This won’t be your usual hop into a tattoo studio and get a drawing and a tattoo all in one night. Sorry. Yes, it can be done! Many other extremely talented artists do this! Alas, not I.
Here’s the thing-I really want to give you what you want. In the beginning, neither of us know exactly what that is. I prefer to take a storytelling approach to your tattoo project, rather than just take your list of wants and slap those images on your body without a care of composition, or flow, or fit. Like a collage of stickers. Not knocking the tattoo collector style of many small tattoos making up a sleeve or torso, but it’s just not how my creative brain works. Undoubtedly, you’ll give me the list and have an idea of this sort of collage of those images in your head, but what you end up with, neither of us will expect. I work hard to give everyone their unique story, their very own imagery that is imaginative, sometimes, surreal, sometimes whimsical and fantastical. This, for me, takes blood, sweat, tears, sleepless nights, many hours of research, many hours of soul-searching and contemplating concepts for your project that best represent your desires and story, many many hours at the drawing process. It can take me days, it can take me a year, but generally it takes a couple months. To be honest, I’m a total pain in the ass to work with. I make no bones about it. On top of my grueling creative process, I have crazy back and hand issues that my beloved tattooing had a hand in, but also migraines here and there, the occasional dog escape adventure, and some days, I just don’t feel creative. However, I will ALWAYS communicate and your are ALWAYS welcome to text me whatever and whenever you want. I ask of you patience and flexibility and in return, I will put my soul into your tattoo project.
Tattoos are just as expensive as fine art, but you can’t take this art off the wall when it doesn’t match your couch anymore. So, with that in mind, I feel my creative process honors the gravity of giving and receiving a tattoo, no matter how big or small.
When you come get tattooed by me, your experience will be solo, all eyes on you. You’ll lay on pillows and a sheet instead of plastic-I want my clients to be as comfortable as possible. You can watch movies, you can listen to music with me-I’ve been told I have pretty great playlists. You can listen to your headphones. You should know I don’t do a lot of talking while tattooing. I’m concentrating!!! And, if you’re talking, you’re moving and even slight movements of head or hand or breath can be disruptive. I like to say “The straight lines are mine, the crooked ones are yours…forever”. Pretty sure my teacher used to say it to his clients. I am not of the philosophy that I want to talk my clients heads off as a distraction from pain. Quite the opposite in fact. I want you to be in your body, limp like a noodle and doing nothing but getting tattooed. This is one of the only times in the constant motion of your life to actually sit still and focus on no one but yourself. For hours!! It’s a treat. It’s therapeutic. It’s rejuvenating. It’s all about you.
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