Making a Mark An Ethnography on a local Tattoo Shop and its Artists ...

Laven 4consent form, a parental consent form if a minor, and instructions for wound care to be kept for aminimum of two years.In order to become a tattoo artist, a certification in first aid and CPR is needed. Also, aRed Cross AMA certification is required. Some kind of art schooling is also important to graspthe basic art concepts used consistently in the business. Apprenticeship is a huge step in theprocess of becoming a tattoo artist. Apprenticeships usually last 1 to 2 years, and is the schoolingto learn everything there is to know about the art of tattooing.Good Clean Fun tattoo shop first opened on Friday, June 13, 2002, across the bridge offof Highway 25 in Monticello, Minnesota. John, Ben and their piercer at the time, Joel, workedout of that shop until June 1, 2005, when they moved into the same building as the movie theater,which gave them more room. John, the owner of Good Clean Fun and a tattoo artist for 13 years,opened up the shop because no one in that area at the time specialized in all custom tattooing.Observational DataIt’s 1:45 on a Saturday afternoon. After going to the unoccupied abandoned shop anddiscovering that the subculture I had planned to observe had relocated, Paige, my partner incrime, and I quickly made our way to the new location of Good Clean Fun. I could see the 20-foot-high, lettered TATTOO sign from the highway as we approached. There were not many carsin the parking lot when I pulled up to the brick, glass-encased building with a big green awning, Iwas nervous. I was scared that they wouldn’t accept me or that I wasn’t dressed in acceptableattire. I thought they wouldn’t give me a chance. As we walked in, the relaxed atmospherecaught my attention right away. Aqua blue walls, hardwood floors, three contemporary tancouches, and pictures of Japanese, Asian, and traditional art hung all over the walls. Laughing,