LABOR DAY WEEKEND 2026  Ms. Mick’s Official Tattoo Anniversary

In celebration of my 41st year tattooing, I reminded my Mama that she asked me many years ago if I could actually earn a living drawing on people instead of canvas/rocks/paper/window shades/myself/friends and yes, my cat named Sneakers (I won her at a school fair in the 6th grade!)  I drew smiley faces on her paws and on the head of my baby brother Martin who had a bald spot on the top of his head, vaguely reminiscent of the 5th century monk he was named after — Martin Marcellinus!

Coming from an artistic and creative family, anything we could draw on was fair game though the family dinner table was definitely off limits.  Those sturdy oak tables are hard to come by …  Our parents created most of the artwork in our home.  Papa worked with oils and acrylics and Mama worked in acrylics and watercolors, she loves colored pencils too.  Drawing on burned pieces of paper, she made a series of deer and mushrooms in ink and glued the drawings to pieces of wood cut from the trees.  Pop tops were nailed to the back as picture hooks and those beautiful little drawings lined the staircase wall.

Her bread dough creations, (she calls them her children) were sold at the Smithsonian  Institute in DC and to members in Congress.  She lovingly researched and created indigenous costumes for each batch she made.  Korean, Chinese, Native American, Africans, all painted in the colors of the national dress of each country of origin.  They are truly amazing and after all of the years, the dough hasn’t deteriorated at all.  Four cups of flour, one and a half cups of water and one cup of salt is what these children are made of!

Mama’s bread dough children 1970–2000’s

Dad’s Mission painting–mid 1970’s

Papa’s artwork was on canvas, a little more subdued.  Paintings of churches, churches and more churches, along with waterways and bridges.  I finally was able to talk him out of my favorite painting he made back in the day when he suffered a violent reaction from the swine flu vaccine and could only move his hands to paint.  The painting is of a monastery in a desert.  Papa also had a crazy passion to draw on napkins in restaurants.  In their basement*, boxes of his napkin art is contained.  My Mama has no idea what to do with it all.  I suggested donating it to the Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore because it is all very quirky.  Quirky definitely is a word to describe our family; a myriad of wordsmiths, woodworkers, computer geeks, one homicide detective tossed in for good measure and a pigment specialist.  (*When my parents moved in with Tom and I last year, I kept a few pieces of Dad’s napkin art, the rest was sent to the Great Art Gallery in the Sky.)

Back to tattooing!  In my early days of learning the art (my five children were young), days were spent learning to mix pigments, build machines, needles, and power supplies* and creating and coloring design sets.  Juggling an infant who specialized in pooping every five minutes and needed to be nursed, preparing three meals a day plus snacks, growing our garden and keeping a clean home, I wondered where did I get that energy and can I have some of it now???  Oddly enough, I feel that energy returning after asking if some of it can be returned!

My Papa always told me the best part of being a business owner is to never cut throats of any perceived competition, but to always be fair, decent, kind and always smile before answering the phone since people can actually “hear” the smile in your voice.  Treat everyone as you wish to be treated.  Some days, this is very difficult to do.  Over the years I’ve had to dismiss a few clients to keep my sanity and probably kept theirs too?!  I’ve never been one to shy away from confrontations and to avoid ending up in jail, I ask them to go find another place in the sun.  Also, Tom quit carrying bond money in his boot years ago.  Again, it comes down to a matter of choices; weighing the checks & balances then making a decision to be happy or miserable.  I choose happy!  Yes, personal happiness is a choice and one we can make each day when we rise in the morning.  Each day when I come into the studio I settle into my routine of tattooing my clients for the day then focus on keeping my soul busy with my other art projects or keeping our pollinator garden in the back of the studio “wildly unkempt” 🙂  Folks have been brainwashed to believe dandelions are “weeds” and need to be killed.  Dandelions are one of the first flowers bees navigate toward when they come out of hibernation so please, keep your garden wildly unkempt too! Leaving the foliage alone, you’ll notice fireflies coming back, birds nesting in the trees, bees everywhere, dragonflies hovering in the pond area along with mosquitoes who’s job is to make tasty snacks for the toads.

I painted this a bit ago, it is my favorite icon — well, one of my favorites!

Iconography, egg tempera painting, making soap or watercolor works, jewelry making is still on the table too.  My favorite quote is by the best humorist ever, Erma Bombeck “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘ I used everything You gave me’.  I live by this motto.  When we find ourselves in dark places, it is always good to pick up a brush and paint until the light returns.  Draw, make stuff, put on lipstick!  (My Grandmother Katherine Hall always said “when you have a grey day, wash your face, brush your hair and put on some  lipstick!)  Grandmothers are so wise!  My Grandmother Michieli, on the other hand, felt if you were having a grey day, go outside and kill a chicken to make chicken polenta.  Food is medicine, along with laughter.

Time is an illusion. It is a man made construct.  There is no time in the face of creativity.

Pray, Paint, Write & Eat — that’s only part of my story.  A few things you may not know about me:  I am a Traditional Catholic, A Professed Third Order Franciscan.  You can find me at the Shrine of St. Anthony in Ellicott City http://shrineofstanthony.org the 3rd Sunday of every month where we have our gatherings after 12 noon Mass.  Our parish church is St. Augustine in Elkridge — come visit!

I am not the best example of a Catholic, much less a secular Franciscan.  I have a terrible temper, I love a good argument.  I have been known to get into fistfights protecting people I love … just ask any one of my brothers or my kids.  I often am irritable, sarcastic, have a volatile tongue and many times engulfed myself in flames as my anger is hotter than a lobster being boiled alive!

Working on my personality, I chose to practice the statement made by St. Francis of Assisi:  “I have been all things unholy.  If God can work through me, He can work through anyone.”   Ahh, it’s that word “unholy.”  My parents were worried that tattooing was unholy and to quell their fears, I visited my friend Fr. Daniel Kirk, a Benedictine monk at St. Anselm’s Abbey in Washington, D.C.  (Requiesce in pace Fr. Dan)  The Benedictines are famous as exorcists and Fr. Dan was one of the best.  I met with him and mentioned the part of the Old Testament which prohibits making “markings and cuttings” on the flesh; Leviticus 19:28.  Fr. Dan laughed and said “You’re Catholic, yes?”  Answering “Yes” he proceeded to tell me that as a Catholic, we follow the New Testament and there is nothing in the New Testament which prohibits tattooing.  He directed his hand toward the door, waved his arm graciously and said “Go forth and make art!”  We then shared a lunch of soup and sandwiches and I have gone forth to make art!  Yes, the rumors are true … I keep Holy Water at my station for those who wish to be tattooed with it.  I keep a spray bottle of Holy Water on the front desk for which works in keeping the wackadoodles at bay.  Spray bottles of Lourdes water is kept nearby for people who wish to immerse themselves with a clearing spritz of the magical waters of Lourdes before getting tattooed.  You can buy your own from http://immaculatewaters.com

With all of this in mind, keep this little poem in front of your mind every day — “Always pray to have eyes that see the best in people, a heart that forgives the worst, a mind that forgets the bad, and a soul that never loses faith in God.”  Beautiful words.  Hard to practice but practice makes perfect, eh?!  Stay tuned …