Buster Cleveland

Glad to have found this thread, if a little late. Kudos for the start! I'm talking with Kore Flatmo now, hoping to bring a snake project online soon. Going with a rattlesnake, draped around the neck like a necklace. So, it's all snakes all the time right now.

The name's Plissken!

William Yoneyama knows how to lay down a snake or two.

Nathan Kostechko

Stoney Knows How- a great piece of tattoo history and the life of an amazing character
Amazon.com: Stoney Knows How: Life As a Sideshow Tattoo Artist (9780764318320): Alan B. Govenar: Books

Hello, all. I've been following Last Sparrow for some time. Great bunch of people here, and loads of great interviews- my fav. Because of one of those interviews I found the amazing Kore and Brenda Flatmo of Plura Bella Tattoo in Cincinnati, Ohio. What a stroke of luck they were within my traveling distance, and over the course of last year I got sleeved by Kore, and best of all, got to know a fantastic bunch of folks. I really couldn't ask for better. I'll post pics of that sleeve soon as I look about and see where.
I've been fairly obsessed with tattoos and tattooing for about four years, now, and it only seems to be getting worse, lol. What else? Worked for ten years in a fabricating art shop, which sadly went under during the recession, but gave me a decade of sculpting, painting, welding, molding- you name it, and a hell of a lot of laughs and hard work. Still at it and loving it in my home shop, producing prop replicas for the cosplay set (another great group of people who take fun seriously), painting and sculpting for my own weirdness and, of course, Halloween. I'm headed back to Kore and Crew this spring for another round. Working hard and doing my thing.
Just watched the interview with Phil Kyle, which was great fun. Am I aspiring? Damn straight. Thanks for everything.:D

Hello, all. I've been following Last Sparrow for some time. Great bunch of people here, and loads of great interviews- my fav. Because of one of those interviews I found the amazing Kore and Brenda Flatmo of Plura Bella Tattoo in Cincinnati, Ohio. What a stroke of luck they were within my traveling distance, and over the course of last year I got sleeved by Kore, and best of all, got to know a fantastic bunch of folks. I really couldn't ask for better. I'll post pics of that sleeve soon as I look about and see where.
I've been fairly obsessed with tattoos and tattooing for about four years, now, and it only seems to be getting worse, lol. What else? Worked for ten years in a fabricating art shop, which sadly went under during the recession, but gave me a decade of sculpting, painting, welding, molding- you name it, and a hell of a lot of laughs and hard work. Still at it and loving it in my home shop, producing prop replicas for the cosplay set (another great group of people who take fun seriously), painting and sculpting for my own weirdness and, of course, Halloween. I'm headed back to Kore and Crew this spring for another round. Working hard and doing my thing.
Just watched the interview with Phil Kyle, which was great fun. Am I aspiring? Damn straight. Thanks for everything.:D

It seems we all have different experiences of tattoos, different reasons why, and different emotional connections too. What's your story?
I first started seeing tattoos as a child, I grew up in Belfast in the middle of the war, and all the kids in school were getting tattoos supporting various terrorist organisations. There were a lot of skin heads in the city back then, and they usually had Nazi tattoos or tattoos relating to other terrorist organisations so tattoos were probably looked down on there more than in any other culture at the time.
I had some family friends, older guys who were in the merchant navy that had old school tattoos, collected on their journeys. They seemed mysterious and wise, and I wanted to be just like them.
When I was about 13 my cousins took me to a local bar where all the bikers and punks hung out. That was my first experience with booze and marijuana, and I was amazed at all of the tattoos on display. It was the first time I experienced a large group of people who were tattooed, and who were "cool".
The fighting was pretty bad at this stage,. Belfast had no night clubs, just a few safe bars, and only 1 tattoo artist. There were no concerts, no festivals or conventions and it was not unusual to have 10 or 20 bomb explosions in the one day.
You either got tattooed by school friends using Indian ink and needles, or you went to a guy called skull, who scared the life out of all of us.When I finally got the courage to go, in front of me was an american soldier who was HUGE. He fainted and slipped of the chair when the needle touched his skin, and I was up next, nervous and shaking.
I walked out of skulls with the same eagle tattoo that Richard Gere sported in An Officer and a Gentleman, and I felt like the coolest guy in town. I do not remember feeling prouder, as I strolled through Belfast city centre, my shirt rolled up and my tattoo on display. I was 16 and I felt like the king of the world.
10 years later I got that eagle covered with tribal, and its the biggest regret I have. I am having the tribal removed, and hopefully, somewhere below we will find the remains of the eagle, which I hope, will fly again.