Hi, I’m Lauren (she/her). I’m a Santa Cruz based tattoo artist and I’ve been tattooing professionally since 2020. Born in 1993, I grew up in the Bay Area and moved to Southern California to get my BFA in Studio Art, and I graduated in 2015. I started tattooing in 2019.
I’d describe my tattooing style as illustrative and I love making botanicals, animals, and other nature-themed pieces. I work mostly with black ink but love to play with color on occasion. I’m a fan of the strangeness of nature in general and am fascinated with the outdoors. I believe that tattoos give us the power to transform our bodies and am always honored to create art on skin.
Other random facts about me:
I have a service dog (see ridiculous photo here):
I’m chronically ill (with a few auto-inflammatory/autoimmune diseases), and have been dealing with symptoms and broken/damaged bones for over 16 years. I once wrote an entire report in elementary school about my love for bats. I used to ride horses competitively and still ride on occasion. Before I started tattooing, I played drums for 14 years. I love collecting rare houseplants. I often spend my days off reading a book or napping. I’m really good at napping. The only thing I might love more than naps are animals, specifically my dog Cliff and family pets.
About my chronic illness:
I was diagnosed at age 12 with a disease called CRMO (Chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis). It’s a mouthful. Essentially, my immune system to attack my bones to the point where it causes damage and inflammation. Chronic pain is just one symptom of CRMO. Here’s more info if you’re interested: crmoawareness.org
I also have GI issues, Fibromyalgia, and POTS. POTS often provides me with dramatic changes in my heart rate, resulting in feeling dizzy, starting to black out if I change position from laying down or sitting to standing, headaches, migraines, and brain fog. Overall, I was born with some pretty bad genetics -_-
I’ve written or contributed to a few articles about my experiences with being chronically ill that have been published on different sites, so if you’re interested in learning more, check these out:
The Battle of Living With a Rare Autoimmune Disease
Artist Group Dealing with Illness
And here’s a short documentary some students made about me in 2015: