Been a while...

...and this is what's up.

This is a customer. A walk-in, turned regular, turned crew member.

By Budha

HAND MADE V.S. MACHINE MADE

GREAT TOPIC TO DISSECT. IN AN INDUSTRY WHERE CRAFTSMANSHIP SHOULD BE PRIORITY NUMBER ONE, THIS IS AN INDUSTRY WHERE CRAFTSMANSHIP AND KNOWLEDGE TAKE A BACK SEAT TO IMAGE, MAKING MONEY, ARTISTS BAFFLING CLIENTS WITH EXCUSES, THE SUPPLIERS AND BUILDERS BAFFLING THE IGNORANT ARTIST WITH BULLSHIT AND SUPERSTITION, IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE THAT LOGIC IS LOST IN THIS DEPARTMENT. IT'S NOT HARD TO IMPRESS THE IGNORANT.

WE HAVE SEEN MACHINES CUT BY HAND, ALL OF US WHO BUILD MACHINES HAVE DONE THIS. A SAW, MAYBE SOME DRILL BITS.. A FILE... TO CUT A FRAME. WINDING YOUR OWN COILS ON A DRILL OR MAYBE YOU MADE YOUR OWN WINDER.

WHICH IS BETTER?

IF YOU HAVE A TIGHTLY WOUND COIL WITH PERFECT LAYERS.. NO GAPS, YOUR COIL, WHEN ACTIVATED, WILL PRODUCE A BETTER MAGNETIC FIELD THAN A COIL WHICH HAS GAPS IN THE WIRE.

TO PROGRAM A COIL WINDING MACHINE TO DO THIS AND MAKE THE COILS PERFECT EVERY TIME VERSUS A HUMAN WINDING HIS OWN AND WITH HUMAN ERROR INCLUDED. WHICH HAS A BETTER CHANCE TO PRODUCE A PERFECT COIL?

HOW MANY OF YOU READERS HAVE EVER TRIED TO WIND YOUR OWN COILS? AFTER THE FIRST PERFECT LAYER, THEN IT'S TIME FOR THE SECOND. IT'S HARD TO GET A PERFECT AMOUNT OF TIGHT WINDS ON IT THE SECOND TIME, BECAUSE IT'S DIFFICULT TO SEE WHAT YOU'RE DOING! LET'S PUT THAT AGAINST A MACHINE WHICH CAN BE PROGRAMMED TO DO A SPECIFIC AMOUNT OF TURNS PER PROVIDED SPACE AND DO THEM EVENLY, TIGHT AND PERFECT EVERY TIME...HMMM

WHICH IS BETTER?

A FRAME CUT ON A CNC MILL.... THE CNC WILL CONSISTENTLY PRODUCE A PERFECT PART. HUMAN ERROR IS NOT PART OF THE MACHINE'S EQUATION ONCE PROGRAMMED TO CUT PERFECT ANGLES, DRILL AND TAP TO EXACT DETAILED SPECIFICATIONS.

WHICH IS BETTER?

IT'S FUNNY TO STOP AND THINK THAT MOST MACHINE BUILDERS ARE LIKE HARLEY BUILDERS... THEY DESIGN A NEW KIND OF CHOPPER FRAME, MAYBE A NEW COOL PAINT JOB. AND YET THE MOTOR IS THE SAME EVO MOTOR MOUNTED ON EVERY BUILDER'S FRAME. DO THESE BIKE BUILDERS BUILD THEIR OWN MOTORS? DO THESE FRAME DESIGNERS USE THE SAME 8 LAYER COIL? SAME CAPACITOR AS THE NEXT GUY? DO THEY EVEN KNOW WHAT CAPACITANCE IS? DO THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT IS NEEDED FOR PROPER MACHINE FUNCTION? WHAT DO THEY HAVE TO SAY TO EXPLAIN THE LACK OF INCREMENTAL SENSITIVITY IN THEIR MACHINES? ... NO USEFUL FUNCTION BETWEEN O AND 7 VOLTS!

BEFORE ANYBODY GETS ON THEIR "OLD SCHOOL" KICK... REMEMBER, WE ARE IN 2011. OLD SCHOOL ETHICS APPLY. OLD SCHOOL TECHNIQUE IS A CHOICE, MODERN APPLICATION AND EDUCATION IS A MUST. YOU HAVE THE CHOICE TO BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION OR TO BE PART OF THE PROBLEM.

Balloon-moth-thingie

You know how i always let you know well in advance when we have a guest artist coming so you have a chance to book in with them?

Yeah, sometimes i don't do that.

I already knew a while back that our friend Sarah B. Bolen, who lives in Berlin, was coming for a visit and we'd arranged for her to work at the shop for a few days, but since she'd already booked her weekend a good while back, i didn't wanna post about it here and make it seem like she had time for more tattoos.

And now i feel bad!

But she's already making plans to come back soon, and i promise i'll let you know when she does.

All official like and everything.

This is what Sarah did today

  If you wanna see what she worked on in this goofy picture, you should look her up on instagram (@eraserbits)

And speaking of everyones favorite app obsession; Allan tattooed Sarah yesterday and both their pictures went popular at the same time... what a bunch of nerds!

Coming soon: a screen printing update!

By Budha

BLACK FRIDAY AND BCT CHRISTMAS PARTY

Robbery: american style

By Paul Nycz

By Sean

By Budha

By Budha

Robbery

The Koi Fish Tattoo symbol and what it symbolizes

There are many different opinions as to what Koi Fish symbolize in tattoo art, many feel that there is a sexual symbolism to the styles and colours of Koi, some feel that the direction which a Koi swims in the tattoo symbolizes sexual orientation whereas others believe that the Koi is an expression of perseverance and achievement.

By far the strongest and most popular interpretation is that of aspiration, determination, achievement, ambition and perseverance in a journey to ones goal in life. This is continually reinforced by the tale of Dragon Gate and the arduous journey to be at one with ones destiny, perhaps the most recalled version of the meaning of the Koi Fish Tattoo. Any research will return a fairly constant result with regards to the meaning of this popular tattoo art form so in effect this almost pre conditions our opinion on the subject.

The Kois symbolism of sexualty in Tattoo art is not widely understood or believed, there are groups of people who try to reinforce the belief that the direction that the Koi swims along the body symbolizes ones sexual orientation, heterosexual or gay? This adoption of the belief is not so widespread as the perseverance interpretation.

In other cultures the Koi represents wealth, although this is not essentially within the tattoo community, the Kois symbolism of wealth is represented in the charm market, charms of Golden Koi represent wealth and good fortune, but this hasn't been replicated in the tattoo world.

Other belief states suggest that the Koi is a symbol of uncompromising bravery, used in direct comparison to a Samurai warrior, the Koi is said after being landed by the fisherman, to lay rigid on the slab embracing its fate with the knife, this si the absolute symbol of the Samurai...accepting his fate in life or death in an honourable fashion. The Koi Fish is known to be the only creature that directly reflects the stoic heroism and strength of a Samurai.

Many other associations with the Koi are made directly with Yakuza members. The Yakuza are the feared gangs of Japanese organised crime who adopt a certain style of tattoo amongst their 'gangs' and cultures. The Yakuza have no direct association purely with Koi, although this doesn't mean that they do not represent themselves in this art form. In the main, the Yakuza style of tattoo is reflected in modern day art forms using the stronger and more dangerous symbols such as the tiger or the snake, these are far more prominent in the Yakuza tattoo art forms. In fact more prominient is the style of the Japanese warrior in the act of slaying Japanese mythical beasts, this style is very popular and far more prominent than that of the koi fish art.

The greatest weight of evidence with regards to the Koi in tattoo art forms leans towards the perseverance, strength, endurance and struggle in achieving ones goal in life, this is the most popular reason for acquiring this ink style.

In essence there is no direct association with Koi Fish Tattoos and no right or wrong. The decision to have a Koi fish tattoo is purely based on an individuals desires and preferences, after carrying out independent and exhaustive research into the tattoo styles one will end up even more confused than when they started out. The choice is yours, the colour, the style the length and position are purely a matter of your own interpretation of the symbol.

By Joshua Bowers

By Sean Wilcox

By Joshua Bowers

By Joshua Bowers

By Joshua Bowers

Black work by Budha

Black work by Budha

Black work by Budha

That there church, that there church is on fire

Oh look, a tattoo!
That is all, i just wanted to show you that they still happen around here, and that i'm occasionally lucky enough to capture one on my phone.
This one is on Martin.
Don't worry, he asked for it.*

*If you're one of those people who feel the need to include "no satanic stuff" in your email when requesting an appointment with Allan, that one was for you.

Pisaka otritsala

Inscription "Si vis pacem, para bellum" is a Latin adage "If you wish for peace, prepare for war".

The random friday post

It's been a while since i've remembered to sneak a photo of a finished tattoo. Allan usually posts his on instagram right away, and Eckel has people out the door before i can say "excuse me".*
So here, this is as close as it's gonna get today: a picture of Allan's line drawing.
I know, lame, but at least they didn't finish, so maybe i'll get an actual tattoo picture next time?

We're pretty stoked to be back from our staycation and to be at the shop on a regular basis again.
We love our shop all the time, but autumn at the shop is especially cozy, and even more so now that the heaters in the shop work!
(Seriously, remember last year? That wasn't pretty...)

Besides (hopefully) tattoo pictures, i'll be posting pictures of our finished photo lab soon!
Yes, it's finished and i'm now working on getting the other back room ready for screen printing.
It's gonna be a cold winter i think, but at least we'll have lots of fun projects to start!

 Dias de los muertos goodness

Also coming soon, a post with some practical information regarding booking and travels and boring shit like that!

 *Not cause he's mean, it's just the good old German efficiency thing.

MEXICO CITY TATTOO CONVENTION, OCT. 29 & 30, 2011

Mexico City Tattoo convention organizer Tony Serrano from Tatuajes Mexico, asked us to do a machine seminar. There were 16 artists in the class. We covered everything in our book and more. The goal is more than just to educate artists, for us, it's important to find people who are on the same page and want to be a part of the solution and NOT part of the problem. First you need to wake up and see that there is a problem and then tear it down bit by bit.

"HOW MANY OF YOU MAKE YOUR OWN NEEDLES?" Looks like 2 or so.. the rest?

The way to maintain quality control over every aspect of your tattooing is to understand every aspect of your tattooing. What you're actually doing when you step on the footswitch, when you put the needles in to the skin, the types of needles you are using, the quality of the pigment. Almost all tattoo supply companies don't care if you're doing good work with the products they sell. Almost all tattoo supply companies don't care if the products they sell are truly functional. Almost all tattoo supply companies don't understand what they are really selling. Almost all tattoo supply companies have never used the products they sell. Almost all artists trust these suppliers to supply them with quality functional products... these suppliers buy and sell products manufactured by people who do not tattoo, people who do not understand what functions are necessary in a tattoo machine. This is only a small part of the problem. Now, hopefully, these 16 students will not be taken by the hype in this unregulated business oriented supplier / artist relationship.

Art, Steve, Pablo Porno and Enrico Colombres.

While we were busy at the booth, selling machines, repairing machines and tattooing...

Juan "super" Arreguin was busy trying out his new prototype model machine, and having great results!

David "Scrappy Uno" Garcia was tattooing with his own model Scrappy Uno machine ...

Manuel "Master" Servin was tattooing also...

L to R: Pablo Porno, Scrappy Uno, and Master... All first place winners! Portrait, tattoo of the day, realism... the best of the best.

Congratulations to all 3 of these artists, we are proud to have them on Godoy Machines.

Mean while... Javier "Jade" Campos, was winning in Ecuador & Lima Peru with his own Javier Campos model machine!!!

The talent at this convention was incredible, the organization was perfect, the entertainment excellent.. thanks also to Tony Serrano for being a great host. And Enrico Colombres from Godoy Machines South America for being part of our crew.

Shoulder mark tattoo

Welcome to our newest full-time tattooer, Tim Oake