While sophisticated Needled readers have shunned popular television in lieu of nights reading Proust, some of us just ain’t that fancy. For my American TV lovin peeps, not one but two shows tonight feature tattoo goodness.
At 10PM EDT, The Works on the History Channel focuses on, well, how tattoos work: “From a 5,000 year old tattooed mummy to the latest in flash tattoo technology, get an inside look at how tattoos are designed, applied, and where the latest inks and hardware are being developed.”
You’ll also see scenes from Hell City, interviews with artists including Philadelphia Eddie, and at the end, Troy Timple even tattoos the show’s host Daniel H. Wilson.
Then, at 11 PM EDT, change the channel to VH1 for the first episode of The Cho Show. Granted, it’s a comedy not tattoo joint but just look at how fine Margaret looks flashing her tattoos at the show’s premier last week in NYC [Photo by Steve Mack/FilmMagic]. I just dig a funny, smart, political heavily tattooed hottie representin. You can even watch the first episode free online. Those outside the US, can download it from iTunes.
“But there is magic, though. I don’t mean to sound real hardcore. There is magic because there’s magic in tattoos. I’m the person I am today because of my tattoos. I can’t tell you why or what, but I just know that.”
The show, a collection of his art and personal effects, captured moments of days past: his art displayed the oddities and intricacies of the circus and sideshow world, and of his effects, it was delightful to see his famous colorful chests covered in stamps of the far away places he’d been.
The show inspired me to look further into the life of the man born Donald Paul Leslie on December 26, 1937 — a life fully lived for 69 years.
Capt. Don Leslie ran away and joined King Brothers Circus at 14 to escape a troubled childhood. He received his first tattoo by Carol Nightingale (a tattoo pioneer and author of The Tattoo Baron). Taught to breath fire by Alex Linton and swallow swords by Carlos Leal in the mid 1950s, Don Leslie’s work ethic was amazing: he would do 18-22 performances a day, swallowing up to 15 swords in each performance.
This came at a price. His greatness is mixed with the tragedy of his passing of mouth and throat cancer due to years of ingesting fire-eating fuel. He died on June 4, 2007.
After reading all the tales and interviews of Don Leslie on the web, he quickly became more than a legend but an everyman to me. A man with the same strengths and frailties that all of us have. Throughout his life, he battled alcoholism [ironically the reason he first ran away to the circus]. Yet, with a smile and open heart, he stood with those who some would call outcasts.
Yesterday we talked about Lars Krutak and his study of tattoo rites among indigenous cultures, but we’d be remiss to not post about a historian of Western tattoo culture: the wonderful Chuck Eldridge of the Tattoo Archive.
Check out this Needled preview video we did for Imeem.com for a quick look at the Archive, and Chuck himself, are such an important resource in the tattoo community. For the full video of Chuck, click here.
What I love about these articles is not only learning about the practices themselves but getting a first-hand look at the experience, hearing the stories of the people trying to keep these rites alive, and learning the meaning behind many of the symbols marked on the body.
Today’s Tattoo News Review is brought to you by the lovely free WiFi at Oasis cafe on Karfas beach of Chios, Greece where I’m scaring the island locals — either with my tattoos or bright pasty whiteness of the rest of me. Either way, we’re only endearing ourselves to the limited freak contingent, generally congregated around Oasis. [Oh, for those who wanted to see how my latest tattoo (hand-poked) healed, see here. Perfecto!]
So, I’m taking a break from maniacally applying SPF 50 — when I’m not covering up in August Aegean heat — and to bring you the juicy headlines of the past week.Two themes dominated: more on Olympic tattoos, and stories of tattoo artists and collectors fighting to beat bad industry regulations and bans — and winning. Thus, today is a happy news day.
But before I even get to those, I want to point out how often small local press does a better job covering tattoos than the big papers: I loved this press & Sun Bulletin article on Binghamton tattoo studio Twisted Ink. It talks about the studio itself, the changes in clientele, and some fun anecdotes like this one:
“I know I’m pretty close to the end of my life,” an 84-year-old man once told [tattooist George] Perris, “but I’m here to get a tattoo.”
The man, who said he’d always been a gambler, got Perris to tattoo a pair of rolling dice on his neck.
Days later, the man came back.
“I went home, my wife saw it and she flipped,” he said.
“Sorry, sir, but I can’t get rid of it,” Perris replied.
“No, no. I want another one,” the man said. “I want to put a huge heart on the other side with my wife’s name on it.”
When the artist saw the man a month later, “he gave me a big thumbs-up,” Perris said.
Also check out the info box on the side of the article on tattoo removal, cover-ups and temp make-up fixes.
Hey y’all. Quick dispatch from Greece along with gratuitous hottie shot of my sister Christine, hubby Dan (in the middle with his crazy face), and my buddy (and personal trainer) Paul Torres on the volcanic rock beach of Chios island.
So, while I’m trying to relax on vacation, Needled was hacked, which is why it was down for a couple of days. I’d almost be flattered by the black-hat attention but we were one of a few tattoo sites hacked. But we’re back online and back to normal!
Oh, and if you’re in NY today, head to Williamsburg, Brooklyn for Tattoo Culture’s very special exhibit of photography by Claire Artemis of France and Scott Irving. The show is from 7-10PM. I’ve written about Claire’s body landscapes before for her European exhibitions, and I’m such a huge fan. Should be an amazing show.
Ok, gotta run. Ouzo and bellydancing are calling me. Will be back Monday with your tattoo news review of the week.
This isn’t your hokey how-to-choose-a-tattoo book.Rather, it’s a look at the process that both the tattooist and the tattoo client go through — from the first “I think I wanna tattoo” to “Sweet tat!” [Editor's note: I don't condone the use of the words Sweet tatt or any derivation thereof!! Nevertheless, I give Lara creative license here.]
The first two chapters deal with finding the artist to do your work and then understanding the progression of taking your concept and turning it into a rough draft of what the final product will look like.I like how the artist’s “bedside manner” is one of the considerations in choosing an artist.I am particularly keen for the Portfolio Evaluation Checklist and the Sanitation Checklist.Many tattoo newbies have a hard time discerning between crappy work and a quality tattoo. And if they don’t work in the medical field, chances are they aren’t intimate with the term “cross-contamination”; therefore, the checklists are invaluable for those new to the art.
Chapters Three through Nine discuss the various styles of tattoos.Besides a description of the style, we are given its history, beautiful examples, and a Q&A with an expert: New School’s Josh Woods, Traditional Americana artists Cory Rogers, and Mario Desa are just a few of the tattooists who share their insight on the assorted styles.
The reference gallery chapter isn’t quite as crowded as the NYC Tattoo Convention on a Saturday afternoon, where you’d usually find Joy covering the show, but it’s a more than adequate showing of pretty impressive flash.
I might have moved Are Tattoo Inks Safe? to the checklists, but it’s in there, and it provides some welcome info, especially to those of us who’ve sometimes had issues, like allergic reactions, with ink.The chapter on PhotoShop is geared towards the tattooist or those trying to help their artist flesh out the tattoo design in advance.
In fact, Tattoo, From Idea to Ink may be written primarily for the tattoo novice but even long time collectors and artists will appreciate this addition to the growing number of tattoo books on the market, especially one from an industry insider.
When we heard that Needled’s personal goddess and saviouress, Margaret Cho, will be premiering her new VH1 “scripted reality” show –The Cho Show — August 21st, we got giddy. Like that night just before getting tattooed, the fabulousness can’t come fast enough, so when we flew to LA to shoot Shawn Barber and Guy Aitchison’s art shows last month, we had the bonus treat of interviewing the tattooed diva to find out about her weekly comedy extravaganza. We learned about paparazzi pressure to strip down to her tattoos. How to perform a gay marriage. And anal bleaching … And so can you!
Of course there was tons of tattoo talk, like how her Nathan Kostechko tattoo influenced the show’s logo or how she filmed its commercial at Mike Davis’s Everlasting Tattoo. [Mike later did this gorgeous work on her for real.] And yeah, she removed clothing for tattoo views, but she says, we’re “all part of the same club” so it’s cool. Needless, to say, I really, really like being a member
It’s one thing to tattoo SpongeBob SquarePants on dad as he holds the machine, but needling strangers, with unknown bloodborne pathogens has bloggers like those on MomLogic asking if it’s “irresponsible parenting or a harmless pastime?”
For me, the risk of a needle prick is my biggest concern. Even the most experienced tattooers — and doctors and other medical personnel — have accidental sticks. But as for taking on the clients, hell, if people want to get tattooed by kids that’s their choice to make.
Some of the best tattooist started young like Pierre Chapelan of Tattoo Mania in Montreal, son of the well respected Michel de Bordeaux. My husband remembers seeing Pierre at convention tattooing as a young teen. We talked about that when I interviewed Pierre in 2006. Then of course there’s the messiah of tattooing Filip Leu, son of tattooists Loretta and the late Felix Leu, who began tattooing full time at age 15 in 1982. See the result of that long time experience here.
Thus, in hating to poo poo the next Filip Leu, I’ll just wish Lilly good luck and be safe.
In a few hours, The DiMattia clan will be on a plane for vacation — Brussels airport strikes willing — to my ancestral home of Chios, Greece — a country that boasts a tattoo-free national basketball team. I wrote about my trepidation here. Nevertheless, it’s one of my most favorite places in the world. Even Dan loves it. See how tattooed and happy he looks above?
Even though I’ll be on a beach, I will not neglect you. If the Needled bots do their job, there will still be posts throughout the week that I programmed in advance — programmed, my friends, out of love. Do you feel it?
Please forgive me if it takes a while to get back to messages. Will be back live in ten days.
While sophisticated Needled readers have shunned popular television in lieu of nights reading Proust, some of us just ain’t that fancy. For my American TV lovin peeps, not one but two shows tonight feature tattoo goodness.
