INK STORIES: A Tattoo Storytelling Event

November 2025 | Stockroom East | South Bend, IN

In November 2025, I took part in Ink Stories at Stockroom East in South Bend, a community storytelling event hosted by South Bend City Church, Stockroom East, and Mystic Union Tattoos. The evening centered on tattoos as the marks we carry — small altars to the moments that have shaped who we are and who we’re still becoming.

Eleven speakers, myself included, shared their ink stories their own way, each one distinct and personal. They walked the audience through stories of grief, growth, family, humor, faith, and the unexpected moments that stay with you long after they happen. Stockroom East, a space that easily shifts between celebration and reflection, held all of it with ease. And although I don’t usually find myself in faith-based spaces, I appreciate the way SBCC creates room for a wide range of people and experiences. Ink Stories was no exception; it was thoughtful, grounded, generous, and warm.

My decision to apply was twofold: I was excited for the challenge that a ten-minute story naturally presents, and I also hoped it would serve as its own exercise in craft. Much of my work traces the marks we carry, visible or not, and tattoos often say what words can’t or won’t. I put a lot of value in the architecture of connection, and this night was indeed a practice in choosing what to reveal, what to hold back, and finding a way to land somewhere honest without over-explaining. The event became another way of making sense of experience through story, and sharing it aloud felt like a natural extension of my practice — just carried by voice instead of material.