State of Grace Article Preview for Tattoo Artist Magazine Issue #32
Crash: Okay, let’s start with a basic history of yourself and then I want you to talk about the shop and it’s crew.
Horitaka Kitamura: Sure man, basic story… Well I was born in Japan and my parents moved to America when I was a few years old. My parents were bilingual so they taught me Japanese as well, which opened a lot of doors for me later on… So I grew up here and probably had a very similar interest in tattooing like many of my generation, I was a skater, turned punk rocker and liked tattoos from my junior high school days. I do recall liking the tattoos in an old Japanese TV show, “the tattooed magistrate” where the hero shows his cherry blossom tattoos before he kicks ass at the end of every episode. So I guess I’ve long had an affinity for tattoos. I know in high school I had already decided I wanted a body suit, didn’t know what the hell that meant or what was good but I just knew that I wanted tons of tattoos! (more…)
Paul Dobleman: September’s Asshole of the Month WINNER!
By Paul Dobleman: Once again, Assholes!!! Here is the September Asshole of the Month… (more…)
Adventures in Amsterdam (Part II)
By johndotcom
We hit the ground running yesterday and before I even knew what was happening I was staring at some of the most amazing pieces of classical art in the world! Danny [Dringenberg] knows more about Amsterdam than most Dutch people… It blows my mind! Dan said, “You wanna go see the Rembrandts, bro?” I didn’t even know they were here… So let’s go to the Rijks Museum and check it out… [Part I] (more…)
Adventures in Amsterdam (Part I)
By johndotcom
Where do I begin… How do I begin? My thoughts are an amalgamation of jet lag, exhaustion and amazement. I don’t think I can describe with accuracy how incredible Amsterdam is after the first day. Thank god I took pictures! I’m staring out of Danny Dringenberg’s apartment window, the air is crisp and cool after an early morning rain with the sun breaking over a thin layer of soft white clouds, and all I can think about is how I can get off this computer and onto the streets. Streets bustling with bikes, scooters, trolleys, people and cars, which Teresa [Dringenberg] described as a “real life game of Frogger,” constantly having to duck and dive through this metropolitan maze of moving obstacles… It’s perfect, it’s beautiful and calmly chaotic at the same time… It’s Amsterdam! (more…)
UPDATE: The Southern Oregon Custom Classic Follow Up
By Nicki Kasper
The Southern Oregon Custom Classic art show I put on at Off The Map NW a couple of weeks ago turned out to be pretty cool… It was the biggest event I’ve organized, and I was pretty nervous for it. I had five artists and nine bike builders involved. When I do something, I do it to the best of my ability. I give my all, and leave no detail to chance. I was afraid of letting the artists and builders down. I was being trusted with something pretty big. Not only organizing the event, but the bikes specifically. I was picking up bikes for days. Not just bikes… Show pieces. I was humbled by the faith these bike builders had in me to take care of their prized possessions. I desperately wanted to make them all proud to be a part of it… (more…)
Dawn Cooke: Freedom
By Dawn Cooke
I hear talk about freedom all of the time. As an artist, my first amendment right is pretty important. The fact that we can share our thoughts freely is something we often take for granted. It’s easy to do because we are taught to believe that we are entitled to be free and we can do or say anything we want in this country. The truth is, that’s not entirely the case. You have to go along with society’s laws and norms for the most part because if you can’t find a productive place in society for whatever reason, society will find a place for you and it might not be a place you would like to go… (more…)
Craft and Folk Art Museum Presents: ‘L.A. Skin & Ink’
Courtesy of The Craft and Folk Art Museum: L.A. Skin & Ink, is an exhibition that explores the unique role that Los Angeles played in the tattoo renaissance that took place in the United States. The exhibition will move through the 60-year transformation of tattooing from its traditional base of military and outlaw cultures into an art form of great distinction and adoption into contemporary culture. The exhibition will be in view from September 29, 2012 through January 6, 2013. (more…)
Paul Dobleman: August’s Asshole of the Month WINNER!
By Paul Dobleman: Once again, assholes are everywhere! Here is the asshole of the month for August… (more…)
Raking Light Projects: Tattoo Artists Create Fine Art for New Online Gallery
Courtesy of Raking Light: Raking Light Projects is an online contemporary art gallery that specializes in the sale of original art and collectible prints created by skilled tattoo artists. Based in Los Angeles, CA, the online gallery exhibits artwork from an array of internationally recognized artists with a background in or relationship to tattooing. Raking Light Projects went live in March 2012 with an exhibition of works created exclusively for the website by artists Guy Aitchison, Jondix, Timothy Hoyer, Bert Krak, Carlos “WENT” Rodriguez and Derrick Snodgrass… (more…)
The Southern Oregon Custom Classic (This Friday)
By Nicki Kasper
It’s finally here! The Southern Oregon Custom Classic is this Friday night from 7pm-10pm at Off The Map NW in Grants Pass, OR. If you can come out for it, it’s gonna be a great show and a great time. (more…)
For The Record: Stencils
Courtesy of Tattoo Archive: Originally tattooists were required to have enough artistic ability to draw the desired design onto the skin before tattooing. With the advent of wooden, paper and or plastic stencils, the tattoo business opened up to a larger group of craftsmen; who with the aid of the stencil could get the design transfer to the skin and then apply their skills to outlining and shading that design. Even tattooists with drawing skills like the ease of transfer that stencils offered… (more…)
Canyon Webb: 1st Annual Park City Utah Tattoo Convention Review
By Canyon Webb
Our flight left at 6:15 a.m. Thursday, still dark and half-asleep getting on the plane. The onset of pre-flight jitters and excitement of going to a new place fight the urge to sleep. It seemed like I closed my eyes and re-opened them to notice the reflection of the sun on a huge salty lake. We were here, and the landscape was scattered in jagged mountains, dirt and sagebrush. Down the escalator to the baggage claim as a black suited driver holds a sign that says Jeff Gogué, I turn to look at Jeff with a huge smile… (more…)
Dawn Cooke: Top 10 Ways to Balance Family and Career
By Dawn Cooke
In this fast paced, competitive world, how does a parent balance a career with the many other obligations of family and life? It’s not easy! It definitely requires planning and some sacrifice. There are so many things going on around any given person at any given time today in our world. It can be easy to become bombarded by media such as news, Internet and television. It can feel like the world is flying past you in fast forward while you are struggling to check things off of your list. Meanwhile your list of things to do grows and grows… But I found a few things that really help me manage all the tasks I have as mother, shop owner, artist, tattooist and wife… (more…)
Dave Waugh: Over Qualified Loser (VIDEO)
By Dave Waugh
I hate reality TV. But ask anyone I know and they’ll claim I say I love it. I do hate it though… And reality TV has actually been around since the invention of the TV, we just finally gave it a name. Game shows have always been the most successful ones, and guess what, it’s been scripted since day one too. I complain, but don’t care really, I just love TV… (more…)
Food Tattoos For Hunger
Courtesy of Off the Map Tattoo: On November 18th, 2012 TattooNOW, along with dozens of other tattoo studios will commit their time and efforts to Food Tattoos For Hunger day. Participating artists, shops and donators will all work in partnership with Feeding America and will be doing food tattoos for donations to food banks.
Off the Map Tattoo is looking for studios to join the effort. If you are interested in joining the event, please fill out the submission form with your contact info and we will contact you…
Paul Dobleman: July’s Asshole of the Month WINNER!
By Paul Dobleman:
Assholes happen as always, here is the asshole of the month for July! Once again, thanks to everyone who participated! (more…)
The Southern Oregon Custom Classic
By Nicki Kasper
Calling all bike enthusiasts… The Southern Oregon Custom Classic is fast approaching. It’s a bicycle themed gallery show I’m curating at Off The Map’s new Northwest location in Grants Pass, Oregon on September 7th from 7pm to 10pm… (more…)
Larry Brogan: Scheduling Appointments and Taking Deposits
By Larry Brogan
Courtesy of Tattoo Road Trip: How many times have you gotten excited about doing a big cool tattoo where you spend all kinds of time designing, hunting for reference images and hours of drawing a piece that you just know it’s going to be one of your best ever? You even get to the shop early and set up your station, and the next thing you realize, your appointment is 20 minutes late. After waiting around, losing your excitement minute by minute, you call the client’s number only to get voicemail. It’s then that you realize you have been stood up. At first, you are bummed, because you have been itching to do the piece, and then you realize that you just spent hours drawing, and all for nothing. Then you get pissed, because you will quite possibly have to sit on your thumb all day, doing nothing and making no money. Well, at least you took that $20-dollar deposit. Maybe you can buy lunch with it… (more…)
Crystal Morey: Tanuki (Japanese Raccoon Dog)
By Crystal Morey
One of the three most famous Henge (shape-shifters) the tanuki is a round jolly little fellow with an enormous scrotum who usually has a sake bottle in hand. He is a Dionysian spirit, devoted to self gratification possessing a head full of tricks to get his hands on rice wine, rich foods and warm ladies. Not malicious in spirit, he’s portrayed as a fun loving character whose exploits backfire as often as they succeed… Undaunted he moves on to the next. For tanuki life is an adventure. Tanuki’s supernatural powers are strong and he’s believed to be more adept at shapeshifting than even the kitsune… (more…)
JoJo Ackermann: Fear of a Flash Planet
By JoJo Ackermann
About six months ago, three guys in their early 20s walked into the shop around opening time with the request to have a heart and the word “Mom” tattooed on their asses. Honestly, I thought they were just screwing around but after a few laughs and some more questions, I realized these dudes were serious about getting it done… (more…)
Coastline Tattoo Seeks Grant to Support Community Art
Coastline Tattoo is involved in a co-owned gallery space called Helltown Workshop, also in Provincetown at 237 Commercial street inside Whaler’s Wharf. Kris Smith, the owner of Coastline, works with four other local artists to bring art from the community that doesn’t necessarily get shown in the other more traditional galleries that line the main strip… (more…)
Nick Baxter: Walking The Razor’s Edge Mini Blog Series (Part VI)
Conclusion: New Horizons
So what would our society look like if everyone wholeheartedly explored their personal limits, found their edges, played with them, gracefully forgave themselves for inevitable shortcomings and learned to remain steadfast in that shaky, uncertain, sometimes excruciating inner territory? My guess is that the resulting paradigm shift would have vastly positive effects on both the collective and personal levels… (more…)
Nick Baxter: Walking The Razor’s Edge Mini Blog Series (Part V)
Down the Road
Living with these concepts begins to have another, more subtle transformative effect: you begin to embrace doing things now for the benefits you’ll reap later, like an expert chess player who thinks 5 moves in advance. Lifting weights once doesn’t guarantee an Olympian’s physique, nor does one meditation session result in total liberation of the mind. But small daily challenges and rational, calculated risks, repeated over a long enough span of time, help cultivate patience and an unshakable trust in yourself that helps you stay focused on your larger goals… (more…)
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