We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alessandra / Ren Siracusa a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alessandra / Ren, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
By definition, the word risk implies the possibility that some thing unpleasant may occur through exposure to danger.
In my eyes, what the world defines as a risk, I see as an opportunity to practice leaping & dancing with faith.
One of my biggest leaps thus far was during the beginning chapters of the pandemic. At the time I had been educating seekers of the esoteric on how to work with crystal energy, holding space for breathe work ceremonies & spinning fire professionally. I had been living alone for the first time in my adult life and found myself passing on the activities that once brought me comfort, in exchange for a new reality: where I allocated my time/energy into meditating and getting to know the universe that lives inside of me.
While basking in sacred alone time, arose the question I began to ponder .. “is it time to go back to school, to get my masters and pursue art/somatic therapy?” Was I meant to follow the path that I had so meticulously carved out for myself? Am I on the “right” path ?
While swept away into the flow & power of prayer, I was moved by the energy on unconditional love to offer my life/existence to Source. I offered my body as a vessel and as channel for the divine. To be a conduit of light and surrendered as to how that would be accomplished.
I vowed to build my life upon the foundation of service for the highest good of all beings. In exchange I humbly asked for a message/sign that would illuminate my souls purpose in this lifetime to grant me guidance on my mission.
The clarity I was calling in soon found its way to me as a vivid vision of my future self offering me the divine gift of remembrance, in the form of a violet chrysanthemum that unfurled its petals to reveal a tattoo machine gently tucked inside.
As children we already know what we are called here to do, our intuition is vibrant ..it is only through conditioning and imposed social expectations that we begin to forget the things that lit us up.
If we were to all recall the three activities we absolutely loved when we were kids and weave those themes into our lives as we transition into adulthood, the world would be full of very happily fulfilled and aligned humans.
So did I leave Oahu (my home), my family, my friends/community, all that I had been cultivating and fly 6 hours over the Pacific Ocean to live in a city where I knew near to no one, in hopes of putting the pieces of this cosmic puzzle together?
I absolutely did.
I chose to reclaim my power.
I chose to explore the potential of being the creator of my own reality and to see what it felt like to be held by divine trust, paved by self trust.
I chose to dedicate my life to the guidance of unconditional love for all begins; beginning at home with myself , especially my inner teenager.
May they know that every math class they spent drawing on themselves and daydreaming about tattooing was more than distraction, but the watering of our waking dreams manifestation.
Alessandra / Ren, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Hello dear ones, my name is Alessandra Josephina Siracusa. Most folxs know me as Ren which translates to lotus in Japanese or @ink.and.alchemy in the virtual realms.
This interview has been a loving chrysalis for me to retell, reframe and reconnect to a chapter of my life that I been subconsciously undermining. I’m so grateful for the gift of story medicine and for those who have taken the time to listen.
My hope in sharing these more vulnerable aspects of myself is to open up a portal of compassion for anyone reading & for folxs to find appreciation in the muddy moments of their becoming/to unravel the romanticized lotus version of the self that social media can often encourage us to perpetuate.
May all beings discover reverence for the mud that nourished their roots, that continues to support the expansion & blossoming of authenticity.
o r i g i n s
At the tender age of 15, after being initiated by a group of exceptionally adventurous friends; birthed the beginning of my journey as self taught hand-poke tattoo artist.
Their reasoning: was because I’m always drawing, specifically in a stipple style, which was “basically the same as stick and poke.” Inspired by the late night Wikipedia article they had read on DIY tattoos, each person proudly handed me the supplies they had gathered from the grocery store and their mom’s sewing kits.
I myself, had no tattoos at the time only a tumblr blog filled with aspirations.
Deeply moved and terrified by the fact that my friends trusted me to permanently mark them, I decided to give it a try, with the requirement that each of them would have to hand write a letter, signed & stating that this tattoo was consensual and that they wouldn’t sue me or stop being my friend if it didn’t turned out how they had hoped.
After the first few initial dots, fear dissolved into the precision of each poke, bringing me back into pure presence. The rhythm of repetition re-introduced me to the medicine of flow state; a similar sensation I had been blessing to encounter when I first fell in love with surfing and dancing. At a time when I was experiencing extreme instability in my mental health, this new yet ancient practice brought me deep solace.
The haze of dissociation became remedied through the gift of embodiment. The previously perceived weight of past traumas and fear of the unknown future had no place to exist while I was tattooing.
Paradoxically , considering the style of sacred talismans I create now; I want to be fully honest in saying that the origins of my practice come from what could be categorized as ‘ignorant style’. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for all of my skater friends that allowed me to practice on them at parties growing up. I’m so grateful for all the silly doodles they encouraged me to tattoo even till this day. I’m proud to be apart of both communities as a diy tattoo artist & being blessed with the opportunity to receive my apprenticeship at White Buffalo Gallery.
I find vast pleasure in witnessing how my creative journey mirrors my healing journey. I love the endless spiral of character development that deepens my well of self love, and the ripple effect it’s inspired through the space I hold now as a ceremonial tattoo artist.
In my current incarnation, I’m forever learning to cultivate my relationship to tatu medicine through a holistic/ re-indigenized lens that centers ritual, energy work, ancestral guidance, intuitive channeling, divine trust and integration.
The idea for the ‘Qi Tattoo Ceremony’ sprouted from my personal practice of daily sigil creation + journaling, about 3.5 years ago when I was working at a crystal shop on Oahu. What began as carving sacred reconstructed symbols into intention candles, soon bleed into glamour magick.
I found myself slowly ritualizing my morning makeup more and more with the introduction of marking my vessel with the “sigil of the day”. Each day I journaled and each day I was in awe. The potency of placing the sigil on my body directly, induced my ability to receive what I know now were sacred instructions: intuitive pulses that have guided me into weaving all the details, nuances, procedures and modalities into one cosmic web of co-creation.
Ceremony to me is a celebration, a rite of passage, an ancient blood ritual, a place to process anything and everything, a portal of transformation/transmutation and a offering/promise in the form of a permanent prayer spoken through ink- that’s then placed with care on the living altar of the body.
Each ceremony is completely customized to fit the unique needs of the individual, from the auric cleanse, to the way in which the design is channeled. Some themes I specialize in are : selenite cord cutting, past life regression/inner-child connection through holotropic breath, ancestral love, (self) ho’o pono pono, sensual reclamation, nervous system regulations, psychic development and cultivating right relations with plant medicine.
At the heart of what I’m is most proud of is my ability to support myself and others in feeling safe enough to be our most radically aligned selves by cultivating caring relations that prioritize respect, communication, consent, deep listening, gratitude and unconditionally love.
Regardless, if someone joins me in ceremony, at White Buffalo Gallery or we simply cross paths out in the wild I will always do my best to uphold these values with integrity. For these are the qualities of the divine guardian/role model I needed growing up, so to embody these truths is to also honor my own healing path and show others it is possible to choose their own reality from a place of loving compassion.
I’m proud to be on the path of reclaiming the ancient art and medicine of my ancestors by reintroducing reverence to this sacred art as a divination tool and alchemical ritual.
And I’m proud of myself and every version of my past self that chose to keep living, who believed in our hearts vision and prayed for this life we live now. We have arrived, we survived, we are thriving and we are here.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
If society desires to support the nourishment of artist, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem we need a collective shift in our he(arts). We all must take personal accountability in cultivating our own relationship with creation in a loving way.
This means releasing individual & collective narratives around the value of art/creativity from the capitalist framework: content for the sake of consumption, algorithms > authenticity and prioritizing productivity over the pure joy of the journey.
Alternatively we can choose plant seeds of cultivating reverence for the divine feminine (yin) wisdom from which art is physically manifestation of. To embody this we must consciously create space to dream, to play, to process our emotions and proudly + restfully do nothing.
This is the healing power of decolonize art that is by and for the people.
When we learn to honor the ancestral wisdom of folk art traditions and the inherent connection that bridges art to our relationship to the divine, community, the earth and our inner world; we are watering the seed of creativity that lives within all beings.
To support artist is to see the value in the love and devotion we offer ourselves through these visual explorations of storytelling. When someone invests in art it is often sparked through a sense of connection, feeling seen through the resonance either consciously or subconsciously these creations present us with gift of divine reflections.
When we recognize and decide that we are worthy of connection, safety, support, being seen, authenticity, pleasure, play, rest, joy.. creativity is remembered in every cell of our being and we sweetly shift into reclaiming our path as the co-creator of our reality. We get to choose how we color our perception of the world we live in.
Art is the love language of liberation and the dialect of visionaries that has the power to transcend barriers and alchemize old stories.
If we choose to welcome art as a safe place for the exploration of our wholeness & path way to freedom ; we begin to emanate peace, truth and empowerment within us and all around us.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
My path as a tatu artist has gifted me the opportunity in supporting folxs in their self love journey, through the reclamation of their sacred vessel.
I feel blessed every time I tatu, because I get to be a space holder for a radical self acceptance ritual.
I get to help others feel more at home in their bodies and fall in love with all that they are. This calling has be rewarding in so many ways and in particular the aspect of body positivity and body autonomy continues to nourish and inspire me eternally.
As a trans femme bipoc artist, I find my job is particularly vital in providing sacred spaces for transformation, self liberation and cultural remembrance.
Tattoos can be an affirmative and euphoric experience when created with care.
My prayer is that all beings remember how sacred their bodies are and support collective healing through art.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bio.site/inkandalchemy?fbclid=PAAabGB2OlLVJVwiLR7guG2Q86kF3BUYoo7tylR6g9KuHad5XGhqEYtSlfVgk
- Instagram: @ink.and.alchemy
- Other: [email protected]