Popping in to let you know I am booking August in NYC with lots of availability and lots of energy to tattoo you :)

BOOK A TATTOO

Here in NYC it has been blisteringly hot and rainy and the last few days of bad AQI and thunderstorms had me cooped at home feeling like a lump. I did some traveling earlier this month to Ithaca for work and then to LA to see my dad and friends, which was truly lovely. All of this, for better or for worse, means I haven’t been very focused on work – aka I haven’t pushing myself on instagram, which continues to feel like more and more of a struggle and burden. So if you read this newsletter, thank you, it has become my favorite outlet for sharing updates and for fueling my creative momentum :)

During that awful heatwave in the first few days of July I ventured to the Natural History Museum to soak up the AC. I spent about 3 hours drawing the dioramas and listening to music. Drawing observationally with pen continues to excite me, and I really love sharing these drawings via newsletter. I’m still unsure if this will be something I can translate into tattooing…it’s really different from the pencil-like quality I like to emulate on skin.

Here are my two favorite drawings from the day:

That’s all for now! As always, thanks for reading, and I hope you’re enjoying your summer so far :)

Till next time!

-Matéa

feeling like:

This sheet features a mixture of drawings made for the Fossil Shrine project I wrote about in my last newsletter, a piece of seaweed I’ve been trying to incorporate into a flash sheet for months, and a dolphin I drew for other porpoises (sorry) that I think will have to be pretty big in order to get all those droplets in – if you want a big dolphin tattoo please hit me up. June is my birth month and all I wanna do is be in and near the water – I usually go to Ithaca for my birthday but this year I’m staying in the city and going to the aquarium and I can’t… wait……. And clearly that excitement couldn’t be contained when I was putting this sheet together.

I’ll be traveling a bit next month and so my availability for July is pretty limited… If you’ve been scheming for a tattoo in July here’s when I’m free!

BOOK A TATTOO

I’ll be making a trip to Ithaca in July and will be reaching out via email in the next week or so :) Thanks for your patience!

Chat soon,

xo Matéa

To get business out of the way, below is my availability for June in NYC. As of right now I’ve got lots of time this coming month, so don’t be shy! Very open to working with whatever your budget allows at the moment.

In case you haven’t heard, we’ve decided to close our doors over at Gift Shop, where I’ve been tattooing since moving to New York. I couldn’t be more grateful for my time at this studio, to the people I’ve met and tattooed, and to the wonderful group of artists who invited me into their space and helped me find my feet in the city. It’s been a very bittersweet transition… But I’m excited to see where this change takes everyone :) I’ll be at a new NYC studio starting next month (studio name tbd, open to suggestions!).

BOOK A TATTOO !

I sadly won’t be making it to Ithaca in June, but will definitely head up sometime in July! So stay tuned, and feel free to submit a booking request on my rolling booking form.

To incentivize you further, I had more stickers made – If you get a tattoo this is my little thank you at the end of your appointment :)

I promise I’ll get cooking on some new flash soon – in the meantime, I’ve got lots of unclaimed flash from older sheets, so make sure you take a look:

Flash Book

other ongoings :

I hope you don’t mind that this newsletter has turned into 50% business and 50% my public diary. Obviously just feel free to tap out whenever… haha
Read on, if you dare…

So I’ve been in Ireland for the past two weeks with my boyfriend, Liam, and his family! The trip was split between Kenmare, Co. Kerry and Kinsale, Co. Cork, with day trips sprinkled throughout. My boyfriend’s grandmother is from Kenmare and his grandfather is from Cork – it was really a special experience to stay in and explore these places, and to meet his extended family. This was my first time in Ireland and my first real vacation (by “real” I mean one where I’m essentially a tourist) in many years… Maybe pre-covid? So this trip was such a treat. Feeling renewed and extremely lucky to have been included :’)

The drawings below were all made while we were in Kinsale. I’ve been in love with pen recently. I’m not sure how, or if, this will translate into my tattoo work, but this medium is bringing me a lot of joy and satisfaction while drawing from observation so I wanted to share.

I also had so much fun with my little Lumix GX1 on this trip. I took a stupid amount of photos but here are just a few of my favorites…

I can confidently say that the highlights of this trip were spent outside, even on cold and rainy days (which was most of our time there). Ireland’s landscape is so dynamic and diverse, it was difficult to feel anything short of inspired the entire time. Can’t express how grateful I am to have gone on this much needed vacation in such a stunning place – I know I’ll be pulling from these memories and photos to make art for years to come!

As my love for fossils, rocks, and shells grows, it’s become difficult to find new ways to express the adoration I feel for these objects and their histories through my art. So on my most recent visit to Ithaca I asked my grandma if we could get together for a sculptural box workshop, with the intention of creating a home (a shrine?) for some of my fossils. My grandmother Kumi is a printmaker and book artist (and also one of my biggest inspirations). She originally trained and worked as an architect, which is very evident in her sculptural artworks. Years ago she developed a sculptural box design that can folds open and stand in interesting ways. She used to teach courses on making them and her students would come up with infinite ways to adorn their structures and tell different stories through them. Kumi and I have always wanted to collaborate but never truly have – and since she recently celebrated her 89th birthday, I figured there’s no time like the present!

We spent two afternoons together at her dining room table, cutting up foam core and drawings and scraps of old prints and gluing them back together in new ways. I brought all sorts of fossil-related drawings and ephemera to decorate with.

My finished sculptural box includes scraps from Kumi’s old prints on the exterior. To me it’s like a watery locket swirling around, concealing, protecting the fossils and drawings within. The interior is lined with paper I made in college. Each of the four interior segments loosely highlights a Devonian fossil. In the Trilobite section there are two portions of an unpublished poem by T.A. Conrad titled “To a Trilobite,” written in June of 1840. The Brachiopod section mostly focuses on fossils I found myself. I’m hoping I can add more fossils to this project in the future… Really excited by this project and very grateful to my grandma and her friend Christa for teaching me how to make this :)

Thanks for reading and looking :) I really love writing this newsletter and I hope it shows.

Talk soon!

-Matéa

Just gonna jump into updates because I’ve got a few that I’m very excited about!

#1 is that I am booking May in NYC, and I have very limited availability because I’m going on vacation for most of the month! So if you have been wanting a tattoo, let’s make it happen before summer so you can show off your new ink in the sunshine, worry-free.

BOOK A TATTOO !

Like… I know you thought I was kinda being dramatic when I said I have limited availability……… but…..it’s true :/

#2 is that Show Pony is getting together NEXT WEEK with Buffalo St. Books to celebrate Independent Bookstore Day! We’ll be joined the incredible Gentle Fool Studios and Julianne’s amazing Cornell and IC students who will be slinging zines, prints, etc. Esmé will be selling some amazing (as always) new ceramics, and I’ll be tattooing!

And here’s the silly flash I designed for the occasion :)

I’m only booking 4 slots this time around (I wanna make it to the Ithaca Roller Derby game that night…), but these designs will continue to be available after the flash day! (just not at the listed prices). It’s really such a fun experience to tattoo at the bookstore, I hope to see you there!

FLASH DAY SIGNUP

#3 my unexpected day at the park

I’ve been feeling really uninspired to draw in the last few months, but yesterday, for the first time in so long, I drew, and couldn’t stop!

I had to run a random errand downtown yesterday morning and afterwards I decided to get myself an egg and cheese and a smoothie and sit at the park by City Hall. I ended up staying for nearly 3 hours, drawing and listening in on people’s conversations and soaking up the unusually warm weather. Opted for pen today, which I rarely do, and it really got me out of my head. :)

I always tell myself I’m not gonna post everything in my sketchbook but then I get so excited about drawing that I just end up sharing it… So here’s a little observational doodle of the Jacob Wrey Mould Fountain, which sadly doesn’t have any water in it right now. Can you spot the pigeon?

Some daffodils, which looked so scrumptious………tattoo…..?

And lastly, some scrappy drawings of a few awesome dinosaur figurines I bought yesterday in Bushwick with my friend Audrey, who’s visiting from Philly and tattooing in NYC this week! No, I didn’t buy the velociraptor-mobile, and yes, I’m regretting it.

Anyway it just felt extra awesome to draw. Did you know that drawing is so fun and amazing and therapeutic and great? Later in the day my friend from roller derby and I were chatting about how setting the intention to, say, go to the park and draw, often feels like setting yourself up for disappointment. There’s something special about stumbling on to it – which kinda sucks, because I want yesterday to happen all the time! Maybe there’s a secret formula I’m missing… I’ll crack it soon I hope. Maybe these warmer months continue to make me wanna get out there and make stuff.

Lastly I just really wanted to share these photos from a spontaneous and ridiculous trip last month to Universal Studios Orlando (my friend Alyssa’s unc is a roller coaster engineer so we got in for free, ok….). I adopted a Brontosaurus from the gift shop, his name is Brontë, and he loves margaritas.

I think that’s all for now, so thanks for reading, and I’ll be back soon with some more updates! I’ve got some stuff a-brewing…

ttyl :)

-Matéa

Somehow it’s already time to open up books for March!

I still have ~some~ time in February in nyc if you’re itching for a tattoo this month. Otherwise, here’s my March availability:

book a tattoo!

No flash for this month, to my dismay… Instead, here’s what’s come out of my little home office this month, outside of tattooing:

^ I’d love to sell this ammonite shell drawing, so let me know if you’d like to purchase it (price negotiable). I’m also thinking of making these graphite on wood block pieces available for commission, so if you’re interested hit me up!

And here’s a drawing based on a photo of me swimming in Cayuga lake on my 25th birthday – I miss the water…

Last week, in a very rare moment, I spontaneously tattooed myself after getting no-showed. It was my first self tat in 3 years, also making it the first tattoo on myself made at Show Pony, which felt crazy and so full circle and amazing. I “know” my tattoo style and skills have developed over the past 3 years, but it wasn’t until I was making this tattoo that I really processed the growth that’s taken place in my practice. I’m always a bit of a nervous tattoo-getter, but there was a confidence through the jitters that felt different this time :)

Here it is all fresh, sitting above a perfectly healed tattoo made by my friend Audrey @audreykimsticks (who’s currently booking March in Philly btw….).

This tattoo is of a fossil I found in Ithaca last year – it was particularly special to me because when I picked it up, it was just a round rock – but when I broke it open it contained this gorgeous fossil. I think it’s a Mucrospirifer …? Well it’s definitely an artistic interpretation of one (the fossil lover in me is freaking out that I failed to represent the main ridge/fold in the shell’s center … but that’s just something I have to live with !!!!!). I drew this as flash last June immediately started hoping no one would choose it so I could maybe tattoo it on myself one day :)

Another highlight from this month is that my boyfriend’s mom knit me a trilobite hat…. WTF I love it so much.

Lastly, I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who took part in Show Pony’s FUCK ICE Raffle – to all the artists and small businesses who donated their wares/services, to everyone who contributed financially. Because of you we were able to raise $2,400 for the Immigrant Defense Network !!!! YAY!

And a huge thank you to people who got tattooed flash tattoos and bought some of Esmé’s artwork at our studio sale fundraiser – we were able to raise $864 for Ithaca Welcomes Refugees in ONE DAY ! <3 I love this community <3

Thanks for reading – till next time,

x Matéa

We’ve gathered some amazing local Ithaca creators and businesses who are generously donating their services and wares in support of the Immigrant Defense Network, “an alliance of 100+ immigrant, labor, legal, faith, and community organizations across Minnesota.” All the proceeds generated from this raffle will go directly to IDN, where funds will then get distributed as they are needed most urgently for immigrant protection and the fight against ICE.

Here’s a little poster that Esmé and I collaborated on!

If you’d like to win $300 towards a tattoo with me, or treat yourself (or maybe your valentine…??) to any of the awesome prizes below, keep reading!

$5 = 1 entry
$20 = 5 entries

TO ENTER…

- VENMO —> @ersaccuccimorano<— with the letter associated with your desired raffle prize and your instagram handle in the description (A, @yourinstagramhandle).

- For multiple entries, specify how many entries for each prize (2 for B, 1 for C) along with your instagram handle in the Venmo note.

(if you don’t have venmo, email showponystudio.ithaca@gmail.com and we’ll get ya sorted)

Redeemable in Ithaca NY, unless specified. Some items available to be shipped!

PRIZES :

(A) $300 towards one tattoo session with Matéa LeBeau (@wilsonistheworst) – redeemable in NYC or Ithaca
(B) 1 Custom Cake by Esmé Saccuccimorano (@esme.rafaelle), $120 value
(C) Set of 5 Ceramic Chalices by Esmé Saccuccimorano (@esme.rafaelle), $150 value
(D) Set of 6 Trinket Dishes by Julianne Hunter (@juliannehunterart)
(E) Handmade Wool Coat by Geneva Moreland (@_____suki_________)
(F) Haircut or Painted Buzzcut with Cam Siembida (@scissorspells)
(G) $100 towards one Structured Gel Manicure with Kaitlyn Bobik (@cuticlechronicles)
(H) Bouquet of 12 Locally Grown Tulips by @jennycreekflowers
(I) $100 towards one session with esthetician Kalika Osgood (@kalikaosgood)
(J) Salt fired vase by Kyle Brumsted @krumsted (@westendceramics), 12x5x5
(K) Original drawing by Debbi Kenote (@debbikenote), 14x10
(L) $30 South Hill Cider giftcard (@southhillcider)
(M) $50 Petrune giftcard (@_petrune)

RAFFLE ENDS MIDNIGHT - FEB 14 <3

Get ur honey some raffle tickets!!!! STAT!

In addition to this raffle, Show Pony is also hosting a Studio Sale + Tattoo Flash Day!
This will be on Sunday February 15, 2pm - 6pm

All funds generated on this day will be donated to Ithaca Welcomes Refugees, a local organization dedicated to assisting immigrants and refugees resettling in the area by providing access to essential resources, community building, and support networks.

My incredible studio mates Esmé and Julianne will be selling their artwork, and I’ll be slinging tattoos from the flash sheet below for this fundraiser. Some new valentine’s adjacent doodles mixed in with some oldies that I’d love to do again at a discount… pick your poison!

FLASH DAY SIGN UP

I’ll wrap these announcements up by quickly expressing how grateful I am for my studio mates at Show Pony for always being there in times when things feel hopeless, for when enacting any change feels daunting or impossible. I am my most confident with these two incredible artists by my side. Organizing this raffle with them, and witnessing how eager the Ithaca community is to stand up to blatant fascist bullshit, has been very encouraging. So I’m remaining hopeful that ICE will eventually be abolished, and that by showing solidarity with Minneapolis, we can actually contribute something tangible – even if it’s small, and even from afar.

If you missed out on getting a physical copy of my 2026 Calendar, I’m happy to report that they are still available on my website for digital purchase and download! All income generated from digital calendar sales this month will be donated to the Immigrant Rapid Response Fund of Minnesota.

Print them at home or bring to your local printer for immediate and easy assembly – everything is imposed and formatted double sided so all you gotta do is press print! Fold and saddle stitch or hand bind, attach a binder clip and you’re ready to go.

And if you have any questions about assembly, feel free to message or email me :)

2026 Calendar DIGITAL DOWNLOAD

If you’d like to further your involvement in the fight against ICE… Here are some links I’ve found helpful!

• @MPLSMUTUALAID - a very big list of organizations, mutual aid, individual gofundme’s, food relief, and more you can contribute to in Minneapolis

• Call your reps! Demand that they oppose funding to ICE and the Department of Homeland Security ! (202) 224-3121

  • OR use 5calls  – great little app that puts you in contact with your state and local representatives, and even provides a little script for you on the issues you care about. Or edit together your own script so you can feel more like ~yourself~ on the phone

• Go Figure Anti-Ice Doc – Growing doc of resources created by Go Figure, a figure drawing collective in Brooklyn. Mostly resources for NYC involvement. Went to my first session last night, where ticket sales were directed to Minneapolis Mutual Aid, and had such an awesome time.

Last but not least, some good news – although it’s not new news anymore…

The Museum of the Earth has been SAVED !!!!!!

If you’re a reader of my newsletter you know how much I adore this organization and how distraught I have been over the sudden possibility of its permanent closure, due to major funding falling through. “PRI’s Wonderful Life”, a piece written by By Dr. Warren Allmon, Director of the Paleontological Research Institution, details the institution’s struggle over the past few years, and how it ultimately prevailed, thanks to community efforts and donors big and small.

The following letter included in their statement, sent to the museum by an 8 -year-old-girl, genuinely brought tears to my eyes. Here’s proof that community contributions, no matter the size, can add up in a big way…

As always, thank you for reading… chat soon :)

Matéa

Today I’m back to quickly say that I’m booking February – gotta keep churning I suppose…

I have felt especially uninspired/unmotivated to make flash amidst the fascist hellscape we’re living in and witnessing, and have mostly found myself preoccupied with other work this month. However I seem to have briefly overcome this drought of non-inspiration, and thus produced a page for your eyes to rest tenderly upon, during this fleeting, bonny month of February – made, if for no other purpose, than as a method to assist your humble author through these frigid, most difficult times! (I’ve been re-reading Wuthering Heights…)

Nothing new to see here, just some ol’ birds, plants, shells, fossils, and some hands holding birds and fossils! I can’t help it sorry. Hope you like :)

Since it’s such a short month, and since I think funds are tight for most of us right now, I’ve decided to run a little deal:

For the month of February, book any flash piece 4” and under with a friend for a joint tattoo session, and you’ll both get 20% off your appointment

They do not have to be matching tattoos – just come in for an appointment on the same day and you can snag this discount :)

Submit a booking form together, or submit separately and let me know at the bottom of the form who you’re booking a joint session with.

FEBRUARY BOOKING FORM

I’ll be away in Ithaca for a week, so here’s my limited availability for NYC:

I also want to plug a very fun event happening later this month at my Brooklyn studio, Gift Shop Tattoo!

It’s Friday the 13th AND Valentine’s day! I won’t be participating this time around, but I encourage you to get some work done by my incredible studio mates. Check out what they’re offering and reach out to them directly to book a spot!

That’s all for now, I’ll be writing again with some more updates real soon, so stay tuned.

hugs and kisses,

Matéa

Most exciting is that Show Pony is hosting our second “Last Minute Gift Shopping” Holiday Market in Ithaca at the end of this month! I’m so excited about our lineup of local creators and businesses and really hope you can stop by.

December 22 & 23, 3-6pm at Show Pony Studio!

I’ll be slinging calendars, keychains, wrapping paper, super discounted prints and zines, tattoo vouchers, and maybe some more stuff I haven’t thought of yet!

November was hunker down calendar time for me… This go around I pushed myself to lean fully into pencil drawings and not use my iPad at all, and to me this year’s version feels much more cohesive than years past. The entire calendar is drawn by hand with pencil and pen, with some elements cleaned up in photoshop. This project always takes way more out of me than I expect – it acts as this time for reflection on the year that’s elapsed, hopes for the year to come, and casts this internal focus beam where I have to consider “my style” and how to portray it in 12 little drawings. Happy to report that I’m feeling very in touch with these drawings, I’m excited by the way my work is developing, and I can’t wait to further translate my works on paper to works on skin..!

ANYWAY, I’m saving a handful to sell at the Show Pony Holiday Market! They are mostly sold out online (IF YOU BOUGHT ONE AND ARE READING THIS THANK YOU SO MUCH I WISH I COULD GIVE YOU A KISS!!!!!), so if you’re on the fence and want to see them IRL and in full before purchasing, this will be your chance!

Between making these calendars and getting excited for our upcoming artist market, I’m feeling so proud and lucky to be surrounded by projects and people that say FUCK AI !!! I love using my hands and my brain and I love my community of people who use their hands and their brains to make beautiful things !!!! Support your local artists and shop small when you can :-)

Every calendar is folded and bound by hand (by me and my friends), so many thanks in advance for your patience if you ordered one of these. I’m picking them up from the printers this week (shout out Park Slope Copy Plus) and will be spending the next two weeks assembling and sending these out as fast as possible!

Printed on speckle tone and kraft tone French Paper – 8.5x11 inches unfolded, and I suggest using a binder clip for hanging.

Here is my availability for January to tattoo you in NYC!

NYC JANUARY BOOKING

I’ll be tattooing in Ithaca but haven’t finalized my schedule yet! If you’d like to be considered for a tattoo in Ithaca, you can submit a request through my rolling booking form.

Last but not least… The Museum of the Earth is still facing serious financial pressure to stay open into the new year. If you have the means, or know anyone who might, please donate or support in any way you can. The Museum of the Earth is a treasure of the Ithaca community, and with more than 7 million fossils in their collections, is one most important resources to the study of paleontology in the US.

SAVE THE MUSEUM OF THE EARTH!

“In these challenging times, places like the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) stand as beacons of hope, fostering understanding of the natural world and inspiring action for a sustainable future. For years, the Museum of the Earth has inspired visitors of all ages with the wonders of our planet’s history. But today, we face an urgent challenge: one that threatens our ability to continue serving our community, our region, and learners across the world. The Save PRI Fund was created for one purpose: to ensure PRI remains fully operational and accessible during this challenging time.”

I’ve never felt more inspired or more connected through through time and place than when I look at and think about fossils – especially those found and originating in the Ithaca area, my family home. I know most of you reading don’t have personal connections to this specific institution or this region, but maybe you can relate if your community has a beloved place that’s at risk of closing or has been lost.

Needless to say, the closure of PRI and the Museum of the Earth would be a huge loss for the Ithaca community and for the continued research, education, and appreciation of Earth’s geologic past. If you’re looking for a meaningful place to put your money this holiday season, please consider donating here.

I think that’s all for now… as always, thanks for reading :)

xo Matéa

Been really feeling this seasonal change, in many ways. And itching for continued change, but tbh I really need to hunker down and focus on calendars..! And because of that, I sadly won’t have as much availability for November… So if you’ve been wanting a tattoo next month, get in there girly.

November Tattoo!

Also… Giftshop is hosting a Halloween flash day! SURPRISE!!!

Here is some halloweeny flash for you, only available at these scary good prices on Thursday October 30th :)

HALLOWEEN FLASH DAY SIGN UP

The little cat in the boot is actually from a vintage Christmas card… but to me it felt so devastatingly witchy I just had to include it. And the little cat/skull stone drawing is based on a concrete sculpture by Jean-Luc Moulène.

I’m going to Ithaca tomorrow and feeling very excited to see all the fall colors and spend some time with family… If you’re in Ithaca, stay tuned for some upcoming Show Pony events in December :)!!!

TTYL XOX,

Matéa

𓆛 ~~ Book a tattoo

𓅮 ~~ Website

Below is the flash I’ll be offering – These designs will be available at the listed rates over the flash weekend. I’ll also be selling some keychains and sticker sheets – hope to see you there ! :)

FLASH DAY SIGN UP

(The horse tile is inspired by Dame Elisabeth Frink, who made some stunning drawings, paintings, and sculptures of horses in her day).

In other news… My October books are open for NYC! But I still have time in September if you just can’t wait another second for your next tattoo:

BOOKING FORM

(I’ve been saving up my cache of things to share with you, so apologies in advance for the following image/info dump!)

My favorite days of summer are always spent at my family’s cabin in Canada. Every day lasts twice as long, the food tastes better, the jokes are funnier, the nature is prettier, the fish are fishier. Each year I’m freshly inspired by happenings on this same small plot of land…

Over the past few years, my boyfriend Liam has become really good at fishing. Before filleting up his haul of the day, my friend Alyssa and I kidnapped the slimy specimen for some amateur Gyotaku printmaking. Gyotaku is a traditional form of Japanese printmaking where a fish is coated in ink, paper or fabric is then pressed onto it, revealing a highly detailed impression of its body. Fisherman in the mid 1800s would keep ink and paper on board to record the size of their catches, often using these prints as means for bragging rights upon returning to shore. It’s also rumored that Samurai fishing competitions were settled using this method..! Originating as a practical form of documentation, Gyotaku has evolved into an art form in its own right.

So I rummaged through the cabin and found sumi ink, old paper, a house painting brush, and some neglected pieces of wood. With our bootleg printmaking studio fully equipped, the madness began. In retrospect we should have used a diluted solution of sumi ink (would have lent more detailed results, I think). Afterwards I also learned that traditionally the eye is avoided and painted in later – but I’m still satisfied with our results! However crude…

My grandma Kumi is a printmaker, and years ago she had our family do Gyotaku on a trip to Baja. Those fish my uncle speared remain forever immortalized on paper, framed and hanging in our family cabin.

Between Canadian escapades, I got SO frustrated with instagram botching up my photos that I decided I needed a real camera to solve my problems. I took to Ebay and Reddit and ended up buying a used Panasonic Lumix GX1. I got swept up in the prospect of getting a new camera that now, ironically, I’m unsure if I’ll end up using it for tattoo documentation... But I’m having so much fun getting back into photography with this little camera. Here are some moments I captured from my stint in Canada last week:

Mid August saw me drawing for fun and not for work for the first time in what feels like forever. I credit this to a strategy I implemented for myself – I told myself that if I really wanted to stare at a TV in the middle of the day, that I would first have to complete a drawing. I’m embarrassed to report that I’ve been drawing more than usual… I often use a light box to trace photographs into drawings, but this past month I’ve been drawing more from observation. I love the looser mark making, and am now wondering how to implement that into my tattoo work ..

Whether I should share the work in my sketchbook or keep its contents private is something I am always debating. In a twisted way, I think that sharing via newsletter works to keep me accountable and stay motivated to create (would love to unpack that later...). Which was the original intention? I’d like to be in a place with my practice where I’m drawing so much that things are just naturally kept to myself… new goal! Anyway… here are some recent samples from my sketchbook based on photos (followed by more stylized versions rendered on tracing paper):

Completing a drawing makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something tangible with my day, even if I’ve done nothing else. Thank god for that! I took the photo that inspired this drawing on my handy new camera last week. It’s depicts two of my favorite people fishing on a boat. Isn’t that neat? I accidentally made the drawing too big for my sketchbook so I decided to add extra pieces of paper to finish it up. It was good to remember how much I like drawing big.

And to wrap things up, here are some very small colored pencil landscapes made en plein air…

Thanks for joining me on this lengthy update and end of summer art dump :) xoxo

Till next time,

Matéa

Well, the wait is over.

Introducing… FUTURE ARCHAEOLOGY: CRAFT FAIR !

This is a fossil themed craft fair, hosted by Show Pony Studio, Buffalo Street Books, and the Paleontological Research Institution.

To host an event with PRI is an absolute dream come true. As mentioned in my “fossils, fossils, fossils…” newsletter a few months ago, the Museum of the Earth has had some serious trouble with funding this year. In a moment where our government is actively defunding education, dismantling science, and hellbent on twisting history and truth, organizations like the Museum of the Earth need our attention and support more than ever. We host this event to show how much we value this organization, its importance within the Ithaca community, and to the field of Paleontology! It is such an honor to highlight their special work.. <3

So if you’re in Ithaca, stop by on July 27th, 11am - 5pm at Buffalo Street Books – pick up some books on fossils, stay for story hour, and show your support for the Museum of the Earth! If you can’t make it, I hope you make a point of visiting this incredible Museum this summer, or making a donation of any size if you are able to.

Featuring locally made art, baked goods, books, and more from @museumoftheearth, @guppy.moss, @twincat.art, @sheepy.hollow, @rachelradishart, @sword_and_bone_art, @pumapots, @snailboatstudio, and @showpony_studio_.

I will be slinging some special fossil themed tattoos designed specifically for this event – I’m already all booked up for the day (so surprised and grateful, thank you SO much), but these designs are repeatable and always up for grabs!

A little peek into my flash development process :)

I am also now booking tattoos for August in NYC – slots are limited !

→ NYC booking form ←

Unsure if I’ll be available the 23-28th, but if my plans change I will let you know!

Signing off with some sweet beach moments from a family vacation last week..! I was sick as a dog for the first two days, but made up for lost time by rock/shell collecting with my mom at four different beaches over the next two days. The rocks and sea life were so colorful compared to the fossil hunting grounds in Ithaca that I’m used to!

till next time,

Matéa

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• NYC BOOKING FORM

I am all booked up for July in Ithaca, but please feel free to submit a request for any upcoming months :

• ITHACA BOOKING FORM

(Yes, you read that right… I’m in the middle of plotting a very cool pop-up event in Ithaca on July 27th! More details to come soon!)

In other news, I made my first ever batch of sticker sheets! Featuring some of my favorite flash offerings. The sheets are 4.5x7” and stickers range from 1.5-3” ish.

$12 shipped – to purchase, Venmo @matealebeau with your address!

I’m also very excited about these three new stickers, which I give to clients for free at the end of their session. If you’d like to purchase these without getting a tattoo, they are available in sets of 3!

$6 for any 3 – Venmo @matealebeau with your preferred combination and shipping address :-)

I made this embroidered Wilson flag after completing my sash for “Derby-taunt” – a party thrown by my roller derby league last week to welcome new skaters to the team, in which all the newbies wear a sash they’ve decorated with their derby pseudonym. It was my first time doing chainstitch lettering, and I had so much fun and withdrawal from sewing when I was finished that I had to start another project immediately..!

Strangely, Brian Wilson died hours after I started embroidering Wilson….. RIP to that absolute legend. I think Disney Girls will forever be one of my favorite songs.

If you live in NYC and are reading this before or on July 24, please make sure you get out and VOTE (don’t rank Cuomo, obvi)! I found the Working Families Voter Guide very helpful while at the ballot box. Let’s go Zohran!!!

Connecting with people through tattooing and creating gives me hope towards a meaningful future – and because of that, I continue to share these updates with you. So thank you for keeping up, especially in such horrifically fascist and scary times. I hope you’re finding ways to be involved while also taking time to slow down, recharge, and enjoy these early summer days.

Till next time,

Matéa

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• NYC BOOKING FORM
  

• ITHACA BOOKING FORM

June is also a great time to send me some gorgeous healed photos.. just sayin!

In other news… Tracing paper has become my muse, and as a consequence all my drawings are chopped up and floating around! Which is kinda super fun. I love pencil textures so much and to physically play around with the paper pieces like a little puzzle :))

And with that… here is my latest flash sheet, which is “June is my birth month and I felt like mixing random things I like all together” themed.

But honestly, this sheet wouldn’t be here without the help of some great suggestions…

The brachiopod drawing is in reference to a fossil I collected in Ithaca last month. I found this perfect little egg shaped stone with a divot in its face, and decided to use another rock as a “hammer” to investigate what might be inside. I then (..very sloppily…) hit my egg rock until it split open, revealing this beautiful treasure !!!!
I was, and continue to be, over the moon about this find.

I love it so much :’)

And as a special treat, here are some more tattoo ideas for you to chew on! My vision was for all of these trinkets to be tattooed as objects being held by the hand, but they are also available on their own.

With the hand, these will follow my typical pricing guide.
Any design on its own can be tattooed at 1.5-3” from $100-150, or $80-100 each if you want to bundle them in one session.

Ok, now to get super real for a second… and because this newsletter is basically just my public diary… May was a concerningly slow month of tattooing for me. I’ve been feeling disoriented and disheartened all month – but I guess slow business has made me draw a lot more, and it’s allowed me to consider other avenues of work and bigger picture life direction. I have no plans of giving up tattooing… But some other “jobs” have peaked my interest, including becoming a print technician, a doula (?? idk), an art therapist, working in women’s health/gender affirming care somehow, or working at a roller skating rink…lol. So far nothing has come about, but I’m excited to see what happens. All this free time also means I’ve had no excuse but to try and get in shape for roller derby and attend practice with my new league, which has been… humbling!

I know my lack of bookings is probably because of my terrible instagram habits, but I just hate pooping out content and reels! And sadly that seems more and more necessary these days. I really prefer sharing stuff on here and letting you all peek into my life and via newsletter… So thank you for the millionth time for being here.

Here is a short playlist of the songs that have been getting me through this past month:

Eagerly awaiting June and all it might hold…

Until next time :)

~ Matéa

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Some smaller, forever repeatable, simpler concepts that are more budget friendly – I’m thinking these will mainly range between $100 - 200 max, depending on size.

There’s lots I want to add to this but I’m also enjoying the simplicity of these designs, and I hope you like them too :) Gonna work on another sheet of minis soon!

I have so much NYC availability in May it’s not even funny!
I’m basically free every day of the week except for Fridays, so don’t be shy and submit a booking request – I’m very open to working with your budget and ideas, custom or flash.

~~> NYC booking form <~~

And I’ll be reaching out to Ithaca clients very soon! Working through requests I’ve received a few months ago, so to get on my waiting list feel free to fill out my rolling submission form

~~> Ithaca booking form <~~

A lot of feelings swirling around this Earth Day, as our national parks, ocean sanctuaries, and entire ecosystems are being destroyed by the Trump administration. It’s hard not to feel small and sad and angry. I’m overwhelmed and feeling paralyzed by the dismantling of environmental protections by our government. I used to participate in Sunrise and climate justice groups when I was in college, but haven’t had as much time to dedicate in recent years. If you personally know of any good organizations to interact with on a regular basis, please comment below or email me.

In the meantime, I’m going to Ithaca today – I plan on going to the Museum of the Earth and hopefully the Mulholland wildflower preserve while I’m there. I hope wherever you are that you take a second to say thank you to the Earth this week <3

Chat soon :)
Matéa

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“I picked away at a layer of slime to reveal the most beautiful fish I had ever seen… It was covered in hard scales, and it had four limb-like fins and a strange puppy-dog tail." 1

Suddenly, the coelacanth was extinct no more!

When I first learned about coelacanths, my climate anxiety was off the charts and I was constantly pondering extinction. I was in art school making big, somber work about fossil fuels and death. I thought a lot about permanence and impermanence. I weaved tattooing into the conversation – what do we deem important enough to make permanent when the world is collapsing and nothing lasts forever? How do we stay afloat? How do we make meaning? I looked at the coelacanth and saw an ancient relative who might know some of the answers. I looked at this creature and wanted to ask it all sorts of things, like how it defied extinction. I look at this creature and feel like I’m not supposed to glimpse this far back into the past.

I wish I took more advantage of fossil hunting when I lived in Ithaca, an area teeming with Devonian life. Now that I’m in Brooklyn, my access to fossils is mostly limited to photos and reading about them… So it’s a very good thing I’ve collected some fossil / coelacanth ephemera over the past few years that I can look to! And I thought it could be cool to share some of them here, with you :-)

My first find out in the field was a book called Living Fossil. I found this copy at the Friends of the Library book sale in Ithaca a few years ago. But it wasn’t just any book…. it was an uncorrected proof! And it’s all about the coelacanth! GOLD. It was actually published in 1991, and you can read about it here.

After finding the coelacanth (and convincing a taxi driver to take it back to the museum she worked at), the chairman of Latimer’s museum board wrote the specimen off as “nothing more than a rock cod.”2 Adamant it was something more, Latimer wrote to her friend JLB Smith, an amateur ichthyologist and senior Chemistry Lecturer at Rhodes University. Above is an excerpt reflecting on JLB Smith’s experience of seeing Latimer’s coelacanth for the first time…

Next up are these gorgeous trading cards I more recently picked up at the East Hill Antique mall in Ithaca, depicting a Trilobite and a Crinoid. These are just so beautiful and kitschy and awesome looking, and I love the quick and dirty facts on the back. I have no clue who produced them or when they were made.

And now for this incredible booklet my friend Alyssa found while we were at Pastimes this past January. Enclosed in the front cover were two additional slips of paper.

All three objects were produced by the Paleontological Research Institution, an organization started in Ithaca, NY in 1932. In 2003, they opened the Museum of the Earth – a public museum and landmark of the Ithaca area, home to one of the largest paleontological collections in the US.

1. Illustrations of Fossils of the Ithaca Area - 1966 (sample of pages scanned)

2. Paleontological Research Institution - information pamphlet

Now for maybe my favorite find… A greeting card produced by PRI in 1969. When opened, you discover a poem titled To a Trilobite, written by Paleontologist T.A. Conrad in June of 1840.

I don’t know if I’ll ever find anything more special than this. . .

3. Paleontological Research Institution Greeting card - 1969

The overlap of art and paleontology, and to find evidence of their intersection from nearly 200 years ago, makes my heart sing. I feel so much comfort and connection to the people who share this love of the mindbogglingly ancient made known through the uncovering of fossilized life.

And now here’s a silly little thing I wrote, inspired by To a Trilobite.

I was feeling cold and sad for being so indoors and antisocial and surrounded by pavement this winter. But I felt inspired by T.A. Conrad to turn my casual ramblings into a poem… Thanks for inspiring me 185 years later, buddy.

Recently, the Museum of the Earth has been facing financial issues (when I read this article I nearly sobbed). In case you find yourself in need of some Paleozoic stuffed animals or other very important and evolution-themed merch, you should totally buy them here to support this incredible institution. Personally, I’m signed up for email notifications as soon as the ammonite stuffed animal comes back in stock… So please, if you’re in Ithaca, treat yourself to a trip to the Museum of the Earth. And the next time you find yourself in a gorge, take a look underneath your feet.

For a comprehensive update on how PRI is doing, give this article a read. I also highly encourage you to sign this petition, spearheaded by the amazing Emily Cavanaugh, to show your support in keeping PRI afloat. While you’re at it, you should also read Emily’s incredible opinion piece for the Cornell Daily Sun on this topic – if you weren’t already moved to help out PRI, her writing will surely do the trick.

An inspiring little segment from Emily’s op-ed:

[The Museum of the Earth’s] interdisciplinary approach to Earth’s history taught me that fossils were more than just dead things in rocks, they were storytellers of lives before our own: environments defined by unimaginable extremes and organisms that thrived long before we existed. The museum’s blend of scientific precision with philosophical wonder singlehandedly reshaped my academic path and proved to me that curiosity and creativity are just as vital to science as precision and rigor.

~~~

I love tattooing fossils because I can pretend I’m at my very own paleontological dig – except it’s excavating, uncovering, memorializing on to skin. Each time it’s like a search for tiny treasures, slowly pieced together one dot at a time.

I feel like I’m always pushing my pro-fossil agenda through my flash sheets, but if you ever want a fossil related tattoo that isn’t pre-drawn, please hit me up! Fossil tattoo requests are always my favorite – a lot of the tattoos above were custom requests!

Sometimes it’s hard for me to imagine tattoos will last a lifetime, the same way it’s hard to wrap my head around just how ancient fossils are. And there are still so many things I wish I could ask the coelacanth. Left to my own devices, I get to see what new responses arise as my life and interests change.

One thing I’ve learned is that fossils spark this deep sense of wonder within me – and it simply makes me happy to share that wonder through art and through this newsletter. Sometimes I have imposter syndrome about my love of fossils because I’m just a hobbyist and only tapping into an iota of information about them. I’m also in New York City, locked into my routines, and barely get out into nature... But in what feels like one of the most unsettling and awful time periods to reckon with as a human, I think looking to fossils and life prior to now makes it possible to envision a different future, and that makes life feel more okay. There’s nothing I enjoy drawing or pondering more. They are my little comfort when everything looks grim.

Tattooing offer this respite for me too – it’s making a permanent decision with another person while chatting, laughing, learning about each other, and collaborating on what feels important when things feel out of control. Tattoos can also be silly and meaningless and not about anything important at all, which is a huge reason why they’re so beautiful to me! I guess what I’m saying is that tattooing brings about a very singular kind of human connection I’ve never experienced elsewhere, and I feel so grateful to participate.

In all honesty, my boyfriend is helping me edit this. I think he just summed up my thoughts pretty well –

“They’re kind of like mirror images. Fossils are sort of this representation of the fragility of life and its permanent imprint, and tattoos are a permanent imprint, but on impermanent and fragile life…”

Mic drop!

Okay WOOF, that was a lot… oops. Hope you enjoyed the ride, and thanks for diving into this with me :)

TLDR… I love fossils, I love tattooing. When I get to put those two things together, life feels full. I am so grateful. Please support PRI if you can!

Super TLDR… This is how I’m feeling these days:

Thanks so much for tuning in – see ya next time!

Much love,

Matéa

Book recommendation for you if any of this sparked your interest :-)

Field Guide to the Devonian Fossils of New York

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Popping in to say that my March books are open and ready for your requests. My schedule is wide open so far – flash or custom, whatever your heart desires, I’d love to make it happen. I’ve had a slow month of booking so far, so I’m very open to working with any budget <3

~~> march booking form <~~

And with that, here is some new flash for your eyes only, before it hits instagram :

I started working on this flash sheet last March and just finished it. Can’t quite believe it’s been a year…! woah. Going back to pointillism since I drew most of these designs so long ago. Fun to go back to this style but, also feeling a bit distant from this kind of drawing (and a little self conscious to share it…)? But anyway I hope you like this sheet even though it’s a bit all over the place – let me know what you think :’)

The theme is “Waters of March,” like the song… :’)

I’ll be posting this sheet to Instagram at the end of the week, so you have until then to submit your guesses in the comment section

Leave a comment

That’s all for now… working on a post about fossils and rocks, ephemera about fossils and rocks, and how much I love fossils and rocks. So stay tuned :-)

~ Matéa

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If you’re new here, welcome :-) My name is Matéa and this is my newsletter where I share flash, tattoo updates, art related endeavors, amateur writing, recent fascinations, and whatever other nonsense, on a very irregular basis.

I began using substack a little over a year ago as an outlet to create a more informal and hopefully closer relationship with anyone interested in keeping up with my work. Writing on here is also a way for me to practice imperfection, stay curious, and get out of my comfort zone.

The performative nature of Instagram has made accomplishing these things feel very difficult and disingenuous. I hope one day to transition away from instagram/meta altogether, but I think that might take a minute. For the time being, I will continue to use instagram for “relevancy,” viewership, and as a booking tool for tattoos. But by subscribing to this newsletter, you will always get first looks at flash and other fun, more in depth updates and musings than I’ll be posting on instagram :-)

I hope that by writing and reading newsletters we are able to cut ourselves some slack, to reflect, to recover, and to nurture one another away from the dark clutches of meta.

So here we are. I’m very grateful you’re here. Thanks for bearing with me as I stumble through the internet :’)

~~~

At the moment, I’m excited to show you some flash I’ve been working on <3 My first attempt at a valentines-adjacent flash sheet

Inspired by vintage ephemera, swirly pea shoots, fossils (what’s new...).
The opera glove drawing is a direct reference to this gorgeous MET archive of vintage tobacco ads from 1885 - 1890.

Here are my remaining available days to tattoo you in February this month in NYC:

Monday 02/10 ~ 11am
Tuesday 02/11 ~11am / 3pm
Wednesday 02/12 ~ 11am / 3pm
Thursday 02/13 ~ 11am / 3pm

And here’s a link to my ~~> booking form

If any of my designs get your gears turning, I also take on a small amount of customs each month! So feel free to email me with your ideas, or submit a booking form outlining what kind of custom you’d like to develop together.

As always, thank you for reading! ‘Til next time :-)

~ Matéa

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Laser printed on multicolor speckle tone and kraft tone French Paper, 8.5 x 11 inches unfolded, with hand stitched binding. Each calendar varies slightly in color. I recommend using a binder clip for hanging these up on the wall :-)

In case you were wondering what I did all of November, I was locked away in my office making these..! This calendar feels like a real mish-mash compilation of my art styles and interests, all printed and sewn together into one object. These puppies were a serious labor of love and I really hope you enjoy <3 <3 <3

They are available for purchase on my online shop!

(Also thank you to Park Slope Copy Plus for making my calendars come to life .. you guys rock. If you’re in NYC and need anything printed, GO HERE!)

And if you’re feeling unsure about buying a calendar and want to see them in person before purchasing, you are in luck !!!

Because Show Pony Studio is hosting…

LOCATION:
Show Pony Studio
108-114 N Cayuga St Suite 2, Ithaca, NY 14850

We hope you join us for some last minute gift shopping, all made by LOCAL ARTISTS!

Thanks so much for reading, and if you buy a calendar… I couldn’t be more grateful :’) You’re like… single handedly making my dreams come true.

Til next time,

Matéa

~~~~~~~~~~

𓃠 ~~~ 2025 CALENDARS!

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𓃗 ~~~ Show Pony

NYC: November 4-26

Ithaca: November 27- December 1

You can utilize this link to submit a booking request :) !

~~~~~

TATTOO RAFFLE FOR HURRICANE HELENE RELIEF !
$5 PER ENTRY

My studiomates and I over at THISTLE will be raffling off 7 tattoos to raise hurricane relief funds! By entering this raffle you will get the chance to win a free palm sized tattoo from 7 members at @thistle.nyc.

• In order to enter you must be 18 or older.

• You must be in NYC or willing to travel to NYC to get tattooed.

• $5 per entry – all entry funds will be donated

• Enter as many times as you want. More entries means more chances to win (& more funds to be donated to hurricane relief efforts!)

• Venmo @paxton-angell *with your ig handle in the description* to secure raffle tickets.

• All funds raised will be split between the selected initiatives doing work in Asheville and greater WNC.

OPPORTUNITY TO WIN A FREE TATTOO!

So recently I reached 3,000 followers on instagram ..! I know I know, followers don’t really mean anything… but as a thank you for this little virtual milestone, I decided to organize a giveaway :)

I will be giving away $200 in credit towards a tattoo(s) with me, redeemable any time!

Entering is completely free, and you can participate on instagram by following the directions outlined in my giveaway post → giveaway info ←

Crazy that I began tattooing friends out of my bedroom/dormroom almost 6 years ago… I even took house calls! Who knew this art form would become such an immense part of my life. Feeling very lucky to share my work with others in such meaningful ways on a daily basis. If you personally engage with my work, even if you have no intention of ever getting tattooed by me (and yes, reading my substack counts!), thank you so so so much. Wish I could give you a hug <3

~~~~~

I have a very casual flash sheet to offer you for the months of October/November – most of these drawings weren’t made with the intention of becoming flash, so I suppose this is sort of a small glimpse into my sketchbook. (Obviously had to take advantage of October and include some bats in this sheet.. )

Been a bit lost when it comes to flash and what “my style” is these days, which is a little unnerving but also leaves lots of room for me to play around and see what feels good… So thanks for sticking with me as I figure shit out. I hope it seems somewhat cohesive to you :)

In the wake of feeling like I don’t know what niche my work fills amongst the sea of amazing tattoo artists in New York, I’ve been drawing and experimenting more outside of tattooing – cutting up paper into fun patterns, drawing on wood panels, playing with texture and shadows, etc.

I’ve also started working on a 2025 calendar ..! eep! I would share a little preview but I honestly don’t have much to show for at the moment… But SO glad I’m getting more of a head start than last year’s (which I somehow crafted in about a week…). Stay tuned :-)

Lastly, here’s a little list of things I’ve been enjoying lately:

I’m not a huge reader and these are the only books I’ve read recently, but I got so excited I just had to share…

• Why Fish Don’t Exist, by Lulu Miller

Just finished this book this morning … If you enjoy non-fiction journalism about science and nature and also happen to be someone who has an existential wave of nausea hit you around once a day (… haha hiii..), and also maybe you happen to love beautiful illustrations – then this book is for you. I haven’t enjoyed a book like this in a while. Lulu Miller takes you on her personal search to understand how to continue in the wake of inevitable chaos, all while detailing the life of “fish” taxonomist David Starr Jordan. So many ups and downs and runarounds! I highly recommend just picking up a copy and reading this one – I doubt you’ll regret it. My friend Anna Goldings (amazing musician – her music is another thing you won’t regret checking out) posted about this book on her story and I picked up a copy no questions asked a few weeks later. Thanks Anna!

• The Summer Book, by Tove Jansson

I always consult my friend Paige when I need a new read because her recs never disappoint. She suggested The Summer Book to me – I was unfamiliar with Tove Jansson’s work outside of the Moomin universe, and wow, I don’t have enough praise for this small marvel of a book. It’s composed of 22 short vignettes (all fiction, but may as well be actual accounts) following six year old Sophia and her grandmother during a summer on an island in the Gulf of Finland. It was the most perfect thing to read as summer faded away. Jansson writes so succinctly and beautifully, there were sentences that had me taking a beat to really revel in the moments she had illustrated. She packs so much into such few words. If you need a book to just escape into, I highly recommend this one.

• Sorry to be basic, but I haven’t been able to stop listening to Wednesday’s cover of Gary Stewart’s “She’s Actin’ Single (I’m Drinking Double)” for the past month. So this is me recommending it to you…

• The MET Cloisters…

Another moment of being basic and new to New York but I truly do not care because it was so amazing – if you haven’t been to the Cloisters, go ASAP. If you’ve been before, maybe go again?? No excuses since admission is pay what you want…

My breath was taken away by the size of those damn unicorn tapestries… and the detail of the stained glass and how beautiful the cloisters themselves are, etc etc. I’ve realized one of my “hobbies” is feeling incredibly small and feeble and tiny and minuscule in the grand scheme of things – whether it’s looking at fossils, reading about the inevitability of chaos, watching archaeology/history documentaries, or standing in front of a piece of art from LITERALLY 1,000 YEARS AGO… That stuff just makes me wanna explode it’s so intoxicating. So if you like medieval shit or share that same love of getting drunk on feeling small … Get your ass over to the Cloisters, and maybe take a picnic with you.

As always, thanks for reading :)

Matéa

~~~~~~~~~~

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It’s been thrilling to adjust to a new city. We have so many new neighbors, including three very plump pigeons that live above our window and won’t stop shitting right outside our front door… It’s not like moving to Brooklyn or interacting with pigeons are unique happenings, and yet somehow I feel so special these birds chose our ledge to call home. Apparently pigeons make wonderful pets since they were once our very close companions, and I’ll admit I’ve done a concerning amount of research on what keeping one would look like… But for now these three fat pigeons on our ledge are as close as I’ll get to that fantasy.

I’ve noticed it’s more intuitive to conceptualize my flash when it feels like I’m drawing in my sketchbook… So for this new flash sheet I’ve decided to step away from pointillism and engage more with my natural drawing style.

Here is a sneak preview at my first flash sheet in a looong time – leaning into textures and gradients that inspire me, pet pigeon fantasies (drawing based on a vintage postcard), trinkets I’ve rediscovered while unpacking, an angel fish and a ceramic rabbit (cuz why not), and Devonian fossils (obviously). I hope the things that continue to fascinate and delight me do something similar for you <3

Also excited to say that I’m taking booking requests for September and October! Haven’t had my books open all summer and I’m feeling very antsy to start tattooing again :)

→ BOOKING FORMS ←

Bookings are open for September and October, in both NYC and Ithaca.

A heads up, I have very limited availability for Ithaca, so if you’re interested submit a request asap!

Subscribe now

~~~~~~ an end of summer reflection in semi story form ~~~~~~

The summer feels like it was swallowed by the task of sorting, purging, moving, saying goodbyes. I haven’t drawn flash since April, in fact I’ve barely drawn at all this summer! I promised myself I’d go to swim at flat rock every day and I think I went three times. It’s so hard to watch summer and promises to myself slip away.

Six days after moving to Brooklyn I drove back to Ithaca for the weekend to play in a roller derby game. On my last day, after hours of errands and some mahjongg, my mom and I went for a walk at the Mulholland wildflower preserve. The sky glowed pink and yellow. Within a few minutes we were off the trail and down on rocky waterfront, scouring for evidence of fossilized life. I’ve never been fossil hunting with my mom before and it was a joy like no other.

At first we focused on the little rocks, spending long moments turning over almost every pebble in the small areas we stood in. I was worried she’d get bored or that her knees would begin to ache from bending down so much. She collected all the stones that were purple and set them on a bigger rock. I kept asking if she wanted to continue on our walk, but she was just as excited to marvel over each ancient little stone as I was :’)

The larger rocks we had first overlooked ended up being the most exciting. I am filled with awe over and over again when I look at the rocks in Ithaca. There is something so inexplicably amazing about uncovering these remnants of the past. They lay themselves bare just waiting for us to notice, to touch. Holding so many secrets. Allowing us to pour over their tiniest of imprints millions of years later, to wonder about their origins and feel small in their presence. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of them.

“it’s almost like the surface of the moon…”

“do you think this was some sort of plant?”

“this one looks like little angel wings.”

I feel like I haven’t had a moment to slow down and absorb like I’ve been craving, so this day felt so magical. I think I really needed this time amongst the rocks and the water and my mom.

I don’t know why it’s such a struggle to carve time for myself to observe and indulge in what I already know I love. Something as simple as looking at rocks, sinking my hand into cool water, going on a walk with my mom. I’m worried now that I’m in Brooklyn that time to slow down will be even harder to find. And I doubt there are many fossils to hunt for in the pavement… But I couldn’t be more excited to see all that the city holds, so too laid bare, waiting to be noticed by a new set of peepers.

Maybe the privilege of living so close to natural wonder is something you can only truly appreciate when you move away from it. And yet it lays waiting for you. Waiting, waiting.

As always, thank you so much for reading and staying tuned with my little corner of the internet :)

Till next time,

Matéa

~~~~~~~~~~

☆ ~~~ Book a tattoo in September & October !

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