By Jennifer Litz
Editor
February 16, 2008
We start here because biblical taboo is one controversy that has surrounded tattooing in the past. But ink becomes increasingly more mainstream every year. The Learning Channel’s “Miami Ink” and A&E’s “INKED” series have stormed the realty TV circuit, bringing tattoo counterculture into the homes of the unmarked. U.S. News & World Report has deemed tattooing one of America’s fastest growing categories of retail business. And though biblical warnings have traditionally been a deterrent to tatting—though probably still in line behind pain—the interpretation of the Bible verse above is being rethunk.“You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the LORD.”
Leviticus 19:28 — New American Standard
Tattoo artist Steve Myers, owner of Bonnie Blue Tattoo on 1624 S. Chadbourne St., San Angelo, has a degree in theology from an institute in Arkansas.
Among other things, Bonnie Blue is known for its confederate flag work.
“I’ve heard some shops in town won’t do ‘em, and people find out that’s what I specialize in,” says Myers. “I don’t try to tell people what to get and what not to get—I mean, if they want black power tattoos, I’ll do ‘em, if they want white power tattoos—it’s not up to me to tell them what to put on their bodies.
“The only tattoos I refuse to do is when people come in wanting pictures of Jesus with horns, or his eyes sown shut. I’ve had people wanting the Christian cross with a no smoking sign around it. We got a sign up there that tells people exactly where we stand: We’re not prejudiced against anyone, but if our Southern or Christian beliefs offend them, they’re welcome to go somewhere else.”
Taboos
You can find some pretty vehement Old Testament opposition to tattooing and tattoo parlors. The Leviticus passage informs most of it. But Chuck Gerwig of Sacred Ink in Santa Cruz, California, offers a different explanation. Gerwig is also pastor of Santa Cruz Bible Church in California.
He says the Leviticus passage comes in context of God speaking to the people of Israel, specifically warning them to shun Eastern religious practices, including consulting psychics, fortune telling, and markings that brand their particular religion. “It is important to note here that the context of this passage is not one of body décor, but of marking one's self in connection with cultic religious worship,” Gerwig says. Citing other theological writings on the meaning of the entire Leviticus passage, Gerwig concludes that “the ‘tattoo’ marks described in Leviticus 19:28 were clearly related to false religious practices . . . The tattoo of today is much different than it was for those who originally received the Pentateuch. Today’s tattoo is a decorative means of self-expression and personal decoration.”
Bishop Michael Pfeiffer of San Angelo conveys a middle-of-the-road opinion on the Catholic Church’s stance on tattoos and piercings. He mentions nothing about the Leviticus passage, but says members of the Church are concerned with bodily harm tattoos might cause—and the immorality of some images.
“I can’t say that tattoos are evil as such,” Pfeiffer says. “I think the church’s concern would be more about the possible injury to the body, and the kind of tattoos put on the body.”
“The other thing is that some of the tattoos are very immoral, the pictures they represent. Then the tattoo would be evil—to be frank, a man putting a naked woman on his arm. I know it’s growing; there are several parlors in San Angelo . . .”
Strong opposition to tattoos seems to be disappearing. A 2003 Harris poll reported that about 15 percent of Americans have at least one tattoo. Another fun fact: 14 percent of Republicans claimed having at least one tattoo, 18 percent of Democrats claimed having at least one, and 12 percent of Independents said they had at least one tattoo in that poll. In other words, whether you’re a Bible-thumpin’ Huckabee supporter, or you’re more of a Ron Paul type, you’re almost just as likely as the other to sport a tatt.
What’s more likely to make or break someone’s decision to get a tattoo these days? The pain.
The Pain
Some people will tell you the pain is addictive. Most will tell you it’s the tattoo they really want.
Steve Myers of Bonnie Blue Tattoo says some people pass out during tattooing. “We get the little ammonia caps, wake ‘em up and put cold water on ‘em. But they’ll swear, ‘I’m never going to do this again’—and a lot of them are back a week later.” Myers says once people have sat through one, the beauty of their tattoo can convince them to do it all over again. “After a while, we get people who come in, not caring what they get,” Myers says. “They just had a bad day or week, and they just want to get a tattoo.”
It’s hard to get an artist, many of whom have several tattoos, to tell you what the pain is like. Aubrey Trufant is co-owner of Bullet Proof Tattoo on 1719 Caddo St., San Angelo, with his brother Alex Trufant. Aubrey is working on his own full-body tattoo: his lower legs, ribs, sternum, and belly are done, and he’s working on other areas. “There’s definitely a rush factor,” he says.
“The ribs are like Olympic level pain—that’s pretty serious business,” Trufant says. “But I’ve given plenty of first tattoos on the ribs. It’s how bad you want the tattoo.
“Arms aren’t that bad; the legs are pretty bad; the ribs are pretty bad. Everything else is pretty normal. It all hurts. Everyone has their own trouble areas.”
Jennifer Sims does piercings at Electric Voodoo tattoo on 1224 W Beauregard Ave., San Angelo, You’d think that next to piercings—which Electric Voodoo does with forceps and a single needle, not the laser gun—tattoos would be a breeze. Not so for Sims.
“Piercings—those are so easy,” she says. “A piercing is a quick pinch, a sting, and it’s done.” Even for tongue piercings, Sims only uses a topic anesthetic, “just to take the edge off, so they don’t fight you.
“I’ve been doing this for almost 10 years now, and I get the same response everywhere: ‘You’re done? Already done?’ Nobody can believe it.
“I don’t like being tattooed, but I like them when they’re finished. Everyone will tell you something different; they’ll say they go to a faraway place and try not to think about it. Some people sit through it and think about it, like it’s some otherworldly experience. I usually talk to the artist a lot to keep my mind off it. And I squeal and wriggle around a lot. I’m the worst client ever.”
Sims harps on Voodoo’s clients to be diligent about after-care. For piercings—tongue in particular—that includes not drinking alcohol for two weeks, due to the risk of yeast infection. “I tell them, if you come in here and it’s infected, I’m going to be pissed. Because that’s my piercing walking around,” Sims says.
She also checks with her family physician, Dr. Darrell Harrington at San Angelo Community Medical, on whether he’s seen any infected tattoos. So far, Sims says, he hasn’t seen any.
Steve Myers of Bonnie Blue recommends using A&D triple antibiotic ointment for fresh tattoos. Neosporin is less desirable, and Vaseline is out of the question because of its high petroleum content. “The main thing is keeping it clean,” Myers says. “Put the ointment on, and then blot the ointment off where air can hit the tattoo. Because the air is what heals it.”
Myers says he had a client who put grease from a grease gun on his tatt while working in an oil field. Such careless post-care can increase the risk of complications: The Mayo Clinic cites risks of blood-borne diseases like hepatitis and HIV, skin disorders, allergic reactions, and even potentially antibiotic-resistant skin infections that can lead to pneumonia and the flesh-destroying condition called necrotizing faciitis. The best way to prevent these, however, has mainly to do with “pre” care—make sure you’re visiting a licensed tattoo artist, and that the shop uses autoclave, a machine that sterilizes tattoo guns.
Bonnie Blue artists have also taken Red Cross bloodborne pathogen training.
“We do extra stuff not really required by the Health Department,” Myers says. “But in this business . . .”
“ . . . We play in blood all day,” says Bonnie Blue piercing and tattoo artist Jessica Tucker.
Other shops around San Angelo have taken such precautions. Make sure to do your homework on each shop’s credentials.
The Art
Of course, tattoos are really about the art. The San Angelo tattooing community is comprised of serious artists who have chosen human skin as their canvases. Different shops specialize in different styles.
Aubrey Trufant at Bullet Proof specializes in traditional tattoos. Some would call it old school. Trufant describes his popular images: “All-American, traditional tattoo images, eagles, anchors, flowers. I dabbled with Japanese imagery. But I don’t tattoo Japanese imagery traditionally.
“Because of the style the tattoo encompasses, each tattoo is built to last,” Trufant says. Traditional tattoos are heavy on black ink. “The tattoo should almost look done with black alone. Those are the ones that are going to last the test of time. This tattoo has a 20-year shelf life. Even then, they age with the person.”
Trufant’s entrance in the business befits his macho tatt style. He was 20, in the Air Force, and stuck in Alaska when he started. “It was cold and I needed something constructive to do. I stayed indoors,” he says. So Trufant, who had been drawing, and getting his first few tattoos (his very first was a little blue dragon), decided to get into the art himself.
“I got some friends and started practicing,” Trufant says. “I was working with some friends in the civil engineering squadron. We had some roughnecks that just wanted to get tattooed. And I had some that were successful, and a little more came, and a little more came. It takes some time to get confidence in what you’re doing, and to build your clientele.”
Six years later, Trufant and his crew visit tattooing conventions—they just came back from one in Arizona—and go to San Antonio and Austin regularly to tattoo with their friends.
“[I can’t stress enough] how important it is to view a tattooer's portfolio,” Trufant says. “The tattoo business can be tricky. Sometimes the establishment can fool you: it's dressed out nice, but the truth lies in the artist's portfolio. It will show you the quality of tattoo you will walk out of the door with.
“The industry is very cliquey; you only catch people who tattoo alike together. I wouldn’t hang out with people who do portraits. Most of my friends do traditional tattoos, and that’s what I surround myself with because that’s what I want to get better at.”
Trufant might not hang out with Dean Mitchell, or any of the other guys at Electric Voodoo Tattoo. They do bright, colorful tattoos that many put in the “new school” realm. Like the traditional heart and dagger, but done in electric colors: electric blue veins, a hot red aorta, and some sort of yellow—plaque?—snaking around in between.
Dean Mitchell and Jennifer Sims were formerly of Tri-Star Tattoo. They left five years ago to open Electric Voodoo, where they do more new school work. Electric Voodoo’s signature style is almost psychedelic, with colorful designs reminiscent of Rob Zombie’s zanily nightmarish 'toons.
Some customers bridge the gap between old and new school. Jamie (no last name provided) is one of them. She got her first tattoo in San Angelo from “Little Mike” at Tri-Star, so named because he hired another “[Big] Mike” after Mitchell’s and Sims’s departures. Little Mike did a dark, grill-like inlay on Jamie’s foot that she deems “slightly older school.” But Jamie got her definitive piece done from Mitchell after he opened Electric Voodoo.
“I’m Jewish, so tattoos were always a ‘no-no’ and religious tattoos weren't even thought about,” Jamie says. “There are actually Jewish cemeteries that won't allow you to be buried with tattoos. It's almost the equivalent of committing suicide when it comes to where you can be buried.
“But in September of 2006, right before my brother got married, I went and got an arm piece with a Star of David made out of blood vessels.
“I personally think that Dean does do the best new school work I've seen. I love the depth he has in his work. I can see dimension in his tattoos. I like that when he does color, he's really intricate with the mixing. For blue, he grabs a light blue, a dark blue, a white, a black, and maybe green. Then he creates depth by doing proper shading and adding light and not just darkness to the base color. He's really good.”
Bonnie Blue tattoo artists do new and old school, as well as tribal and custom work. Tattoo and piercing artist Jessica Tucker says letters, nautical stars, and tribal (another genre altogether) are big right now. “We do at least 10, 15 stars a week,” Tucker says. Popular areas include feet and the lower back for women, and the arm for guys. For Marines, it’s about the rib cage—to display their higher pain tolerance.
A majority of Bonnie Blue’s clientele is military. One guy came in wanting a picture of Eddie Adams’s famous execution image from Vietnam; he was about to be deployed there.
Another military guy got “None of your f*kin business” tattooed on his arm in Russian, so he could tell people what it meant when they asked. Still another got a stick of butter with a fly tattooed on his leg—a butter fly.
Their other selling points are their touch-up and cover-ups. Owner Steve Myers says he honed his touch-up works repairing the homemade tattoos he used to make with tape deck motors from age 13. He first got turned onto tatts at that age, marveling at his biker father’s body art. Now that he’s a licensed, health-minded professional, there’s little—if anything—Myers says he can’t fix.
Myers says he redid the tattoo for the guy who had ruined it with grease in the oil field. “It’s out there, and it’s got my name on it,” he says. “We’ll retouch tattoos we’ve done from ten years ago, to keep them looking bright.”
Myers has also gotten a reputation for his cover-up work. Some is for tattoos that just didn’t come out right elsewhere: Myers recalls fixing one guy who came back with a $500 tattoo from Harton & Huntington out of Vegas that he hated.
Most of his fixes are to cover names. “Some people don’t learn,” Tucker says, pointing to two pictures of a woman’s hand in the Bonnie Blue portfolio. “This woman here, this is what she had before [a tattoo that read ‘Steve’]. And this is what she got after—a blue rose to cover it up—with the name of a new guy, Martin, above it.”
“I told that one girl, ‘Come on back when that guy don’t work out, and I’ll stack another rose on top of there,’” Myers said.
Future cover-ups are already in the works. One girl insisted her private parts be turned into a cat face.
I WAS WONDERING DO TATTOOS HURT? AND WHAT DO THEY FEEL LIKE FOR YOUR FIRST TIME GETTING A TATTOO? AND HOW MUCH DOES IT COST PER HOUR?
For more on tattooing, visit: http://victoriasrighthip.typepad.com/six_guys_from_miami_ink_l/
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