrobat and worked in various traveling circuses as an aerialist and contortionist in her youth. At the age of 27 (1904), while performing at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, she met Gus Wagner, a tattoo artist known as the Tattooed Globetrotter. He liked her, and she was fascinated by the art of tattoos, so they agreed on a barter: a date in exchange for a tattooing lesson. She became his canvas and later a tattoo artist herself. Even though the modern machine was available, they used the hand-poked method, working with a manual stick, the last tattoo artists to continue tattooing with the traditional technique.
After a few years, they got married, and soon after, they left the circus to travel in the US, working as tattoo artists and tattooed attractions, performing in vaudeville houses and county fairs. Their traveling brought tattoo artistry from the coastal cities to the inland, growing this art in the US and making it approachable to all, not only sailors and circus performers.
Her tattoos were typical for the early 20th century, including patriotic symbols, women, lions, snakes, butterflies, horses, monkeys, and trees. She even tattooed her name on her arm. At a time when women had limited rights and many social restrictions, she was one of those who broke down the barriers, not only getting tattoos but becoming the first woman in the US to be known as a tattoo artist.
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