From: pdavies@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca (Paul Davies)
Subject: tattoo faq 1/2
Organization: University of Toronto Chemistry Department
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 00:15:55 GMT

*** TAT FAQ PART 1 OF 2 ***
This is the 'other' half of the rec.arts.bodyart FAQ file and includes
information about everything but piercing that might concern bodyart.

WHAT THIS FILE CONTAINS:

This file is structured as a traditional FAQ in the form of questions and
answers.  Questions answered in this file:

What should I look for in a tattoo artist?
Who is a good/bad tattoo artist near me? 
Can using a sauna or steamroom blur a new (or old) tattoo?
Is sunlight bad for tattoos?
Are there glow-in-the-dark tattoos?
When did tattooing start?
How do I look after my new tattoo?
How does weight gain/loss affect a tattoo?
Can a tattoo be removed?
What is branding and how do you do it?
What is scarring?

I am largely not responsible for this info as I only have one small tattoo
(now anyways) and so most of the material in this FAQ is from the
experience of others.  (So, if it sounds like *I* am talking about how my
tattoos looked after I got pregnant, it is not actually me :).  If
anything is incorrect in this please let me know.

WHAT IS NEW:

Add and made corrections to the list of tattooers.  I also have a very
good bit of info on the ruby laser removal method that I haven't typed
in yet.  (Thanks to the person that sent it).  I will try and put that
into the next issue.

Have fun and get inked!

Paul Davies / Synthetic Man
pdavies@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca

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Q) What should I look for in a tattoo artist?
A) Go to the parlor (or where he/she works) and look around.  Ask to look
at a flash book (should contain photos/drawings of tats the artist has
done).  Make sure the place is very clean, make sure the artist uses an
autoclave or uses disposable needles (or both even).  Try to go and visit
and then come back some other day.  Try and talk to some people
that have experience with the artist (and not the groupies that you will
find hanging around the shop).  You should feel comfortable with the
artist and you should like him/her.  If you don't, then don't get a tattoo.
Make sure the artist is willing to listen to you and respects what you
want.  Don't go to an artist that has an agenda of what he/she wants to
do.  The artist is sure to make suggestions, but the final word is always
yours. 

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Q) Who is a good/bad tattoo artist near me?
A) Here is a list of tatto artists (which will hopefully grow).  Some have
recommendations for or against, others do not.  It is your responsibility
to check out the artist and make sure he/she will do quality work.

Bay Area, California (South Bay):

Top of file, stay away from Pinky Lum.  He was good in his day, but I've 
seen some *horrible* work he's done.  Word is out on the circuit that he's 
going blind and getting clumsy, botches tattoos and hurts people.  I've 
heard this from several other artists.  He's in San Jose, Dragon Tattoo, I 
believe...  (Someone should confirm the studio---I'm not sure if that's 
correct.)  I've seen a couple of his recent pieces, and they were blurry 
and badly done.

On the other hand, I highly recommend his brother Eddie Lum, at Eddie's 
Skin Works, in Santa Clara 1207 El Camino Real, (408)554-8520.  His forte, 
not surprisingly, is Oriental stuff.  Very good with flowing lines, dragons,
tigers, flowers.  I have two pieces from him, and am very pleased with them.
Warning: if you're taking in a custom design, there is a language barrier, 
and you may have to explain it several times.

San Jose, again: Steve Cameron at Zap Illustrations.  1385 W. San Carlos, 
#202  (408) 287-4011  Mostly custom work.  He will also try to talk you out 
of a tat, if he doesn't think it appropriate to the rest of your body-scheme.
(I respect a man who believes in total body planning.)  Not for beginners.
He does very good free-hand design, likes bold, aggressive designs.  He'll 
also put in vast amounts of design work for free, if the design excites him.

Reno, Nevada:
Jil, at Bodygraphics - 595 N. Lake St.  (702) 322-8623
My *favorite* tattoo artist.  Her forte is wildlife, but she's good with 
just about everything.  In another medium, she could be a very successful 
wildlife artist.  Her tattoos have an incredible amount of life, and her 
detailing is incredible.  20 years experience.  She's a custom fineline 
specialist, and has won awards.  Her style is what I think of as "fineline 
steel engraving" (as opposed to Kari Barba, who does incredible animals, but 
primarily with striking colorwork).  I found her by pouncing on a total  
stranger and demanding to know who did his *incredible* tats.  

Jil, formerly of Reno, is now in Prescott Arizona.  (Nice area, near cliff
dwellings, all that.)  She is at Skin Alive Tattoos, and working by 
appointment only.  The phone number is (602) 772-2387.

.... Marty Holcomb, Marty's Artistic Tattooing
                    3160 West Broad St.
                    Columbus, Ohio

Marty has won several national awards in the 1991 as best tattoo artist;

A few midwest tatoo places....
 
Acme Tattoo Co.
1045 Arcade St. St. Paul, Minnesota
(612))- 771-0471
 
Acme Tatoo (above) is _good_, but you pay for the work. It is expensive.
The  pre-designed tats are costly , and other work is 200$ an hour.
(as of last spring...)
 
Steve Butterfield
Tattoos by Yerkew
3127 Nicollet Ave
Minneapolis, Mn   

612-825-6161

Note:  Steve is real good, but the shop's owner, Dave Yerkew (a.k.a
the fat guy) leaves quite a bit to be desired.  Steve around after
about 6:00 p.m.

Personal Art Tttoos
Jeannie Fritch
3453 Central Ave.
Lake Station, Ind

219-962-3600

Designs by Dana
Dana Brunson
4167 Hamilton Ave.
Cincinatti, Oh 

513-681-8871


Ernie White
Tattoo Factory
94 Main Street, Butler, NJ.

Phone: (201) 838-7828




In the London (CANADA) area there are four spots with which i am familiar:

	Blue Dragon Tattoo -- 253 Wellington London -- 519-434-4706
	the busiest shop in town, does a lot of flash work. I have 
	found them either pretty grumpy/opinionated or at times friendly.

	Tattoos Unlimited -- 847 Dufferrin -- 519-672-8025
	Al Newcombe has been tattooing in London for a looong time. His
	work is mostly flash, he can create stencils from your artwork.
	His work tends to have a "50's" feel to it. the stuff you see on 
	ex-seamen.

	Tattoos by Gypsy --  <does not list addresss> -- 519-453-0822
	Tony is pretty young and is a design artist. I've created some really
	nice work with him starting with my rough sketches. but his work is
	pretty uneven it can be really good or really bad.

In Hawaii:

The best place to go in Hawaii is China Sea Tattoo.  This is
the oldest tattoo studio in the US.  Mike Malone and Scotty,
the guys who work there, are both excellent.

China Sea Tattoo
1033 Smith
Honolulu, Hawaii
(808)-553-1603

In Chicago:

Guilty and Innocent Productions
613 W. Briar (one block south of Belmont, just west of Broadway) 
Chicago 

There's a company in New York state called Spaulding & Rodgers
which sells tattoo guns, needles and ink. The few artists that
have worked on me (Cliff Raven, Kevin Brady, Phil Payton) usually
do a lot of custom work on their needles if not the gun itself.
Needles continually dull from use or sterilizing and have to be
resharpened and soldered into the appropriate groups and
configurations. 

VyVynn Lazonga- Dermagraphics
94 Pike Place, Seattle 
206 622 1535
	              
Lamar Van Dyke-Tattoo You

Seattle Tattoo Emporium
1106 East Pike St., Seattle                   
206 622 6895

Sailor Cam also has a shop

        The Dutchman Tattoos
        630 - 12th Street
        New Westminster, BC
        Canada
        (604)522-5156


If you can travel a ways (parts of Southern California are lovely in the 
winter, especially around Solvang, which is near Santa Barbara), I would 
say, bar-none, go to Pat Fish at Tattoo Santa Barbara!  I've seen some of 
her Celtic work and she's REALLY GOOD, and it's her specialty.  (I read an 
interview where she said she thinks it's a genetic race-memory or something, 
and she went into tattooing specifically to get into Celtic work.)


Well, I said I'd summarize and despite the fact that there is
not an extensive list, the two that are on it come highly 
recommended by a number of different folks:


Pat Fish, at Tattoo Santa Barbara	Celtic style artwork a specialty,
					worth the trip to Santa Barbara.

Vyvyn Lazonga 				Primarily in Seattle, also has an
					office in San Francisco.
					Seattle number is (206) 622-1535



Dennis Cockel in Walkers' Court London W1 (a small side street in Soho) 
tattooed myself and a girlfriend about four years ago and we are both very 
satisfied with the tattoos.

I got mine done by Ernie at Tattoo City in Butler, NJ.  I 
don't have his card, but I'll post the number on Monday.
It's about a 20 minute drive out of NYC.

In London (England):

Dennis Cockel in Walkers' Court London W1 (a small side street in Soho) 
tattooed myself and a girlfriend about four years ago and we are both very 
satisfied with the tattoos.


About good NY artists, I can recommend C&C tattoo in Troy NY.
The Address is:

307 Congress St.
Troy NY 12180
(518)272-0576                 (as of 5/91 when I moved)

Ask for Sue (Daves "apprentice") She did my full back piece, 
and it came out AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In SF:

	Mad Dog's ok. he's done some really GREAT work, but I think
	he's somewhat inconsistant... I've never met him...
The "dude" is named Robert Roberts... Mad Dog is the name of his tattooing
enterprise.  I have seen a lot of Roberts work (probably more than anyone
else on this silly group).... Some of it is truly outstanding, other is
not that great.  I think with Robert, it really depends on what you are
getting.  If your tattoo is going to be all black, Robert is great.  If
you want color, I think you might want to go somewhere else.

	

	The best in SF (Actually, the best in the state, without a 
	doubt, and possibly the best in the country) tattoo shop
	is 'Tattoo City' on Columbus; the shop is owned by Ed hardy, 
	and teh guys who work there (Freddy Corbin, Eddie Deutsch,
	Dan Higg) are simply great. You cannot go wrong with the
	three; Freddy and Eddie are the two best tattooists I've ever
	seen.


	415-433-9437 is the phone number....

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q) Can using a sauna or steamroom blur a new (or old) tattoo?
A) Once it is healed, there is very little that will screw up a tattoo.  The
one exception is prolonged exposure to sunlight. (the other is scarring,
but that is patently obvious).

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Q) Is sunlight bad for tattoos?
A) Well, unfortunately it is.  The newer inks are better at resisting
fading but whatever you do, if you spend lots of time in bright sunlight
your tats will fade (over a lifetime not over a week).  The best is to try
and keep them out of bright sunlight.  No one wants to become a cave
dweller just to keep their tats looking good, just use your common sense.

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Q) Are there glow in the dark tattoos?
A) Quite simply, yes.
You generally get a quick test to see if you react to it... If you are
not allergic, it is not a problem.
It does not always become invisible.  Freddy tells the story of a woman
who got a 6" spurting penis with the words "love it" on her forearm.
The pigment never became invisible (oops.)
It sometimes does not take well.  It comes out fairly regularly.

Because of all of this, the recommendation is that you use it to highlight
an existing tattoo, but you should not do it as the only pigment.

You can get it at Lyle's studio, Tattoo City, and the Blue Buddha.
If you go to the BB, ask for Bill.
	
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Q) When did tattooing start?
A) Paraphrased from the Globe and Mail (Toronto's National Newpaper.....):

"A 4,000 year old man has been found in Italy near the Austrian border, 
(originally it was reported he was in Austria, but both countries now agree he 
is in Italy.)  Carbon dating will take a few months, but artifacts found near 
him strongly suggest that he is over 4,000 years old.


.. he is also tattooed. a small cross is behind one knee and above his kidneys 
there are a series of lines, about 15 cm long."

Now I knew that the Egyptians tattooed each other, but that was only 3,000 
years ago. I wonder how much further back this custom goes?

*** END OF PART 1 OF 2 ***
Newsgroups: rec.arts.bodyart