I’m booking tattoos for august!

AUGUST BOOKING LINK

I have fairly limited availability as I’m Getting my tonsils removed!

on top of a busy gym job schedule.

Sketches That Could Be Tattoos

I’ve been trying to draw in my sketchbook more, So here are some of those sketches! I’d be happy to turn any of these into designs!

The Un-Tonsiling

As some of you may know, I’ve been dealing with repeated strep and other bacterial infections for the last few years and have decided to get my tonsils removed!

I’m very excited to not be in constant throat pain and hopefully be sick less of the year

(I was sick 4 times in three months at the beginning of the year and it really set me back)

Ill be having surgery in the middle of the month and delaying tattoos until i’m sure I’m ship shape.

But i’ll happily book for the beginning and end of the month!

I love you

-Aspen

May Booking Link: https://form.jotform.com/261116199817160

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Art and My Relationship To It.

I have entered into a new rebirthed relationship with drawing. I’ve spent the last year working at the climbing gym and letting myself have some space from art and drawing while still tattooing part time. This was excellent for my mental health, and in the new year I felt a renewed desire to pursue art more fully, but found myself experiencing the same frustrations and negative self talk that I had experienced before.

I think I’ve been burnt out since I graduated college in 2018. I don’t think I ever fully addressed that in myself and have been whittling down my resolve ever since.

I realized that I needed even more of a reset, so during the past few weeks I have set the intention: Anything I draw will simply have no purpose. The small shame / critique voice that plays in my head when I sit down to draw is constantly saying:

“this isn’t good enough, this is the wrong direction, this won’t be a good tattoo, this too detailed, this isn’t detailed enough.”

This voice just holds me back from wanting to draw at all, but by removing the end goal of a drawing I can simply say to myself:

“so what? I’m just drawing, it doesn’t need to be anything specific”

This little shift has made it so much easier to sit down and draw for longer periods of time because I’m not also dealing with the mental load of trudging through my loud little brain.

Below are some of the sketch pages I’ve done.
If any of these images strike you feel free to reach out and I’d be happy to adjust them to be tattooable

Life and Climbing

I went to red rocks again for a different friend’s birthday. It was 4 gorgeous days, the longst I’ve climbed outside. We even met some other queers at the crag and of course I just happened to know one of them because theres only 3 gay people in the world.

Not much else besides that.

Photos below

Take care

I love you

-Aspen

Above: A wide shot with candle on the left climbing a beautiful route

Above: Candle climbing a route on the Pantie Wall with Cley belaying

Above: The three of us with Cley and I looking like a strange couple and Candle as our adopted child.

Above: A sweet bug matching this yellow flower.

https://form.jotform.com/260514934772158

I have a fun page of flash for you guys!

These are inspired by Brachiolaria, small juvenile starfish.

I’ve included one that I left in the sketch stage that I’d love to tattoo as is, leaving it looser and more playful.

LIFE:

As many of you may have noticed from my stories, I have been getting sick a lot this last year. This has lead to numerous reschedules, a hesitancy to schedule people who are coming from out of town, and a lot of financial hardship on myself as I have not been able to work my second job for weeks of the year.

This is hopefully going to end soon as I’m going to an Ear Nose and Throat Doctor to hopefully talk about getting my tonsils removed! Yay!

This in itself will result in me being out of commission for a week or two but hopefully after that things should be moving much smoother going forward.

For those who have been rescheduled due to my illness I want to thank you for your grace and kindness. I have never received anything but well wishes and it is so appreciated. I always want to be at my best when I am giving you permanent art on your body

Here’s looking to a new beautiful year of no tonsils.

I love you

-Aspen

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https://form.jotform.com/260188447067161

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As many of you saw, I started a sick gnarly back piece and Now I’m fully obsessed with deep sea creatures. I want all your hag fish, your brachiolaria, your deep sea freaks. please let me tat them on you in terrifying colors. please god please please please please.

Hag fish Are silly skin socks that make slime. Just like me.

Baby starfish dancing

we could create such beautiful monsters together. Just think about it.

Life Besides Tattoos:

I got to go to Red Rock Park Nevada for my bestie Candles birthday. Sick climbing. I’m getting more and more comfortable climbing and leading outdoors. Even took a 15ft fall. (photos below)

I’m excited to start projecting some routes outdoors this year. Maybe stuff out in Malibu with my friend Pluto

I’ve been thinking about the new year a lot. What I want to do with my life. What I feel capable of. Who I want to be. Its all feeling very possible, so I’m going to go through my loose ideas of the year

Art and Tattooing:

I want to tattoo more. I took the part time job at the climbing gym as a way to allow myself space from art, drawing and tattoos. This felt necessary as I’ve been burnt out on art since halfway through college. Now that I’ve had that space apart, (along with a lot of therapy) I feel much more capable of engaging with art from a place of excitement and joy.

It’s still difficult for me to sit down and make art. I have this constant noise of shame buzzing through my head telling me I've fallen too far behind and its not worth it, that something is too hard for me to accomplish I shouldn’t even try, or that my ideas are not interesting enough to be valuable. But now I’m so much more capable of pausing and talking to that scared little version of myself tenderly, and allowing myself to just… draw.

Going forward I’ll be working the gym less and focusing on Art and Tattooing more. I’m going to attempt to play the Instagram game more, make some reels (crying) and hopefully find more and more people that want to explore weird things with me on skin.

Doing Things I Like:

I spent a lot of time last year and every year before it doing a lot of things that did not feel fulfilling for me. Drowning in my phone is at the tipity top of the list and I simply want to do things that I enjoy going forward and don’t make me feel like an existential sludge. To remind myself that so many of the things I want to do take less time and energy than I think. But that whispering gremlin goes

“No! cooking an egg takes to much time! watch more Instagram reels instead”

I want to try at any given moment to be doing something intentional, even if its relaxing and watching phone, I simply want to choose to be doing that. It feels silly to be 31 and finally feel any sense of control over my life but here we are.

Backpacking:

I’m going to start backpacking this year! With my best friend Candle. I’ve enjoyed my journey into climbing so much and I just want to walk in the woods and feel consumed by it all. I’m slowly collecting and inheriting items but if you have any backpacking gear you want to get rid of, that would be a lovely tip for lil ol’ me

I’m excited to Explore around LA and into the Sierras. If you have any Route Recs or just want to chat with me about climbing or hiking don’t hesitate

That’s it. I just wanna draw and do stuff outside.

It feels a bit simple writing it all out but I feel at peace with these goals :-) art and nature.

To close things out here are the books I’m reading:

Your Love is Not Good by Johanna Hedva (lonely, pondering Art World novel)

The Lamb by Lucy Rose ( queer parental cannibalism.)

Garden of Spheres by Linnea Sterte (graphic novel gifted by Hudson who got the big oceanic back piece inspired by Linnea’s other graphic novel Stages of Rot which is the most me thing ever)

Thank you for reading

I love you

-Aspen

Here are some photos from Red Rock Climbing:

Wildly gorgeous light on the rocks.

Super Cool scrambly approaches with the lovelies scraggly trees

Pluto Scoping out Caustic

candle climbing snagglepuss

Stellar crag dogs. good scramblers.

It was an awesome trip.

Here is my booking link for January

https://form.jotform.com/253517246099161

I don’t have new flash for you this go round but please check out my flash story on Instagram to see what’s available!

I love you

-Aspen

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December is upon us, and I’ll be in Los Angeles the whole darn time! So if you are coming from out of town to see family now would be a great time to stop in and get a tattoo!

Here is your booking link

https://form.jotform.com/253186589833169

I have some flash for you and I’d like to start with these newer renditions of an old piece that I absolutely adored and would love to do more of.

I’m really excited about these designs and would love to do them large, ideally an upper arm, calf, fore arm, or back. but open to other placements or alterations, or inspired designs.

In the same vein I have some more fairy inspired designs. The plain ones will be repeatable and the ones with accoutrements will be one off designs.

Lastly, I have these random bits and bobs that I collected from around my iPad. The mouse is shrike prey. A shrike is a carnivorous song bird that impales it’s prey on thorns and other sharp objects.

As always, I’d love to do more deconstructed animals, bones, guts, color in all sorts.

As for my personal life, I’ve been listening to a lot of the band Mercury in my car, and bemoaning the state of things.

Also working quite a lot at the climbing gym which is a nice steady place for my brain.

Not too much to update.

I hope you’re all well.

I love you

-Aspen

It is the fall, and finally it is chilly and I’m happy!

Here is your booking link for November!

https://form.jotform.com/252876110342149

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I had a lovely trip to New York the first week of October and I’m feeling reinvigorated with my art.

I’m really enjoying things with more shading, and I’d love to do more sketchy style things with rougher shading and looser lines.

I only have one pre-drawn design for this newsletter, trying to play with light more.

but I’ve been trying to draw up more deconstructed animals as well, but have only amounted to some sketches.

so please enjoy these pinterest birds

other than that, I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts, mostly “If books could kill” and “5-4” the later of which has armed me with knowledge as well as a deep depression. Yay!

I’m also deep within Hollow Knight Silk Song which I’m absolutely in love with. such and incredible game and I really want to do some flash with bell designs because of it.

I hope the cool weather and rain is treating you well and I can’t wait to tattoo you in November.

I love you

-Aspen

I’ll only be out of town the first week of the month which means that I have 3 full weekends to ink some sick scary tats just in time to show them off with your scantily clad Halloween costumes!

you can submit your LOS ANGELES October tattoo request below

https://form.jotform.com/252578498092169

I’ve been working on some new flash for everyone

I really want to work on a large set of deconstructed animals, as well as some insects and skulls as those are some of my most requested flash pieces. Somehow my brain always locks up when trying to do them on my own without a custom request to carry my motivation forward.

but in the mean time I have some knives and bullets for you

Trying to expand my subject matter:

I don’t have too much in the way of personal updates. I’m working quite a lot recently. which has me quite tired and less available for my social life but I’m still finding time to climb.

I Went to a wedding in the upper peninsula of Michigan (the U.P. for those in the know) and chatted up many bewildered republican family members. Saw some gorgeous mushrooms that I want to do a flash sheet of as well.

Things are pretty scary for trans people right now. I don’t really know how to prepare for the future. It feels silly to write little updates, to post tattoos and ask people to pay me money. I feel like this quandary arises anytime there is present strife on social media and the world. I can only hope that art has a place in the fear and uncertainty. That what I’m doing has some positive effect on people even on an individual level.

I don’t know…

stay safe ya’ll

give your trans friends some money

Tell a doll shes hot. (preferably written on a crisp 100$ bill)

I love you

-Aspen

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After much clamoring and whining and wanting and yearning I am finally coming back to the Biggest Apple.

I Will be working for about 3 days and will take between 3 and 6 appointments prioritizing larger pieces especially color, and work aligned with what I have been doing recently. The guts, the bits, the bones, and of course, the knives!

you can submit your booking request through this link

https://form.jotform.com/252505054456151

So excited to see all your shining faces and have an escape from the heat of LA.

Love

-Aspen

here is your booking link for july!

https://form.jotform.com/251737750767165

Tattoo Desires and a Singular Flash

Below is an example flash (also available) for what i’m really excited about!

Anything with blood vessels and bones and shading and colour is really getting my goat lately. Also open to anything and everything.

I’ve been curious to do more flowers as well!

Life: Climb girl, Climb that rock!

I recently go to go on a little climbing trip to the High Sierras, climbing in Yosemite and just outside of Bishop, and it was so amazingly beautiful and fun. My first time on rock that didn’t feel like it was about to pop out at any point.

This was pine creek canyon just outside of bishop. I also had the absolute pleasure of experiencing the bishop gear exchange, a consignment shop for outdoor gear. And was then plied with liquors at the Owens Valley Distillery.

Books: Mostly Audio on the Car Ride

Raw Dog by Jamie Loftus - very funny history and tour of hotdogs with a heavy leftist lean.

What Tech Calls Thinking by Adrian Daub - a quick read dismantling much of the self mythologising that the tech sector does.

The Pairing by Casey McQuiston - Very fun hot and horny romance of two queer exes going on a sex contest through western Europe.

anyways

hope to tattoo you this month

I love you

-Aspen

So use the link below to book your tattoo for June!

https://form.jotform.com/251395424397162

and don’t forget to subscribe!

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Flash Concepts

here are some new flash concepts. I want to experiment with some more abstract design motifs and using gradients to explore color. These are just examples, would love to dive into different bones, colors, shapes, working with the body.

Life: Climber Girl

I’ve been climbing outside more! I had a lovely trip to Malibu Creek where I got to lead some fun stuff on the stumbling blocks and Mt Gorgeous. I even worked on a 10c that I fell on the crux of. The mind game of climbing outdoors is really fun for me. You never know if a hold you’re going for is gonna be good or not, especially with all the pockets of Malibu Creek.

I’m Signed up to take a 12 week (once a week) gym to outdoors course to hone my technical abilities. I’m super excited to learn more about anchors and rescue and all sorts of things.

Books That I’m currently reading:

Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green

The Light Eaters by Zoe Schlanger

The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi

Would Highly recommend all three.

That’s all for now!

Hope you see you in June

love

Aspen

I have a booking link for you for the month of May in the year of our lord two thousand twenty and five.

May Booking Form

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Depression Chat:

I dont have any new flash for you this month.

If I said I’m trying I think that would be true?

Maybe it would be helpful to talk about my depression a bit.

I’ve had chronic depression since early college, maybe even highschool. It cycles in and out. In the past I got maybe one good month in 4. Lately its been a bit more of an even split of good months and bad. I get exhausted and isolate myself from friends and loved ones. It becomes incredibly difficult to make myself draw during these times which often ends up depressing me more.

But medication and therapy have been helping immensely in the last year. Ive been able to scrape those bad months into something manageable. I’ve been focusing on kindness towards myself as I can easily just shame spiral from just being depressed and angry at myself about being depressed.

I thought it might be helpful to talk about it. Hopefully some young artist reads this and doesnt feel so alone. And that folks understand why I haven’t been posting as much.

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Reading Books:

I couldnt finish the Deamon Copper Head. Truly such a slog. Got half way through and gave up.

I just finished Ready Player One, and had a silly stupid romp through that book.

Finished The Husbands, a book about a woman who discovers that she has a husband suddenly, and whenever he goes in the attic he becomes a different husband. Such a fun romp and meditation on love and relationships.

Also Finally finished Manhunt, a trans post apocalypse horror novel. Gross and gritty and awful. A terrible and terrific time.

I’m also giving The Overstory another shot. I’m liking it a lot more with my second attempt and the short story nature of it is allowing me to approach it a lot more easily

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Climbing:

One way I have been staving off the depression is climbing as much as I can. Working at a climbing gym has let me meet a lot of lovely poeple and I was able to climb outsite for the first time! We went to Malibu Creek, and I lead a 10a outside, even took my first outdoor whip and lived to tell the tale.

Stay Safe

I love you

-Aspen

here is your sought after April Booking form

https://form.jotform.com/250765746302155

I would love (but am not limited) to keep exploring animals, Bones with some abstract things, guts and rope, and always always always down to do some fun color experiments.

I drew up some Bird skulls below, My goal this year is to update my flash with more repeatable options

Now for your equally sought after aspen ramblings.

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I have been working my second job for about a month now. I’m working at the Strong Hold climbing gym as a front desk girlie. The space away from creativity has done exactly what I hoped, which was mental clarity and a better appreciation of the art I get to do. Drawing feels more pleasurable and less pressured. Tattooing feels relaxed and devoid of major stress. I also get to hang around climbing all day which makes my little arms happy to see.

I have spent a large portion of my life feeling detached from who I am. Lacking solid definitions of pleasures and interests. Always feeling a need to define myself by what I'm not doing. Not drawing enough. Not reading enough. Not moving enough.

It feels like such a relief to allow myself to exist now. It also feels incredibly silly that the me that exists loves to climb plastic little rocks. But I feel hungry for the outdoors. For real rocks and camping and splashing water and long hikes. It feels good to want in these ways. I’m excited for the summer.

My goal for next month is to write a small essay about parasites and how the relate to my transness. Stay tuned.

I am currently reading two things:

Anne Carson, Glass, Irony, and God

Barbra Kingsolver, Demon Copper Head

I have been Listening to:

Together We Are One, You and I by Mercury

recommended to me by my lovely friend Brynne, who’s music suggestions always becoming my constant listening for at least a month, last time it was…

I’m Green by Mali Velasquez

So I’ll leave you with those recommendations.

love

-aspen

P.S. I really love my name written in all lower case. aspen feels like me. Aspen feels like a government document.

Here is your March Booking link.

https://form.jotform.com/250508596116156

I would love to do more organic blobs, abstract things, and branches. But of course i’m open to all ideas!

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Now for some things about my personal life.

I have tattooed in LA for about 4 years now, and its been a great journey. I’ve made some lovely tattoos that I’m incredibly proud of and met so many wonderful people through tattooing. But I have struggled to really push myself to draw enough to make a comfortable living and have existed with a lot of stress for the last 2 years in particular. SO, i decided to get a second job.

To be clear, I will be tattooing just about as much as I have been the last 2 years.

I made this choice not just to have another form of income, but because I need some mental room to breathe in regards to tattooing and creativity in general. I love tattooing and drawing and art. When I’m feeling good about art it’s the best feeling in the world. But having my expression linked to finances weighs on my head and adds a lot of stress.

I’ve also had to grapple with some feelings of failure in this decision. The idea that I’m only “making it” as an artist if its my one and only. But many conversations with friends have put these feelings at ease and I’ve been saying to myself what I often say to friends who are making art for fun:

“Art is a thing that people do and that’s all it has to be”

On a more positive note. I’ve been rock climbing in the gym for about 7 months now and my body feels so strong. I’ve met so many lovely people and it’s been incredible to have something that I feel passionately about in a similar way to making art.

If we have a session coming up ask me about rock climbing! I’d love to talk your ear off.

Thank you for reading about my little brain.

Thank you for supporting my art.

all the best

-Aspen

pretty last minute but I’m going to be doing a guest spot at Dollhouse studio on the 4th, 5th and 6th of February!

you can submit your tattoo idea in the link below

https://form.jotform.com/250205303253138

hope to see you there!

-Aspen

Subscribe now

I hope everyone is staying safe with the fires going on. Wear a mask when you’re outside and try to make some time to do some mutual aid! I know there will be tons of cleanup to do in Altadena.

Here is your February Booking form I will be in the Bay the first week of the month so all bookings will be starting the second week.

I’d love to do more deconstructed animals. More birds especially.

I’d also love to do more blood vessel pieces. One of my proudest tattoos of 2024 was the Cat Skull with Blood Vessels. would love to incorporate flames and vessels and branches.

But of course, I’m open to all ideas! so feel free to hit me with something random.

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https://form.jotform.com/250146538383156

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In other News

Dirt will be doing a flash day in February to raise money for Eaton Fire relief so keep an eye out on my Instagram for news about that.

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Bellow is a smattering drawings I’ve never posted. Besides the Leaf Hoppers at the bottom this are all one off flash pieces. The wings and the heron i’d love to do large.

I’m trying to be better about finishing things. When I draw for myself I often get locked up in the thoughts of what could be, not allowing myself to follow a thought to completion and always skipping off down another road. This leaves me with many disparate ideas and half finished drawings and no sense of accomplishment to boot.

When drawing for a client I’m thankful for the pressure to finish, to follow an idea down the path to fruition. editing along the way rather than abandoning and restarting at the slightest inclination of greener pastures.

Here’s to 2025 being the year of seeing things through!

all the best

Aspen

Gonna start using sub stack to do a monthly newsletter.

This is mostly to ensure that people can actually see my booking link instead of relying on Instagram to maybe show it to people who follow me.

But I figure i’ll take the opportunity to try to include some writing each month explaining my thought process about certain motifs or subject matter, as well as some shop talk about tattooing and art making!

Go ahead and subscribe below!

I’ll start using this for my February 2025 Bookings

love

-Aspen

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