The first-ever Ventura County Fair was held in 1874 at the conclusion of the local San Miguel Days agricultural festival; 149 years later, Christina Diaz organized the 5th Seaside Tattoo Show at the Fairgrounds in a Quonset hut named San Miguel. The Pacific Ocean is so close to this venue that it can be heard […]
Category: Black and Grey
Dianne Mansfield’s Eye of the Beholder
The master photographer Dianne Mansfield’s “Eye of the Beholder” has been released in hardback format by Raking Light Projects. Mansfield has documented the tattoo community for over four decades in a raw and compelling manner, capturing the reality of a tattooer’s life and work. From photos of Pacific Islanders to images taken at major conventions, it is clear […]
Snakes and Dragons: A Chat with Tattooer Intat
Intat served almost two years in the military after dropping out of college. His index finger was nearly amputated due to a terrible hand accident he suffered while on active duty. After finishing his military service, he studied tattooing and developed more effective hand-use methods since he had lost most of his sense of touch […]
Charlie Cartwright: The Godfather of Black-and-Grey Fine Line Tattooing
On my way to Charlie Cartwright’s home in Modesto, California, I was excited to be conducting a rare interview with the pioneer of single-needle tattooing. Cartwright (plus Jack Rudy and Freddy Negrete) changed the tattoo scene’s course; better yet, they helped build it to what it is today. All of them were inspired by 20th-century […]