Silkneedle is the name of your studio, where does it comes from?
In the past, we used silk needles for making a tattoo with the tebori technique. Once used, they were sharpened again and reused. Somehow, it is a way for me to get back to the source, where it started. I want to keep the motivation that comes from that period.
Can we go back to your journey?
After high school, I went to the design school in Niigata. I wanted to be a drawer, a mangaka (manga drawer) or an illustrator. After I finished my studies, I had a tough time to find a job. But, I was 20 years old at the time, I had the opportunity for the first to see a tattoo that had been done on a friend of mine. It was a Japanese style tattoo. I was so impressed, that was a real cultural shock. As my friends knew I was a good drawer, they told me I should try.
What happened?
I looked out for the material, but I couldn’t find anything in any shop. At the time there was this Japanese magazine, a very underground publication called Burst. Inside, there were some pages dedicated to tattooing and I started to think about it even more seriously. In one of them, there was an article about tattoo machines done in jail by prisoners. I understood I could build one myself. I was 21.
Tattoo was still taboo. How did you approach this?
I didn’t have any hesitation, even though it was VERY MUCH taboo. I talked about it with my parents. They tried to reason with me and told me it was not something that was possible. Moreover, tattooing was for yakuza. But, I was so impressed by the tattoo seen on my friend’s body, that I had some sort of revelation. It was like opening my eyes.
Did you grow up in an art environment?
This story is from the Issue 310 edition of Skin Deep.
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This story is from the Issue 310 edition of Skin Deep.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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Ask Here Part Two
With the release of Tattooing Ask Here—a collection of original and traditional flash, interview, stories and photographs detailing the tattoo history of Felix Leu—we took the spectacularly well-timed opportunity to speak to Loretta Leu about the book and her life with Felix. The following concludes our time well spent…
The SERPENTS of BIENVILLE
SEAN HERMAN’S TRANSFORMATIVE TATTOO
SAVED BY INK
Carlos ‘Loz’ Oliveros has never had any shortage of passion or drive. Inspired by his father, a pro fighter and DIY tattooer, Oliveros started boxing when he was just six years old, then picked up tattooing at 16. All the while surrounded by the realities of Miami’s Mexican gang culture. Saved by tattooing, Oliveros chose to follow a different path than most of his peers. A path he’s now sharing on a VH1 docu-series called Cartel Crew
THE PRODUCER
It’s no surprise at all to run into a guy like Russ Russell. Pretty much every tattoo artist I talk with cites music as a massive influence on their work and lives in general. But while, for most of them, music is a passion—an inspiration, even, for their day job at the tattoo shop—for Russ it’s almost the other way around. Music is his day job, Russ having worked as both a producer and musician for many years, with tattooing coming later on down the line
Why Is That First Tattoo Encounter So Terrifying?
There is something about getting that very first tattoo that will always make you feel a little bit sick when you walk through the door
The Serpents Of Bienville - Sean Herman's Transformative Tattoo
“There is probably nothing more menacing or dangerous than an individual who is devoid of compassion or empathy. When this individual is permitted by community apathy and bias to successfully cloak himself in the attire of one who claims allegiance to his or her Creator, it becomes the moral imperative of those who lay witness to the peril to step up before it is too late. Until such a time when domestic violence and sexual assault are eradicated for good, the perpetrators of these deplorable acts will continue to cause unspeakable harm as Evil’s welcomed ambassadors and Tyranny’s strongest ally.”
The Eternal River
Through impact-laden encounters between ornamental and figural imagery, tattooist Aron Dubois has developed a self-sourced visual language that openly explores symbology, spirituality and surrealism in an effort to “drink from the eternal river” and return to what the Colorado-native defines as “the source”. Drawing much of his inspiration from esoteric literature, mythic archetypes and the natural world, Dubois has spent his decadelong relationship with the craft “digging for the grail of tattooing”. Here, Dubois demystifies his “optimistic escape attempt” from the addictive dangers of digital tools, and the answers he finds in nature when allowing the walls that stand between himself and the world to dissolve
Palm Reader
For centuries we have looked to our palms as a valuable source of information, a complex blueprint of one’s identity, both physical and spiritual. The latter has seen the palm as a bodily map for instigating premonitions, with its many criss-crossing lines foretelling either a joyful life or a foredooming resolution
Japanese Whispers
He is one of the most gifted Japanese tattooers of his generation. From the region of Niigata in the North-East of Japan, he's spreading the beauty of Japanese tattoo culture. All tattoo lovers praise his complex and very detailed compositions which adorn the bodies of some very lucky collectors, but after 20 years, Tomo is ready to move on…
Rule Breaker
Esther Garcia plays by her own rules — she always has and always will. Even with two decades of experience, the Chicago-based artist still finds ways to push herself and innovate. Whether it’s juxtaposing two unexpected styles (she fuses blackout work with botanical imagery inspired by Dutch Masters beautifully) or offering a unique tattoo curation service in which she doesn’t actually tattoo, Garcia isn’t afraid to take risks. What else is up her sleeve? We tracked her down to find out.
