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Consultation appointments and other queries (please first see Services for more info, if inquiring about a tattoo): esther@butterfatstudios.com

butterstinker

butterstinker
More views of the giant fern - I think it’s abou More views of the giant fern - I think it’s about 12 years old. (Correction: fern tattoo is 8 years old)
Enrique has two tattoos from me. Enrique has two tattoos from me.
Extra fancy embroideries for Kathryn today 🌿 Extra fancy embroideries for Kathryn today 🌿
Difference between the end of one and two sessions Difference between the end of one and two sessions. Catherine Klein painting of clematis for Tamar 🌿
Start of a sleeve for Marie 🌿 Start of a sleeve for Marie 🌿
Finished today! This is the first time I’ve tatt Finished today! This is the first time I’ve tattooed a whole scalp- so honored to do this for you, Janie🌿
Blacked out in 2017, finally got to finish this fo Blacked out in 2017, finally got to finish this for Jamie today 🌿
Reposted for better image quality- in progress on Reposted for better image quality- in progress on lovely Gianna🌿 Original artwork by Paul de Longpré
Details and focus 🌿 Details and focus 🌿
Color wash on a healed flower, same tattoo before Color wash on a healed flower, same tattoo before color, and a JJ Grandville flower lady from years ago
Healed for Erin🌿 Healed for Erin🌿
After receiving some legitimate and serious critiq After receiving some legitimate and serious critique about being a white tattooer teaching a class about tattooing brown and black skin, I have decided to cancel this class, as well as the color theory 1 & 2 classes.

I made a classic mistake: I made the remedy about myself, and again failed to center BIPOC in what was supposed to be a conversation about how to support them. I thought I knew better than this, but here we are. I wholeheartedly apologize.

In making the brief class description, I failed to properly share to what lengths I had gone, in an effort to incorporate BIPOC voices and experience. In truth, it wasn’t enough anyway. Regardless of how much time and effort and study I put in personally, I understand that it is still inappropriate for me to offer such a thing without \actually/ centering the people who will be affected. You just can’t do it, it doesn’t make sense and it is insulting in so many ways. From education to legislation, any conversation is not complete or even valid unless those whose rights/ oppression /benefit are in the room and empowered to have an effect. Sadly, it is perfectly possible to be anti-racist and still do harm. It is frustrating for me (and for sure those around me) that I can believe in the thing, but because I don’t have the same lived experience, the lessons still come one at a time. It would be better if we don’t all have to learn these things so incrementally, it harms and exhausts those who have to deal with this kind of thoughtlessness daily. Hopefully my sharing this will help someone to not make a similar mistake. 
Thank you to all who have spent energy on teaching me, I am so grateful.

In future, I will refrain from placing myself in a position of authority in reference to tattooing melanated skin. Instead, I will continue my own study to support my clients- by learning from, supporting, and promoting BIPOC who want to teach and share their expertise.

(continued in comments)
I will be teaching 3 color theory classes this sum I will be teaching 3 color theory classes this summer to expand on information from  previous classes, as well as cover new info/ experiments, and studies I have done relating to achieving colorful tattoos in medium to deeply melanated skin. 🌿Link in bio🌿

6/17 1pm Beautiful Color Tattoos for Melanated Skin
This is a FREE workshop, as we will share our information and discuss new ideas to continue learning. We will discuss ethical experimentation, and how to talk with clients about our current limitations relating to tattooing dark skin, as well as set up a plan to keep learning continual. We will discuss undertones, useful palettes for different skin tones, limitation of detail and scale, and intentional and informed outcome with white/pastels/neutrals. Bring your best tips to share, and get ready to increase your skill and confidence to best serve your clients 🌿

6/24 1pm Color Theory 1 $170
Get to know the color wheel, use it effectively, and how to make your palettes GLOW. We will learn how color theory applies to ink in skin vs how it is traditionally understood, and how to make good use of your current inks to make natural botanical palettes, highlight particular elements in a design, and create beautiful color harmonies. There will be hands-on custom palette building for specific needs, as well as detailed tips for using each color of the 🌈🌈🌈

7/1 1pm Color Theory 2 $170
Pigments, custom color mixing, neutralizing wrong-color healed tattoos, and using lasers for cover ups and reworking. We will be joined by Monika Holmes and Effie Rivera from Removery to explain about which colors come out easiest and which slowest, and how you can use laser services for editing and adjusting to get the effect you want⚡️

Sign up for 1 or all 3 days- 6/17 is FREE, and get a discount if you buy Color 1 & 2 together with coupon code COLORPACK at checkout
It's so hard to believe, but this summer will mark It's so hard to believe, but this summer will mark 25 years for me as a professional tattooer.

Thank you with all my heart to all the clients who have trusted me, the artists who have shared their time and information, and to the people who continue to fight to make this business safe, kind, and equitable🌿

It's breathtaking to think about how much the industry has changed since I started, how many gatekeepers have fallen, how many new styles and techniques I see here every week- the community I have now is close to the community I have always wanted. It's all part of a wave of people coming in who question and examine and challenge status quo and systems that just do not make sense. Tattooing has been good to me, and it would have been easy to not question my place in it- to believe that I was not complicit in systems that excluded others- but the people who do tattoos should look like the people who get tattoos, and there is still more change to come. When I started tattooing, I knew of only a handful of female artists, and zero out queer or trans folk- and very few POC in tattooing at all. They were there, they have always been there- but it was a scene that highlighted and rewarded a particular type of character and a particular kind of work environment. It's changing quickly now, and I could not possibly be more excited to see it. With new faces and politics and life experience come new decisions and experiments- and unless tattooing is available to anyone as a form of expression, it is not legitimately a form of art. 

In honor of this 25 year anniversary, I will be teaching classes, hosting talks about changing tattoo culture and history, collaborating with other artists, and organizing a benefit in honor of the trans woman who taught me to tattoo. Her name was Maya K Evans and she was the first one to see my promise and give me a chance ❤️
Stay tuned here for additional programming and hijinks, I'm planning on a fun year and I hope to see you along the way. Photo by the talented @lucyhewett 🌿
Fancy stitch flowers on pro stitcher and maker @vi Fancy stitch flowers on pro stitcher and maker @vichcraft 🌿🪡
Pretty knee bb for Nicolete this afternoon 🌿 Pretty knee bb for Nicolete this afternoon 🌿
Healed and settled in on Andrew! There are some mo Healed and settled in on Andrew! There are some moments in this sleeve that I am extremely pleased about 🕸🦜🌿
Healed 4 or 5 years on Jamie. Reference is a paint Healed 4 or 5 years on Jamie. Reference is a painting by Walton Ford 🪁It was a joy to do for her, and one of the first places I tried out layering colors and color lines on top of black and dark gray. Swipe though for sweet feather deets
Healed on Danny- collab with @cloeyzikmund !! We d Healed on Danny- collab with @cloeyzikmund !! We designed this tanuki together and then tattooed it separately- Cloey worked the liner for texture, focus and details, and I was on mags for all the solid and soft grey shading. It was super fun to divide the work and burrow into the techniques we each like to play in. We’ve already got more like it in progress.🌾🦝👒 🍶
Pretty corsage for Sam today 🌿 Pretty corsage for Sam today 🌿
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