The O-town Scene

January 13, 2011

The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY

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“Tattooing has calmed me down and taught me how to deal with people, with a positive attitude and patience ... Someone’s life and emotions are hanging on your ability to do your job well,” he says. Scannell grew up in Arizona and New Mexico, where he met Voltura. His family moved to the area when Scannell was 17, and after high school, Scannell worked in the kitchen of an upscale restaurant at a country club alongside his dad, a Certi- fied Master Chef. But, the chef lifestyle wasn’t for Scannell. “When given the opportunity to do art for a living, I couldn’t pass it up,” he said. Scannell’s artwork has a sur- realistic style _ for example, an octopus tentacle coming out of the bloody eye of a two-headed sea person. “Most of the people who seek me out are looking for something wicked crazy and on the trippy side,” he says. Like at the Golden Lotus, artists at Indel- ible Ink do a lot of custom designs. The other option are flash tattoos, which are designs that are mass produced and often include an outline so tattoo artists do not need to draw their own. This means the tattoos are unoriginal, which is something looked down upon by artists at both Indel- ible Ink and Golden Lotus. “Who wants to go to the big dance wear- ing the same dress?,” Scannell says of flash. “500,000 places have that tattoo, and 100,000 people are walking around with that tattoo.” Voltura has been at Indelible Ink for three and a half years. He comes off as intense and knowledgable. While explain- ing how to tattoo, he swiftly moves from a couch in the reception area of the shop to GETTING A TATTOO Some advice from Taylor Jackson Wait until you’re mentally mature enough to make a decision like getting a tattoo. 18 O-Town Scene Jan. 13, 2011 his station to get a needle so he can better show the mechanics of tattooing. “The pins are piercing the skin’s mela- nin, and staining the skin cell. It’s not like putting acrylic paint on top of the skin,” he said. “You’re creating open wounds.” He points out that the needle is actually a group of pins, which come in different sizes like paintbrushes. The smaller the pin head, the narrower the line you can make, and vice versa. Voltura explains how the tattoo machine is like an electromagnetic doorbell while walking to Scannell, who is tweaking the drawing of the phoenix on Vedder’s chest. Voltura talks to Scannell about a kung fu class they are to have in their apartment. Three girls who look like they are 18 enter the shop, and Voltura strides over to them to explain, intensely, how the design they’ve brought in should be tweaked and where it should go on the body. Go with something that looks good. Find an artist with a style you like, and let them create a design based on what you want. “The only constant is change, and something that means something now may not in five or 10 years ... My tattoos have no meanings attached to them, and that’s how I like it. It’s good to be detached. It doesn’t mean anything, it just looks cool.”

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