How has the last year+ changed you and/or your priorities?

I call the period between March 2020 and July 2020 a forced time-out. I was unable to tattoo at all due to quarantine, so I took some time to reflect on how much I was working and why I felt that was necessary. I’m still hashing out my work-life balance, but last year was the first time I took a moment to think about it all!

What changes in the world do you hope to see as it does open back up?

There are good changes I am happy about. Mask-wearing is so helpful to prevent the spread of illness, and I’m glad in many ways people will keep wearing them in some public spaces out of courtesy. I’m glad there is more focus on the capacities of hospitals, and I only hope more can be done to provide adequate care and support for communities, especially minorities, so we can get the care we need. Our country specifically needs to do more to make healthcare affordable and accessible.

What do you wish would change in the tattooing world?

I wish it was more inclusive and less gatekept. I have been using my Instagram platform and work with the contemporary tattoo magazine TTTISM to help promote tattoos done on darker skin, to help promote visibility for potential clients of color and to help share education with tattooers. There’s a lot of misconceptions around tattooing darker skin that absolutely need to be broken. My friend Tann Parker has been doing this for several years with their platform, Ink The Diaspora, and I’m grateful for all their hard work to transform the industry. That’s just one thing I am hoping can see a big change in the next few years.

What creative pursuits do you have for this next stage?

Right now I’m taking time to scale back tattooing so I can work without getting burned out. I’ve been selling some digital art as NFTs, and I’m excited to work on a body of traditional drawings for publishing and possibly exhibition. I miss sewing clothes and soft sculptures, and I hope to find more time to work on these projects while expanding my online store with new merchandise.

Why do you use Squarespace?

I use Squarespace as my main homebase online. My website is my portfolio and hub for links to social media and other projects I’m involved in. Notably, my online store is powered by Squarespace and I’m happy it can be integrated with my portfolio.

How do you think tattoos can change the world?

Tattoos have been changing the world since humans started marking themselves thousands of years ago. Marking our tribes, our accomplishments and milestones, our identities — it’s how we’ve been identifying each other and ourselves and will continue to be a huge part of who we are as humans.

Gossamer is an African-American/Filipino fine artist and tattooer who identifies as nonbinary femme and a transgender person. They’ve been drawing, sculpting, and making art professionally since 2008, and taught themselves how to tattoo in 2018. They graduated from MassArt in 2012, with a concentration in sculpture. They spend most of their time tattooing at a private studio co-owned by friends.

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