Why No I will not tattoo your child...

When I was 12 I wanted "Bitch" tattooed across my upper back in old English font.

When I was 14 I wanted a dolphin lower back tattoo. (It was the 90's and they were super in)

When I was 17 a tattoo artist never checked my ID and I managed to get a fairy tattooed on my back.

At 27 I'm hoping to cover up that fairy soon.

What's my point?

Kids don't know shit.

They shouldn't, they are kids. Teenagers are still kids, they just think they are grown. Look back at your pre-teen and teenage pics. What's going on with that hair? Did you seriously listen to Hanson? (I did). We change out minds constantly and the younger you are the less likely you are at making good choices.

In my junior and senior year of high school fellow classmates of mine started getting tattoos. I'm not talking about the seniors that had just turned 18, I'm talking the 16, 17, and even 15 year old students. Naturally at that time we thought it was cool as fuck but now as an adult (sort of), and a tattoo artist, I just want to go to that artist and be like "Dude, seriously? Was business that bad? Were you that desperate?"

Most of those tattoos are regretted and covered up now. Why? CAUSE WE WERE KIDS!

Of course we're going to try to get tattoos and sneak alcohol and take our dad's car in the middle of the night (Shout to Kim!) and go joyriding. Teenagers, if the chance is there, they're going to take it. It's the job of parents and adults to guide and prevent huge mistakes and give life lessons to those wild and crazy bastards.

In the past 2 weeks working on the beach I have been asked by 4 PARENTS if I would tattoo their 15, 16, and even a 14 year old. I keep waiting for them to turn around and burst out "PSYCH! Just kidding!"... but they don't.

When I say no, sorry, I don't tattoo children. They storm out saying that they will go somewhere else that will. What's sad is, someone will. I'm not ok with that but its out of my control, but I can control is myself.

I haven't been tattooing very long. My work is decent but its not mind blowing and there is a lot of growth. I know this. People will say what they want about my work I have lovers and haters. Such is


life. But I will NEVER be labeled as the artist that tattoos kids. Ever.

If you're a parent that wants your kid to be tattooed as a teenager... you're an ass. That is all.

Forever growing...

-Casey

New York State of Mind

 Sorry it's been a while since I posted but as I look at it, its a blog, not a diary.

Its better I write when something is strong on my mind, than just mindless filler. I don't really think all 5 people that read this really mind anyway. :-P

So lately I've been in a little bit of a gloom. How you ask? As my best friend stated last week...

"You work on the beach, you have pink hair, and a hot British boyfriend! Your life is awesome!"

I can't really argue with her on that, my life is definitely on a high peak from past years. I wake up to palm trees and sunshine, drive over a gulf to get to work (or bay, or cape, or whatever the hell it is. Large thing of water with salt that's not ocean.), kiss my amazing man good bye as he goes off to work, and then go my shop, right across the street from the ocean, to tattoo some pretty awesome people everyday...

Don't hate me, I'll explain my gloom!

Did you hear what was missing in there?

How about music. How about friends. How about family. How about culture.

For the first month or so, it was fun. Ocean, beach, margaritas, all I could do was listen to Bob Marley everyday in my car. However, we are who we are. It didn't take long after that for me to get frustrated I can't run outside without dying from the heat and getting eaten by the bugs, the battle with my waistline due to all the exotic drinks, and the itch of loneliness that comes from not being able to confide in a girlfriend over some wine or a bad movie.

Then it happened. I caught myself rocking out to my classic punk rock to work, something I haven't done since I first came to Florida in April.

That's the sign right there.

Put me anywhere but it will never change the fact that I'm a brash, loud, punk rock loving, rude and tattooed, New York girl. I like running around on 100 cups of coffee, I like being negative, I like speedy results, I like honking my horn, I MISS MY FUCKING DOC MARTENS! (It's to hot to wear those here, or any other form of boot) And I miss not having to filter my sarcasm and overall personality as to not scare the Floridians.

I miss hole in the wall shit places with amazing food, or music, or at least cheap drinks. I miss my pushy, over bearing aunt, my unpredictable, sometimes frustrating but always good hearted father, my spacey but always loyal good friends, and walking out of my apartment to 3 tattoo shops, 2 coffee shops, a tea and vegan café, 5 bars, 2 head shops, and a park.

Florida is beautiful. It's paradise. But not everything that glitters is gold and there is a reason people come here to vacation for a few weeks, shop, swim, drink, and go home.

So this was sort of a rant blog. Hey, you read it, that's' you problem. For now I will enjoy the ocean view, sand between my toes, and cheap rent.... why I rock out to the Ramones.

Love Your Self. Get more Pets. Make Less Kids.

-Casey

 P.S. No I'm not running off to New York and leaving my wonderful Brit behind! You don't find a precious gem and throw it in the dumpster! <3 <3 <3

 

Tattoo School Vs. Apprenticeship, 20 Years Experience Vs. Talent and Drive

Ok. A disclaimer, because is this is going to get controversial...

 I have several friends in the tattoo industry. All of them are very talented and MOST of them very supportive of what I'm doing. I respect them all. I don't write this as an attack on any particular artist, this is all very "in general"... sort of.

Before I start I would like to show you this as to keep my own self humble and to prove that I don't think I am some rock star, badass tattoo artist that knows everything....

This is my first tattoo I ever did on a person. Yeah...





As you can see, bad lining, bad lettering, flat color, and let's not even go there with the lock heart. God bless this girl for letting me learn on her, thank go there are amazing cover-up artists out there.. Now.. Lets get into it..

TATTOO SCHOOL

I went to tattoo school. I fucking admit it. And guess what, my life has completely changed since then. I hunted, begged, borrowed, and practically stole for YEARS for an apprenticeship, and no one would take me. They were busy, they didn't like dealing with it, they didn't want to train competition, whatever.  They all had their reasons but as the years went by my life was at a stand still waiting for things to happen.

Tattoo school is a 4 letter word in the industry, believe me, I worked in a shop as counter girl, I know what they say. It's hated so much it took me 2 years to actually give it a shot. Ya know what, here is the low-down on the schools....

*Argument: "You can't learn to tattoo in two weeks!!!"
    TRUE. You can't. And the school never claims that you can. They give you the basic fundamentals to get you going but then it's up to YOU to further you're training. They offer more advanced classes, or maybe you have a few brave friends that are more than willing to let you fuck up on them til you get it right, or it could even help you better your chances of a respectable artist taking you under their wing and giving you more skills. You can not learn to be a master artist in 2 weeks, but it can get the ball rolling.

*Argument: "It's unclean! It's a scam! It's a "Scratcher Factory!"
    FALSE. First of all, I know A LOT of artist that started out just buying a machine on their own and learning on their people. My ex of 3 years if a walking example of letting his best buddy at the time completely fuck him up experimenting until he got it right. While this is going on, these "budding artists" are making their own needles, incorrectly, not being safe, and uneducated on cleanliness necessary for this craft.

At the school, everything is monitored by the health department and routinely checked as well as you have award winning artists watching YOUR EVERY MOVE helping you become a better artist while also keeping you canvases safe and disease free. No one likes diseases. No to mention if you do screw up, they teach you how to fix these mess-ups. They aren't scratchers. They are students.

*Argument: "An Apprenticeship is the only way to learn!"
    FALSE: Why this method is great if you have a respectable artist that is actually going to teach you and help you in your career, many people out there are just out to scam you. They make you pay them a crap load of money then have you scrub tubes, and do a lot of bitch work, never teaching you anything for a year until you quite and they keep your money. Now I'm not saying you shouldn't have to do bitch work. You absolutely should. However you should also be learning, not just be a bitch. Also they can be retarded expensive.

An artist in my city at the time wanted $8,000. 8 fucking grand. No disrespect to this artist, he is VERY talented, and I understand a few grand is asked sometimes to cover equipment, but.. come on. Most artists, good ones anyway, don't have 8 grand just chilling in savings. Maybe they save up a few grand but it's rare for anyone to have that kind of sum. That's if you can even find someone that will do it. Most artists, the good ones, want nothing to do with teaching people. They are sick of shitty artists taking over their block and they don't want anymore competition. And if you're a girl, you're really fucked. So people are turning to buying their own stuff on line and butchering people, unsafely, on their own.

So in summary of that argument, Tattoo School is not evil. It's brilliant. Every other trade has courses and training and schools, so why not tattooing? Here is an example of a student's work ... let's be real, it's better than most local artists I've dealt with...

 Now just something to back up my tattoo school argument, here is a tattoo from someone who's been doing it for 20 plus years, and is considered a rock star in his small town as far as tattooing.. oh yeah, this is the award he won for it in Miami this year..

 

 

 

 

Yeah. No apprenticeship. No schooling. Just practicing on his buddies and my dead boyfriend will be forever memorialized with scratchy lines, flat, patchy color and he's MISSING A FUCKING FOOT.

 

Now here is an example from an artist who's only been doing this for a little over 5 years...

 

My point? Though experience is very important, it doesn't mean shit if you don't have drive and heart. You can slap some ink on someone for a century and never grow if you don't put in the effort, drive, and perseverance. ALSO STAY OFF THE FUCKING DRUGS!

 

All these small town artist and small city artists are so quick to hate on other people's work and methods. They are the ones you are scared to talk to in the shop or conventions. They are the ones with the chips on their shoulder, believing they are better than everyone cause they get to draw on people for a living.

 

Guess what? Mike DeVries, Nikko Hurtado, Kat Von D, THEY DON'T GIVE A FUCK.

 

Mike Devries and Big Gus (best known for being on Tattoo Nightmares) are the nicest guys you'll meet and will answer any questions you have.

 

Kat has been noted for SUPPORTING tattoo schools.

 

Most of them had to learn in basements scratching on people and now they are amazing so they don't give a fuck how people get there. Plus they are amazing and know most people won't ever touch the level they are at so why be a dick?

 

That's my view on schools. Don't be so quick to judge and when picking an artist, RESEARCH. If they are asshole, fuck'm, go somewhere else. I don't care what they're reputation is, if you don't like what you see, go somewhere til you do.

 

Off my soapbox. Stay cool out there Fort Myers, it's a scorcher!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Epiphany: Small Tattoos Sometimes Mean the Biggest

I am a tattoo snob.

I know this.

I accept it.

 I'm proud of it.

I myself, am still learning and developing but I can look at a tattoo and know if it's actually a good tattoo or a complete crap. If they are happy with it, why ruin their day, so I keep to myself. Usually.

 As I've worked and been around the industry I've grown a distaste for people that "just want something small". I can't tell you how many college girl come in just wanting some tiny stupid flower or they want an entire paragraph condensed to the size of a business card.

You try to explain to them that eventually the words will bleed out a little and if it's to small you won't be able to read it. Sometimes they listen, sometimes they don't.  You can't save them all.

Naturally, when I got into tattooing all I wanted to do is massive awesome tattoos with color and detail that would make me look like a rock star artist that I could put in magazine and eventually be be accepted into the body art community.

No such luck on the beach.

People here want small souvenir tattoos, not sleeves. I felt I was degrading myself to my full potential. Then I started to notice what I was doing...

One couple came in. They've been married 20 years but never got to have a honeymoon. Finally here they were! And they wanted to get their wedding dates, 2-15-92, tattooed where their bands are. The girl in me got all gushy...

A few days later another newlywed couple came in. They both serve for the U.S. Navy and were on their honeymoon and wanted to get matching tiny anchors on their wedding fingers. Such a simple tattoo made them so happy, and again, I felt I'd done something good.

Then yesterday, a grandmother and granddaughter came in. They wanted to get matching hearts on their shoulders. Grandma was in her 70s, never had ink done before, and was terrified, but she love her granddaughter so much, she decided to go for it. Her granddaughter was in 7th heaven. It was beautiful and reminded me the bond I have with my own grandmother.

So in conclusion. These tattoos won't get me in magazines or win awards. They won't make me name-worthy or make me much money. However at the ends of the day I don't feel like I just slapped some ink on a idiot college kid spending his student loan money (ok I'm guilty of doing that in my college days), I actually bettered lives in some small way, and helped create memories. And that made all the headaches and uncertainties of this career worth it.

Whoa... can't you like... do it for $30? No.

 Stoned out surfer kid walks in. (You really can't surf in Florida but whatever, A for effort) Nice enough kid, he asks

"Um.. what's your like, shop minimum?"
I smile politely and respond, "$50"

You would have thought I'd told him the price was his first born, his grandmother's ashes, and a Pepsi.

"Whaaaaa!? Are you serious?" he responds. "Dude, this guy I know will do it for like $30. Can't you do it for that?"

Now I know New York prices and Florida prices differ in many areas. You wouldn't believe how wasted I got my first night in Florida when I stumbled on $3 margaritas. However, this is still a place of business.

Tattoos are a product that stays with you forever. These kids will drop $500 on an IPhone that they'll break in a year or two but not want to spend $60 for something permanent.... I don't get it. I just don't get it...

As you can imagine, he ran off to get tattooed by his "guy". Now there are some ok times that a really cheap tattoo is acceptable...

*If a respectable shop is doing a special to raise money for a cause or to help their apprentice learn while they monitor it.

*Or if you are friends with a respectable artist and he cuts you a break. That's about it.

If you go searching for that "guy" that does uber cheap tattoos... just question if you enjoy looking like a carney that always smells like chicken grease.

Stay Classy Fort Myers ;-)

Welcome to Paradise

It's a rainy day here on Fort Myers Beach, Florida...
                        
...Rain means all the tourists will be hoarded in the their hotels watching HBO or going to the Outlets...

.... Rain means locals will have no interest in driving over the bridge to the beach...

... Rain means I have a LOT of down time.

My name is Casey and I'm a female tattoo artist here on Fort Myers Beach. I'm just starting out in this not-so-friendly body art industry.

I was born and raise in Albany, NY and after much frustration and stand stills in life decided to grab my cat, pack my shit, and move to sunny Fort Myers, Florida. Now I'm here, new location, new British boyfriend, new job and I'm ready to share my little adventure. Oh did I mention I'm also like every other American female struggling with their weight?

 So yes I am a fitness enthusiast, girly movie watching, mint chocolate chip ice cream addicted,  sarcastic, female tattoo artist...Did I mention I went to a tattoo school? Yeah they love that in this industry... get ready for a bumpy ride!