Photos Courtesy of Juno Moreno and Meggie Suleiman
Arts are a very prominent part of life on our liberal arts campus. From the various sculptures that populate the grounds, to the rotating array of installations in Cummings, and culminating with student art lining the walls of coffee shops, the unique artistic flair of Conn students can be found in every corner of our campus.
Stepping outside the realm of stationary art are Juno Moreno ‘22 and Meggie Suleiman ‘23, who would prefer you to wear their work instead. While Suleiman’s hand-made jewelry can be seen hanging from students’ ears, Moreno’s work will truly stay with you forever, inked anywhere on your body. The pair, neither of which are art students, have gone further to even monetize their talent, as customers of Coffee Closet will know from seeing Suleiman’s Bead Biddie jewelry board perched on the counter. Moreno, on the other hand, spreads the word about their hand-poked tattoos through Instagram, and can be found @whinemomtattoo.
Moreno started tattooing in high school, first practicing on bananas, oranges and fake skin, before moving towards real subjects. They then “started practicing on myself and did both of my own legs before I started doing other people.” Moreno, who is completely self-taught, “plans to have my own shop when I leave college.” They primarily use the stick and poke method as opposed to a more traditional tattoo gun, as it is safer for someone with less experience, heals better, and is more accessible. This is part of a greater “push in the tattoo community to promote queer and female artists doing stick and poke,” said Moreno.
Many of their tattoos reflect children’s media, depicting characters from pop culture of our past, including those from books, television shows and movies. The theme of nostalgia is common in tattoo culture, and has become a central topic among Moreno’s work. The thicker lines produced by the handheld needle lend themselves better to the cartoon and doodle-like nature of many characters and Moreno’s nostalgic style.
Moreno runs @winemomtattoo out of their dorm room, setting up a makeshift shop with professional grade ink and sanitary procedures, and taking appointments through Instagram direct messages. Moreno has been tattooing their fellow students for the last three years, often giving them their first ink. They claim that people just feel more comfortable in the homey confines of a dorm room and getting worked on by a friend, made evident through the fact that they have given roughly 200 tattoos throughout their time at Conn.
In similar fashion, Suleiman started selling earrings through Instagram, before craving more interpersonal relations regarding their work, and creating the Bead Biddie jewelry board seen in Coffee Closet. While her academic life as a triple major in Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology and Hispanic Studies“ doesn’t really leave a lot of room for art classes,” Suleiman, who has “had an affinity for art for a really long time,” uses the earring venture as a way to “de-stress and not lose the artistic side.”
Suleiman uses beads, wires and any materials that they can conveniently find at art supplies or thrift stores to create earrings ranging from a long string of pink beads with a skull hanging from the bottom, to an assortment of small colorful beads with mushrooms attached to a clasp at the end. The earrings, which come in all shapes and sizes created from a variety of funky materials, are also created for a greater cause, as Suleiman donates a third of profits to the Trans Women of Color Collective.
According to the artist, the most rewarding thing about the creations of Bead Biddie is “seeing people wear them, walking down the street and seeing people crafting whole outfits around the earrings.” In addition to providing a creative outlet, donating to an important organization and being able to promote her work in Coffee Closet while she works behind the counter to whip up a classic Bee’s Knees, her earrings “get people to be a little more fun with their outfits and make day to day life more enjoyable, which brings me immense joy,” they concluded.
The artistic endeavors of Conn students are something to admire, and to support. When you consider where to get your next, or first, tattoo, or freshen up your jewelry collection, look around campus before hitting the Crystal Mall.
