The Audubon Project
AUDUBON PROJECT IS FILLED/CLOSED. This is just a description of the project for reference.
For the month of February 2021, I will be working exclusively from classic plates of Audubon’s “Birds of America” + “Mammals of America”. These illustrations will be chosen by you at the time of your appointment, translated into a stencil, and then tattooed. Here’s how it works:
One the day of your appointment, you will come to the studio and look through 2 physical books of vintage Audubon plates. While these plates are full color, I will be offering black and white versions of them. On certain designs, color will be optional (and marked as such).
There are hundreds of designs to choose from - each available design will be marked in the book, and there will be a price range attached. The range (rather than a set price) is because some of these designs can be done at either a small scale OR a large scale. This is up to you and the placement you are interested in, and can be discussed in person!
Designs will range from $300-$1000, with plenty of options within that full range.
If we go big, we may have to schedule additional appointments - I can get a lot done in a few hours, but many large designs need to be done in multiple sessions. This will be discussed in person once your design is chosen, and if needed, your next appointment can be scheduled before you leave OR at a later date - up to you. I am VERY happy to go big as this often allows for more impressive, detailed work, and is ideal for many of the designs available! If additional appointments are necessary, you have the option to pay in full upfront, or split the cost per session.
Each design will only be tattooed once. If you have a certain plate in mind before your appointment, please be willing to choose a different one if it has already been claimed.
Set aside enough time for your appointment! Once you’ve chosen your design and we’ve discussed our game plan, I will create a drawing/stencil to be tattooed. This can take between 15-45 minutes depending on complexity. Please come prepared to hang out, relax, and make a day of it! There is a restaurant/coffee shop downstairs, a comfortable couch, wifi, etc. Bring a book, a game, podcast, or any sort of quiet entertainment if you’d like. You will be my only client for the day. Most appointments will take 3-5 hours (2-4 for actual tattoo, and another hour for consult/prep/stenciling/aftercare/etc). Since I don’t know which design you will pick, I cannot give you a specific time or price in advance. Cash is preferred, so bring what you’re comfortable with, but I also take cards (I have to charge tax on cards - more on this in my FAQ).
The designs as tattooed will not be 100% exact copies of the plates. This generally just means they will be translated into my style (see examples on my instagram) but can also mean additional adjustments (adding a branch, removing some leaves, doing only 2 birds on a plate instead of all 5, adjusting the angle of the flowers, removing the foliage entirely, etc). This helps to translate the classic paintings (which were originally painted/printed at close to 26" x 39"…so, huge!) into tattooable images, as well to accommodate the placement/curves of the body. This will also be discussed at the time of your appointment!
Placement! I am happy to talk placement options with you during the appointment! Unless we are doing a big back/chest piece, the design will most like wrap. Bodies are curved and contoured, not flat/2 dimensional. This means on arms and legs, certain designs wrap quite a bit, take up a decent surface area, and some will work better than others. In addition, some designs MUST be done at a certain size in order to include necessary detail - so if you want an arm tattoo but only have a 4x4” open space, you might want to consider some other options for placement or choose from a few smaller design options. This is ok, but if you’re dead-set on certain placement it may be limiting. I will not compromise the integrity and longevity of a design in order to fit it into a specific (small) placement - this makes for a sub par tattoo and takes away from the design’s full potential.
Disclaimer for Audubon/pre-drawn/flash appointments: You do not HAVE to choose a design/get tattooed if you don’t like any of the designs. However, I will not be making drastic changes to the designs - they are NOT custom/adjustable beyond necessity - and I will not carry over your deposit for a future tattoo appointment in this scenerio. If you think it is a possibility that you won’t find a design you like, please do not submit an appointment request. As mentioned, there are hundreds of designs to choose from. Audubon plates are well known and there are many examples of the work online, as well as examples of my tattoo style of instagram. I am only scheduling one client per day, and these appointments are in high demand, so if you do not end up finding a design you like, I can’t fill that space and your deposit will be forfeited. Thank you for understanding! If you are interested in a custom tattoo design, or a drastically altered Audubon design, I recommend waiting until a later booking round when I once again offer custom work.
Thank you for reading through the guidelines! If this all sounds good to you, you can continue on to booking an appointment! While spaces are extremely limited due to the nature of this project, there will plenty of other opportunities in the following months for more of this work, as well as custom tattoos.