You Know When You Just Pick Up a Whole New Career Overnight?

I was getting my throat tattooed by my pal Emily Rose (@emily.rose.tattoos) and we were talking about how to create a fun new collab— it’s called Untethered Altars, and it’s coming so soon!— and when we were finished, she asked if I wanted to apply the tattoo we’d talked about. Previously, I’d said I wished I could give my tattoo artist pals the same gift of body art that they give me, and she said I should tattoo her sometime. I said it sounded fun, and I made a small sheet of little flower designs. So, that night that my throat had its ink freshly put in, I tattooed Emily Rose, and as she praised me for my solid lines, the thrill of doing something new— and doing it pretty well for a beginner— set in. The adrenaline rush. In a few minutes, my tiny design was complete and I was hooked. We went back to my place to eat takeout and watch movies, and I applied for my Bloodborne Pathogens certificate. I began collecting supply lists. I purchased sanitation supplies and arranged to borrow a friend’s machine. Suddenly, literally overnight, I had started the process of learning to tattoo.

The tiny flower I drew for Emily Rose, directly after application.

This piece was designed to be a doodle, uneven, and imperfect. It is the first tattoo I’ve ever done.

At this point, nearly two months since that first tattoo, I’ve tattooed six times. I’m currently planning my seventh and eighth, both on fellow tattooers, and I’m truly enjoying the process which I’ve started calling “extreme drawing.” It’s art, but with the high stakes of being permanently attached to a person! It’s a medical procedure, which I’m very much aware of, and the sanitation practice has been a major focus of my time getting to know this skill. It informs everything from set up to application and aftercare— it has to be a central part of the process. That’s the most intimidating thing to me— safety. Ensuring that it’s clean, as safe as possible, and that whoever I tattoo ends up with something they love, and not an illness or infection. So far, everything has been healing beautifully! Thanks to my tattoo artist pals lending their knowledge and the very few resources I’ve found online, this process has been— yes, stressful because I care about quality, but— overall surprisingly accessible.

Roxy, right after getting her Tommy Forever memorial portrait.

This was my third tattoo.

I know that not everyone has a community ready & willing to help them grow in this way, I acknowledge that the accessibility I’m experiencing is influenced by several factors. I hope that, as I gain more and more access to knowledge and tools, that I’m able to share the kind of support I’ve been given.

A calf with wings and a flower crown for my Taurus love.

This was my second tattoo.

A sweet bull growing flowers for Candace.

My fifth tattoo.

These are the first few attempts of my new trade. I’m very proud of the work I’ve created, and I can’t wait to see what else comes of this new skill. This new method of creating art is extremely rewarding and exciting, and I’m so grateful for the support of my friends who are assisting me in learning and especially those willing to trust me with their skin. What a beautiful experience this is turning out to be.

If you’d like to follow my tattooing adventure more closely, I recommend joining my Patreon where I share updates very regularly, under the absolutely terrible title “The Tattoo Files” because I couldn’t think of a good one. If you decide to read my silly little entries (and gain access to all the freebies I post!), it would support my work in all its many forms, and of course— it would mean so much to me.