Tattooed cosmetics have been around for quite some time now and many women choose to have this done in order to save time and…well, I’m not really sure what other reasons that someone might have for doing this.  I don’t wear makeup so I’m not much help in this field.  But apparently, aside from tattooed cosmetics there are also tattooed eyebrows which also seem to be quite popular with some women, especially in the Philippines.

Unfortunately, tattooed eyebrows are still a rather iffy proposition for many more women.  Stories about women not liking the end results of their tattooed eyebrows or horrible allergic reactions from the ink used are often circulated, making those who are interested in the procedure quickly change their minds.

But recently, a new form of eyebrow tattooing in Quezon City, Philippines is attracting a lot of attention from eyebrow seeking women.  The new procedure, called Feather Eyebrow Tattoo, uses organic ink (from Korea!) and creates the look of a natural eyebrow, complete with even hairs. The old tattoo method simply leaves a solid block of colour in place of the eyebrow.  Perhaps I’m oversimplifying the procedure, but if you’re interested in learning more about it, you can check out the information here.

Hey, I’m all for people getting whatever they want done to their bodies, but what I don’t get is unless your eyebrows were scorched off in a fire or an explosion of some sort, why not just keep them instead of shaving them off and drawing them back on?  There’s this lady who shops at my local supermarket and she shaves off her brows and then paints them back on with some sort of red makeup.  The end result is nothing short of horrible.  She looks like Ronald McDonald.  I just don’t get it.

In 1950, The People’s Republic of China invaded the autonomous nation of Tibet.  The arrival of communist China brought with it great hardships for the Tibetan people and in particular for Tibetan Buddhism, which the PRC views to this day as a threat to China’s power and control.  Since 1950, China has commit a virtual genocide of the Tibetan people and systematic destruction of its culture.  Exiled and revered Tibetan spiritual leader Tenzin Gyatso (better known as the Dalai Lama) fled his native Tibet in 1959 to India.  Even today images of the Dalai Lama are strictly forbidden in China and despite crack-downs that involve arrest, torture and murder, many Tibetans still resist what they feel to be the occupation of their country.

In 2008, I visited Dharamsala, India, the home of the Dalai Lama and of many Tibetan refugees.  While I was there I didn’t see many tattoos, but I did meet a continuous stream of some of the kindest, most honest and sincere people that I’ve ever met in my entire life.  Though I have long been aware of the situation for Tibetans who oppose the Chinese occupation of Tibet, I was not aware that yes, tattoos actually do play a role in the lives of many of the Tibetan political prisoners and activists alike.  From images of items used in Tibetan Buddhism like the swastika – which incidentally was in use as a symbol of purity for thousands of years before the Nazis stole it and degraded it with their filth – to the endless knot, to words like Rangzen, which in Tibetan means “Independence”, Tibetans are tattooed and they’re taking a risk for it.  In this video you’ll see an interview with a Tibetan political prisoner who served 5 years for writing about and encouraging Tibetan independence.  He shows off his tattoo and explains the significance behind it as well as speaking of other tattoos Tibetans have that serve to resist the Chinese occupation.

What I find very interesting about all this is that resisting the Chinese government is one act that can and will land Tibetans in trouble.  Add to this being tattooed with the sentiments that these Tibetans are espousing and the danger level increases.  While I watched the video, I considered the versatility of tattoos and the dedication involved with being tattooed in Tibet, which can result in so much more than simply being refused a job or viewed as an unsavory element of society.  It literally can be the difference between freedom and prison or life and death.

Jeff Gogue is a busy guy.  A quick trip to his website will reveal that his tattoo skills are in such high demand that for the time being he is no longer taking any more clients on.  According to Gogue’s website:

“Jeff is currently not accepting new clients. We have shut down all emails due to the overwhelming number of tattoo requests. All apologies for any inconvenience/dissapointments, but the guy needs a break.”

Naturally, it’s completely understandable.  When you have something that people really want, sometimes you just need to slow things down a bit in order to have some breathing room.  The man’s not a machine.  At the same time, however, it’s easy to see why Jeff Gogue is in such demand.  He’s a very talented artist who’s interested in more than just the straightforward technical aspects of his craft.

Jeff began tattooing professionally in 2000 and in just ten years time he’s managed to really churn out some truly impressive work.  Reading Jeff’s bio and seeing his portfolio, I was struck by how honest he is, both in his work and in his approach to life.  There’s a sincerity about him that translates to an artist who truly cares about his customers and the work that he does.  Weird, considering that I’ve never even met the guy before, but then again, maybe that’s why his work is so sought after: you can’t fake the sort of honesty.  It’s etched into skin and passed on through excellent word of mouth.

Even though Jeff isn’t currently taking any more clients, there’s still potential to meet up with him this fall when he leaves Grants Pass, Oregon for brief stints in Massachusetts.  From September 12th-14th he’ll be at Off The Map Tattoo in Easthampton and from September 16th-19th, he’ll be taking part in the Paradise Artist Retreat in Hanock.

This week I’ve talked a lot about tattoo artists not being given the proper recognition deserved, in terms of being viewed as artists.  Well don’t worry, I’m not going to keep harping on about that here, I’m pretty sure you get the message anyway.  But I did find something pretty interesting today when I was digging through the vaults.

Before I say anything more, I need to say that Texas is – as far as I’m concerned – something of a mecca when it comes to the tattoo industry.  Austin in particular is practically bursting with hordes of amazing tattoo artists and tattoo studios.  It’s pretty unreal how easy it is to find a ridiculously talented tattooist in the Lone Star State, no doubt.

So why then, would Texas possibly be considering taxing tattoo artists in order to help cover the state’s $18-billion dollar deficit?  Well, I guess that it could be for one of two reasons: 1. Because the state of Texas is aware of how much potential revenue that tattoo studios are capable of bringing in, and they want some of that cash, or 2. Tattoos are unfortunately viewed as a somewhat frivolous form of cosmetic surgery.  I don’t think that I’m exaggerating on that last point either; the proposed tax includes tattoos, piercings and tans.  Tans?  Yup, under the new tax fake-baking would apparently be considered on the same level as tattooing.  That’s pretty lame.

“…Adam Warner, a tattoo artist at Pumping Ink in northeast El Paso, said what he creates is really art and should not be subject to a sales tax.

“You know they’re not buying a good, they’re buying a piece of art,” said Warner. “How do you tax a piece of art?”

He said a sales tax could also dissuade potential customers from getting tattoos and hurt his business.

“These people work hard for their money,” said Warner. “We pay plenty of taxes to the government already.”‘

I’m also curious to see what happens if this new tax does go through.  Yes, it will probably affect artist’s business, but will it also mean that some tattoo artists will head for somewhere else?  Somewhere that doesn’t tax its artists?  Hmmm…hard to say, but if that did happen, then Texas would surely be making a big mistake.

Maybe it’s because I’ve been on the look out for it more often, but lately it sure seems like tattoo artists are really beginning to make a move to get tattooing and tattoos synonymous with art in general.  Call me crazy, but it seems like there were a few years there where tattoos really took off into the mainstream but never really were able to go the full distance in terms of respect for the art form.  If that really was the case, then it wasn’t a bad situation at all.  From what I can see, it’s a step by step process: tattooing hit the mainstream and has been around in the mainstream for long enough now to prove that it’s not just some gimmicky hobby.  All together now: this is art.

I don’t want to keep hitting people over the head with that concept because chances are that if you read this blog, then you’re already well aware of the fact there are far too many tattoo artists to name that have serious artistic skills.  But there are those out there who have no idea of such a thing and the sooner those people realize it, the sooner the outdated ideas about tattoo art are killed off for good.

So it’s really cool to see that tattooist Chris Earl and a group of other various tattoo artists have compiled a collage of their work in Augusta, Georgia to present to Augusta’s Mayor, Deke Copenhaver.  In addition to putting great art directly into the hands of Augusta’s “top-brass”, the gift helps to promote this weekend’s Tattoo Expo in Augusta.

The art below isn’t by one of the artists that contributed work to the Mayor’s collage, it’s just by a damn amazing artist, who also happens to be a favourite of mine.  I’ll spare you the gushing over the Grime Monster’s ability (go here for more gushing), but I just thought a post about talented artists needed a fine example.  Well, here you go. That’s art, folks.

When opportunity strikes, you can’t ignore it.  I was trying to decide on what to blog about today when I came across this article by Oakland Tribune columnist Dave Newhouse.  At the start of this past May, Newhouse had written a column about tattoos and his general disdain for them and the people who have them.  At one point he even pointed out that in his opinion, having full-body tattoos makes a person look like “a freak”.

There’s plenty of this sort of attitude about tattoos out there, but when someone like Newhouse gets quite firmly called out on his less than fully formed opinions and as a result actually devotes a column to proving that he was wrong about people with tattoos, well that needs to be brought to the attention of the ever faithful Tattoo Blog readership.

As I previously said, Newhouse wrote his anti-tattoo piece and when the article appeared online, it was accompanied by a photo of a woman having a back tattoo done.  The woman was Oakland resident Tanya Scalzo, who was being tattooed by her husband Dominick, owner of Dragon’s Lair Tattoo in Oakland.  The photo hadn’t been taken for Newhouse’s article, in fact it had been used for a previous article (written by someone other than Newhouse), which had cast a more positive light on tattooing.  When Tanya read Newhouse’s article and realized that her photo was included as an example of a tattooed “freak”, she was understandably very upset.

But Tanya didn’t just cry and try to forget about the entire incident.  Instead she contacted Newhouse via email, wanting an apology.

“When Tanya saw the column and photo, she broke down in tears, then e-mailed me, pointing out that “what’s on my skin does not make me a freak.” And she wanted an apology — from somebody.”

“I try to do the right thing every day, to promote positives,” said Tanya, 34. “I’m a mom, a wife, and a nurse at Nightingale Nursing, which sends me out to people’s homes, mostly elders, to take care of them.”

Furthermore, the tattoo on Tanya’s back that was included in Newhouse’s article was of Tanya and Dominick’s 11-year-old daughter.

Well Dave Newhouse, I hope you learned a little something throughout all this. I mean, let’s face it: you royally stuffed your foot in your mouth on this one.  Hopefully you realized that you can’t go making sweeping generalizations and/or judgements about people just because you don’t agree with or understand their way of life.  You don’t have to love tattoos or even like them, but now that you’ve taken the time to actually educate yourself a little about a couple of people with tattoos, maybe you can understand that a body covered with ink is no less human than one that isn’t.

The Man is always trying to keep folks down. Reluctance to accept tattoos into mainstream society is nothing new and at this point, it’s no secret that all of us – from the tattoo artist to the tattoo virgin contemplating their first tattoo – are already completely familiar with the language (read: excuses) used by the powers that be to try and nudge tattoos back toward the fringes.

A perfect example of this is the case of Redondo Beach, California resident and tattoo artist Johnny Anderson. Tired of his tattoo shop Yer Cheat’n Heart Tattoo being located too far from his home and in a less than desirable area of Gardena, Anderson decided in 2006 that he wanted to move to a vacant storefront in Hermosa Beach. In a perfect world this wouldn’t have been a problem, but unfortunately, we don’t live in one of those. Anderson’s request to move Yer Cheat’n Heart to Hermosa Beach was turned down on the basis that Hermosa Beach does not permit tattoo studios within its city limits. Apparently city officials in Hermosa Beach consider tattooing to be a risk to the public’s health and welfare.

Johnny Anderson however, disagrees. After being denied the opportunity to open his business, he took the case to federal court, suing for what he says is a violation of his First Amendment right to exercise artistic expression. This was back in 2008 and unfortunately for Anderson, he lost the case when the judge ruled that Anderson’s complaint was “not sufficiently imbued with elements of communication” in order to merit consideration as a matter of his constitutional rights being denied.

This past May, Anderson was back in the court room once again, fighting for his right to tattoo where he wants.

“…some constitutional law scholars predict the outcome could be different in what would be the first — and potentially precedent-setting — federal appellate decision on whether the tattoo artist is engaged in First Amendment-protected activity when designing and applying custom tattoos.”

It’s a long, uphill battle and maybe Johnny Anderson won’t be able to overturn the outdated laws and states of mind that keep tattoo artists out on the fringes.  But in the end, regardless of the outcome, this just seems to me like further proof that tattoo artists can and should confront the limitations imposed upon them and their art by society.

Something’s gotta give.

After a while of looking at Katja Ramirez’ excellent online tattoo portfolio, I found that Katja’s work began to remind me of those great pop-up books from when I was a kid.  Not that the artwork is childlike in any way, but more that the work of Katja Ramirez tends to jump right out at you.  I’m serious.  Some of her sleeve works are unreal.  They’re so rich in colour and they have a real fluidity to them, which just so happens to make my eyes buldge.  Katja Ramirez does nice work.  Real nice, like.

For the past 13-years, Ramirez has been working as a tattoo artist.  She’s originally from Montreal, Quebec, which is in Canada, and her 13 years of tattooing brought her from one city to another until settling for the time being in Austin, Texas at Perfection Tattoo.  At Perfection, Ramirez tattoos alongside Carlos Truans and Chris Treviño, so there’s little wonder as to why word on the street has it that Perfection is living up to its name.

Back to Katja: Katja Ramirez is an awesome tattoo artist.  Check her out.  And incase you’re looking for more (and I know that you are), here’s an interview and plenty of nice tattoo photos of Katja’s.

When the going gets tough, the tough get creative.  Or so it seems.  This past March, after Ocean City, Maryland City Manager Dennis Dare decided that the city’s local tattoo shop, Independent Tattoo wasn’t family oriented enough to advertise on the back of the city’s buses, shop manager Tasha Nilsen and crew decided to take their advertising campaign in another direction.

As a result of an Independent Tattoo customer’s suggestion, Nilsen decided to take the exact same advertisement that the shop had intended to place on the back of the city’s buses, shrink it down to 12 by 18-inch and put it on magnets that can be affixed to any vehicle.  Word of the magnet advertising campaign quickly spread amongst friends and clients alike, leading to numerous people sticking a magnet or two on to their vehicles.  Now that the popularity and demand has grown, Independent Tattoo is selling the advertising magnets for $20 each.  There are no profits from this venture, it’s just all about getting the word out.

I guess City Manager Dennis Dare is probably now thinking that he should have just approved Independent Tattoo’s tasteful advertisement for the back of the city buses.  Now instead of the shop’s advertising being limited to a few city buses, the tattoo studio’s ad will no doubt be far more prevalent on the streets of Ocean City.

Ha-Ha.  So let this be a lesson to any and all tattoo shops out there who get screwed over one way or another by stupid laws or city officials who hide behind the “family values” cliche – there’s always a way to turn things around to your advantage.

Way to go, Independent Tattoo and best of luck to you.

Dear Six-Flags Over Texas amusement park: YOU SUCK.

Arlington, Texas resident Samantha Osborn is likely thinking the exact same thing after she was refused entry into the amusement park while taking her husband there on his birthday.  Osborn has a tattoo on her chest of two six-shooters and some yellow roses.  When she tried to enter the Arlington amusement park, Osborn was grabbed by an employee who told her that her tattoos were “…just as offensive as a swastika” and that the tattoo “condoned violence”.  The employee also told Osborn that she needed to cover up because Six-Flags is a family-friendly place.

Samantha Osborn and her husband Matt are parents to three young girls.  The two eventually got into the park, but Samantha felt the day had already been ruined by the incident and they left.  Osborn later received an email apology from the Six-Flags management, but she would have preferred a phone call in order to properly speak with someone about what had occurred and why.

First of all, to Samantha Osborn, if you’re out there and you happen to be reading this, I just wanted to say that your tattoos are rad.  Seriously, the six-shooter chest tattoo is one of my all time favourite classic tattoos and yours is no exception.  I was really sorry to hear that you and your husband’s day was ruined because of some weasely, power-tripping Six-Flag bigot.

Second, to Six-Flags: since when do guns and flowers have anything remotely resembling a similarity to the pure filth that is a Nazi swastika?  A tattoo of guns condones violence?  Are you familiar with the second amendment of the United States constitution?  You know that part about the right to bear arms? Because in your eyes if a tattoo of guns condones violence then does that mean that you also feel that the constitution condones violence for guaranteeing the citizens of the United States the right to keep and bear arms?  Hey guns are guns, right?  I’m just wondering when the image of gun became so offensive in Texas, of all places, that it needed to be covered up.

You suck, Six-Flags Over Texas amusement park.