Smash cut to the present: I’m a little over two years into studying Spanish, and learning a new language is hard, guys. You’ve probably heard me talk about it. Maybe I’ve used my broken Spanish in front of you. I even had the (very difficult) pleasure of conducting a tattoo session for a client and her family entirely in Spanish. That ruled and everyone was so kind and patient with me. (Especially when I told her cousin, “Por favor, toca pegatinas todas!” When I meant to say, “Por favor, toma pegatinas todas!” — I basically demanded she touch all the stickers, rather than take them.)

I see a teacher over Zoom every week, through the Strommen Institute (this is not an ad, I highly recommend this spot), and recently started using an app that has translated famous books into Spanish and French. I hadn’t heard of the concept of ‘immersive reading’ until I got this app — I listen and read in Spanish at the same time. I’m currently chomping my way through a (very very simplified) Frankenstein. I’m about halfway through, and I stop every page to listen to passages a few times over and translate. Sometimes the language washes over me and I understand without issue; sometimes I pause every single sentence. It’s fun, and again, hard. I’ve always had a huge amount of empathy for folks where English is their second language, but now I understand in my own body what it feels like to be mid-sentence and for your brain to reach out for a word or conjugation and … a foggy cloud descends, obscuring the thing that you know you know.

I’ve banged this drum before, but there are a bajillion studies about how we use our brains and how that’s changed with technology, the internet, and AI. NPR has done a ton of reporting on this, citing incredible studies and scientists who are focusing on aging, dementia, strokes, Alzheimer’s, etc. Here’s an example of one, specifically about mental exercise. I didn’t start studying Spanish to do literal mental weight lifting — yo quiero ser una vecina buena (y tambien saber el chisme!) — but it certainly doesn’t hurt.

It’s time for ~*~Big Tattoos~*~ and Laaarger Projects

Something that has changed in the last year is that many of y’all are coming in for Big, Ongoing Projects. It is awesome. I love doing small and medium custom designs and flash — the bigger projects just use a different segment of my brain. You might have heard me talk about illustration as ‘visual problem-solving’ — this is that. Tattooing adds another layer to the problem-solving and solution-finding — how do we also take this art and make it fit to the human form? How does it change when someone moves? How do we use that with the piece itself?

(Above: dual thigh pieces of El Cadejo, a supernatural spirit who appears as a black wolf and a white wolf with cloven hooves, horns, and red and blue eyes. Done in a Day Session, one of my newer offerings! Message me to purchase an entire day with me to complete huge pieces in less sessions / begin large body works.)

(Above: a skin floral! New concept to me: we used several shades of browns and sepias. Just the beginning of two total arm takeovers!)

(Above: the continuation of a Calvin & Hobbes leg! We spent two 3-4 hour sessions laying out the line work and design, and have been slowly going through either panel by panel or color by color to finish everything.)

(Above: the beginning of a piece-meal / quilt work full body takeover! We’ll be going idea by idea to slowly cover M’s entire bod. I am very stoked.)

Sometimes I’ll work with someone to build the bigger designs in a piece-meal — bit by bit, each piece of art interacting with the next, creating a quilt work sleeve that comes together slowly. And sometimes we design a larger scale piece conceptually, and we slowly grow it over the course of time.

(Psst, I would be remiss to not add a little nudge — time for your big piece?)

Drawing all the things, all the time so I can laze about in bodies of water

I had the pleasure of designing this year’s Folsom Bootblack shirt! Design below. Sometimes, during the brainstorming for an illustration, I struggle to really land on what’s going to work. I doodle up a bunch of thumbnails and none of them land. But with this design, the image came out of the first round of sketches. It was the strongest, and kind of demanded to be drawn up. That’s when I know a drawing is really working.

(I wanted to show the sketch process but I cannot for the life of me find where I doodled my ideas. I’ve been intentionally making my brainstorm doodles entirely “wet” media, which means I draw them with a 6B pencil on paper. This also means the record of those sketches is a little mushy, as in, gone forever or until I randomly open up a sketchbook and find them.)*

I went to the Yuba River! It was GLORIOUS. I did not take enough photos, because I was being *present* and I also don’t trust myself with technology near large bodies of water.

*Once upon a time, I worked in Communications and Production for arts non-profits, as a full-time employee and as a freelancer. I kept impeccable filing systems. I don’t do that work anymore, and now I generate more media than ever before. The filing systems have collapsed. I cannot care. I am the only one being harmed by my own foolishness.

Dates and deets to pay attention to!

SO MANY THINGS, always!

August 16 — Another QueerQuest! 3pm-6pm, spaces limited! Come learn D&D with us!

August 19 — There was a huge demand for another Bootblacking 101, and so RIVET is back!

September 15 & 16 — I’ll be tattooing at Rebels & Saints in Brooklyn! Slots are LIMITED, with only 2 left. Claim yours now, NYC!

November 13 — The last Friday the 13th of the Year! Save the date! We’re gonna go spooky with this one, but SPECIFIC, so keep your peepers peeped!

End of December / Beginning of January — I’ll be back in the Bay Area to continue some bigger tattoo projects, and accept some new ones! You can ask about claiming a spot here.

What’s she READING!

I’m 12 years late to the party, but, inspired by reading The Sea of Tranquility, I decided to pick up Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven. I could not put it down. It was a little bizarre reading a 2014 book about … a post-pandemic, apocalyptic society, because that’s not a novel feeling or idea anymore and in 2014, it was. Regardless, what I like about St. John Mandel’s writing is the science fiction is just a vehicle for really strong prose and character relations. If you haven’t read this book (or Sea of Tranquility), highly recommend. (And I never watched the show [not for any reason except that I was living in Brooklyn and running around the city], so now I get a double whammy of media consumption.)

Just started: Returns and Exchanges by Kayla Rae Whitaker. It’s about a family in Kentucky in the 1980s that runs a chain of second hand stores. Also very character driven. I’m only about 50 pages in, but so far the writing alone has captured me.

Next up: Death and the Conjuror by Tom Mead. Locked door mystery! Magic! Historical fiction! Murder! I’m so ready.

Some folks have asked where I get my book recs — the majority of them come from Lit Hub! This could also be an ad but it’s not (though true confession, I am a monthly donor because I love supporting independent media). Lit Hub has amazing daily newsletters about books, pop culture, politics, media. They have their own verticals, but also regularly include links to other media sources. I save their newsletters and systematically go through them for articles and recs, because ::checks notes, checks above paragraphs about Spanish and Latin:: I’m a huge nerd.

That’s all for now, True Believers. Disfrutas tus fin de semanas, mantente fuerte, y besar a tus amigos!

Not a new sentiment: I blinked and it was suddenly June. And not like, the first day of June — we’re halfway through??

I remember, as a kid, when a 20-minute car ride felt like it was an eternity, or a 45-minute math class block in middle school felt like a slow death. Even as an adult, a long-haul flight feels like time has stopped — how is it that time can stretch and expand and shrink and speed?

So many things have happened since my last post, I’ll do my best to categorize and organize and proselytize but see above about not even knowing what day it is.

I got to take in the Orcas exhibit at the Natural History Museum! IT WAS AMAZING! I’m a museum girlie in general, so I’m truly just happy to be wandering around an institution that has stuff on display. But really — go to the NHM and check out this exhibit. It’s beautiful and really well curated. They do a solid job diving deep (see what I did there?) into the indigenous history and relationships to these whales. And the displays are a great combination of science + pop culture.

I went northwards! (I’ve decided that I’m going to start calling northern California “upstate,” like in New York, mostly because it gets side-eyes from native Californians. No one can explain to me why it isn’t called “upstate,” and so my subtle trolling continues.)

[No banana slugs were harmed in the making of this Substack.]

I was in beautiful places for several celebrations! California is a gorgeous, and huge!, place.

[My friend Q has started making hot sauce and chili crisp! It’s DELICIOUS.]

I got to spend an amazing few days guest-spotting at Pretty in Ink, at their Oakland location. It ruled. I borrowed a friend’s bicycle and road from their house to the studio. Everyone who came in to get tattooed was so sweet, kind, funny. I had a total blast. Some tattoos from Oakland below!

Upon return, I immediately had the pleasure of hosting our friend Joe, who’s written a new book, Spawning Season. He had a fantastic book release with Keiko Lane and Tommy Pico at Skylights Books, one of my favorite bookstores in Los Angeles. Joe made these amazing lino block prints to promote the book, and we interpreted them into tattoos.

Last year, Commonground had the privilege of being asked to be the tattoo vendor at AYAC Conference — the Adolescent and Youth Collective conference through Visions Treatment Center. It’s a 2-day symposium for service providers who work in the addiction + recovery field, specifically aimed at folks who work with young people. It was such a blast! The humans who work in that field are kind and curious, and the energy is always so good. We worked it again this year, and we did about ~120 tattoos! I was so in the zone I only took this one foolish photo during set up. Luckily they have folks on site doing actual ~professional~ documentation, so hopefully I’ll be able to snag those.

I was a giant homosexual at Dyke Day! And then I crashed. And then, the next day, I got to do this rad custom gingko on a regular of mine! Since they currently live outside of LA, we didn’t get to have a consult to plan this filler piece. So instead I designed each leaf separately and we had a collage party.

[Forgive the quality of the last two images, they’re screenshots from videos. Embedding video in Substack makes the email huuuuge.]

I wanna say now that summer is officially summering, things’ll slow down in my world and there will be less brain scramblies. But that would be a lie, and I’m not a liar.

What’s coming up next!

June 27 — PRIDE FLASH DAY! 12pm-7pm, arms and legs, $65. Full flash sheet drops at the end of this week, but here are some cute sneaky peeks!

July 13 + 19 — We have the pleasure of having permanent make-up artist Liane with us these days! Message directly to book! Check out the menu of items below:

• Microblading

• Combo brows

• Powder/Ombré brows

• Lip blush

• ISR: Inkless Stretchmark/Scar Revision

• Microneedling/CIT (collagen induction therapy)

July 27, 28, 29 — OAKLAND, I’m coming back! Use this link to book! Slots are LIMITED. I would love to do medium sized flash pieces, or full-day sessions.

What’s she reading!

Y’all, I finished 200 Monas, and I need more people to read it. It’s like, what if John Waters made a sex pill heist. The sex scenes are very hot. The writing is very good. Warnings to consider: violence, suicide, violence towards animals. Keep in mind I am very sensitive to these things and I could handle it, if that’s a good kd diamond gauge for you.

I read a lot of sci-fi, especially speculative sci-fi, and I’m currently reading The Forest on the Edge of Time by Jasmin Kirkbride. I’m loving it. It’s a speculative sci-fi + time travel + climate change narrative, and it’s really delicious.

Next up: The Change by Kirsten Miller. What if menopause turned folks into werewolves?

Things you already know…

I’m not really “on” social media anymore — it’s not on my phone and I only open it up via my iPad. The best way to get a hold to me for a tattoo or events at the studio or any other cute thing is my email (kddiamondtattoos@gmail.com) or this fancy link! I’ve also been not fucking with my phone so much (sorry, I’m officially a snail when it comes to texting), and I think my mind is… better for it. I have clarity in my brain wrinkles that I’ve been desperate to have for years. There are also *way too many current studies* that show that social media + phones + screens are all tampering with our emotions and attention. And so: send me a nice (slow) email or inquiry form, or find me in ~*~MEATSPACE~*~ irl!

Stay strong, True Believers. Get messy, make mistakes, poke a slug, kiss a puppy.

[Photo of my new art desk set up, with a bright light showing oil painting supplies.]

I’ve been trying to solve why I haven’t been working on “wet” media projects (as in, not stuff I draw on my iPad, for tattoos), and it came down to the usual: I needed a “room of one’s own.” When I can leave a project out so I can return to it in pieces, and not have to clean up the whole work area in order to do something else, or in order to even start, I’m more likely to actually sit down and work. We’re privileged to have a 2 bedroom, so the office / guest bedroom has also become the art studio. I already feel better about my art practice, although now that I have the space, I need to make the time…

[Recent cover of a New Yorker magazine that I found hilarious, and I also love this illustration, period.]

Attempting to paint more, draw more, doodle more. Slow things, things that take time. I’ve found it takes three hours to do one hour of work, so finding those swaths of time where I can sink in has been hard. I’m not really a Woman of the Night, so after a workday I’m not really buzzing with artistic energy. I was just telling a friend about how, in 2012 and 2013, working on Girl Sex 101, I would wake up early before work and stay up late just to draw and lay out that book. Looking back, that was… bananas. But I had the energy (that was ~13 years ago soooo), so I did it. I cannot imagine doing it again.

March and April were really very wildly energetic and full of Spring energy. I feel like we’re all entering a new phase — we’re not resigned to this chaotic world; we’re going to fight, grow, care, change through it. I feel it in my interactions, and in how much everyone is out and wanting to connect.

[Photo of a brindle puppy perched in a tree with her tongue lolling out.]

At the end of last year, we had the opportunity to adopt a cute, sweet, very loved re-homed puppy. We did a two week trial period, took some time for holiday travel, and returned with the decision to say a full-throated yes. A lot of Big Feelings came up. Disco was my first dog as an adult, and his sudden passing was devastating, and combined with a lot of other very hard stuff.* So taking the time to love again was hard.

I’ve been increasingly not online (as you know, if you’re here), and so I haven’t done a formal debut of this new cutie. Her name is Joey Pants, and she’s got some great jokes and cuddles. You won’t really see her on social media too much, but she’ll pop up to promote things with me occasionally.

[I came home the other day as she got back from a dog walk with my wife, and she leapt into my arms, so I think the lovefest is mutual.]

~*~ Process ! ~*~

I’ve been working on so many big tattoo projects lately! It’s been absolutely lovely. The exact sort of artistic challenge that I love rising to. Y’all have the best ideas, and I’m honored.

Here’s an in-process major cover-up I’m working on with my client B. Once we’re officially done, I’ll put together a whole before, during, and after post. It’s been so incredible to be so trusted with this project. Plus, every time y’all ask me to do these bigger projects, it truly grows me as an artist.

If you’ve gotten custom work from me, I’ve probably “turned you into left overs,” as I like to say, and wrapped you in saran wrap to draw on you. My client M is being such a peach and we’ve been making a really fucking rad surrealist / MC Escher-inspired half-sleeve, using inspiration from life, artists we admire, and important people, places, and things to M. It has been VERY FUN. We’re about to start the next phase, so I thought I’d show some of the process. I took these notes, placed them on an 8.5x11 piece of paper, snapped a photo, and I’ll be making a detailed drawing to scale based off these doodles.

One of the practices I’ve been doing for a while now is what I call “dress fittings.” After an initial consult, where we look at references and do some of that saran wrap doodling, we’ll set up another in-person consult and I’ll have a sketch ready for stenciling onto you. I’ve found this really helps with several things. When the tattoo wraps around the body, it allows for easy understanding of scale and shape, and I can understand what needs to change. If we’re making something that fits around other tattoos, we can make sure the location is really working. But the biggest win is that you get to go home with the stencil on you — so you don’t have to decide if the art is working for you while I stand there expectantly jazz-handing, and, the biggest biggest, you don’t have to decide to put a huge permanent thing on your body without being able to literally sleep on it. Breaking up the sessions this way has been so helpful for my process, but it’s also erased that anxiety that a lot of clients have expressed misgivings about.

What’s she reading!?

Okay, BUCKLE UP! I’ve got so many books and so many opinions!

Firstly, I burned through The Astral Library by Kate Quinn. It was very cute. If you’d like a book focused, Library as Central Character, magical realism book with low stakes, I highly recommend. You aren’t gonna be challenged or blown away, it’s just a nice cozy ride.

I just finished Where The Axe is Buried by Ray Nayler and this book is the OPPOSITE of a cozy ride, but it’s still, I think, a fantastic solarpunk book. Yes, the world in this story is cracking open due to (many factors but mostly) AI, and yes, a lot of people die in this book. It reads like equal parts manifesto to novel. I loved it, and then M was sweet enough to gift me Nayler’s first book. If you read Walkaway by Cory Doctorow and thought, “fuck yes!” — then this is the book for you.

I also got a little over halfway through Butter by Asako Yuzuki, and I only put it down because Where The Axe is Buried showed up — AND Butter was just slow enough that I decided to put it down. The translation was very good, and the characters are complicated and well written, AND I craved a little more adventure than I was getting. It’s a good slow burn though. I might pick it up again. I am notoriously chaotic with how I read books, so.

My books for my May travel ALL arrived on the same day at the library — I was like a cartoon when someone puts a pie on a window, I was so elated. I just started Hell’s Heart by Alexis Hall, a queer Moby Dick in SPACE re-imagining. I’ve also got The Subtle Art of Folding Space by John Chu, which I am stoked to have gotten so quickly. I’m also gonna be digging into 200 Monas by Jan Saenz, and I am ALSO STOKED to crack that open. All of the cover designs for these books are so good, btw!

I leave you with this literary magic. Thanks for being you. Get messy, make mistakes, kiss your friends, True Believers.

[trying out a new thing where I caption the photos without using the Substack built-in caption because it… doesn’t let me edit the caption once I exit the text box! Photo of me being *extra strong* and carrying the shirts from local small biz Family Industries]

I loved the design for our February Friday the 13th so much, I decided it was a good excuse to make a new Commonground shirt. It’s been a moment since we’ve had a new shirt design, and rather than go print-on-demand, we went with a local printer and made a small, limited-edition batch. There are only 50 shirts, XS all the way to 4XL! If you wanna snag a shirt, you have to be down to come to the studio to snag yours. They’re $35, and the material is pre-shrunk and so soft on Bella + Canvas. You can request your shirt here! (And we also do still have our online merch store! The Commonground disco ball shirts are still up, as well as a few other designs.

[Video of the shirt installed in the Commonground window]

[Video of kd unboxing the shirts!]

I hope y’all like the green! It’s very emerald in real life. Once these shirts are gone, that’s it for them!

We had some amazing events at the studio this March! Local craftsmen and queer extraordinaire Kyle hosted RIVET: an intro to leather making workshop. It was so amazing and the energy was fantastic. Peep the photos below. We’re planning another one, where folks will be able to walk away with their own leather cuffs or belts. Stay tuned for that!

We also had another round of QueerQuest: An Intro to Dungeons & Dragons this past Sunday! 5 stalwart newbies learned how the game works, and rocked their first campaign at the direction of Thea, our resident Dungeon Mxtress. It was adorable and so sweet.

If you’re here, reading this, then you know I feel very strongly about being in person. Meatspace. There are an increasing amount of articles and research sounding the alarm about isolation, digital addiction, AI-slop, etc. I don’t feel like I have a lot of control over how intense, chaotic, and violent the world is right now — but I *do* have control over this tiny little 350 square foot studio on Cypress Avenue, and goddamnit I’m gonna exercise that control. So expect more gatherings, more events, more access to being together.

Speaking of: what’s happening next!?

I only have space for ONE more appointment at my Oakland guest spot at Pretty in Ink! Maybe two if we do only small things. You can request the time here!

Folklore’s 15th Anniversary is coming up! May 23, 1pm-5pm! The details are still coming together, but come thru because Commonground will be celebrating with them. Tattoos, vendors, DJs, block party, neighborhood crawl. Come and spend the day with us all!

Since we had two back to back Friday the 13th’s, we’re taking a little break from flash days. Our next Flash Party will be our annual PRIDE FLASH! So save the date now: June 27, we’ll be PROOOOUD!

What’s she reading?

Currently making my way through Dungeon Crawler Carl, at the behest of a few clients (but especially S! Hi S!). It’s goofy and light. It’s like a cotton candy for your brain book. If you like gaming, D&D, talking cats, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy meets Free Guy meets the Dungeons & Dragons movie, you should read this series.

Also have been forcing anyone within arm’s reach to read this article, There’s a Reason You Can’t Concentrate — an NYT opinion piece that calls our current digital life ultra-processed content. The author Cal Newport calls for us to consider how we need brain space to think, and these constant interruptions from the tiny computer in our pocket are ruining our attention spans.

Snippet below:

“What would such a revolution look like? In the world of physical health, we now know we should largely avoid ultraprocessed snacks like Doritos and Oreos, which are Frankenfoods made by reconstituting stock ingredients like corn and soy with hyperpalatable ratios of salt, sugar and fat. Much of the digital content that ensnares our attention in the current moment is also ultraprocessed, in that it’s the result of vast databases of user-generated content that are sifted, broken down and recombined by algorithms into personalized streams designed to be irresistible. What is a TikTok video if not a digital Dorito?”

That’s all for now, True Believers. Stay strong, kiss your friends, hug your pets, donate to your favorite orgs, give yourself some grace. xx

I’m trying to be more regular with the Substack, as a means to reach out more, and as an exercise. So, a gentle poll: Please “reply” to this newsletter, and let me know whether you’d like a) more frequent, smaller messages, or b) the same approximately monthly longer dispatches. I figure if you’re here, you actually want to be here, and your feedback is invaluable. (Also! Don’t feel any pressure to even do this, this is a ~*~very informal question~*~.)

NEW FLASH!

This guy is technically claimed but I wanted you all to meet him. Inspired by this cutie? Let’s make our own custom cat clown together!

AVAILABLE TIGER CLOWN! He’s so silly.

Collecting more and more flash? Need some filler? As you’ve read 18million times from me, there’s another Friday the 13th in March! Come thruuuuu! First come, first serve, $65 per tattoo, arms and legs only, 12pm-7pm at the studio.

Like the stuff you’re seeing and want to claim the tiger clown or lovingly demand a custom piece? Use this link!

OAKLAND, I’m coming for you!

May 19 and 20, I have a Guest Spot at Pretty in Ink Oakland! Spots are LIMITED, and I have some folks asking about taking a full day for bigger pieces, so best to claim some time now. You can use this fancy link to request a slot — just name that you’re seeking an Oakland session!

What’s she reading?

The Beginning Comes After The End by Rebecca Solnit, one of my favorite essayists. If you’re a vaguely radical person who understands that everything is connected to everything, you won’t be blown away by the conclusions in this book. If you’ve done your homework as a white person to understand intersectionality and how to fight the good fucking fight in the face of fascism, this book won’t blow your mind. But if you need a balm that talks about the last 75 years of organizing across the United States, linked back to so many powerful, progressive movements, served with an understanding that, actually yes, every Indigenous movement was indeed always correct, this book will toss a little bit of hope into your heart.

“The old world is dying. The new one is slow in appearing. In this light and shadow, monsters arise.” — Antonio Gramsci, 1930

Stay strong, True Believers. What we’ve got is each other.

It’s cold and rainy in Los Angeles, which I actually really enjoy, because it means it’s “winter” here. It also feels like a cleansing ritual any time it rains here, because it’s so rare and because it really does clean the sky and the air.

Clarity is something I feel like I seek regularly, although not always consciously. For instance, I can’t really focus on writing (like this Substack right now!), or drawing, or replying to emails, or reading if I’m listening to music with lyrics. If you’ve been in the studio and instrumental funk or house is playing, you might hear me refer to it as “smooth brain music.” The sort of music that just plays directly down your central cortex, right between your lobes. I find that sort of music extremely clarifying (and fantastic to dance to!). (In fact, here’s one of my favorite 15-minute long trip-hop songs. Back when I was still using Spotify, my Wrapped told me the first year I encountered this song, I Iistened to it 157 time that year, lol.)

NPR’s LifeKit just wrote about the different kinds of rest there are beyond sleep itself. Reading comes up, but so does my newest fixation: puzzles. I even found myself talking about puzzles in therapy, where my therapist pointed out that puzzles cover a lot of restorative ground. They have a clear pathway forward. They don’t have a timer or an expiration. Your mind can occupy several spaces while you do a puzzle (talking to friends, listening to music), while you forge ahead and make connections between the pieces. This kind of active rest is important, and frankly, it helps me be more creative because it means my rest time is spent building something.

We love LA!

February had a Friday the 13th, and we had SO MUCH FUN. It was consistently busy, we raised $188 (rounding up to $200!) for Friends of the LA River. I’m really proud of the image I designed to promote the day, and… have decided to turn it into limited-run t-shirts for the shop!

Shirts will be $35, and all the money goes back into the studio. Pick yours up at the studio! Message me if you wanna snag one!

There’s also ANOTHER Friday the 13th in March, and in case you missed it, we’re going MEDIEVAL! Same deal: $65 per tattoo, arms and legs only.

Being a constant production machine is bananas

Between aggressive active rest (can I… even use those words together), and working at the studio, and trying to be an attentive human engaged in what the fuck is happening in our country, drawing has been hard. I’ve also sort of like, digitally painted myself into a corner because I’m still weirdly dedicated to my Instagram grid having a pattern of tattoo <> flash <> tattoo. No one really cares but me but the structure (e.g. pressure) helps me.

Here are some flash drawings from the last few months, all available! Claim them here. Unless otherwise stated, all of them are one-and-done!

Events coming up!

March 13 — MEDIEVAL March, Friday the 13th — Mentioned above! 12pm-7pm! First come first serve! 🗡️

March 29 — QUEER QUEST returns! 4pm-7pm, $25. LIMITED TO 6 PEOPLE! Last year’s Queer Quest was so successful, we’re doing it again. Come learn about Dungeons & Dragons in a safe, queer, chill environment with professional DM Thea!

May 19 and 20 — Hey Oakland cuties! I’ll be tattooing at Pretty in Ink in Oakland these days. Flash is ideal, but if you have a custom idea and are down to workshop something remotely, I’m down! Use this link to request Oakland time, and mention which day and time you’d prefer in your inquiry.

Details coming soon for June Pride Flash!

What’s she reading?

I’m currently deep into The Library Book by Susan Orlean. Angelinos, I highly recommend this book. Book nerds, I highly recommend this book. It’s a nonfiction reflection on the history of the LA Public Library, specifically connected to the 1986 Central Library Fire. Susan Orlean is a fantastic writer, her prose are amazing. I also have a deep fondness for her because of my passion for the movie Adaptation, which if you haven’t seen it, I also highly recommend that.

That’s all for now, True Believers! Stay safe, keep fighting for each other, get messy, make mistakes. xx

My first tattoo is a starfish on my belly. It’s my own illustration*. The internet existed when I got my first tattoo at 19 years old, but there wasn’t Google Maps or Yelp. There wasn’t Instagram. Facebook was only a few years old, and only available to specific universities and schools. I didn’t even have the instinct to use the internet to research a place to get a tattoo — that inclination and that muscle: they would develop later as the internet developed.

So I did what made the most sense: I asked all the heavily tattooed, slightly older queer people around me where they got their tattoos done and who did them.

The answers I got all pointed to the same person and the same shop in Portland, Maine in 2004: Jen Moore, the founder, owner, and main artist at Sanctuary Tattoo. Everyone raved about Jen: so kind, so talented, one of the only woman artists working in New England at the time, and for a long time. And so, I walked in one day, gripping a photo copy of my own illustration of a starfish**.

Without hesitation, Jen agreed to put it on the side of my belly, and we made an appointment for a few weeks out.

There are a LOT of threads to this story — what it was like to work with Jen on my next seven tattoos; how the “meaning” behind each one slowly disintegrated into ‘tattoos are just cool, man’; and how this experience, in a bright pink, well-lit, woman-owned shop laid the groundwork for my current career***. But what I wanna talk about right now is something that has always been the foundation of my art practice, including tattooing, and that is word of fucking mouth.

I think (I think!) we can all agree if you’re here, reading this right now: the internet, once a lush forest for us to explore and turn over and trip into new and strange places, is now a series of sleek, controlled, surveilledsuper highways****. Every tool we use to access this utility is owned by a major corporation, and those corporations are trying to sell us back to ourselves.

I know, I know, I bang this drum a lot.

Part of the reason I’m thinking about it so deeply during this particular writing of this particular Substack is that I have a question at the bottom of my intake form that asks how you found my work. And it is safe to say that more than 90% of the responses say, “my friend told me!” Or “My wife got tattooed by you and can’t stop raving!” Or “Mutual community members!”

It harkens back to how I found Jen, who set a standard for my experiences, and also created a blueprint for how I want to be in this world as an art practitioner and tattoo artist and overall human being. And I think… that we should all lean into this more, now, deeply, than we have been able to in the last 25 years.

For me, this ties into the newly growing mission of creating somatic, in-person experiences. For having Third Place, so we can all be together. For encouraging people to go to actual, physical, brick & mortar places where we gather. It’s important for our nervous systems but it also fosters a deeper understanding of our shared humanity.

And — this might seem like I’m really stretching my thesis here — tattooing is unlike any other experience. You actually cannot get a tattoo from a machine. You cannot cut the human interaction and human hand out of it. And when you’re done, you have an original piece of art on your body and your body alone. Plus the memories of the experience and how tough you were. They can’t take that away from you.

So, it makes sense to me that the best way to learn about who should give you this unique, one of a kind experience is to also ask a person.

*There are a lot of ways to work with a tattoo artist! My first artist was happy, without judgement, to put my own art on my body. I now know that sometime this is a faux pas — most artists want to do their own art on ya. Since my first seven tattoos were all my own original art, I see it as karmic justice that I should happily tattoo my clients’ art onto their bodies.

**Have you heard the starfish story? I don’t remember the origin.

One day, after a particular rough storm, a child and an adult are walking along the beach. Hundreds of starfish have been washed up due to the tumultuous storm waves. The child starts running down the beach, picking up a starfish, and throwing it back into the ocean.

The adult says, “Why are you doing this? You can’t possibly save them all. It doesn’t matter.”

The child picks up another starfish, throws it into the ocean’s arms, and says, “It mattered to that one.”

At the time, in 2004, when I was 19, I was working at the homeless teen center in Portland, Maine. I had secured a grant to teach weekly art workshops in the space. I was having a major crisis of faith — these kids didn’t have a place to live or even shoes in the winter, why the hell was I teaching them art? One of the things I grew to realize through my experience is that thriving gives meaning to surviving. And that art and the act of creating soothes the nervous system, makes way for another day. And that those two hours a week mattered to the youth who sat down at that table with me. It mattered to them.

***I’ve been so spoiled — Sanctuary Tattoo was my first tattoo studio and tattoo artist experience, and I developed a great friendship with Jen, and the bar for other shops was set high. I’ve definitely been tattooed in the more cliched shops where metal is blasting, everything is gray and black, and there’s taxidermy on the wall. But Sanctuary + Jen made an imprint, and I think you can see that in how Commonground looks and feels.

****I cannot, for the life of me, find the human to attribute this theory + quote to. I know I read it somewhere; it isn’t my original idea, fyi.

That was so much talking, kd, what about upcoming events?

Yes! 2026 is finally here, and therefore, EVENTS at the studio abound!

February 13 — the first Friday the 13th of the year! 12pm-7pm at the studio, $65 tattoos of Los Angeles flora and fauna! 🐍 Arms and legs only, first come first served! ✨

February 15 — COZINESS ABOUNDS with local activist Tasha Fierce! 5pm-8pm, bring blankets, pillows, yourself, and your cozy attitude.

March 13 — the next Friday the 13th of the year! For our March one, we’re going MEDIEVAL! So gird your loins, mount your steed, lower your drawbridge, it’s MIDDLE AGES MARCH!

March 29 — QUEERQUEST returns! Limited slots! Link dropping soon, but feel free to reply to this email or DM the shop for more deets!

Looking ahead… save these dates!

April 19 — the next (quarterly!) Third Place!

Sometime in June expect some PRIDE FLASH!

Lastly, what she’s been reading

The Dream Hotel by Lalai Lalami

This book is harrowing. It is deep. It is prescient. I highly recommend it, if you want a deep fictional (but also… very real) dive into surveillance culture, our current digital AI + algorithm state of affairs, our digital dependence, motherhood, incarceration… It’s a hard read but get through it: the last third will open and uplift your heart, and not in a fantastical way but in a nitty-gritty real community organizing way.

Luminous by Silvia Park

I tore through this book. I couldn’t put it down. I woke up early to read it with my morning coffee; I stayed up late to continue reading it. Set in a “reunified” Korea, probably about 100 years in the future, robots and androids and cyborgs live among us and they’re as casual as an iPhone. This book deals with bodies, gender, humanity, family, and what it all means in a modern world with such advanced technology at our fingertips.

How to Become The Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler

Absolute departure from the books above, and also a duology so def also pick up Everybody Wants To Rule The World Except Me once you finish the first one. First person POV, we meet Davi, who’s been stuck in a fantasy-land time loop for probably thousands of years. She decides she’s done being the hero — it’s time to fuck around and find out what it’s like to be bad. Fluffy and ridiculous, trigger warnings abound for the level of goofball violence and all that comes with what it means to die over and over like a video game character.

Freakslaw by Jane Flett

Currently reading this! Michelle Tea’s blurb on the back really names it: Geek Love meets American Horror Story meets John Waters, and I am so here for it. A circus descends upon a wee Scottish down in 1997. Horny chaos ensues. Loving it so far, the prose rule.

Sneaky little flash update

I’ve been terrible at drawing flash lately. I have so many ideas written down and can’t make the time when I have the time. Intellectually, emotionally? Who knows! When I have free time, I wanna read my books! But I did force myself to sketch in an actual physical sketchbook last week, and am slowly inking all those doodles. Here’s one! It’s available for a One And Done! Use this link to claim!

That’s all for now, True Believers. I’m trying to Substack it more. I promise I won’t spam you into oblivion, but I’ll be trying to share even more deep thoughts like the ones that introduced this particular post. All the love for your patience while I literally make this up as I go along.

I have a grand proposal: let’s have Universal Basic Income, period, end of sentence yes. But let’s especially have UBI for October 31 to January 1, where everything and nothing happens at once. I dunno about y’all, but I’ve been feeling like I’m a car that just won’t start. I just keep revving the engine, getting nowhere, expelling way too many exhaust fumes everywhere.

Which also means I feel *perpetually* behind.

I’ve decided to both accept the languid + bananas nature of this time of year, and also try to plan for 2026. That being said: here are some cool things for 2026!

First up: A Third Place is coming back! Save the date for January 18, 5pm-8pm at the studio. Bring your current art + craft project, bring snacks to share, bring your bestie or your sweetie or your auntie. We’ll provide tea and tables and chairs and music and vibes!

Next: our foray into an introductory session of Dungeons &. Dragons was so popular, we’re doing it again! Link to join coming soon, but save the date for March 29 for QUEERQUEST at the studio! Limited slots available: only 6 players for this intro-game!

FRIENDLY REMINDERRRRR: There are three (3!) Friday the 13th’s in 2026! Three! So save the date, because we’re gonna go hard. Save these dates! February 13, March 13, and November 13. It’s party time.

February 13 we’re going to donate 25% of all money made to Friends of the LA River. Keep your peepers peeped — the flash is gonna be every cute flora and fauna you’ve ever seen in Los Angeles! I had the pleasure of joining some friends for a walking tour and storytelling hour with FoLAR, featuring Alan Salazar, an esteemed Elder of the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians (Chumash, Tataviam, and Pipimaram lineages). I went to the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve for the first time and it fucking ruled. If you haven’t been to this park, it’s 225+ acres of natural habitat. Read more about it here.Let’s all go birdwatching and then end with a snack.

⚡️ Flash Flash Flash ⚡️

I’ve been struggling to finish half of the drawings I begin lately, but when I *do* finish them, I feel great! So, sort of like going to the gym, it’s… always good to do my actual art practice. Funny that. Here are some of those drawings, including some of the claimed ones!

(Don’t forget to swing by my Flash Highlights to see what’s cooking! Most of the new and old work is up there. Unless you wanna stroll into the shop and flip thru the book!)

What else, kd? ✨

I saw this on IG, a place I normally avoid, and can’t wait to make time to go. “From Brontë to Butler” at the Huntington Library.

Also planning on heading to the Getty for this Guerrilla Girls exhibit!

I get a lot of book recommendations from y’all, but I also often dig deep into the Best Of lists on NPR, LitHub, Bookshop, ThriftBooks, etc. Here’s NPR Books’ Best of 2025!

Thanks for being here, True Believers. I’ll see you in 2026!

What does it even mean to be “online” anymore

I’ve removed Instagram (and all social media) from my phone — it’s been about a year now. It means that doing the social media aspect of my work (the admin tasks like posting, reposting, sending DMs, etc.) takes a little more work when I sit down to do it. However, it also means I don’t suddenly find myself 20-30 minutes deep into doom-scrolling when all I wanted to do was check the time or reply to a message.

In the interest of staying informed, but not informed through the rage-inspired and corporate-controlled algorithm, I’ve put myself on *so many* mailing lists. This has become its own new problem — now I must open my email app with some care, because I could find myself trying to reply to a work email and instead find myself elbow-deep in understanding the latest hourly horror. Nothing I’m saying is new: this is the struggle with wanting to be an informed, attentive citizen and finding a balance that also leaves space for some mental health breaks. Community-building and change-making is a marathon, not a sprint, and so striking that balance is key to having the stamina and resilience to be engaged.

I’m not *trying* to go back to a world where when it was time to “go online,” we had to sit down at the library or family computer and log on. I’m just trying to capture that spirit a little bit, because it means I’m not always available just because there’s a tiny computer in my pocket. I know we all feel this. So, making it so I can only engage with specific content or specific labor by sitting down at my ipad and making it feel like “work” has been my solution.

Holiday Season is Pressing Down Upon Us

Our Halloween Party was fantastic! The vibes all day were amazing, and we gave out so much candy to local families as well as clients and friends. We’re definitely doing it again next year, so save the date now! (And honestly — if you saw something on the flash sheet from that day and you still want it, message us! Happy to honor the flash still. It’s always Halloween at Commonground.)

I don’t know about y’all, but after Halloween, the calendar year feels basically over. We slide from day to day and week to week without any direction except towards the year’s end, and all scheduling is just one big mush. I personally try my best to enforce *some* sort of regularity to my schedule this time of year, but it feels like swimming upstream.

And since it’s that end of the year celebration holiday time — it’s Gift Card time! $100 or more towards a tattoo at Commonground! Message us here to purchase one for a loved one!

She went places and she did things

Since my last substack missive, I’ve traveled a bunch! I spent the end of September at Folsom Street Fair where I tattooed at the 20th Anniversary of The Playground, the queer playspace of the fair. I also had the pleasure of beginning a big sleeve while up there.

I also got to enjoy some desert tunes at the Nood Ranch, courtesy of the deejay collective Noodle House. I highly recommend this camping rave experience. I had a lovely 5am morning where I rolled out of bed, layered up, made myself some espresso, and danced as the sun came up. DJ Amante built a set for that sunrise that really just *hit*.

Then, since I was already in the desert, I popped over to Unfurl Collective in Yucca Valley for a guest spot. Y’all, this shop is adorable and so well curated and also queer and kind and sweet. I definitely plan on going back, so keep your peepers peeped, my desert sweeties!

Make culture, take culture, break culture?, shake culture

I got to see Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein in theatres and it was so worth it. I highly recommend it. It’s visually stunning. Jacob Elordi is the hottest monster I’ve ever seen. Monster smash.

Speaking of monsters, I recently finished the sapphic-monster romance The Maiden and Her Monster. It was *okay*. I recommend it on the basis that it’s a unique story, but it needed another edit if you ask me. Or a trim. But, still a fun ride. Romance fantasy adventure can be its own whole thing so I’m giving it a wide berth.

I’m currently reading Endling by Maria Reva — I found out about this book through this article on Lit Hub, where Reva discovers that she and another author on an entirely different continent were both inspired to write fictional narratives based off of my hero Ed Yong’s writings about the last Hawaiian tree snail. So far it’s very good and very funny and dark. (If you don’t know Ed Yong’s work, I basically recommend everything he’s done. I learned about him at the start of Covid, as he was one of the few humans writing about the science and the socio-political intersectionality of the whole situation. His book An Immense World dives deep into animal senses.)

Next up I’ll be cracking open a rec from my client S, who always has *the best* book recommendations, How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying. It’s going to be the book I bring, along with Endling, home for the Thanksgiving holiday week.

On the Horizon

It is straight-up weird to be talking about 2026 but that’s… how… time works, so here we are discussing 2026.

Third Place will return! I just needed to focus on all the running around and travel for the last half of the year.

We’re gonna have another intro to D&D QueerQuest! Stay tuned for that announcement.

There are THREE (3!) Friday the 13th dates in 2026, so get ready to slamma-jam some freaky flash! (February 13, March 13, and November 13!)

Speaking of flash…

I’ve been trying to post new flash as often as possible, and do so by alternating my IG grid between recent tattoos I’ve done and new (or refreshed!) art. Here’s what’s up lately! And remember, as Substack subscribers, you actually get first dibs on anything you see!

Thanks for reading, True Believers. I’ll see you at the studio or out in the streets!

I’ve got a sketchbook at home that shall never be for your eyes. I apologize for even bringing it up since I won’t share it, but the concept of having a practice that is not meant for consumption in any way has been so freeing. I doodle whatever I want. I fill pages and pages with textures that make no sense and have no purpose. This means I’ve been really *playing* with colored pencils, and the oil-based nature of the Polychromos brand means I can blend for days, weeks, eons. It also means that when I went to Heavy Manners Library (also a local spot where you should definitely take a class or go to a reading!), I was able to play with this new medium while practicing one of my favorite things — live drawing from a model!

Heavy Manners tends to have their models clothed, and the fits are always top-notch. The images throughout this post are drawings from that session.

Speaking of drawing sessions, I finally felt ready to get tattooed again after a year of no tattoos — the longest I have gone in 22 years. I wasn’t on any sort of strike or healing journey — I just had such a hard time physically and emotionally getting my knee tattooed last October; I was pretty convinced I was broken. I was just balancing too many hard feelings to have a great time literally submitting to the act of being tattooed. BUT DON’T WORRY, SHE’S BACK! And she went wild in a span of a week, lol.

Slimey by Commonground resident artist Desirae! Her American Traditional stylings are just a fucking feat. Book her immediately. Look at how she captured Slimey so well! So happy!

Reaper and little peep-peeps by Graham Chaffee over at Purple Panther Tattoo! If you don’t know it, check it out. Purple Panther is iconic and Graham is so talented. He’s also a comic artist.

I’ve got some new flash out! And here’s some oldies too! If you’d like to grab one of these designs, you can use this fancy link.

What’s she reading!?

I started reading R.F. Kuang’s Babel, but was struggling for some reason. The prose is excellent, the story is so cool — arcane history! But I kept putting it down, so I set it aside since that’s always a sign I’m not engaged enough. Then I fell down a rabbit hole of Crossword Puzzles, and now that’s a fun alternative to anything else I could do on my phone.*

I knew I needed to break my mini-reading-slump, and that’s when I turn to Fluffy Things. One of the fluffier books I read last year was The Thursday Murder Club (which is now a Netflix movie starring Helen Mirren!), and I discovered last month that it’s actually a series. The basic premise is that a cohort of octogenarians living in a retirement community solve murders + cold cases. The second book is The Man Who Died Twice, which I finished last night. I gobbled it up on my day off on the beach.

Next up is a total departure: Bury Our Bons in the Midnight Soil, by V.E. Schwab, of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue fame. The Invisible Life is a really fun read if you like your historic fiction with a dash of devilish magic — it’s a little cheesy but sometimes that’s what we need. Apparently Bury Our Bones is a swing darker, featuring a vampiric twist. I’ll keep you posted!

Events!

I’m trying to solve the best dates for the next Third Place! Part of what’s happening is that September until year’s end is so chaotic. It might be that we do a holiday / December round!

🎃 SAVE THE DATE, SPOOKY CUTIES 🎃

Commonground Studio is hosting a HALLOWEEN PARTY, on October 31 itself! There will be snacks, music, tattoos. We want it to be a flash day, yes, where you can grab a cute Halloween-themed piece of art, but we also want folks to come and hang out with us for the day, before you head out to your evening fun! 3pm-9pm on October 31 at the studio!

That’s all for now, True Believers. Thanks for reading and being, and fighting the good fight. We’ve got each other. 🖤

I turned 40 in May, and one of the themes that keeps coming up in This New Decade is No Matter Where You Go There You Are. What does resilience look like when what’s going on inside *and* outside is hard? Where do we find respite while also providing protection and relief to our neighbors and comrades who have less privilege(s) and access? One of the things that absolutely keeps me going is that everyone around me is having this conversation. That makes me feel less alone, but it also reassures me that the people within my inner and outer circles are committed to social change as much as I am.

I found myself explaining the concept The Personal is the Political during my July travels, and I think that we’re still in a place where we need to hammer that home. What’s going on inside *is* relevant to what’s going on outside — inside our bodies, our homes, our relationships, and outside in our streets, our businesses, our neighborhoods.

Speaking of the personal being the political…

I read Cory Doctorow’s Walkaway last month and if you haven’t heard me talk about it or seen me post about it DON’T WORRY because I am now here, in this here newsletter, telling you to go read it. It’s considered a sort of dark, solarpunk utopia, and it is equal parts a great thriller and also a great playbook for the Always Relevant question: What if we *could* build a better world, right now, with the tools we have?

Also fantastic is Anne Leckie’s The Raven Tower, which I teased out last month too but hadn’t dug into at that time. It’s written in second person, and from the perspective of one of the most ancient gods on earth. Can’t recommend highly enough. I was worried the second person narration was going to drive me nuts but she is *such* a great writer, it works so well.

Currently reading: Colson Whitehead’s Zone One, a 2011 zombie story. As with most Zombie stories, the world that has come after the fall asks us to really question: what are our priorities and what does it mean to be human?

About being human…

SO many IRL, meatspace events to attend! September to early December is always busy busy busy season and despite the insanity of the world, we are all still frothing ourselves up for some gatherings big and small.

THIS WEEKEND, AUGUST 23

I’ll be tattooing at the Vino Vore block party in Silverlake! 1pm-4pm on Hoover Street, come find me in the window for some flash tattoos! There will also be DJs, a pup adoption event, and other vendors! Flash below!

NEXT WEEKEND, SEPTEMBER 6

Commonground Studio is gonna be hanging out in a yard off Avenue 28 for the Cypress Ave Block Party! 10am-3pm, come find us at 599 Buntzman Way. We’ll have $65 flash tattoos, and there will also be DJs and food and fun!

SEPTEMBER 26: FOLSOM STREET FAIR!

I’m making my way northward for Folsom Street Fair! On Friday, September 26, I’ll be tattooing at an Evening Affair (#iykyk). Flash below — email me for details if you’d like to come!

OCTOBER 31 — SAVE THE DATE!

Halloween lands on a Friday this year — which means, FLASH DAY! Save the date because from 3pm-9pm, Commonground Studio will be doing WALK-IN ONLY Halloween tattoos! Come in costume and we’ll give you some treats! Flash sheet dropping soon!

And coming back soon: A THIRD PLACE!

A Third Place was *so* tender and successful, we’re going to be doing it again soon. I just need to peek at the calendar and find the right time. Being together, in person, making art without any final goal or a need to *consume* something to be in the space — I know *I* personally feel rewired whenever I do it. Looking forward to being together again soon.

But what about other flash, kd?

NEVER FEAR, I have been drawing up a storm! Here are some things that are both online and not yet online. Like by what you see? Use this link to snag it, or request your own custom art inspired by it!

(Hahaha, Substack won’t let me edit the above caption. Also a one and done and part of the Pollinator series!)

That’s all for now, True Believers. Thanks for being interested and invested in this weird space, where I’m trying to carve out some portion of the internet that’s still just about art, books, communication, care.

Doing what we can with what we’ve got

Things are happening at an alarming rate. The internet makes everything seem faster. And it’s easy to feel dragged down by the undertow of the overwhelm. I wrap my arms around the tools I know I’ve got at my disposal — a physical brick-and-mortar space; a brain for graphic design and marketing; a history of facilitation and community organizing. Rather than become fixated on what feels so far out of reach, focus in on what you can wrap your own arms around. “It’s not a moment, it’s a movement” — a long game. Stay plugged in and use the tools you got. We’ve got each other.

Speaking of getting each other…

We hired another artist at Commonground! (How’s that for a content transition lol)

And I didn’t say “new” artist because it’s the amazing Roswell (@devilgoat)! We’ve worked with Roz back at our last studio, and we are so honored to have him with us. You can reach out directly via his Instagram to book!

Friday the 13th was a blast and we raised $585 for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights!

And we sang our goddamn hearts out with Teri, our fantastic karaoke host! If you’ve got the funds, please continue to donate to CHIRLA and other orgs — there’s still so much work to be done and folks to protect.

The studio was the tattoo vendor / entertainment at a fantastic conference!

We had the pleasure and the honor of being at the Adolescent and Young Adult Collective conference hosted by Visions last week! We managed to tattoo approximately 90 people in the span of two days, all while outside on a beautiful deck at the gorgeous Calamigos Ranch. It was such a blast! Highly recommend checking out their awesome work.

Looking ahead…!

July 17-19 — BALTIMORE!

I’ll be guest tattooing at Fruit Camp again, this time July 17, 18 and 19. You can book your time here!

FLASH FLASH FLASH!

I’m finally, after such a wild year and a busy season, carving out more time for more flash pieces. You can claim them via my IG DMs, or use the handy booking form.

CUSTOM?

I spent most of this year making BIG custom pieces, and it was fantastic. If the flash isn’t appealing to you, use the booking form and we will schedule an in-person consult to make your custom tattoo dreams happen!

Whatcha reading, kd?

Okay, so I made it a goal last month to read all of what currently exists (Seven books! Yes, she read seven books in a month. Some of them were short) of The Murderbot Diaries just so I could also then fiendishly consume the show. Go read the books. Go watch the show. Good stuff. The books are from the POV of Murderbot, the Corporate-owned security unit who is essentially a non-binary, on-the-spectrum computer murderer who starts to contend with the ultimate issue: what IS being a person?

I also just started The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey. I’m about a third through it but damn, it’s wild. The prose is really fantastic. This is the same team that did The Expanse, if that means anything to y’all (I’ve never read or watched).

Next up is The Raven Tower by Anne Leckie!

Till next time, True Believers!

First things first!

BROOKLYN TATTOO TIME!

I’ll be back at Rebels N Saints May 18, 19, and 20! I have 5 slots left right now for medium sized pieces; about 3 slots if we go bigger. If you want to get yourself into the calendar in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, use this link to claim your spot!

What else is happening in NYC?

KINK OUT: INCARNATE

You might have gotten wind of some wild things Kink Out has been putting together… The culmination of our collaboration with CLAGS, the Power of Leather, is June 1 at TV Eye in Ridgewood! I’ll be doing an installation / performance called The Human Guest Book, where I’ll be transcribing and live-drawing the events of the day by tattooing directly onto a giant swath of leather while a cute human is strapped down underneath. Sponsored by Rough Trade Gear out here in LA! GET TICKETS HERE.

What about Los Angeles, kd?

SO MANY THINGS! Get ready for some great events.

June 7 — I’ll be hanging at DYKE DAY. Come find me and say hi!

June 8 — Commonground Studio is hosting a MAKE YOUR OWN PACKER workshop! One for the (T)boys! Got a lonely sock that lost its partner to the wash? Join our Upcycled Sock Packers Workshop, where we flip the classic sock trick into a refined, sustainable, gender affirming prosthetic. Geared specifically for transmasculine individuals, this workshop teaches sustainable methods to create comfortable packers using sewing and patterning techniques. By the end of the session, you'll walk away with a packer that fits your needs and level up your sewing skills for future projects! 3pm-5pm at the studio! Sliding $cale!

June 13 — It’s Friday the 13th and we’re going to have a special PRIDE EDITION! 12pm-7pm at the studio, with karaoke again and delicious baked goods!

June 30 — We’re having another THIRD PLACE at Commonground! Bring snacks, a chair, and whatever art project you’re currently working on. We’ll be hanging from 5pm-8pm to make art together and just be. Commune, create, engage — the revolution starts with building a proper Public Commons where we can all gather, and Commonground is committed to that!

AND DID YOU KNOW?

I’m an artist donating my time to the A Thousand Pansies Project!

About the project: A Thousand Pansies @a1000pansies is a project started by  Cedre Csillagi, a nonbinary tattoo artist, as a way to raise funds for organizations that support the trans community  and also to show solidarity and pride.  A Thousand Pansies’ goal is to tattoo 1000 pansies, with all proceeds donated directly to organizations supporting trans and non-binary communities. The pansy tattoo is intended to be a symbol of resilience and a marking of love and support, to be worn by allies and community.

Due to the urgency of the current political climate we are now also offering sliding scale pansies at $200-300 each. The Knights and Orchids Society needs us more then ever.

Message me to request a Pansy Donation slot!

DID YOU ALSO KNOW?

Commonground Studio is seeking another artist! We currently have 3 artists in the space and would love another talented, sweet human to join us. Rent is $250 a week, all supplies covered except for your machine and needles. You can apply here! Not an artist yourself but know some great tattooers looking for a new home? Feel free to send them our way!

WHAT’S SHE CURRENTLY READING

(A few folks have appreciated my book recommendations, so I’m gonna try and carve out a space for the newsletter to discuss!)

JUST FINISHED

But Not Too Bold by Hache Pueyo

Sweet queer monster novella — highly recommend. The back says “Mexican Gothic meets The Shape of Water” and that is such an apt description. I took this one out of the library but I’ll probably buy it because it was so good. Just my style.

Brother Brontë by Fernando A. Flores

“Parable of the Sower” meets “Fahrenheit 451,”

CURRENTLY READING

Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yamboa

Very Studio Ghibli style fantasy-meets-science book. I’m not entirely in love with the prose but I do love the story and the world-building!

UP NEXT

Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

I loved Americanah and We Should All Be Feminists, and I’ve been waiting for Dream Count!

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

I can’t get enough of Grady Hendrix. If you know me, you know I’m actually a big Scaredy Cat and don’t love horror movies or depictions of violence. Hendrix has a real specific way he handles the scares and violence in his work, and it’s calibrated just right.

Random kd thoughts

There are many ways to participate in collective resistance. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and think you need to Do It All. One, you can’t do it all. You’re one person. However, you can do what’s within your reach and ability, and that work can fit into the greater fabric of all the hard work we’re all doing. If you have $ to donate, donate it! If you have time to give, give it! Find your strength in the movement and work from there. I have to remind myself of this all the time — I constantly want to be everywhere all at once. Something I’ve learned about myself is that I am most valuable as an artist and space-provider — I can donate my design and my tattooing, I can use the physical space of Commonground to carve out spaces of connection and resistance. And, in a “softer skill”* way, I can provide the emotional space for folks — the invisible labor of listening and connecting people.

*I totally dislike the concept of “hard” skills vs. “soft” skills — as if the quieter, less tangible work is somehow now as powerful as the physical work. However, I think often these skills are invisible and not given the space they deserve in movement work. It’s *really* hard to organize, and one of the foundations of community and cultural organizing is emotional labor and communication.

Keep fighting the good fight, true believers. We’re all we have.

This last Monday, March 24, we hosted A Third Place at Commonground Studio. I’ve been doing a lot (too much?) thinking about what it means to gather lately. It feels like every single interaction is cannibalized and commodified. What if there was a place that required no interactions with capitalism? A place to rest, create, be? These spaces have consistently disappeared — they’ve been carved away, turned into parking lots. Some parks have gates on them now; police presences in “public” spaces are stronger and scarier.

One of my favorite things about having access to my Own Space is that I can do whatever I want with it. It’s not a very big space, we have a measly 325 square feet to use. But that doesn’t make it any less meaningful or powerful to have people come and take a workshop, learn a new skill, or just be together while making some art.

Folks brought crocheting, knitting, bedazzling, doodling, painting, leatherwork. I carved a linoleum block, because I’ve decided to start printmaking aggressively as a creative tactic and to seize the means of production, lol. I left on my bicycle, so filled up with the joy that comes from when an event is full, bright, and cheerful.

The next Third Place will be on April 21. So come on through! The only thing we need to augment / update / respond to is that we need more CHAIRS. So next time, it’s BYOChair so we don’t have everyone sitting on the floor with their needlepoint.

Caps lock

If you’ve gotten tattooed by me, we’ve probably talked about capitalism, ahahaha. It’s foundational to understanding our collective struggle. I’m by no means someone who falls prey to trying to exist in a utopia that isn’t here yet — we all gotta grind. I’m grinding right now by writing out these thoughts! But I always want to analyze, assess, and engage with all of this material. My latest read is really sparking that sort of intellectual joy:

CAPS LOCK by Ruben Pater is a great read so far. Take it out from your local library, and grab the physical book — it’s tautologically imperative that a book about design is well designed so this is also a great object to flip through, period. This is truly a history book as well as a theory book, so buckle in to start with going as far back as Mesopotamia and the ledgers used back then to track financial records, all the way to current design collectives working towards a greater good and world of social design.

Everywhere really is queer

I had the absolute pleasure this week of tattooing C, the developer behind the fabulous Everywhere Is Queer app! We found each other through the app. It’s such a service that this FREE app exists — it is a direct link to supporting the Queer Economy. If you follow me on socials, you’ve probably seen me promote them a lot — it’s because they really are putting their energy and money and time where needed, and it shows.

Kink out: Incarnate

I’ve been working with the Kink Out Collective since 2017 (!!!), and we’ve got a great event coming up for you. All the big details will be announced very soon but give them a follow on IG and Substack, and stay tuned. I’ve got a wild live tattoo + leather performance planned!

SAVE THE DATE: KINK OUT INCARNATE

June 1, 2025 2-10pm ET TV Eye 1647 Weirfield Street, Ridgewood, NY 11385

Kick off Pride Month and roll into International Wh0res Day at the finale of CLAGS x Kink Out’s Power of Leather series.

KINK OUT INCARNATE is a day of Leather History, Art, and Embodied Experience.

Expect immersive, durational performance art and live leather installations, plus Intergenerational Boot Black Panel and service stations.

More Info TBA

More floral Flash

Speaking of books, I snagged this great book of plates of classic floral illustrations, and I’m (very) slowly drawing my way through it. So this flash above is available! Hoping to add more and more inspired flash imagery for y’all.

Lastly! The usual event round-up!

April 7, 8, 9 — I’ll be in Sacramento! Come and get tattooed! Only 3 spots left right now and they’re going fast. I’ll be at Better Days Tattoo!

April 21 — A Third Place at Commonground Studio! 5pm-8pm.

May 18, 19, 20 — I’ll be in Brooklyn! Back at Rebels n Saints, my origin story, hahaha. You can snag a spot here!

June 1 — That fancy Kink Out event in NYC! Stay tuned here.

That’s all for now, lovelies. Hold each other tight; get messy, make mistakes; tell your sweeties you love them.

“Because the world is so full of death and horror, I try again and again to console my heart and pick the flowers that grow in the midst of hell.” — Herman Hesse

I got to spend some much needed respite with some dear ones out in Colorado last week, and I feel rejuvenated in many ways. It was nice to visit a place I’ve only ever gone through on my way to other places (Hi, Blucifer!), and enjoy a combination of the Denver city life and the natural expanse of the state. It feels important to hold onto joy while also being conscious and present with the current hellscape. We spent a lot of our time discussing what it means to expect the worst (being Plannerly, as I was calling it) and also hold onto what’s joyful and good in these fleeting moments (staying Present). Striking the combination of Plannerly While Present is… not easy. Seesawing between dread and panic feels more “correct” right now, but it’s not sustainable. We can’t let ourselves fall into panic and despair — otherwise we won’t have energy for the long game. And this is a Long Game.

My friends in Denver know me really well, and we spent the last day of our trip visiting Matter, a design + print shop + bookstore downtown. Y’all, Matter is really cool. Aspirational. Inspirational. Social justice meets Design focused, which is totally my jam and also frankly the point of art if you ask me. Art and media should speak to power; stories should inspire and engage. Rick Griffith, one of the founders of the space, was hosting a gathering of independent booksellers when we walked in, so we managed to sneak into a tour of the print studio. (I absolutely impulse-bought 3 prints.)

(Substack is so silly and won’t let me edit the captions above now. The first image is Rick showing some of the letter press designs they have. They have a store btw.)

I definitely plan on going back to Denver, especially to visit my sweeties!, and I’m also thinking I’ll guest tattoo there. If you’re a local, and you know a great spot for me to tattoo at, message me!

Speaking of guest spots, I’ve finally organized some of my future travel for the spring!

I’ll be in Sacramento at Better Days Tattoos April 7, 8, and 9! You can inquire here about booking, and please, tell your Sac friends!

I’ve also got my NYC dates lined up at Rebels N Saints in Greenpoint, Brooklyn! I haven’t formally announced those dates yet, so y’all get first dibs on slots. I’ll be at Rebels May 18, 19, and 20 (with Thursday, the 21, possibly available if those other days get filled up!). You can request some NYC time by using my inquiry form here, and I’ll send you a special link to get yourself into the calendar.

I’ve got a lot of flash sketched out, but here are the finished, inked pieces available for you to snag! More to come, as there is always more to come. Use this link to claim this ONE and DONE flash. (ONE AND DONE: you buy it and it’s yours! No repeats!)

Here’s a final round-up of all the events and dates, as well as some questions for you all to consider at the bottom of this post!

March 30 — QueerQuest at Commonground! Want to learn more about D&D? Join us!

April 7, 8, 9 — Sacramento Dates! Inquire here. Tell your friends!

May 4 — Commonground Studio will be repping at Your Muther’s new party SWITCH in Los Angeles! Come and get tiny tattoos!

May 18, 19, 20 — I’ll be guesting at Rebels in Brooklyn! Grab a spot!

June 1 — I’ve been cooking up something in NYC with the Kink Out Collective… stay tuned!

Now for the questions and thoughts I have, which my Colorado trip let me marinate on:

I’ve been thinking more and more about how much we all really need to connect right now. We always do, we always have, but it’s time to be together and IN PERSON. So I’m thinking of starting a monthly gathering at Commonground, called THIRD PLACE. What I picture is: tea, snacks, and everyone brings whatever art project they’re currently working on. It can be for work, but ideally this is a place where we can just be together and create. Does this appeal?

Relatedly, I’ve been wondering if I should make myself available for art and portfolio reviews. I’ve got 20+ years experience as a graphic designer, illustrator, and art director, and I’d be more than happy to let people “pick my brain” for a small reasonable fee. It won’t take me long to set up a way to book me — does THIS appeal?

Let me know if you’d like to utilize these ideas / thoughts / spaces!

Stay strong, make mistakes, get messy, kiss your comrades. Till next time. 🖤

First, a specific day for love!

Flash drop coming soon! We’re excited to celebrate the Day of Love with y’all. We’ll have more complicated flash than our last flash day, and spot color available for them too. Plus some amazing sheets from Desirae, who designed our last flash day sheet! Book your time here with Charlie and me, or click here to book with Des!

Also that weekend: we have Vega, a fantastic qpoc piercer in the house! Book him here!

I want to use this space to show more process, as well as some non-tattoo-focused art. The thing about an art practice is that everything informs everything else — so I often find that my approach to painting bleeds into my tattooing, and back and forth forever.

If you’re new here, welcome. If you’ve been around a while, you’ll recognize that the above illustration is absolutely 100000% what I want to draw all the time. “Naturalist” style — the sort of illustration you’d find in a book or nature magazine to show how an animal looks and moves. Most likely with small, numbered diagrams to explain all the animal’s bits and pieces. I absolutely love when folks come to me for an animal, or animal-inspired, image that plays on these elements. I enjoy choosing what details can really be shown in simple line work. While it’s a totally different art style, I’m very inspired by Obi Kaufman’s work:

Highly recommend picking any of his books up. They’re beautiful and dense and you’ll really appreciate nature in totally new ways.

When I’m prepping these custom requests, I look at several sources: photographs of the actual animal; illustrations by other artists and naturalists; and sometimes even videos of how the animal moves. It’s fun to dive deep. It also feels important to not immediately grab the first image on Pinterest or Google as inspiration (and to double check sources!) — this is how things all start to look the same, like a visual feedback loop.

I draw a rough shape of the animal first, in a very thick brush on my iPad. I swing back and forth between using paper versus digital for my brainstorms — right now the brainstorms are happening on my iPad, and my more playful or less-directed work is in sketchbooks and on canvas. Drawing is like an act of carving for me: I work in large and broad strokes, and then on a fresh layer (or a piece of trace vellum), I use a slightly smaller, tighter pen to refine and refine and refine.

I’ve found, even when working with “wet” media, this is the best way for me to draw. Otherwise I start to get nitpicky from the very beginning — literally can’t see the forest for the trees. I’ll start to carve into details before I have the composition ready, and that’s just a way to lose sight of scale and overall flow.

If you thought the strawberry with a sword design for our Valentine’s Flash Day was inspired by this oil painting I’m working on, then yes, you’d be right — I’ve become obsessed with fruits and tight close ups of animals when I paint. I’ve only been oil painting for about a year so every new painting is a new learning curve.

And if you ALSO thought I had clever ways to close out these consistent missives I’ve committed to, you are incorrect. I’ll see you in the streets!

(Oh, did you come here looking for a tattoo request form? You got it.)

(Wait, did you come here by accident? Welcome, here’s a basic idea of who I am.)

The level of excitement I just got from crossing off a single thing on my to-do list — it’s the little things. One of the things I just crossed off in my notebook (My favorite notebooks are gridded, so I can write and doodle in all directions. Plus I like the texture of the grid behind text and imagery.) is “pinned instagram announcement for substack” — which really sounds like such a weird string of phrases. In an effort to protect my mental health, and stop giving my time and data to garbage companies, I’m moving more intentionally into this space. This is, actually, the whole point of this Substack: an alternative to these tech giants who get to determine SO much of our digital engagement now.

All of my rants (quips? jokes? babbling brooks?) are rooted in all the books I read so now I share with you a fantastic read about the internet and how it was and how it is, all overlaid with the power of trans activism — Katherine Cross’s “Log Off.” Once upon a time the internet was a dense, rich, wild forest that one could climb through and organically discover things and learn information — now it is a series of strictly policed highways that control where you go and what you find. Cross makes the very valuable point that the internet (specifically, social media) is a utility — not a community. Changing my relationship to these things has been deeply influenced by this thought, a sort of creeping feeling that maybe the current iteration of the internet is fed by only the darkest parts of capitalism and destruction, and that it’s time for us to see these platforms as tools (like we do a hammer, or an old school landline telephone on the wall, or our fridge) rather than as actual spaces.

Especially now since there is a physical space for people to gather, one that I get to (mostly) create the terms. One of the consistent refrains we hear at Commonground is that the vibe, the energy of the space is so kind, so welcoming. This is absolutely foundational for me. Everything else feels secondary — we have managed to make a small room a place people want to be, want to go, want to share.

Our Tattoo Flash Fundraiser on January 18 for the Pasadena Humane Society was absolutely amazing! Since we’ve extended the flash through the end of the month, we haven’t done the final numbers yet, but we know we’re upwards of about ~$2.5k — WHICH IS AMAZING! Thanks to everyone who came through and supported and hung out and all the cuties who also brought us treats and snacks!

Process Process Process

There are some awesome events happening at Commonground in the next few months…! Here’s what’s cooking!

February 14 — VALENTINE’S FLASH DAY! 12pm-7pm, prices and art currently being worked on. We’ll have tarot, tamales, baked goods, a giant heart made of balloons (lol), and a photographer on site to document all your love!

February 15 and 16 — Local qpoc piercer VEGA is in the house doing a guest spot! Contact him here to get all your bits and bobbles pierced.

February 22 and 23 — We have a visiting artist! Christina, aka Unicorn Poison, will be tattooing in the space. DM to book!

March 29 — QUEER QUEST! We tried doing this last year — an intro to D&D, but we aimed it at the youths. We changed our minds. JOIN US for an ADULTS ONLY D&D space. Always wanted to dip your toes into D&D and didn’t know how to begin? Well, this is your chance! Interested? Reach out here to let us know you want to join us on March 29!

More soon, sweet pets. Stay strong, take chances, make mistakes, get messy, kiss your friends.

(Did you come here seeking a way to request a tattoo session? Don’t worry, I got you.)

First, if you’re new here, welcome! This space is primarily for folks to claim flash first — subscribers get first dibs. Its second-most purpose is to show process, and sort of talk about my own personal stuff. I say sort of because I’m always so wary of parasocial relationships! What do they mean! How do they work! What does it mean to take this space to share details about my life? I’ve truly got no idea. But welcome to this ride!

FIRST… THE FLASH

I just read the book Pod by Laline Paul. I highly recommend it, but trigger warning: she doesn’t shy away from the brutality of what the natural ocean world is like and there’s a lot of hard stuff, including death, violence, destruction, climate change, and r*pe. It’s beautifully written and a book entirely from the different perspectives of sea animals. The cover design is gorgeous. Proceed with caution.

I’m always inspired by the ocean but this book put these animals into my mind in a different way, and so here’s a Shark Series for you all! I plan on doing more specific focuses in this style, so stay tuned. These are ONE AND DONE, so feel free to use this link to claim yours!

As per usual, sizing and location on the body determine the $ quote! I’m always willing to work with folks. When you fill out the request form, you can let me know your budget.

I’m considering doing a sheet of smaller sharks to repeat (as in, not one-and-done and also at a lower cost), since Sharks Are Awesome. Once that drops, you’ll be able to find those on instagram. (Here’s the link to claim one of the sharks above again!)

Some dates for you all to save… 👀

February 14 — we’ll be doing a special Valentine’s Day flash special at the shop! There will be baked goods, potentially a photographer, and tarot! Keep an eye on IG for this!

February 15 & 16 — We’ll have an amazing qpoc piercer, Vega, at the shop! Come get pierced! Check them out here.

June 13 — There’s only one Friday the 13th in 2025, and it’s PRIDE MONTH! So get ready, we are going to have a whole PARTY.

More fun events will definitely happen, but these are the definites for now.

That’s all for now, True Believers. Thank you so much for you…!

You can claim, as a Substacker!, yours here. These are one and done, so once you’ve snagged yours, it’s yours and yours alone!

I fell down a total rabbit hole researching details about the film — one of my favorite things to do while watching a movie. Should there be another flash sheet of the more minor characters? Do we need Glinda? The Lollipop Guild? Those scary trees? Or are we just gonna go right into some Wicked ones!?

Next, these have been posted, but I haven’t really formally rolled them out: the newest tiny repeatable gems!

$50 a pop, these will repeat! You can snag them from anyone in the shop, so feel free to message here to claim one — or several!

I’ve finally redesigned my desk to be entirely about art + painting. No more computer for this guy. How is she faring as an iphone + ipad only human? Jury is still out! There’s a weird part of me that still feels like typing on my phone or ipad is “not real work” (???) and emails should only be sent when the screen is Very Very Big. Don’t worry, those threads are already fraying.

Anyway! Art practiiiiiiiices! Here’s a pic of my freshly minted art desk from a few weeks ago, after I initially de-tech-ified it.

More soon, True Believers!

I don’t tend to use this space to talk about too many deeply personal things, as social media and the internet have increasingly caused more harm than good. I do think, however, that the spaces I have carved out in these worlds allow for being a real person rather than an idea, and so I’m going to be honest and say it’s been really hard over here. One of the hard things has been very public: the sudden, tragic loss of Disco the Dog. Another is more private, #iykyk, and has made the grieving process very sharp and hard.

If I’ve been slow to reply to messages, emails, texts, follow-ups, it’s because grief and anxiety are weighing equally inside of me and, frankly, I’m struggling. I put this out there for just general context. I’m in the sludge right now. The only way out is through, etc. etc. etc.

This isn’t a unique-to-me experience — and I’ve been buoyed and cared for by so many wonderful people. And being vulnerable about what’s happening has had a beautiful boomerang effect — my loved ones feel ready to also share their pain and fears and ask for what they need. Interdependence is very cool.

A dear friend recommended this book to me, and while it’s hard to read right now, it’s also been a great anchor for all my feelings. So, now I recommend it to you:

Thank you for reading this far into a post that is definitely unlike my last ones. I’ve been mostly using this space as a way to promote my art practice, but the truth is, I can’t really separate the person from the practice. So, welcome to this very vulnerable post.

Now for some of the usual.

Our Friday the 13 at Commonground was absolutely delightful. Our clients (you!) are really just the best. The vibes are always immaculate, and everyone always brings their best selves. Photos will be on IG shortly. There’s another Friday the 13 in December, so keep your peepers peeped.

I’ve got some new flash and some older flash I’m dusting off for you all. You get first dibs as subscribers.

You can use this link to claim any of the flash you see here.

Two new series alerts:

1. The above iguana in a spiked collar is the start of animals in cute leather gear. Feel free to submit your own favorite animal.

2. And up next…

I drew this Sexy Steer as a (much rougher, lol) doodle while I was on hold with my insurance company (x_x), and after being on the phone for 90+ minutes and gazing at him, I decided he deserved his own pin-up series. He doesn’t have a name yet — I am so open to suggestions. (Claim him here.)

Lastly, some oldies but goodies that still haven’t been done yet.

Thanks for tuning in, true believers. I don’t know much about life, but I do know that we need each other. It is the most human thing about us. So, thank you for you.

(Did you make it this far and don’t want to scroll up for a link to claim one of these pieces? Don’t worry, I got you.)