Greetings! I joined once upon a time, but unfortunately, didn't make time to remain active enough. I'm back once again and plan on being here daily.

The inspiration behind my name comes from my former job as a barista and my love for the hospitality of coffee-shop-culture. My current job is a hospitality specialist in a very busy restaurant. Seven years of experience interacting directly with my community has sparked a genuine love for meeting new people and learning their stories.

Although I'm new to art (better late than never, right?) I'm having a blast learning everything I can about staining papers with coffee, using coffee inspired names for some of my map locations, and even experimenting with coffee-based fountain pen ink. I'm slightly crazy. When it comes to maps themselves, I'm in love with the super weathered aesthetic and gritty/grungy line work. Steampunk is also a style that resonates deeply with my soul!

I practice as often as I can and create everything with a $0 budget. I daydream about one day earning some income from this venture so it can directly benefit my growing family and perhaps fund the acquisition of new tools. My wife and I have been married for six years and have two children (+1 on the way)!

I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Josh Stolarz for inspiring me to begin my cartography/art journey and also to Dominque Strange for inviting me to this fantastic community that is The Cartographer's Guild. I look forward to getting to know you and seeing what you're working on!

Cheers! ☕
-Michael Java