FEATURE ARTICLE — March 2002
TWO WEEKS OF DISCOVERY —
TRAVELING THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST TATTOO ROAD
Words and photos by Bob Baxter
You might have read my Editor's Comment in the November issue, all about missing some of my dear friends that, due to changes in our lives, distance or unforeseen circumstances don't see each other as often as we'd like to. In particular, Joe Vegas comes to mind, and how I miss the times we used to sit around Louise's, drink wine and fantasize about the magazine. His most hilarious idea, I thought, was for the four of us, photographer Maurice Pacheco, my son Jesse Tuesday, Joe and me, to rent a Lincoln Continental, don those garish, lace-up-the-back masks Mexican wrestlers wear and drop in on tattoo shops in Middle America. Joe called it the Heartland Tour. We just about fell off our chairs laughing as we talked it out. Well, friends, it wasn't such a ridiculous idea after all.
Back in April of last year, I began some serious planning for a road-trip book. I love to travel, and although there's a long list of foreign destinations I haven't completed, I'm convinced that some of the most interesting and unknown territory, as far as tattooing is concerned, is America itself. Not just the Heartland (although that's certainly an area ripe for exploration), but also the areas most people wouldn't consider tattoo country, like the Pacific Northwest. To tell the truth, I can't remember reading a single article about the Pacific Northwest tattoo scene in any magazine or book I know of. That, plus the fact that it was relatively close to where I live in Southern California, made it a perfect first project.
The next step was to call my friend Mike McCabe, who had just completed a wonderful book on the tattoo scene in the five boroughs of New York. He suggested I contact Peter Schiffer at Schiffer Books in Pennsylvania. I did, and before the week was over, I had agreed to begin a series of Tattoo Road Trip books for Schiffer. That was all the go-ahead I needed. Within hours, I was ordering maps, drawing up lists, making phone calls and putting the project together under a full head of steam.
THE PLAN
Logistically, I decided it was best to begin in Bend, Oregon, the center of the southernmost state in my odyssey, proceed down along the bottom edge to the coast, up along the ocean (with a couple inland sojourns to Roseburg and Eugene) and then west again and up to Seaside. Rather than cut over to Portland at that point, I decided to head north to see Vyvyn in Seattle, Washington, visit the legendary Dutchman and Dave Shore in Vancouver, B.C. and then, back down to Portland for Terry Tweed and the other top-rank shops. The last leg of the journey, after the book was done, would be to take a leisurely drive eastward through the Columbia River Gorge, south through the desert and, finally, return to Bend, rest up for a couple days on Gary and Quinn's couch with my feet up listening to jazz and sleep. All this in 17 days.
Rather than relating every adventure and disaster (the book does a better job of that), I thought I'd highlight some of the artists and the work that I saw along the way. I must say, I was quite surprised, not only by how accommodating the artists were to my visits, but also how good the tattooing was. And although Oregon, Washington and Vancouver, B.C., are considered by many to be way off the mainstream as far as tattooing goes, I found the younger shops to be quite informed about tattoo history and who's who. The more established artists like Terry Tweed, Don Deaton, Pete Stevens, Vyvyn, Dave Shore and the Dutchman, of course, were as hip as any of the big-town legends.
In any case, I had an absolutely fantastic time. I went by myself, so navigating, driving all day, booking hotel rooms, shooting rolls and rolls of film at every stop (including natural wonders along the road), plus writing a chapter every night before I turned off the light was a bit taxing, but truly fun. I guess I put about 1,600 miles or so on the rental car when I was done, plus eating about three dozen Cliff Bars, drinking a dozen gallons of bottled water and meeting some of America's truly outstanding tattoo artists. Since I only knew Vyvyn and Dave Shore before I started, virtually everyone I met was for the first time, including Krystyne Kolorful, the Guinness World's Most Tattooed Woman, whom I had only talked to on the phone. I'm glad I did because, as a result of our visit in Vancouver, Krystyne is now doing a column for Skin & Ink.
I might point out that the selection process took about a month. First, I was going to concentrate on one state and one state only, Oregon, and make the book about that. But after discovering over 75 shops listed on switchboard.com (I could never cover everyone), I opted for the reputation method and selected the shops by checking out their work (they sent me envelopes full of photos) and following the recommendations of those in the know. I whittled it down to a manageable number (two, maybe three shops a day) and proceeded from there. I know there's lots of upset people along the way, artists that do good work and were not on the agenda, but I had to draw the line somewhere. There was no way this could be an all-inclusive report on each and every shop and artist in the Pacific Northwest. For example, in Eugene, Oregon, there were four or so well-respected shops, but I chose to only photograph one person, Stacy Bierma, the owner of Harlequin Beads on Willamette Street, for the simple reason she had tattoos by some truly great artists, many who are friends of mine, like Leo Zulueta, Hanky Panky, Freddy Corbin, Henry Goldfield, Merlin and Eddy Deutsche.
Some others, like Tony Mills from Lucky Dog in Seaside, blew me away with their tattoo designs. And then, of course, were the artists I just had to meet, like John the Dutchman, the legendary Terry Tweed, Don Deaton and Pete Stevens.
ON THE ROAD IN OREGON
The first shop I visited was in Bend, Oregon, a paradise among the pines in central Oregon. A fast-growing town of 50,000, Bend is home to Angela at Mum's Tattoo. Home base for some very enthusiastic customers, Angela runs a clean, efficient shop and can't wait to join the convention scene and learn from the established masters of the art.
After Bend, I drove through Crater Lake National Park and on to Medford and Grants Pass. Steve Anderson at Custom Body Art on Court Street is a veteran of the Oregon tattoo-law wars and gave me a detailed rundown of the almost impossible route to becoming a tattoo artist in the Beaver State. In Grants Pass by the beautiful Rogue River, John Bennar at Chief's Madhouse talked about fishing for salmon and directed me to the giant redwoods in the Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park, a mind-boggling side trip that gave me a chance to wander through a wonderland of nature's giants.
After an amazing drive up the rock strewn coastline right out of a Disney movie, I cut inland to Roseburg, an ex-lumber town, and Primal Visions Tattoos. Then to Umpqua and Eugene, where I spent the day walking around the college town and shooting photos of Stacy Bierma's tattoos.
Saying goodbye to Stacy, I spent some of my favorite time examining the small towns on the way to Seaside. Even though they pretty much shut down the restaurants at 8 p.m., the remoteness of the coastal area and the quaint nature of the fishing villages was, perhaps, my favorite part of the trip. Once I got to Seaside (a market and a couple gas stations), Tony Mills and I bought some flowers and placed them on Bert Grimm's grave in nearby Warrenton. Tony even arranged for me to interview Bert's nephew, Mike Berk, who told me some great anecdotes about his legendary uncle.
"Every night before he went to bed he would write down three new ways to make money," Mike told me. Plus, I got a chance to meet a man with a tattoo he got from Bert in the '80s.
NORTHWARD TO SEATTLE
Next, it was up to Seattle, where, thank heavens, Aaron Bell was there to point the direction. Thanks to Aaron, who taxied me around town in his custom '51 Merc, I was able to spend some time at his shop, Slave to the Needle, as well as Tracy Zumwalt's Anchor Tattoo in Ballard. Seattle was the first chance I had to actually open my suitcase for more than one night, and, thanks to my planning, I was able to have a meal with Aaron and his crew atop the Space Needle and a raucous dinner with Tracy, Johnny Ink, Vancourt, Shantelle and the Grasshopper, Russ the apprentice, at an outdoor patio. Thanks to Aaron, I also dropped by to meet Pete Stevens at the Seattle Tattoo Emporium on Boren. Next day, I finished the stay in Seattle with my good friend and tattooer of over 29 years Vyvyn Lazonga. As usual, we shared some great conversation. I always look forward to spending time with Vyvyn.
NEXT STOP, CANADA
Next stop, Vancouver, B.C. Because I had talked to Krystyne Kolorful some time before, she suggested I include a shop that I had not heard about, Teresa Johnson's Electro-Ladylux. Not only did Teresa do Krystyne's recent facial tattoos, but her husband, Jay, was kind enough to meet me at the border and provide a motorcycle escort all the way to the shop. It was there that I met Teresa's truly animated customers. I must admit, the customers at Electro-Ladylux love the camera. Another highpoint was the time I spent with Jay, Teresa and Krystyne at dinner and the interview with Krystyne over breakfast. Plus, of course, Jay went with me to visit my pal from the Tokyo Convention, Dave Shore, and his wife, Gemma, and a truly class act in the world of tattooing, John the Dutchman. My biggest regret is that I didn't have near enough time to spend in Vancouver. But I hope to correct that miscalculation in my itinerary quite soon.
BACK TO OREGON
Then my travels took me south, past Seattle, to a wide selection of first-class shops in Portland, Oregon. First, I was joined by one of my writers, Palmer Utterback, at Terry Tweed's Deluxe Tattoo. Tweed is something else. His immaculate shop and personal idiosyncrasies reminded me of tattooers from the golden era back in the '40s. Later on, we visited London Bellman's peaceful shop in the basement of an old house on North Alberta Street, plus a quick stop with Mad Marcii at 21st Century.
The next day, it was off to Matt Reed and Cheyenne Sawyer at Tiger Lily. Situated in a cool, second-floor shop overlooking NE Sandy Boulevard, I realized I had met Matt before at a Crowe and Dwyer show and was, once again, impressed with his love for the roots of the art. After leaving Matt's studio, I saw I had a three-hour break before my next appointment. So, even though I had not gotten one jot of response from Dave Lum in Salem, I took a chance and headed down for a short visit with this most private of tattoo artists. I won't go into the details here (the entire, hair-raising experience is detailed in the book), but, suffice it to say, I don't have any tattoo photos to show you from Dave Lum. Next, it was back to Portland where I spent the early afternoon with Paulette Rees-Denis, leader of Gypsy Caravan, a leading belly-dance troupe based in Portland. Paulette was kind enough to invite me to a dance session at her Caravan studio on NE Broadway, where I sat on a plush couch and was visually serenaded by her bewitching band of captivating dancers. After tearing myself away from the rehearsal, I went back to the hotel, flopped facedown on the bed and took a nap until, later that night (about midnight), I ate apple pie with Don Deaton at Sea Tramp, a noisy shop situated above a live-music bar. Although I didn't get home until way after midnight, still I wrote the chapter before going to bed.
On the final day of the adventure, I drove over to Dan Gilsdorf's supe-cozy Atlas Tattoo with Lewis Hess and Jennifer Billig and then over to the gang at Infinity, where Amanda Myers and her husband, Paul Zenk, brought in a long line of people with tattoos to photograph, including Amanda's mom. It was the perfect end to the trip. Daughter and mother sharing the wonderful bonding experience of tattooing and being tattooed. After a great lunch, it was time to fade off into the sunset. It was so long to Portland, so long to the big city and so long to the Tattoo Road Trip. Next stop, that big, gushy couch in Bend.
IN REFLECTION
The main thing I can say about this two weeks on the road is, absolutely everything was better than I expected. The way I was welcomed at the shops was extremely heartwarming and, to my way of thinking, a real compliment to the art of tattooing. The respectful way I was treated is the way these many artists, young and old, respect the art itself. I appreciate it, and I am proud to be among the many brothers and sisters who feel so deeply about what they do, the history and the traditions.
The actual book, Tattoo Road Trip—The Pacific Northwest, is currently being assembled by the elves at Schiffer Books and ought to be in the bookstores by the time you read this. I hope you get a copy. I also hope the artists among you are open to having a tattoo road trip in your area of the country.
'Til then, see ya on the road!
—Bob Baxter