I’m finally getting back to life after taking a much needed break from email, social media, my phone and work. If I haven’t emailed you - expect something soon. Same goes for text messages and hang outs. THANKS for understanding!!!
Just wanted to take a minute and thank EVERYONE for their love and support throughout the past year.
If 2018 were my favorite record store then… to misquote Atmosphere - “I've gotten love, I've gotten drunk, I've gotten beat up in that parking lot”. Meaning I learned a TON this past year. I’m thankful for my amazing partner Andria and my amazing friends. People who love me and let me love them back.
I’m just as thankful for all the “beatings” the year has handed out to me.
I spent half of my professional year with freelancing on a ton of projects and the other half as a tattoo apprentice at Cauldron Tattoo under the mentorship of Mike Moses.
2018 HIGHLIGHTS and THANKS!
• I started the New Year in South America with Andria and her (huge) family. Año Nuevo!!! (Someone please send me a case of Aguardiente!)
• The print I originally designed as a wedding invite/gift for my friends Travis and Jenny (The KISS) ended up on the walls of the Columbus Museum of Art.
• I got to work with Megadeth! 13 year old me is still in shock. Same goes for the PIXIES, DIRTY HEADS, Lagunitas Beer and SOCIAL DISTORTION!
• Emma Ruth Rundle - check her out! Working with her and Jaye Jayle was a great experience. Very proud of the poster!
• My computer died a slow painful death! Woohoo!
• We (Andria and I) moved to a bigger (yet still affordable) house in Columbus. The owners claim that our place was built in the late 1800’s and used to be a brothel! Sadly, no ghosts. Thankfully I had GOOD friends to help us move all of my crap! Thanks David, Jason, Ashley, Jason, Andrew and the moving guy who acted like Marky Mark circa Funky Bunch era. Keep that dream alive homie.
• I was fortunate enough to see a TON of bands! Some clients - some not (yet).
• We traveled a ton to exhibit at Five Points Fest, Life is Beautiful, New York Comic Con and DesignerCon. SO much FUN and good times with friends and sharing my work with new people. Plus we stickered a lot! We WILL be back for 2019!!!
• Some of my work was used as HUGE window displays in Chicago for Art Gives Me Hope!
• I got to collaborate with the lovely folks at YESTERDAYS on some new pins!
• Justin and I celebrated our 6th year of us operating as METACRYPT with our 18th release of our baby boo SHUB ZEROTH. Hope you’re as stoked as we are and follow us into our 7th year!
• TATTOOING! I made the conscious effort to buckle down to focus on my apprenticeship and it is paying off. I overcame a few hurdles of confidence, line quality, composition and color this year. THANKS to all of my clients who took a chance and let me tattoo them. Especially the people who walked in as strangers and left as friends. THANK YOU Rebecca, Jim, Vanessa, Louie, German, Jason, Kelly Oooo, Eldon and everyone else! THANK YOU!
• CAULDRON TATTOO. BIG THANKS to my mentor -Mike Moses for putting up with someone as pretty as me and teaching me how to tattoo. Greg Lahm for sharing his secret knowledge of tattoo history and helping me realize that not any person can walk into a shop and learn to tattoo - you have to be invited. Emmanuel Mendoza for joining the shop and providing all of us with a unique perspective and style on life and art. C(K)ris Kirkpatrick for keeping us all in line.
• FREELANCE! Holy cow. Big THANKS to my freelance clients this year. I got to do some really cool work thanks to my clients. Some stuff won’t be coming out until later this year. Stoked nonetheless. THANK YOU for letting me push myself and my style further. 2019 is open! NudgeNudgeWinkWink
• YOUS GUYS! No point in writing any of this if it weren’t for the folks that found value in my work and felt it was worth peeling off a few greenbacks to be a part of what I’m trying to do.
Stick around cuz 2019 will be rad!
