The county of Macomb in Michigan is working on a new body of art ordinance this month. The ordinance is 24 pages in length and covers everything from artist regulations to shop rules, and the hopes is to reduce the unlicensed tattoos showing up in the state. The health department of Michigan has noticed an increase in tattoos done by non-professional tattoo artists recently and have a growing concern of the health risks involved in getting a tattoo outside of a professional tattoo shop.

There are a lot of risks that run with non-licensed artists, known as scratchers. Often these tattoos are performed at house parties, in basements, or even at flea markets. In more cases then not, the tattoos are done with non-sterilized materials that can be of poor quality. They also run the risk of needle sharing, which can bring a whole host of diseases, infections and other health concerns. Aside from the health concerns, these free range tattoos can often be of poor quality.

Which is why the Michigan Department of Health developed the new Body Art Ordinance. This ordinance will require that all tattoo shops carry both a license and a permit that will cost $100 a year. In addition, all tattoo artists must be a minimal age of 17 and accompanied by an artist over the age of 18. These artists must also be trained in basic emergency procedures, such as CPR.

The Michigan Department of Health hopes the new ordinance will make it harder for the scratchers to give underground tattoos, however, they realize the ordinance alone will not completely remove the unlicensed tattoos being given in the state. There is no word yet whether the ordinance will be partnered with increased laws related to tattoos. However, this may be the extra step needed to get the people off the streets and in to the tattoo shops.

The ordinance went to it’s first round of voting on December 4th, 2008. Putting the new ordinance in effect may be a lengthy process as it is a longer set of guidelines, and a relatively new subject for the city of Michigan.

To read more about the ordinance, see the Detroit News.

While many tattooed folks and artists alike are happy with the popularity boost that tattoos have received thanks to TV shows like LA Ink and artists of rockstar proportions like Kat Von D, we all know that there’s a significant margin of hardcores out there who wish that had never been the case. It’s an understandable point of view and common to pretty much every subculture that ever made it big. From punk rock to Harajuku girls, there’s always those who want nothing to do with the mainstream acceptance of what they’ve loved since back when it wasn’t accepted. So for anyone who wishes that the fashionista/TV glam of tattoos and tattooing would die back down to normal proportions, this one’s for you…sort of.

A recent survey of 1000 Australians between the ages of 18-70 has found that 56 percent of men feel that women with tattoos are unattractive. Women seem to disapprove of men with tattoos slightly less, with 50% of those surveyed listing body art as a turnoff. Only 7 percent of Australians surveyed said that they felt tattoos made a person more attractive.

The thing is, all subcultures that have hit the mainstream eventually get dropped by the wayside and are left to the people who always believed in and supported the community to begin with. Maybe Australia’s modest disapproval is the start of something that will grow in momentum, streaking its way like wildfire across the countries and continents of the world? I guess only time will tell.

Personally I don’t think North Americans will be sharing Australia’s opinion of tattoos any time soon. Hell, tattoos have even made their way into a  lucrative porn franchise over here.

My apologies to the hardcores for not bringing you more uplifting news on the demise of tattoo popularity among the mainstream. I’ll keep looking.  In the meantime, there’s always Australia, right?

 

Isobel Varley is one hot mama…er, make that grandmama. The British woman has spent the past twenty-two years covering every available inch of her personal canvas in tattooed art and is, according to the Guinness Book of Records, the “World’s Most Senior Tattooed Woman.” 

Varley’s love affair with tattooing started in 1986 – when she was 49 – at a tattoo convention in London’s Hammersmith Palais. Surprised and amazed at the beauty of the art, the stories of the artists and wearers and the diversity of the tattoo community, Varley’s life “was turned upside down and changed forever.” Excited, she made an appointment with local tattoo artist Bill Cooke for the end of the week. Varley chose a small bird for her shoulder blade and was so enthusiastic over the results that she had Cooke tattoo an orchid on her thigh immediately after. Barely a month later, Varley visited another local artist – Ed Tibbitts – for some more work done and Tibbitts added to her fast-growing collection with small pieces on her thighs, arms, back and lower stomach, eventually extending down to her genitals. A 1987 trip to an Amsterdam tattoo convention introduced Varley to another Yorkshire-area tattoo artist named Brent and not long after both of Varley’s breasts, upper arms, back and hips were covered in Brent’s handiwork. 

By this time Varley was so enamored with tattoos that she committed to having her entire body save her face covered in diverse works. After three years of commitment to Brent’s designs, Varley fell into the hands of tattoo artist Alan Dean, who was given “carte blanch to tackle each area as he saw fit… He covered every accessible spot on my vulva and around it and it was a mammoth task for us both due to the flexibility of the skin in this area but once started I was adamant that no spot should be left without pigment in it. Following this he tackled different areas ranging from legs, ankles bum, thighs, back and stomach plus he added some extra work on my breasts.” 

For the next 18 years Varley’s body was worked on by a multitude of national and international (and several world-renown) artists – Dave Fleet, Ron Ackers, Spider Webb, Chris Cougar, Paul O’Connor, Filip Leu, Pilo Mo’o, Herbert Hoffmann etc., etc., etc. – to help her achieve the goal of having a body fully covered in art. 

71-year-old Varley is inevitably running out of space to tattoo. “At the present the only areas not completely tattooed is my face, the soles of my feet my ears and some area on my hands,” she says on her website. “Although I now have some tattooing on my forehead and beside my eyes, I do not expect to fully cover my face.” Varley told the Daily Mail that this is because she wants “people to able to see what I look like.” She does admit though, that this is not a hard and fast rule, saying, “I recognize that the pressure is there to go further and I am aware that frequently over the years I have imposed limits on how far I would go. Then, later I have relaxed these limits, so I just don’t know for certain what the future holds as I am definitely addicted to tattooing.” 

Varley is constantly traveling, attending tattoo festivals and conventions all over the world where she proudly displays her ever-growing collection to enthusiasts and seeks out new artists and ideas. You can check her online diary for the dates of events that she’s attending near you.

Shawn Hebrank
My Blog
Identity Tattoo
Maple Grove, MN
763.535.1313

My name is Shawn Hebrank, I tattoo at Identity Tattoo in Maple Grove Minnesota. I’ve been there for a year and a half, before that I was working in Connecticut. It’s a super dope shop. There’s three artists, including the owner, Todd Lambright. Him tattooing alongside us everyday not only inspires trust and respect, but it also makes him seem way more like a friend than a boss. The shop has touch-free sinks, soap dispensers, and paper towel dispensers, and each artist has a private room. All those special touches to make it one of the best shops I’ve ever seen.

I’ve been going back East as much as possible to do guest spots or conventions, since I have quite a clientele out there. My typical customer is anyone who comes and asks me to tattoo them, but I definitely attract a special type of client. I’m as much a story-teller as I am a tattoo artist, (I have “f o l k l o r e” tattooed across my knuckles), so people come to me for as much the experience as the actual end product. I got a fortune cookie last week that said “You tend to spark the flame of enthusiasm in people”. I like to think of myself that way.

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Even with the semi-mainstream acceptance of tattoos there remains a taboo that is rarely broken. Few artists will touch the job, unless you already happen to have one, because it is such a definitive “bridge burner” that once you go there your pretty much stuck for life. Even with the expensive advances in tattoo removal your pretty much out of luck. I’m talking about facial tattooing, of course.

Even if you can cough up the several hundred, if not thousands of bucks laser removal will require, the tattooing process itself is going to leave a scar. So even if you change your mind later the permanently whitish skin is still going to prompt many to think that you might have had an industrial accident. Face it, once you decide to tattoo your mug, one way or another your stuck with it.

Facial tattooing has been around, most likely, for as long as the art has existed. In most probability it was first used by tribal warriors, in place of war paint, to strike fear in the hearts of the enemy. Could be, because of the feelings it brings up in most people who see it, facial tattooing was one of the first forms of psychological warfare ever used. It certainly was a way of telling everyone who met you that you were a bad ass. In many ways much as it is used to day by some of the rougher elements of society.

The New Zealand Maori Moko is probably the most famous example of the warrior facial tattoos, but by no means the only one. Many European, and Native American tribes did much of the same thing, just not to the extent the Maori took the facial tattoo.

Regardless, one thing you can rest assured of, once you make the decision to tattoo your face you have made sure to set yourself outside of the normal conventions of society forever. For the few who do make that decision that is the point. For others it is a way of making a mark in the entertainment world. The Great Omi, The Enigma, to name just a couple.
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I have written quite a few posts in the past month or so about the many ways tattoo artists the world over are using their skills and clientele to raise money and/or awareness for a plethora of charities. I’m happy to say the list of charitable tattooists keeps growing.

I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that there are thousands of parents and caregivers in the United States alone that need help at Christmas time to make their kids’ Christmases special. Businesses and organizations country-wide hold drives in support of the Marine Toys For Tots Foundation, where people can donate new toys to go under the trees of the country’s needy kids.

Ron Moede, among others, is doing his part too. His shop, Amador Ink Tattoo at Lake Camanche, California, is holding its own toy drive for the charity but Moede has decided to take it one step further by offering extra incentive to the community’s donators.

“I realized kids want bigger toys, like bikes, Big Wheels and RCs,” Moede told the local press. “So, I’ve arranged it that when a client comes in with a bike and the receipt, I’ll give them double the amount on the receipt in tattoos. In essence, they get six months’ tattooing. And the kids get great toys.”

Amador Ink will be accepting donated toys from now until December 19th, and everyone is encouraged to join in the spirit of giving – tattooed folk and otherwise – to ensure that every child has a happy holiday.

Interview with: Carter Moore
Immortal CanvasTattoo & Piercing Studios
5573 Eureka Drive
Hamilton, Ohio 45011
513 863 I N K S [4657]
myspace.com/immortalcanvas

How Long have you been tattooing?
I’ve been tattooing for three years now. I spent 15 years working in advertising as an Art Director and Creative Director, I finally grew tired of lying to people to get them to buy things they don’t need. I have a degree in Art so I feel like that has helped me as a tattoo artist. Having a fine art background definitely has and effect on how I approach a tattoo.

Who did you apprenticed for
Honestly, my apprenticeship was pretty shoddy so I’d rather not give credit to that guy. The guy that was supposed to teach me was never around, and I ended up learning mostly from the other artists in the shop. I was fortunate enough to make friends with some really great artists that have shown me some things along the way.

Type of tattoos you enjoy doing
Portraits, and anything realistic. I also love to do tattoos that appear as though you were born with it, as opposed to having it stuck on you.

Tell us a Funny/Interesting story related to tattooing
I had a lady come in one time wanting someone’s initials tattooed on her, but wanted them masked within the tattoo. I’m assuming, it’s a boyfriend and she’s thinking ahead so that if it doesn’t work out she’s not stuck with some guys initials on her. It turns out, I’m half right. It is a boyfriend, and she wants it masked so that her husband doesn’t notice them! Hahaha What a trip!
I also had someone come up to me at a convention in Arkansas ask if I would do a tattoo of the Nazi SS symbol. Of course I refuse to do it and tell her I do not do anything even close to racist tattoos. The funny thing is, this girl was Native American! I try to explain to her that Hitler wouldn’t have favored her very well, but she was adamant about wanting it done. Pure ignorance! haha

Do you take more walk ins or appointments
I rarely take walk-ins, my shop definitely welcomes walk-ins, but I’m usually booked out about two months in advance. So the only time I get to do a walk-in is when I have a cancellation, or it’s a small piece and I have a small pocket of time. Read the rest of this entry »

Thiruvananthapuram, India, will host a tattoo festival this weekend – the city’s very first. Russell Van Buerle, a popular tattoo artist from Bangalore, along with his studio’s team, will be at Café Coffee Day from December 5 to 7 giving tattoos to the willing. Click here to read the hilariously worded press release. 

Thiruvananthapuram’s tattoo festival is a reflection of India’s changing attitudes towards tattooing. Once considered taboo, tattooing in India has moved into the mainstream, thanks to Bollywood stars such as Saif Ali Khan, Esha Deol (that’s her at the top of this post), Amrita Arora, Mallaika Arora Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Apoorva Lakhiya and Mandira Bedi. These megastars have made tattoos popular for India’s youth and more and more tattoo shops are popping up in the country to cash in on the growing trend. 

This (unfortunate but unsurprising) has meant that there are a ridiculous number of scratchers performing shoddy tattoos, looking to take advantage of the country’s lack of regulations governing the practice and make some easy cash (check this how-to out and cringe). 

“I have a lot of people coming to get cover-ups done because of the shoddy job done on them. This clearly indicates that there is a lot of bad job being done in the market,” says 26-year-old Indian celebrity tattoo artist Sameer Patange. “I sincerely feel that there needs to be some sort of certification given by the respective authorities in this field. Every day I hear about a new tattoo parlor opening up and a new artist mushrooming. But how many of them are actually good at their job, no one knows and that’s why we need some regulations in place.”

There are a few truly reputable artists in India (like Patange, Van Buerle and Pradeep Menon) who are professionally trained artists using top-of-the-line vegetable-based FDA-approved imported dyes and sterile, hygienic, new equipment. These guys are doing what they can to educate the general public so that people can make informed tattoo decisions, which is always a good thing, no matter where you are in the world. 

I love tattoos. I especially love my tattoos (I’m a little biased…go figure). My husband has been around long enough to witness my progression from plain and pasty to gorgeously colorful (that’s me left) and while he adores me and my ink, he has a body art passion of his own: branding. 

My man, an ex-football player, got his first brand in university – a 5-inch rune signifying fraternity and brotherhood on his right arm that matches those of the other members of his college team. I’ve heard the story many times – my husband having to repeat it anytime someone curiously inquires about his perfectly formed “scar” – and I still cringe at the tale that involves a bent coat hanger, a BBQ and some serious scab-picking (apparently someone on the team was a wimp and flinched before the brand had burned through the skin satisfactorily so it had to be redone…*gag*). He’s always expressed interest in getting another one done and was pointedly eyeing up the cattle prods on a recent trip to Arizona. 

I can’t help but think it strange that my husband would voluntarily submit to someone brandishing a piping hot piece of metal (I know I should be more open-minded considering the hours I’ve spent under the tattoo needle) but apparently he isn’t the only one. I was reading an online article on tattooing on ABC News’ website and this article in the “Related” section caught my eye. According to the story, “tattoos have become commonplace, and body modification has become weirder and wilder than ever before. The latest fad in England is new and hot — literally.” 

Holier Than Thou is one of the few studios in the UK to do branding and does so by method of strike, cautery and electrocautery. The studio applies the same high standards, level of hygiene, sterilization and aftercare to their brands as they do to tattoos. Looking at their photo gallery, I found myself surprised and delighted at the quality of the branding designs and the interesting effect branding produces. 

Now that I’ve discovered this, I think it’s safe to say that a trip to Manchester is in our future. I still don’t want to smell the crispy flesh of the love of my life as it burns into a design but at least now I know it can be done in a safe and controlled environment sans BBQ thankyouverymuch.

Some of the most heavily tattooed individuals that you can find anywhere reside in prison. As a matter of fact it seems that given the health dangers associated with jailhouse tattooing and the strict environment of prohibition in the most controlled situation a human being can find themselves in, it would be just the opposite. We all know it isn’t, tattooing actually flourishes in the gray bar hotel.

No matter how many crappy homemade tattoo machines are confiscated. Horrible ink concoctions , like Styrofoam cup ashes and rubbing alcohol, are poured down the drain, or inmate artists that are given more time on their sentence, and/or sent off to the “hole’. More and more tattoos show up emblazoned on the skin of fellow inmates.

Although I don’t agree with the barbaric conditions all of these tattoos are done in, nor some of the horrible work some wannabe’s do in there. There are still quite a few artists who do some damn fine art under less than favorable conditions. In my time I have seen, and prettied up by adding a bit of color, some very good tattoos that came out of prison, and I couldn’t help but wonder.

“Just how good would this guy be if he had the proper training, and the conditions to do the work right? Would it make a difference in his life on the outside to have a trade that could probably keep him out of future trouble?”

After all, isn’t that supposed to be the whole purpose of prison besides punishment? To give a few who could go out and make their way without crime a chance to do so? According to an article I found on a business site called Goliath, business knowledge on demand, it is. The article is called “Tattoo prohibition behind bars: the case for repeal”, and does make a clear point as to why tattoo prohibition in prison should be repealed.

Aside from the obvious fact that it would save skin and lives inside the big house by giving inmate artists access to the proper tools of the trade under supervised instruction. It could certainly keep more than a few ink starved inmates from causing too much trouble. After all, you can’t be out in the yard making mischief if your getting your new back piece worked on.
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