#to a line in one of my very bad very early pieces on torr

[ehlnofay]

19 for the worldbuilding prompts + Torr?

the profound quiet of a small settlement at night

North Eastmarch is freezing cold all over, but it wears different outside the city than within.

Torr would never call Windhelm warm – not even in summer months, no matter how used to it they are – but what little heat it has it clings to with great determination. The walls huddle together, trapping the air so that it’s either still and muggy or a howling wind, like each close-knit house is breathing in tandem. The heat of the people run up and down its streets, blood through its knotted stone veins. The city is alive, an ecosystem unto itself; its snow, dark with footprints, runs sludgy down the roads; a fireplace is always burning somewhere.

Outside of the walls, surrounded by nothing but empty air and snow-laden trees, a slow-moving stream running with barely a burble – it feels dead, in contrast. Silent. Branches reach needle-sharp across the blue-black sky, the ground is gleaming white and undisturbed by anyone else’s footprints, and the nearest fire is the barely visible gleam of the Kynesgrove mining camp, up the hill and through the sporadic spindles of the trees. The breeze ghosts past Torr’s neck and whips the mud-stained snow into a flurry.

In the city, Torr’s comfortable sleeping almost anywhere – as comfortable as they ever get, anyway. Some of the buildings have great gaps under the porch where the snow can’t reach and no-one ever finds them; there’s places in the nooks of the walls, and sheds built into the side of the house that people don’t lock, and Torr knows a few people besides who don’t mind him kipping on their floor every now and again, as long as he doesn’t ask too often. The outside isn’t like that. There’s not many places to go. He’s lurking around Kynesgrove tonight – on his way back from a quick venture out to get some things done that pay better than running errands around the markets – and there aren’t many options. The inn, which he can’t afford – the mine, which would be warm but is very guarded – the miner’s encampment or someone’s house, both of which would most likely result in being chased off. Besides, there’s a performative element to meeting people, especially adults, in strange places, and Torr’s not in the mood to play to strangers. So much of his being is caught up in Windhelm’s grimy alleys, tangled in the hair and fingers of its discarded children; he doesn’t know how to be himself away from it all.

But they don’t have to, seeing as there’s the rickety old sawmill on the edge of a stream feeding into the harbour. It’s not bad, as shelter goes; no walls, so the wind rubs its fingers wraithlike down Torr’s cheeks and tangles them in his hair, but at least there’s a roof. It looks newly thatched, too, the floorboards free of rot, the water-wheel still chugging creakily along. There’s no wood to cut here, all the nearby surrounding trees too scraggy to be worth the bother. The only big ones are part of the grove up on the hill. There’s no point in keeping the mill running, but Torr is glad it is; he watches the distant firelight flickering through the scrub, and listens to the splashing of the wheel. It’s proof that people and the things they make do still exist – if not necessarily here.

It really feels dead, out in the cold, with the leafless trees and the wind that doesn’t even whisper. It always does. It’s a bit discomfiting, which is maybe why Torr doesn’t go on out-of-city endeavours as often as perhaps he could; but really, there’s not work out here enough to make it worth it. There’s always problems with bandits on the road, but Torr’s not a good enough fighter for bounty work; there’s collecting plants and things to sell Nurelion, but that’s easy enough to do on a day trip. (And, really, it’s more for Torr’s own enjoyment, besides. They never even venture far south enough to get to the sulphur pools, which is where the more interesting things grow.)

This trip, though, is an outlier. Unusually efficient. Just a quick job for Niranye, scouting a merchant’s cart on the road – almost definitely for something shady, but that’s not Torr’s business, and it was too much money too easy to turn down. And then – just earlier today, foraging out in the wilderness as best as Torr (a distinctly urban animal) knows how – they’d come across a giant’s corpse, stiff and white as the snow it lay in. Torr’s no master alchemist but they know the value of a cadaver when it comes to brewing alloys and admixtures, so they set to with their blunt-edged dagger and now they’ve got a sack full of what may as well be gold. (Long as it doesn’t start to rot before they can get Nurelion to preserve it, anyway.)

Torr’s going to be rolling in it when they get back to Windhelm. They could use that money for nearly anything – pay off a few things they borrowed, new warm things now that winter’s coming back strong, bedrolls, waterskins. Endless options – which, strangely, is more exciting than it is burdensome.

It’s all the sort of decision that would ordinarily feel life-or-death urgent but right now feels – not small. Not insignificant, not at all, but distant. A choice to be made at another time, by another person.

(Torr’s whole being belongs to Windhelm’s back streets. They’re someone else, away from it all.)

That’s the other thing about leaving the city, spending time in the discomfiting slow-paced ghost-world outside. It’s quiet. Torr sits surrounded by the wind in the trees, the lazy murmur of the stream, the creak of the water-wheel, and nothing else.

He’s been called a worrywart (mostly by Griss in a strop) but to tell the truth he doesn’t think that’s true. Torr doesn’t fuss for the sake of fussing, he just doesn’t like to leave things undone; can’t stop until he finds a solution. Out here, alone, in the empty cold, there are no solutions to find – same old problems back home, he knows, but no steps he can take at this time to right them. That’s never true while he’s in the city, so he can never stop thinking about it, every choice and action accompanied by a buzzing background chorus of everything else he really should be doing – that really should have been done by now – that should never have been left undone this long, what was he thinking? Everything is urgent when it’s doable. But here and now, there’s nothing to do.

So Torr sits hunched on the board floor of the ramshackle watermill, huddled among their heaps of bags and blankets, and thinks of nothing at all.

Not strictly true. They think of supper – haven’t eaten since an apple this morning, except for some snowberries they found around noon, and it’s been a long day. They nabbed some turnips from the garden of the Kynesgrove inn on their way to the mill. They’re fresh, if nothing else – also covered in dirt, so Torr rises reluctantly from their pile of stuff to crouch on the banks of the stream and dip the vegetables in to clean them off. It aches like hell, the frozen water turning their joints to ice – they almost drop the turnip they’re washing, so they scrub it as best they can with the frigid pad of their thumb and whip their hands out of the water soon as they’re able. They stick their fingers in their mouth to warm them back up.

Even after all that time spent warming up their hands, arraying all their belongings back around themself to conserve body heat, the turnips are still cold enough to hurt Torr’s teeth when he bites in. He eats them anyway, relishing a little in the unearthly silence and the aching of his lips and palms. They taste delicious.

With nothing else to do after, the gnawing of his stomach sated, he wraps himself in his shawl and stares up the hill at the camp’s fire until it goes out. The stars wink into brighter being. The wind whistles through the whip-thin branches of the trees. The water-wheel creaks.

Torr sleeps, but he feels like he hears it all – a silent observer, an echo, a beginning – until morning.

[letterboxd]

Beautiful Day: The Don Hertzfeldt Q&A.

In which the singular creator of It’s Such a Beautiful Day and the World of Tomorrow trilogy answers 57 questions put to him by the Letterboxd community, about death, gills, snacks, back flips, the best time of day to watch a movie, and the sick pleasure of emotionally destroying people.

Since his first animated outings in the 1990s, filmmaker Don Hertzfeldt has had a way of staring deeply into humanity’s soul via a humble stick figure, and his skill at blending existential questions with situational humor breeds intense reactions. To browse Letterboxd reviews of Hertzfeldt’s animated works is to meet film lovers at a rare, collective gathering point: heaping great piles of love for films that do “the exact opposite of helping with depression”.

There’s something optimistically anti-feel-good in Hertzfeldt’s works; a bleak view of the future, and a frank appreciation of death’s inevitability, that makes viewers urgently want to fix the way they’re living right now. “I’ve built a lot of my life philosophy on the messages of this film,” writes Misty, of his acclaimed It’s Such a Beautiful Day. “It has kicked my ass completely,” writes Dirk of the first, Oscar-nominated World of Tomorrow instalment, “making me angry at myself for letting trivial stuff take over things I love and making me happy I have so very, very much in my life to enjoy and be grateful for.”

The filmmaker’s magic lies as much in the process as the content: “Hertzfeldt is able to make every moment count,” writes Artpig, of the second WoT instalment, The Burden of Other People’s Thoughts, “every line of dialogue, every moment of silence, every note of music, every line of animation.” The World of Tomorrow films, says animation expert Toussaint Egan in our Letterboxd Show animation episode, are “some of the best science fiction films, period”.

And his timing. Oh, his timing. Just as the northern hemisphere days were turning cold, and the drawn-out misery of the pandemic was really taking hold all over again, Hertzfeldt tweeted:

WORLD OF TOMORROW EPISODE THREE everywhere october 9 5pm est 🚀

— don hertzfeldt (@donhertzfeldt)

October 8, 2020

And like that, World of Tomorrow Three: The Absent Destinations of David Prime was ours, an overnight gift to the quarantined and bereaved-weary, on Vimeo for all to rent or own. The gifts, they keep coming: a master list of movies that have their fingerprints on the World of Tomorrow universe, and now, in recognition of our community’s love for his films—and in his signature lower-case—the answers to questions asked in an exclusive Letterboxd Q&A.

To make things easier for Don, we grouped similar questions (and have noted which members asked what). Read on for more than you ever thought you might get to know about Hertzfeldt’s process, brain, heart and influences.

Filmmaker Don Hertzfeldt.

From “holograms that yell at you!” to the stunning colors, textures and folds of the blue mountains, to attributes David progressively deletes to make room for memories, would you please give us an insight into World of Tomorrow Three’s world-building process? —Letterboxd in the grand scheme of the series, episodes one and two still felt like baby steps to me. episode three was my first chance to really start blowing things up and exploring this universe. when i’m writing, i don’t want to worry about going over the top or think about structure or meaning or really much of anything yet. writing is playtime, it should be fun and messy. i want to go over the top. there is no top. i don’t want to start thinking too much until i’m rewriting and sorting through it all. thinking too much too soon can get in the way, like being too aware of when you’re trying to fall asleep. when you write a diary entry or a text to a friend, there’s no self-consciousness or creative blocks, you just write. it’s casual and fluid and automatic. but if you’re asked to write a term paper or a screenplay, suddenly all those lights turn off. it can be paralyzing. it’s hard to get to that place of truly not caring what anyone thinks and approach all forms of writing just as freely as writing those immediate thoughts in your diary. but that’s what i try to do.

When you start writing a new piece, do you usually start with a plot idea, a thematic idea, one uniform philosophical notion, or a little bit of each? —Kodiak J. Sanders, Trenz, Mr. Tables i don’t think i ever write in a straight line. i’ll jot down a hundred stray ideas over time, and one day i’ll sit down and see what connections might be made out of them. i really want this scene to be in the movie, so how do i get there? this is a good line, how can i get a character to say it? so the actual story usually only starts to reveal itself when i sit down to logic all these bits and pieces out. hey, in order to connect this strange idea to that strange idea, suddenly there is a very interesting third scene.

I’m astounded by how much the animation and the visuals improve with each instalment of World of Tomorrow. What have you done differently for each one? —Aske Lund, Cringetacular the characters needed to physically perform a lot more in episodes two and three so there were more demands put on the animation. when emily 4 dances or david staggers up a mountain, those sorts of scenes were animated in “ones”, which means doing 24 drawings per second versus my usual twelve. it’s still all 2D hand animation, just more of a classic disney approach that gives the movement a smoother look and a little more room for nuance. and obviously it takes a lot more work. but i hesitate to call such things improvements because i’m not sure i like the idea of different techniques being thought of as good or bad. it’s just another way of doing things. it really depends, sometimes super limited animation can be more effective.

Likewise, Part Three’s sound design is incredible. What conditions did you create it in, and what are all those sounds, and how do you have such an incredible command of the cut-to-silence trick?! —Letterboxd thanks, the sound design is always my favorite thing to do. other than julia’s lines, it’s easy to forget that all the animation starts with dead silence. obviously there’s no sound coming from a live-action set. so adding sound and music to everything, usually pretty late in production, is when all the stuff i’ve been working on suddenly starts to feel like an actual movie. this is not a future that works very well—particularly david’s, which predates everything else we’ve seen so far by a century or two—so you’re hearing a lot of creaky old hard drives booting up, electric distortions, and bent circuits from broken toys.

Emily and Emily Prime in a still from ‘World of Tomorrow’ (2015).

World of Tomorrow used to fill me with existential dread, but now with the current state of the world it’s become more and more comforting in a strange way. Do you feel that at all as you make new episodes? —mariano gg i wish that were possible but when i’m making something i’m usually so close to it i’m unable to see anything but all the things i need to fix.

Can you talk a little bit about sourcing the photo-realistic images for the backgrounds in Part Three? —Jack Moulton most of the environments were 2D images i built in photoshop, usually starting from close-up photos of different textures (like sandstone), all sort of reshaped and puzzle-pieced into something new. an easy to see example was david’s cockpit, which was cobbled together from all sorts of different old aircraft engine and machine parts. the trick in building and lighting these locations was always figuring out where the line was drawn in making these places realistic, but not too realistic for minimal characters to inhabit. i kept landing on a sort of painterly looking middle ground.

If the cloning process in World of Tomorrow existed right now, would you go through that process and create clones of yourself to prolong your life? —tim probably not, that process doesn’t seem to work so well.

If you were put into the world you’ve created, would you buy gills? —Lauren Torres i tend to avoid putting my head under because i almost always get water in my ears so i guess i wouldn’t need them. gills also seem like they’d be a real nuisance to keep clean.

What does love mean, and why do your characters go through so much effort to find it? —Andrew Michalko oh man.

In this year of years, what do you hope people will understand about death and its inevitability (or is it all there on the screen, and if so, that’s okay too)? —Letterboxd understanding death and its inevitability is maybe the most valuable thing a person can do for themselves.

Was the absence of Emily Prime in Part Three a practical decision [Don’s then-four-year-old niece Winona provided Emily’s voice] or an intentional departure from the first two films? —Michael it was both. i couldn’t find a way to fit her in naturally and i also felt like the series needed to start growing in other directions and not rest on the past. episode two had also been really difficult to write, it was so reliant on winona’s recordings, and it felt like the dam was really broken when i was finally able to write without any restrictions this time.

In a series like World of Tomorrow, where you headed in a direction that is a lot more plot-driven than your previous work, how far in advance do you plan? Did you always know this was in David’s past, or are these stories told one at a time? —Ryan Welch, Kodiak J. Sanders, julius, Alex Leon i could tell early on that this wasn’t a story like it’s such a beautiful day with a clear beginning, middle and end, but a much wilder thing that could continue to grow. the openness of it is still what makes it so interesting to me. i have all sorts of notes for the next episodes but if i already knew what would happen in episode nine i think that would take a lot of the air out of the tires and i’d start to feel like i was just connecting the boring dots. while writing, i’ve also had to be aware that there someday might be an episode nine so i can’t go wrecking the timelines before i get there.

What were the rocks and the gas pump that Emily fell in love with meant to represent? —Ekaneff she was learning how to love, and like all of us, in her youth she gravitated to a bunch of individuals that were wrong for her.

Aside from the ability to release more frequently, is there something about the episodic structure that you prefer/appreciate, as opposed to creating one larger feature-length film? —SiddFinch1 there’s just more freedom. the traditional running time of a feature film, 90 to 120 minutes, is a totally arbitrary number.

Have you ever considered writing a World of Tomorrow book or graphic novel? —Jay Smith the earliest ideas for world of tomorrow were sloshing around in a graphic novel called the end of the world that came out in 2013. but i don’t have any talent or much confidence in making another book like that. it’s a different world. when i look at someone like chris ware and then look at something like the end of the world, it’s like, “wow, baby made a mess”.

A page from Don Hertzfeldt’s graphic novel, ‘The End of the World’ (2013).

What attracted you to the unique style [of minimalist stick figures]? Is there a sense of intimacy that you feel you can achieve with this simplicity? —Evan Whitford when i was little, before i wanted to make movies i wanted to be a newspaper cartoonist. i think my drawings today might have more in common with newspaper comics than the sort of characters you usually see in animation. comic-strip panels were always composed in a very reserved way because they were generally intended to be skimmed. you needed to be able to read the strip in five seconds so you could be off to read the sports pages and obituaries. the comics pages were also under constant size and space restrictions. so they were minimal by design and the artists reduced their characters to only their most essential parts. there was no room for fussing. charles schulz said “i only draw what’s necessary”. and that’s actually incredibly hard to do. you’re accomplishing so much more with so much less.

i’ve also found that if there’s a scene that’s not playing right and bothering me, most of the time it’s because my composition was too cluttered. i almost always find myself removing things from the frame and trying to pare it down to only what��s necessary. very rarely do i ever think ‘i need to add more stuff in here’. because this shot is only five seconds long and i want you to be looking over here when this moment happens and this character says something, and if you’re distracted by this other flickering junk i put in the corner it’s going to throw everything off.

Animation-aside, which creative medium do you resonate with the most? —Bronkdan music.

How much did you pull from real-life experiences to make It’s Such A Beautiful Day, if any? What research did you conduct into memory? —Gunnar Sizemore, David Sigura, Micah Smith whenever i got a little stuck writing it’s such a beautiful day, i’d go back and reread my journal and pull more things out of it. dreams, conversations, small scenes. reading the journal now, it seems like i stole something from it every few pages. i also heavily researched neurological problems. it’s never said in the movie what exactly’s going on with bill, but i needed there to be a real diagnosis to base the medical writing on. so all the things he’s going through are real treatments or symptoms based on an actual condition. i didn’t want to ever come out and say, “he’s got terminal brain clouds”, or whatever in the movie, because then it becomes a “brain-cloud movie”, and that’s too easy for the audience to compartmentalize and distance themselves from… “brain clouds are so rare, that will never happen to me”. but not being told exactly what’s wrong with bill might help make the story more relatable and universal.

In what ways have you kept your mind fresh creatively? How do you keep yourself from slipping into complacency? —Watchmoviez, Drew’s reviews most creative blocks or stagnation come from anxiety, second-guessing and doubt. over the years i’ve learned to just sort of calm down and trust myself more. it’s like the old aesop fable: when you stop thrashing around in the water, the water becomes clearer and you can see more. if a scene isn’t working right, i can more easily chill out about it these days and trust that i’ll eventually figure it out—because i’ve figured these sorts of things out a hundred times before and i know by now that i’m not the sort of person who’s just going to allow a scene that isn’t working to remain in the movie. there’s a little more panic about that sort of thing when you’re young: “oh no, the movie sucks right now, will it always suck?!” i’ve reached the point where i know that i will not let it suck. and that sort of thinking allows all the movie gears to turn more easily.

Do you have a specific thematic, emotional or other miscellaneous motive in mind when including classical music pieces? —James Y. Lee when i’m listening to music and suddenly the right piece arrives, it’s usually blindingly obvious to me: there’s just no doubt this needs to be in the movie somehow. it’s like the idea has always existed and i’ve just finally uncovered it. it’s the same with writing. when the right thing floats along, it is striking and obvious and into the pile of notes it goes.

How much of your animation style lends itself to experimentation, such as discovering new tricks and pretty shots, that is then discarded if you learn it doesn’t work as intended? —Adam, Jacob i think i’m always experimenting. i figure if it doesn’t work, at least i’ve learned something.

What is the strangest compliment or critique you’ve gotten personally or of your work? —Elliot Taylor i’ve always remembered this one. i am so proud of you came out a couple years after everything will be ok. it was a continuation of that story, so it was basically the first time i had ever made a sequel. and everything will be ok had done really well when it came out. it won sundance and got all these great reviews. so i am so proud of you comes out and i remember reading this review that says, “everything will be ok was probably my favorite animated short of all time. it honestly changed my life. it was funny, sad, beautiful and just so wonderful. everything will be ok, boy did i love it. incredible. two thumbs up. truly, best thing ever. wow. so, unfortunately, its sequel, i am so proud of you, just feels like more of the same.”

A still image from ‘It’s Such a Beautiful Day’ (2012).

Are there any pieces of fiction that have influenced your work that we probably wouldn’t think of? —Gyani Wasp, Mikolaj Perzyna, Aaron McMillan, Harrison, Axel, Cringetacular, The25centman, Hunter Guidry one thing that pops to mind is the phantom tollbooth. my favorite children’s books were the ones with all the fun metaphors and clever wordplay. when i was plotting out episode two i wanted to lean into that, where visiting different sections of emily’s brain would be like milo visiting the land of math, the land of letters, the land of sound, with different looks and logic to it. so we had the bog of realism, glimmers of hope, broken memories, the logic center, and all the stuff in triangle land and square land. i guess that’s a lot but i wish there had been a bit more.

How did your friends and family respond to the “my anus is bleeding” part of Rejected? —Alex Tatterson they were pretty used to me by then.

Do you know of the work of David Firth, the internet animator? His work is also surreal and has dark humor, but more sinister than whimsical. Would you ever consider making an animation in the realm of horror in future? —KEVIИ HДWKIИS i’m afraid i don’t know him. i’d love to make a horror movie. from a certain point of view though maybe it could be argued that most everything i’ve made is a sort of horror movie?

My first tattoo is of Billy from Billy’s Balloon hanging from his ankle and it was the best decision I’ve ever made. How do you feel about people having your work tattooed and do you have any ink from other creatives that have meant something to you? —Elias it really fucking enrages me when people get my stuff tattooed on them. no just kidding. mostly i feel embarrassed but i’m glad you haven’t changed your mind about it yet. sometimes i wonder how many people have.

Have you ever thought about directing live action? —Abeer, Noah Thompson yes.

Is there an update on your feature film Antarctica? —Rylan California it’s one of many things swirling around.

Will you do a remake of Robocop and why not next year? —Simon no, because robocop is already sort of perfect.

Do you ever see yourself directing a large studio film? Or working with a large team to make something with a higher budget, maybe through a crowd-funded project? Or do you just strongly prefer working on your own? —Vteyshev, Monotone Duck sure. i’ve never preferred working on my own at all. it was usually just the only way to ever get anything made. i haven’t had the funding to pay a big crew, or really much of a crew at all. there’s the old saying: you can make something good, you can make it fast, and you can make it cheap, but you can only pick two. if you make it good and fast it won’t be cheap, if you make it cheap and fast it won’t be good, etc. so my only route in hoping to make something good and cheap has been to totally forget about making it fast.

What did you find digital animation added or took away from your work, and what did those changes do for your storytelling? Will you continue using the digital medium when/if you decide to move on from the World of Tomorrow project? —Alec Lai, Slipkornbizkit, Aldo digital just sped everything up. it’s still one person drawing everything, so we need to remember that speed is relative here, but i felt like i went from riding a bicycle to driving a car. there are many pleasant, wonderful things about riding a bicycle but you’re not going to get anywhere very quickly. and i’m not in my 20s anymore, in fact my 20s and 30s were mostly entirely devoured by making movies in what was maybe the slowest way possible. so these days i am appreciating the speed of digital.

If you could have a conversation with any filmmaker, dead or alive, who would it be and why? —ToBeHonest, Cringetacular if i could resurrect one of my heroes from the dead i think i would feel terrible wasting his time forcing him to have a conversation with me. he might also just sit there, covered with graveyard dirt, screaming in horror.

What is the best time of day to watch a movie? —Sammy night. i always feel a little nuts coming out of a movie and the sun is still up.

What’s your all-time favorite science-fiction film, and why? —Letterboxd 2001. because come on.

What is your favorite of Julia Potts’ films, and why? —Letterboxd i like the one with the severed foot.

Are there any animated films that you felt had a profound impact on you as a child? —Sprizzle probably fantasia. and ray harryhausen stuff. whenever there was a sunday-afternoon movie on TV, my brother and i learned that if in the opening titles there was a credit for “special effects” we should keep watching because we might eventually see something cool.

Which one of your movies is your personal favorite? —Jakob Böwer, RodrigoJerez i don’t know. sometimes it’s the newest one because it’s usually the one with the most experience behind it and therefore feels like it has the fewest mistakes. but then over time i realize they’re all riddled with mistakes. of the it’s such a beautiful day pieces, i think my favorite has always been i am so proud of you. and then i’ll see reviews that say “clearly the second chapter is the weakest one”, and i’ll think, man you guys don’t know what you’re talking about.

One of Don’s layout sketches for ‘I Am So Proud of You’ (2008).

What’s your favorite Pixar film? —Jordan inside out.

What film would you want to be the last one you watch before you die? —Gavin honestly if i’m in the process of dying i hope i won’t be watching movies at all.

Do you have faith in humanity? —Connor Kriechbaum not often.

What is something that worries you about where humankind is headed? —Felix_Bouchard social media.

What is the most valuable thing you have ever lost? How often do you think about it? —Siminup well now i’m getting sad.

Can you do a back flip, mister Don? —Doug maybe with the help of a catapult.

What is your take on the after life? What do you think happens to us when we die? —Luisdecoss i guess that it’s probably a lot like our memory of what the year 1823 was like.

Do you want anything from McDonald’s? —Andrew Rhyne only if i’m in an airport and desperate.

What’s your favorite meal or snack? —Pfitzerone, Evan lately in quarantine i’ve been discovering this particular breakfast burrito.

How’s your quarantine life, Don? —Ivan Arcena it’s okay thanks. eating lots of breakfast burritos.

Hi! I can’t believe you’re going to read this. I am currently filled with an unparalleled amount of joy, wow. This is a long shot but here I go. I’m 17 and your (self-proclaimed) biggest fan. I’ve seen It's Such a Beautiful Day eight times now and every single time I pick up on more details. I’ve watched a few of your interviews and in the AFS one about Rejected you said that the louder you play a movie, the funnier it is. On my seventh watch of It’s Such a Beautiful Day I hooked my laptop up to three huge speakers and I must say—you were so, so right. I made a video essay about the movie. Lol, I’m not sure if this will get to you but Michael Jordan once said something about missing shots or not taking shots or maybe about tequila, I am unsure but I know it was important. Thanks MJ. Not you, Mr Jackson. I’m sorry Ms. Jackson…

I actually do have a question, sorry about the rambling. Every single time I watch the guy at the payphone flip his pencil and go “fantastic, fantastic” I cry. And I think what really does it for me is that “we’ll finally have our day”. Earlier in the movie, Bill’s co-worker talks about how all of time is happening at once. So what I constantly ask myself is if the guy at the payphone is simultaneously having his day and waiting for it. And I’m no longer speaking to that one specific example or even to the movie as a whole but I guess I’m wondering if the idea of all events happening at once comforts you?

In Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut writes: “The most important thing I learned on Tralfamadore was that when a person dies he only appears to die. He is still very much alive in the past, so it is very silly for people to cry at his funeral. All moments past, present and future, always have existed, always will exist.” When I read this I immediately thought about your movie. I think the idea of all of time happening at once makes all of life feel less important but more special. You know? Anyway, I suppose I’d just like to know what inspired the lines about time in the office scene. This isn’t much of a question, more an incoherent ramble but thank you so, so much for all you’ve done. I feel so incredibly inspired and so deeply moved by your work and I know that so many people in this comment section and around the world would agree. I can’t believe I’ve been given the opportunity to ask something. It really is such a beautiful day. :) —Eli Osei (co-signed by Vooder) that old guy at the payphone was someone i saw at the laundromat once and he borrowed my pencil and the whole thing just played out like in the movie. i just thought it was such a perfect little scene that i’d just witnessed. anyway, the idea of time being a landscape and everything taking place “at once” just came straight out of a science magazine. i don’t know how, but apparently it’s been more or less proven to be true? we perceive time in one direction, but the past and the future are always all around us. think of it as though we’re driving our car through a landscape. even though the mountains we saw ten minutes ago are behind us now, it doesn’t mean those mountains have ceased to exist. they’ve only ceased to exist from our point of view. we’ve only just driven past them. the mountains, like your childhood, are still going on back there. anyway, i had never heard of that before and thought it needed to be in a movie.

A still from ‘World of Tomorrow Episode Two: The Burden of Other People’s Thoughts’ (2017).

Are you a fan of Kurt Vonnegut by any chance? It may be coincidental, but I love how you both utilize science-fiction settings and concepts like being “unstuck from time/memory” to explore the human condition. I feel his writing and your animation are both capable of making me laugh wholeheartedly one minute and weeping genuine, sorrowful tears the next. —Vooder i’m embarrassed to say i’ve never read him and i’m told on a regular basis that i should. that all started after i am so proud of you came out with those discussions about time being a landscape. but i almost only ever read non-fiction. it’s a long story. but now i’m almost afraid to ever read vonnegut after all these years of build-up.

Hey Don, this is really cool. I don’t have as much of a question, more of a comment. It’s Such A Beautiful Day has gotten me through a lot of hard times, being in middle school sucks, I think everyone knows that: and your movie has made life just a wee bit better for me. It also gave me the inspiration and motivation to finish my first feature! Thanks lots. Love from Indiana —Blood Mountain: Experimental Cinema <3 hey thank you. yeah middle school was pretty much the deepest pit of hell. there’s this old saying, “if you find yourself in hell, keep going”. and i’ve never understood that saying. “keep going”, because, i guess, you can always just go deeper into hell?

Hi! Has the vitreous humour in your eyes started to deteriorate and have you experienced floaters within your eyeballs? If not, that’s okay. Just remember it’s part of life, so don’t get scared when it happens! Just keep moving on! But if you do have them, follow-up question: Do you think it’s funny that the body of vitreous fluid that allows your sight to be clear is called the vitreous humour, and when it detaches it’s anything but humorous? I find that pretty humorous myself, in, like, an ironic way. —Clbert1 i actually blew a blood vessel in my eye a couple weeks ago and the whole thing turned bright blood red. it didn’t hurt or anything, i just walked into the room all disgusting and my girlfriend was like, “what the fuck?!” and then the next day i had further weird eye problems. i just went to the eye doctor yesterday. i think i will be fine but i was thinking, wouldn’t it be like the most heavy metal thing ever for my biography if i just suddenly went BLIND? “and then in 2020, HE WENT BLIND.”

Will Intro ever be released to the general public outside of theater screenings? —Melissa okay yes you’ve talked me into it. on that note, i noticed that the poster of intro used on letterboxd is a weird fake and i’m not sure where it came from. someone just used a picture from rejected. if fake posters are to be made i would prefer it if they used a picture from raiders of the lost ark or something.

Do you have plans to combine the World of Tomorrow shorts into one feature-length film à la It’s Such a Beautiful Day? —David Sigura, Sam Stewart, An_Person no, it’s going to be much longer than a feature-length.

Will we ever get a ‘Hertzfeldt 4K Collection’? Or at least a Blu-ray with It’s Such a Beautiful Day and all episodes of World of Tomorrow? —Teebin, HippityHoppity there is actually already a blu-ray for it’s such a beautiful day. up next we’ll do some sort of world of tomorrow blu-ray of the first three episodes. but 4k is too many k’s. you don’t need that many k’s.

Would you ever consider comprising an OST album of all the songs you used and mixed from your films? —PhiloDemon i don’t think so. i read that for many years cat stevens resisted releasing his original songs from harold and maude on any records because he thought they were more special if you could only ever hear them in the movie. i like that.

Do you get a sick kind of pleasure from emotionally destroying people with your movies? —MaxT26 yep.

What’s been your ongoing experience of the outpouring of joy and love of your work? —Henry gratitude. how sad for me if, after all this work, nobody was watching at all.

Related content

Don’s invaluable Twitter thread about “old-school animation camera stuff”

A Few of the Fingerprints on the World of Tomorrow Universe: a list of influences curated for Letterboxd by Don Hertzfeldt

Modest Heroes: the Letterboxd Showdown for indie animation

The Drawn Cinema: Analena’s list of rough animation, pencil textures, watercolor effects, dynamic brushes and other poetic artistry.

Beloved Indie Animation: a list by Gui

Animated Sci-Fi and Fantasy: an extensive list by Stonefolk

‘World of Tomorrow Three: The Absent Destinations of David Prime’ is available now through Bitter Films on Vimeo.

[toldnews-blog]

New Post has been published on https://toldnews.com/travel/hey-super-bowl-fans-welcome-to-the-worlds-busiest-airport/

Hey Super Bowl fans! Welcome to the world's busiest airport

Atlanta (CNN) — Welcome to the 150,000 people flying into Atlanta for the 53rd annual Super Bowl. (Super Bowl LIII for fans of Roman numerals.)

Despite the extreme winter weather, you’ve landed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest passenger airport. We handled nearly 104 million passengers in 2017.

Think of it as the biggest transfer point in the known universe.

On an average day, the airport moves 275,000 people with an average of 2,700 arrivals and departures. Many of those people fly into the ATL to transfer from one flight to another flight, here only for a brief time before departing our fair city. (Yes, we refer to Atlanta by its airport code.)

You may think it’s time to run to your car service and drive those 10 miles to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in downtown Atlanta or a few more miles to your hotel in midtown Atlanta or swanky Buckhead.

Travelers arrive to catch their flights at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

David Goldman/AP

But wait. Before you book that $100 black car or leave via Lyft or Uber, CNN Travel asked Delta Airlines Diamond flyer Jessica Vazquez Torres to give us the lowdown on this 4,700-acre transportation hub.

Vazquez Torres flew more than 200 days last year, covering over 134,000 miles and visiting 45 US cities (plus South Korea and the Philippines) for her work as an anti-racism consultant and trainer.

The key to understanding the Atlanta airport is planning, says Vazquez Torres. The airport has a center corridor, which is marked by the plane train and moving walkways. The concourses cross over the corridor. Most restaurants are concentrated in the middle of each concourse, where passengers enter to go to their gates.

Concourse T is closest to the airport entrance and exit, followed by A, B, C, D, E and F. You can take the train to Concourse F, the international terminal, but it also has its own entrances and exits. (Although some international flights will use Concourse E.)

The fastest way into Atlanta

Passengers prepare to board a MARTA train at Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Sandy Huffaker/Corbis/Getty Images

Once you land, if you really need to leave quickly, take public transportation. Yes, it’s true. You can land at the airport, get your bags if you over-packed enough to check your luggage and walk right onto Atlanta’s MARTA public transit system. Just follow the MARTA signs.

It’s really the fastest way to get around, especially with all y’all in town and all the game-related street closures. It can run about $5 for a round trip from the airport to downtown. (Buy a MARTA card at the airport MARTA station.)

There are escalators and elevators to get you down to the trains, and MARTA can take you from the airport to many hotels in downtown, midtown and other neighborhoods around the Atlanta metro area.

It’s never as busy as the New York City subway, which means there’s room for your suitcases. (It can smell a little in the elevators. Just breathe through your mouth for a minute.)

Got some time? Walk

Not to Atlanta! From your concourse to baggage claim and the exits. Depending on where you land (from Concourse E through Concourse T) able-bodied passengers can walk instead of taking the plane train to the exits.

“In the land where we count our steps, walk the length of the airport,” says Vazquez Torres. “It’s three miles, and from the beginning in Concourse E to T, it takes 35 minutes at a brisk pace.”

Just head down to the plane train and keep walking instead of taking the train. There are moving sidewalks if you get tired or, like me, want to see how fast you can walk on a moving sidewalk.

Sometimes you’ll see airport and airline staff getting their exercise before a flight.

Instagrammable art along the way

“Flight Paths” by artist Steven Waldeck is on display above the underground walkway between Concourses A and B.

Dünzl/ullstein bild/Getty Images

Among the displays to enjoy for the price of your plane ticket: Between Concourses C and B is a fine exhibition on Atlanta’s past, “A Walk Through Atlanta History” by Ayunini Media.

There’s a spectacular and Instagrammable nature installation between Concourses B and A, “Flight Paths” by Steve Waldeck, and there’s also the incredible “The Conversation” exhibition by Agnes Nyanhongo of Zimbabwe, between Concourses A and T.

When you leave the underground and take the escalator or elevator up to your gate, remember that you enter your concourse in the middle. That’s where the food is located — in the middle — but that means that Gate 1 is at one end of the concourse and the highest numbered gate (which varies by concourse) is at the other end.

Look at your gate on a map to see how far you have to walk after you grab your local bagel or taco.

Yes, it can feel crazy with so many people, but stay right as you walk down any concourse and you probably won’t get run over.

Need a bite? Eat here

Jessica Vazquez Torres loves the food at One Flew South in Concourse E.

Courtesy One Flew South

Maybe your flight was delayed or you forgot to pack a snack or your airline ran out of food. It happens. You can eat when you land and avoid overpriced hotel food. You can also eat after you arrive way early for your departing flight.

While her Delta Sky Club is a good backup, Vazquez Torres knows the menu there by heart. That’s why she often visits different concourses between flights to get a meal at the following spots. (Since your concourse and gate may change before departure, it’s good to have a backup at each concourse.)

Concourse T: It’s the only concourse where restaurants are either side of the concourse. Our intrepid foodie loves Papi’s Cuban and Caribbean Café on the south end, always ordering the tostones plate with meat or shrimp on top or the Cuban medianoche sandwich.

Concourse A: In this concourse, “my backup place is Goldberg’s here,” she says. Shake Shack is her occasional treat after landing, if she’s hungry when she gets home.

While she doesn’t eat cake regularly, she always sends people to local bakery Piece of Cake, which sells delicious cake in Concourse B, by the slice of course. (Its non-airport stores will sell you an entire cake.)

Concourse B: While it’s not the healthiest choice, “my place in Concourse B to get a bite is always Popeyes because they are fast,’ she says. “That line just moves, and their chicken fingers are easy to take on the plane.”

If she’s not feeling very hungry, “I get the Pura Pasion smoothie at LottaFrutta, a local shake, paleta and ice cream joint.”

She recommends Paschal’s for visitors who haven’t gotten their fix of Southern cuisine yet.

Concourse C: Her go-to place is always Umaizushi, where she loves the ramen and udon.

Concourse D: If she’s in a hurry, she heads to Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill. “If I have time — and you need an hour — I go to Chicken + Beer,” she says, which is owned by Chris “Ludacris” Bridges. Like the name says, “I go there because they sell fantastic fried chicken and really good beer.”

There’s a Grindhouse in Concourse D, too.

Concourse E: “I personally love One Flew South,” she says, “The other best bet is Nature’s Table. They have hot food, sandwiches, salads, a quick, pre-made meal. Remember The Varsity and The Original El Taco are here, too.”

Concourse F: This is the international terminal, where lots of people are waiting to fly far away. “If you have a crapload of money and time, go to Ecco,” she says. “It’s a local, fantastic restaurant” with two other locations in Buckhead and Midtown. (There’s also El Taco and The Varsity here, too, if you want a bite of the ATL before you go.)

Want a drink? Of course, in moderation

A One Flew South bartender serving an Old Fashioned.

Raymond McCrea Jones for CNN

While we never recommend overindulging before or after a flight, the right drink can be a pleasure at the end of a long workday. (Remember to hydrate — that’s water, people! — before flights.)

That said, Vazquez Torres knows her cocktails.

“If you want a good cocktail, One Flew South in Concourse E has a really good bar. They have really good bartenders. But you are going to pay One Flew South prices to drink there.

“The other place that has a really surprisingly good bar is Varasano’s Pizzeria and Piano Bar. Chicken + Beer has a legit good bar, specifically because of their good beer list. It covers lots of local beers.

“If you have money to waste, you can go to Ecco in Concourse F and get a good glass of wine.”

There are other spots that will feature local beers but smoking is allowed in those spots, which Vazquez Torres doesn’t like.

Need a quiet place to re-group? Join the club

Delta Sky Club at Terminal B.

Chris Rank/Rank Studios

The Delta Sky Club is always a backup for Vazquez Torres — free for her because of her Diamond status — whenever she needs to work and eat. (She would also qualify through her high-end American Express card but if you’re flying Delta you can also pay for the privilege.)

She can charge up her gear, write a presentation and fax or print documents. Concourses A through F all have Delta clubs (some have more than one) although the advice can apply for other airlines’ clubs.

She always checks the Delta app to see if she’s already been rebooked but will call Delta first to solve any flight issues. But if she needs to talk to a live person, the Delta club has gate agents who will help her without the long lines outside the club.

Now you’re going home

Altanta traffic is bad.

getty images/file

You’ve cheered your favorite team, wined and dined your way around Atlanta, and now you’re going home. You’ve confirmed your flight is still departing on time (it’s winter, after all), and you’re heading to the airport.

Again, we recommend you take MARTA, which is the fastest way to get into the world’s busiest airport, which is also under construction. The construction is causing major delays for people getting dropped off at the airport.

If you must take a car service and are flying Delta, have your driver follow the signs to Delta’s lower level by heading to the left past the parking entrances (instead of following the signs to the right to departures). Taxi drivers know about this special drop off, although many Uber and Lyft drivers do not.

Get there early, especially with the Monday crowds after game day and the possibility of another federal government shutdown still affecting federal security staffing.

Once you’ve cleared security, head to your concourse and check out the food recommendations from Vazquez Torres.

Are you transferring here?

Atlanta is the world’s busiest airport because of all the people transferring here, not just because people are flying into or out of Atlanta.

With all of those concourses, you need an hour between flights to get from A10 to E10 in time. “And you’re hustling to get where you’re going,” says Vazquez Torres.

“When I change planes here, I never book less than 90-minute transition,” she says. “That allows me to account for any delays, go to the bathroom, allows me to catch the train.

“If you plan, you might be able to already determine where you stop to get something to eat.”

“If you’re within two concourses of your departure flight, don’t take the train. Walk. It’s faster,” she says. “If you’re more than two terminals over, take the train. It’s faster. “That means, if I land on B and am going to D, I walk. If I land on B and am going to E, I take the train.”

Lost? Ask for help

Delta is celebrating Super Bowl 53 branding at the airport.

Chris Rank

Yes, there are signs everywhere but maybe you’re still confused. It’s a big airport!

People who work at the Atlanta airport are usually nice, even when some of them might be stressed about not getting paid. The airport “green jackets” can answer questions and guide you. Delta has customer service representatives wearing red coats all over the South Terminal (which Delta dominates).

[notjustagirltattoopodcast]

Not Just A Girl: Sad Girl

You can listen to the first episode with Hannah Medeiros here and on Spotify. Or you can view the footage of this interview on YouTube with English subtitles/closed captions here.

NOT JUST A GIRL: Tattoo Podcast

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Season 1, Episode 1: Sad Girl

Eddy: Hello friends, welcome to Not Just A Girl, the feminist tattoo podcast where every week I give you a glimpse into the lives and art practice of some of my favourite tattooers. I’m Eddy, thank you for joining me for the first episode of this new podcast. Today we will be discussing a return to art making, connecting with clients and tattooing in a post-COVID world.Before we begin, I would like to acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are the traditional custodians of this land that was stolen and never ceded. I am honoured to be on the ancestral land of the Awabakal people where this podcast is recorded and produced. I pay my respects to the Elders, past and present and extend my recognition to their descendants.

[intro music]

Eddy: Hello, my wonderful guest today is Hannah Medeiros joining us all the way from Rhode Island in the US, Hannah works at Torchbearer in Providence, and well, she will be, once all the madness subsides. Um, she does exquisite line work tattoos, um, with etching and stippling that are very romantic and detailed. Um, I got to meet Hannah when I was at Black Iris in New York last year and had the great honor of tattooing her and getting to know her a bit. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak to me today. Um, well tonight for you. Um, so how are things on your side of the world? 

Hannah: Oh, thank you for, um, interviewing me and letting me be a part of it. Um, things are going pretty good. It's been, um, I'm currently living in a really small town that I grew up in of about 3000 people, so I feel pretty lucky to be away from the chaos versus where I was before in Brooklyn. Um, I was actually doing a guest spot in Providence. Uh, right as all of this started happening, which is about 45 minutes from where my parents live. Um, and then I started gradually seeing how crazy it was getting in New York and I was like, I, why would I go back to that?You know, when I could be in a much more like secluded, quiet place, I did not think I would still be here eight weeks later, so.

Eddy: Yeah, absolutely. 

Hannah: Yeah. 

Eddy: It must've been like a big change. Cause you've been in New York for a year now. Is that. 

Hannah: Yeah it was a year. Yeah, actually April marked a full year. So it was a, it was an interesting way to end my end my chapter in New York, but I think it, it made sense just because it's a lot of us, um, I think are kind of struggling with the fact that we don't know how long any of this is going to last.You know, when we can start supporting ourselves again. So, you know, obviously like rent in New York is super expensive. And the thought of just hemorrhaging money every month, not knowing when I'd be back at work was kind of seemed like a, you know, a decision that kind of, the decision made itself for me to move back to Rhode Island. So it made the most sense. 

Eddy: And what have you been doing like in Providence? 

Hannah: Uh, I've been trying to keep busy with, um, I actually went to college for oil painting. And I haven't really touched it since my early twenties, and it's, it's been almost you know like a decade since I have done it in a serious way. Yeah, it's been a long time.Um, so I've been doing oil painting commissions and some illustration commissions here and there, but besides that, I actually work at, um, a horse stable, like walking distance from my parents' house. So I wake up at 6:30 in the morning a few days a week and shovel shit and, and ride horses. So it's definitely different than in New York.

Eddy: Oh wow. 

Hannah: It went from one extreme to the other very quickly. 

Eddy: That is crazy. Have you always had a lot to do with horses? Cause I tattooed a horse on you. 

Hannah: You did. Coming full circle now. Um, yeah, I, uh, I used to ride as like, um a kid and a teenager I used to show a bit and, um. It's like a really time consuming and expensive hobby, especially as like a kid. So, um, I hadn't done it like as an adult really, I've done it here and there, but I saw a bunch of horses down the street and I basically like knocked on their door one day when I was walking by and I was like, I don't think they'd turn free labor down, you know? So I just volunteer there cause it gives me, yeah, it gives me a sense of purpose, you know, and I like an activity and something to look forward to. So. 

Eddy: Oh, that's so, 

Hannah: Better than being stuck in the house

Eddy: And who doesn't love pony club? 

Hannah: Yeah, exactly.

Eddy: So like when, when you were attending art school, like you mentioned before, was that, was the end goal to be a tattooer or is that just something you were interested in at the time? 

Hannah: Um, I've always wanted to tattoo since I was, um, since I was a little kid, I used to draw my friends in like art class with magic markers, and I was always just, whenever I saw a person with a tattoo, I'd be like, that is the coolest. I need to get into that club somehow like that and motorcycles. I was like, that's the epitome of cool. Um, but then I, you know, I went to college, um, to do oil painting. Um, but my main objective has always been to, to tattoo, but I didn't get into it until three years after I graduated college actually started with volunteering as, well, you know, I worked at a bakery and then I just started volunteering at the shop that I apprenticed at. So 

Eddy: It's amazing. 

Hannah: Yeah. The key is working for free until you know you have the opportunity to not. So 

Eddy: Did you, did you know that it was going to lead to an apprenticeship or were you just like so keen, you get your foot in the door that you were like, I'm just going to do anything it takes?

Hannah: Yeah, it was, it was a little bit of anything it takes. So, I started, um, by getting tattooed by this woman, uh, Abby Williams, who. Um, most recently worked at Icon in Portland, Oregon, but she was in Boston at Brilliance Tattoo, which is where I apprenticed. So I was, um, I was getting tattooed by her. And every time I would come back, I would bring my portfolio for her and my eventual mentor to look at.Um, and they would, they would give me critiques and there was one day I was getting tattooed where. Um, you know, the phone was ringing off the hook and every time Abby would put our machine down and get up, answer the phone. And I remember being like, Oh, this is my opportunity right here. So I casually mentioned like, Oh, why don't you guys have like somebody who works the counter, does like, you know, the emails and, um, you know, the phone calls and cleaning and Elize.Yeah. And Elize was like, well, we're such a low volume shop cause it's appointment only. Um, she was like, I can't really justify like hiring somebody to do that. And I just was, you know, like I work full time, but I'll come in on my days off and work for free. You know, I don't think anybody would want to turn free labor down.Um, so that's how that started. And then I remember her specifically saying, just so you know, I'm not offering you an apprenticeship. This is for you learn how a tattoo shop works, and I'll give you a good recommendation if you're not a piece of shit and you work real hard. So I did that for I think, three months.And then, um, she had gotten back from a trip, um, from Japan, and she fake fired me. I cried. And then she, yeah. I wasn't expecting it at all. I really, I just remember thinking like, fuck, what do I do now?

Eddy: So you obviously loved being in that world like you would definitely go, I definitely need to keep doing this. 

Hannah: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. She was like, um, when she fake fired me, I remember thinking like, how did I fuck up so bad that this woman is turning down free labor at this point and telling me to get lost. The scariest thing was like I had no idea what I had done to fuck up that bad, but she was just pulling my leg, so it was a good one. I still remember vividly. 

Eddy: That’s awesome

Hannah: Yeah, it was it was pretty good. It was pretty good. 

Eddy: It's so cute that you cried about it. 

Hannah: Oh yeah. My mom, actually, the first people I called was my parents and they have the voicemail saved of me crying, like I finally got my apprenticeship. Yeah. It was. I just remember like going into Eliza's shop, um, which is located in Boston.Um, I went in and I was like, it felt so different because it just like the vibe that they had there, it was like mostly women, like super supportive, very easy going, easy to joke with them too. Like I didn't feel like I had to like worry about what I was saying or you know how I was like presenting myself at all.It was very casual and just instantly comfortable right off the bat. So that's why I was like, if I'm going to try to weasel my way into anywhere, this is the spot I want to do it with, and that's the woman I want to apprentice under. So it very luckily worked out, you know, 

Eddy: It must have been, um. Oh, it just must've been really wonderful to do an apprenticeship in a supportive environment where you didn't have to kind of put on all this bravado to fit in with the boys club.

Hannah: Yeah. Oh, absolutely. And I, you know, I hear stories about, um, you know, like different, I obviously worked with like a ton of people, men, women, um, and across the board. Um, apprentice stories are always like you know, not super glamorous, like from cleaning up, uh, your mentor's apartment and picking up like, used condoms off the floor to like, yeah, that's, that's what I've heard. Um, you know, I've, I've heard some like disgusting, just like shit like that where it's like. You know, I, I can't really relate to it at all, you know, luckily. Um, I mean, I

Eddy: That’s how it should be, yours should be the story of how it happens

Hannah: Remember at least being like, Hey, can you come to my awesome apartment and cat sit for me? I'm going to have a rotisserie chicken in the fridge for you when you come over. 

Eddy: I'm not gonna lie. I get my apprentice to cat sit for me too. But she loves it. 

Hannah: Yeah, it's perfect. It's like, alright, cool. I get to hang out with cats and eat chicken out of your fridge, that's sounds amazing.And hang out in a really nice apartment, you know? So yeah, it was, she was like the perfect mentor. We have, um, I talk to her all the time. Um, we have kind of like a big sister, little sister relationship, and I can pretty much talk to her and go to her for anything, which is really nice. Yeah. I've, I've heard.Like nine times out of 10 people have like very tumultuous, like venomous relationships with the people that they mentored under. You know, like I've heard stories of people just having their shit boxed up and like put outside of the shop and it's like, you're gone. You know? Kind of shitty, so I'm glad. I don't know what that's like, you know?

Eddy: Yeah, absolutely. Well, like I like myself and many of my colleagues, like we had horrible starts in the industry and we've always discussed how, you know, if people were just given a chance to learn how to tattoo in a safe environment that they will be able to do so much better because they're not combating like the posttraumatic stress that comes along with various kinds of bullying or abuse. They literally just focused on tattooing and that just, I think is amazing in itself. 

Hannah: Yeah. Well, it's just like how much better could you be? You know, it's just like, it'd be such an elevated version of yourself if you don't have all of those things working against you. I just, I don't understand the point of it cause it's not going to benefit anybody, that kind of environment. Really, nobody thrives in that. Yeah. To make you work out of fear. 

Eddy: I find that I work harder when there's like a positive result, so you know, I'm more willing to do more for someone if they're going to show me kindness in return.Hannah: Yeah. That's a good rule of thumb. 

Eddy: Absolutely. Yeah. So like how long have you been tattooing for now though? 

Hannah: Um, so I got, I first started my apprenticeship, I think it was five years ago. Um, and in Boston it's a two year apprenticeship. Um, and then after that I worked for Elize for two years, and then one year in New York. I think it's been five. It's just been over five years. I think 

Eddy: You're doing 

Hannah:  it feels long, huh? 

Eddy: You're doing such amazing work with someone whose only like a baby tattooer.

Hannah: Thank you. I appreciate it. It's still very much like we all know it's, you're never not learning though. Some days I go into the shop, I mean, not recently, obviously, but I'd be like, I think i forgot how to tattoo or do I actually know what I'm doing? And then. It's just like a constant, like, I think it's like a big mental thing as well of, you know, like balancing confidence and, you know, ability. Um, yeah. Half the time I feel like I don't know what I'm doing now. 

Eddy: Same, well, I've been in it 10 years now and I still have these moments where I'll like, look at a tattoo I've done. I'm just like, who am I kidding? Like, what the, what do I think I'm doing here? And then you've gotta constantly fight that imposter syndrome.

Hannah: Yep. 

Eddy: You've got to have enough confidence that your customer feels good, that you're not going to screw up, but then also like, I think you still have to have a little bit of that fear because it keeps you driven, 

Hannah: Oh, of course. Yeah, for sure. I think like once you go to the shop and you're like, I can nail that super easy. That's like the one day where your hand like slips or you like, fuck something up. Yeah. At least that's how it goes for me. 

Eddy: I know my most confident days tend to be my worst tattoos. 

Hannah: Yeah. When you walk into the shop feeling good and you leave later being like, well, what am, what else can I do job wise? What am I eligible for yeah.

Eddy: Yeah, absolutely. Um, you like. Like you said that you've been doing oil paintings for a while and I've been seeing the ones you've been doing in isolation and they're amazing. Is like, is your art making process similar to your tattoo making process? Like do you have similar inspirations and drives like, or do you see them as two separate focuses. 

Hannah: Um, honestly, I see them as two separate things. I think aesthetically, um, subject matter wise, uh, my interests are always pretty consistent. It's, um, like mainly like female portraiture, figurative work, um, and then, you know, like botanical stuff. Um, that's always like a crowd pleaser. But. My, my go to is like moody kind of like women and stuff.Um, which goes for both oil painting and, um, tattooing. But the actual like process and, you know, cause all of my oil paintings are, you know, like rendered full color. Um and illustrative, but more like a little bit more like realistic. Um, I'm, I'm a very like, um, like anal person when it comes to like details.So I'll use like these really tiny ass brushes and I kind of try to, um, be aware of like the rigidity that comes along with that. So I'll, you know, every once in a while I'll do a painting where I'm like, these are the brushes I'm using. It has to stay within a certain size because that forces you to be a little bit looser.And I also, you know, like all of us, we're always looking at like, um, other artists work inspirations and stuff online. So, um, there's so many different ways that, um, you can approach an oil painting like style wise. So like put a lemon, like, you know, still life in front of somebody and everybody's approach to it will be a little different.So I'm always looking at how everybody does it and trying to take, you know, little bits and pieces from other people where it's like you know the, you know how, how they're actually like applying the paint to their palette choices and stuff, but it feels way different than tattooing, that's for sure.

Eddy: Yeah. I feel like painting sometimes is more daunting than tattooing because. I don't know. Tattooing is so incredibly methodical and you kind of have, I dunno. For me, I find tattooing easier than painting, which is strange to say, but with painting, there's so many options for what you can do. Like, 

Hannah: Well, exactly. Yeah.There's only one way to like pull a really good line in tattooing but like you could fucking finger paint. You could like do whatever with painting, use any kind of brush you want. So there's definitely. I think that's what I find fun about it is like the um, the opportunity to like make choices and be like really, um, specific about those choices you're making. Cause you know, the effect you'll get, you know? 

Eddy: It’s a good opportunity to loosen up

Hannah: Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, it is good. It's, it's a good, um, cause I don't tattoo really with any color unless somebody like specifically asks for it. If anyone asks me for color, I'm like, you should not be coming to me for this i'm terrible at it. But. Well, I find like tattooing with color really overwhelming.There's just so many options, you know, and it takes, um, line work. And the kind of like work that I do is, is really quick and I have it down to like, you know, I know how long it'll will take me, but whenever I do color, I always think to myself, why am I so slow? All my coworkers are so much faster at this. And then I just start to like get in my head about it. 

Eddy: I'm definitely the same with color cause there's so much take into a account. It's not just picking a color scheme that works. It's understanding how those colors will sit under the pigment of the skin and how they might change. And black is just so much more predictable.

Hannah: Yup. Exactly. That's a good point. Like, yeah, like all of my canvases, like for painting are the exact same. It's very consistent. I know what I'm going to get, but yeah. Was what people like and it depends on like the actual body part too. You know, everything's so, there's so many variables that go into it.

Eddy: Yeah, it's very daunting. 

Hannah: Oh yeah. 

Eddy: Blackwork. I think also like, you know, you said that you're quite anal and

  Hannah: yeah

Eddy: I definitely relate to that, and I think we have a similar style of work, but you know, with color, again, you've got to like step outside of control a little bit. Whereas with blackwork in particularly just doing lines, it's very controlled. It's very measured. It, it doesn't like, yeah, it doesn't challenge you in ways you're not used to. It's just more like technical and scientific almost. 

Hannah: Yeah. No, I agree with you completely on that. That makes a lot of sense. Yeah, for sure.

Eddy: So, um, I know one of the things like you mentioned to me was, um. The relationship that you have with your customer. Um, when I met you in tattooed you, um, I felt really comfortable with you and like, you know, you're very easy to get along with. Is that something that is a part of your tattoo process as well?

Hannah: Yeah. I, um, I definitely aim for that kind of environment, like with my clients. Um, over the years I've gotten pretty good at like reading, uh, you know, like reading a room. So if I have a client and I can kind of pick up on the fact, like, some people aren't conversationalists, they don't care, they just want to get their tattoo.That's fine. Like, I have no problem with that at all. Cause, if anything, I probably worked faster when I'm not like having a conversation and interacting with people. But, um, yeah, like I, I love chatting with people. Some of my really good friends, um, actually were clients of mine. Like, especially when I first started tattooing and then they kept like coming in and then I'd be like, Hey, I think we're best friends now.We should probably go get dinner and a drink, you know? And. Uh, and in New York, like I would have some of my buddies. Um, cause a lot of my clientele in New York was traveling from New England in particular, which some of them were driving like four or five, six hours, like one way to come to New York. So.You know, some of them that I've been tattooing for years, I'm like, dude, crash on my fucking couch. I live like right around the corner. We'll like get dinner after I tattoo you. So it's just like, obviously I don't do that with everybody. Um, that's like kind of a, you know, a special kind of instance. But, um, yeah, I really like, you know, like making my clients laugh and stuff, you know, like, um, I like making like gross jokes, you know, and like being kind of like.Like poop jokes and stuff, you know? Um, but, and then talking to like reality TV, like what kind of trash were you watching? Um, that kind of just like makes it a more like friendly environment, which I, I pretty much aim for with everybody, unless I get the vibe, they don't want me to talk and I stop. So

Eddy: I think like. It's so important to make the space more comfortable for customers and to make them feel more relaxed cause they're going to remember the whole process in a much better light. And they're probably gonna sit better for the tattoo if they feel like a positive connection.

Hannah: Oh, for sure. Yeah. I've like, a lot of my clients will, you know, and I, it's important to like remind people that we're not like a source of entertainment at the same time.Sometimes, like I don't mind being one, but I, you know. A few clients where they'd be like, Oh, I love that you talked so much. Like my last person was so awkward. They didn't talk at all. All they did was tattoo me. And then I, you know, I always remind people like, well, you know, you weren't paying them for like a hangout session to like, you know, be entertained and like, laugh.You got a really good tattoo from them. That's why you were paying them. They were concentrating on their work. Not everybody talks, you know, your ear off like I do. You know? Um, so I think that's like also an important, um, thing to remind people is that it's like you got really good tattoo. You know, ideally it'd be cool to have some banter, but if you didn't, that's okay.

Eddy: Yeah. I think that's really good that you actually take the time to educate your customer because that happens a lot where they'll complain to you about another tattoo or, and you're like,

Hannah: Yeah, 

Eddy: It's just a part of the process and you need to respect that they have their own way of doing things. 

Hannah: Yeah, yeah, no.

Eddy: We shouldn't be compared like that

Hannah: Yeah. And it almost like whenever they do say it, it always kind of sounds like negative. Like, Oh, they didn't talk to me the entire time. It was super weird. It's like, well, I kind of understand that. Like at the same time, you know, it's everybody's different. You can't expect the same kind of experience.You know, going from, cause everybody's different. You know, everybody has a different work approach. And so as long as they're professional and you've got a good product, 

Eddy: As long as you're treated with respect and kindness.

Hannah: Exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yup. But you will. There've been so many times where I have like, I feel bad cause everybody at Black Iris is like, I'm loud.Like I have a really, really loud voice. You can like hear me preach and there are so many days where I would, me and my clients would be like laughing. I'd be like sweating and like crying and like, yeah. And it's like, yeah, that's, that's what I aim for. It's like I want to almost pee my pants laughing when I'm tattooing you. Sometimes

Eddy: Its so nice when you have customers or clients when rather that you can be friends with. I've, I've had a few where I've tattooed them and I'm like, Oh my God, I really want to be their friend. Is it appropriate for me to message them and to invite them to dinner? And like, it's like that really awkward, like even do you want to be my best friend.

Hannah: Yeah. It is kind of like a weird, like treading on, you know, like personal relationships and then professional. But I think as long as it's like a mutual thing, it's, it's really not that big of a default. Like, Hey, can we hang out. Well, it's usually just like at the end of the session I'm like, I'm hungry.Are you like, let's go grab a pizza or something. You know? It's just, it makes it a funner experience. Cause I, I like, um, I've been tattooed obviously by a lot of people. And whenever it's like that, I just feel so much better about it. I'm like, Oh, they actually like, liked hanging out with me. That's cool.

Eddy: It's like they don't just want me out the door. This is awesome.

Hannah: Yeah...go home.

Eddy: So. Obviously you must miss tattooing a lot right now because it's been eight weeks and there's not really a you know, an end in sight to this, but do you have any plans for your work for when you do go back, like, do you have like a fresh take on what you're going to do? Like are you going to incorporate, um, your other art making more into the process?Like, do you have any ideas for what you're going to do? Hannah: That's a really good question. I've actually been thinking about that. Like the longer this goes on, um. I'm kind of like, well shit, cause I haven't done any drawings. Like, you know, like how I have, like a lot of us have like binders of like flash and pre-drawns. I haven't done one in eight weeks. 

Eddy: That’s ok.

Hannah: So yeah, it's, it's, you know, when I felt really bad about it and every once in a while I'll be like looking at references and I'm like, Ooh, that'd be a really cool drawing. And I've been kind of compiling like reference images for when I do feel ready. And I think once we start to get like maybe dates I'll kinds of, you know, strike when the iron is hot. Um, but I've just been kind of, I've turned my brain off a little bit to the tattooing stuff, you know.

Eddy: You need to though

Hannah: Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I just, I want to, I just hope I remember how to tattoo

Eddy: It's like riding a bike. You'll be fine. Yeah.

Hannah: I just keep thinking about it. I'm going to have to practice on my boyfriend. Who's going to be my first Guinea pig. I think so I've already told him. I was like, I need to practice on you first. So it's, um, I think like. You know, I always kind of struggle with what kind of tattoos that I want to, I want to put out there, like getting a request for like, um, a specific thing is one thing. But if, you know, when it comes to things that I am like, um, you know, design-wise have control over, like what, what kind of imagery and what kind of, you know, tattoos do I want to actually be like putting out there in the world.I've been kind of struggling with that a little bit. Um, I love like, you know, obviously like the sad girls stuff. Um. But there's always, I see some people that do like the most clever kind of like compositions and like tricks design-wise in my brain. I wish it like, thought like that more. And I kind of just get like, Oh shit, my, my stuff's like not creative enough.And I, I want to make sure that it's like consistent, but also has, um. Like variation and looks interesting and doesn't just stay stagnant and looking the same over time. And I think that's, that's kind of the challenge is making sure that I look back on my work, you know, a year from now, you know, and not think, well, it looks the same.You know? It's like, I think I, everyone's big fear is looking back on work from a year ago and being like. Shit, my work doesn't look any different. You know, I always look at like, I found a bunch of my college paintings here and I'm about to bring them to the dump because they fuck it. Like makes me feel so bad.But then I look at, you know, the newer stuff and I'm like, well, that is just a, you know, that very distinct and obvious progression of improving and learning. So I always want to look back. Yeah. I always want to look back and think. Oh, I could have done this, this, and this to make this better. If I did this tattoo now, this is how I would have approached it design-wise, and I'm technically as well, so we'll see.What about you?

Eddy:  I, I'm very much in the same boat as you. Like I'm kind of at a point where I want to like find a subject matter that speaks to me. Make sure I'm like progressing technically as well. And it's like this whole thing of like, you know, I'm not as imaginative or as creative as I would perhaps like to be, but that's okay because I know I'm, I'm able to do technical work. So it's just finding a balance and also trying to let go of all these like ideas of what I'm supposed to achieve because it's all bullshit. Like this idea of productivity and of like reaching certain heights. That's, that's all different just capitalists crap, but like the actual art-making, I think. If we let go a little bit of all of these expectations of improving, we can enjoy the process a bit more, but at the same time, we have a responsibility to our clients to actually continue to improve and we have a responsibility to tattooing as well, like so that we can contribute to a much brighter future.It's, I don't know, there's so many, like different things going on in my head.

Hannah: Yeah. Well I think everything that's happened now is kind of forcing us all to kind of slow down whether we want to or not. And like be more thoughtful and like, you know, cause it's not like this a race to like produce into work. I remember like that one the year I lived in New York, I just remember trying to like work as much as I could, you know, to pay my rent to like, do it, to like do everything.And I wasn't actually. I mean, all the tattoos I did we're good. But it's just like, and I felt I felt good about them as well, but it's, I would like to be able to either, not be more like more selective, but really give the piece the time it deserves and like really be more thoughtful about it. You know?

Eddy: It'd be good to be more present in the moment.

Hannah: Well. Yeah.

Eddy: Of the tattoo you do rather than worrying about the next one, like

Hannah: Exactly.

Eddy: I think it coming out of this, I'm definitely going to be scaling back how much I tattoo and try to get a more balanced approach. Like more painting, more drawing, more tattooing, like more evenly rather than tattooing every day. And then like struggling to find the time to paint.

Hannah: Yeah. Well that's exactly it. Cause I've had people be like, well why haven't you been painting? And it's like. Well, I hadn't painted since before my apprenticeship. And then when I got my apprenticeship, I was working six, seven days a week between two jobs. And then it's like when you're tattooing, you're working from home as well, you know, doing your drawings, your reference hunting, emails, and it's just you need time off, you know?

Eddy:  It's physically exhausting

Hannah: Yeah.

Eddy: And there's a lot of emotional labor in what we do.

Hannah: Oh yeah. It's a labor of love for sure. And I think it's, it's like taxing, not only physically, but, um, the pressure of it that mentally as well. And I think, um, you know, it's going to force a lot of us to kind of, you know, reprioritize how we spend our time, you know, how much energy can we put into things and you know, who we spend time with and. You know, which is a good thing, you know?

Eddy: Absolutely. Absolutely. And those of us who like have had a moment to consider our process and to consider our goals in tattooing, I think we're going to position ourselves to do better work in the future and to be happier with the work we do and perhaps live a much more fruitful life.

Hannah: Yeah. That's, that's the goal, you know? Yeah, that's, that would be good for sure.

Eddy: What do, what do you think tattooing is going to look like post COVID?

Hannah: I don't know. I mean, we're all going to be, you know, decked out and like all kinds of PPE shit. But, um, yeah, I have some friends that I've, I've chatted with that think it's going to go underground again, or that States will make it illegal effort, like, you know, broad spectrum of everything.You know, people will be doing it out of their houses going forward. Um, I think it'll, um, kind of make people think about it a little bit, maybe more seriously, just because, um, you know, like the shop that I'm going to be working at in Rhode Island, um. Was walkin and appointment. But, um, because of what's going on, I think everything has to become like appointment only.So it might kind of, you know, take out that element of like, spontaneity for some people and like, you know, like, let's just go get tattooed. Like, don't, you can't really do that anymore. Like, you have to make an appointment, you know, you can't bring your buddies in on, the big thing I think is, you know, no guests

Eddy: that's going to be so good for tattooers. Hannah: Oh God, thank God. Cause I'm always that person that like, can't tell somebody to like, you know, don't hover over me cause I, I'm, I have like really bad resting bitch face. And um. But I'm completely like painfully aware of it. So, uh, and my tone can kind of sound, uh, involuntarily harsh sometimes.So like I'm very cautious about like what I say and how I say it or try to be at least. Um, so I never ever tell people like, you can't have a guest, you know, I'm always like, no, make yourself comfortable. Make yourself at home. Because. I think for women in particular, um, you always are worried about being like, you know, the bitch or coming off as like, Oh, she's just a bitch.Or like, you know, you know, I've heard it before and I'm aware of it. So I try to kind of be hesitant or cautious about how I speak, but I'm very excited for the no guest policy. You know?

Eddy: I think as women, we're

Hannah: Eating. Like eating food over my shoulder, like while they're watching something, I'm just like, dude, like garlic knots come on

Eddy: on when they lean on the table and it rocks it. Like,

Hannah: Oh, dude, I've had, yeah, like, um, significant others. Um, like, you know, basically sucking face on my table. I just like sit there, like, how are you so like unaware of my presence, you know. Like, I'll just wait. I have to go to the bathroom. I'm just going to leave. Take a moment to yourself.

Eddy: Just have a moment like, yeah, calm the fuck down

Hannah: like I guess I'm going to look at my cell phone, you know, take my gloves off and do that. Um, yeah, I think, um, yeah, they're, they're going to be good things and bad things. And who knows if it'll ever really like, go back to like normal. Um,

Eddy: I mean, do we really want to go back to normal though? That's

Hannah: Probably not, yeah. I mean, all the things that are going to happen could be improvements for sure. You know, so

Eddy: We might have to fight for it at some point, but like we have potential to improve our situation.

Hannah: Oh yeah, for sure. And I think, um, I've had a few conversations with other tattooers about how they think, um, what's going on will be kind of a deterrent for people to come into tattooing.Actually, you know, because it's, you know, you're an independent contractor. There are no benefits, no health insurance, no retirement fund, unless you set your own. Uh, um, and it's super inconsistent. You know, like something like this could just, we're all unemployed, you know? Um, so I've had people be like, Oh, it's going to be awesome.Nobody's going to want to get into tattooing anymore. So I've heard like, Oh, why? And I've heard everything recently. I'm sure you have too all the theories and stuff, but

Eddy: I think people will always want to get tattooed, into tattooing the way that people always want to get tattooed, I think. Yeah. I think because it's been a part of many of our cultures for the longest time, like people have been getting tattooed for more than 6,000 years.Like, yeah, from what we know with evidence. And so I think it's just a really important part of us, like the amount of messages I get of people just desperate to get tattooed when we're open, I really don’t think it's actually going to be that hard to find work.

Hannah: Oh, no, no, it's, yeah, I, I, um, it's awesome. Like I've had people like ask, like, Oh, can I put like a deposit down?Like now for, you know, sometime in the future. Um, I've been turning that down just because I don't like taking people's money without like, being able to like, guarantee them something, you know, it just kind of doesn't feel right. But. Um, yeah, like a lot of my clients have been like getting really stir-crazy they're working from home.They're like, Oh my God, I can't wait till I get tattooed. I'm like ready as soon as you are able to. So it's really good that people are not only like, you know, ready to get tattooed. But also I've been seeing a lot of people supporting, you know, artists, you know, like us, like buying, you know, the prints we're selling or the paintings, cause you know.Paintings and like art, you know, while I do think they're important and tattoos, they're not like a necessity for like somebody to have, you know? So it's, it's like it's a luxury item, you know? And it's, it's really nice that people are willing to spend their money on something that they wouldn't, you know, it's not brain surgery. We're not doing the Lord's work, you know? But it's awesome that people that were able to do what we do. Yeah.

Eddy: Yeah, tattooing like is definitely a luxury. But I like, I do think that just art in general is a really integral part of the human experience. Seeing all of our clients coming through and buying merch, even just sending nice messages or replying to stories is so heartwarming, we're very lucky.

Hannah: Yup. Yeah. No, I agree. Like it's the little like DMS every once in a while of like, Hey, like this is my healed tattoo. I can't wait to get another one once all this is over with and it feels really good. I don't think people realize like how much of an impact that makes for us. So

Eddy: Even little things like that aren't tattoo related. Like I have some clients who've sent me messages saying, Hey, I just watched this show and I feel like you might like it and enjoy it while you're having downtime. It's just like, Oh, that's so kind thanks for thinking of me

Hannah: Like that show ah Schitts Creek. I like preach that shit like it's the gospel to people and all of my body like and all. I've had so many of my friends and clients getting into it now and they'll like tag me in it being like, I finally started watching it and I'm like. That and Buffy. It's just like, it's Buffy and Schitts Creek that I, I'm like, if you haven't watched these things and you're not into them, I just, I can't be your friend. I don't know what's going on.

Eddy: First thing I did in lockdown is like, start rewatching Buffy and Charmed

Hannah: Yeah, I've got to, I've got to rewatch Buffy. I usually do it all the way through once a year, you know, we kind of have to, it's so good.

Eddy: The legend.

Hannah: It's perfect. Yeah. Every time I like anyone's like, Oh, what's your favorite show? I'm like, yeah, I've got a tattoo of Sarah Michelle Gellar on my back. Like it's definitely buffet. So she's the best.

Eddy: I Actually got to tattoo Buffy. on one of my closest friends, and that was so fun.

Hannah: You know, I've seen that tattoo. You've done a Willow too. I'm aware of all of that. Yeah. Like I know exactly which tattoo you did. I know. Cause I was like fuck why don’t I have that. So good.

Eddy: Amazing.

Hannah: I love it.

Eddy: Oh, that's so good. Well, I might as well let you go. It's been so good talking to you. Thank you.

Hannah: It's been real good catching up.

Eddy: Yeah, I know. I was. I probably would have caught up with you in

Hannah: I know, right? April, right?

Eddy: Yeah, I would have been guesting there. It would have been awesome.

Hannah: It's such a blow. Yeah. They. Black Iris was about to have a bunch of, um, like artists that I'm like, you know, you know, like you, um, another one is a Ruby Wolfe. Their work is so good, but fuck, like, God damn, the timing is so bad. Like, obviously that's, you know, not much in the grand scheme of things, but I was, I was pretty bummed out, but I'm sure

Eddy: I had like this long American holiday planned I was going to visit, um. Like Black Veil. I was gonna do Literary Ink like I was going to do Strange Love in LA. I had all these plans and then had to cancel it last minute, like two days before the trip,

Hannah: well this, this year, I'm like turning 30, and I remember being like, this is the year I'm going to travel so much. I have like, I had a note, uh, on my, on my phone and all of the fucking places I was going to go, like, you know, within America. And then like abroad. And I was like, this month I'm going to go here. This month I'm going to go there, and then all of this shit just hit the fan. I was like, this is not mine. This is not my year. It's not anybody's here. Not looking good

Eddy: Everyone I've spoken to had all these incredible grand plans like this was their year.

Hannah: Yeah.

Eddy: 2019 was a shit show. 2020 was going to be their year. Maybe not.

Hannah: No. Well, you know. Yeah. Well, trying to make the most of all we can.

Eddy: That's it. We make the best of it. We learn to adapt to those of us who are privileged enough to have a comfortable home and are able to enjoy painting or drawing or just watching TV like. You know we're going to be okay.

Hannah: Yeah, it could be much worse. I mean, I've, I haven't eaten this good in a long time. I'm at my parents' house and it's just like, I'm like living with Martha Stewart right now. It's pretty, it's pretty sick. I was like, I'm going to get like quarantine fat. It's going to be awesome.

Eddy: It's self-care

Hannah: Good. Yeah. Yeah, of course. I'm not telling myself, no, I'm giving myself whatever I want because I'm worth it, you know? So absolutely, my wine intake has gone up, but I'm okay with it. Yeah. I think a lot. Yeah. I've got, as I have like a spiked seltzer, like right there. I think, yeah, it's, it's the indulgences, you know, everything in moderation or not, but it's whatever.

Eddy: Awesome. Well. Thank you so much for sharing your story and thank you to all our listeners. Um, we really appreciate it. Um, if you'd like to watch the footage of our chat. Um, you can head over to YouTube, um, and follow us on Instagram at not just a girl underscore tattoo. I'll link all the information for 

Hannah in the show notes and on Instagram so that you can follow her amazing work. Um, please subscribe, follow and share and spread the love. Um, I hope you'll have a wonderful day. Um, and remember the fuck the patriarchy.

Hannah: For sure

Eddy: It was so good to talk to you again. Hopefully I’ll talk to you soon

Hannah: It was awesome. Thank you so much for asking me to part of it was so much fun. 

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