My process has to do with my involvement in our culture and the required homework and responsibilities that go along with tattooing our clan crests as well as designs from the nation of the wearers.
A lot of my process doesn’t even take place during the tattoo, it takes place in the spaces between the time I do tattoos and the way I live my sobriety, my ceremonies, and my fulfillment of obligations to my communities.
A lot of research goes into my knowledge base as a cultural tattoo practitioner and the wisdom and stories of my elders and teachers are involved in the entire process.
As far as the day of when I’m doing work, I involve prayer, song and specific recordings that I use in order to set the tone for ceremonial body marking.
The intention behind all of this work is to heal through the generations and revive a process that helps to return a sense of visibility and pride to our Indigenous people.
I’ve been fortunate to travel a bit during my career as a traditional tattoo artist. The knowledge sharing that happens during those travels is also what helps to create the process of my work.
During my travels I have tattooed at several potlatches up and down the coast which returns a public ceremonial context to the process of marking bodies with permanent regalia and at.óow.