April 24, 2014
PITMAN, N.J. – The tattoo industry is arguably as big as it has ever been, but it is still not without its pitfalls.
Mythic Ink tattoo artist, Dave Knauer, who also goes by “Azma,” began his career in the field after tiring of a job in construction. With no school background in art, Knauer put together a portfolio of his own work and got an apprenticeship, where he put in the 2,000 hours of the grunt work that is legally required to become a professional. Many of his stories relate to something he sees as a major issue in the industry: illegal tattooing done out of the home.
Frequently, clients come to Knauer dissatisfied with work they have had done by nonprofessionals for discounted rates. If salvageable, Knauer retouches the tattoos and makes them look ‘awesome,’ but the trend still irks him.
“This guy was like so unhappy when he came in. I’m like, ‘Dude, I’ll fix that; I’ll make it look awesome,’” Knauer said of a local, who recently came in for a retouching of a nonprofessional job. “They don’t know what the hell they’re doing and all they’re doing is messing you up and scarring your skin up and it could be dirty; they could be spreading germs. They’re not properly trained.”
