06. september 8, 2021.

hi everyone! welcome to newsletter #6 and thank you for being here :-D here are two tattoos I’ve made this past month that I love and want to share with y’all: MONKEY BALL, which was just so fun to shade; and my first-ever traditional ‘half-sleeve’ piece! (you can peek at the way it fully wraps around the arm on my instagram page.)

I also wanted to share a design that I’ll print on t-shirts soon - drop date TBA! I allowed members of the Panther Solidarity Organization (PSO) Ridgewood to screenprint a simplified version of this design on to t-shirts, which we sold to raise money for their Serve the People program. (so if the design looks familiar to you, that’s why!)

my next exciting announcement is that I’ll be visiting Chicago this October !!! I’ve been wanting to visit for forEVER, so I’m so stoked that this trip is finally happening. I’ll be tattooing out of My Place Tattoo on October 4 & 5, and you can book with me here! this link is only for Chicago bookings. I will open my books for the rest of October in NYC on September 13 (next Monday), in the evening. it’ll be at that same webpage.

I’m really excited to work with y’all! thank you for reading my newsletter and following my work — feedback is always appreciated. the last thing I want to say is that the mutual aid funds I shared last month still have not reached their goals! if you’re able to send funds, please do so. it’s great to buy merch when all the proceeds go to mutual aid, but it’s also great to send $ without material incentive ;)

1. Support Erica Eakins’ Emergency Medical Costs ($2080/4000) – Erica just had a kidney and pancreas transplant, after battling gastroparesis and renal failure for the past nine years.

2. Support Marlon’s Re-Entry ($1674/3000) – they are a Black non-binary elder who was just released to parole after being incarcerated for 16 years. (you can also Venmo @angelmartin!)

endlessly grateful for you all,

Ocean

05. july 29, 2021.

hi everyone !!! welcome to newsletter 5, and thank you for supporting my work :’D

let’s start with the reason most of you are here … my tatu books are now open for the month of September! please click here to fill out my booking form (and then I’ll be in touch via email.) I’ll be working out of a new studio in Bushwick, where I moved this month with Sarah @mommysissue, and where we’ll be joined by Jojo @jojotastrophe and Joo @jpcff in August! for this round of booking, I’m prioritizing my new flash, as well as (legible) photo references in black and grey. I won’t be taking on too many Chinese art pieces and objects, such as lucky charms, mythological Chinese creatures, calligraphy, koi fish/dragons/etc. :( don’t get me wrong – I really love working with that kind of imagery, and will definitely continue to – but I feel like I’m getting pigeonholed into only making this kind of work, so I’m just taking a lil bit of a break from it. if you really want something like that tho, still feel free to fill out my form, especially if you’re coming with photo reference ! just know that there’s a good chance I will pass on it this time around.

here is new flash I’ve been working on, that I really want to tattoo !! *_* these are the pieces that will be prioritized (last two images are body mockups!) I’ve reeaally enjoyed drawing these, especially since they are entirely from my head! I feel like my head has been a weird place to be in lately, but at least we get new flash out of it.

& lastly, here are two mutual aid funds that need some love, if you are able to send funds right now.

1. Support Erica Eakins’ Emergency Medical Costs ($1770/4000) – Erica just had a kidney and pancreas transplant, after battling gastroparesis and renal failure for the past nine years.

2. Support Marlon’s Re-Entry ($1664/3000) – they are a Black non-binary elder who was just released to parole after being incarcerated for 16 years. (you can also Venmo @angelmartin!)

thank you so much for being here! I hope everyone is taking care of themselves and their communities, and staying safe with rising COVID numbers. I’m sending so much love and am always open to feedback!

with love from Ocean

04. june 21, 2021.

hello ! this is newsletter #4. welcome to all new subscribers, and sorry-for-the-3-month-absence to subscribers who have been here for a longer time. either way, a big thank you to everyone who has been following to my work !!!

most recently, I collaborated with Vanessa Nguyen (@nessafiesta) to create these 8x11 risograph prints. they drew the phoenix in red, I did the one in blue, and we each have around 50 copies. mine have been sold to raise $700 for mutual aid ! so if there are any mutual aid efforts y’all have been crowdfunding for, pls feel free to reply and let me know. (also, as I like to occasionally remind ppl, you are always welcome to DM me mutual aid graphics to share on ig.) I sold prints a little differently this time … usually, I price things individually to raise money for various relief funds, but this time I had one print priced at $30, with the option to get a second print for free if the person agreed to put it up in a public space. I’m excited to see how this goes – tho ofc these are actions we probably won’t see tangible results for – and hope people send pictures of prints in public (-:

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also, my tattoo books are open for parts of july and august! click here to fill out my booking form. right now I’m prioritizing pieces like this wallace & gromit – I’m really into this fake hyper-realism look, with the soft grey tones. hyper-realism mr. krabs anyone? I’m excited by making chrome/reflective metal tattoos, which require reference photos (like the lucky cat below.) on a completely different note, I also want to make more ink-brush painted tattoos, like these veggies & butterflies. but I’m open to hearing all of your ideas, if you think they’d be a good fit :) send them my way!

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that’s all for this newsletter ! don’t forget to drink water and put sunscreen on your tattoos … and probably your skin in general. this time of year is usually pretty hard for me, and “re-opening” has been hard for most people I’ve talked to, so here’s also a reminder to be gentle with ourselves, and thank our bodies for trying to protect us (even if it’s in ways that aren’t necessarily helpful anymore.)

with love from Ocean

03. march 31, 2021.

hellooo! happy almost April! I’m sending this out a day early out of excitement — I just finished shading these three flash pieces and couldn’t help myself :0 I’m working on a series of Chinese mythology pieces, that I would like to do at a relatively larger scale (body mock-up included), and have begun with Nezha, Chang’e, and Bingling Gong. Bingling Gong is not nearly as well-known as Nezha or Chang’e, but I mean… come on. look at him!

if you’re interested in getting one of these, please respond + let me know, and we can work out pricing and dates ! note that I’m only booking these flash pieces right now — I don’t have any open appointments left in April. I’m hoping to begin tattooing these in May :-)

also! if there are Chinese mythology/folklore pieces that you want to see, definitely respond and let me know! Houyi and Nüwa are next on my list.

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thank y’all for reading this far!! for the last part of this newsletter, I just wanted to include two funds that need some support, if y’all feel inclined and able.

1. Seethal’s Survival and Surgery Fund: “I’m a 25 year old Black Tamil Intersex person who is raising funds to cover cost of surgery & survival post loss of my job because of COVID.”

2. Hieu’s Re-Entry Fund: Hieu was a pre-1995 Vietnamese refugee who was deported recently with 32 other Viet immigrants and refugees. This fund will ensure his basic needs are met as he recovers from being held in ICE detention for an entire year, and adjusts to life in Vietnam. Venmo: claireman0 (zero at the end)

with love from Ocean

02. march 17, 2021.

hello ! welcome to newsletter 2, and thank you for being here. sorry there has been such a long gap between newsletters - I’m making it a goal of mine to send these out once every month from now on :)

I wanted to start off light, and share this tattoo I made a couple of days ago! I don’t make hand tattoos very often, but I loooove the placement of them (and this piece especially) so much. shoutout to julia for requesting this bb koi, we love divine yin energy ! this one is not up on instagram yet, so shhhhh …

I’m also going to add that my books are open for April! this is probably why most of you have subscribed to this newsletter, so I will include a link to book w me here: http://oceangao.com/booking !! open to both flash and custom this time around. as always, I’m requesting that you get COVID tested within a week before your appointment :-)

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CW: sexual assault (and also me oversharing oops)

I also wanted to give myself some space to talk about the shootings in atlanta last night, which resulted in the death of several asian women. to me, this brings up a lot about the hypersexualization of asian women and how it plays such a big part of the violence we face. (obviously, I don’t identify as a woman, but I’m perceived that way.) I think about this in terms of my own sexual assaults, and it’s fucked up to think things like “no might have meant no if I didn’t look like this.” it’s a mind-fuck to exist as simultaneously an object of lust and an object of hatred, with this shooter “lashing out at sources of temptation.”

I notice hashtags like #stopasianhate and I can’t help but think about how divorced these conversations are from histories of violence against asian people in the U.S., and how they’re framed as a mere consequence of the coronavirus. I think about this tweet, from anthony c. ocampo, who says that “a 21-year-old white guy targeted, shot, and killed multiple Asian women in Atlanta. Never forget that lots of 21-year-old white guys did the same thing across the Pacific.” I think about this tweet by @hermit_hwarang, who writes that “so much of Asian Americanist discourse is trapped by assimilationist frameworks. What if we entertained the possibility that it is not simply that we are treated as if we don’t belong, but that we actually do not belong because this country is our enemy[?]”

I think a primal urge for diasporic peoples is this desire to find/make home, and I wonder what it looks like to create homes on stolen land, what it looks like make home in a country you don’t want to belong to. I wonder what diasporic desires would look like if we moved beyond a need to “belong” somewhere … especially as it seems like belonging is oftentimes (inherently?) predicated on someone else’s non-belonging. I wonder if we can create spaces that are safe for rest, and nourishment, and play, and that cultivates love without belonging. I wonder if we can live in those contradictions.

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I haven’t posted publicly about my next sticker drop, but it’s one that I’m really excited about! I’m having them made by a smaller business, so I’m not sure when they’ll be available, but they will be available for purchase. here is a sneak peek!

& last but not least, if you have the desire/means to, please donate to Red Canary Song ! if you’ve been following my work for awhile, their name might be familiar to you! I’ve donated a free tattoo to their fundrasier before :-) Red Canary Song is a grassroots collective of asian & migrant sex workers, which began organizing after Yang Song, a flushing massage worker, was killed in a police raid in 2017. you can check out their work and donate here ! thank you for reading this far — stay safe and take care.

with love from Ocean

01. jan 5, 2021.

hello and happy new year !!! welcome to my first newsletter + thank you so much for being here. I had a scare last month where I thought I lost alllllll the tattoo drawings/creative work on my iPad – I hadn’t backed up my files and my iPad died – so I’m gonna start by reminding y’all to pls back up your work eeee

lately I’ve been inspired by Chinese paper cut art and ornamental work, so that’s what my latest round of tattoo designs are based on! you might also recognize elements of art nouveau, which I think of as western decorative art. I’m open to making these designs in (most) any one color.

and then! here are: two tattoos I made last year, to show you what the top two circular pieces might look like on skin, and a mock up of what some of these tattoos would look like if you got a bunch of them in black ink (and were a cherubic chinese baby.)

I’m also open to custom tattoos this time around — just make sure they’re in line with my style (check out my Instagram page for previous work.) I really do not feel great about working amid COVID, and will resume getting tested weekly once I start working again. here are my additional safety requirements for tattoo appointments:

• you must wear a face mask/face covering throughout the session.

• come by yourself – no additional guests.

• get tested within a 1 week before your appointment, continue to be careful after your test, and reschedule if you test positive or are experiencing any symptoms.

you can book an appointment through this booking form, and I’ll be in touch via email.

last but not least, here is a ~sneak peak~ of my next drop, which is block printed on sports bras/bralettes! I love working with red ink tattoos, so ofc I’ve also loved printing in red :) I can’t decide whether to have red text for all of the bras, or if I want some to have black or white ink… that part is tbd. (drop date also tbd!)

thank y’all for reading this far! again, I really really appreciate the newsletter subscription, so that I can be less dependent upon Instagram, and your general interest in my work :’) take care and stay safe!

with love,

Ocean