I pushed through my hormonal sh*tstorm to come at you with some gratitude. Namely five reasons I love being a tattoo artist.

For the full discussion listen of course, and for the short summary peep below:
1. The connections/conversations with my clients.
2. Self determined schedule.
3. Honing my craft, every day into forever.
4. I get to create the environment for myself and my clients.
5. Being a part of a culture that touches most of humanity.

Come back next week and maybe I will talk about reasons this job is hard.

In this episode I mention a long admired by me tattoo artist, Esther Garcia:
https://www.butterfatstudios.com/

I am happy to hear your questions, suggestions, and feedback. Please send Ink Medicine a message.

You can connect with me, Micah Riot, as well as see my tattoo art on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/micahriot/

Micah's website is www.micahriot.com
Find the podcast on that same website as well as everywhere you listen to podcasts. 

Have you ever felt the stir of a familiar yet unplaceable memory, or the pull of a connection that transcends your current life? Well, strap in, because we're embarking on an odyssey into past life regression hypnosis, just a little skill I picked up in the past few weeks. 

I will tell you what Past Life Regression is, how it can help a human discover more about their journey, and have a richer more satisfying experience in their current life. AND how it could relate to getting and (giving) tattoos. 

Don't worry, hypnosis isn't what you think it is. And neither is this therapeutic modality. Past life regression can't hurt you. 

Listen in, and if you'd like to try it, I am still in need of more practice sessions before I receive my practitioner's certification. Find me on the socials or on e-mail. 
Micahtattoos  (at) gmail . 

Until soon, friends. 

I am happy to hear your questions, suggestions, and feedback. Please send Ink Medicine a message.

You can connect with me, Micah Riot, as well as see my tattoo art on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/micahriot/

Micah's website is www.micahriot.com
Find the podcast on that same website as well as everywhere you listen to podcasts. 

The world of queer tattoo artists is pretty small; made smaller by the internet.

From starting to follow her on IG, I have always felt a kinship with Caitlin Cordell, as her statements -- political and social, in instagram stories and captions always felt resonant to me. And her tattoo art is captivating. 

The thing I didn't know about Caitlin is how deeply she cares about the young people. Having worked in social work for almost her entire adult life up until very recently, she transitioned to tattooing a lot more while still keeping a lot of her energy tied up in a local alternative school. Speaking of local, Caitlin and her (very gay) partner live in Twisp, WA, which is a small rural town.

Together we decided that she is clearly one of the village witches and aunties to the young ones, and a niece to the elders. I was struck by how community oriented this beautiful human is. Many of us are, but Caitlin takes it to another level.

Our conversation was flowing, fun, snappy, full of laughter and beautiful imagery we conjured together. It's an honor to get to imagine a better world with a kindred spirit.

Listen in and then check out Caitlin's fine line black and grey plant and animal tattoos, which are delicate and gorgeous.

Find Caitlin on instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/caitlincordell23/

I am happy to hear your questions, suggestions, and feedback. Please send Ink Medicine a message.

You can connect with me, Micah Riot, as well as see my tattoo art on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/micahriot/

Micah's website is www.micahriot.com
Find the podcast on that same website as well as everywhere you listen to podcasts. 

I've found that in the face of overwhelming global chaos, it's the small, steadfast beacons in our lives that offer us much-needed stability. 

As the world is crumbling around us, as people are being brutally murdered in several genocides in several countries, I find myself pretty f'n down. Sometimes I stop and breathe in the middle of a freak out, and other times I distract myself with my favorite humans.

One of whom is my apprentice Sayler McBean. My regular clients and friends who have known me for years know that I've worked on my own in a private studio for the last decade. I was in no hurry to bring someone else into my space and start to call it "ours." But Sayler came along and it was an easy yes. As we got ready, and closer to the time of her moving here I wondered how it would feel to share space. 

I interviewed her on the podcast back in early October, and it has now been five months since we started this process, and six weeks since she started tattooing. 

Folks keep asking me how it's going and I am happy to report, it's been fantastic. 
But please ... have a listen.

Find Sayler at:
https://www.instagram.com/doomfae/

I am happy to hear your questions, suggestions, and feedback. Please send Ink Medicine a message.

You can connect with me, Micah Riot, as well as see my tattoo art on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/micahriot/

Micah's website is www.micahriot.com
Find the podcast on that same website as well as everywhere you listen to podcasts. 

Caitlin Hackett is a soft spoken (though not shy), very very talented, freshly minted tattoo artist at Old Crow Tattoo in Oakland, CA, who has already lived a whole career in the tough world of fine art. Life brought changes, as it does, and Caitlin moved into learning how to tattoo in early 2023.

I met Caitlin last year at her shop where she was starting her apprenticeship while I went in to get tattooed by the owner, Hannah Wolf. I invited her on the podcast to talk about what she left behind, how she is making the transition and what her vision of the future is.

Besides putting needle to skin, Caitlin is a big D&D person. She loves to build worlds for people who will love playing with them.  She loves to tell stories collaboratively, and also cook vegan food.  At one point she was fostering fourteen kittens at once.

Listen to this charming human and me. You will learn so many delightful things.

Find Caitlin Hackett on:
IG:
https://www.instagram.com/caitlin_hackett/
and on her website:
https://www.caitlinhackett.com/

I am happy to hear your questions, suggestions, and feedback. Please send Ink Medicine a message.

You can connect with me, Micah Riot, as well as see my tattoo art on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/micahriot/

Micah's website is www.micahriot.com
Find the podcast on that same website as well as everywhere you listen to podcasts. 

Don't forget to stop and smell the puppies. 

Just a little ramble on the topic of appreciating the journey, not just the destination. 

Slower, my friend. 

I am happy to hear your questions, suggestions, and feedback. Please send Ink Medicine a message.

You can connect with me, Micah Riot, as well as see my tattoo art on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/micahriot/

Micah's website is www.micahriot.com
Find the podcast on that same website as well as everywhere you listen to podcasts. 

When I saw Bella's e-mail I felt a sparkle. 

About a month later she entered the studio for our in- person consultation and color test. Ten minutes in I knew we would become friends. 

Sometimes people have just the sense of humor that feels like a warm steamy shower on a cool day, and quirks you immediately adore. Add some Eastern European roots for what feels like a solid and somewhat unique thread of relating, and queerness, of course. Oh, and also she is just brilliant. And one of my favorite things on humans are our brains. 

Listen to us discuss being Eastern European, and queer, and her talking about also being Black. Bella used to do hair and then went to school, started as pre-med and became a chemist and is now developing drugs and making such things as vaccines. We had a great conversation about the Covid vaccine and what scientists would like you to know. 

This conversation is had with soothing voices and is very, actually, comforting. Enjoy!

I am happy to hear your questions, suggestions, and feedback. Please send Ink Medicine a message.

You can connect with me, Micah Riot, as well as see my tattoo art on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/micahriot/

Micah's website is www.micahriot.com
Find the podcast on that same website as well as everywhere you listen to podcasts. 

Are you a reader? I hope so. This episode is all about every book I read in 2023. There were 22 of them and here are my mini reviews. 

I tell you details. Whether I read the book or listened to it, how I found it, whether I loved it or left it. 

There was a lot of poignant coming of age novels with queer POC female protagonists, a lot of memoirs, mostly by Black folks, but not only, a few classics, a few super new releases. There was young adult fiction and a bit of sci fi thrown in. I hit every genre as long as I hear good things often enough from enough brilliant people. 

Enjoy, and tell me what you loved reading this year. I am on to my reading list of 2024 and I am stoked about what's on it. 

I am happy to hear your questions, suggestions, and feedback. Please send Ink Medicine a message.

You can connect with me, Micah Riot, as well as see my tattoo art on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/micahriot/

Micah's website is www.micahriot.com
Find the podcast on that same website as well as everywhere you listen to podcasts. 

A little personal update for you, since the start to my year has been a little frazzled with a lack of my usual routine due to too many fun plans. 

In this episode I talk about my early year travels and then some hopes for the coming year: Sayler's apprenticeship, my reading plans, my big birthday, my sticker making career, and my wishes to get better with time management and tidying. 

Next week look out for my "22 in 2023" reading list as a podcast episode. 

I am happy to hear your questions, suggestions, and feedback. Please send Ink Medicine a message.

You can connect with me, Micah Riot, as well as see my tattoo art on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/micahriot/

Micah's website is www.micahriot.com
Find the podcast on that same website as well as everywhere you listen to podcasts. 

As the year wraps up I like to look back upon it with grateful eyes. I like to look back through the photos in my phone (piling up in the tens of thousands), and remember the people I have met and the work I did on most of the new people I'd met. 

I like to appreciate all of the ways in which this year was sweet to me, all the things that happened that brought me peace and joy and contentment. 

This is how I like to close out every calendar year. 

I took some notes as I was thinking about this episode and wanting to share this practice with y'all, and I ended up with fifteen points I wanted to talk about. 

From meeting those amazing new people to starting to make retro gay pony stickers,  going to Ireland to see a friend I haven't seen in twenty years, mentoring young talent, making this weekly podcast, hitting (sorta) my reading and gym goals, tune in and listen to me rejoice in these measurable wins, and then make your own list and share it with your people (and me too, please).

I am happy to hear your questions, suggestions, and feedback. Please send Ink Medicine a message.

You can connect with me, Micah Riot, as well as see my tattoo art on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/micahriot/

Micah's website is www.micahriot.com
Find the podcast on that same website as well as everywhere you listen to podcasts.