jonvandyck tattoo history, tattoo meaning, Uncategorized

Tattoo History 2: Micronesian Tattooing

Micronesian tattoos date back as far as 2000 BCE. Clothing and jewelry acted as a secondary body adornment to tattoos. Tattoos were an extremely important part of growing up on the islands. For men it signified manhood, and attracting women, showing how much pain he can endure. For women it was a sign of beauty.

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Man and woman tattooed.

Tattoos were sanctioned by the gods; they would be called upon the night before to see if the tattoo should be undertaken. A tattooer’s inspiration was seen as a gift from the gods, and the initial drawing of a preliminary design would be done in complete silence.

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Tattooed woman.

Tattooing began with the chiefs and their wives before moving onto the common people. The chiefs would have large tattoos, including on their faces to hide wrinkles. The size and design of the tattoos depended on offerings made to the gods and payments made to the tattoo artist in food and mats. Tattoos on men would be placed on their chest, back, arms, shoulders, thighs, neck, face, and genitals, depending on the wearer’s status. For women, tattoo’s would be placed on shoulders, arms, and hands.

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Tattooed man.

Tattoos now can be very painful, but back then they were extremely painful. The tattoo was done by hand and took a very long time to complete. The tattoo itself would be made with chisels made of bird or fish bones. They would then be dipped in dye made of burned coconut sheathes mixed with water.  A chest or back tattoo would take approximately one month to complete. The skin would swell and medicine made from coconut juice and healing leaves would be placed on the open wounds. When the line work was completed songs with clapping and drumming would be played to help the wearer overcome the pain.

Information taken from Oxford History of Art : Pacific Arts of Polynesia and Micronesia, and larskrutak.com

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jonvandyck Japanese tattoo, tattoo, tattoo info, tattoo meaning, traditional tattoo, Uncategorized

Artist of the Month: Horiyoshi III

Horiyoshi the third (Nakano Yoshihito) is a tattoo artist from the Yokohama area of Japan. He is a legend to many in the tattoo world, as well as an intelligent, thoughtful, and charming man.

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Horiyoshi III with sword.

His interest in the art of tattoos first started when he was 11 years old after seeing a tattooed man at the public bath, and developed further when as a high school student he found a book with illustrations and engravings of tattooed men.

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A young Horiyoshi III showing off his tattoos.

At age 22 he got his first tattoo, a full back piece, from the great Horiyoshi II. He later became a pupil under Horiyoshi II at age 25, as he needed to learn more about the art in order to become a tattoo artist.

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Tattooing with a machine.

Horiyoshi III is not only an amazing artist, but has a full body suit done in traditional Japanese style, which took 12-13 years to complete. His tattooing is also large scale pieces, often full body suits, back pieces, or leg or arm sleeves.

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Body suits, finished, and unfinished.

Irezumi, or traditional Japanese tattoos are often associated with the yakuza (Japanese mafia), because members used to have intricate body suits to show their status. Horiyoshi III used to tattoo many yakuza members, back when tattooing was much less common than it is now, but says about 10% of his clients are still yakuza members. Yakuza members have actually started lasering off their tattoos, or hiding them more, as well as not encouraging new members to get visible pieces, because it is such an easy way to identify someone. Instead, Japan is slowly moving towards tattoos being more accepted and about the art again.

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Full torso irezumi.

Horiyoshi III originally learned tattooing with the tebori method, or “tebori you no nomi”, which means “the hand digging tool”. This is a tool that is shaped like a stick, with needle points at the end, which is then dipped into ink, and jabbed repeatedly into the skin. It is a much slower way of tattooing than the modern machine now, but can still create intricate and detailed pieces of art. Horiyoshi III is also skilled with the tattoo machine, which he learned how to use later in life.

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Tebori tool refined by Horiyoshi III.

Horiyoshi III says there are four steps to the perfect tattoo. The drawing, outlining, shading, and finally colour. He then compares these steps to life. He says outlining is like planning your life, clarifying your ideas. That tattooing can be compared to life because every needle stroke counts, just like every second counts. That every line must be done with care, that life must be cherished.

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Bright and colourful full body suits.
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Suits like these can take hundreds of hours, and years to complete.

What is your favorite Horiyoshi III tattoo?

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jonvandyck blackwork tattoo, dotwork tattoo, geometric tattoo, minimalistic tattoo, religious tattoo, tattoo, tattoo info, tattoo meaning, Uncategorized

Artist of the Month: Grace Neutral

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Grace Neutral is a handpoke, dotwork, blackwork artist, tattooing out of London England. She has been a tattoo artist since 2012 after being a piercer prior. She is most known for her unique look; pointed ears, split tongue, many piercings and tattoos, no belly button, and most notably, her purple tattooed eyes. She is a huge fan of Hayao Miyazaki’s work, particularly My Neighbor Totoro, and often tattoos characters from the film, and other Miyazaki films. She does many mandala tattoos, and incorporates her own style into her work. She guest spots at many different shops in London, but also around the world. If you would like to get ahold of her for a tattoo, email her here at graceneutraltattoo@gmail.com.

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A large Kukri Knife. That solid blackwork isn’t going anywhere.
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The more and more popular unalome design.
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Simple moon and spots.
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full geometric sleeve, ending with a lotus on the palm. This would have taken hours and hours to complete.
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Grace’s own style shines through brightly in this quirky piece. Clean lettering adds to the detailed knives.
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A larger sternum piece. This must have hurt!

Detailed mandalas always look great, and between the shoulder blades is a solid placement for these designs.

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An ax from Grace’s flash set.

Which one is your favorite?

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