Word: tattooing
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Most tattoo artists prefer not to share the tricks and tales of their trade, but not Jeff Johnson. In his newly released memoir, Tattoo Machine, the Portland-based inkman shares some of the weirdest, wackiest and most disgusting details of his profession, from cleaning up after chudders (look it up) to the time he tattooed a serial killer (he thinks). TIME spoke with Johnson about writing his first book, the grim reality of his work and the clash of tattoo generations. (Read "Hate That Tattoo? Making Them Easier to Remove...
...book's introduction, you mention how nobody speaks for the tattoo industry, and that most artists like it that way. Were you worried about a backlash? I was a little bit worried. In tattooing there's always been a great deal of secrecy: "Don't talk about this kind of stuff to outsiders." A friend of mine, Mary Jane, a tattoo artist, had a newsletter at one point, and people started threatening to kill her. There's a lot of weird stuff like that. But the reaction so far has been really positive. No death threats yet. (See pictures...
...there such secrecy? I think, historically, most tattoo artists didn't want people to have any kind of information they wanted, that it would just increase competition. But I think the secrecy is fading now because that's really not the case anymore. You really have to learn how to draw and get a good apprenticeship before you can get into the field...
...included a glossary of slang terms in your book; would words like chud and night hog be recognized in tattoo shops throughout the country? Every shop has their own slang. A lot of the slang I mention in Tattoo Machine would be recognized by anybody that works in Portland, probably a lot of people in Seattle as well, and California. But a friend of mine was just out working on the East Coast and he called and told me about all the colorful slang that they had, and it was all really different - some of it was really rude...
Tell me about the tattoo parlor you work at, the Sea Tramp in Portland. It's a fascinating place. It was started by a guy named Bert Grimm, who allegedly tattooed Bonnie and Clyde and Buffalo Bill when he lived in St. Louis. He moved to Portland and retired, but decided that he couldn't stand to be retired so he opened up this shop that I currently own part of. There's so much ancient stuff there. We have an incredibly old piano in our storeroom and nobody knows how it got there. We actually found a Tommy...