Valerie Vargas

there are all great techniques, thank you and keep 'em coming! so far the ones working out for me is cutting out salt, stretching exercises, going to sleep wearing a support wrist brace occasionally and accupuncture when i have bad days, so far ive been free of pain for over 3 months and counting!

what i do wonder if its women's nurturing and caring nature that pushes us to try and be nice to people enquiring about our tattoos even when they are being pushy? im leaning towards the thought that more women would take time to speak to these people than men in the same situation....

i dont personally think its my job or any other tattooed females to change people's preconceived ideas of tattooed women/people. i dont particularly want to educate them either, these beliefs of theirs tend to be pretty ingrained anyway. its no lost cause but i take each case by case, if they seem genuinely interested, i will take a minute to be polite, they want some freakshow ill tell them where to go.

what i seem to notice is that the only men with balls big enough to date a heavily tattooed woman are heavily tattooed themselves, but i might be wrong of course, this is just what ive noticed.

most tattooed folk will attract a few looks when out and about but people cant help but downright stare when they notice tattooed women, in the summer i dread wearing shorts knowing all i'll get is questions, and i cant stand answering the same shit over and over again. though i'm always left alone when im waking around with stewart (my other half), it might be to do with the fact hes even more heavily tattooed, over 6" tall and is usually frowning at them already haha.

i guess when im on my own, people dont seem to be scared of me as they seem of him, if im alone, they will ask more readily expecting a sweet young girl to just be that, sweet, and kindly answer their questions.

its that that particularly that annoys me most, do they really think im gonna entertain them? a complete stranger? just cos im a girl?

what worries me is what the media is making tattooed women out to be. it has always loved a slutty-tattooed-woman scandal. were all sex/fame/money hungry according to them, when in all honesty, some might be, but really, theres WAY more untattooed women that way inclined. but hey, thats another much more elaborate post i cant put my energy into right now.

congratulations!

my friend soap owns a shop called lab monkey in Stirling, Scotland. I learned to tatto in the shop round the corner from his but thankfully he never hated on me for that ;).

anyway reading his blog i came across a good link to a website documenting some of scotland's history of tattooing. ive visited it before many years ago but forgot completely about it, thought some of you might enjoy reading info on it

Prince Vallar - Tattoo Artist

TATTOOING IN SCOTLAND

When Prince Vallar opened his parlour at 404 Argyle Street, Glasgow in 1935 he would have been the only professional tattoo artist operating a shop in Scotland. This was a position that he would retain for many years.

Circus and travelling fairground tattoo artists would have plied their trade to those unable to make it to the City of Glasgow. Many such tattooists existed, travelling to the various towns and cities around Scotland.

Since then there have been several tattooists operating shops in Scotland. Much of what is known about these artists is urban myth and legend. The following is an honest attempt to document what is known about those artists who tattooed in Scotland from 1935 to 1985.

Around the 1950's there was part-time tattooist who worked in Glasgow's famous Barras market called 'Dirty Dick'. Very little is known about him other that the fact that he worked in the back of a shop in the Spoutmouth area of the market that also sold pornographic magazines. It is this line of merchandise that earned him his nickname and not the fact that he worked under filthy conditions when tattooing as previously thought.

Jimmy Todd was a real character. He began his tattooing career in Falkirk in the early sixties where he worked from a small shop in Chapel Lane. In 1970 he relocated to the Leith area of Edinburgh and remained here until the mid seventies when he moved his operation back to Falkirk, where he operated from a run down tenement building. He was a real old-timer with plenty of character, sporting a large, hooped, gold earring and wore a bandana long before it was fashionable. He worked from old WW2 transfers and used an egg cup to hold the black Indian Ink. He has the unfortunate honour of being the first ever tattooist to be charged under the Tattooing of Minors Act 1969 when he tattooed some under age clients.

Back in Glasgow in 1965, when Bert Vallar finally closed his shop there were no other professional tattoo artists working in the city.

However, two tattoo artists who had been working in the seaside resort of Blackpool, England heard the news that Bert Vallar had closed down his parlour and decided that they would move up north to Glasgow for a month and try out the city.

Jimmy Gould and Terry Wrigley found a shop at 793 Gallowgate (pictured on the left, the shop is to the right of the General Wolfe Pub) and began tattooing.

After a month Jimmy decided that Glasgow was not for him and he headed back to Blackpool, where he still operates a tattoo studio today. Terry however, stayed on in the city and carried on where Bert Vallar had left off. According to Terry's friend Lionel Titchoner, tattooist and founder of the Tattoo International Magazine, Terry received a visit from Bert Vallar shortly after his arrival in Glasgow with an offer to sell him his equipment. It is not known if Terry purchased anything from Bert or if they had any further contact through the years but Terry went on to established himself in the city and worked in his studio in Glasgow's Gallowgate for 20 years before moving to Chisholm Street, Trongate, Glasgow.

No story on tattooing in Scotland would be complete without a couple of further paragraphs on Terry Wrigley. A true character and ambassador for Scottish tattooing. A legend throughout the tattooing world.

Although born in Mossley, England in 1937 he made Glasgow his home when he moved to the city in 1965. He had previously tattooed in Ashton, Southend and Blackpool where he worked alongside a Black tattoo artist named Prince Eugene (who was a great admirer of Prince Vallar) but eventually settled in Glasgow for over 30 years, tattooing thousands of men and women in his Gallowgate and Trongate studios. He passed the trade onto his two sons and they continue a tradition in the city that was started by Prince Vallar all those years ago - a tattooing dynasty.

Terry had held the rank as President of the National Tattoo Association and was the founder of many tattoo associations, clubs and newsletters. He was a correspondent and friend to many in the tattooing world.

Although he died in 1999 his name is still revered wherever tattooist or enthusiasts gather. He is survived by his two sons Stuart and Stephen Wrigley who are both excellent tattoo artists and who both operate tattoo studios in Glasgow. For further reading on Terry Wrigley please visit Les Quinn's page.

In the early 1970's Bill Hooper operated a part-time parlour in Campbell Street, Hamilton. He worked there at the weekends supplementing his other 'job' as a debt-collector during the week. His Father had done some tattooing in the Army while serving in Burma and had brought home some colours and designs which fascinated Billy. Terry Wrigley was a big influence on Billy in those days and the two became lifelong friends. He moved from Hamilton to Leith Walk in Edinburgh around 1977 and still has a studio there which, by all accounts, is extremely busy. His style has evolved from the traditional hearts, flowers and panthers of Campbell Street and he now creates award-winning artwork with a unique style of his own.

Around 1974 Danny O'Brien was a young apprentice sign writer working for Fay Stewart Studios, a commercial artist in Campbell Street, Hamilton. A talented artist, Danny was fascinated by the tattooist’s studio upstairs run by Bill Hooper and would hang around asking questions and showing an interest in the trade. Hooper gave nothing away to young Danny and any request for information was met with silence from Billy as was the code and ethics of tattooists at that time. Danny took his own initiative and raked through Hooper's trash until he found the address of a supply company that Billy was using... 'Davis Supplies of----------'. He sent away for a catalogue and was soon the proud owner of a starter kit for tattooing. He opened a neat little shop on Glasgow Road, Wishaw around 1976 with hundreds of hand-drawn designs to choose from and worked the shop part-time while continuing to work with Fay Stewart as a sign writer through the week. He stayed in Wishaw for a couple of years, building a good reputation and custom but in the years that followed he moved many times from shop to shop, never recapturing the glory years at Glasgow Road. His work had been suffering for many years due to alcoholism and in 1992, at the age of 36, he was found dead lying in the street. He had been a talented tattooist, artist and sign writer with a great future but had ended up with nothing in his final years.

Johnny McNeillie is probably one of the best technical tattooists in Scotland today. He has been tattooing for over 20 years in Glasgow and has established himself as a no-nonsense artist who lets his artwork speak for itself. His first shop in Mount Florida was destroyed by fire in 1985 and he relocated to the Calton area of Glasgow across from the World Famous Barrowland Concert venue. Here, for the past 17 years, he has tattooed thousands of satisfied customers who all appreciate good freehand tattooing.

There are few bigger or more colourful characters in tattooing in Scotland today than ‘Big’ Alex Field who has owned and operated his studio in Paisley's Well Street for over 20 years. Alex's interest in tattooing started in the early 1960's. His father had been a PT instructor in the Royal Navy and had collected several tattoos on his travels. Alex was fascinated by them and when aged 15 he asked his father's permission to obtain one for himself, his father agreed to his request on the agreement that he would get no more than 2 done on his arms. Alex soon found himself inside the parlour of Bert Vallar in Argyle Street and got his first couple of tattoos as instructed. The only problem was that he didn't stop here and went on to obtain a further 14 tattoos from Bert on his back, legs, chest and arms. His father got a shock early one morning when he went into young Alex's bedroom to wake him for his work (apprentice electrician) and was greeted by the sight of a human canvas. A sound thrashing was issued by Mr. Field senior but this did not deter or dampen Alex's enthusiasm for tattooing. When he was approaching his 21st birthday Alex's mother had asked him what he would like for a present. Without hesitation he informed her that he would like a tattooing kit. In 1965 the tattoo trade was a closed shop as far as information was concerned. Tattooists closely guarded their supplier’s addresses and there were few, if any, apprenticeships available to those outside the immediate family. By pure luck and coincidence for Alex's Mother, the Scottish Sunday Mail newspaper had recently received a letter from a reader asking for the address of a tattoo supply company. The newspaper published a reply and the address of Davis Tattooing Supplies was duly obtained by Mrs. Field. She purchased a starter kit for Alex and he began tattooing friends, work colleagues and anyone who would let him. After many years tattooing at home he opened his studio in Well Street and has established himself as a solid tattooist and true gentleman of the profession.

Stuart Wrigley: Oldest son of the late Terry Wrigley. Served his apprenticeship in his Father's Gallowgate shop and also with 'Painless Jeff Baker' in Deal, Kent. Currently owner of Terry's Tattoo Studio in Glasgow. www.terrystattoostudio.co.uk

Johnny Silver: Based in Perth. Tattooist/Sign Writer.

Jimmy Johnstone: Old timer who was based in Dunfermline. Jaggy Jim as he was known to his loyal customers. He had a fierce temper and was known to throw everyone out of the shop at a moments notice. Done some solid colouring work with freehand designs. It is commonly believed that Jim has left this world.

Carl Lockyer: Based in Aberdeen.

Ted Manton was based in Airdrie. Tattooist/Sign Writer.

Steven Wrigley: Son of the late Terry Wrigley. Served his apprenticeship under his father and currently runs his own shop in Partick, Glasgow called Irizumi.

George Stevens: Tattooist in Greenock for many years. Still tattooing in Ayrshire.

Davie Thompson: East coast tattooist (deseased).

i have a few but i guess its not in my mind to pick up a few as i go along, it think it will be a new years resolution for me to start on this, thanks for bringing it up!

so today i am finding myself putting together a book of reference, mostly vintage girl faces i've collected from good old google and friends emailing me cool images. I'm using blurb to put them altogether.

thomas hooper used this website to print his skulls book and both me and my other half realised how much cheaper and organized it is to use blurb to compile reference. before id spend good money on printing out photos, binding them and somehow always loose a few along the way, this took a lot of my time obviously!

so what im asking is here is what do other tattooers do to compile random pieces of reference they find along the way? i mean my bookcases are bursting with books of course but you know when you find a cool pic and promise yourself to use it next time something similar needs drawing up, and you forget, and even if you remember, its a task to find where you last put it!

theres so many, but the ones that jump to mind are sound of music, oliver!, monsters inc, up, the shining, the piano, zoolander, casino, alien films, once upon a time in america, detroit rock city, pineapple express, indiana jones, no country for old men, there will be blood, and loads more. i dont seem to like very cool films now that i see them listed, ah well!

a while ago we had this girl in getting her first tattoo and while waiting her turn she started eating a whole packet of biscuits and lots of coffee. we did warn her it was too much and too sugary and to slow down, she just said she knew what she was doing so we just left her to it. suffice to say half way through her (small) tattoo, she vomited EVERYWHERE without any warning, projectile vomiting style. all over the work bench, the tattooers shoes, herself, everywhere. barely had any time to push a bin under her face.

so anyway the worst bit was watching her scoop out the vomit from between her ample cleavage and from between her thighs (she wore low cut top and a tiny mini skirt). ick

another one was when a couple came in so that the girl could her her clit hood pierced. he wanted to be in the room so the female piercer said alright. they go off do their thing and we hear a wee muffled ouch from the girl, next i see the guy walking out of the room asking where the bathroom was, i said right next door to him. i looked away for half a second and next thing i know i see his legs lifting into the air cartoon style as he passes out head first into the bathroom.

luckily for him he missed the toilet bowl by an inch, otherwise we would have had to call an ambulance!

my personal fave will always be the guy who passed out slowly whilst talking to me as i tattooed him, he sounded like he was running out of batteries! so funny, he was a champ and laughed about it afterwards. bless him!

i'm not one for trying recipes and dishes i've never cooked before but i thought it's ridiculous that i've never made chilli con carne so giving that a go tonight and also gonna bake a chocolate and beetroot cake with frosted icing. hopefully i won't poison stewart haha. wish me luck!

thanks for any mentions by the way! i think its pretty obvious i adore chris conn's girls. the other day some guys came in from cali, they were working in london for a few days and one of them had a conn girl pirate on his forearm, it looked stunning of course! i think right now i'm really into chad koeplingers girls, he showed me some recent stuff he's been tattooing and there was a valkyrie that just blew me away. i have a tim hendricks chola on my arm and shes pretty badass, i like the particular look he goes for in girl faces. and of course jack rudy's too as someone else mentioned before

some of these people are imbeciles with their comments. to be honest, surely theres more wrong with what barbie represents? i only ever owned one when i was a child only cos one of my mom's friend thought id want one for my birthday. i cut off all her hair straight away. stick on tattoos are the least of those people's troubles!

i dont know why but i find the number of sections intimidating. kinda makes me doubt myself as to where to post and also it makes it a bit of a job finding everything thats going on. personally i'd prefer less sections, maybe as the forum becomes more popular, add them back if needed?

do get a bit tired of doing pocket watches, i must have done ten this year (four in one week) most of them had a magpie on it, i'm still happy to do them but it's a pain trying to draw new watches as i'm not a fucking watchmaker!

yeh, i seem to do a lot of them, magpies, victorian type stuff, cute and quirky, thats the most kind of requested stuff for sure, im guessing its more of a UK thing at the moment? but it just makes the eagles and panthers and girl faces more fun when they do come in though!

not so much a horror story, but i remember having to put on gloves and help my teacher stretch a guys ass cheeks so he could tattoo them. i think he was seeing what i would do and what i wouldnt do haha

oh my gosh how lazy am i haha, as it happens someone told me to do that a while ago and i totally forgot! thanks, i shall, theres a good camera shop near me and im sure i got a staple gun at home. thanks!

so my cheap-ass-built but frickin' expensive travel armrest i got off ebay 2 years ago finally gave up the ghost this weekend, but what did i expect really.

i got it because it was small built and easy to carry. now, i know i dont really need one, and theres been a few times i have just used my knee/tissue roll/back of chair and i will again, of course. but for those lazy times, can anyone recommend me where to purchase a fairly small, sturdy armrest? ive checked out ebay (i know i know) and a few high profile tattoo supply online shops but im looking to see of any others i may have missed out on.

feel free to message me the url or join in with how frustrating it is to find good hardy armrests! haha

chad did my red roses on my hands and i adore them, really. also, they are a favourite cover up aid, the look great and sort most hideous tattoos out no problem

haha, agreed on the ass bit. everyones expression changes as you move from lower back to ass

here in the uk theres a new show about a glamour girl (i dont even know if theres such a term in the states) called jodie marsh trying her hand at tattooing, the summary of the series is for her to go from apprentice to opening up her own shop. at least she has some tattoos, i havent watched it since i dont get cable, but ive been told its pretty bad. im not really paying attention to that stuff so much these days, tv is pretty bad anyway.

i tattoo a fair number of girls, usually younger than 26 and for a while all i got was rib tattoos booking in, which is cool but for their first tattoo, eeeeesh! most of them couldnt sit all that well so i had to make the best of it, some sat like absolute rocks, they were amazing to tattoo. ive not done that many lower back tattoos but then ive not been in this business as long as some of you but most of them sat real well too, less fiddly to tattoo than ribs for sure!

i reckon roses look stunning no matter on who, but pretty flowers always look good on pretty girls. i think generally well planned tattoos always look good on women.

i think a large backpiece always looks amazing on women, but i usually like the heavily tattooed look on girls, thats what im aiming for myself anyway. good strong pieces, not so much the whimsical fairy dust and black-and-grey-with-a-bit-of-color stuff.

hmm.... i think outer forearm was pretty pleasant, chad koeplinger did that one, same with my knees. they were ok, some nasty bits like with everything else but fairly ok. front and side of thighs are always a nice easy spot, ive not got the back of them done yet so not excited about that recounting my customers reactions but its all gotta get done at some point!

kinda sad my lower legs are complete i thought that was always an easy area to get done.

i think my backpiece still wins for the most painful spot, the whole area, i just couldnt find a sweet spot to relax at whatsoever. after that, has to be hands and feet, in that order. got my ribs done when i was younger so dont remember the pain, kinda fell asleep i got told, i dunno haha

yeah i do, i use the 1inch ones on my grips. ive been told about disposables, and have tried them even with rotaries but i really just dont get on with them.