hi hello and welcome :)

i said i was going to write a newsletter but honestly i’ve been having a hard time deciding how to start because i felt like i had to know what kind of newsletter this was going to be before i even began - is it about tattooing? is it about my life? the other art i make? and then i realized that i can just let it evolve as it wants to, there doesn’t have to be a plan even though sometimes i feel like there should be.

so, here we are.

i just moved across the country, from portland oregon which has been my home for the past almost 8 years, back to michigan, the place i was born. on the last new moon i got in my little car with nathaniel russel’s profound mystery forever sticker on the back and drove over 3,000 miles over the course of a couple of weeks. now my body is here in the midwest but i think it’s going to take my heart and mind a minute to catch up. 

i wanted to make some cyanotype tshirts before i left portland, but of course i ran out of time because preparing to move is all consuming and completely insane, so i ended up making them along the way.

i made one shirt in each state i passed through after i left oregon except indiana (it was dark and sort of stormy by the time i got there and i decided to swim in lake michigan which was the best decision i could have made after nine hours in the car, i ran into the water in my underwear laughing, i can’t believe i’m here. if you’ve ever returned to a body of water you love after a long time away, you know the feeling) 

most of the prints i made at rest stops or on the side of the road, gathering whatever was growing nearby to make the image, rinsing the prints with water in a five gallon bucket i brought with me, draping them over the pile of things in the back of my car to dry as i drove. no two are alike. below is the one i made in moab, utah, from flower heads that had dried brittle and golden in the hot sun.

the rest are posted on my website here if you want to take a look! all 100% cotton shirts i got second hand, so they may have some evidence of a prior life. mostly men’s size L. they’ll be up for sale on my instagram sometime soon, but if you want to buy one before then please send me an email.

in other news, i’m hoping to start booking tattoo appointments in the detroit area sometime in the near future, so if you’re in michigan and want a kitchentat keep an eye out for dates and booking info coming soon!

thanks for reading, hope you’re having the best day and being gentle with yourself.

love, genevieve