MY STORY

MY PERMISSION TO BE AUTHENTIC. THE VERY FOUNDATION OF MY ESSENCE AND EXISTENCE. THE VERY FIRST LANGUAGE I WAS MEANT TO SPEAK AND TRANSLATE. THE CLEAREST MIRROR OF MY SOUL.

GROWING UP, I WAS ALWAYS THAT QUIET KID IN MY OWN WORLD DAYDREAMING AND DRAWING. DESIGNING VISUAL CALENDAR DISPLAYS AFTER CLASS FOR THE SCHOOL LOBBY AND CONSTRUCTING ELABORATE TITLE PAGES ATTRACTED MY ATTENTION MORE THAN THE ASSIGNMENT ITSELF. WHEN I COULDN’T FIND A FONT I LIKED, I HANDTYPED IT INSTEAD.

9 YEARS AGO, I CALLED DEEP ON MY COURAGE TO BREAK THROUGH MY WALL OF SILENCE AND STOP SHRINKING MYSELF TO FIT INTO “NORMAL.” TO SHIFT FROM PARALYSIS BY ANALYSIS TO STARTING BEFORE I WAS READY. STARTING WITH DOUBT. STARTING WITH FEAR. JUST STARTING. WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING HOW TO “LAND” I TOOK A GIANT LEAP OF FAITH IN UNLOCKING MY DESIRE FOR DRAWING LETTERS BY HAND, LEANING ALL THE WAY INTO THE ANXIETY OF BROADCASTING THE LOUD AND RAW MESSAGES FROM MY HEART.

BARELY 30 BEFORE HOLDING MY FIRST BRUSH MARKER, I GET THE FRUSTRATION OF BURNING THROUGH A MILLION “REJECTED” DRAFTS, THE PAIN OF STARTING OVER FROM SCRATCH AND CHUCKING THE PENS IN THE BIN… ONLY TO PICK THEM BACK UP AGAIN. WHICH MEANS I ALSO KNOW THE SATISFACTION OF MAGICAL STROKES THAT FINALLY TRANSFORM INTO A MASTERPIECE. STRUGGLE IS REAL, BUT SO IS HOPE.

AS A SELF-TAUGHT “ADULT BEGINNER” I COMMIT TO BELIEVING AND BECOMING LIVING PROOF THAT IT’S TOTALLY POSSIBLE TO PURSUE ANYTHING ANYTIME. WITHOUT HAVING IT ALL FIGURED OUT. WITHOUT FORMAL TRAINING. ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO ART THAT’S NEVER BEFORE PRODUCED. WHILE COMPLETELY TERRIFYING, THERE ARE ALSO NO LIMITS. WITH NOW +400 PUBLISHED CONTENT, CONTINUOUS COLLABORATIONS, AND THE GROWING SUPPORT FROM MY LOYAL AND LOVING “PHANBASE” — I HONESTLY CANNOT PICTURE MYSELF TURNING BACK.

IMMERSING MYSELF IN THIS INKCREDIBLE WORLD OF LETTERS IS ENTIRELY AND EXACTLY WHERE I BELONG. WHERE PASSION FOLLOWS PURPOSE. WHERE INKDEAVOR MEETS INKTENTION. MY FASCINATION FOR BLEEDING INKS, JUICY PAINTS, UNIQUE TYPEFACES, AND THE INKFINITE LETTERFORMS A HUMAN HAND CAN CREATE NEVER ENDS. NOTHING FOR ME CAN REPLACE THE FONTASTIC PEN TO PAPER CONNECTION. LETTERING IS EVERYTHING!