By Dawn Cooke
Let me tell you a little story about Jesse Stark. Jesse starting tattooing as a young man and like most of us had to struggle to learn the craft of tattooing. Jesse worked in Detroit for a while. When I say he worked in Detroit I mean in the city not the suburbs. He was shot at one too many times there and he left to work in the safer community of Ann Arbor… (more…)
By Dawn Cooke
So I screen-shotted some of my favorite pictures from Intagram to share. My intention is to share some great work and give the artists every bit of the credit! I’m doing it to showcase what I consider to be some really great work. I hope you will all agree. One thing I want to make clear is that I am not trying to promote the idea of “stealing.” All artists are inspired by other artists. There’s a difference between being inspired and flat-out stealing. I think it’s important to know the difference. Most images in tattooing have been taken from other sources. It’s always good to know the source if you can, and try to be inspired by art outside of tattooing… and also by life and nature… (more…)
By Myke Chambers
If you’re familiar with 19th century American history then you should know a little about the westward expansion of the Euro-American and the ensuing American Indian wars leading to the near extinction of all Native American culture.
Now I’m not going to go into all the horrific atrocities committed by the Euro-American against the American Indians, all the countless promises broken and massacres of women and children. Please understand I’m in no way saying the mass genocide and all the horrors done to the Native American in the past and in the present in any way compares. That wasn’t the purpose of this at all. I myself am part Cherokee. What is happening with tattooing is obviously nowhere near as horrific as what happened to the native tribes. No, I have another purpose for bringing this bit of history up. You may be asking yourself where the hell is he going with this and what the hell does American history have to do with tattooing… Bear with me, and while you do look for history repeating itself… though not on such a horrific scale… (more…)
Courtesy of Salior Jerry: Oliver Peck aka “Ducky” needs little introduction ever since he joined the judging panel on the hit Spike TV tattoo competition Ink Master, but this guy’s been at it for awhile. Based at Elm Street Tattoo in Dallas TX, a shop he founded with Dean Williams, Oliver has been laying in color since he was 19 years old. He even holds the Guinness World Record for most tattoos done in 24 hours with 415 pieces of his favorite subject, the number 13… (more…)
Workhorse Irons Tattoo Machine Builder Gathering 2012 featuring SOBA, Seth Ciferri, Cory Rogers, Mike Pike, Chris Smith, Chris Quidgeon, Marv Lerning, and Special Technique’s Ugly Bill, plus a guest visit from Bill Waverly. (more…)
All paintings are unframed, ink on paper unless otherwise noted, prices include domestic shipping and handling, payment can be made through PayPal or money order. E-mail me with the E-mail address at which you’d prefer to receive the PayPal money request or to reserve the painting until I receive the money order. Paintings are sold on a first e-mail, first served basis… headbandbrothers@hotmail.com(more…)
By Dawn Cooke
I have been thinking lately about how important it is to support the culture and community of tattooing. It seems like a no-brainer, but I noticed that it doesn’t seem like people have any real criteria for the support they do give. It’s almost like people have an odd biased that is based on a “what can I get out of this” attitude. This makes sense since we have such a capitalist environment at play… (more…)
Workhorse Irons Tattoo Machine Builder Gathering 2012 featuring SOBA, Seth Ciferri, Cory Rogers, Mike Pike, Chris Smith, Chris Quidgeon, Marv Lerning, and Special Technique’s Ugly Bill, plus a guest visit from Bill Waverly. (more…)
Workhorse Irons Tattoo Machine Builder Gathering 2012 featuring SOBA, Seth Ciferri, Cory Rogers, Mike Pike, Chris Smith, Chris Quidgeon, Marv Lerning, and Special Technique’s Ugly Bill, plus a guest visit from Bill Waverly. (more…)
Workhorse Irons Tattoo Machine Builder Gathering 2012 featuring SOBA, Seth Ciferri, Cory Rogers, Mike Pike, Chris Smith, Chris Quidgeon, Marv Lerning, and Special Technique’s Ugly Bill, plus a guest visit from Bill Waverly. (more…)
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…)
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…)
By Dawn Cooke
Leave it to me to write about the less exciting things about tattooing. This might just be one of the more important subjects I could have the honor of making you think about. With more popularity for tattooing comes more attention from the government. This means laws and money. I can talk about Michigan specifically and explain to you all what’s happening here… (more…)
Chad Koeplinger: Who are some of the tattoo artists that you were interested in at that point? What were you looking at tattoo-wise? What was blowing your mind?
Valerie Vargas: At that point I don’t think I became fully aware of people that I like now until I already started my apprenticeship, because that’s when I was allowed to have a look through the books that for me at the time were way too expensive -I couldn’t afford them. And my boss had all of the Tattootimes. He never looked at them anymore but they were up on the shelf and any time it was quiet I’d have a look. I became more aware of Ed Hardy and more of the West Coast kind of guys. But even then I was still struggling to remember names, I just knew the work. I remember some backpieces that are still pretty awesome. And it was also through my friendship with Stewart in the beginning that he was really on it. He knew who everybody was, what they were doing, and he was totally stoked about everything, and he taught me a fair bit about it… (more…)
Freddy Corbin: When it comes to customers, what is it that a customer might do that bugs you the most? What things drive you the most crazy?
Nick Rodin: A customer that you know doesn’t trust you I think is the worst customer.
Good answer.
Like if they’re just second-guessing everything you do. Because then you start second-guessing yourself, and then you start making mistakes. So uncomfortable… (more…)
By Dawn Cooke
Lately, I have had some cynical views toward the state of tattoo culture and pop culture in general and I have had to apologize for affecting sensitivities. So I have been researching, writing and thinking about why I feel this way. The phenomenon of counter-culture becoming popular culture has been written about quite a lot. If you are interested in this topic the book, Nation of Rebels is a good one. What I see, is that we have an overly competitive narcissistic consumer culture that has really negative effects on individuals and on society as a whole. A person can get swept away by the tide if they aren’t careful. I have come dangerously close too many times personally… (more…)
Shane Enholm: When is the first time you saw a tattoo?
Freddy Negrete: The first time I was really struck with the whole tattoo thing I was 12 years old. I was raised in a foster home because my parents went to prison. So I was in a foster home and it was a white foster home. I grew up in a white area of San Gabriel but I knew the Mexican community from school. I was a troublemaker white kid so they liked me… (more…)
By Dan Gilsdorf
A few months back I told Crash that I was having a solo show at a gallery in Portland, Oregon and he thought it would be a good idea to put together an announcement for the TAM website. I dragged my feet on it, thinking that the exhibition didn’t have anything to do with tattoos and might not be the kind of thing that many tattooers would be into. But in the end he convinced me, so at the risk of boring his readership… (more…)
By Dave Allen
Last year’s devastating tsunami and earthquake in Japan deeply affected everyone in our industry. It would be hard not to be. More than 20,000 dead and 100,000’s left rebuilding. As a community we banded together and raised money for relief efforts. After a full year it is still apparent that people in Japan could use our help… (more…)
By Dawn Cooke
I just wanted to tell everyone about a really cool art show you should check out if you are in NY or if you’re going out to the Convention. This should be really fun for both guys and gals to attend…
Courtesy of Salior Jerry: Chris Trevino is an expert in traditional Japanese tattooing who earned the nickname “Horimana” after studying for five years under the legendary master Horiyoshi III. His elaborate, full-body representations of Asian symbology remind us of the later works by Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins aka Horismoku. Trevino now runs Perfection Tattoo in Austin, TX which was founded by Bob Moreau in the late 70s… (more…)
By John
After five long years I finally made it back to Dallas for another Friday the 13th marathon…
Here’s a few pictures from the madness last night… Enjoy! (Also, look for a complete Friday the 13th article from Oliver Peck in the following days…) (more…)
By Dawn Cooke
By Myke Chambers
By Dan Gilsdorf
By Dave Allen
By John
Thanks for your support!
