Wow, it’s so cool that you’re here! If you just want to know about my tattoos, skip down to the fourth paragraph. If you want the whole story, go on ahead.

After receiving my Bachelors in Art Education from Ohio State University in 2018, I immediately moved from Columbus, OH to Seattle, WA to start my career as a high school art teacher. Midway through my second year teaching the pandemic hit and all of a sudden, everything I knew about public education was thrown out the window. After almost two years of trying to teach via zoom, we finally returned to the classroom. I was so optimistic about finally providing a studio space for my students again. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite the triumphant return we were all hoping for. Students and teachers alike were all traumatized by the sudden change to the status-quo, and the even more sudden attempt to return to it.

As a result, I was left questioning whether I was still cut-out for teaching. Tattooing has always been a dream for me, but it was the type of silly, outlandish dream that you never really entertain because there’s obviously no way that that’s a thing you could ever actually do, right? Well apparently I was wrong and under the guidance of my wonderful friend and studio mate, @eli_jorgensen, I was able to start my tattoo journey in 2022.

So, here we are today; still teaching, still tattooing, still contemplating whether it would be better to put my full focus into one thing instead of trying to split it between two. Fortunately my passion for teaching (and healthcare) eventually returned to me (dropping down to part-time REALLY helped with feeling less overwhelmed). So for the time being, I’m pretty content with what I’ve got going on! Teaching has healed my relationship with art in ways that are hard to describe, and my main goal in all of my classes is that students leave feeling good about the process of art-making with the understanding that if the process is enjoyable, then the product won’t matter as much (but will eventually improve because that’s just what happens when you spend a lot of time practicing a thing— kinda ironic how that works, huh?)

If you skipped all the way down here then you probably just want to know about my tattoos, which is totally cool. I’ve been an illustrator for over 25 years (literally since I could hold a pencil), and a tattoo artist since early 2022 (wow it’s been so long now!). I’m based out of Seattle, WA and tattoo in a private studio in Queen Anne with my mentor and studio-mate Eli Jorgensen. I work primarily in black and grey, with the occasional addition of color. My favorite things to tattoo are botanical, lil’ guys, cartoons, anime, manga panels, crunchy looking sea creatures, abstract wiggly stuff, and people with weird objects for heads. I’m pretty open to most ideas, though.

Eli and I try to make our studio welcoming for everyone (except racists, transphobes, homophobes, zionists, etc., etc.,). Getting a tattoo can be a very vulnerable/personal experience so we want to make sure every client feels safe and comfortable throughout the entire session. Communication and consent are very important to me. I hope I get to do some skin doodles for you at some point! Booking information is most up-to-date on my Instagram page (@thewonderpiggy), but feel free to reach out via email with any questions*: thewonderpiggy@gmail.com

*I can be really inconsistent with emails and DMs. Just know it’s not because I’m trying to ignore you I’m just really bad at being a public school teacher and also my own secretary/designer/marketing department. So if I don’t respond I am ALWAYS okay with you sending a follow-up (or two). I know that’s kinda frustrating and I’m trying to build better strategies to keep up with all the emails/texts/DMs but I appreciate your patience and honestly most of you have been SO NICE about it it honestly makes me wanna cry sometimes you are all such lovely people.