Jump to content

MsRad

Member
  • Posts

    1,141
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    4

Posts posted by MsRad

  1. i've never been good at this sort of thing.

    Robin A.D. (yes, my initials are RAD, my mom always loved it). 25 and starting life over. east bay area born and raise. have been a museum worker for the last 3 and a half year after getting my first bachelors in photography. now i'm heading back to school to get a second degree in conservation biology, which will come to a shock to those of you who know that i've been interested in writing about tattoo history, but like gougetheeyes, i'm still interested in the history and i'm trying to sort out the proper way to share that history. academia isn't it.

    i've been into punk rock and hardcore for over half of my life. i'm a former skinhead, who left the lifestyle after deciding i did not want to live my life in a way that asserted power, intimidation, or violence, and found buddhism instead. straight edge saved my life, literally. i've been getting into alt-country more and more these days, and am dying to learn how to play the steel lap guitar, and anything i can about motorcycles (which i've wanted to ride since i was a kid!). i come from a super small family (11 total including me), and i'm the youngest of them all. my mom's side is made up of the 4 strongest women i have ever met, and they have inspired me throughout my life. they're great story tellers, and if you ever meet them when i'm around, they'll fill hours sharing memories of me growing up and doing silly things. i love it. i'd love to get a tattoo for them, but haven't quite figured out what yet. it may involve a squirrel holding a shotgun, or a shetland pony chasing a horse.

  2. That bear tattoo just makes me think, "Ms Rad by name, Ms Rad by nature", haha.

    aww shucks Mel! thanks! it will be part of a larger sleeve including images of native california animals and plants.

    you're new tattoo by Thomas is pretty sweet! really curious to see pictures of the Charlie Roberts piece.

  3. also, this is going to sound like dumb, naive question, but Stewart, you brought up a point that i think is worth discussing. is it worth including your work in a magazine, now that there are all of these risks of mis-use? i don't just mean plagairism either, but publications using images in databases like the one this thread was based on. i'm just curious to see what the opinions are.

  4. MsRad, I don't think it's feasible for tattooers to sign a contract when we submit work to magazines. Yeah if we are working with corporate clients (and that's part of the main problem at the moment in my opinion - but that's another story) then some legal paperwork is a must. But the cost of legal paperwork just to send photos to a magazine is going to mean it never happens.

    Actually, what happens is more like the terms of service when you sign up to a website, email provider etc. By submitting unsolicited work, we agree to have that work used by that publication, however they see fit. That's the deal - it's based on trust, as are most things in tattooing.

    So tattooers who care about quality and respect and trust and all of that old fashioned stuff are selective about which magazines they send work to. We only send photos to magazines who we trust will work in our best interests while still trying to sell copies.

    Tattoo Life was one of those magazines.

    I feel that the last thing tattooing needs is more lawyers involved. That only works out good for the lawyers in the long run. The best thing to do is for conscientious tattooers to opt-out and not be involved in things we feel are not in out best interests.

    This ties in to the TLC thing too. I don't feel the need to say more because Nick Colella has said it all perfectly on his twitter account.

    i couldn't agree with you more Stewart, and i don't mean you need to get a lawyer to have a contract. seriously, you'd be surprised as to how much just a letter or an email can hold up legally. also, we make contracts at times on the spot here when we are requesting images/videos (and the museum does not have an onsite lawyer) from independent artists/sources who don't have legal representation, and they work just fine. my point really is just to make sure, whatever documents are used, that you keep copies of them and you have a paper/email trail. anything verbal can get obscured really easily, should you have to actually fight someone over the use of your work, in or outside of the legal system.

  5. Looks like it's associated with Tattoo Life magazine so they probably are posting photos that appeared in the magazine which would mean they have the publishing rights. I think.

    maybe, but maybe not. depends on the agreement which was signed.

    my primary job at the museum is rights and reproductions, and while i don't usually work with tattoo artists, we do work with artists on a fairly regular basis (and own the collections to a few who have passed on). while sure, for a publication such as Tattoo Life, you're welcome to send in your image, unless you sign a contract giving them full publishing disclosure, if they are posting your image anywhere outside of the designated issue/web publication that you have agreed it, it IS illegal and against copyright law (unless the image was published pre 1978 here in the states, as copyright laws do not apply to any sort of work that was not registered as being copyrighted beforehand, and international rules are slightly different.) Also, usually magazines approach artists (again, not consumer contributors) to ask to use their work (or an estate/gallery that is in charge of their works and any legal ties to them). Once it has been confirmed with an artist that a given work may be used for a specific article, technically the magazine would need to re-apply for permission again for web use, unless the negotiated contract specified otherwise (and a broader range of distribution). if you ar sending in your work, the publication knows who the creator or contributor is, and therefore can't technically claim ignorance or "due dilligence", which can be claimed for a lot of found, anonymous works (think fliers and snapshots).

    So what does this mean for tattoo artists? GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING. number one thing i can't stress enough. if you get asked to have your work published in a book, magazine, website, whatever, don't agree on a verbal contract, and rather negotiate terms through email. at least then it's dated, time stamped, and in text. never, again NEVER, sign a contract without completely reading it. you may agree that someone can use your image to make millions of dollars (as with Ed Hardy), and not even realize it, and there is very little retribution to be gained once a contract has been signed (it is a legal binding document). if you want only one image to be used, at a small size, in one blog post, or one article, then tell the magazine that; the same can be said for 20 images. this is your right as an artist. just make sure you and the publication are on the same page.

    while i'm not a copyright lawyer (THANK GOD), this has been my job for the last 3.5 years. here's a great quick reference to copyright laws in case you are interested as well. Also, the safer bet is anything created before 1923 is public domain, anything after that is questionable.

  6. so this is what ive been up to for the last week:

    i had a Canada day party on the first of July and invited a bunch of the ladies i work with to watch the fireworks display at Onatrio PLace from my balcony. Most of the ladies are new to Canada and therefore most of them do not have citizenship yet and alot of them told me how much my little Canada day party ment to them. it was very touching. anyway onto the food:

    i had a cheese and charcuterie plate with some flatbread crackers, spinach dip and artichoke asiago cheese dip mmmmmm

    i made lemon curd squares (i used whole wheat flour to change it up), profitiroles with a french custard cream filling and drizzled with dark chocolate- i havent made these since pastry school, it was so fun to make them again!, vegan mocha chocolate cake filled with a "buttercream" and topped with plenty of ganche, vegan vanilla cupcakes with vanilla bean "buttercream", raw peanut and almond cups (similar to a reeses PB cup just a raw version), and mini cheesecakes with either a blueberry brandy compote or cinnamon rum peach compote. there was soooooo much food as my guests brought stuff as well, it was a really special night!

    as just today as i was cleaning out my fridge freezer i found wonton wrappers at the back and decided i should use them as i couldnt remember how long ago i bought them!! anyway i made egg rolls with a ground chicken edemame and asian flavour filling. i tried different techniques as i had large wrappers and small ones. i made egg rolls, i made little dumpling like ones that i baked, and then the left over wrappers i just quick fried them and sprinkled cinnamon sugar ontop and they were gobbled up just like that. i should add that though the baked ones were tastey when those little wrappers are baked they become very hard and sharp and there is a great chance you are going to cut the inside of your mouth- something i just learned today!! hahaha

    it has been one week of some very tasty food!

    vegan chocolate mocha cake sounds amazing right now.

  7. no face, under the chin, tops of hands/fingers, nether regions, ears, or bottom of feet. everything else is fair game in my book, though obviously i don't plan on getting anything extreme until i've got a good paying, solid job, and at least 10 years of work experience. which means i'll be 45 or older when i get my neck done. c'est la vie!

  8. i start using palmer's shea butter about a week on, maybe 2 times a day, for the next couple of weeks and it works pretty good...I usually just wash it the first week

    yea i won't be putting any on my newest piece for the next 48 hours or so. found some Shea on sale at whole foods, so i think i'll pick some of it up tomorrow after work.

  9. i find having a hot bath the first night of the tattoo really helps to open up pores and get all the extra gunk off, washing with dr bronner's liquid soap too, it really gives that squeaky clean feeling on your skin.

    for cream i recommend e45 or cocoa butter but always the least amount you can get away with. if you keep your tattoo clean by washing it a couple of times during the day (for the first week max) i find theres little need for any cream. personally i barely use any, just take care of washing my tattoo often seems to be enough.

    people with greasier skin shouldnt use cream in my book, everyone's different and this is why i will always have a proper chat with my customer after their tattoo, specially if it's their first time getting tattooed by me.

    the thought of cocoa butter just recently occurred to me, as well as shea butter. thanks for confirming my suspicion that it would be an excellent alternative on tattoos! if anyone has any experience with shea butter, i would love to hear it.

  10. all tattoos itch. it's a sign that it's healing up right (as with any other wound). just put aquophor or lotion on it, and try to chew gum or do something else to take your mind off the itchiness. sometimes an icy compress works for me as well since it provides a different sensation to that area, but i wouldn't recommend putting ice directly on your tattoo. i usually take a ziploc bag of ice, wrap it in a towel, and then i'm good for a little while (especially in summer).

  11. Brian,

    If you want to see why we're so protective of tattooing on this board (or the other one you previously posted on), all you have to do is go to this thread: Tattoo Discussion Topic: No thread about this bullshit yet?

    This is what the general public, at least in the US, think what tattooing is about. this is why professionals and enthusiasts are frustrated, tired, and overly protective in general, because the media and the greater part of society have taken a lot away from tattooing, with only giving us crap in return. i think it's been hard to know where you are in that spectrum, and while clearly things are never black and white, some of the questions you have asked and posts you have made clearly show that you are out of sync with the tattoo community, or at least in other parts of the world. perhaps, like you said, this is due to the fact that tattooing is not very popular in Ireland (i'll admit, i only saw 3 shops while i was there, but also wasn't looking to get work done), so the community doesn't feel so threatened by the perspective that the general public has on the art and business of tattooing. but here, in the US and i'd say most of North America, it's a completely different ball game.

×
×
  • Create New...