Sunday, 13 April 2008
Reduce mistakes to mere particles
Fort Collins Now
Regrets are tricky. Most of the time, little can be done to alter life decisions, and before you know it, there you are well after retirement age, sighing wistfully in a rocking chair, mulling the way things might have been if you hadn't decided to tattoo the Grateful Dead's dancing bears across your forehead when you were 19. You might have been a lawyer rather than the night janitor at the bus depot.
That was then; these days, certain regrets can be zapped into small particles with a laser and banished forever.
Reflections Medspa in Fort Collins has enlisted a new tool to turn those previously lifelong decisions into second chances: a tattoo-removing laser capable of wiping out body ink to a degree never before possible.
No erasies: Tales from Toronto Ink
The small second-floor studio betrays the fact that an artist works here: a rainbow's worth of ink bottles, drawings taped up around the room and a messy desk where Pauline Zahalan sits mulling over her latest creation. A dragon, it twists and turns on the page. Piles of yellow tracing paper that bury her desk chart the creature's evolution from original design to present state. She needs to work on the scales next. The piece has taken longer than she expected.
" Dragons I find really challenging," she says. The present incarnation is at least her 10th draft.
Hanging from the wall above the gurgling aquarium is one of her paintings: a male torso, with hands clasping a belt buckle. Her signature graces the bottom right corner next to the date: 1993. Taped to the opposite wall is a portrait of the Norse god Odin. There are two wolves at his feet, hawks perched
on his shoulders and he's holding a spear. She drew that one for her boyfriend. They met, in fact, when she tattooed it on him.
Just north of Wellesley is where you'll find this studio, part of Yonge Street Tattoos. It's a place where flesh and art intersect, where the human body becomes a canvas.
" I've always been an artist," says Zahalan, 52. Her shoulder-length hair is a mesh of purple and grey. She's wearing jeans and a black top; a heart-shaped locket hangs around her neck. In the corner next to the aquarium sits a photo of actor Michael Madsen, whom she has tattooed several times. Taped to her desk is a photo of Donny O'Neil, the late brother of former Maple Leaf Jeff O'Neil, for another tattoo she's working on. It's just before noon on a Thursday morning, and she sets aside the dragon, which will grace a woman's back, in order to prepare for her one o'clock appointment.
Zahalan started tattooing about 13 years ago, admittedly a late start. Tired of doing portraits and other odd jobs to make ends meet, she went back to university. She thought she might become a teacher. But it was while she was working on a school project about people with tattoos that she discovered her calling.
" I was just so drawn to these people with artwork on their bodies," she explains. She got the owner of a Queen Street shop to take her on as an apprentice, and after she finished at University of Toronto, he gave her a full-time gig.
" At the time I was the only female artist in the city," she says. " There'd been one before me, but she died of a heroin overdose."
Zahalan hasn't looked back. She's owned the store since 1997, which she proudly points out is the only female-owned tattoo shop in the city. With 16 employees -- including
Zahalan's hourly rate is $ 150.
You can still come in off the street and get a flash tattoo, but that's happening less these days. For starters, the trend is leaning increasingly toward custom tattoos. Second, tattoo artists just don't have the time to fulfill such requests. In fact, she's considering hiring someone to handle just walk-in customers. Zahalan shows off two thick file folders. One is full of completed designs ready to be tattooed, and the other is of designs she still has to finish. Every employee is backlogged.
There was a slump a few years back, " but ever since the shows on
TV -- Miami Ink, L. A. Ink, Inked --
it's like another boom," she explains.
" And it's encouraged people who had no idea what to expect to get the courage to come in."
Zahalan, meanwhile, is getting ready for her first tattoo of the day. Connie, a petite 24-year-old Toronto accountant, is the one getting Just don't on her foot. But why?
" It's kind of stupid," she says, sheepishly. She's had several relationships where a boyfriend left her without giving a reason. Last year, when she asked the guy who was dumping her why he didn't like her, she got her answer: " I just don't."
" That's when I started to plan this tattoo," she says.
Zahalan has her share of stories, too. She remembers the time a man came in with a gorgeous naked woman on his shoulder. He wanted the eyes redone, but curiously, he also wanted her clothed. While tattooing him Zahalan asked about its significance. It was the man's late wife. She had died in his arms. He wanted to cover her up because he had a daughter now and didn't think it was appropriate.
" That almost made me cry," she says.
Connie ( who declined to give her last name) lies on the fold-up table in the middle of the room, which Zahalan shares with fellow artist Thor, who looks just like his name would suggest. Zahalan tapes dental bibs around her forearms and cleans Connie's foot with alcohol.
" It might takes us a couple of tries to get this the way you want it," she says as she applies the stencil to Connie's foot. Zahalan's right: It takes a few tries -- and a consultation with her friend waiting downstairs -- before Connie is ready to proceed.
" The most important thing is not to wiggle around," explains Zahalan. The accountant bites her thumb in apprehension, but Zahalan is motherly: " You're doing great honey. You're awesome."
Connie doesn't say much, only squeezing her eyes shut when the needle hits a particularly sensitive spot. Her foot grows black with ink as the tattoo progresses. Zahalan regularly cleans the foot with a paper towel sprayed with water and soap. After about 30 minutes, the tattoo is done. Zahalan applies the bandage, warns against swimming or soaking in a whirlpool for a couple of weeks and reminds her to apply sunscreen ( the sun fades tattoos).
It's just past 5 p.m. as Zahalan sits back down in her studio. Her shift is almost over. Although neither of the two tattoos she did today were complex, for Zahalan each tattoo is equally important.
"There's something of me in everybody that I tattoo. Sometimes I think about it: There's people all around the world that have -- it's probably not even logical or scientific-- but they have my molecules."
There's pressure knowing that what she and her staff create will endure, laser removal surgery aside. She recalls a man who came to see her specifically after seeing one of her tattoos on someone in Thailand. It's that kind of impact that drives her whenever she dips the needle into the pigment and begins to work.
"You can't do anything half-assed," she says. "What I put on people has to be a masterpiece."
" Dragons I find really challenging," she says. The present incarnation is at least her 10th draft.
Hanging from the wall above the gurgling aquarium is one of her paintings: a male torso, with hands clasping a belt buckle. Her signature graces the bottom right corner next to the date: 1993. Taped to the opposite wall is a portrait of the Norse god Odin. There are two wolves at his feet, hawks perched
on his shoulders and he's holding a spear. She drew that one for her boyfriend. They met, in fact, when she tattooed it on him.
Just north of Wellesley is where you'll find this studio, part of Yonge Street Tattoos. It's a place where flesh and art intersect, where the human body becomes a canvas.
" I've always been an artist," says Zahalan, 52. Her shoulder-length hair is a mesh of purple and grey. She's wearing jeans and a black top; a heart-shaped locket hangs around her neck. In the corner next to the aquarium sits a photo of actor Michael Madsen, whom she has tattooed several times. Taped to her desk is a photo of Donny O'Neil, the late brother of former Maple Leaf Jeff O'Neil, for another tattoo she's working on. It's just before noon on a Thursday morning, and she sets aside the dragon, which will grace a woman's back, in order to prepare for her one o'clock appointment.
Zahalan started tattooing about 13 years ago, admittedly a late start. Tired of doing portraits and other odd jobs to make ends meet, she went back to university. She thought she might become a teacher. But it was while she was working on a school project about people with tattoos that she discovered her calling.
" I was just so drawn to these people with artwork on their bodies," she explains. She got the owner of a Queen Street shop to take her on as an apprentice, and after she finished at University of Toronto, he gave her a full-time gig.
" At the time I was the only female artist in the city," she says. " There'd been one before me, but she died of a heroin overdose."
Zahalan hasn't looked back. She's owned the store since 1997, which she proudly points out is the only female-owned tattoo shop in the city. With 16 employees -- including
Zahalan's hourly rate is $ 150.
You can still come in off the street and get a flash tattoo, but that's happening less these days. For starters, the trend is leaning increasingly toward custom tattoos. Second, tattoo artists just don't have the time to fulfill such requests. In fact, she's considering hiring someone to handle just walk-in customers. Zahalan shows off two thick file folders. One is full of completed designs ready to be tattooed, and the other is of designs she still has to finish. Every employee is backlogged.
There was a slump a few years back, " but ever since the shows on
TV -- Miami Ink, L. A. Ink, Inked --
it's like another boom," she explains.
" And it's encouraged people who had no idea what to expect to get the courage to come in."
Zahalan, meanwhile, is getting ready for her first tattoo of the day. Connie, a petite 24-year-old Toronto accountant, is the one getting Just don't on her foot. But why?
" It's kind of stupid," she says, sheepishly. She's had several relationships where a boyfriend left her without giving a reason. Last year, when she asked the guy who was dumping her why he didn't like her, she got her answer: " I just don't."
" That's when I started to plan this tattoo," she says.
Zahalan has her share of stories, too. She remembers the time a man came in with a gorgeous naked woman on his shoulder. He wanted the eyes redone, but curiously, he also wanted her clothed. While tattooing him Zahalan asked about its significance. It was the man's late wife. She had died in his arms. He wanted to cover her up because he had a daughter now and didn't think it was appropriate.
" That almost made me cry," she says.
Connie ( who declined to give her last name) lies on the fold-up table in the middle of the room, which Zahalan shares with fellow artist Thor, who looks just like his name would suggest. Zahalan tapes dental bibs around her forearms and cleans Connie's foot with alcohol.
" It might takes us a couple of tries to get this the way you want it," she says as she applies the stencil to Connie's foot. Zahalan's right: It takes a few tries -- and a consultation with her friend waiting downstairs -- before Connie is ready to proceed.
" The most important thing is not to wiggle around," explains Zahalan. The accountant bites her thumb in apprehension, but Zahalan is motherly: " You're doing great honey. You're awesome."
Connie doesn't say much, only squeezing her eyes shut when the needle hits a particularly sensitive spot. Her foot grows black with ink as the tattoo progresses. Zahalan regularly cleans the foot with a paper towel sprayed with water and soap. After about 30 minutes, the tattoo is done. Zahalan applies the bandage, warns against swimming or soaking in a whirlpool for a couple of weeks and reminds her to apply sunscreen ( the sun fades tattoos).
It's just past 5 p.m. as Zahalan sits back down in her studio. Her shift is almost over. Although neither of the two tattoos she did today were complex, for Zahalan each tattoo is equally important.
"There's something of me in everybody that I tattoo. Sometimes I think about it: There's people all around the world that have -- it's probably not even logical or scientific-- but they have my molecules."
There's pressure knowing that what she and her staff create will endure, laser removal surgery aside. She recalls a man who came to see her specifically after seeing one of her tattoos on someone in Thailand. It's that kind of impact that drives her whenever she dips the needle into the pigment and begins to work.
"You can't do anything half-assed," she says. "What I put on people has to be a masterpiece."
Tattoo tips ...
IF you are thinking about getting a tattoo here are some pointers to follow:
Find a design or an idea that you like first. Don’t just go in pick one off the wall; you’ll only regret it later.
Find a tattoo shop you can trust. Ask your friends and colleagues about their experiences.
Find a good and suitable artist. Most tattooists have their ‘greatest hits’ books with them in stores. Go in and ask to see their best designs. All have their own favoured style.
Don't be afraid to ask questions. If you know nothing about getting a tattoo, then make sure you get all the information you feel you need. People in tattoo shops may look threatening but most of them are gentle souls and very knowledgeable.
Be adventurous. Tattooists are very creative and love to be inspired. Challenge them and you'll get the best results.
Don't be afraid if you are asked to leave a small cash deposit when you go in with your idea. Every tattooist has been burnt by customers asking for designs but never returning.
It's your tattoo. If you don't like the first design then ask for changes.
Price. Think of your tattoo like parking in an NCP – it’s charged by the hour. Plan for anything between £50 and £100 per hour depending on the difficulty of your design and quality of your tattooist.
Find a design or an idea that you like first. Don’t just go in pick one off the wall; you’ll only regret it later.
Find a tattoo shop you can trust. Ask your friends and colleagues about their experiences.
Find a good and suitable artist. Most tattooists have their ‘greatest hits’ books with them in stores. Go in and ask to see their best designs. All have their own favoured style.
Don't be afraid to ask questions. If you know nothing about getting a tattoo, then make sure you get all the information you feel you need. People in tattoo shops may look threatening but most of them are gentle souls and very knowledgeable.
Be adventurous. Tattooists are very creative and love to be inspired. Challenge them and you'll get the best results.
Don't be afraid if you are asked to leave a small cash deposit when you go in with your idea. Every tattooist has been burnt by customers asking for designs but never returning.
It's your tattoo. If you don't like the first design then ask for changes.
Price. Think of your tattoo like parking in an NCP – it’s charged by the hour. Plan for anything between £50 and £100 per hour depending on the difficulty of your design and quality of your tattooist.
Sunday, 16 March 2008
Adams: iPhones are for sissies, I want this!
Digital Tattoo Interface! At this year's Greener Gadgets Design Competition, Jim Mielke demonstrated a Bluetooth cell phone, complete with video display, that's powered by the body's own blood supply. The device is embedded between the skin and muscle and connected to an artery and a vein. Glucose and oxygen in the blood power the device, just as they power the organic parts of the body.
The device is unobtrusive until activated. Then the light sensitive material that makes up the tattoo changes from clear to black and the display appears. When you're done using it, turn it off and it disappears again. It seems like you could download the design for any tattoo of that size you'd like and change it at a whim or have nothing at all show up (handy for job interviews!). Throw some internet access and maybe a couple of games on that sucker and you can sign me up right now.
Tattoo Artists Flock To Little Rock
If you see a lot more people walking around Little Rock with tattoos, that's because thousands of people, and tattoo artists from around the world are in Little Rock for Inksplosion, the second annual tattoo convention in Arkansas. Friday through Sunday, the Statehouse Convention Center will be full of people getting tattoos, entertainment, seminars, and competition.
They say it's an addiction, after you get your first tattoo, you keep going back for more. And right now, there are thousands in Little Rock, adding even more tattoos than they already have. For some, tattoos are symbolic, others, have them for fun. But the process can cost thousands of dollars, and it's not easy or quick. For many, the price and the pain is well worth it.
Britney Spears has Kabbalah tattoo removed
Britney Spears has had her Kabbalah tattoo removed. Spears had a Hebrew tattoo on the back of her neck bearing one of the 72 words for 'God' found in the texts of Kabbalah, a mystical branch of Judaism. However, when the 26-year-old singer was spotted out shopping in Los Angeles earlier this week, it was clear she has had the tattoo removed. .
Sunday, 9 March 2008
TV Producer Hopes Tampa Ink Makes Its Mark
TAMPA - At the tender age of 49, Mike Cooper got his first tattoo this week. He sat quietly in the red dentist-type chair at Addicted 2 Tattoos while shop owner Lenny Welch applied the buzzing needle. He swore he felt nothing.
Within an hour, the image of a snaggletooth skull tearing through the ripped-open flesh on his left shoulder emerged. It was just the beginning.
Cooper will have to return for the rest of the ink, a sprawling scene on his back of a seascape with his own charter boat as the centerpiece. There will be birds and fish, sky and sea.
The Tampa charter boat captain is also getting into the tattoo business, or rather, the business of showing the business. He doubles as a television producer and has made several local fishing shows.
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