Lore

WHO I AM

Im a 22 year old tattoo artist based in Columbus, OH where I live with my boyfriend along with my dog, Melly, two cockatiels, Kulfi and Boba, and the newest craziest addition, my kitten, Baby Appleseed.

Outside of working, I’m usually drawing, playing nostalgic games like Wizard101, doing puzzles, and falling unnecessarily deep into the depths of a topic on Youtube (As of writing this im learning about the process of making leather dress shoes from scratch).

My favorite game series is Danganronpa, and favorite movie series is Harry Potter. ~I’m a Ravenclaw~

I love diving into anything with an extensive and MESSY plot.

In terms of music, my taste is absolutely all over the place. The majority of my playlists are things I would probably never play for someone else out of embarrassment LOL. I’ve always had a particular love for Japanese alternative and metal music. Ive also spent many hours learning Japanese, although its been on hiatus for a long time as I’ve been needing to spend my hours elsewhere.

I’ve always been the type to hyperfocus and become deeply invested into the things I love. Whether its a story, song, idea, or character, I study it and turn it into something I can connect with in one way or another.

I really do have so many interests and side quests I try to indulge in, often forgetting that I can’t be a master of everything this planet has to offer. I think a lot of those interests have shown themselves throughout my artwork as well.

WHERE IT COMES FROM

A lot of the way I express myself through my artwork comes from experiences I have lived out from childhood until now. Some of them were difficult, some have changed the way I see people and the world, and all of them left a mark on me in one way or another. I think thats why I’ve always gravitated toward darker imagery no matter what medium it’s in.

Being so accustomed to subject matters that were dark and unsettling, for me, it never represented something that was negative or evil per se—it was always more beautiful and cool. I found a lot of my comfort in things, media and styles that werent traditionally considered ‘good’.

Art has always been one of the most effective ways I’ve been able to express myself. Feelings become characters, become stories, become universes, become escapes for me to run to when life gets to be too much. Because of that, I am extremely attached to creating things in the first place, and even when not intentional, end up finding little parts of me in a lot of what I do.

HOW I GOT HERE

After I graduated high school, I started looking into art school to get an animation degree. I wouldn’t be allowed to attend this school without securing a scholarship first—and so I wrote my scholarship essay and submitted it. Long story short, I would not be eligible for a scholarship unless I moved out of state, where the college was located. Me being 17 at the time with absolutely no other family in that area, it was an obvious and immediate no.

Fast forward and I’m working in a warehouse with my cousin. One day I decided to accompany her to a tattoo appointment she had. This was my very first exposure to the tattoo scene— seeing how everything went down. I wasn’t star struck or anything, but I came back with her a few more times, which eventually resulted in my very first tattoo. At some point in our trips here, she’d suggested that I put together a portfolio and ask to work there. In my mind, I saw no harm in this. I hated my job, I’d walk for 8 hours every single day doing it, and if you know me, I have a TERRIBLE hip.

Again, I’d already had many drawings of my own characters, so I knew my way around art. I threw together this jumbled portfolio of anime drawings and somehow someway landed myself a new job. I quit my warehouse job soon after and went to learn the tattoo trade full time. Did I have any idea it would lead to where I’m at now? No. Did I even want to become a tattoo artist in the first place? Nope. Wasn’t even a thought in my mind I promise you. To me, this would just be another cool job I could say I had. Who knew this would eventually turn into my actual career? Not me.

For the first year that I was tattooing, I couldn’t financially support myself. I was trying to learn, build clientele from scratch, and improve fast enough to make a sustainable career path for myself. There were countless days where money was tight and I was maxing out credit cards, or not having enough to feed myself, resulting in eating honey and jelly packets as meal replacements. (I laugh about it now)

At the same time I was going through the absolute lowest period of my life. I had lost my mom, got kicked out, and was taking the burden of several financial responsibilities that I wasn’t prepared to handle—not to mention still putting a lot of work into myself as a new artist. My weight fluctuated, my confidence waivered, and I didn’t feel like I recognized myself anymore. I had to pick up a second job as a server just to keep myself afloat to tattoo whenever I could.

And somehow, I didn’t stop.

I didn’t have a real plan, I just genuinely grew to love tattooing so much. Even when it wasn’t paying for my bills, I still wanted to learn. Even when people didn’t support me, I wanted to get better – I wanted to see how far I could take it.

And so through lots of grinding, countless hours of learning, setbacks, embarassments, and failures, I started to flourish. Eventually, my work started speaking for itself. I built amazing clientele, my skills grew exponentially, and the job that could once be considered a waste of time and money turned into something that could actually support the life that I wanted. Now that I’m sitting here typing this out, I can look back at that and really appreciate my struggles for what they’re worth. I am by no means done with my growth, and I will continue exercising humbleness as I do. I feel that my experience taught me more than how to tattoo – it taught me how much I was willing to endure for something I was passionate about.

WHY I STAYED

The simplest and most truthful answer as to why I stayed? I absolutely love doing it.

Tattooing ended up being one of the greatest fields that I could’ve ended up in – It’s crazy to think that it was never an idea in my head prior to getting into it. Tattooing gives me a way to take anything and everything that exists in my head and turn it into something tangible.

The process of learning the craft, the people I’ve met, and the experiences I’ve had are something that I’ll never take for granted. I’ve experienced lots of growth—not only in my skill set, but my ability to talk and connect with others. The rush I feel from seeing a client’s face light up from a design, making someone feel good about a part of themselves when they didn’t previously, having a great conversation, and reminiscing about the times when none of this was possible are the things that keep me going.

And for that, I am forever grateful.