Like many American women, my first formal experience with body art was when I got my ears pierced at the age of 11. During my 80s high school years, it came into vogue to have more than one earring, and I was off and piercing... My fascination with tattooing was held in check until I was 21 as I was determined to make an aesthetic decision that I could be happy with for the rest of my life. Slowly, the tattoo collection has seriously grown from there. ...seriously grown....

I moved to the SF/Bay Area just as the "modern primitives" movement was really gaining momentum. I currently wear permanent jewelry in a total of thirty ear and body piercings. I also have a complex brand on my left thigh (struck and electro-cautery). I´ve had thoughts about subdermal implants for a few years... I´ll let you know if that happens. (portrait at right by photographer Mark I. Chester)

I´ve painted my fingernails, made my own henna, worn corsets, and dyed my hair nearly every possible color, wearing it in lengths from crew-cut short to below-my-shoulders long. Once upon a time, before I started any other body art, I even did some suntanning however that is a big no-no now.

I have a BA in Theater Arts (Costume & Makeup emphasis) from UC Santa Cruz and an MFA in Fashion Textiles from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. I am a graduate of the 1989 Clarion SF/Fantasy Writers Workshop. I held valid Certified First Responder credentials from 1998-2001. I graduated from the San Francisco Sex Information Switchboard education program in spring of 2002 and volunteered at their switchboard through December 2005. I lectured at the Body Art Fair in San Jose in April 2005 and was a featured speaker at the first-ever Bellaonline.com Editor Gathering in August 2005 in Las Vegas. Presently, I reside in the Pacific Northwest and am working on my apprentice degree from the Grey School.

• I accept review copies of books, body art movies, tattoo/piercing aftercare products and other tattoo-related materials.
• If you are interested in having me write original body art content for your website or publication, please understand that I only do so as a paying assignment.

If you have questions, please check the Body Art Forum. The most frequently asked questions can be found in a thread there already.

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