nmkcle

My first tattoo at a shop, I was 21. I walked near closing time, for a large stomach tattoo. I didn't know any better at the time. So I was quickly informed of my stupidity and quoted a high

price. Which I said I would pay. The point I am trying to make, is no body was trying to be my friend, or give me great customer service and they should not have to. All anyone should expect walking in to a tattoo shop is a good clean tattoo. After that tattoo I went back for more, and more. Years later I started tattooing, and I still get tattooed at that shop. I actually may be leaving the shop I am at now because I have a job interview there on Monday. I just feel like a shop should look appealing(good work, clean) but be some what intimidating at the same time. That way people don't ask you if they can do dumb shit while they are getting tattooed. I hate those situations, I always feel awkward being the voice of reason. And I always feel like they can read on my face, me cursing them in my head.

That was pretty interesting. Short, but informative. I am with Ursala on the hearing loss thing. The owner at the shop I work at runs some old swing gate machines, to which name I shall not reveal. And I have to walk to the other side of the shop because the noise they make turns my stomach. Seriously it makes me feel ill. Just imagine what it does to an ear drum.

Is the article about physical or mental health? I feel like at times it can be mentally draining as well.

Just have whomever has been tattooing you decide. If you are undecided. He or she would probably have the best input and maybe have a better idea of your taste. But stars and dots are always a good filler.

I am so stoked about this. Been saving money from last Summer when I heard it might possibly happen. Dave Maynard Tattooed the top of my hand and mentioned in conversation.

Very excited. The roster looks awesome.

Art fuel, Sarah Peacock does really nice fine art like tattoos. Really any one at that shop does nice work.

Hey man, Its Nathan... we work together.

Contestant:

Ink or paint flash, Build/ assemble machines, make needles, make pigment and then do a clean tattoo. In less than what ever ridiculous time constraint they give you. Then you are #1

INK MASTER !!! Until then it is just people doing there job on television. They really should have people do stuff pertinent to the trade; but not show it on television. I wonder if they made a reality show about grocery store baggers if people would watch it. Like who could bag the most items in a minute. Paper or plastic. Have not really watched the show though, I know

Shane O'neill won and that guys work is awesome. I don't think either way on this show, good, bad whatever. If any one has ever seen Louis C.K.'s stand up about "white people problems",

spending time hating what you decide to watch or not watch on T.V. could be one of them.

I heard that Cindy Ray put a book out in her prime that was kind of a do's and don'ts of tattooing. I always find stuff like that interesting and I really want that book. Does anyone have it or know if they come up at all? Any info would be cool. On the same note The Jensen book that came out a few years ago is awesome, and the lost art book is pretty cool too.

They all hurt. I tell any one getting any serious torso work that it is a commitment, and they will be enduring a great deal more pain then most common spots on the limbs. I do not agree with anyone taking pills, or any kind of numbing agent before getting tattooed. I feel you are robbing yourself of the pride you can feel having earned every hour in the chair. I almost always have a beer afterwards though. Yes I agree, the upper side meat hurts.

I think a lot of the people illegitimately tattooing in Florida are tattooing strictly for the all mighty dollar. The one person quoted as saying ''The only way to pay my fines for tattooing is by doing more tattoos" .Or they could get another job. If you strive to keep doing better, cleaner work and your work is your focus, you will become better and money will be their when you need it. It is a privilege have some one ask you to adorn their body, not a way to make a quick buck. I hope those laws weed out people who are in it for the wrong reason. And I

agree with Ursala, that rework still looked bad.

I agree with time and place in regards to when you should cover up. I think a lot of the younger generation ( of which I am still a part of, just a bit older) feel this need to have attention getting, or job stopping tattoos. Yes many people have tattoos now, yes many people who don't have tattoos still think people that have tattoos are criminals and drug addicts. I have this discussion at least once a day at the shop when some young kid asks me to tattoo his neck or hands and has little to no tattoos else wear. If you have other space to fill, fill that first. People who aren't tattooed don't understand nor do they care, why or how we commit to adorning ourselves the way we do. And it does not really matter as long as the person getting tattooed understands they will be viewed differently. We had a shop apprentice who had his face tattooed . We did not do it. He told me that when he walked in to get it done he did not realize how different his life would be. The next day he went to the store and he said it was like he entered a whole new world. every one starring some out of awe, some out of fear.I think it's a good example, all though extreme to put things into perspective. If you get tattoos on public skin people will have some thing to say about it. So be prepared to let it roll of your shoulder and deal with it.

I think any large scale Thomas Hooper work is mind boggling. Especially the large pattern work. I find my self wondering how many times was the stencil laid? How many stencils? If their were several stencil what parts did he draw in? And then once you have all that on, just make the lines right? Seriously amazing stuff.

This is not a story about the first tattoo I saw, rather a story about the first tattooed person I saw. I was 15 busting suds at some restaurant, trying to move my way up through the ranks, so anything the Executive Chef needed I was on it. This guy was pretty laid back though. He would have me do stuff like wait at the back door for his weed dude to come and shit like that. So this guy was always long sleeved chef jacket buttoned to the top, always in uniform when he arrived.

One day I am waiting for his weed guy, and he goes back to check on me, and notices this dumbass looking stick and poke tattoo I have on my arm. First tattoo, that is another story.

So he's like" What the hell is that?" And I go on to explain to him how cool I think I am cause I have this dumb tattoo. So he asks me if I like tattoos and I'm like "yeah dude" obviously I have this sweet tattoo. So he motions me to the bathroom and starts unbuttoning his jacket, removes his shirt and the guy has an almost complete body suit. I could not believe it I was dumb founded. My jaw was on the floor. I remember at the time it was Asian influenced, so with what I know now I would say it was probably Japanese inspired. I remember a dragon and a demon looking thing, lots of black. It was insane looking. That day really influenced my life and my path. Really cool experience for me. I just wanted to share when I saw this thread.

i forgot but at some point Inny left and came to work at the Pinup Parlour too. Wow you do have quite the resume.

I love reading about this stuff. Who worked for who, when, and just the whole lineage. I have a small art collection, Chris Conn is on my short list of work I would like to own. Cool

stuff guys thanks for sharing.

I just read all this. It's a wind up, isn't it? How to price a tattoo and deal with customers is stuff you learn before you even learn how to make a stencil.

However if this is serious, decide what the work is worth to you and if the other person doesn't think it's worth the same, that's ok, don't take it personal, maybe they're naive, maybe they're ignorant, or maybe they just can't afford it. If thgere is a sign on the door saying open for business, people are entitled to come in and try to do business.

Having a sign prominentley displayed stating the shop minimum and some examples of what you can expect for that minimum is a big help, for the customer and for the person who is selling the tattoos.

I don't want to insult ya by going any farther on this because I know you have been around a while.

Also, I'm not on here to tell anyone how to run a tattoo shop so they can open one up.

Most of the talk on here is art criticism, or how to heal up tattoos, what's in, what's out, who's cool, etc...and some of it is very interesting stuff, seriously.

I will say that a lot of the more artistic people are in the ha'penny place compared to the scratchers when it comes to hustle and street smarts.

If one man's niche is doin $20 tattoos ina basement and anothers is doing $200 an hour bodysuits, thats fine by me. It means there's a tattoo out there for everybody, and everyone can have a tattoo if they want one.

And before anyone forgets........Mike Roper tattooed in his bedroom for years, Filip Leu tattooed on the beach, Paulo Sulu'ape tattooed in a hut, Freddie Corbin tattooed in his apartment. And many of the tattooers the people on here look up to started out in their kitchens. And many of them tattooed cheap, or for free. Yea, freee, swallow that one whole.

For many of them, their first introduction to tattooing was getting tattooed by friends in their basements.

So, before we go demonising the "scratchers", getting tattooed on the cheap in a basement, kitchen or garage is just as valid as getting tattooed in a longhouse in Borneo. It probably costs about the same, has similar sterilisation, and the lines are probably equally shakey. Not to mention the spiritual/cultural/rite of passage significance of a ghetto kid getting a ghetto tattoo in a ghetto tattoo shop. At a ghetto price.

None of this is intended as a defence for idiots doing shit tattoos cheap or for arteests doing average tattoos at extortionate prices. It's just me saying that much as I can hustle, tattooing isn't a business for me, it's a practice and if I can pay my bills living this way, then that's a privilege and an honour. And a blessing. I'm grateful that I have a bit of talent and a bit of hustle. I take pride in my profession and I don't sell it short, especially not for money. I hate to not tattoo someone, but sometimes the tattoo they want isn't the tattoo they can afford, and I don't mean only in monetary terms, sometimes the persons ego is a bit big and they think they deserve more than the are entitled to. The same goes for the tattooers.

Anyway, I'm sick of typing, it's not my thing.

Well said, I totally agree with the right of passage thing.

I mean just break down why we charge what we charge. It ends up being more then what they say their friend in the house can do it for but for good reason. I was jreffering to what I mentioned earlier about people saying their dude tattoos in his house and will do it for this much.

What I have done in some instance is explain that the shop take this much we take what is left, we pay for such and such. So we end up making a little more then your friend in the house but offer a better quality tattoo and piece of mind through sterility. Believe it or not sometimes it works.

I blame the availability of poor equipment.Anyone who has ever been told they drew a good picture picking up machines and setting up shop in their homes.

The shop I work at is in the ghetto and there's a lot of "my dude do it for fifty'' Most of the time we tell them to beat it, except around the holidays when its dead. Ha.

No we tell them to beat then too.

Wow that is smoooooth.

I was trying to be nice but I liked your approach better.

Hey,

I am new to tattooing as well. All though it has been around me my whole adult and young adult life. Until three years ago I did not really have the time to give the craft the obedience

and diligence it deserves. Now just this past summer being out of the so called apprentice stage of learning. I find myself still wanting to be more thoroughly taught and practiced.

You will find yourself feeling the same way if you don't slow your roll. Take time learning about composition, Light source, the use of black and its powers of longevity. Then when you feel

you have a handle on that. Learn about your tools you use to create. It is an awesome journey to begin just be sure you are well prepared.

Make yourself draw every day. Even if only to copy images of others. If it is some thing you enjoy do it art in any form can be therapeutic. As far as drawing straight lines, try drawing some art Nouveau type images, (Beardsley, Mucha) The lines are a lot more curved and asymmetrical rather than straight, but it will help you to keep the pencil on the paper.

Last but not least, you can always take drawing classes at your local community college.

Good Luck!

I took photography in high school with a cannon ae-1, and a little in college using the same and a nikon n65 which has manual mode. I waited about six years after high school to do college and was really excited to get into photography again. After quitting school do to tuition costs, I kept with photography as a hobby I really enjoyed. But slowly every store i would go to would have less and less in the way of film. And since I was not in school anymore I could not use the dark room.

Last year my friend and I were going to get a dark room together at my place, as she had the enlarger, canisters, tubs, splicer thingy and other crap. I had the space, however things proved to be difficult when it came to purchasing developer, and different

speeds of film, pretty much the only thing that we could find was Kodak technicolor 400. whooopy... I was an amateur at best, but I really enjoyed the whole mechanical process involved in it.

In my booth at the shop, all the daily duties appointments and so on are written on a Man Ray calender, I like his work, film, photo, photo montage; and I want a reminder to always look for an opportunity to continue to pursue photography. And yes we are on the verge of losing history. I started tattooing three years ago and I found one person who knew enough about making needles to show me. I had to beg, I know of five other people who know how to make needles.

The "Multiple Sessions" thread got me thinking about tattoos and healing plus my own trying to heal my elbow ditch right now. For those who don't know the elbow "ditch" is the inside of your arm where it bends so the tattoo/skin is always rubbing with almost every movement all day even as you sleep as well as I type right now. I wake up to the sheets and pillows having blood spots, god knows how many sheets I've ruined over the years from getting tattooed. I can only imagine back tattoos multiply this sheet process. A constant waking up in the morning pealing the sheets away. Anywho, I'll enjoy that when the time comes...

So what are the most difficult spots you've had to deal with in the healing process of getting tattooed. Also for tattooers, what are the spots you notice heal the worst due to their potentially difficult healing process due to location? Do you take the healing process in mind when you lay a stencil on too so the less intricate parts are in these locations? Lastly from me for now, anyone got any tricks they use when healing potentially difficult spots while they sleep or elsewhere? I've been trying to sleep with my arm straight which keeps me waking very often so don't think it's much of a trick, ha.

I am currently having my back worked on and will unwrap it a few hours after and, wash and apply Aquaphor then rewrap it before bed. I keep my back stock supplies at home so I always have the dri locs from Lucky's supply on hand. But for any one who doesn't and would want to try this method maybe offer to buy a few from the artist if he or she is using them. They always work for me.