Though I’ve read time and time again that tattooists have not been affected by the current economic downturn, I still have a hard time believing it.  Even if it were 100% true, the fact of the matter remains that economies around the world are turning to crap and people everywhere are starting to really feel the sting of it all in some way or another.  So maybe tattooists themselves aren’t feeling too much of an effect of the crummy economic times, but it seems like someone in Houston, Texas either can’t afford to buy their own equipment or has just realised that there is easy money in pawning off stolen tattoo gear.  Whatever the truth is, it ain’t good either way.

In July, Cynthia Courtney’s small shop on the East Freeway was ransacked. Thieves ran off with $18,000 worth of tattoo equipment.

Just last weekend, two tattoo shops were targeted. Rene Garcia, owner of Big City Tattoos in Southeast Houston, reported the theft of $3,000 worth of machines and supplies. Another shop on Westheimer also reported a burglary. The two separate surveillance cameras show a car of similar style leaving the scene of both crimes.

All I can say is that I hope the tattooists who were ripped off have insurance.  That is so essential to all tattooists who run their own studios that I can’t emphasise it any more than I already have again and again on this blog.  INSURANCE!  And, if these artists don’t have insurance, then I really feel for them.  I guess all that can come out of this is a stern warning to all other tattooists in the Houston area to batten down the hatches and guard your gear.  If you don’t have insurance and you have a tattoo studio in the Houston area, do whatever you can to make sure your stuff stays safe.  Good luck!

Perhaps the most important aspect of being a lover of art – whether that art is music or fashion or painting or tattoo – is the ability to recognise a new and different approach and to appreciate it for what it is.  In other words, the ability to move forward in taste and appreciation is essential to having a broad and on going appreciation for art.  It’s fine to like one particular style or one particular genre of any given art form, but sticking only to that style or genre limits the extent to which new art can grow and flourish.  In other words, don’t just eat potatoes if there’s a whole table full of food, sample it all.

Tattoo artist Bugs (aka Pascal Jarrion) is exactly what I’m talking about when it comes to experiencing something new.  Mixing styles of painting with tattoo isn’t any easy thing to do, but Bugs is not afraid to try.  And that’s a great thing because the end result of his mix of cubism, art deco and classical art creates tattoos unlike anything else out there right now.  That may or may not be your thing, but the point is that Bugs is an original in his field of tattoo and it makes looking at his work all the more interesting once you get into his style.

Hailing from Perpignan, France, Bugs attended fine art school, then made his way to London, England where he decided to open a small tattoo studio.  According to Bugs, in London “there were chances for a career which were not available in France at the time.”  Bugs stayed in London, operating his studio for six years.  In 2005 he moved to Los Angeles and currently calls LA his home.  In addition to his tattoo work, he also paints and sculpts, with exhibitions literally all around the world and back.

Check out more of Bugs’ stuff here, as well as a video interview here.

If you ask me, there are too many businesses (and particularly corporations) that simply take from communities and give absolutely nothing back in return.  This is not a healthy model for a strong and unified society.  Many times before we’ve seen tattooists who have offered up charitable donations to various causes.  This is always great to see and typically, these charitable donations go to disadvantaged children, those suffering from illness or worse.  As undeniably important as those issues are, it’s also nice to see someone contributing money to schooling for children of all ages, abilities and cultural backgrounds.

On October 17th, Irish tattooist Shane Sunday is going to be donating all his profits for the day from his tattoo studio Alternative Ink in the Northern Irish town of Holywood to the Holywood Steiner School.  I had never heard of the Holywood Steiner School prior to reading this article, but after a little bit of investigation, the school sounds like a pretty cool place for kids.  Part of the Steiner-Waldorf schools that exist around Europe, the Holywood Steiner school is a place for children to be educated in what is probably best described as an unconventional school system.  Actually, this blurb directly from the Steiner-Waldorf site probably best explains it:

‘Steiner schools are always co-educational, fully comprehensive and take pupils from 3 to ideally eighteen. They welcome children of all abilities from all faiths and backgrounds.

The priority of the Steiner ethos is to provide an unhurried and creative learning environment where children can find the joy in learning and experience the richness of childhood rather than early specialisation or academic hot-housing. The curriculum itself is a flexible set of pedagogical guidelines, founded on Steiner’s principles that take account of the whole child. It gives equal attention to the physical, emotional, intellectual, cultural and spiritual needs of each pupil and is designed to work in harmony with the different phases of the child’s development. The core subjects of the curriculum are taught in thematic blocks and all lessons include a balance of artistic, practical and intellectual content. Whole class, mixed ability teaching is the norm.’

I like the idea of a school environment for children that encourages kids to be themselves and to learn at their own pace.  Plus there is an emphasis on artistic content, which is also very important.  Schools like these help kids to see the world in a more open and less regimented vision, and I can certainly see why a tattooist would wish for their child to be educated in such a place.  Shane Sunday’s child has been enrolled in the Holywood Steiner School since the age of six and his desire to give money to the school (which receives no state funding) is an excellent method by which to give back to the community and help push it in a positive direction.

‘Ciaran McElhone, the head of the College of Teachers said: “Parents like Shane are the reason why 35 years since its founding, the school is still a vibrant, exciting and living community.”

“As it receives no state funding, it relies on a range of voluntary activities such as fund-raising, our renowned school festivals, as well as direct hands-on work, like looking after the grounds.

“Along with the money that we get, which is very nice indeed, taking part in the life of the school means that everyone is a part of the highly important work of raising our children.”’

Great job, Shane and good luck to you.  I’d also like to encourage anyone in the Holywood area who was previously thinking of getting a tattoo to head down to Alternative Ink on the 17th and finally get it done.  You’ll be getting what you want and your money will be going to an excellent cause.

Halloween is just around the corner and for some, it is the holiday of the year.  Sure, kids love Halloween – that’s a given, but there are plenty of adults who seem to love Halloween even more than the little trick or treaters do.  I guess it’s fun to dress up like a total fool and get absolutely wasted at your local pub/club, but it can also just be fun to take in the spirit of the holiday and enjoy the spookiness of it all.

So, if you happen to be one of those aforementioned folks who can’t get enough of the Halloween ghoulish times AND if you happen to live in or near Scottsdale, Arizona, then you are in luck.  Scottsdale tattoo shop EZ Tattoo and Body Piercing (which just happens to be Scottsdale’s oldest tattoo shop, i.e.: a perfect place for ghosts and other such spooky things) is offering spooky Halloween themed tattoos from the 17th of October until Halloween for just $31 each.  But the deal isn’t just limited to tattoos, either: the folks at EZ are also offering the same $31 deal on body piercings (excluding genital and surface).  The piercings will include standard jewelry and aftercare.

The tattoos are only quarter-sized, but you can’t really expect a full sleeve for $31, now can you?  If you are interested in taking advantage of EZ’s offer, then you can contact the staff at 480.941.8720 or click on the above link to be taken to their website.

Well, it looks as though the witch hunt has begun.  Only yesterday I wrote about the potential for the situation in Saudi Arabia to go from bad to worse for tattooed people.  As it turns out, yesterday in the Saudi capital city of Riyadh, Colombian soccer player Juan Pablo Pino was arrested for having visible religious tattoos in a local mall.  Apparently, Pino has numerous religious tattoos, but one of his tattoos in particular is a shoulder tattoo of Jesus of Nazareth.  The Saudi religious police were contacted after enraged shopping mall customers noticed Pino’s visible tattoos on Monday.

‘Saudi Arabia is one of the most conservative countries in the Muslim world, and according to one of the country’s most respected clerics, Nayimi Sheik Mohammed, Saudi law prohibits tattoos, no matter what their form, and every player has to abide with these rules.

The cleric went on to stress the importance of respecting the status of “Sharia” (Islamic law) and that the tattoos must be covered at all times.

Pino, who plays in the Saudi league, has expressed “deep sorrow” for his actions and said he respects the laws of the country. He was released from custody when a team delegate arrived and discussed the matter with the police.’

As I (more or less) basically said yesterday, this is all a whole big pile of bullshit.  It’s downright primitive to arrest someone for having tattoos and even more primitive (if that’s even possible) to arrest someone for having tattoos that imply a belief different to your own.  I mean, seriously – how intolerant can you get?  An added insult to injury is the fact that Pino had to “express deep” sorrow for essentially doing absolutely nothing.  If I were Pino, I would be on the first plane out of that place.  I’m not a religious person, but living in a society that prevents people from believing what they wish to believe is hardly living, in my opinion.  And not that there is any great influx of tourism to Saudi Arabia, but I want to encourage any tattooed people who might be considering a visit to Saudi Arabia at some point in the future not to go until things there change.  I know that this incident has completely changed my mind about visiting the country.  I’d rather spend my tourist dollars in a place where people are treated like people.

I don’t think that I’m going out on too much of a limb here to suggestion that Saudi Arabia is generally an intolerant country.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve met many Saudi people in my lifetime and they all proved to be exceptionally kind and warm and friendly to me and I myself would like to even one day visit Saudi Arabia.  But when it comes to social issues in the Kingdom, the country itself gets a big fat ZERO on the tolerance scale.

Now, perhaps this sort of commentary on a tattoo blog seems out of place to you.  I disagree (obviously) for one simple reason: tattoos are entirely about tolerance – the need for tolerance or the ability to tolerate.  If you are tattooed, you want to know that where you are in the world is going to treat you with the same respect that a non tattooed person would expect and receive.  Well, I don’t think that Saudi Arabia is a place where the tattooed can expect to be treated justly.

The most recent bit of news to surface from Saudi Arabia regarding tattoos is that The Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (commonly referred to as the religious police), in the Saudi capital city of Riyadh, has urged the General Youth Welfare Presidency to force foreign soccer players in the country to cover any and all tattoos that they may have.  The religious police believe that this is necessary to prevent Saudi youths from attempting to imitate their tattooed soccer heroes.

‘In the directive sent to the undersecretary of the presidency, the commission drew attention to the fact that the media carried recently the photo of the Colombian player with a tattooed arm. It is noteworthy that the commission had intervened following a media outcry after noticing wearing of cross by a Romanian professional of Al Hilal Club last year.

Subsequently, Faisal Abdul Hadi, secretary general of Saudi Football Federation, sent a circular to all clubs asking them to advise their professionals and players to respect Saudi traditions and not show their religious symbols in a way disregarding Saudi customs and traditions.’

Now, I don’t want to stir the pot too much on this issue, but first and foremost, I would hope that the Saudi government does not force foreign soccer players to cover their tattoos.  If they do implement this law, then I would hope that foreign soccer players would cease signing with Saudi clubs in protest of such a ridiculous law.  Second, I find it more than a little hypocritical that major controversies have arisen in the past few years in Europe and elsewhere over issues like in France where the wearing of veils by Muslim women is banned, only to receive a great deal of flack.  After all, veil wearing is not in line with French customs and traditions, so why should the French be asked to comply with it?  I personally think that anyone should be able to wear what they wish and express themselves how they wish, but this has to go both ways.  Hopefully the ridiculousness of all this type of stuff will one day disappear and visible tattoos in Saudi Arabia will be as common as visible veils in France.

When I first heard about South Korean tattooist Kahn, I was more than a little confused.  Given South Korea’s anti-tattoo laws, I knew that there were still some tattooists working within the country, but that these were largely relegated to underground type businesses, in unmarked studios down twisting dark alleyways that no one but someone specifically in the know could ever hope to find.  I also knew that it was particularly strange for a South Korean tattooist to openly flaunt their tattoo business online in a country where tattoo is actually legal.

But then I realised that simply because Kahn hails from South Korea, it does not necessarily mean that he lives and works in South Korea (duh).  Yeah, sometimes I’m a little slow to catch on to these things.  The truth is, Kahn has been tattooing since 2001, shortly after he was exposed to the tattoos of a member of Japan’s Yakuza (Mafia).  Since that time, Kahn has no doubt worked extremely hard at getting to the level at which he currently finds himself.  Yet aside from the hours and years of dedication and hard work, there is obviously some serious talent helping him along the way as well.

Kahn currently works in Sapporo, Japan – a city (and country) that certainly isn’t yet completely open to tattoo, but is making slow, consistent strides toward conquering that.  His work consists of both colour and black and white realistic styles, though in my personal opinion, his colour work is the real show stopper.  That’s not a slight against his quality black and grey stuff, it’s just that his colour stuff takes everything to the next level.  It’s down right gorgeous.  Take a nice long look at Kahn’s tattoo portfolio here.

I just may end up in Tokyo at some point in the new year.  When and if I do, I will most definitely be taking the journey up to Sapporo and seeking out Kahn for some of his outstanding work – that is, if he’s even in town.  Dude travels a lot, tattooing all around the world, and for good reason.  He’s definitely in demand.  Keep up the awesome work, Kahn!

I always find it interesting to see actual stats on any type of increase that has to do with tattoo. We all know that tattoo is more popular than it has ever been, but seeing real numbers helps put things into a better perspective. However, these higher numbers aren’t necessarily a good thing – often they are indicative of other problems that are occurring right now, like the increase in DIY tattoos, scratchers and just poor quality businesses popping up seemingly over night.

A news article out of Malta is claiming that the number of tattoo studios there has doubled from 15 in 2009 to 33 in 2011. This is impressive, given that the recession is wreaking havoc with economies everywhere, yet at the same time, tattooists in Malta are not reporting any actual increase in their business.

‘Isaac Wood, son of renowned tattoo artist Bobby who died in 2010 after a 50-year career in making tattoos, attributes the increase in the number of tattoo parlours in Malta to the popularity of TV programmes like Miami Ink and LA Ink.

Wood himself has not noticed any increase in the number of people having tattoos done. But according to Wood it could be well the case that the business is being split among a larger number of outlets.’

Call me cynical but I tend to take a large increase in tattoo studios like the one in Malta with a grain of salt.  By that I mean that the more tattoo studios that open in a short span of time, the greater the likelihood of the actual quality of a majority of those shops being sub-par.  It just stands to reason that in such a short amount of time, the number of tattooists who have actually gone through an extensive apprenticeship and are ready to open their own studio is unlikely to double the existing number of studios.  Good tattooists take time and although it’s entirely possible that all of these new studios opening in Malta are being opened by good or even great tattooists, the reality is that the odds just don’t favour such a thing.  What the odds do favour however, is that time will tell who’s good and who isn’t by sheer economics.  My guess is that in the next two years, we’re going to see a lot of tattoo studios closing down in Malta.

It’s probably naive of me to say so, but I honestly thought that we were getting to a point where people were no longer barred from establishments like restaurants or taverns for having tattoos.  I don’t know why exactly it is that I thought this, but most likely it came from me not seeing any news on this sort of issue for quite some time.  The last time I can remember reading anything about someone being banned from a public place due to their tattoos was probably at least a year or two ago.

Sadly, we have still not cleared that hurdle.  Customers have recently been banned from a bar in Christchurch, New Zealand for having tattoos on the neck or face.  These weren’t random customers either, but long time customers who have been going to what was formerly known as the Parklands Tavern but is now called the Turf Bar, for years.

Last Thursday, Tunahau Kohu was asked to leave the bar because of his moko, or facial tattoos.  The tattoos are an important part of Maori culture, but that didn’t make any difference to the owner of the Turf Bar.  The next day, long time patron Shaun McNicholl was also asked to leave – by staff who are reportedly his friends.  McNicholl has tattoos covering his arms, chest and neck.  The bar has decided to change their image and has banned customers who have tattoos on their neck or face.  McNicholl started going to the tavern at age 16 with his parents on Thursdays and has been doing so until now, at the age of 22.

‘McNicholl, 22, who works at food manufacturer Tegel, said he had never encountered prejudice because of his tattoos.

He was upset at being barred because he had been a regular patron of the tavern before the refurbishment.

He was friends with many of the bar staff, and it was one of them who told him he was no longer welcome.

“I’ve been going there every Thursday since I was about 16, with my parents of course,” he said.

“I was there on Thursday, with no problems, for about half an hour. Then I went back on Friday for a friend’s birthday. I was there maybe about 10 minutes and a security guard, who is also a friend of mine, just said: `You need to leave’.”‘

Tunahau Kohu has since taken this issue up with the New Zealand Human Rights Commission and his case is being looked into.  McNicholl also attempted to complain to the Human Rights Commission, but they told him that bars do have the right to choose who they let in and that since his tattoos do not have any cultural significance, he does not have a case against Turf Bar.

It really sucks that this kind of thing has to go on.  Turf Bar co-owner Louis Vieceli claims that they are doing this in order to create a “welcoming environment for people.”  That’s great.  Too bad that “welcoming environment” doesn’t include tattooed people.

Back in March, I posted a rant about “musician” Ke$ha who tattooed a fan backstage after one of her concerts.  She doesn’t use any real tattoo equipment and if it’s actually possible to be below the level of a scratcher, then that’s where Ke$ha currently sits, in my opinion.

Well, now she’s making news again after she attempted to tattoo musician Andrew W.K. and ended up leaving him scarred and in need of medical aid.

‘He tells Spinner.com, “It got infected. It’s an unfortunate aftermath and my body ended up rejecting the ink and I had to go to the doctor. But it actually left a nice scar which was, in fact, cooler than the tattoo that’s in the exact shape of the tattoo.”‘

Andrew W.K. actually went on to say that he just might give Ke$ha another chance to tattoo him in the future.  Well, if he’s that stupid, then he deserves what he gets, I guess.  However it’s not Andrew W.K. who pisses me off so much, but Ke$ha.  What I really, really, really want to know is why is this total asshole getting away with doling out these shitty home made tattoos?  Hey Ke$ha, you’re not a tattoo artist, you stupid fuck.  Seriously, there is absolutely no reason why she should be getting away with this.  She is unlicensed, untrained and just plain not an artist.  If scratchers are regularly being charged with illegal tattooing, then Ke$ha most definitely needs to be charged.  I mean, she’s already sent someone to a doctor because of her shitty wannabe tattoo skills.  At what point is the law going to step in on this?  Not to mention that she’s a terrible representative for tattoos and of what tattoos are about.  What Ke$ha is doing is not tattoo and has no link whatsoever to the tattoo community.

Shut. Her. Down.