I am from the Southwest and spent more than half my life living on a cattle ranch. In my younger years I assisted the local veterinarian and quickly became obsessed with microbiology and anatomy. My mother always had a passion for sewing. She owned a company where she designed and made cowboy boots by hand, and also did needle point and crocheting. She taught me sewing at the age of five. I learned how to guide a needle virtually without having to look at it. She had multiple ear piercings and one tattoo; I wasn’t interested in tattooing until I was 18, but I loved her piercings.

My initial interest in piercing began in 1998. I began to think about other places besides my earlobes to pierce, and quickly began piercing my own lips and nostrils, among other things. The first I performed on myself was my right nostril, which I still wear jewelry in today. In 2004 I started piercing professionally at Majestik Tattoo (now Sacred Art). Afterward, I moved to Maggie Maye’s Tattoo Studio, and finally The Painted Lady in Tucson, Arizona.