Boston Tattoo Convention
September 12-14
Boston Center for The Arts, 539 Tremont Street
More Info
The Boston Tattoo Convention is coming up this weekend! Bostonist is talking with tattoo artists to get a feel for what the weekend will be like. Today's artist is Joe Boo of Lightwave Tattoo in Saugus, Mass. He had a lot to say, especially about folks who don't know how to prepare for a tattoo (portfolio, portfolio, portfolio).
How did you get started tattooing?
I was an arty punk kid growing up in Hanson, MA, and I went to a lot of punk/hard core shows in Boston all through high school. I could always draw, and found myself drawing a lot of tattoo designs for friends who were sneaking off to NH or RI. These kids would come back and the tattoos were either really well done (and this got me excited to see my art on them) or really poor, and when they came back bad all I could think about was how I could have done a better job if I had the gear. At this point the gears were turning, and I had been tattooed by a friend "Big Joe." Once I got my first tattoo, I fell in love with it. I went to college, got a BFA in studio arts. By the time I got out, my good friend Jim Duval was working at Yankee Tattoo in Burlington, VT, and I got started there. I first started with a piercing apprenticeship with Kathy Nelson and then moved on to a tattoo apprenticeship with Bald Bill Henshaw, and he showed me the ropes about tattooing. Bald Bill is an old school guy with a heart of gold, and is a rock solid tattoo artist, I am eternally grateful for all the time and effort he put into me. I would really be nothing without him. (Bald Bill and Jim will also be at the BTC this year under the Yankee Tattoo banner!!)
What is your favorite style of tattooing?
I like big pieces, but really any tattoo artist will tell you that, I am more into the client myself. Great people get great tattoos. If I can be on the same wave length with a client, there will be awesome tattoos, I promise.
What's your favorite tattoo that you have / have done?
My favorite tattoo on me is my whole right side, tattooed by Shahn Anderson from Electric Dragonland over in Hopkins, MN. It's a giant Blue Whale done in a Japanese style and it rocks! As far as tattoos I have done my friend Mark has the best work I have ever done. He is one of my favorite people so it makes sense really.
What's the main thing people should know about tattoos, either getting them or in general?
You can walk into a shop and see all sorts of cool stuff on the walls like real cool arty stuff, but that does not mean your tattoo artist can reproduce that stuff on you!! LOOK AT THE PORTFOLIOS!!!! There should be a photo book of the actual work being done there to give you an idea of the quality of work being executed!!! THIS IS SOOOO KEY PEOPLE!
More with Joe Boo after the jump. Images from Lightwave Tattoo.
What's the most annoying question / the question you get the most about tattoos?
If I have to hear "does it hurt?" I will go insane!!! If you ever wonder why those old tattoo artists are so damn cranky it's cause they hear that every day! IT'S A TATTOO NOT A HANDSHAKE! Yes, they hurt.
What do you think of Miami Ink / L.A. Ink and similar shows' effect on the industry?
I never really watch that stuff, as I work 10-hour days all week long. To come home and watch kids doing what I do all day just seems silly, I know all about the tattoo industry. Good thing about this silly TV stuff is the public can get an idea of what a good tattoo looks like so when they go shopping around (LOOKING AT PORTFOLIOS) they can compare and pick out an artist who will deliver a quality tattoo. It also takes a lot of the mystery out of tattooing, so people who are typically afraid of tattoo shops can see we are not so scary. The bad thing is now we have a whole new crop of young people who want to be tattoo artists, more than ever. Some of these kids may actually become great tattoo artist, the other 97% will just become a huge monkey wrench in a machine that is just starting to get the respect that it has worked so hard for. That and I have to hear how everyone is going to go get a Kat Von D tattoo... sure you are buddy, me too.
What's the first or best thing that someone who wants to be a tattoo artist can do?
Look at their drawing skills, think about their people skills, contemplate how hard they are willing to work for this, and think about bloodborne pathogens, disease transmission, first aid. Are you ready??? really??? Look at the tattoos in the magazines: can you honestly compete with that? If you can't... why would anyone waste their time, money and suffering on you? Yeah we make it look easy... but we are pros.
Do you have any openings for tattooing during the convention?
I have some time on Friday as of now... who knows!!!
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