The concept of Sacred Geometry contemplates and concerns repetitious patterns found within all levels of Nature. The curl of a breaking wave, the head of a yellow sunflower around which all it's petals dance, the iconic nautilus shell's unfurling vaults. Ever expanding, spiraling up and out, interpenetrating all physical reality.

Our experience of the physical world is a dance in which the grand unfolding of Nature is interpreted by the five senses; this is Sacred Geometry at work. Energy patterns at all levels of vibration are received as sight, sound, taste, smell and texture to merge into our moment to moment experience of the outer world.

The use of mandalas and other fractal geometric shapes in tattooing can serve as a reminder of the underlying structure of it All. I find the process of tattooing images of this nature to be quite joyful. I get lost in the lines. Over and over, in, out, in and out. It's like a form of meditative tattooing.

As someone with a personal interest in the topic, I get excited when clients reach out with tattoo concepts inspired by these images and ideas. Mandalas and fractal patterns are like visual poetry that reflect the patterns found in the human form.

Here's some examples of work the incorporates sacred geometry in some way shape and form:

I've been doing a deep dive into my tattoo photo archives.

I have photographed almost every tattoo I've done in the last 13 years. Every once in awhile I'll go back and look through all the photos, it's a real trip and a valuable experience. It's like watching one of those "flip books" where you move the pages with your thumb and the picture moves like a mini movie (...depicting how my style and craft has evolved over the years).

There's a story behind each piece. Conversations with the client and shared moments of silence while the work was being done. It's a reminder of how lucky I feel to have made so many connections through the years. As some of you may know, I'm not the most chatty tattoo guy, but I still try to be fully present to someone, even if we're not exchanging many words.

Looking through all these photos also reignites my interest in documenting work. I hope this year to begin again having a little more fun with photography. Time to break out the ol' (real) camera...

My 13 year-long relationship with tattooing is ever evolving. Over the last few years, I've begun to see my work as a means of inner development. Tattooing is an incredibly demanding craft that requires patience, trust, and faith in the process. These are all qualities I’d like to develop in myself. Thereby, practicing them as part of my daily work is an opportunity to cultivate these qualities in such a way that they became part of every facet of my life.

Cultivating these qualities has also led to a willingness to focus on the process itself. This also requires vulnerability and an openness to the present moment. I find myself moving away from expectations of the future and turning a deaf ear to comparisons of the past, in order to find myself Here and Now.

So here I am. Making tattoos. Using work as soul craft.

Some recent photos of in progress work...

(All projects are instances in which I'm building new work into a tattoo that I completed years ago. There's something quite beautiful about the merging of the past into the present in order to create the future. Quite apropos.)