By Molly and Takahiro “Horitaka” Kitamura
Josh David is one of the most good-hearted guys you’ll ever meet. And his tattoos ain’t too bad either, hee-hee! Having just moved to California from Ohio, he is building up a wide clientele by working at two remarkable shops, Garage Ink in Napa Valley and State of Grace in San Jose… (more…)
By Molly and Takahiro “Horitaka” Kitamura
We love Amsterdam! Taki had been commissioned to do a promotion for Bacardi Rum’s new flavor, and as part of the commission they flew Taki out there (with me in-tow) to do a few tattoos… (more…)
By Molly and Takahiro “Horitaka” Kitamura
New York City. I love this over-crowded, smelly, hot and humid oasis of culture, counter-culture, history, music and art. Horitaka, Horitomo, Drew Flores, and I flew out to give Horitomo’s seminar on Japanese back pieces that he did for The Bay Area Convention of the Tattoo Arts last year. It was a whirlwind of heat, walking, talking and eating… (more…)
By Molly Skobba and Takahiro “Horitaka” Kitamura
First off, I want to express how absolutely honored I am to have been tattooed by the renowned Horitomo. Not only did he take the time out of his incredibly busy schedule, but also he tattooed a one-point tattoo on my hand -something he does not do often. It was incredibly kind and generous of him and I am so very grateful.
By Molly Skobba and Takahiro “Horitaka” Kitamura
And here we go again! I’ve been super busy tattooing and also getting ready for the SFO Tattoo Convention coming soon and haven’t had a chance to blog lately. No problem, my amazing girl Molly has been on it and wrote a few words about Ben’s last visit to San Jose. Enjoy… (more…)
Nicki Kasper: Do you explore other mediums, like paint? If so, how do you approach that? Do you market and sell them?
Horiken: Yes, I like to paint very much. I usually paint with acrylics on paper. I like wooden panels as well. I do try to do different things from my tattooing, I may use the same motifs, but I lay paintings out differently. And, I guess I use different shading and coloring techniques; some that may not work in a tattoo. And… yeah, I do sell paintings, I don’t really make a huge effort to sell them, but if someone wants one, I do sell them. When I was in art school, I studied art history. I am trying to study this more and I have the thought that maybe I can paint and draw, a bit separate from tattooing and make something new…
Interview by Katie Sellergren
Doug Hardy: I was in Hawaii for six years. I was there from April ’92 to April ’98. And it was great. I loved working with Mike. He was incredibly patient and an incredibly good teacher. I mean, he had a temper, and so did I, but he would always show me how to do something the right way. And I was not the best apprentice…
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…
Beppe: First tattoo shop was my tattoo shop, Ink Addiction. I know it sounds weird in some ways, but where I live there was no way to get a proper apprenticeship. It’s such a small town and nobody would give me any help.
This has long been one of my favorite conventions each year and 2010 was better than ever. A million ‘Thanks’ to Horitaka and crew for doing such a fine job organizing and promoting the STATE OF GRACEshow (as usual) and for taking such good care of TAM and all the attending artists/vendors.
On Sunday evening, following the power outage at our hotel (more on that later) and early-ending to the convention, my partner Kent Smith, friend Hunter Spanks and I all shared my usual sushi and sake (cold, unfiltered) celebratory dinner at the very fine Barracuda Japanese Restaurant.
State of Grace Dinner of Champions
During the meal we each discussed our favorite aspects of the weekend. It was an interesting exercise and this blog entry is the result. I hope it proves entertaining to readers. (more…)
By Molly and Takahiro “Horitaka” Kitamura 
By Molly Skobba and Takahiro “Horitaka” Kitamura
By Molly Skobba and Takahiro “Horitaka” Kitamura
By Crash
Thanks for your support!
