What is flash? Flash is what we call predawn tattoo designs. They are ready to be tattooed as is, just pick the one you want. Typically they can be tattooed multiple times on different people (though I always find ways to make them unique from person to person).
What is a flash special? A flash special is what I call it when I launch a set of flash designs centered around a particular theme and offer them for a limited time with a limited number of appointments.
Who can participate? Anyone! Existing or new clients are welcome to get these designs. In fact, it’s one of my favorite ways to meet new clients.
When do they happen? Randomly, when I have the time and inspiration. I announce them on my instagram, website, and through my mailing list (sign up at the bottom of this page).
ECOSYSTEM
My garden is an ecosystem. It is not a place for perfection, it is a space for life of all kinds.
It shifts with the seasons. Some months there are no flowers, some years the leaves are full of holes. Plants die and create an opportunity for new life. Weeds find places to take over and imbue with their own definition of lushness.
I shift with the seasons too. There is an ecosystem within me, in which every part has purpose.
My weaknesses are not flaws, they are part of the web that connects my strengths together into a full and complete person.
My demons are not demons, they are small creatures of the earth. They are the leaf eaters, the burrowers, the bulb destroyers, the biters and the stingers, the creepers and the crawlers, and they belong.
I remind myself:
What is eaten by the snails is the food of the snails.
What survives to bloom is eaten too, in one way or another.
Since my garden was planted there are worms were there were no worms, flowers where there were no flowers.
Because I am alive there is a space for growth.
(scroll down to skip to the booking instructions)
It’s been awhile since I’ve been able to birth a large flash special like this. The preparation takes awhile, and frankly I haven’t had it in me despite how gratifying I find it to share my heart with you all in this way. In April I fractured and tore a ligament in my foot, and that injury really exacerbated what is already a tough time of year for me. It didn’t help that I was unable to get my ADHD medication for most of that time.
Chores went undone, mail unopened, texts unanswered, bills unpaid, hair unwashed. I was late to everything.
No matter how many times I go through something like this, it takes me some time to work through the feeling that I am failing myself and everyone else. Although I know the path well, it still requires effort to undo the internal narratives I developed as a young person with undiagnosed neurodiversities: I am a mess, I am irresponsible, my weaknesses are shameful, my potential is being wasted, if I don’t fundamentally change who I am everything will crumble around me, if someone else had my strengths they would use them better, I need to compensate for my failures, I don’t deserve what I have, I should do better, I should be better.
But no person can be entirely comprised of strengths and no person can maintain a constant state of “peak performance.” It is impossible to be all of the things all of the time. In fact, if we are to have those moments at all it is only because we have built the capacity for them with our times of rest. If we are to flourish in any one area, it is because there is another that hasn’t used as much of our energy.
My original idea for this flash sheet was as a simple as I want to draw some little critters. But as I was brainstorming what to draw, it occurred to me that some of the creatures I love are not welcomed by all gardeners. Some of them even cause the more disappointing sights in my garden (chewed leaves, broken stems, holes where there once were bulbs.) It struck me how differently I approach gardening versus how I approach the rest of my life.
Maybe that’s because of what I started with. When I moved into this duplex, the yard was barren other than a few clumps of grass, ants, some spiky weeds, and trash that periodically blew through the chainlink fence like tumbleweeds. I suspect it was once someone's burn pile. The soil was gravelly, and whenever it rained chunks of charcoal and broken glass came up to the surface. Inexplicably, one spot kept producing colorful glass mancala stones.
Whatever the reason, I have only love for the process of slowly and imperfectly making something out of this space. I nurture each part because it gives me joy, not because it causes me shame. Any disappointment is quickly replaced by my pride in the overall miracle of having any garden at all.
Overtime there has been less and less glass, more and more worms. The charcoal, as it turns out, is good for the soil. The mancala stones have become decorations. My neighbors love the garden too. They don’t notice the few destroyed tulips, they just see the beauty of the whole garden. I do notice the broken tulips, but I also see my garden as a full ecosystem made of moving and shifting parts that work together to achieve balance.
It is beautiful because it is alive; I strive to see myself with this same sweetness.
As always, the meaning these designs have for the wearer is highly personal. My inspiration does not need to be your interpretation. Regardless, and wherever you are when these words find you, I encourage you to soften your heart towards your personal snails and spiders. They are a part of your ecosystem, and no matter how scary or painful they might be, they belong. They might even work for you if you nurture their changes with love instead of trying to destroy them.
BOOKING INSTRUCTIONS
Designs will initially be tattooed in black and grey with optional color accents, ex. yellow spots on the turtle. If you would like a full color piece, let me know; you may need to be scheduled for a second session (priced at my normal hourly rate.)
No hands or feet, nothing above the collarbone. A tattoo on the ribs or front of the torso will have an increased price.
TO BOOK:
Click the corresponding link for the size of tattoo you want (check the guide below to see what size each design can be tattooed) and pick a time and date. If there are no times/dates shown, that means all available spots have been taken.
Venmo a $50 nonrefundable deposit to my Venmo @JenuineRose
Write the name of the design you have chosen in the description of your Venmo payment
SMALL TATTOO: approx 1 to 2”, $100-$200
MEDIUM TATTOO: approx 2.5 - 4”, $250-400
LARGE TATTOO: over 4”, $450-$600
1. Munched Bulbs: medium or large
2. Brown Centipede: small or medium
3. June Bug: small or medium
4. Snail Munching Leaf: medium or large
5. Worms!: medium or large
6. Peeper on Elm: medium or large
7. Snail with Trail: small or medium
8. Spotted Turtle: medium or large
9. Slug: small or medium
10. Yellow Garden Spider: medium or large
