June 2022

The art of being a great tattoo client!

It feels like Summer snuck up here on Coast Salish land, veiled by grey and overcast. The mild weather feels like a blessing as my shoulders tense remembering the heat dome and the devestation it caused the summer before. I am hopeful for a gracious season, rain for remediation and easy gentle sun for moments of joy in these complicated times.

Inpsired by the fact that I don’t have a lot to show in terms of new flash designs, I want to share with you two things. Firstly I’d like to make this an opinion piece and share some insight on the art of being a great client. A lot goes into tattooing, but there’s a lot that goes into getting tattooed too! And I realize that details on how to best treat your tattooists great is valuable information! Especially for those of you who may be new to the rituals of it all.
Then I’d like to finish off with some examples of my favourite tattoos I’ve done this year with some ideas for custom projects with me, sharing insight into what’s had captivated and most inspired as of late.

So, I am of the belief that tattooing is inherently relational. While of course, as a type of work within a capitalist society it is transational as well I do beleieve the first is always stronger. For this reason what makes a great client and a great tattooist is based heavily on the experience you create together. How you both leave a session can be effected by many factors.
For example leaving a tattoo session where you feel underconsidered, may leave you feeling drained. Maybe you got a tattoo where your artist wasn’t very receptive to changes you wanted, be it in placement or design. It could be a beautiful tattoo but the tattooist discouraged you from pacing yourself and shut down requests for breaks. Whatever the case, it goes both ways and your artists too, sometimes leave sessions feeling totally depleted.

So what are the best ways to take care of your artist back? First and foremost I always suggest a vibe check! How you do that is something you can personalize into whatever works for you. Maybe you show up day of and ask them where their at, and how you can make the session comfortable for them too. This can be a great conversation starter for your own needs while getting tattooed too. Do they like breaks, do they preffer conversation, turbo focus or a mixture of the two?
You could ask them pre emptively to the session, inquiring over your mode of communication or even just show up with an open mind and pay attention to where they are at to match their energy!
I can tell you from a personal experience that a lot of us forget we aren’t sentient, gloved & machine grasping hands that tattoo you. You may pleasantly suprise a lot of us by stopping to say “Hey where are you at, how are you, what do you need?”

Next up read everything, seriously! Read through all their tattoo related info and then read it again. Dig through all the information they have available for clients, be it social media based, websites, or consent forms. If their on instagram scroll for posts that seem relvant like introductions, and look through their highlights. If they have a website look through that too, look for things that are written for clients and really verse yourself in how they work.
This shows respect and consideration for your tattoo artists as individuals and will really help inform you in how to be wonderful to them when you do come to get your tattoo. If you’re forgetful or scattered like me too, you could make sure you go over it again before your session or take notes to simplify their process for yourself.

Example notes:

Getting a tatty from tat guy 2022-07-12, 1PM
tat guy tattoo shop, 1246 stabby road.
Prefers cash over e-transfer
cancellation policy is this or that
asks clients not to text in session
reminder to shower the night before
Make sure to pack water and snacks

Don’t be affraid to ask for accomodations! If you sit with yourself and really think about it, what do you need to make sure your comfortable and okay while getting your tattoo? Being upfront about things you struggle with or might shut down by default helps your artist know what to expect. Things we struggle with often come up anyways! And wether your artist is versed or not in accomodating others in how they work, they will ultimately be better for it as it helps them understand how to best show up for you.
For example, maybe you get fidgety or antsy after sitting for a certain ammount of time, and would benefit from a half way break to stretch and shake out those beans. Maybe certain parts of tattoos are more difficult for you and you could benefit from a vibe change when it comes time to wip out the shading needles!
Or maybe your one of those people like me who need to pee constantly and you could benefit your artist by letting them know.

Lastly, always plan your tattoos on a ballpark budget and tip generously. Especially if you’re planning to see a tattooist for regular sessions, tipping well the first time will make you a priority to them and bring ease in building a relationship and booking in fast for future sessions. If you’re price shopping take seriously artist’s boundaries who don’t welcome that and see about artists with lower rates or sliding scales if they truly do apply to you.
If you want to get creative in honouring the work, ask your artist in your correspondence if they accept gifts & come up with something thoughtful! Or simply ask them about their dietary needs & bring them a coffee or a treat.

Ultimately treating your artist well shows, it makes for better tattoos done by happier people. People get tattoos for all sorts of reasons, but I am of the belief that the experience of getting it done will stick with you just as much as the tattoo. Doing well by others has a way of coming back to you, and putting good intentions into the process puts good intentions into the tattoo work you wear. Infact showing your tattooist kindness, wether they are someone you are in community with or a stranger you meet in passing, could make a tremendous impact on them too! Many of us are passionate about what we do, and good moments ground us and remind us why we’re here doing this for you.

I am of the belief that a good client isn’t based in how long they can sit or how great their pain tolerance is. It’s not about not lack of breaks or being low need. It’s about the collaberative process of getting tattooed that brings for ease and postive experiences for the all of you. Showing up well, mindfully and respectfully.

I will leave you with some ideas for custom tattoos that thrill me, and finish up with some highlights of my favourite tattoos this year so far.

Right now my books are open for July with plenty of spots still available! I work Sunday’s to Tuesdays with on and off Wednesdays. I always work single session days and prefer to start at noon, when my mind is most sharp.
As I write this I currently have July 4th to 6th availble as well as the 10th to 12th. I also have two extra Sundays both the 24th and 31st. You can grab a spot with me using my booking forms here!

Some concepts that have been extra interesting to me lately are as follows:

→ Zero linework designs done with only pointalism/my specific style of dotwork. I think this would be great for things like stone, sculptures, portraits and scenery. Tattooing in this way would really lend to depth, complexity and make for super unqiue cool tattoos.

→ Abstract tattoos, shapes inspired by textures, lines and styles appearing in my artwork and tattoos already. They could include organic elements like nature or ocean like forms, or be flowy void like portally images. Because I work now primarily with the procreate drawing app, I have the ability to draw directly on to reference photos of peoples bodies for custom tattoos. This would give us the ability to create abstract designs that really work in relationship to your own body and it’s natural contours.

→ Dark colour ink lining on flash and custom designs! Mixing the exisiting colours I have with a drop or two of black ink to create deep jewel tone spectrum to off black inks. I tried this recently with a client making dark green from black and avocado green ink and it looked super cool. Colours I also have are lipstick red, dark red (maroon), periwinkle (sky blue), white and wild orchid (rich plumy purple).

For Kelly January 2022!

For Mulch April 2022!

For Jak May 2022!

Anyways if you’ve read this far, thank you, from the bottom of my heart for supporting what I do!

With love,

Bug.