Dave Nielsen

Those signs are great!

I prefer the term tattooer, although any of them work. When I think of tattooing as a craft as opposed to an art, and myself a craftsman instead of an artist, I have an easier time setting aside my ego and giving the client what they want. There's nothing artistic about reproducing that same infinity symbol with birds and feathers coming out of it and hiding all of their baby's names and birth dates. The artist in me cringes every time. That's when the craftsman in me steps in and does it without complaining or putting ego in front of making a living. When I think of it as a craft that stress of having to create a work of art every time is lifted. The craftsman in me works a little harder on the little pork chop tattoos than the artist with the inflated ego who has to do it his way. That helps me sleep a lot better at night. With all of that being said, all crafts are still art. There is art in everything you look at and I do mean everything. Somebody somewhere down the line designed the shape and appearance of almost everything you look at, from the box you pour your cereal out of to the toilet you take a shit in. Anyway, tattooer works for me.

Thank you! I look forward to making new friends and maybe learning some new tricks! - - - Updated - - - Also, I don't know if this is the right place for this or not, but we are looking for one or two new artists and I was wondering what the proper place is for doing that. I see there is a place for guest spots and openings here, but I'm not allowed to post new threads yet. Is there a section here for artists who are looking for a spot to post? I'm not in a major rush, but I would like to fill the empty seat in the shop. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Hello everybody. I thought I would start with an introduction here. My name is Dave Nielsen. I started tattooing in the Summer of 1997. I have been working at Steve's Tattoo in Madison, Wisconsin since 2001. As of the beginning of the this year (2014) I became the manager of the shop as well as being one of the tattooers. If you would like to see a bit of my portfolio, here is a link to my page on our website: Steve's Tattoo and Body Piercing - Dave Also, here is a link to my facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dnielsen75 I have a tendency to keep that much more up to date with my current work. You may need to send a friend request to see it though, because I keep the privacy settings on high. I apparently signed up to be a member here a long time ago and had completely forgotten about it. Anyway, here I am and I will try to be better about coming on and posting. I have a tendency to be more of a lurker than a contributor. I will try to be better about that, it would be nice to be a part of the community rather than just watch it happen. I sometimes ramble with my words and sometimes go on long rants or raves. Take it all with a grain of salt, my bark is far worse than my bite. Thanks for reading, Dave Nielsen