Bart Bingham

"So if you run into someone who asks to see packages opened, it isn't because they don't trust you" it's exactly because they don't trust us. As i said in my previous statement I have absolutely no issue with opening packages in front of folks, its not a big deal and while i dont get butthurt i do feel a tad insulted by the request ONLY because i know almost undoubtedly that that person asking me has never asked a doctor or nurse or dentist or even acupucturist to do the same because they view those individuals as professionals they can trust while we're just a bunch of filthy bikers. you make a good point about the stricter certs for those folks but really that isnt whats going through most peoples minds when the ask to watch a setup.the exception to that being people who work in the medical field. what is going through the average non medical field persons mind is based purely on our looks and on preconceived notions that we're mostly a bunch of dirty bikers. I worked in 2 of the busiest ERs in the country for 6 years and in that time i've seen plenty of nurses, doctors, phlebotomist etc., etc cross contaminate and break the sterile chain regardless of all that certification. sometimes out of laziness but mostly out of just plain ole absent mindedness i think folks SHOULD be asking to see packages opened. my problem isnt that they ask me, its that they ask ONLY me. i cant speak for every state but the last three states ive worked in including NY where i am now have all required me/all tattooers to be individually licensed as well as pass a test demonstrating basic knowledge of universal precautions/bloodborne pathogens. side note : a large part of why i personally prefer clients not see me setup is that i worked hard to learn this craft and get every little nugget of info that i could. setting up a tattoo machine for optimal performance and efficiency is not common knowledge and so i don want to give trade secrets out to every aspiring tattoo artist that comes in the door any more that KFC wants us to know what their 11 herbs and spices are. with that being said i do get where youre coming from and respect your side of the debate.

I read an article in I cant remember what magazine many years ago that pointed out that almost every question we get asked about our tattoos can also be directed towards a new teen mother example: "did that hurt?" "what do your parents think about that?" " you know you're stuck with that for ever, right?" "i cant believe you'd do that to your body?" "why would you do something so irresponsible?" etc., etc.

I just had some major dental work done a couple of weeks ago. As a result i had various instruments all up in my mouth. Because he's a professional i didn't ask or even think to ask my dentist to prove to me that he ran a clean operation, nor did i lose any sleep over it later. I worked in an ER for 6 years and in that time I never witnessed a single person ask to see proof that the syringe, tongue depressor, speculum, scalpel or sutures etc. etc. were new or ask to see it being removed from the package.likewise, I'd bet the farm you have never asked a dentist or doctor to prove they're using clean instruments either. to answer the OG question; Much like a doctor is only allowed to use a scalpel blade once we are only allowed to use a needle once and just as the doctor has no legal obligation to open the blade in front of you nor do tattooers have a legal obligation to do so. that being said, i will gladly and without hesitation open and assemble any and all tools in front of anyone who asks if it makes them feel better and more at ease. I'll do it with a smile on my face AND i wont even mention that when they said "i need to see you open the needle in front of me" what i really heard was " hey, you're a heavily tattooed person and therefore i assume that you're most likely a dirt bag that i cant possibly view as being a professional with ethics so i need for you to open that needle in front of me although i would never ask that of my dentist because i would feel like i was insulting him/her"

my advice is draw more from life and less from tattoo flash. example: It's a lot easier to draw a good traditional tattoo style eagle if you understand the anatomy of an actual eagle as opposed to if you try to draw one based on someone elses already skewed anatomy.

I see a couple of people suggesting that its a bad idea to go the freehand route. sorry but that is false. if you go to someone and they cant draw a good design on you chances are that they wouldn't have drawn it any better on paper. I am not saying they don't use stencils and I'm sure they do sometimes but I personally have never seen Richard Stell, Troy Denning or Chris Trevino use a stencil. also I work with both Horizakura and Yoni Zilber who I watch draw on entire sleeves and backpieces that become the most beautifuly executed tattoos. So what im saying is its not the process/approach that is to blame for giving you an unsatisfactory tattoo it is the artist that executed it. I'd hate to see you go into a situation where youre gonna get tattooed by a Chris Garver or Horitomo and he says he's gonna freehand it so you get spooked and end up opting out of it because someone on the internet said that freehand is a red flag. also drawing on the spot is perfectly ok if the artist has the experience and skills to do so. if Gordon Ramsey offered to come to my house and make me dinner using whatever i have in my cupboard I'm not going to request that he figure out the recipe a week in advance because he's going to nail it.

Darcy Nutt at Chalice in Boise Eric Payne at Ink Vision in Boise Matt Arriola is from Boise and does guest spots at Ink vision sometimes I did a guest spot in Boise at darcy's place a little while ago. It's a great little town in my opinion.

Hey Dan, you'll see first hand what a good shop assistant is and what to look for when you come out to work with us this spring as the shop guys at our shop really are great.

Chris Trevino does great skull tattoos. Daniel Albrigo does a lot of great skull tattoos too. as does a gazillion other tattooers i can think of

hey Bill, I second that opinion. Jason comes to NYC to work with us at NYadorned for a few days every month. great guy and great tattoos.

I agree with dave. Yoni would do an incredible job on that. Brooklyn adorned however has closed its doors permanently and he is back in manhattan at NY Adorned now.

you sure it's not Junii? I've not seen Junii's whole back but i have seen her shoulders once when she was wearing a sleeveless shirt and what i saw was identical to that 1st picture

well actually it is "little to no tattoos" so forget number 2 . but still... saving a spot or two for the future is fine but not getting tattooed not at all or almost not at all because you might not like it later...well... that is part of the attraction of tattoos. the permanence. not getting tattooed because you might not like it later is like choosing to not date someone who's totally awesome and perfect for you because you might grow apart and meet someone better in 15 years. there's no way to know.

i did this fun one just the other day

1) while those tattoos do not reflect who i am any more i do not regret any of them. they reflect who i was and where i came from artistically and i remember everything i learned from every one of them. i learned more about tattooing from getting tattooed by good tattooers than from anything else. i do wish i had room for more tattoos however. but not because i regret what i have but because i love tattoos and as i said previously "people who are into tattoos get tattoos" and that desire doesnt go away when you run out of room. 2)this isnt a discussion about saving a spot or two for future tattoos its about not having any tattoos.

people who are into tattoos get tattoos whether they are tattooers are not. if you're not tattooed then you'll never convince me that you are really into them. my experience has been that non tattooed tattooers dont love tattooing, they love money and they think tattooing is an "easy" way to get some they are "artists" who cant make it as an artist in the art world so they become tattooers because it the only way they can figure out to make a living illustrating. sidenote: Ursula, while the majority of the time you'd probably be correct it is not always true about tattooers being covered in the stuff we like to do. especially with people like myself who've tattooing for a long time. the 90's was an exciting time for tattooing and i am covered head to toe in tattoos that do not reflect who i am artistically at all anymore.because tattoos are permanent they do not change as our taste does so I have a biomech sleeve even though i havent done any biomech tattoos or had any interest in biomech at all since the late 90's.

My first tattoo was the black eisturzende neubauten stick man. my friend james did it in our friends garage. it was done with a tattoo machine but the needle was 5 sewing needles soldered onto a needle bar. all lined and shaded with that. it was probably 1992/93 i'd guess. then in 1993 i got all the chrome doodads and flames added by matthew wojciechowski. and although you cant tell from my crappy phone pic that tattoo and the sleeve i have from matthew are both almost 20 years old and both are so well tattooed that they look like they were done last week. I had very little interest in tattoos til i saw what matthew was doing.

they should've gone directly across the street to Richard Stell and Matthew wojciechowski. I started tattooing in the early/mid 90's in Houston I spent some time in Dragon mikes shop and remeber it well but i cannot remember anything about dragon mike the man. I actually worked with Tiger John for a little while at Texas Tattoo Emporium which is the building next door to the building that dragon mikes was in. to get back on topic of the thread, prisoners don't have the luxury of stencils either. also i suspect they planted that VCR in the trash.

Tiger john is a really nice dude.

i'm getting a blow fish from shinji/horizakura.

I've only ever talked to murray thru the interweb and he's seems lke a solid dude to me as well as a solid tattooer.

Horizakura/Shinji is such a great dude and incredible tattooer. I have a tattoo from him and i think that any serious collector should have atleast a small tattoo from him not only for the amazing quality of his work but for the experience as well.

do what you want. i just got a snapping turtle, a frog, and a opossum all in 2 weeks time.

PS: i hope no one feels "attacked" by my comments i'm just offering my opinion in the spirit of conversation.

if i went to get a hair cut and the stylist was wearing a hat or if i was hiring an interior designer and i met at their place and they had no furniture or if i was in a boy band and i needed a stylist and upon meeting them the were weaing sweat pants i'd have to wonder.