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
My tolerance for suffering and a small amount of self-loathing has always made me able to stand sometimes-intolerable environments. Also a drive and fight against resistance has always been fueled by passion to do my work. To everyday people some of the happenings and things said in the tattoo shop are not PC to say the least, in fact some people might be down right disgusted and offended at most of the things that are said and topics discussed within the shop atmosphere… (more…)
In 1998, I took my first trip to Amsterdam to try and sit-in at the infamous Hanky Panky Tattoo. I was told by others that had worked for Hanky (Henk Schiffmacher) that it was not possible to get someone to vouch for you, or to call ahead to test the waters. You just had to meet Henk face-to-face, and hope he liked what you were doing. Not just artistically, but most importantly personality-wise… (more…)
By Dawn Cooke
This is actually a simple concept really, it’s because they are completely different mediums, if you even consider tattooing an artistic medium. The same way a sculpture isn’t a painting, a drawing isn’t a sculpture, needlepoint isn’t furniture making, a tattoo is not a painting and a painting is not a tattoo.
Many tattoo artists have attempted to combine or blur the lines between the two forms of expression. While these attempts are very impressive to people who know little or care nothing about the tradition and history of tattooing, they can sometimes go against the spirit of the trade or craft of tattooing… (more…)
Dan Smith (as seen on TLC’s LA Ink) has been working hard on putting one of the best straight edge tattooer books together. Come on out for a night you wont soon forget!
“A collection of tattoos, art, and profiles some of the best Straight Edge Tattoo Artists in the world”
Dan Smith Book Signing & Release Party (Available for purchase or bring your own copy) 9 x 13 – 256 Page Hard Cover Book Book price: $50
If you can’t make the release, you can order your copy HERE. (more…)
By Dawn Cooke
Every day I ask myself this question. And if you think I always have the correct answer, I do not. Every tattoo that I do gets me closer to figuring out exactly what a tattoo is. Some of the first thoughts I have when I meet a client lead me to my conclusions about that particular piece. Each piece is different and every piece is a different answer to the question…
By John Niederkorn
First off, let me just say that this is not a traditional “review” considering the fact that I’m not an artist… With that said this show was (in my unprofessional opinion) AWESOME! The opening was held on Oct. 28th, 2011 at Tony Fitzpatrick’s Firecat Projects, located quaintly in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood, and the only way I can describe the show room is, phenomenal…
By Takahiro “Horitaka” Kitamura
When I think about good tattooing, I think of art executed by skilled craftsman. In an era of chain stores and mass production, it is always refreshing to see something hand-made. I met Jamie from RePop through my good friend Chris Yvon. Chris told me about Jamie and RePop, and the hand-made goods they produced. The product certainly lived up to the hype! Rings, buckles, wallets and more, all with old world craftsmanship, with some weight -no cheap materials, and a great retro feel…
By Danny Boy (A letter to Crash)
Just wanted to let you and your readers know where we are at with the museum. We got 12 days left and going into the last round. This week should be pretty hectic, but that’s how we like it. The permanent exhibitions are just about finished as far as painters and carpenters go. Henk is working around the clock, painting away, having meetings, interviews, barking at everyone, overseeing some 50 people with the help of Annemarie Beers and Almar, still squeezing in some tattoos here and there, and still showing up in the mornings with new ideas and drawings of rooms and exhibitions he had made the night before. And all this is for you, tattoo lovers of the world…
So I featured ladies-only last time and I didn’t want the guys to feel left out. So I sent messages to all the guys who I admire for their contribution to the tattoo community. Some of these fellows I know personally and some of them I do not but for some reason their work, ethics or both caught my eye… (more…)
We are excited to announce that Tattoo Artist Magazine Vol. I will be arriving next week from our printer! We will begin shipping all pre-orders at the end of next week. We apologize for the extended delay and would like to thank everyone for their patience regarding this matter.
Courtesy of Sullen Clothing: A few days ago I did our popular 21 questions with one of the coolest down to earth guys Myke Chambers. Myke is a part of our elite Sullen Art Collective team that consists of some of the best artists. This was a fun interview to do because Myke is so into Sullen and helping out us out. Sullen just launched a new tee design called the Myke Chambers which is his first artist collaboration piece. Myke is a huge fan of Traditional Americana imagery with tons of color and bold lines which is something we are a huge fan of as well, there are so many great black and grey artists, but when someone comes to us with awesome color work we are all over it… [Interview and pictures on expanded page]
Courtesy of Luis Garza: You’ve heard of Ed Hardy, the $500 million lifestyle franchise, but do you really know the man behind it all? Did you know that Don “Ed” Hardy turned down a scholarship in art from Yale University to pursue the questionable profession of tattooing?
By Takahiro “Horitaka” Kitamura
I’m a regular guest artist at Pacific Soul Tattoo in Honolulu, Hawaii. Visiting tattooers and working at other people’s shops is a great way to see the world, meet new people, learn new things and expand your horizons. Working with Steve Looney and Paulo Manabe is a great experience, they are both amazing people, both as tattooers and as friends. Steve has a very unique history and specialty and I wanted to sit down with him and talk about the often misunderstood Polynesian tattoo.
Phil Kyle: Would you recommend an apprenticeship to people knowing how difficult that is to do on your own?
Xam: Totally and definitely. It’s the only way. Not anyone can do it. Not everyone deserves it, people will still try it, like I did… Call me selfish if you want but there are too many of us now. It’s out of control. Some will fail and most will keep doing shit forever. And that’s it really… (more…)
The “Rollo & Me” strip is a series of stories told by Keith Underwood and illustrated by Dan Henk which appear regularly in Tattoo Artist Magazine. They chronicle Keith’s experiences living with and working alongside one of tattooing’s greatest icons of the 20th century- Mike ‘Rollo Banks’ Malone. Mike departed this life in 2007 but these stories represent Keith’s healing process and are figuratively supposed to occur on the couch of his therapist.
Enjoy. There’s more to come.
By Myke Chambers
Sorry if I sound like a dick, (because I’m really not) but sometimes I’m blown away by how blind people are when it comes to tattoos. I know my tattoos aren’t the best, and they are not perfect, but the crap some people think are good tattoos is insane…
By Crash
I’m too old for this shit, but damn, what an adventure! I thought I could write something short to share the TAM Road Trip journey and give TAM Blog a little more content. I believe the potentials we have with the TAM Blog are pretty evident, and given enough time, can be fashioned into something powerful, entertaining and educational…
By John
By Dawn Cooke
“The Book of Lucky” by Lucky Bastard 
(Visit headbandbrothers.com to purchase and see more of Scott Harrison’s paintings) Larger image on expanded page.
By John Niederkorn
By Takahiro “Horitaka” Kitamura
By Danny Boy (A letter to Crash)
(Visit headbandbrothers.com to purchase and see more of Scott Harrison’s paintings) Larger image on expanded page.
Visit headbandbrothers.com to purchase and see more of Scott Harrison’s paintings. Larger image on expanded page.
Courtesy of Sullen Clothing: A few days ago I did our popular 21 questions with one of the coolest down to earth guys Myke Chambers. Myke is a part of our elite Sullen Art Collective team that consists of some of the best artists. This was a fun interview to do because Myke is so into Sullen and helping out us out. Sullen just launched a new tee design called the Myke Chambers which is his first artist collaboration piece. Myke is a huge fan of Traditional Americana imagery with tons of color and bold lines which is something we are a huge fan of as well, there are so many great black and grey artists, but when someone comes to us with awesome color work we are all over it… [Interview and pictures on expanded page]
Courtesy of Luis Garza: You’ve heard of Ed Hardy, the $500 million lifestyle franchise, but do you really know the man behind it all? Did you know that Don “Ed” Hardy turned down a scholarship in art from Yale University to pursue the questionable profession of tattooing?
By Takahiro “Horitaka” Kitamura
Visit headbandbrothers.com to purchase and see more of Scott Harrison’s paintings. [Larger image on expanded page.]
The “Rollo & Me” strip is a series of stories told by Keith Underwood and illustrated by Dan Henk which appear regularly in Tattoo Artist Magazine. They chronicle Keith’s experiences living with and working alongside one of tattooing’s greatest icons of the 20th century- Mike ‘Rollo Banks’ Malone. Mike departed this life in 2007 but these stories represent Keith’s healing process and are figuratively supposed to occur on the couch of his therapist.
By Myke Chambers
By Crash
Thanks for your support!
