Newsgroups: rec.arts.bodyart,news.answers,rec.answers Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!nic.hookup.net!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!ames!news.Hawaii.Edu!uhunix3.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu!teshima From: teshima@uhunix3.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu (Lani Teshima-Miller) Subject: rec.arts.bodyart Tattoo FAQ: Part 2/4: Artist & Shop List Message-ID: Followup-To: rec.arts.bodyart Summary: This posting contains the Frequently Asked Questions file about tattoos and other non-piercing bodyart. Anyone who wishes to read/post to the rec.arts.bodyart newsgroup should read this first. Sender: news@news.Hawaii.Edu Organization: University of Hawaii Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1993 18:54:36 GMT Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu Lines: 844 Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu rec.arts.bodyart:10791 news.answers:15939 rec.answers:3383 Archive-name: tattoo-faq/part2 Last-modified: November 22, 1993 Posting-frequency: Monthly This is Part 2 of the 'other' half of the rec.arts.bodyart FAQ file that is posted on a monthly basis (in the latter half of the month) and includes information about everything but piercing that might concern bodyart. If you are a regular reader of r.a.b. and do not want to read this monthly posting, you may want to set a KILL command in your file for all four tattoo FAQ postings. The rec.arts.bodyart tattoo FAQ is broken up into four parts: Part 1/4: Introduction, and getting a tattoo Part 2/4: Artist list Part 3/4: How to care for a new tattoo Part 4/4: Miscellaneous information Part 2 includes the following information: 1. Who is a good/bad tattoo artist near me? 1.1 US West Coast: Washington, California 1.2 US Southwest: Arizona 1.3 US Midwest: Ohio, Minnesota, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois 1.4 US Southeast: Louisiana, Florida 1.5 US East Coast: Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island 1.6 Pacific: Hawaii (US) 1.7 Canada: British Columbia, London 1.8 EUROPE/UK: London 1.9 EUROPE/POLAND 2. Where on my body should I get a tattoo? 1. Who is a good/bad tattoo artist near me? ---------- The following is a growing list of artists whom come with a personal recommendation by readers of r.a.b. Most of the non-attributed submissions came with the original FAQ compiled Paul Davies. In some cases, artists have been posted here as a warning against visiting them. A posting on this FAQ does *not* constitute approval. ***UNLESS IT SAYS IT WAS MY PERSONAL OPINION, I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE VALIDITY OF THE PERSONAL OPINIONS IN THE SUBMISSIONS FOR THIS ARTIST LIST, AND I WILL NOT BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR NEGATIVE REVIEWS. IF YOU FIND OFFENSE IN A NEGATIVE REVIEW, YOU ARE HEREBY INFORMED TO CONTACT THE CONTRIBUTOR DIRECTLY.*** It is YOUR responsibility to check out the artist and make sure s/he will do quality work. You may submit names to: teshima@uhunix.uhcc.Hawaii.edu. Include the artist's name, address, phone number, hours, general prices (or pricing scheme--per hour rate, etc.), & specialization. If they have email access, please provide their email address as well. In order to avoid "politicizing" this list, please use some common sense by not posting a "mediocre" artist and proclaim him/her as excellent, or submit a bad review as a way to bad-mouth someone. Try to be factual about your information. Gossip and rumors are discouraged. Personal opinion should be noted as such. Good artists should also have some business sense--a clean, sanitary environment, straightforward fees, insurance coverage, etc. Fly-by-night operations will NOT be posted here (unless the artist has a reputation for doing this, and should be avoided), and postings by those with self-interests (i.e. your brother owns the shop) is highly discouraged. After all, if your brother is an excellent artist, someone else will probably recommend him, anyway. You can include other information, such as whether they've won some awards, travel the convention circuit, take credit cards, or what their policy is for out-of-town customers. Where possible, I have included the name and email address of the person who submitted the information about the artist/shop for accountability purposes, and so that you may email directly for more details. *I WILL NOT TAKE CONTRIBUTIONS FROM AN ANONYMOUS ID. YOU MUST BE WILLING TO PUT YOUR NAME AND EMAIL ADDRESS BEHIND YOUR CONTRIBUTION.* Artist suggestions are the sole opinion of the contributor! I take no responsibility for vouching for the artist's quality or lack thereof. 1.1 US West Coast: **WASHINGTON (State)** --Dermagraphics of Seattle, 1516 Western Ave., Seattle, WA (206) 622 1535, by appointment only. This is Vyvyn Lazonga's shop. She specializes in combining bold primitive lines with colorful, flowing abstract geometrics--lines, bubbles, etc. "A fusion of primitive and modern tattooing" according to her card. The whole effect is very pleasing, and rather unique, & would work well for both men and women, I think. Also works out of San Francisco. (P.S. According to her card, her name is spelled "Vyvyn," not "VyVynn.") --Seattle Tattoo Emporium, 1106 East Pike St., Seattle. (206) 622 6895 **CALIFORNIA** Bay Area, California (South Bay): -------------------- --Pinky Yuen, Dragon Tattoo, San Jose: Pardon the inconvenience--this section currently under renovation. I have pulled the information in this section because: a) My institution and I have been threatened with a libel suit by the artist's attorney, and; b) I cannot find the contributor who wrote the original statement about this artist and is willing to back it up. For more info about the artist, please email Karl Elvis MacRae (batman@cisco.com) or Becky Fenton (AS.RAF@forsythe.stanford.edu) privately. --Eddie Lum, Eddie's Skin Works, in Santa Clara 1207 El Camino Real (408) 554-8520 I highly recommend Pinky's brother, Eddie Lum. His forte, not surprisingly, is Oriental stuff. Very good with flowing lines, dragons,tigers, flowers. I have 2 pieces from him and am very pleased. Warning: if you're taking in a custom design, there's a language barrier, and you may have to explain it several times. --Robert Roberts, Mad Dog (His name is Robert Roberts--Mad Dog is the name of his tattooing enterprise.) Inconsistent. While some of it is truly outstanding, others aren't that great: It really depends on what you're getting. Robert is great w/ all-black, but you might want to go elsewhere if you want color. --Ed Hardy, Tattoo City on Columbus, 415-433-9437 The best in tattoo shop in SF (Actually, without a doubt the best in the state, and possibly the best in the country) "Tattoo City" on Columbus; the shop is owned by Ed Hardy, and the guys who work there (Freddy Corbin, Eddie Deutsch, Dan Higg) are simply great. You cannot go wrong with the three; Freddy and Eddie are the two best tattooists I've ever seen. --Erno Tattoo 252 Fillmore, San Francisco, CA 94117 (415)861-9206 Hours: Noon to 9pm. Appointments recommended. Shop is clean, businesslike. Autoclaving used. Artists: o Nalla: Specializes in blackwork, celtic designs, excellent artist. Also knowledgeable about piercings. o Patrick: Good at black & celtic, but specializes in high fantasy art. Excellent dragons, fairies, etc. Also excels at sci-fi art). o Jaime Trujillo: More traditional; good artist--ease & skill of a seasoned pro. San Jose -------- --Steve Cameron at Zap Illustrations. 1385 W. San Carlos, #202 (408) 287-4011 Mostly custom work; not for beginners. May try to talk you out of a tat, if he doesn't think it appropriate to the rest of your body- scheme. Very good free-hand work; likes bold, aggressive designs. He'll also put in vast amounts of design work for free, if the design excites him. Sacramento ---------- --Ken Cameron, California Tattoo Company. 7946 Auburn Blvd., Sacramento-Citrus Heights CA 95610. (916)723-3559 Contributor: Tim Lu (tlu@sunstroke.sdsu.edu) This is in Sacramento not San Jose, they are kind of close together. Maybe Ken and Steve are the same person, but maybe not. Redwood City ------------ --Redwood Tattoo, 846-M Jefferson Ave., Redwood City, CA (415) 369-6365, walk-ins welcome, but appts have priority. Closed Sun. & Mon, appts required for custom work. Cash only. Contributor: Rebecca Fenton (AS.RAF@Forsythe.Stanford.EDU). Artists: o Paco Dietz: Was at Picture Machine in San Francisco; specializes in fantasy art, custom designs. New shop w/ lots of new flash. Beautiful tribal and celtic designs, as well as some unusual Native American designs. o Karl: Apprentice, past experiences have been scratching out of his home. Specializes in Neo-Japanese style art. He does very nice custom work (my favorite of his is a butterfly with a tiger face peering out at you through the wing designs), and has experience in blackwork and fine line. Piercer: o Fashia Fontaine: Trained under Fakir Musafar *WARNING*: I have received some very, disconcerting information from r.a.b. regular Barbara MacRae regarding the quality and sanitary conditions of this piercer's operations. Until her work condition improves, this warning will remain. Santa Barbara ------------- --Pat Fish, Tattoo Santa Barbara Bar-none! I've seen some of her Celtic work (her specialty), and she's *really good*. (I read an interview where she said she thinks it's a genetic race-memory or something, and went into tattooing specifically to get into Celtic work.) Greater Los Angeles (Orange County, LA) --------------------------------------- --Skin Works, 313 East Balboa Blvd., Newport Beach CA, 92661, ph. 714-675-8905 (in Orange County, just south of Los Angeles) Contributor: Tim Lu (tlu@sunstroke.sdsu.edu). Artists: o Ardee Allen (owner): An excellent artist, always very professional. I feel it's important to support women in business--I've been going to her for about 5 years now and she has done my entire chest and about 3/4 of my back. Periodically attends conventions, and her work has appeared in a number of tattoo magazines. Specialties: Custom work, coverups, and colorwork, sumi (Japanese calligraphy) style grey work. o Lynda Tobbin: Talented artist who does very nice custom work. Piercer: o Val: Specialize in body piercing. --Kari Barba's Twilight Fantasy Tattoo. 3024 W Ball Rd (at Beach), Anaheim, CA 92804. (714) 761-8288. Contributor: Tim Lu (tlu@sunstroke.sdsu.edu). Artist: Kari Barba (her hours are usually 11-5pm, off Wed--shop is open 11-10) Extremely well-known for her work with nature and wildlife. Her style is reminiscent of a watercolor-like quality, which sets her apart from many other artists. Her shop wall is covered with awards. Nice front reception area; work area is behind reception counter. Not too much privacy as the individual work areas are not divided. They also have a second shop in Riverside, although Kari Barba works primarily out of the Anaheim shop. Contributor: Jonathan Ward (drdrums@csld.ucr.edu): --Twilight Fantasy Tattoo of Riverside, 5517 Van Buren Bl (Sylvan & Van Buren), Riverside, CA 9250? . (909)688-8282 M-Th 11-10 FSS 11-11 MC VS AM Disc, cash no checks San Diego: --Avalon Gallery, 1035 Garnet Ave., San Diego, CA 92109 (in Pacific Beach) (619) 274-7635. Email: kelley@aol.com. Needles autoclaved & new ink used for each new client. Hours: Noon to 8pm. Appts preferred--walk-ins on Sat. only. Cash only. Each artist has a studio booth so privacy ensured. Artists: o Patti Kelley: Specializes in bright color work. Award winner, booked a few months ahead. o Fip Buchanan (her husband): Graffiti art. o Steve Barjonas: Likes all styles but particularly enjoys Native American gray work. o Randy: Comic book art-style. o Mike Strobbe: 1.2 Southwest *ARIZONA* --Jil, Skin Alive Tattoos, Prescott, Arizona. (602) 772-2387. Formerly of Bodygraphics, Reno. By appointment only. My *favorite* tattoo artist. Her forte is wildlife, but good with just about everything--would be very successful wildlife artist in another medium. Her tattoos have an incredible amount of life, and her detailing is incredible. 20 years' experience. She's a custom fineline specialist, and has won awards. Her style is what I think of as "fineline steel engraving" (as opposed to Kari Barba, who does incredible animals, but primarily with striking colorwork). I found her by pouncing on a total stranger and demanding to know who did his *incredible* tats. 1.3 Midwest: *OHIO* --Marty Holcomb, Marty's Artistic Tattooing, 3160 West Broad St., Columbus, Ohio Marty won several national "Best Tattoo Artist" awards in the 1991. --Dana Brunson, Designs by Dana, 4167 Hamilton Ave., Cincinnati, OH (513) 681-8871 --Tattoos by Woody. Toledo Tattoo, 2068 Airport Hwy, Toledo, Ohio 43609, (419) 382 8805. Contributor: Jean-Luc Reutter (reutter@igd.fhg.de) Needles autoclaved but I don't know about new ink for every customer. Good custom designs, by appointment only, very reasonable prices. Refuses to do fascist swastika sh*t. Clean and friendly atmosphere. *MINNESOTA* --Acme Tattoo Co., 1045 Arcade St., St. Paul, MN, (612) 771-0471 *Good* but expensive. Pre-designed tats are costly and other work is $200/hour (as of '92). --Steve Butterfield, Tattoos by Yerkew, 3127 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis, MN, (612) 825-6161 Steve is real good, but the shop's owner, Dave "the fat guy" Yerkew leaves quite a bit to be desired. Steve around after about 6:00 pm *INDIANA* --Jeannie Fritch, Personal Art Tattoos, 3453 Central Ave., Lake Station, IN, (219) 962-3600 --Roy Boy's Badlands, 3849 Broadway, Gary, IN 46409, (219) 884-4965. Needles autoclaved. I got an all-black, tribal piece (a very even dark gray)--Design was reproduced on my skin quite accurately. Flash is stereotypical and old-looking, though some nice Celtic designs. Felt vaguely sleazy--badly painted signs in the front, water-damaged ceiling panels inside. Actual work areas were spotless, but the building doesn't inspire confidence. Good enough, but not really anything special, what with Guy Aitchison a few miles away. *MICHIGAN* --Suzanne, Creative Tattoos, 307 E. Liberty, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104 Contributor: Jean-Luc Reutter (reutter@igd.fhg.de) Needles autoclaved but I don't know about new ink for every customer. Artist: o Suzanne: BS & MA of Fine Art. Great custom designs, preferably black only or celtic. Skilled artist however she sometimes lacks motivation with smaller pieces and the results may vary in quality. Cash only, usually no receipt. Usually by appointment only, very rarely walk-ins. Sometimes guest artists. Nice friendly atmosphere. Piercer: -Barbara Lance "Zaphod" Bailey (lrb@ctrg.rri.uwo.ca) says: "She really doesn't specialize in Celtic stuff. she used to, but she doesn't any more--says her old eyes aren't good enough for it. I was in her shop yesterday and she seemed pretty disinterested in doing some Celtic stuff on me. Maybe Celtic-inspired, but it's going to take some work from me to get a design she's willing to do, and I'm willing to wear...sigh. But she does specialize in being good :) I saw a wizard she did yesterday and it was so very nice. *ILLINOIS* --Guy Aitchison, Guilty + Innocent Productions, 3105 N. Lincoln Chicago, IL 60657, (312) 404-6955 tattoos, 404-6963 merchandise $1 catalogue available by mail. Contributor: Phredd Groves (phredd@casbah.acns.nwu.edu) One of the most popular and well-known artists in the country. Work reminiscent of futuristic beetles from album covers of the band, Journey. --Milios Hair & Skin Studio, 3205 N. Clark St, Chicago, IL 60657 (312) 549-1461. Contributor: Adam Rybaczuk (aryba@casbah.acns.nwu.edu) To my knowledge the only tattoo shop in the country set in a full service hair salon and clothing boutique! Shop also has a pool table and a very relaxed, non-traditional atmosphere. Flash available, but custom pieces preferred. Referenced in the November '93 issue of _Allure_ magazine. Cash only, $100/hour (custom), deposit required. All equipment autoclaved; needles used once and discarded. Chicago Health Dept inspected & approved, proper licenses present. Artists: o Robert Koss: Main artist, works at Guy Aitchison's Guilty + Innocent Prod 2x/week. Does mostly custom work and does fine, fine work. o Adam: Apprenticing under Rob. [Note: Adam the contributor, is also Adam the apprentice. While you can email him about the shop, his account is through his "day job," so please use some common sense as far as taking time out from his job to reply to you. If you're in the area, it's probably better to phone.] --Tatu Tattoo, 1754 W. North Ave., Chicago, IL, (312) 772-TATU Contributor: Phredd Groves (phredd@casbah.acns.nwu.edu) --Body Basics Precision Tattooing and Body Piercings 613 W. Briar, Chicago, IL, 60657. (312) 404-5838, (a block south of Belmont, just west of Broadway), Tues.-Sat. 2 to 10pm Contributor: Phredd Groves (phredd@casbah.acns.nwu.edu) Run by Mad Jack and Anna, Jack does the tattoos and both do piercings (both by appointment only). I can personally recommend these guys as far as piercing and professionalism goes. --I'm No Angel Production, 2606 W. Farmington Rd., Peoria, IL 61604. (309) 673 4930. Contributor Steven Parks (nudnik@bucs1.bradley.edu) Wanda Harper is the owner/artist. Open Noon to 8pm everyday. New needles and ink for each new customer. Appointment required. Specializes in Celtic and Native American designs, as well as piercings. Learned from Jim Hawk (Galesburg), who occasionally stops by for a visit, and people in town who know him may come in for a special tat. Wanda looks out for her customers and won't do work that won't turn out--It's all in the reputation. 1.4 Southeast: *FLORIDA* Orlando ------- --Ancient Art, (407) 855-TATU Lance R. Bailey (lrb@ctrg.rri.uwo.ca) says he was happy with Mike. Caroline Emmons (cemmons@garnet.acns.fsu.edu) says: "Ancient Art" inked several of my friends, who were all quite satisfied. I think the main guy is supposed to be kind of an asshole, but he has a new assistant who I hear has less of an attitude *NORTH CAROLINA* Carrboro -------- --Choice Peach Tattoo, 304-E W. Weaver St. Carrboro, NC 27516. (919) 932-9888 is excellent. They do 100% original work, NO flash. By appointment only. *TENNESSEE* Memphis: --Rocky's. 604 South Highland St., Memphis, TN 38111 (910) 323-8288. Hours: 3pm to Midnight. Appointment preferred, especially around military payday (good side trip from Graceland!). Place owned by Rocky, but I only know about Kevin, who did 2 chest pieces on my husband. Kevin is trained as a scientific illustrator, so his wildlife is *incredible*! His stippling method makes for a very realistic rendering. One word of warning: My husband said he saw a poster of Hitler in the back room, and that Rocky wore a "W.A.R." (White Aryan Nation?) tat on his knuckles--but that he thought Kevin just worked there and wasn't part of "all that." 1.5 East Coast: *MARYLAND* --Main Street Tattoo Studio, Starlite Plaza, Rt 40, Pulaski Hwy, Edgewood, MD, (410) 676-TAT2 (8282). Also in Elkton: (410) 398-1202. He's done some very spectacular work and just completed an excellent cover-up of 2 small pieces (which were quite dark; red, green, blue, purple) I had for over 10 years. The cover-up is a tiger lily (magenta, black, pink w/ yellow tipped petals) w/ delicate curving tribal thru the lily that is quite breathtaking and required his exceptional artistic talent. --Great Southern Tattoo Co.. 9403 Baltimore Blvd. (Rt. 1), College Park, MD 20740. (301) 474-8820. Located right off the Washington Beltway (495), right up the street from the Univ. of Maryland College Park Campus. Contributor: Kristen Herzog (kherzog@skidmore.edu) Operated by a family (Charley, Sandy, and Dee Parsons); very relaxed atmosphere. They've also done some of the best work I've seen in the area. -Not everyone agrees with Kristen, however. Andy "Ozric Tentacles" (adwyer@mason1.gmu.edu) (Ozric Tentacles) was not satisfied: "Charley estimated one price, and upped it halfway through. I'd only gotten from the cash machine what he quoted, and didn't intend to pay more than the original quote, so the work stopped unfinished. I suppose it might have been my fault for not getting pissed about it then. In talking to people about their experiences, they seem to divide along gender lines. Those who were happy with the work were women, while those unhappy were men. I've heard more than one of them give the impression that the difference in service might be attributed to being the only close option in a college town, and not needing to do a high quality job for the typical frat guy client." *NEW HAMPSHIRE* --The Tattoo Shop, 109 Daniel Street, Portsmouth NH 03801 (603)436-0805. Contributor: Fred Jewell (fredj@ksr.com ) Artists: Hobo, Tattoo George Prices start at $40; average $100. In business since '76, are clean, use sterile instruments and do good solid work. --Sign of the Wolf, Wiers Beach NH, (603)366-2557 Contributor: Fred Jewell (fredj@ksr.com ) Artists: Dave Sr., Dave Jr., several apprentices. Friendly and laid back, would make you feel comfortable if you were anxious. So clean, you could eat off the floor. Dave Jr. has won a few awards. Price range: $100 to $350; average is $260 for a fairly large piece. They specialize in wildlife and American Indian art. --Juli Moon Designs Inc., Route 1, PO Box 1403, Seabrook NH 03874 (603)474-2250. Contributor: Fred Jewell (fredj@ksr.com ) What can you say about Juli Moon except, "When?" She is booked a month in advance, and is truly award winning. --Brothers Too, South Broadway, Salem NH, Exit 1 Off Rt. 93 Licensed and Board of Health Approved. Contributor: Fred Jewell (fredj@ksr.com ) Tattoo Frank scared me. Asked if he'd been vaccinated for Hep A and B, he said, "I only got hepatitis once and that was from a customer." His brother, "Bennies Tattoos" is just down the street and has the same kind of attitude. --Bill's Tattoo Palace, Broadway , Derry NH, (603)437-8813 Contributor: Fred Jewell (fredj@ksr.com ) Nice guy, but I set up an appointment and he didn't show! I called back, and got someone who thought he was doing me a favor by talking to me. Some of the work is really good but there seems to be a lot of new people in the shop trying out the profession. *NEW JERSEY* --Ernie White, Tattoo Factory, 94 Main Street, Butler, NJ., (201) 838-7828 *NEW YORK* --Bruce Bart Tattooing. Main Street, Tannersville, NY 12485. (518) 589 - 5069. Second shop at: 274 Lark Street, Albany, NY 12210 (518) 432-1905. Hours: M-F Noon-8pm, S/Su 11am-6pm. Cost: $120 an hour. $5 disposable (and autoclaved) needles, new ink for each customer. Contributor: Kirsten Herzog (kherzog@skidmore.edu) Artists: Bruce Bart and Bruce Kaplan Specializes in Japanese , modern primitive, colorwork, Celtic styles. Prefers appointments, but will accept walk-ins if not busy. Lark St. shop looked like a dentist's office. Very friendly and totally receptive. Impressed by the ready art and sketches they had in the waiting room. Seemed very professional. --Spaulding & Rodgers Sells tattoo guns, needles and ink. The few artists that have worked on me (Cliff Raven, Kevin Brady, Phil Payton) usually do a lot of custom work on their needles if not the gun itself. Needles continually dull from use or sterilizing and have to be resharpened and soldered into the appropriate groups and configurations. --C&C Tattoo, 307 Congress St., Troy, NY 12180, (518)272-0576 Ask for Sue Daves (apprentice). She did my full back piece, and it came out awesome! *RHODE ISLAND* --Electric Ink Tattoo, 153 Waterman Ave, E. Providence, RI (401)435 3393. Needles autoclaved (required by law in RI). New needles/ink for every customer. Cash only; walk-ins welcome. Artists: o Chris Borge: All-around great tattoo artist. Specializes in tribal; probably the best in the shop. o Skott Greene: Great for those who like to customize to a greater extent. Doing them since Dec '92, he's already very adept; the one to see about great custom designs. (Trained as an airbrush artist) Note: Don L. no longer works out of Electric Ink as of 11/93. --Artistic Tattooing, 405 Atwell Ave., Providence RI, 02909 (401)861-7373 All needles are brand new and autoclaved, artists wear gloves, and ink is individual. Artists: Rusty, Dean II Pricing is done by the piece, but may be hourly for large pieces. I found pricing to be very reasonable and am very happy with my tats (backpiece by Rusty, earpiece by Dean II). They do everything from tribal to coverup. They do not participate in any tat conventions. 1.6 Pacific *HAWAII* --China Sea Tattoo, 1033 Smith, Honolulu, Hawaii, (808) 553-1603 The oldest tattoo studio in the US with a grand tradition. In Chinatown area near Downtown Honolulu. Suggest going during the day (hours: Noon-11pm) to avoid seedy nightlife scene. Artists: Mike Malone, Scotty and Kandy. All are excellent. Mike is very active in the tat world, and attends (I think they all do, rotating. I know Kandy was at the Chicago tat convention recently), and has served as a judge at tat conventions. Kandy only works there on Tuesdays, (also works at Dragon Tattoo in Wahiawa on Mondays), specializes in Hawaiian-style designs and has 10 years' experience. --Skin Deep Tattooing, 2128 Kalakaua Ave, Honolulu (808) 924-7460. If in Waikiki, you may want to stop by , as it's right on the main strip. The place is run by Winona Martin and several of her workers. Advertises heavily; may be pricey due to Waikiki location. 1.7 Canada: *BRITISH COLUMBIA* --Sailor Cam, the Dutchman Tattoos, 630 12th St., New Westminster, BC, Canada, (604)522-5156 *LONDON (Canada)* --Blue Dragon Tattoo, 253 Wellington London, 519-434-4706 The busiest shop in town, does a lot of flash work. I have found them either pretty grumpy/opinionated or at times friendly. --Tattoos Unlimited, 847 Dufferrin, 519-672-8025 Al Newcombe has been tattooing in London for a looong time. His work is mostly flash, he can create stencils from your artwork. His work tends to have a '50s feel to it--the stuff you see on ex-seamen. --Tattoos by Gypsy , 519-453-0822 Tony is pretty young and is a design artist. I've created some really nice work with him starting with my rough sketches. but his work is pretty uneven it can be really good or really bad. --George Lewis, Tattoo Art (est. 1980), 244 King St. S., Waterloo, Ont. N2J 1R4, (519) 576-8054 Artists: George Lewis, Ken Lewis, Todd Evans (I have experience only with George--cannot commend on the other two). "Sterile conditions", "lifetime guarantee" (which I assume means I can return to touch up color fades, etc.) by appointment only. Does exotic piercings. Visa and Mastercard accepted.Mine are very well done--lines are even and seem to connect properly and all of my friends are amazed at the fine detail and how bright the colors are! *ONTARIO* --Tattoo Art by George Lewis. 244 King St. S., Waterloo, Ont. N2J 1R4 (519) 576-8054. Visa & Mastercard accepted. According to their card: Ultra modern; sterile conditions; modern designs--fine line; specializing in cover-up work; custom work; lifetime guarantee. Appointments only. Also does pierces. Contributor: Judy Carr (jcarr4@mach1.wlu.ca) -Artists: George Lewis, Ken Lewis, Todd Evans. Although I don't know much about 'good' or 'bad' tattoos, I believe mine are very well done! All my friends are amazed at the fine detail and how bright the colors are! 1.8 EUROPE/UK London ------ --Lal Hardy, 157 Sydney Road, Muswell Hill, London N10 2NL. Tel: 081-444 8779 Gifs of a thunderbird back piece available from 141.214.4.135. --Dennis Cockel, Walkers' Court London W1 (a small side street in Soho) Tattooed myself and a girlfriend about four years ago and we are both very satisfied. ---Mark and Andy, Kensington Market, London W8. Their designs were drawn by several artists over many years, they claim to do award winning custom work and my opinion is they are good. The parlor is on the basement of the market building, it doesn't have any name (as I remember) and is not listed on yellow pages. --Saint's Parlor, Portobello Road, London Warning: He had some photos of the tattoos he had done that at first looked ordinary, but if you look at them more closely, you can see he has *redrawn* parts of the design on the photo afterwards by pen. At least I wouldn't trust on a tattooist who does that. --Terry's Tattoo Studio, 23 Ghisholm Street, Glasgow G1 5HA, U.K. Tel (041) 552 5740. Three artists in 1992: Terry, Stuart, and Steven--Quite popular. The ready-made designs were nice and my boyfriend is very satisfied with his tattoo. I think in this parlor a first timer can feel comfortable in, since it looks a lot like an ordinary shop with show window and quite large, light waiting room for customers. 1.9 EUROPE/POLAND --(Acid Shop) Studio Tattoo. ul. Ogrodowa 20, 61-820 Poznan, Poland Phone: 522-851. Hours: 11:00am-9:00pm. Needles sterilized via pressurized steamer (120C) Contributor: Ulf Nagel (ulfn@dhhalden.no) Artist: Slawek Slavomir Slawek has been tattooing for about three years, since Poland and Russia were introduced to a free market economy. The only other person in Poland who has been tattooing longer (6 years) is in Gdansk. Slawek is yet to refine a specialization. He recently won an award at a German tattoo convention. 2. Where on my body should I get a tattoo? ---------- Duh--This may seem VERY trivial, since the answer can be "anywhere you please!" The ONLY places you cannot technically get permanent tattoos are your hair, teeth and nails (even the cornea used to be tattooed years ago for medical purposes). Interestingly, women and men tend to get tattoos in different locations. This, according to sociologist Clinton Sanders, is because men and women get tattoos for different reasons. Men, he says, get them to show others, while women get them for the sake of decorating their body--and often place them where they can't normally be seen, so that it doesn't prompt comments about her "reputation." However for the sake of this FAQ, the following is a short list of areas to get inked: --Head: The "head" in this case refers mostly to the area where your hair grows. Obviously, you'll need to shave the area for the tat to be most visible. If you need to hide your tat, you can grow your hair out. Areas more commonly inked are the sides of the head (above the ears), and above the nape of the neck in the back. There are people who have their entire heads inked. --Sides of neck (nape): --Back of neck: I've seen some tribal pieces as well as bats done on the back of the neck. You'll need to keep your hair short or tied up to keep it visible. --Face: Various areas possible. Facial tattoos could fall into the cosmetic, prison, or standard categories. Cosmetic would include darkening of eyebrows, eyelining, liplining, etc. Prison tattoos (which are actually in their own category) often include the tat of a single tear near the eye to signify time served. Getting a regular tat on the face is serious business and crosses a portal because people will never look at you the same way. Can we say "Circus," boys & girls? --Upper chest: One of the more standard areas for tattoos, for both men and women. Allows lots of flat area in which to get a fairly large piece. One of the areas where you can choose to get symmetrically inked on both sides. --Breasts (women): Used to be trendy to get a small tat on the breast. Women (particularly larger breasted ones) need to be careful about eventual sagging of the skin in the area. Do not get a tat that will look silly when it starts to stretch. --Nipples: Usually, the artist leaves the nipples alone--the omission of ink tends not to be so noticeable. There HAS been work done with tattooing a facsimile of a nipple onto a breast during reconstructive surgery for those who have lost their nipples, though--for aesthetic and self-esteem purposes. --Rib cage: This area can be rather painful because of all the ribs you work over. However it offers a fairly large area, and can be incorporated into a major back piece, wrapping around toward the front. --Stomach/Abdomen: Some people choose not to get work done on their stomachs for a couple of reasons. The area is difficult to work on because there is no solid backing to hold the skin steady. It is a sensitive area that may feel uncomfortable. Finally, the tat may look horrible after your metabolism slows down and you develop a --er-- "beer gut." --Genitals: Said the matron nurse, "Did you see the patient in #409? His penis has a tattoo that says 'SWAN' on it!" "Oh no it didn't," says the second, younger nurse. "It said "SASKACHEWAN'!" All kidding aside, people DO get inked in their genital area. The prospect may sound very painful, but a friend of mine said it wasn't any worse than any other sight. However, do consider that there *will* probably be some blurring in the area because of --er-- shall we say, the amount of movement the skin experiences (kind of like hands)? A recent thread in r.a.b. discussed whether penises are flaccid or erect during tattooing--some are, some aren't (however how one can *maintain* one during the process is a wonder to me). The only female genital tattoo I've seen (inner labia, I think) was in _Modern Primitives_, and it looked rather blurry. Note: that many artists refuse to do genitals. --Thighs: A rather popular area for women to get larger pieces (often extending from the hip area). Shows well with a bathing suit but easily concealable in modest shorts. The entire area of skin around your thighs is bigger than your back, so you can get quite a bit of work done. --Calves: A nice area to get a standard size (2" x 2"). However if you have very hairy legs, it may cut down on the visibility somewhat. --Ankles: The current trend-spot. I think you have to have an ankle tat before you can go to the Eileen Ford Agency with your modeling portfolio. :) You can either get a spot piece on the inner or outer ankle, or get something that goes around in a band. Vines and other vegetation seem popular (pumpkins, anyone?) --Feet: I've seen some incredible footwork (pun intended) in some of the tat magazines. Easily concealable with shoes. Probably don't have as much wear and tear as hands so you might get less blurring and color loss. This however, is the TOPS of your feet. You will have trouble retaining a tattoo on the bottom of your feet. --Armpits: Usually reserved for those who want to get full coverage around the arm and chest area, and need the armpits filled. Probably not strongly recommended for the highly ticklish. --Upper arms: One of the most common areas for men, although I have seen some nice on women as well. If you decide to get a piece done on your upper arm, consider how much sun it's going to get. Will you be able to put sunblock on it regularly? Otherwise, expect some color loss and blurring. If you want some serious work done, and you want to show it off, you may want to consider getting a "sleeve"--full tat coverage throughout your upper arm. --Inner arms: A more unusual location than the outer upper arm area, this area is often not easily visible. Be careful if your genes are prone to "bat wing" flab, however. --Forearms: Popeye sported his anchor on his forearm. Probably not as popular as the upper arm but common just the same. You can have your upper arm "sleeve" extend down for the long sleeve effect. For an example, check out the heavy metal video disc jockey on MTV (who also has a nose pierce, BTW). --Wrists: Janis Joplin had a dainty tat on her wrist...easily concealable with a watch. --Hands (fingers and palms): This usenet receives frequent queries about fingers, palms and hands in general. Some artists don't do hands because the ink will have a tendency to blur or fade easily. Consider that you probably move your hands the most out of your entire body. A friend of mine had a multi-colored tat on his finger by Ed Hardy (who apparently cringed upon hearing about where my friend wanted it), that is only several years old and is now barely noticeable. Some people want to substitute their wedding bands with tat bands. The palm side of your hand doesn't retain ink well--if you can find an artist who will do it, you can expect it to be a rather basic line, and that it will not last too long. Perhaps just matching tats someplace else would be okay? There *IS* a photo of a tattoo on a palm in Sandi Feldman's book on Japanese tattooing. This seems to be an exception. --Shoulder blades: The back shoulder blade area is another popular spot for women, who can show off the work with a bathing suit or tank top, but cover it up with regular clothes. If this is the case, be particularly careful with sun because you're not gonna be wearing that unless it's warm and sunny. It's a "safe" place--but may get in the way later on if you decide to commit yourself to a large back piece. --Back: You can get any part of your back done, or find yourself an artist you really like, and save your money for a "back piece" that encompasses your entire back. Expect to pay several thousand dollars for a full back piece (not to mention many tat sessions). --Buttocks: Again, beware of potential sagging in the area. Rumor is that George Schultz has a tiger on his, and Cher has a bunch of flowers on hers (I wish she'd stop getting the silly small things and get some serious big custom pieces done on her bod! Has anyone seen that "necklace with three charms" that she has on her arm? Yeeech!) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This ends the rec.arts.bodyart Tattoo FAQ: Part 2/4. This section should be followed by rec.arts.bodyart Tattoo FAQ: Part 3/4. -- Lani Teshima-Miller (teshima@uhunix.uhcc.Hawaii.edu) "Sea Hare" o/ /_/_/ UH School of Library & Info Studies. "Whatever the cost of our o|<0_0>------* libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant \=^-| |_| | nation." -Walter Cronkite [R.a.b.bit says: "Think Ink!"] \_} \_}