Where should I put my next tattoo? That’s what millions of potential tattoo customers ask themselves every year. Do you know your decision may cost you your job? Every one’s life is different. We tell our customer to be mindful about the placement of there tattoo. My advice is to consider your current job. How would your boss react to it. Weather you agree or not with his point view , he’s still the guy who can fire you. It’s also very important to think about your professional career in the future. What kind of job do you want? Is the field that you want to be apart of tolerant of your tattoos? Just a few things to really think about before you get a tattoo that would be easily visible to your boss. I would say its about common sense. Its about weather or not you control your working life. Don’t make a mistake and cut yourself off professionally.

As for the policy of the police, it seems that many states follow similar regulations. No visible tattoos for staff in uniforms. For example East Palo Alto police department policy is that all uniformed employees cannot show any tattoos what so ever. The ban goes on to include intentional scarring , and dental ornamentation. New York State Police follow similar policies, so does St. Louis, Dallas, and San Jose. However, not every city in the United States follow those policies. Portland police can have visible tattoos but not on the neck or face. Also the tattoos cannot be offensive.

You may be able to find a job that accepts your tattoos but it may be a long search before that happens. I think its best to really think about what you want to do professionally. Be honest with yourself. Then once you’ve established yourself in that field assess what tattoos you can or can’t have. Its better to adjust your tattoo to your job then your job to your tattoo.

Tattoo has come a long way in Japan within the past ten years.  Still in a relatively nascent state with regards to Japanese societal views on the art form, today a Japanese tattoo artist who’s just starting off has a much larger base of reference and information than someone like Yokohama based artist Shige ever did.

Shige began his love affair with tattoos almost completely by accident.  It all began with a different sort of love affair: Harley Davidson motorcycles.  Shige worked as a Harley mechanic and through interraction with the bikers, his interest in tattoos began to blossom.  According to Shige, this was around 1995 and tattooing had certainly not yet blown up in a big way throughout Japan.  Because tattooing still remained relatively covert in Japan at that time, Shige had no real starting point.  So, he did the best he could, buying equipment from abroad and studying any foreign tattoo magazines that he could get his hands on.  Around this time he also began tattooing friends in his home, after hours.

In June of 2000, Shige was able to start his very own tattoo studio, but it wasn’t until 2003 that Shige and his wife Chisato officially started Ouen, aka, Yellow Blaze Tattoo in Yokohama.  Oddly enough, Shige’s interest in Japanese style tattoo didn’t fully develop until he met Swiss tattoo artist Filip Leu in 2000. Through this influence, Shige began to take Japanese tattoo seriously, studying it and practicing it.

Today I can’t use any other word to describe Shige’s tattoo style other than this one: Insane.  Shige does some of the most amazing body suit work that I have ever seen a tattoo artist do.  I could sit here and write about it all day, and still I couldn’t do the calibre of his work justice.  You can take a look at Shige’s stuff by going here, and here.  The current issue of Total Tattoo magazine also has an interview with the man himself.

That the art of tattooing can encompass pretty much any style of art you can think of is more of a given each and every day. Over the years we have seen modern tattooing grow from its old school flash roots to include everything from realistic portraits, to art deco, and the end is nowhere in sight.

Case in point is the work of Yann Black Tattoo, (He has been superciliously posted across the internet as Yann Travaille which is not his name. This is why I like doing a hands on interview whenever the occasion arises.), or as I like to see him the Picasso of ink.

Yann asked me why I referred to him as Yann Travaille as the word in French is “travail” and means work. Yann is French Canadian and his English is far better than my French. He informed me that his friends usually call him Yann Black Tattoo, so that is the name I know him by.

Anyway back to Yann and his distinctly modern tattoo art, which has been growing in popularity by leaps and bounds with collectors who are just not into tattoos that everyone else can get.

Usually referred to as “crayon” tattooing, I like looking at the over all effect of what makes a tattoo and when I see Yann’s work the first thing that comes to mind for me are the works of Picasso. Just about every design Yann creates has the same feel to it as the master of modern art’s did and you can see lots more of it at Yann’s online gallery, Your Meat is Mine .Com.

Although most people who start out on their own in tattooing end up making a mess of things, and it is not recommended, like it or not there have been exceptions to the rule. Corey Miller for one, and Yann for another.

“I started alone, after few years in an art school. I bought tattoo machine to tattoo myself because it was too expensive to get tattooed for me, and because at this time no tattoo artist understood very well what I wanted on my skin. After that friends began to ask me to tattoo them and now I’m a tattoo artist.”

That was sixteen years ago and as they use to say in the old cigarette commercials, Yann has come a long way, Baby.

Yann’s formal art training was between the ages of 16 and 18 years of age, commercial graphics and cartooning, and he began tattooing at the age of 20. He sites as his biggest influences “art brut” in general, and the works of Dubuffet, Egon Shiele, and the German expressionism movement. His tattooing influences include Xed le Head, Alex Binnie.

Yann’s unique work has been featured in Tatouage magazine, Tattoo Arte, Tattowier magazine, International Tattoo Art, Tattoo Burst, and Cover Magazine. He has also been featured in “Modern Expressions of the Tribal Tattoo Art” a really beautiful and complete book about black tattoo by Marisa Kakoulas.

I can plainly see why, and if you are in the market for ink that goes beyond the limits of conventional tattooing, or are just looking for a truly unique design, Yann can be reached at his website, or e-mail address: yannou666@hotmail.com.

Yann never attends tattoo shows, so you’ll have to make the trip to Canada for his amazing art, but I’m more than sure you will find it well worth the trip. Yann’s moto sums up just what kind of a great guy he really is.

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you and everything should be all right.”

I couldn’t agree more.

All images ©Yann and Your Meat is Mine. Com 2009, all rights reserved.

So, I am not going to go all in depth, about the who’s where’s, whatever’s, but I will give the typical “Jen Nuttshell” summary.

Over 750 booths, which equates to I don’t know how many artists per booth? That’s a lot of convention.  And with over 58,000 total tickets sold, yeah SOLD, not to mention all local Vegas residents got in free with their ID, and Las Vegas Bike Week was going on and if you had a wrist band from Bike Week you also got free entry into the BTSOE. Needless to say the floor was packed every day. The layout was nice, the floor was decadent, and the people made the show.

As far as conventions go, it was a good convention. Mario gave each booth a free set of the trial/travel size new Mario Barth Intenze: Gold Label Inks. He also had unveiled a new line of tattoo inks called Bowery Brand Inks; which were old school colors that a lot of tenured artists LOVE. There was also a lot of retail sales going on, with all the cool stuff there: art, jewelry, sugar skulls, swag, clothing, nicknacks, etc, I wish I hadn’t gambled, and would have just bought more stuff, but when in Vegas…

Lyle Tuttle had a HUGE booth, that was filled with old tattoo relics, and memorabilia, it was a walk back in time almost, and it was also his birthday weekend. He brought two traveling tattoo kit’s from way back when, and I couldn’t stop staring, it was something I was actually thrilled to be able to just look at, the insight to how far “tattooing” has come in general is crazy, but at the same time, the same roots/ elements are still and always will be the same. Which is humbling in my opinion.

Evan Seinfield from Biohazard/ Oz, etc, was the Tattoo Show Emcee, he did a great job with keeping the crowds pumped and the stage rolling.

Now if there is anything I am it’s a club snob, I love clubs, just because I have always wanted to own a club of my own, and going to the glamorous and flamboyant VIP after parties was also a bonus cherry on top of the “sunday”… With world famous DJ’s, Celebrities, Special Guest Hosts, it was a non stop weekend of sheer decadence… that is if you could afford it. I only went out one night after the show, Sunday… and only spending a couple of hours out that night I am glad I didn’t do that every night…. I don’t know how the hard core people do it? But I must applaud them for their “rockstar party ablilities”.

So back to the Convention… Yes is was the biggest, and yes, it was a tattoo show… I can only hope to see what Mario puts together next year.

This past May, I wrote a blog post about Fresno, California native, Enrique Gonzalez and the trouble he caused when he decided to have the symbol for his gang, the Fresno Bulldogs, tattooed on his 7-year-old son.  It was a friend of Gonzalez, Travis Gorman who did the actual tattooing.  For some time it was looking as though both Gonzalez and Gorman would face charges of aggravated mayhem and be sentenced to life in prison.

Well, the verdict came down this weekend and neither Gonzalez nor Gorman will be serving a life sentence of any sort.  Instead, the two men were charged with cruel and inhumane treatment of a child, which carries a potential sentence of 7 years behind bars.

“During preliminary hearing testimony Monday, Fresno County Superior Court Judge Hillary Chittick questioned whether a small tattoo is a permanent and painful disfigurement worthy of a potential life sentence that comes with a mayhem conviction, then asked to think it over.” More>>>

Travis Gorman’s defense for tattooing the child was that the 7-year-old had asked the father for the tattoo, saying “I want to be like you.”  Which is quite possibly one of the worst defenses that I’ve ever heard.  Because we all know how firmly rooted that logic and common sense are in the psychology of a 7-year-old child.  Hell, I wanted to be able to shave like my dad did when I was 7-years-old.  Did my father then let me practice with a straight edge razor?

No, because that would have been stupid.

In case you didn’t know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  As a way to help out a great cause, the good hearted people at Portland Oregon’s 205 Tattoo are offering pink ribbon tattoos for $20 a piece.  The deal lasts throughout the month of October, with all proceeds going to the Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation.

We actually had some older women who have had breast cancer and they feel it’s a very good tattoo — a great way to symbolize it and put it on their body and show that they’re a survivor,” said Tammy Pisha, who works at 205 Tattoo.  MORE>>>

Not surprisingly, the pink ribbon tattoo community is quite a large one.   Sites like this one are only a taste of the people out there who have this tattoo in memory of someone or as a reminder of their own bravery and perseverance.

If you live in Portland and are interested in getting the twenty dollar pink ribbon tattoo, I can tell you that for some strange reason, 205 Tattoo does not have a website.  (As near as I can tell, that is.)  But, I can also tell you that the 205 Tattoo studio is located at 9226 SE Division Street, 503.772.4205.  So, you know, there you go…

Get a pink ribbon tattoo, support an excellent cause, feel good about yourself, feel good about others and of course, have a new and important tattoo!

The last time that I started nosing around info about Texas tattoo artists, I somewhat discovered the city of Austin.  At the time, I had no idea what Austin’s tattoo scene was like but the more I learned, the more I realized that wow, Austin’s got a lot going on.  So much good stuff was there that I now find that I have to delve back into the Texas Tattoo world, back to Austin to talk about another really great artist, Myke Chambers.

To say that Myke’s life has been a challenge up until this point is something of an understatement.  Living off the streets and hopping freight trains at the age of 15, he soon fell into drugs and alcohol at the age of 17, living that lifestyle until the age of 30.  Though Chambers has been tattooing for 15 years, he is the first to admit he’s only seriously been tattooing for 4 years.  Prior to that, Chambers says his days as a tattoo artist were really more about “getting wasted than focusing on the art.”

Fortunately for Myke, he managed to completely change his life around.  As of September 8th, 2005, Chambers has been drug and alcohol free.  He is the owner of the Eternally Bound tattoo studio in Austin, Texas, although he is currently in the process of handing over the business to friend and Eternally Bound artist Keith Underwood.  Myke’s plans for the future are to continue tattooing, travelling the world and learning.  Learning and the willingness to learn is a major part of Myke’s life:

“Today I’m still growing and learning. I hope I continue to learn until the day I die. As soon as I think I know it all I’m done for…”

Myke says that within the last four years he’s had to somewhat relearn how to tattoo, as he spent 10 years taking the art form for granted.  However, if you take a look at Myke’s art, you can immediately see how talented that he truly is.  If this is the sort of art that he can produce while “relearning” his craft, then I can’t wait to see what else the future holds for Myke Chambers.

Right now over at PRICK magazine, there’s a really great interview with Myke where he talks about his life, how he got to where he is (it’s a really interesting story, I’ll guarantee you that much), his Eternally Bound shop, profiles on the artists at Eternally Bound, his own views on the Austin scene and a whole bunch more.  Seriously, check it out.

Best of luck to Myke with all his pursuits, both personal and public, and congratulations on his four years (and counting) of sobriety.  Peace.

Maybe it’s just the time of the season and the fact that Samhain, or Halloween, is one of my favorite holidays, but while researching ahead I was stopped by the amazing art of Shaun Kama.

Shaun has been tattooing for 10 years, and apprenticed with the legendary Mark Mahoney at Shamrock Tattoo Studio in LA. Now, as you can see from the few examples here, ( and these barely scratch the surface, believe me), Shaun is one world class tattoo artist, but brother you don’t know the half of it. If talent was to incarnate in a single human being, Shaun is definitely that incarnation, and you can see even more of his ink slinging par excellence here at Halloween Tattoos. Com.

Shaun has been featured in a veritable who’s who of Tattoo mags as well. Including, Tattoo Flash, Skin and Ink, and Tabu Tattoo.

Besides his talent as a tattoo artist, Shaun has worked in several commercials and films with the likes of, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Janet Jackson, and Missy Elliot as a specialty make-up and temporary tattoo artist, as well as touring with his band, Shaun Kama and The Kings of the Wild Frontier, or Pettycash Junction. FYI, he’s as good a musician as he is a tattoo artist.

Shaun began his artistic career as a regularly commissioned painter and sculptor, something he still keeps up with somehow, and his work in both fields are still on regular display at numerous art shows in Los Angles and Las Vegas.

When not traveling the convention circuit, or touring with his band, Shaun can be found at one of four different tattoo studios he works with:

Vintage Tattoo Art Parlor
5115 York Blvd. LA, CA 90042
(323) 254-6733

All Hallows Ink & Body Piercing
110 N. Harbor Blvd Fullerton, CA 92832
(714) 871-3035

Shaun can also be reached by phone at: (818) 388-3664 pretty much 24/7 any time of the year.

Whether you can get lucky enough to catch Shaun for some killer ink this month, (or any other month), or you get a chance to catch him on tour with the band, one thing ‘Ol doc can guarantee. Your in for a real Halloween treat.

Peace out, Gang! 😉

All images ©Shaun Kama & Halloween Tattoos. Com. All rights reserved.