Ink Medicine: A Podcast Off The Tattoo Table

I met Syd Botanica through PerfumeTok, a niche little community on TikTok where people discuss, review and recommend small artisanal perfume brands and specific scents. 

Syd is a perfumer, but beyond that, they are absolutely an artist in all senses of that word. On this episode we discuss how much perfume making has in common with creating music and with tattooing, marking people's skin with ink. 

Few things make me happier tha...

Have you ever felt stuck with a tattoo artist who makes you uncomfortable but the tattoo isn't done? Or perhaps you've been ghosted by an artist who still has your deposit? or maybe the work you've had done so far is just not... good? I've talked to many people throughout my time as a tattoo artist who didn't feel comfortable moving on. 

In this chat, I tackle the question those clients face: "...

One afternoon I received a message over IG thanking me for having a page on my website that mentions cultural appropriation in tattooing. I looked at the person's profile and saw that they were a tattoo artist too. This person was Renée Mak. I thanked Renée for her acknowledgement and suggested that we take this conversation onto the Ink Medicine podcast. 

It is no secret that the western and predominantly white tattoo industry...

The books I read in 2024 and what I thought of them!
 
 Books mentioned:

1. A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers 

2. Death Valley by Melissa Broder 

3. Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki 

4. Rough Sleepers by Tracy Kidder 

5. How Not To Drown In A Glass of Water by Angie Cruz 

6. Infinite Country by Patricia Engel 

7. Knife: .... By Salman Rushdie 

8. Stoner by John Williams 

9. How High We Go In The Dark by Seq...

It's been about six months since I put out an episode of Ink Medicine. I am back. Hello. May this new year of 2025 bring us some unexpected joys. 

I got chopped. I concentrated on healing solely for a while. Now I am slowly getting back to my regular life. Including this. 

It's good to be here. I will talk to you next week. 

I am happy to hear your questions, suggestions, and feedback. Please send Ink Med...

Just taking a little mental health break. I will be back with my yearly Books episode, and other ones, as circumstances allow.

Much love. 

I am happy to hear your questions, suggestions, and feedback. Please send Ink Medicine a message.

You can connect with me, Micah Riot, as well as see my tattoo art on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/micahriot/

Micah's website is www.micahriot.com
Find the podcas...

Ali is the creator of the Instagram community @jews.withtattoos
After starting the page she quickly gained a following, and as people started requesting guidance on finding Jewish tattoo artists, she created a spreadsheet to help artists and clients connect. You can find that spreadsheet linked to the above mentioned Instagram page, Jews With Tattoos (https://www.instagram.com/jews.withtattoos/)

I met Ali briefly last ...

One of the perks of being a tattoo artist is the freedom of movement one can take advantage of. There are shops everywhere these days. Conceivably, that means that as a tattooist you can go anywhere and temporarily live and work there. I've known of people who didn't live in any one place but just continuously went from guest spot to guest spot for years. 

Besides the pleasure of travel, such as discovering new p...

How do I go and tattoo when I feel meh? 

Because I, and many of us, maybe all of us feel "meh" a lot in the face of responsibility. You can love your job very much, have it be the perfect fit for you and still feel like doing nothing when you wake up. 

So how do I get over the malaise and do it anyway? How do I output creatively when I feel empty? 

I will tell you. 

I am happy to hear your questi...

I met Skeeter Barker at her queer community yoga classes in the Mission circa 2007 or 8, and fell in love with her immediately. A strong, heavily tattooed, older butch in loose fitting cargo shorts and tank, with sparkling eyes, glasses, a British accent, and a gentle yet firm style of teaching, she was unlike any other yoga teacher I'd met before. And being in her classes made me want to keep doing yoga. So I did.

O...

Sit with me while I admit a deep dark little tattoo artist secret. I have feelings about it when my long term clients go to someone else. 

I don't know if this term has been used before, but I say Polytattery refers to clients getting work done by several tattoo artists in the same time period. 

It can be awkward for us both if you don't say anything ahead of time. Or if you come back with a new piece by...

White ink has been around as long as I have been tattooing, but I am getting way more questions about it in the last few years than ever before. 

In this episode I will answer all of the most frequently asked questions I get about white ink tattoos: how white ink works, why people may want to get them, other applications of white ink in tattoo art, including white outline tattoos, who they are best for, how they age and mo...

Ayden Love is a total Love.

I met Ayden in my tattooing studio when a good friend of mine brought her to get tattooed by me. I put a matching set of tattoos on the two of them. One for "Daddy" and one for "babygirl".

And if you know me, you know how happy that made me.

I love ritual. I love relationships. I love overt power exchange. I love tattoos.

I asked Ayden to come on...

This episode is equally meant for those who want to know the nitty gritty of tattoo healing and care and those who just like to hear me drone on in the background. 

Here I describe both, first,  what I call the old school traditional way of caring for a fresh tattoo and second, the wet method. 

I get into the products I like to have my clients use, including a deep dive into what Aquafor actually is and how it wor...

This episode is the result of my recent excitement about a few tattoos I've put my whole soul into. 

I've been looking for my personal tattoo style for so long, and considering that maybe I never need to find a niche, that doing it all was my thing (not unlike Beyoncé), that I was a little astounded when I realized that doing "weird" detailed color work felt like the work was coming directly from my sou...

I started this podcast to show off the absolute gems of humans I get to tattoo and interact with on a regular basis. I am a very very very lucky person. 

Karin is one of those people. I have been tattooing big gorgeous detailed artful realistic  flowers on her for about two years. Our conversations range from the personal/political to the intimately personal, to food, to clothes, but mostly how to be a decent person in thi...

For me, turning the big 4-0 comes with its share of introspection.

But today's episode is rather the other side of the moon (or the coin) of last week's episode, "Ep. 65: A Few, Namely Five, Reasons I Love Being A Tattoo Artist".

Today I tell you five reasons being a self employed tattoo artist can be challenging. I'd say these are the most annoying things about it for me. 
In short.....

I pushed through my hormonal sh*tstorm to come at you with some gratitude. Namely five reasons I love being a tattoo artist.

For the full discussion listen of course, and for the short summary peep below:
1. The connections/conversations with my clients.
2. Self determined schedule.
3. Honing my craft, every day into forever.
4. I get to create the environment for myself and my clients.
5. Being a pa...

Have you ever felt the stir of a familiar yet unplaceable memory, or the pull of a connection that transcends your current life? Well, strap in, because we're embarking on an odyssey into past life regression hypnosis, just a little skill I picked up in the past few weeks. 

I will tell you what Past Life Regression is, how it can help a human discover more about their journey, and have a richer more satisfying experie...