The inked-up lifestyle

Tattoo-covered artists and curious patrons shared their love of inked skin at the Philadelphia Tattoo Arts Convention.

After taking a glance at her exterior, one would never guess Rose Banks has a fear of needles. The kennel technician from Binghamton, N.Y., has 58 total facial and body piercings, all of which were self-pierced, along with somewhere between 30 and 40 tattoos – she lost count.

Small silver hoops running down each of her ears lead to two, large lime-green gauges. Her matching cheek micro-dermal piercings move as she speaks along with her two lip rings, monroe piercing and labret.

“I don’t feel so weird here,” Banks said over the droning buzz of tattoo machines coming from inside the Sheraton Hotel in Center City last weekend.

Banks, along with her mother Pam Banks, who bears 15 tattoos of her own, drove three and a half hours to the Villain Arts’ Philadelphia Tattoo Arts Convention, held Feb. 4-6.

The two browsed more than 200 tables of tattoo artists and vendors alongside girls wearing backless-tops and studded-heels, guys who have made their faces living, breathing canvases for tattooers and the curious who have yet to commit fully to the permanent decision of getting “inked.”

“Philadelphia’s a big city with people who aren’t afraid to be different,” Pam Banks said. “A lot of people just want to follow the norm and don’t want to stand out. Tattoos set everyone apart from everyone else. They’re a form of individuality and expression.”

Hundreds of vendors and artists – some who traveled from as far as California – converged to temporarily set up shop in the Sheraton’s banquet halls to tattoo attendees on-site, show off their portfolios and sell various pieces of artwork and equipment, such as inks, after-care products, machines and needles.

The husband-and-wife team of Joe “Tattoo” and Kristel Oreto, who own the studio Crimson Anchor Tattoo in Holiday, Fla., were present at the convention. The two are big participants in the convention circuit and attend one or two events per month.

Tattoo walked the aisles of booths, carrying his hairless sphinx cat Fafi in a cloth around his body. His 10-year-old stepdaughter, Angel Oreto, sported pink streaks in her hair that matched those of her mother’s.

“We love Philly all together because it’s so centrally located,” Tattoo said. “The main thing with us is that when we travel we like to see eclectic things. Where we’re from in Florida, it’s really flat land and everything is manufactured. You don’t get that eclectic feel[ing] you have when you come here.”

Tattoo said he believes conventions such as this, represent how much tattooing has advanced and improved since he first picked up a tattoo machine in 2000. His specialty lies in black and grey spiritual or religious work that “has some kind of story behind it.”

“When I first started tattooing, I learned from a guy that could barely draw, so definitely the art of tattooing has come around and that’s what, I think, is making it more accepted,” Tattoo said. “People aren’t getting crappy tattoos anymore. They’re getting really nice ones.”

Although no tattoos have made their way onto Angel Oreto’s body just yet, she still involves herself in the tattoo world through her blog TattooSprout.com. She started the blog in May 2010 to talk about tattoos and the lifestyles of the various artists she gets to interview at conventions and through e-mail. Her blog has been featured in this month’s issue of Tattoo Revue.

If she does decide to get tattoos one day, Angel said her mom will be the one to do it because “she’s an amazing tattoo artist.”

Kristel Oreto, who was tattooing at the convention, started in 1999 and specializes in a style she calls “bubble girlie.” It incorporates fun, bright colors and quirky designs.

“My wife has her own style,” Tattoo said. “She’s got a clientele of women that will travel from anywhere to get tattooed by her because nobody does what she does.”

The convention also offered outlandish entertainment spectacles for those seeking more than just body art.

Crash performed body modification suspension acts, where girls were suspended from hooks that have been put through temporary body piercings. The weekend-long event included performances by the Olde City Sideshow and Murphy’s Law, as well as slip-n-slide bikini bowling and bikini mechanical-bull riding.

Tattoo contests were offered with a $10 entrance fee in a slew of categories such as best portrait, best sleeve, best cover up and best overall for both men and women. Seminars on permanent cosmetics, Photoshop basics and micro-dermals were among some offered.

If artists weren’t working on clients or attending seminars, some added to their own tattoo collections.

Showtime Tattoo owner Joe Berutti from Allentown, Pa., was getting work done from his friend and fellow tattoo artist Neil England of Paradox Tattoo based out of North Dartmouth, Mass. Neil transferred a stencil onto Berutti’s side of his 3-year-old grandson, Eben – in monkey form.

“[Eben] just started laughing and looked at the picture and said, ‘I’m a monkey,’” Berutti said. “I have me in monkey form on my back.”

Berutti said he believes tattoos are becoming more widely accepted and appreciated in society, and the convention is a positive illustration of that.

“It’s finally out. No one has to hide it anymore,” he said. “You can look at a lot of people’s ink and get a story from them without having to ask questions. The only difference with [people with tattoos] is we don’t judge people with tattoos the way people without them judge the people that do.”

Cara Stefchak can be reached at cara.stefchak@temple.edu.

TTN Slideshow: Philadelphia Tattoo Arts Convention

Slideshow by TTN photographers Brad Larrison, Kate McCann and Walbert Young

The Sheraton Philadelphia Center City Hotel hosted the Philadelphia Tattoo Arts Convention from February 4th to 6th. The Convention featured tattoo artists from around the country, as well as several local burlesque and sideshow acts.

Eliminating little crusties

Tattoos and piercings can get a little gross. With the permanence factor and bacterial infections, Sarah Sanders isn’t sure she wants to get inked.

Another reason not to get a tattoo is that a tattoo is positive identification. No one should ever do anything to help the police – in any way. Especially when you may be the object of their interest.”

Despite his reason, not many Temple students would take the late George Carlin’s advice when it comes to body art. Maybe we don’t expect to have run-ins with the law; then again, maybe we don’t care.

I’ve realized, though, some people avoid body decorations out of fear – but not the fear that you can never wash that cannabis leaf off your forehead. Rather, it’s the fear that a needle will puncture your skin between 50 and 3,000 times per second, in and out at least 50 times. Some people don’t even get that far in bed.

Plus, I wouldn’t blame them for being a bit skeptical about a machine that hasn’t really changed much since its invention during the 19th century. Take the telephone for example. Could you imagine a world where we still used a model similar to Alexander Graham Bell’s?

Trypanophobia is the clinical term for an irrational fear of needles. But even though your stomach might turn at the thought of getting a tattoo, I’m not sure this always stems from an irrational fear. After all, several things can go wrong when dealing with motor-powered needles. If you’ve considered getting inked, maybe you’ve researched some of the tattoo horror stories, just to give yourself a good scare right before your appointment. You’d find some pretty gruesome pictures of skin infections, usually due to bacteria.

I think the needles that can be even more ominous than tattoo guns are those that punch holes in your body for jewelry and other festive trinkets. Contrary to tattoos, Carlin seemed to think the piercing movement was going places: “self-esteem through self-mutilation,” he said.

Kyle Petersen, from Infinite Body Piercing at Fourth and South streets, said a lot of the pain people feel is all in their heads. Coming into the shop calm and collected can make a world of difference, as opposed to coming in apprehensive and shaky. While it is different for everyone, he admits cartilage piercings can make even the most composed customers flinch.

Because piercings are essentially voluntary wounds, they can elicit more aftercare than tattoos. Petersen emphasizes that customers do not touch their piercings. No need to rotate the bar, or move the ring in and out of the hole to make sure it stays open. Just leave it be. To clean the piercing, he suggests using warm water in the shower to “get little crusties.”

Petersen described the worst-case scenario for piercings as a bacterial infection. At this point, they will require the prescription of antibiotic medications and, at times, can be life-threatening. Petersen said people should visit SafePiercing.org for more information on shop standards.

I’ve had my ears pierced since I was about 8 years old, but I’ve never even gone as far as to get a second pair of holes. And not one drop of ink is in my skin. It’s not that I’m afraid of needles – I suppose I just haven’t seen the merit in body art for myself.

Carlin doesn’t fail me here either: “Not only [will the tattoo] never come off, but it hurts to put it on, and you gotta pay the guy.”

But I like to look at piercings. InfiniteBody.com has a gallery where visitors can see how, say, a Princess Albertina might look on them. Petersen said the weirdest piercing he had seen at the shop, not displayed on the website, was of a girl’s uvula. You know that dangly thing in the back of your mouth? Yeah, I was surprised to learn you could pierce that, too.

Just remember to be safe about decorating your body, especially when it comes to needles. Body art can be really rad, especially when it’s not surrounded by red skin and pus.

Sarah Sanders can be reached at sarah.sanders@temple.edu.

Ink legends help museum open exhibit

Richard Sambenedetto, 36, of the U.S. Coast Guard is one of the many inked-out attendees at the opening night of the “Skin & Bones: Tattoos in the Life of the American Sailor” exhibit. Other guests may be recognizable by their faces, but Sambenedetto is known as the man with the tattooed feet.

His famous pig and rooster tattoos represent staying afloat at sea and are used in the promotional poster for the exhibit. With ink covering most of his torso, each of his tattoos has a meaningful story behind it, especially his children’s names, which remind him of his home life while he’s stationed at sea in locations across the country.

“Nothing above the neck,” the Northeast Philadelphia native said, explaining USCG tattoo regulations. “I’ll get the rest finished when I get out.”

Sailors and tattoo lovers from all over gathered at the opening-night festivities for the eight-month exhibit. The Independence Seaport Museum at Penn’s Landing will be the site of the exhibit. “Skin & Bones” will run through Jan. 3, 2010.

The invitation-only cocktail premiere had some noteworthy attendees.

Standing by pieces of work from his legendary past was the famous Philadelphia Eddie. Decked out in his easy-to-spot white suit jacket, he greeted fans, friends and family.

“I started tattooing in Coney Island in 1952 and moved to Philadelphia when they outlawed tattooing in New York,” Eddie said.

Near the end of the night, people swarmed the podium after a few failed attempts to pull everyone away from gazing at the exhibit’s interesting artifacts. Once everyone gathered near the front entrance of the Seaport, a few of the coordinators thanked guests and even managed to get Philadelphia Eddie to say a few words.

The exhibit’s main focus is to promote the strong belief that sailors share in the meaning and power of tattoos. It’s something that keeps them sane while they’re away from the things that keep them comfortable in life.

“Skin & Bones” pays homage to the history and beauty that comes with tattoos that have become a part of American history.

Not only focusing on the stories held by sailors, the exhibit will also have modern tools on hand. Visitors can get their pictures taken with the flash tattoo design that projects different tattoos onto body parts of their choice.

Attendees will have everything needed to write a 10-page paper on the historical aspect of ink. The entire display of vintage drawings and story pieces are presented in a timeline format along the walls of the Seaport in order to give visitors a good idea of where tattoos came from and how much they mean to sailors.

It’s a reminder that the millions of sailors in the 1950s and 1960s paved the way for the tattoo industry to become what it is today. If those sailors hadn’t demanded tattoos of their lady friends, the art form might not be what it is today.

Booklets featuring dozens of tattoo designs from the late 1800s are found next to a few of the glass cases in the exhibit.

“They may be slightly revamped, but it is still easy to detect where the idea came from and who the designer was that initially sketched the idea back in the late 1800s,” said Nick Schonberger, a tattoo historian from the University of Delaware. 

C.H. Fellowes’ design books are some of the earliest work of tattoo art. The exhibit also allows guests to flip through these mini design booklets.

“We really wanted to give people the opportunity to look at these designs close up,” Schonberger said. “The design booklets from the late 1800s are how tattooing got started.”

The exhibit is a must for tattoo lovers, as well as for those who don’t have a great deal of knowledge of the underrated art that is the tattoo.

John Stish can be reached at john.stish@temple.edu.