I've been tattooing A LOT of small child memorial pieces lately. Tattoos often times come in thematic waves, perhaps as a general reminder that we are all strangely connected. It's really amazing actually, even though this particular theme feels very tender. It is making me remember how delicate life really is. How lucky each of us are to be able to tell our stories to each other. To be able to grow up and learn about ourselves, strange habits and dislikes included. To have the pleasure or pain of a song or a smell remind us of the past. It has been helping me put my life in a bit of perspective, once again bringing me back to being extremely grateful that this is the type of work that I do.

There just really aren't enough out there. If you have a favorite leafy grean, sugar snack, or perhaps something that used to grow in your grandma's front yard-get it tattooed on you! It could inspire a memory for you. It may just remind you to eat better. Or better yet, you may just see it and get really excited because you love eating that particular thing so much. Really, what is better than looking down at your body and having excitement rush through it?

I love my clients! So many great ideas. So much inspiring conversation.

I love this part of the process. Twirling the toothpicks in the ink cap to really mix it up. Watching the slightest drop of gray bring a more natural haze to a color. This view of the A&D coated caps and ink smudges are rarely appreciated and I thought that today some focus could be on this color line up.

Are you looking for a tattoo of a bouquet? Or a boutonniere? This artist, Madeline Born, arranges flowers for a living and her work is amazing!

Her website is:
vividfloraldesign.com/flowers.html

My first day of blogging! I'm excited about putting my process of being a tattoo artist into words on a semi-regular basis, as there are so many small miraculous moments in this job that keep me super engaged and that, hopefully, i can bring to light with these posts.

i also intend to speak more here about what inspires me to be creative. Currently I am so so excited about murmurations (a collection of starlings). The way they move across the sky together gives me this unbelievable feeling of connection, community, and artistic fervor.

Paolo Patrizi took these beautiful photographs: