Prick Magazine - Hot Ink

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HOT INK

by Max Brand
From the April 2006 issue of Prick Magazine

While looking through the Sailor Jerry clothing catalog recently, I saw a raven-dreadlocked model with an elegant sleeve of black and gray images. A few weeks later I bumped into the same girl on the Internet. This time I saw a few candid pictures, and got a glimpse of her glowing smile. I instantly tried to get in touch with her and found out she lived in Philadelphia, but was not planning on attending the tattoo convention that I would be at in a few weeks. Through some conversation, I enticed her with fame and riches to come to the convention so I could photograph her. She informed me that she only wears tank tops, and that she wasn't into anything fancy. That sounded perfect for a PRICK shoot to me. She showed up on her bicycle and we spent the evening taking pictures and talking.

OK, first tell me who did your tattoos, and which ones they did.

Chris Dingwell at Sanctuary Tattoo in Portland, Maine did my sleeve, my chest, my back, and my knuckles. My lower back (yes, I have a sick lower back tattoo) was done by an ex-Marine named Jerry at a place in Maryland called Wicked Lines. My knee pit was done in a kitchen by someone whose name I forgot.

Do you get stopped a lot because of your tattoos? If so, what kind of reactions do you get? How do you usually respond to people?

In the summer, when I'm walking through the city, I get stopped about three times per block. It drives me crazy. People try to touch me, which blows my mind because touching a tattoo in no way assists with seeing it. People ask how much it cost, to which I usually respond, "You may not know this, but it's rude to ask me that. It's like me asking you how much your outfit cost or how much money you make a year." Some people demand to know what [my tattoos] mean. They pull on my clothes, grab my arm, snap pictures when I'm not looking, ask to have their picture taken with me, and get angry when I won't undress to show them all of my tattoos. One kid even wrote to me online to let me know that he was getting my same chest-piece done. I see a side of humanity that a lot of people don't see. I think there's a stereotype that all people with tattoos are aggressive and rough, and before I was tattooed I wasn't that sort of person at all. Slowly, through the years of tattoo harassment, I've become the asshole they expect me to be. It's not uncommon for me to get into shouting matches that nearly come to blows if I decide to go outside in a sleeveless shirt.

How long have you been in Philly and what brought you here?

I moved to Philadelphia about a-year-and-a-half ago with my boyfriend, Ben, and our three cats, Pippi, Ella, and Scarlet. I'm originally from Maine, but in the last five years I've lived in Oregon, California, Colorado, and Virginia. I like to move around. Ben had also lived all over the country, so when we moved in together we decided to go somewhere neither of us had been before. We took out a map and said, "Alright, it's gotta be East Coast because the West Coast is lame. Can't be New England because it's too cold. Can't be the South because people are crazy down there. So, hey, check out Philadelphia! That's right in the middle of everything! Yeah, let's move there." So without knowing a soul and never spending time here, we packed up and moved. I think Philly is the best city in the country, and I've been just about everywhere so that's saying a lot. I don't think I'll ever leave.

I saw a list of bands that you're into and all I recognized was Tom Waits. What was the rest of that stuff and how important is music in your life?

Outside of Tom Waits, I listen to a lot of hardcore and metal. Some bands I've been listening to a lot lately are Donnybrook, Shattered Realm, Madball, Behemoth, Strike Anywhere, and this new band that everyone should check out called In the Face of War. I go to all the shows I can. Outside of rent it's the only thing I spend money on. And, I'm actually in a band called Kingdom. We're recording a demo in a couple months and we're trying to tour for the month of August. Everyone reading this should come check us out!

Tell me about your lifestyle. I know you eat a lot of veggies, you ride a bike and you seem pretty, how should I say, natural. Are you a freakin’ hippie?

More than I'm comfortable with. I don't shave my body, I have dreadlocks, I wear body oils, I follow a cruelty-free vegan lifestyle, and I burn Nag Champa [incense]. If not for the fact that I'm straight edge and love metal, I think I'd be fucked. I ride a bike because cars are killing the world. Over 40,000 people are killed each year in car crashes in America, and I'm not trying to die.

Does tofu give you gas?

I don't eat a ton of tofu, but I do eat broccoli every day and that gives me killer gas. Ask anyone who's spent more than an hour with me.

What do you do for a living and what other modeling have you done?

I do as little as possible. Last week I did some street marketing for a TV station and made $200. Next week I'll be painting little kids’ faces. I pick up odd jobs and sell my art online, on the streets, at craft shows, and in stores. As far as modeling goes, occasionally I pose for photographers and I modeled for Sailor Jerry. I'm also about to start working with the author/illustrator of a graphic novel. I'm going to be a character model as well as an actual character in the story. I'm really looking forward to that. Nonetheless, modeling isn't anywhere near my first choice for income, but sometimes, when I have rent to pay,

I'll do it. Beyond the modeling scene being nothing I want to associate myself with and the psychological effects it has on females in the country being a total disaster, the way that I look is more than just an image to me and I feel uncomfortable selling it.

Speaking of your image, what are your plans for new tattoos in the future?

I'm planning on getting a big piece on my leg in the next year or two. It's still loose in my mind, but the idea is to create a huge circus scene with each character representing a different member of my family. I've never liked color tattoos, but I'm thinking about using really muted colors [like] lavender, maroon, pale yellow [to look] like a faded circus poster from 1920. I'm having each family member pick what animal/character they think best represents them. I'm actually morally opposed to animal circuses, but I'm infatuated with the art. I'm not quite sure how to come to terms with that.