Hyper Normalized Hypernormalization
Hey — you’re here! You could be anywhere else on the internet, but you’ve chosen to take a second to be here. Thanks for that. Every day is filled with true terror — I know I’m personally struggling to feel like my daily life is filled with important things among all the hard. So, thanks for taking a moment with me to hold onto this lifeboat.
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!
kd!!! Love what you're doing and wish I was able to make it to the 13th—excited to see you again soon!