See See

Hey, I'm doing a fundraiser!
Limited XL 27x27" bandanas I designed, printed with sublimation process, made for outdoor event folks or for people who can appreciate textiles are available for preorder. They are great for dusty places and keeping yourself cool and shaded (when wet). 100% cotton at 120g weight, a higher quality thread count (and a hidden Juju).

Real talk: The artwork on this bandana tells an origin story of surrendering yourself to your creative power.
The center symbol on the bandana is the first hexagram of the I-Ching. Looking back to 2015, my life was in shambles and I had no idea what the future would behold. It was the day before my ex partner (a toxic relationship started in 2008) would move out of my life as far away as I could hope. I rolled the I-Ching for the first time ever and rolled the first hexagram which is known for "creative power". It was the beginning of a new life which at the moment brought so much uncertainty.
I was told I would never be able to tattoo again. But I didn't listen, and started what would be my second career (first was 2006-2011) at tattooing after a solid 4 year break.
And now I look back with so much more clarity and can say, yes, I understand.
If you can look to your creative power, it is what will ultimately free us all.

If you would like to support the art installation (or myself as an artist), please consider participating in this fundraiser!
Thank you so much for the support. 🙏

From my last wannado release of sternum tattoo designs, this is the bird of paradise sternum wannado. I love playing around with the bold and thin flowy linework, with the curious angularity of the flower, sharp but without corners.
Swipe more for healed hawk done a few months ago!

Pops of color! We've been working on this native wildflower collection in color since last year. Still a bit in progress. Thank you always, Abigail!

Raffle update:
Picking a winner this Saturday! Live on my Instagram via the raffle name app.
You can still make entries until Friday night. I appreciate the support in making big art happen. Your entry(ies) will directly support my team's burning man art installation. ☺️

Charissa's side thigh tattoo of orchids and sampuguitas! Thank you so much. I love seeing your growing collection!

Tattoo raffle tomorrow to make a fundraiser for my team's art installation, The (Middle Path) Bridge (Between Heaven and Earth), funded in part by the burning man project. Please consider donating to my tattoo raffle to help fund the remaining portion of this massive project.

The build will happen no matter what, but I think it's important to try to make a collective effort and try to get the community involved with making art really happen. Your donation entries will support our artistic endeavors and directly help fund the art project to make it as awesome as it can be.

Always feeling grateful for your support!

Tattoo raffle coming soon to help support my team's burning man art installation. Will start posting more about it this week so people know I'm alive and still working as a tattooer 😆. This is an example of a rib to thigh hip piece, it took 8 hours, split into 3 sessions.

Well into the making of The Bridge (Between Heaven and Earth, I am busy as hell and more inspired than ever. Thank you for all of your support, I really would not be here without it.

Also, I am still working on finding another date for the fre3 Palistin3 tattoos in May to accommodate the inquiries. Apologies for delays, do not worry, I've already been donating the proceeds before the April 28th tattoo date. Funding to help save refugees is important (my family were Hong Kong refugees). Thank you everyone for your support to help make this world a more creative place.

Today is Ching Ming, Ancestor day.
When Burning Man asked, what is the philosophy of your piece? I said:
To think about death is to think about life.

My inspiration came from watching my dad take his last breath and my own suffering near death (which I was lucky enough to overcome). USA society doesn't give enough time or space for healing trauma and there is no depth in death rituals. We are essentially always fighting a system that would rather us work to death without the possibility of living more authentic lives.

This art installation creates a colorful space to honor death as a transformation.
The vision started as a (rainbow) bridge to honor my dad, an engineer who worked on the new bay bridge. Its curving shape represents the Yin Yang, the Middle Path between an ever changing landscape, the transient space in a dance to find balance. We exist on a spectrum between dualities, life and death, light and dark, good and evil.

The Bridge is a reinterpretation of an ancient ritual to bridge the gap between life and death by "communication" through offering paper notes (on Chinese Joss papers provided by the project). Staying connected through ritual, we can better understand our past, present, and future.
At the center of the bridge, a message box will collect the notes. Participants are welcome to walk the (Middle Path) to slide a note offering into the message box. The box will ultimately be burned into the afterlife. We honor death as a release into transformation, to the great unknown where anything and everything is possible.

Thank you project, for supporting this dream in part by an honoraria grant.
I will post about tattoo raffle offerings to bring together community resources to help reach our project’s maximum potential.

This art installation will exhibit the teamwork of skilled builders/artists/dreamers. I am incredibly lucky and grateful for their enthusiasm to see this dream come to life.
, Beyonce, .a.y_l.o.r.s, , , , , , Racist, , (sound recording), still recruiting.

Before I start posting about the burning man art project I'm leading, I need to post about c3asefire again because it is important. (Please excuse the creative spellings for ai algorithm)

Thankful for my client Sofia, for getting tattooed by me since 2019, and reaching out for this tattoo and telling me about her Pal3stinian family. And also Samira, for showing solidarity. 100% of the proceeds will support the Pal3stinian families posted on .emanmabrouk Swipe for $100 fundraising designs. I should also mention that Sofia was particularly careful in asking me to do this tattoo for her, not knowing where I stand on the matter since there are Zi0nists everywhere.

Hear me out. I am my own boss and don't have to worry about getting fired. Also thankful I don't really need to tattoo anymore, I WANT to tattoo. SO, all the racist, mag@, and mag@ equivalent ID F supporters can go ahead and (like they did in my last ceasefire post) f**k off and unfollow; you and your gross friends probably would have never gotten tattooed by me anyway. Trolls are welcome, to be ignored. Sometimes the choices I make has the trash taking itself out. Win.
For those who think "it's complicated". If you think strategically, that g3nocide is the answer, your mind is/has been doing unnecessary mental gymnastics. It has tired out, it's not working anymore. Or you don't like to be uncomfortable and prefer to be willfully ignorant (and/or deeply racist). Take a hard look and get over yourself, it's not complicated.
I stand with humanity, because humans can be so absolutely disgusting. And why would I ever want to be so gross?.

Some updates, but first let's talk about my new art prints. Making these dragon prints made me realize I should embrace the imperfections that come with life, and then let go of them, choosing the way of creative flow.
My artist hand is evident in these prints. The two screen illustrations are hand drawn and hand pressed on the Gocco printing press. If you want perfection, there are plenty of ai generated art made with machines, I won't stop you.
The year of the dragon will highlight the strength and resilience of not overthinking. Worry not, the dragon's approach is not hasty but with intention and power. The dragon throws the autopilot off its back, and invites a conscious directional being, of sound heart and mind, to think and move swiftly with confidence, all while not overthinking.

Ride the dragon's back, whisper into its ear while doing a tango in the sky.

The purchase of this print (or my other prints on my website) will support my endeavors to continue to celebrate creativity amidst the chaos in this destructive world, a dichotomy that exists because nature is both wildly cruel and terrifyingly beautiful, and our humanity exists in this balance.

Oh also some exciting news, my proposal to build a burning man art installation passed, and 🙃 burning man announced it live today. Will definitely be posting more on this later ☺️

When will there be a ceasefire? I go from feeling so awesome watching cute dog posts, then raging mad at the fact that the world has gone completely insane or unconscious (been saying this for along time). I honestly don't feel right posting about my business but it seems if I don't post I would just disappear at this point (which isn't too far from my future as I am about to take a permanent semi sabbatical after my birthday). I am doing (up to) 3" $100 Palestine related tattoos (I have a few scheduled if you are not certain of a design), donating 100% to free Palestine, email me to inquire.
This is Hannah's infinity snake skeleton, two sessions finished in 6.5 hrs total. Thank you so much, I love this placement!
Also, tonight around 8pm I'll be posting in my stories some wannados of sternum, and (larger flash) back pieces, butt/hip pieces, and lower back thigh pieces (got inspired with this latest tattoo placement).

Stephanie's arm since 2019! We've been adding to it over the years, plus two more on the other arm. Can you tell which ones are new? It's always a pleasure!

:: NEW NEWS::
Currently working on custom inquiry submissions from January; I'm taking my time because they won't book until May-June (and don't know my schedule yet).

I also wanted to mention in this post, for those who actually follow my work and are interested in getting work or more work, that this year is my semi sabbatical year. So booking will be extremely limited...

KEY POINTS:
-all returning clients can email me directly for work starting April 1 onward and they should book summertime onward. I won't be opening custom form on my website anytime soon until further notice.
-I'll open my flash and new larger flash form on website May 1st and will keep them open indefinitely for summertime onward bookings.

Amazing if you read this far; I know you're special and one day I might tattoo you or tattoo you again. I'm super grateful to be alive and healthy, and make art in your skins. 😊

Magnolia left side knee wannado done last year. Thank you, Kyle! It's always a pleasure to tattoo you.
Wannado tattoo designs are posted on my stories and if you're interested in taking a wannado design, you dm me and I will send you the info. I make announcements when I am about to post all of them.

New wannados coming mid February.
Also, BTW my flash booking form is open for another few days on my website.

An update on current custom inquiries: I may not be prompt at replying to emails —please do not mistake this as laziness, I still take my work seriously. I am just NOT on hustle mode. My schedule for tattoos is going to be limited this year and I don't want to schedule too far out in the future (I really like the flexibility it provides me). I will respond by end of February (to schedule for end of March onward) for project inquiries that align with my artistic capacity.

I really do appreciate your patience and understanding. ☺️

Unplugging for a few days! Will be back online Wednesday night to start on my emails. Please note, I have always been a slow emailer...thank you for your patience! Will be posting my tattoo times on these 10 slide posts from now on (I haven't in the past), if you're curious how long my tattoos take. Just a reminder that I note session time, not needle time, session time includes stencil time, needle time, and bandaging time.
1. & 2. Sternum flash butterfly and snek flash 2.5hr, 3. 1.25hr dragonfly flash, 4. Ladybug flash 1.25hr, 5. Flash Fern on hip 1.5hr, 6. Healed fig flash 1.5 hr, 7. Cat flash 1.5 hr, 8. Redwood flash 1.5 hr 9. Lotus flash 1.25hr, 10. Pomegranate flash 1.25hr

Ok somehow f**ked up the last post with the images and had to delete it (really feeling like I'm not cut out for this!) Anyway, said I would catch up with posting in my last post (well over a month ago) and didn't. But now that I'm almost finished with the second proposal for the art build...😁🤞

Some new things coming up, I'll be posting on my website some new larger scale flash pieces, 700-800, currently most my flash are 300-400. AND will be posting sternum and back piece wannados in mid February in my stories incorporating blackwork with fine line. Will be making announcements for these.

Also since I don't pay Instagram any money, rarely post and therefore the algorithm doesn't favor me, just a reminder that I mostly post in my stories and I am still busy with tattooing ☺️. Anyone who gets to know me, knows I can elaborate on the subject of death and the mysterious impermanence of life, so whatever I do I go hard. With my work, I am trying to find that balance within a capitalist society running a business and using Instagram as a means to maintain enough interest in my work (but without losing myself and spending too much time on screen worrying "is it enough?").

Thank you for everyone's continued support, I am grateful everyday that I can do what I do.

Motto for the year: Burn it all! 🔥
Here for a good time not a long time, and remember --health is absolutely number one!

Some recents of wannados, customs and flashes!

1. Magnolia wannado on trapezius 2. Persimmon flash 3. Custom peony 4. Custom magnolia and poppy 5. Custom color emperor moth 6. Cats flash with custom fur markings 7. Flash redwood sprig 8. Flash lupine and poppy 9. Healed custom pelicans 10. Flash poppy

Entire hip to knee side Passionflower vine for Joyce! It's always such a pleasure to work with you! (We've finished a whole custom patchwork style right arm together).
I'm so behind on posting as usual, but will be trying to catch up. I am active on my stories though! Winter time always brings in slowness and yin energy is underway. Time to refocus on self reflection and self care.

Some pops of color post!
I will respond to flash inquiries by next Wednesday. Thank you all so much ☺️

1. Poppies flash on front hip/waist 2. Monarch flash on inner arm 3. Hummingbird flash on arm 4. Poppies flash on back arm 5. Goldfish lion head in arm 6. Custom healed princess Mononoke from 2016 7. Custom Poppy with nautilus touch up from 2017 8. Custom color arm floral sleeve 9. Poppies hint of color on leg 10. Lavender flash in foot

Friendly reminder! I have a flash opening happening tomorrow Monday at noon. Totally realized too late that it's a work day for most, but thankful for everyone who supports my work. ☺️
As always, so grateful to tattoo your skins.

Some recent flash work and some healed custom and flash work from awhile back!

1. New cat and peony flash 2. Custom Peonies on trapezius few days healed 3. Fresh persimmons flash 4. Healed cat flash from January 5. Healed lupine/poppy combo flash from 1.5 years ago new pomegranate flash 6. New orange flash healed Indian paintbrush and healed butterfly 7. New combo magnolia flashes with gingko and top healed combo Magnolia flash from 2021 8. Custom fox and morels 9. New cicada flash 10. Healed skull and foliage from 2019

I've opened my custom for large Hip/butt/thigh pieces only on my website. Looking forward to working on these! ☺️
Some hip tattoos I haven't posted yet (mostly because they are all in progress but definitely all scheduled in the works).
Let us see if I still have reporting trolls or if instagram's ai can get offended by a hidden buttcrack. 😆

1. Both sides butt and back thigh tattoo 4x 3hr sessions in, 2 more to go.
2. Peony and cherry blossom 1x 3 hr session, 1-2 more to go.
3. Color piece adding in since 2019. Next dragonfly
4. Passionflower vine 2x 3 hr session, one more to go
5. Magnolia and cherry blossom, 1x 3 hr session, 1 more to go
6. Added onto tropical hip piece from 2019, 1x3hr, finishing touches left!

Tomorrow night I'll be posting in my stories new fern wannados: sword fern styles on the trapezius, side knee and side butt. This post features a wannado frond of a rabbit foot fern. Thank you, Kira! It took two sessions, total 4.5 hours.

So behind on posting! This was a Wannado tattoo, which is a drawing I make and post on my stories and an awesome person chooses it after I send details on how much and how long. We finished this in two sessions (6.5 hours total, it is about 25 inches from end to end). I will be posting new fern wannados (inspired by my trip to New Zealand this past year) in my stories before I leave for burning man mid august!

Flash Form submission is today at noon! ☺️

Some recent flashes and some healed!

I might not post much on Instagram anymore but you can always find flash tattoo stories in my highlights titled "Flash" numbered 1-6. 6 being most recently done.

1. 2 years Healed cats flash 2. New cats flash 3. Fruit flash persimmons 4. Redwood sprig flash 5. Pomegranate and cherry blossom flash 6. Mushrooms flash 7. Pomegranate flash and healed lupine 8. 2x Hummingbird flash 9. Custom bunny 10. Butterfly and dragonfly flash

Flash books open tomorrow Saturday at noon July 1.
Look out for new flash pages.
👀🔮

Recent Healed pics photo drop:
1. Healed lupine and gingko 2. New coffee plant, healed snake and Chonky bird 3. New fig, healed quail, poppies and gingko 4. Healed lavender 5. Healed peony flash 6. New round dahlia, healed café au lait dahlia 7. Healed lupine 8. Healed geo variegated monstera 9. Healed hummingbird 10. Healed velociraptor

Finally at the stage in my career where I can say I have a most loyal client. (I think I have many in the works) but Julia is a champ and lives in Sonora, Ca. First came to see me in 2016 and continually makes the trek out to the bay. I've tattooed both her upper side thighs, both sides of the back, both sides of the legs, most recently both sides of ribs, and now (fresh) the front stomach. Through this many years of settled ink, they are time capsules captured in skin; I reflect and see so much growth in my work. I feel both humbled and proud (to see how far I've come). Thank you, Julia, for literally helping my craft grow. Looking forward to our next project!

I don't usually post in progress pics, but I just love how this dahlia fits on the cheek! We're starting the other cheek in May, also, and won't wrap them all up until summer time. Thank you for being so tough, Zephyr. Butt tats no joke! This is their seventh tattoo with me ☺️

Next flash opening date changed to March 19th Sunday at noon. Sorry for the switch up, and I'll see y'all in May-June appointments for these entries.

Custom fox skull with forest foliage and fungi growth done in one session. Thank you, Paige as always (our 6th tattoo together!).

Feeling fruity today! Some recent fruits of 2023... (1. Pomegranate flash, 2. Custom olive branch, 3. Orange flash, 4. Peach flash, 5. Fig flash, 6. Lemon flash 7. Orange flash, 8. Pomegranate flash)

Michelia Albas aka White champaca with foliage on outer hip/thigh. 5.5 hr session, split in two. Thank you so much, April! It's always a pleasure working with you. ☺️

Back from mini trip! Here's a little Santa Cruz native bunny mingling with some local foliage with forest mushrooms. 3 hr session.
Thank you so much, Sarah, it's always been a pleasure workin with you over the years! 🤗

Gingko and Alder leaf melody, finished in 2x 3 hr sessions. Thank you, Cynthia!

Ps Monday Feb 27th at noon, I'm going to go ahead and open up another flash opening to book April-May since I know my travel schedule between now and then. I'll also be posting 10ish random available flash spots for March on my stories before March comes along.
Custom form will probably open before Feb 27th limited submission.
Thank you for your support! ☺️