Gay tattoo artists
Queer tattoo artists promote a culture of safety
Pandora Torres, a Queer tattoo painter, works with her father at The Divine Eye Tattoo shop in Albuquerque. Torres’ presence as a Queer artist has helped her queer and feminine clients feel more unseal and comfortable while getting tattooed.
Tattooing for the last three years, Torres said that the majority of her clients are Gay. Her top priority, she said, is to assure her clients feel reliable and comfortable.
“Spiritually speaking, I feel as though tattooing is a huge exchange of energy and it would be irresponsible of me to go into such an intimate procedure without making sure that everyone is happy, feels safe, comfortable and – above all – easy communicating with me,” said Torres.
Professionally tattooing for over five years, Baby Atchison – a trans tattoo artist and owner of Holy Fool Tattoo Club – said he was drawn to the tattoo industry because he felt like he didn’t involve in normative culture, and now wants to guarantee a positive experience for others.
“I’m cautious to label any space safe because I have no command over anyone else’s internal experience,” Atchison said. “However, a great deal of my clients are Que
Salt Lake's Tattoo Scene: Inclusivity is the New Frontier
Innovation in tattooing matched by a commitment to equality
Written By Stephanie Doktor
Austen Diamond
It used to be tough to find women tattoo artists, much less someone queer or transgender. It is getting much easier, and Salt Lake Town sits at the forefront of a more inclusive tattoo scene. Salt Lake has dozens of shops, where you can receive marked for life with the most current styles. Some of these shops seek to make cosmos for marginalized individuals both within the industry and society at large. Their innovation in tattooing is matched by their vow to equality.
"It used to be hard to find women tattoo musician, much less someone lgbtq+ or transgender. It is getting much easier, and Salt Lake City sits at the forefront of a more inclusive tattoo scene."
Take for instance Yellow Rose Tattoo. One of their most prominent artists, Ashley Love (now with Only Forever Tattoo) created an event to hoist awareness about sexual assault. Love started “Still Not Asking for It” in 2015 and now more than 50 tattoo s
Art
How valuable is self expression if you don’t feel allowed to be true to yourself? Cory Harris, an designer at Loyalty Tattoos, has had an incredible journey—from coming out as queer and going to jail for his art before finally coming to terms with himself and feeling comfortable to create art how he wants to.
Harris had an early fascination with tattoos; his father and grandfather were in the military, where he was first exposed to them. “Up until the ‘90s, you either had military tattoos or prison tattoos,” says Harris. “I remember visiting my grandfather—he had an eagle on his forearm and a dagger through a heart—and I was completely blown away. At the hour, it was like evidence out you could act God and decorate your body with artwork. From then on, I was obsessed.”
“I remember visiting my grandfather—he had an eagle on his forearm and a dagger through a heart—and I was completely blown away.”
Feeling like an outsider, Harris soon was enthralled with another create of art that, enjoy tattoos, existed on the fringes of acceptable verbalization. “When I was 13 or 14, I saw that somebody
Ask Guy 25
Q) So I went in to experiment to apply for a tattoo apprenticeship, and basically they told me that flamer like me has no place in the tattoo industry and would never be able to break in. They were the only tattoo studio within a four hour drive of me that even offered tattoo apprenticeships and now I've got no clue where to go from here. Am I basically bashing my head against a brick wall? Give it to me straight, am I a fool for trying to pursue this? I got a fucking degree in fine arts, I do photo realistic oil paintings, I can perform really high quality practical watercolor. Is how "cool" and butch you are really so much more important that how fine of an artist you are?
A) Excellent doubt my friend! There's an elephant in the tattoo shop here, and its name is Homophobia. And of course this isn't just a tattoo thing... but tattooing is a relatively macho industry, so you'll see perhaps a bit more of it than elsewhere. You're basically experiencing the same thing that women went through a couple decades ago- a general discomfort on the part of the established artists to enable in any different considerate of energy to the s
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