ABOUT

Tá fáilte romhaibh! Welcome! I'm Em (she/they). If we were in-person together, I’d offer you a mug of herbal tea. I recently completed a degree in Irish folklore and ethnography at University College Cork in Ireland. Prior to this, I worked as a tattooer for eight years. I believe tattoo can be a radical act of self-care, a deeply important personal undertaking, a reclamation of sovereignty over our own bodies. I’ve designed and tattooed large-scale custom tattoos using folkloric research of medicinal and poisonous plants, as well as regionally-specific crafts such as: embroidery, lace, quilting, weavings, pottery, wood/stone carvings and metalwork. If you’d like to chat about making a tattoo together, email me: ematropatattoo [at] gmail [dot] com

I’ve worked as a seamstress, carpenter, model-maker and bread baker. I have been a radio reporter, investigative journalist and comics journalist. Publications featuring my work include Narratively, Bitch Magazine, Decibel and The Guardian. Some of my illustrations appear in one of Manchán Magan’s books, Focail na mBan. I got my start in journalism with Rustbelt Radio, an Indymedia collective that focused news from the grassroots and social justice. I’ve taught workshops for kids and adults on how to record audio, how to make comics, how to use power tools, and how to make plant medicine. I’ve built 30-foot snow globes, baked hundreds of loaves of bread from scratch each morning, and stitched mascot costumes. My studies of herbalism began in 2009, which have influenced my illustrations and tattoos. I especially love sharing with others about the wonders of plant medicine and the natural world.

I always wear earplugs when taking photos at shows.

My current favorite word in Irish is leoithne, a light breeze.

Each of my personal and professional experiences inform who I am and how I work. Here are a few nice things people have said about my work.

Thanks for visiting.

Sláinte agus saol chugaibh!