… JORITHA PIENAAR

Joritha wins a copy of Homeward Bound – The Life and Times »]]> And the Winner is…

… JORITHA PIENAAR

Joritha wins a copy of Homeward Bound – The Life and Times of Sailor Jerry.

This one »]]> This weekend at Rocking the Daisies we saw some great bands, but we saw even better tattoos.

This one is a work in progress, but it is looking pretty good so far.

Sailor Jerry sharks.

Ships Ahoy!

Beautifully detailed gypsy and Sailor Jerry inspired ship.

We have a book to give away: Homeward Bound – The Life and Times of Sailor Jerry.

All that »]]>

We have a book to give away: Homeward Bound – The Life and Times of Sailor Jerry.

All that you have to do is answer this question:

Where did Norman Collins get his nickname “Jerry” from?

The winner will be announced next week Tuesday.

“A native of Anniston, Alabama, Percy Waters was born in 1888 and made his mark on the tattoo »]]>

“A native of Anniston, Alabama, Percy Waters was born in 1888 and made his mark on the tattoo world primarily as a photographer and machinist. While he tattooed a good number of sideshow acts, his incredible mark on that industry remains a large cache of images snapped by camera. In 1929, Waters received the third US Patent for a tattoo machine, making improvements to Charles Wagner’s (the man who reportedly trained Waters) 1904 design. He sold machines prior to obtaining his patent, and in his 1925 supply catalogue, he offered three models of “Electric Tattooing Machines”. Through the 1920’s and 1930’s, Water’s Detroit-based supply company was probably the largest in the nation. In 1939, he returned to Anniston, where he lived till his death in 1953.” (Paragraph from ‘Homeward Bound – The Life and Times of Sailor Jerry’)

I recently came in contact with one of these machines. Although I was only the courier, I could feel the history and absolute spirit of this instrument. Alesandro Viola from Anima Mundi Tattoos in Benoni now owns this masterpiece. I have never seen a man happier.

Norman Collins – Story Behind the Man

It was clear from an early age »]]> Tattoo by Manuela Gray / Wildfire

Norman Collins – Story Behind the Man

It was clear from an early age that Norman was destined to leave his mark. Born on the west coast of America in 1911, Collins soon gained the moniker “Jerry” after his father noticed a similarity in disposition between the young troublemaker and the family’s cantankerous mule. By his teens, “Jerry” was hand-poking pelican ink tattoos as he ventured around the country hopping freight trains. At 19, he arrived in Chicago, cutting his tattoo chops in the infamous arcades of State Street. It was there that he enlisted in The Great Lakes Naval Academy. Skipping the globe on schooner ships, Jerry passed through the China Seas and other remote ports of call – beginning a life-long obsession with Asian culture, art, and imagery.

Tattoo by Little G / Cape Electric Tattoo

Finishing his Naval stint in the late ‘20s, Collins decided to settle in the then “remote” island of Oahu, Hawaii. In some ways, his timing could not have been better (or worse- depending on who you ask!) for this “last outpost” would soon become the stomping ground for over a million soldiers and sailors. All of which were ready to live life to the fullest – usually contained within a 48-hour Honolulu shore leave!

Tattoo by Tyler Murphy / Sins of Style

For the next 40 years, Sailor Jerry had a constant canvas of carousing military men to obsessively perfect his deftly crafted, boldly lined, balls-forward style that incorporated both American designs and traditions with Asiatic coloring and sensibilities. His one-of-a-kind tattoos and flash would eventually find their way into the highly secretive world of Japanese tattoo masters known as “Horis”. Thus, Jerry became one of the first American tattoo artists to correspond directly with these masters -trading colors, designs, and techniques.

You see, there aren’t many men like Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins around anymore. The father of old-school tattooing, Sailor Jerry was a true classic in every sense of the word. A tough old seadog with a shrewd intellect, Jerry stood up for himself and stood by his work; earning a legacy that is still felt today.

Tattoo by Tyler Murphy / Sins of Style

So how many years have you been tattooing now?

It’s been about… last December was 9 years, so just »]]>

So how many years have you been tattooing now?

It’s been about… last December was 9 years, so just a little bit over 9 years.

Did you start in South Africa or in the States?

I didn’t really have an opportunity to be able to start in Africa. I didn’t think I would be able to get a spot drawing things, you know, so… I mean I’d always had it kinda in the back of my mind to do it in high school, but yeah, it was never seriously like an option until I left England and went to the States. And then I managed to weave my way into a shop there by hanging around and scrubbing tubes and stuff, and just selling stuff. They all knew that I could draw and wanted to tattoo and everything, and finally I was lucky enough to get an apprenticeship. That was in 2001.

So then did you work in different shops or…

No no, I stayed at that shop pretty much until I started traveling a few years ago, but that was home base for a long time.

What made you want to travel?

I just figured there’s so much to see and do in the States, you know. It was a good opportunity at the time to hit the road and meet tons of people and make up new friends and connections and that kinda thing. There’s just so much cool stuff to do out there.

Another tattoo artist that I spoke to told me that it’s really important to travel as a tattoo artist, as your experiences travelling are part of what make you a good tattoo artist. What do you think?

Yeah for sure, I mean the more you travel, the more it helps to enhance your skills by seeing different ways of doing things, different styles and that kinda thing so yeah it’s good to travel and kinda get yourself out there, just so that you don’t get too stuck in your little rut, and you’ll become more varied as an artist.

A lot of tattoo artists have been saying how the Cape Town International Tattoo Convention has really helped to grow the tattoo community and make it stronger. How do you feel about it?

It’s awesome. Manuela (Gray/Wildfire) has done so much to make it happen in the last few years for the tattoo community. You get guys that, a few years ago, were pretty good at what they did, and now they’ve grown so much because of the conventions and being exposed to international plateaus, and then going overseas and meeting other people. So it’s great that things are happening for South Africa. It’s awesome cause South Africa’s kinda closed off from the rest of the world, and has been for a long time, including tattooing, so it’s good to get all the international exposure. Plus it’s awesome coming home for a convention, to great weather. It’s usually winter when we come out. Yeah, it’s a good excuse to come home and just enjoy it and travel, and work. We’re all really busy when we come here cause everybody wants to get tattooed.

How have people found out about you here? Because you haven’t been in the country for a while. Was last year’s convention your first time?

No, I’ve been coming every year… this is my third one. I mean, obviously I’ve known some of the guys that tattoo here in Cape Town, like Tyler (Murphy/Sins of Style) and Derek (Baker/Metal Machine) and those guys for a long time. I’m friends with those guys. Obviously Manuela is very good at putting everybody’s name out there with the website and with promotion and that kinda thing. We get tons of people e-mailing us just off the website, so it’s pretty awesome. She’s done a really good job.

With all your travels and your years on the road, is there any one experience that stands out? You must have had some pretty crazy experiences, and met weird people and that kind of thing.

No matter where you go, you’re gonna run into some weird people. It seems like every city has their weird people. I try stay out of trouble as much as I can, though. I don’t look for trouble, so I try to avoid the wierdo’s and crazy people. But there’s nothing really that sticks out you know. Stuff happens on the road, just driving you know… everyday, someone’s gonna cut you off or something. There’s always stuff going on, but I just try and stay out of trouble as much as possible.

Talking about your tattooing, do you draw inspiration from anything speicifically?

Um… yeah, I try to stick with being based in traditional American tattooing, and I take some inspiration from Japanese tattooing, using lots of black, heavy outlines, strong contrast, bold colour, keeping it really simple… Also, when you’re trying to draw something, you don’t draw from somebody else’s drawing. Like, when I try and draw a rose, I don’t look at somebody else’s tattoo of a rose and draw from that. I’ll try and draw it from a picture of an actual rose, and translate that into my version of a traditional tattoo. I’m not copying. Also, I’m constantly learning how to draw new things, as I try and draw from reality every time, and then just translate it into tattooing.

Is that how’s you’ve worked from the beginning?

Yeah, for the most part. At least for the last 7 years or so, that’s how I’ve been working. I got critiqued really hard really early on by a really well-known tattooist, and he told me that’s what to do. You don’t look at other people’s tattoos and draw them, you look at reality.

Because that’s the easy way…

Yeah…

Do you have a website or something we can check out?

Yeah, I have shaunnel.com. It has my portfolio, but it’s more of a blog actually. I post on it pretty regularly, usually at least one a month, if not more. It’s all the stuff I’ve been doing and places I’ve been.

Will you be back again soon?

Definitely. I mean, as long as there’s a convention on I’ll be here, you know. I almost didn’t make it this year, but I definitely want to try and make it out here as much as possible.

A shit ton of tattooing went down this weekend at the Southern Ink Xposure in Cape Town. The »]]>

A shit ton of tattooing went down this weekend at the Southern Ink Xposure in Cape Town. The Cape Town Convention centre was rammed and hanging out with so many phenomenal international artists and watching so much work was fun and inspiring.

Killer were down there with Sins of Style and the Royal Vendetta booth, with the limited edition Killer x Tyler B Murphy colab tshirt, competitions and sticker hand outs.

The convention and all the afterparties and art shows were super fun and we’re all gagging for new tattoos and S.I.X 2011.

The 2010 ‘Southern Ink Xposure’ Tattoo Convention is going down from 22-24 June at the Cape Town Convention »]]>

The 2010 ‘Southern Ink Xposure’ Tattoo Convention is going down from 22-24 June at the Cape Town Convention Centre. There’s loads of music and art events going around the event too so make sure you get your tickets early to avoid disappointment.

Check out www.capetattooconvention.co.za for more information.

Not much happening online on the skate front today it seems, so we’ll just have to art-nerd it »]]>

Not much happening online on the skate front today it seems, so we’ll just have to art-nerd it out today instead.

VBS.tv’s current Art Talk episode features the world renowned tattoo artist Chris O’Donnell. Check out his amazing work and get itchin’ for ink.