deeperthanwar

It seems everywhere I look at the moment, I'm being bombarded by images of work by the artists at Buena Vista Tattoo Club.  I've been aware of them for a little while, but recently it seems that their work is everywhere, certainly in the tattoo press.

And what fantastic images to be bombarded by.  The work of Volko Merschky and Simone Pfaff is refreshingly different.  It's not often that you find work that is really new and unique, but these guys seem to be breaking a lot of moulds.  They refer to this style of tattoo that they have created in their studio in Wurzburg, Germany, as 'Realistic Trash Polka'.

I actually don't think that it's the sort of thing that I'd want as a tattoo for myself - I'm far too rooted in the old school to use a whole arm or something for this style (although I might be persuaded otherwise in the future), but I am  blown away by their creativity, and by the way that their work is seeming to redefine what constitutes a tattoo.

One of the most famous tattoo artists of the last 100 years (certainly in the Western world) is Sailor Jerry.  From the 30s to the 60s, he worked in Hawaii.  He is often considered to be the first artist to create a fusion between traditional western designs, and the work that was usually associated with Japan.  He is still considered a master, and his revolutionary style would now be classed by many people as classic tattoo imagery.

In the last few years, studios like Buena Vista Tattoo Club, and Boucherie Moderne in Brussels, have been bringing something new to the scene.  As far as I can see, the primary driving force for this is the use of graphic design skills and elements being incorporated into tattoo design.  The result is stunning pieces of living design work, challenging concepts and ideas about what a tattoo is and can be.  Of course, all of this is helped along by the fact that Volka, Simone, Jeff, and the likes are producing technically excellent tattoos.

So far, this movement seems to be breaking out within Europe.  It would be interesting to see, with all of the current hype around it, how quickly it develops in North America.

OK, so this is a few days late, really, but I just wanted to give a quick round-up of my recent trip to the UK.
I had the honour of playing the part of Best Man to my old roommate at his wedding in July (photo by Hubert Hung), so I hopped on a plane and made my way back to the motherland for a week.  This was a bit of a strange experience in itself, because I went without Beth and Addie.  One advantage of this, however, was that I was free to do a lot of work while I was there.

I was there for 7 days, and only took one day off.  I ended up doing some really interesting pieces, and tattooing some even more interesting people.  I finished off pieces that I started over a year ago, and started work on others.  I did everything from small bits of lettering to full colour sleeve work.  I'll be posting pictures on the gallery page when people send them to me.
I tattooed police officers, nightclub managers, Ultimate Frisbee Internationals and Illustrators.  I had a great time, to be honest.

The problem is, I came back more tired than when I left.  I'm taking another trip over in October, this time with Beth and Addie.  I'm not taking my stuff with me though - think it's time for a bit of a break.

Some really interesting pieces coming up before that though.  Expect another post in the next few days about my links with the Coptic tattoo tradition.  Exciting stuff!

We have now officially opened the Deeper Than War studio.  This space is dedicated to the design and creation of excellent tattoos and artwork.

Deeper Than War is a registered with the government of Ontario.
The studio meets all health requirements: non-porous floor, all washable surfaces (for tuberculocidal cleansing).  We only use disposable, pre-sterilized single-use needles and tubes.
We also proudly follow all waste-management guidelines.

Welcome to the DEEPER THAN WAR STUDIO. It has a calm, friendly and relaxed atmosphere.

Consultations and tattoos are by appointment only.  Drop me a line to set up an appointment.

Thanks to everyone who has supported this venture, be it financially, spiritually, relationally, by getting their hands dirty, or cheering us on during the renovation.  We love you all a lot.  Glory to God!

I've been listening to a lot of Elvis and Cash recently.  A lot.  I particularly like playing it while tattooing.  I think that it has something to do with rockabilly being so linked to Americana and the slightly romanticised image that I have of tattooing in the 1950s.

Anyway, with the new studio nearly ready for action, I've been inspired to ask people what they would ideally be listening to when they get tattooed.  You know, a bit of research to see what the punters are after.  I posted this question on Facebook and Twitter a few days ago, and got an interesting set of results.  So, without further ado, here's a pick of the bunch:

Neil Young - The Needle and the Damage Done
T-Rex - Bang a Gong or Get it On
Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter
Johnny Cash - Man in Black
Albert Hammond Junior - Yours to Keep
Elton John - Tiny Dancer (I prefer the Ben Folds version)

Some people just suggested artists:

Viv Murrell (bit of shameless self promotion there, I think...
Rise Against
The Ramones
John Mayer
Foo Fighters
Guns N Roses

Another person suggested something slow and soft to calm you down.  Not a bad thought.  In fact, I have thought something similar before.
Interestingly, at least two people named things that they had actually listened to whilst I tattooed them.  I think that goes some way to showing how important music is to the tattoo process.

And of course, James Bower would like me to sing him a sea shanty.  James, if you ever get a tattoo, I would love to sing nautical songs to you.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this?  Perhaps I'll put together a compilation album or something...

For the last year or so, Beth and I have become more and more involved with the deaf community here in Toronto.  We both work with a boy who is profoundly deaf, and recently, Beth has started working with another boy with a severe hearing impairment.
Not to mention that for the last eight months or so, we have lived with our friend Sallyanne.  Sallyanne has a slight hearing impairment, but both of her parents are profoundly deaf, so her first language is, in fact, American Sign Language (ASL).

I learned a short while ago that names in ASL are usually assigned to a person by another signing person.  Often, the name assigned is the first letter of the person's first name.  This letter is then signed in a particular place, to distinguish that person from any other people with the same name.  When Beth and I learned this, we decided to ask Sallyanne's mom to give us sign names.
Having taken a few days to think about it, she got back to us.  She had decided that my name should be signed by tapping the letter M twice on the inside of my forearm, because I am a tattoo artist.  Beth and Addie have their initials signed in the same place, as that is standard practice for people of the same family.

I'd planned to blog about this a while ago, when we were given our names, but it works out well that I waited, because I had my first deaf client yesterday.  She brought two friends with her, who were also deaf. 
My knowledge of ASL is still very limited, so I wasn't able to communicate as effectively as I had wanted.  The experience has encouraged me to work harder at signing, as I think it will be an invaluable resource, particularly in my line of work.

On another related note, Beth and I have been thinking of getting sign tattoos.  We're not sure exactly what form they would take, but would almost certainly be a series of pictograms of signs, either spelling out a word, or using the signs for words that make up a phrase.  The jury is still out as to what they would say.  I'll post more on this when we have a better idea.

Do you know of any deaf people with tattoos?  Do you know anyone with an ASL tattoo?  Drop me a line and let me know!

I hadn't heard that Beckham got a new tattoo.  It was seen for the first time in January, when he took off his shirt at a football match. 

It's a picture of Jesus, of all things.  Thoughts?

The upcoming World Cup in South Africa will probably be a great opportunity to see some really nice work from around the world.  Keep an eye out!

Good point, Jerry.  But what do you think is reasonable to charge for a tattoo?
It's been a philosophy of mine (and Beth's) for a long time to make art accessible and affordable.  We don't think it's right to charge a huge amount just because you can, so we don't do it. 

Then again, when I tattoo someone, I put my all into it.  I've usually spent hours working on drawings, preparing things and setting up the studio.  I will often take hours to tattoo a piece onto somebody.  And when I'm done, they will walk away with something that they keep for the rest of their life. 

I was looking at Scott Campbell's website the other day.  No doubt he is a great artist.  But is he really worth the $300 an hour that he charges?  To be honest, I don't think he is.  What frustrates me, is that a lot of people go to him, and pay his huge fees, just because of his name.  Many of them are getting tattoos that most artists could accomplish just as well. 

The other end of the scale, and this is something that I was discussing with Jen the other day, is that you can price yourself too low, and put people off that way.  Many people expect to pay more than bargain basement prices, otherwise they suspect that the service or product you are offering is sub-standard.  Not only that, but in our experiences, it often leads to people assuming that they can take you for a ride.

I don't, by any means, want to price people out of the market, but at the same time, I want people to value the work that I'm doing for them.

Any thoughts on this?  Good/bad experiences?