I think I always wanted a tattoo. In the old Sunday funnies, Dick Tracy at one point was in love with a hula girl with a pineapple tattooed on her ankle. Brenda Starr's comic had a mysterious woman with the star signs on her face. I got over both of those obsessions fortunately.

I came into the tattoo business in 1995 after discovering the book "The Artist’s Way"..... was at the time busy establishing a counseling/therapy practice after having earned a Master’s from the University of Washington. I had a traditional apprenticeship which included plenty of floor mopping.... and a few moments of grumbling to myself about the uses to which I was putting my education.

Tattooing seems to satisfy both the creative impulse and the urge to be of help to others. I’m fascinated with dream imagery, the Tarot, mythology, fairy tales and fantasy from a Jungian perspective. (Read my article on The Rose Tattoo.) Nothing is quite so satisfying as the "news flash from the unconscious" I sometimes get while helping someone come up with a design concept which merges specific elements with a drive toward psychic wholeness. I include cosmetic tattooing (Permanent Makeup) as another mode of personal empowerment. It is especially rewarding to see a client’s expression when they view themselves anew in the mirror!

I live and work in Olympia. I go to Monroe for appointments twice monthly, and to keep up with the needs of the shop and the artists there.

I enjoy photography and painting and other creative pursuits. I have an afghan I have been crocheting since 1997. I am also kept very busy by my daily life which includes my family’s farm, dogs, cats, ducks, geese, chickens, garden, goats and two elderly horses.