my michael jackson tat, the MJ logo has been made to stone with ivy through
i love it and it is a fab work of art

Mike Jack

After starting off with the PBR Tattoos, I tried to think of a brand that I’ve enjoyed since a kid and that has to be Dr. Pepper… it just makes the world taste better.

Tony Hundahl
Rock of Ages Tattoo
2310 S. Lamar #105
Austin, TX 78704
512-804-1213

For some reason, tattoo artists often seem to be involved with numerous projects in addition to their lives as tattoo artists.  Some are in bands, some are on TV, some design baby clothes, some design plates, some paint…it almost seems that if you can think of another artistic pursuit, chances are there is a tattoo artist somewhere doing it.

Jeff Johnson is the perfect example.  Part owner of Portland, Oregon’s oldest tattoo shop, The Sea Tramp Tattoo Co (I’d include the link, but the site is under construction), Johnson is also the author of the novel “Tattoo Machine: Tall Tales, True Stories, and My Life in Ink“.

The 39-year-old artist stumbled upon his ability to write somewhat accidentally, when a broken wrist prevented him from tattooing.  He began writing science fiction stories, which later blossomed into a genuine passion for writing.  Though “Tattoo Machine” is not science fiction, it does tell the story of something that is just as equally imbued in the unknown for many people: the daily life of a tattoo artist.

Says Johnson:

“It was easy to write in one particular way, I’ve told these stories before. After 18 years, I’ve seen some stuff.”

The novel is already getting some impressive praise, as well. Oscar nominated director and proud Portland native Gus Van Sant for example, professed his love for Tattoo Machine, while Publisher’s Weekly, one of the literary world’s most respected points of reference for reviews, said that:

“…Johnson’s stingingly profane prose, storytelling chops and offbeat sensibility definitely get under the reader’s skin.”

So what are you waiting for?  Summer is the perfect time to pick up a book, chill out in the sun and do some reading.  If you live in or around the Portland area, Johnson will be appearing at the legendary Powell’s City of Books on Thursday, July 23rd at 7:30pm to discuss his work.  If you can’t make it to that, you can catch him on August 4th at 7pm, when he stops by Broadway Books.

Eighteen-year-old Irina Savina comes from a city in Russia called Yekaterinburg.  Irina is also a huge Britney Spears fan.  According to Savina:

“I’ve been listening to Britney Spears since primary school. She’s the soundtrack of my life.”

Naturally then, when Britney Spears announced that she was going to be performing two concerts this summer in Russian cities St. Petersburg and Moscow, Savina had to be in attendance. She bought her ticket and plans to get as close as possible to the stage.

No problems there, right?  Anyone who has ever loved a particular musician or performer before has felt the same way as Irina Savina when it comes to seeing them live.  But Irina decided to take things a step further.

After begging her mother and father for two days for the money to have a Britney Spears tattoo done on her breasts, her father finally gave in and supplied her with the green. (Is money green in, Russia?  Whatever.)  So Irina went out and got what looks to me like what could possibly be the worst Britney Spears tattoo ever inked on to human flesh.

I’m not trying to be mean, but number one, it doesn’t even look like Britney Spears.  Number two, beneath the tattoo is Britney’s name scrawled in what looks like a mixture of blood and lipstick.  It’s just that bad.  I actually feel sorry for young Irina because she’s now sporting a terrible tattoo that she will grow up to be ashamed of, and even if she doesn’t grow up to be ashamed of it, she should.  As I said before, it’s just that bad.

More than any of that, however, is the biggest reason for feeling sympathetic toward Irina: as mentioned, she wants to get close enough to the stage during the concert.  She then hopes that…

“Perhaps she [Britney Spears] will like my tattoo so much she’ll want to talk to me.”

Oh damn, girl.  Oh.  Damn…

Let this be a lesson kids: love the music, but stay away from getting bad tattoos on your genitals of your musical icons in hopes that said musical icons will somehow see your bad tattoo work and think that you’re awesome for having it done.  They won’t.

So there is an argument brewing online… this fella in Ohio Giovania at High Street Tattoo claims to have come up with the finger tattoo idea and wikipedia is giving partial credit by saying he brought it back to popularity in 2003 and through the internet it exploded in popularity.

From Wikipedia…

The finger mustache tattoo, otherwise known as the “fingerstache”, is a tattoo of a stylized mustache on the index finger. The finger is then placed between the nose and the lips, making it appear that the wearer has a mustache. Its particular origin is unknown, however, the recent revival dates to the summer of 2003 in Columbus, Ohio, where a local tattoo artist began tattooing mustaches as a joke.[1] Photos and stories about the tattoos spread to the internet, becoming a minor phenomenon after landing on the forums of popular comedy website Something Awful.

Also interesting news… there is a social network that is only about the finger tattoo: fingerstache.com

Now as far as I know almost every serious tattoo artist will attempt to talk you out of having your love interest’s name tattooed on you. The reason is simple, tattoo’s truly are forever, love is not. Even if you opt for laser surgery to remove the ink, the tattooing process scars the skin, and even though the scaring can be rather light, its there to stay. Unless you get a skin graft and additional plastic surgery, that is.

Through out it’s history no place on Earth has shown the vulnerability of love more than Hollywood, and you would think that celebrities would know better than to make that simple mistake. But nooooo! I mean, come on, most celebrity hook ups last about as long as Courtney Love’s sobriety. So, in the interest of a where are they now, let’s look at a few of the more famous of tattoo’s most famous faux pax.

Angelina Jolie had ‘Billy Bob’ with a small tribal dragon underneath tattooed on her left shoulder. After their divorce in 2003 she had the tattoo laser removed and covered with the coordinates of the birth places of each of her and Brad’s children to disguise it even further. If you get a chance to see the new tattoo you’ll notice that you can still see the bottom of the dragon peeking out below. See what I mean about a tattoo being forever?

Thornton turned his ‘Angelina’ tattoo into an angel.

Denise Richards was so in love with Charlie Sheen that she had ‘Charlie’ tattooed on the inside of her left ankle. After their rather messy divorce in 2006 she had Charlie covered up with a tattoo of a fairy.

Blake Fielder and Amy Winehouse exchanged names with him getting ‘Amy’ inked behind his right ear and Amy getting ‘Blake’s’ tattooed over her left breast. Well as of the 16th of this month it’s ‘Blake’s’ no more, and I’d guess that tattoo is scheduled to be covered up, laser removed, or both. At least Blake could hide his by letting his hair grow, or turning up his collar a la James Dean.

Levi Johnston, father of Bristol Palin’s baby, had her name inked around his ring finger. They ended their engagement in March, about two months after the birth of their son. Dude, your supposed to get the rings tattooed on after the marriage, not before! That permanent white mark is going to make it hard to convince another chick that your not married.

Of all the celebrities who have made this all too common screw up, perhaps Megan Fox and Johnny Depp have the best outlook. Megan has her on again, off again boyfriend Brian Austin Green’s first name tattooed across her lower belly, but figures she can always have a baby named Brian so she won’t have any regrets. Unless she ends up having only girls. Hmmmm? A girl named Brian? Sounds like the makings of a country song to me.

Depp simply changed his infamous ‘Winona Forever’ tattoo into ‘Wino Forever.’ About the only problem with that would come from an AA meeting. Then again, they might just think he’s being honest.

Peace out, Gang. 😉

Virginia Elwood is sort of hard to keep track of.  She seems to move around a lot.  She’s not denying it, either.  Travel actually seems to be a big part of her work and lifestyle.

I love to travel. You just learn and it’s inspiring. I kind of have wanderlust. It’s hard to just stay in one spot. Being able to travel as much as I do, I hope, cures that because I own a house here. I most recently went to New York and Boston and then to Paris to work, and this is just since April. God, I travel a lot. I’ve been to Miami twice, I leave tomorrow for California, and then I’ll be in New York for a week after that, all for work.

Elwood tattooed professionally for four years, apprenticing at Fat Ram’s Pumpkin Tattoo in Boston, Massachusetts.  After working in various places, she was then reeled in by reality TV show Miami Ink to do a couple of guest spots.  She left Boston to work at Inkvision, in Boise, Idaho and then, in October of 2007, she headed to New York City, where she currently tattoos at NY Adorned.  Phew.  Busy lady.

Portraits are her favourite tattoos to do, though she certainly isn’t limited to strictly doing one type of tattoo.  Check out her excellent old school diver being attacked by a rather stoned looking giant squid.  I love it.  Hell, do yourself a favour and take a look at all her work, here and here as well.  It’s all very impressive.

Not to limit herself solely to tattoo and travelling and appearing on television, Elwood has also started her own clothing line called Pedaler, with friend and business partner Trinity Kerr.  The line comes out of both women’s love for cycling and their dismay over the lack of fashionable cyclist commuter wear.

Holy smokes!  This is one talented and very busy artist.  I can tell you one thing, the next time I visit New York, I’m stopping by NY Adorned.

It’s often said that writing and art are two sides of the same coin, and there are more stories in a tattoo parlor than books in Barnes and Nobles. Well, Jeff Johnson, co-owner of Portland Oregon’s oldest tattoo studio The Sea Tramp Tattoo Co., is out to prove just that.

The release of his debut book, “Tattoo Machine: Tall Tales, True Stories, and My Life in Ink.”, has come out to rave reviews, and it’s not hard to see why. There are stories about the scams people use to try to get free tattoos, like the “Two-Tattoo Rub.” Tales about the pranks the guys in the shop pull on each other like sabotaging the artist’s favorite tattoo machine, or the time he thought he might have tattooed a serial killer. That one can give you a good case of the heebie-jeebies.

The book itself reads like a autobiography sprinkled equally with all the stories and events that come from running a tattoo studio. You artists out there know exactly what I’m talking about there. If you have a studio one thing you can say for certain, it’s as far from boring as Hilary Clinton is from Lindsay Lowhan. After 18 years in the business, Jeff certainly has seen more than his share, and knows how to tell them too.

Jeff is himself a master tattoo artist, as well as a talented writer and story teller. Totally in love with not only the art of tattooing, but the unique atmosphere of a trade that most people are curious about, but few get to enter into. This, and much more comes out in his book, and it’s well worth the price, ($16.50 at Amazon).

Here is a Tattoo book that deserves to be added to any artist, or serious collector’s book shelf. If you love tattoos and good stories you’ll love this.