Artist Spotlight!

          This months artist spotlight is given to one of my favorite artists in the industry. Her name is Kat Von D. When I was younger and watched Miami Ink I swore to myself that I would become a great tattoo artist just like her.

          Born to missionary parents in Mexico, she moved to Los Angeles California around age 4. She was a bit of a black sheep in her family. At age 14 she got her first tattoo and at age 16 she ran away from home to pursue her dream of becoming a tattoo artist. Although some would say that was a stupid idea (getting rid of an education to pursue a dream that could crash and burn), she worked hard and eventually was able to get a spot on the famous show Miami Ink. But after 4 seasons she and the owner Ami James had a fight and she left Miami Ink. But because she had a fighter spirit she opened up her own shop in LA and started a series call LA Ink. To this day she still works there with her awsome staff.

           Kat is well known for her out-of-this world portrait tattoos and has been featured in a variety of tattoo magazines. She will always be one of the top artists in my book.

Needles are Dangerous!

         Today's post is mainly about the dangers of getting a tattoo. Whether you know it or not, you can get serious infections or even HIV from getting a tattoo. Now a days tattoo artist are required to go through classes that teach the importance of cleanliness and keeping people safe. Then again there are classes that teach people not to do drugs and people still go out and do drugs. Anyways what I'm trying to say is that there is a good chance that you will go to an artist who is on a budget or just doesn't care. He'll use the same needle for several customers which is bad for obvious reasons. Even the small things like not disinfecting his work area or wearing gloves while tattooing is a pretty good sign that you should get out of there fast!
         Now of course sickness isn't the only danger. Tattoo artists get a bad rap for being punks, druggies, freaks, etc., but sadly there are a lot of artists that get high, shoot heroine, or smoke crack before they do a tattoo (they think it helps them tattoo better). WRONG! If you have an artist that does drugs before he does a piece, all your gonna get is a jacked up tattoo or your tattoo is gonna look like a nasty colored scar. I can't stress enough how much you should look into the shop you want to get your piece done because safety is always an important thing. I'm pretty sure you don't want HIV or a jacked up tattoo.

A clean workspace.

         But hold on, I'm not done yet. Say you get a nice tattoo artist who keeps his workspace clean and keeps himself clean (of drugs) and he gives you the best tattoo ever! That means that everything will be OK and nothing will ever go wrong again, right?...WRONG! Even after you get a tattoo there are some steps into taking care of it so it will heal up nicely. Make sure to always clean it with soap and water. NEVER...EVER...use peroxide because it can dry up the skin. NEVER...EVER...go swimming at least two weeks after you get the tattoo because the chlorine can suck out the ink and leave you with a faded mess. NEVER...EVER...peel it with your own hands. That can take out the ink as well and leave unwanted patches in the tattoo. And the last thing you shouldn't do is use scented lotions. Using lotion is a must to keep the tattoo looking good as new when its done healing but using scented lotion will mix those chemicals with the ink and make it jacked up.

           Just always remember, cleanliness is close to Godliness!

Gloves keep what the tattoo artist has touched to himself.

An Art older than Time

     Tattoos are nearly as old as time itself. Warriors would get a tattoo to remember a battle that was won, young boys might get a tattoo to mark there right into manhood, and some it's just tradition in the culture.
     However, back then they didn't have the machines we had that automatically makes the needle move back and forth; they did everything by hand. It took a skilled master to tattoo even the most intricate detail in a work of art. The instrument they used didn't have a name but basically it was a stick with a sharp needle stuck in it like a pickaxe. The "tattoo tool" was then dipped into ink that was usually made by mixing ashes with water and other materials. The artist would take a thicker stick and hit the tool into the skin in a repetitive tapping movement. The whole process would take this method few hours, but using our machines today it probably would've only taken 15-20 minutes.
     

 

            Admittedly this process was probably very filthy and infection was prominent in these tattoos. Nonetheless it is was still a beautiful art that was passed down through the century from master to student. Even though a lot of our methods, tools, and teachings are different from three-thousands years ago , you can always thank the ancients for teaching us the art of tattooing.

       Probably the most modern depiction of ancient tattoos is what we call tribal. Tribal is a common tattoo loved by most. It consists of curved lines that usually are fashioned to look like an animal, object, etc. To keep up with the ancient style they're mostly colored in full black but others have gone outside the box and gotten them in a variety of colors and even added modern skulls, roses, crosses, and more to the tribal. Other ancient tattoos still done today are Polynesian styles and Japanese styles.



Polynesian Style

Tribal Style

Japanese Style