Dan S

you're right, you are DEFINITELY not a tattooer.

Oh, man, did I violate some uber-hip protocol by saying "inked"? Hey-I'm SO sorry to use what is a common slang term in my area to denote the Art Of Tattooing.

And no, I'm definitely not a tattooist, but I've been around enough blocks enough times to have a pretty good idea of what's what.

Kool pic, but you might want to think about another spot for it. It's a l;ot of bull to put on your wrist! Try making a copy of it, and cutting it out along the lines, and puttting it where you think you want it. IF it fits, and looks okay, then you're good. If it looks funky, well, go to Plan B!

Any color in the rainbow is out there for you, as long as you can work with your artist to mix-up the one you want. As for artists, post up whatever city you're near, and I'm sure you'll get a whole raft of suggestions on good artists in the area.

Above all else, MAKE SURE!!!!!!! Damn, boy, your first tattoo...make sure it's what you want, make sure it's where you want, and make sure you'll be proud of it for a long, long time.

Welcome to LST, and welcome to your new addiction!

I'm not a tattooist. I have done many, many hand-tattoos, back in the day, everything from simple lettering to some pretty intricate stuff, and most of it wasn't too bad for the equipment-sometimes sharpened shoenails-that we had. But I have never used a "professional" machine.

I am, I guess, what some would call "heavily tattoed". I don't think I am, but let's just say when people ask how many tattoos I have, I say "one".

Shop owner, shop manager, tattooist. One can be all, all can be one, or each can do their own thing, as long as they know how. I know artists who couldn't manage a goldfish bowl, and managers who couldn't tattoo, so...

As long as someone who owns a shop respects the art, the artists and the customers, doesn't rip anyone off, and is straight on taking care of business, they should be all good. On the other hand, if someone buys a shop, or inherits a shop, or whatever, and is in is strictly for the money, I don't think they'll last long.

You know, I have ultimate respect for a good tattooist. I've watched and/or been worked on by the best, and to me, it is endlessly fascinating. I've also seen the scratchers, and warned people away from them. That said, an important part of the equation of who owns a shop, and how/why is it successful, is the customer.

Location isn't always everything.

Chicago Tattooing Co. is in what is now a fairly trendy neighborhood. You can still get your skull split right down to the pink-meat there, you just have to work at it a little harder. Back in the day, that same area was stone, hardcore ghetto. You took your life in your hands whenever you walked through, if you weren't a native. Just goes to show, it don't have to be in a great location, you just have to have great artists...and great customers who are willing to make the trip.

A tattooist can make it with $100 pieces of flash, especially if he is near a Naval Base, or a school, but to really get over, I would think you have to get past that and into the real art. That's where the good customers come in. You know, the ones that will sit still for 4, 5, 6 hours getting inked, often at multiple sittings, and not complain, not flinch, and not worry about the money.

Art for art's sake...but Art is usually a customer.

.02

Thanks Kyle. Thinking on it yesterday, I've been getting tattooed at Chicago Tattoo for 38 years now. Yeah, there was a break in there while I had kids, all that stuff, but I've got some more plans now.

I got my first work there from Dale Grande, and have one arm done almost completely by him, and my other arm sleeved by Miles Maniaci, when he was still working at Chicago Tattoo. He had to work around more of Dale's stuff, and while he was working on that, I watched Nick work on a steady stream of people, really liked his stuff.

Nick has been there for what, fifteen years, twenty years, something like that, but I never got any work from him until this last year. I always figured I'd have him do any trad style work I had done. No regrets. I can only recommend him to anyone that comes to Chicago.

Check out this chest piece, both by Nick Colella. Can't go wrong, the man has that Traditional thing going on!

This pic is from the Chicago Tattooing Company website, there are many more there and on Nicks site, which is linked from there.

And if that ain't enough, take a look at his Tumbler feed...

http://chicagosfavoritetattooer.tumblr.com/

Nothing "neo" here, just straight-up Traditional American tattoing done by the man I believe is one of the masters of the style today, Nick Colella of Chicago Tattooing Company. He laid this on me this afternoon in about three and a half hours.

Advice? Yeah, go get it lasered.

I can talk about all kinds of old-skool tattoo-removers, some even work to one degree or another...go over the tattooed lines with a needle and thread soaked in lemon juice. Repeat until gone. This will work with fairly fresh homemade tattoos, but I sure don't recommend it. Make a past of salt and water, and using a washcloth, rub it into the tattoo until it starts to bleed. Let it heal, and repeat. Continue thusly until you have a nice scar instead of a tattoo. Cigarettes. I put a pair of dice with a flourish under my name on my bicep when I was 16, it was the style in the "secure youth facility" I lived in, and it got cut later that night in a fight-turned into one big black blob when it healed. Puff a square till it's going good, then burn it into the tattoo until it feels like you're about to pass out. Continue. I went through five squares that way, and then peeled the scab as soon as it formed for a few months. It healed with no ink in it, but I had a nice gnarly scar for Dale Grande to tattoo over. I've seen the Patch of a certain well-known club in my area taken off of a few guys arms with a wire brush. That works well, too, but leaves a hella scar.

In other words, got to the laser doc and get it done right!

Bunny, my oldest is looking for a line-drawing of an old knuckle bobber. We're looking through my collection of Easyriders for it, and I realize, the collection stops in 1984 or 5. When they sold that mag, imho, yeah, it just became another softcore porno book. Bikes that don't get rid, builders that just slap parts together, 900 numbers (do they still have those?!), and nekkid wimmens.

Nothing to do with motorsickles at all.

If you're a big enough square to get upset by the presence of a Playboy, you probably shouldn't be getting tattooed. Then again, I don't think there are a whole lot of "classy" shops that would leave a Playboy or any other porno jawn out for a customer to read.

I wouldn't be "upset" about the presence of any mag, but I'd question the shop-owners professionalism. Here ya go-I'm taking my 14 y.o. daughter with me this Friday when I go in to get some work done. Do I want her to have to look at a Hustler laying out in the open? No. do I want some skeezix reading Hustler and looking at my daughter? No-I'd rather not spend the night in Cook County Jail after I break his sticks.

Porn doesn't upset me in any way, and I couldn't care less if the private areas of a shop are covered in it, but it has no place out in the open in a business. ANY business. Another poster talked about his barber. Hell, my barber had mags in the backroom too-Esquire was about the hottest thing going then, but even in a business that caters primarily to men, you don't leave porn laying around out in the open.

That said, different strokes for different folks. Literally. If I went into a shop to get some work done, and saw hardcore laying on the table, I'd walk out. But that's just me. I want my work to be done in a clean, professional shop, not someplace where the vibe is "let's burn one off and dig the latest "Big up Front" while we wait for some sucker to come get scratched." Might be harsh, but that's how I'd see it.

If I saw a Playboy on a table in the waiting room, I'd just shine it on. If I saw a Hustler, I'd probably split. I mean, it's a business, right? Even the Playboy is pushing it. I'm not a prude, hey, do what you like, but I don't think that stuff has any place out in public.

That's great, Nick. I remember reading an interview with Ed Hardy about 20 years ago (in the old Modern Primitives book) in which he talks about the shame that's been heaped on a lot of old guys for having tattoos. He said that he always approaches them, compliments them on their tattoos, and asks who did them. That really stuck with me, and I'm happy to hear that you're doing the same.

HEY! Just saw this...I'm not an old guy, honest, just a coupla young guys stacked together in the same body! Those three pieces in the first post are my first few tattoos.

What can I say, got strung-out on ink again. Got a spot booked with Nick at noon this coming Friday, we been going back n forth by e-mail, and he found the exact sheet of flash I remembered from when Cliff Raven owned CTC. Twisted it around a bit, and should be able to do it in one sitting Friday. This is gon be a chest piece, "seated eagle" with roses and banners, all my kids names on it.

In other words, fairly large.

Can't say enough about Nick's work. Anyone that has any interest in traditional American-style tattooing owes themselves some time in his chair!

That's looking to be a frkn killer backpiece, Travis.

CAPT

R.I.P. Captain Don.

Minor correction...

Motorcycle CLUBS.

Thanks for clarifying that-I appreciate.

Way I see it is that it's their opinion till they try to force it on me...and then whatever happens is on them.

My thirteen week long drought is ending tomorrow with back piece session numero ocho, courtesy of Jay Cavna and one of his bi-weekly Immaculate appearances. I know he gots some good colors waiting for me.

Best-o-luck and happy inking!

i'll admit it up front... i am as close minded as anyone you can imagine, when it comes to tolerating ignorance, predjudice, and/or bigotry of any kind. if someone thinks getting a sex change is dangerous, it's no different to them thinking it's dangerous to marry a person of another race/nationality, or dangerous to associate with someone of a different religious background (because, of course, they're a heathen), or even dangerous to get tattoo (which obvoiusly always leads to a life of crime, crippling addiction, and rejection of any sense of good).

however, as long as someone isn't coming from a place of misguided, uneducated ignorance and/or hate, i'm more open minded than just about anyone you'll meet.

You are taking what I said a bit far. Let me try it this way...

I live near Madison, Wisconsin, which is about as "liberal" as a place can be. Thing is, if you don't gt in line with whatever the partei line is, you're obviously a dangerous person.

My one and only point is that Hunter has a right to his opinion, whether or not anyone feels that that opinion is valid.

And just a note, the person I mentioned who had the sex-change operation is my cousin...and my friend.

We don't all have to think alike, just as we don't all have to be tattooed alike. We just have to recognize the rights of others to think as they wish, as long as they aren't interfering with anyone elses rights.

If his wife doesn't mind, well, that's pretty much the end of the story.

I grew up with a guy, a real badass gangbanger, ended up going into the Marines, came out, really a rough piece of bidness.

Then one day he sent me a pic of himself in a wig and a formal, and announced that he was a man trapped in a woman's body. A few years later, he did the Thailand trip and made it official.

She's still a badass, and can throw down with the best of them if need be, but also every bit the Lady when left alone. Who am I to judge?

It ain't my trip, and I don't understand it, but hey-there it is.

One thing I would like to point out is that there is no group of people who are as judgemental as those who pride themselves on their open minds. I don't agree with Hunter, but hey-it's his opinion, and he's got a right to it just as much as anyone else has a right to theirs.

But as we say round here, "never trust a guy with a naked face and no tattoos!"

As an ancient guy, I've seen the tattooing "scene" go from sailors, bikers, and cons to yuppies, buppies, and everyone else. And that's kool, but it's major different to me.

I've had the chance to go to some conventions, but passed on them. I'm not into crowd scenes, and for me, tattooing has always been about a connection betwixt me and the person putting the needles to me. I just couldn't walk up to a booth and sit down for a piece, no matter how famous or hip the tattoo artist was.

I wanted to get a tattoo at Wat Bang Phra near Bangkok a few years back, something I had wanted to do for quite awhile. got there, got in line, and left.

Oh, I watched for a few hours, but somehow, even though the vibe was excellent, and the work was a real trip, the idea of sharing the needle and ink with, oh, maybe a thousand other people in a country where the HIV rate is about 4% of the population convinced me to pass.

It was the ultimate tattoo convention, but what can I say, I'm just an old-fashioned country boy.

Everything is relative...the man could just be tattooing exactly what the customer asked for. That said, if I walked into his shop and saw the work on that facebook page, I wouldn't let him anywhere near me. Guess I'm old-fashioned, but I just can't get behind that style of work.

I used to admin a couple forums that had the "like/dislike" feature, and turned it off on both of 'em. Too much argifying.

As far as liking tattoos goes, man...WAY too subjective! I've seen pix of tattoos on here that I think are absolutely Number One, and I've seen some that I wouldn't put on a yellow dog...but that's just MY view of 'em. To someone else, they are most probably the hottest thing going. It's kinda like my kids. My oldest came home with a piece I really didn't care for. Technically it was well done, the artistry was there, but it just wasn't my taste. Given that, I don't think it's my place to tell someone else that their tattoo sucks!

I like to troll the galleries, and I "like" the pieces I like.

Hey Andy, howyadoin?! You don't hafta say much, buy give yerself some props-post up some pix of your work!

And welcome to LST.

People used to talk about "tattoo fever"...of course, that was back in the days before BBP precautions, so it could have been actual fevers and/or infections, but I would tend to go along with what Jokno says as quoted above.

I try to drink a sodapop or two during a session, and make sure I eat before and after-seems to help. Actually, my family has a little ritual when one of us gets tattooed. We stop at a Pho shop and scarf up a big bowl, then after the session is over, we stop and get some dogs. Might not do anything, but it's a good excuse to eat!

Check this out...

The Ugly Truth About Canadian Health Care by David Gratzer, City Journal Summer 2007