Tattooing 16 years
I grew up around tattoos. I had uncles that were bikers, truckdrivers, and convicts. My house was set up for entertaining, with a pool, a jukebox, and a house on the Budweiser delivery route. When I was 13, my dad took my brother and I to a biker run in Tulare, CA to see our Aunt Norma. A guy was tattooing in the biker swap meet there and my dad asked my brother if he wanted a tattoo. He didn’t, but I did. Of course, neither of us were old enough, so I didn’t get one. But, I never forgot that I wanted one.
When I finally got it, I was hooked. I drove to New Mexico to get a tattoo lesson with my Aunt Norma on my birthday in 
1992. Every year instead of just getting older, I’m happy to be tattooing another year. My real break came soon after when a Hell’s Angel Biker named Bobbo started talking to me at a coffee shop about my tattoo, and I expressed interest in learning. He said he
had a friend that owned a tattoo shop and he would call on my behalf. When I stopped in to that shop, I was surprised to learn that Bobbo came through and I was expected! So, that is how I got my apprenticeship at Canyon Country Tattoo. Before my apprenticeship, I had completed 4 years as an art major at California State University of Northridge, but working at a tattoo shop until 1 a.m. made it hard, so I dropped out of college just 11 units shy of my B.F.A. in Fine Art.
In ’93, I tattooed for 2 years at Easyriders on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. I took the job so serious that I refused to drink alcohol the nights before I worked, and cut out caffeine so my hands would be steady, and packed healthy lunches to avoid light-headedness. I got over it eventually and partied like a rock star, or should I say a tattooer? Then I was invited to tattoo in Australia at Wild At Heart in Brisbane for 6 months. After which, I moved on to Washington DC where I worked at Fatty’z 
Custom Tattooz for 3 years. I really loved working there, it felt like a family. Fatty, Steve Labofish and Hansi Jessup will always be my good friends. I moved back to the Los Angeles area in 1997 and won my first trophy for Best Tattoo of the Day at Inkslinger’s Ball.I have fond memories of working at Andy Neville’s Tattoo Asylum in Venice Beach, and Pote Seylor’s Body Electric. But, my time at Melrose Tattoo was special. I worked there for 6 years with Dean Berton. I love that fool!
In 2004, I partnered up with Robert Atkinson to open The Tattoo Room. We wanted a place that was comfortable and inspiring, where we could concentrate on our art. Now 
that Robert’s left, I carry on that motto with a new crew of talented upstarts. I love my shop and my job. I feel lucky everyday I drive to work. As a single mom, I am able to provide for my beautiful daughter and spend time with her. It’s a perfect balance.
I’ve been a regular columnist for Skin & Ink Magazine for the last 10 years, writing Spotlight with Danielle. I’ve won a few more awards for my tattooing, but don’t work too many conventions. My tattooing has been published internationally, and I’ve been featured a few times in magazines (Tattoo Savage, issues …). Most recently, I was interviewed as one of the top female tattooers in the country for Skin & Ink. I’ve become known mostly for my pin-ups and portraits, but like to do Japanese work as well. It’s all fun.