About LA Ink

LA Ink is an American reality show on TLC that follows the events of the High Voltage Tattoo (and, later in the series, American Electric) tattoo studios in Los Angeles, California. The spin-off of TLC's Miami Ink, it premiered on August 7, 2007.

  

Background

After leaving the hit program Miami Ink because of a dispute with her fellow cast members, Kat Von D moved back to Los Angeles to open her own tattoo shop and was offered a spin off show. Initially, she hired her close friend Pixie Acia  to be the shop manager, and her good friend Corey Miller as the tattoo artist. After considering many more artists for the job, Von D hired Hannah Aitchison and Kim Saigh to work for her as well. The cameras follow her as she opens the shop, while capturing everything that unfolds in between.

Each customer coming into the shop usually has a story or reason behind their tattoo. On occasion, even known celebrities make an appearance to get tattooed by Kat or one of the other artists.

Inevitably, as the show progressed, changes occurred. Von D fired Acia during the second part of Season 1. Saigh and Aitchison left the show after the Season 2 finale. Season 3 premiered with a new shop manager, former Rock of Love competitor Aubry Fisher, but she was fired by Von D during the Mid-Season premiere after getting into a lot trouble with most of the people at the shop.
Tattoo artist Amy Nicoletti was hired on a trial basis, but left to work at American Electric, owned by Craig Jackman. Tattoo artist Paulie Tattoo was also hired and quit to go to American Electric, because of lack of work. Fisher soon joined them as a "shop helper" at American Electric after she got fired from High Voltage. Fisher left to pursue her dream of becoming a make-up artist without telling Craig and was later fired from American Electric, but does make an appearance for a couple of episodes in the fourth season when she appeared at the shop's 11th Anniversary as a guest.

Von D broke a Guinness world record on the show, tattooing 400 people with the "LA" part of the LA Ink logo in 24 hours, giving the money raised to charity. The record was broken in June, 2008 by Kat's ex-husband Oliver Peck who tattooed 415 tattoos of the number "13".
During the Season 3, Nikko Hurtado is a guest artist on the show several times while Von D's sister Karoline and her brother Michael also make appearances on the show.

American Electric became the competitor tattoo shop to High Voltage, beginning in the Season 3 and is a major part of the series in Season 4.
 

Ratings

LA Ink premiered on August 7, 2007, averaging 2.9 million total viewers at its time slot. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the number makes the show the most-watched series debut for the cable channel since the premiere of the US version of What Not to Wear in January 2003. This is also the highest-rated series premiere in the history of TLC among adults 18-34, with a rating of 2.6 and a viewer count of 1.5 million. The premiere was also the highest-rated basic cable primetime program last Tuesday among several major adult demographics, including 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54.

L.A. Ink Pictures: Kat's Tattoo Process

You’ve seen the show, marveled at the artwork, and wondered, "How do they do that?" Scroll through this gallery for the step-by-step process on making a tattoo, demonstrated by L.A. Ink’s very own Kat Von D!

Creating tattoos is a skilled art. The basic supplies include gloves, disinfectant, ink, and tattoo needle, which attaches to a foot-pedaled machine that pumps the ink through the needle into the skin.

When clients come into Kat’s parlor, they first work through the design concept. In this photograph, from Season 2, Episode 12, Kat talks with Staind frontman Aaron Lewis about what he wants in his tattoo.

After Aaron makes his decision, Kat begins by carefully shaving, cleaning and disinfecting the location of the intended tattoo. Then, she will trace the outline using an imprint of the design.

Kat creates the tattoo, using a machine designed by Samuel O’Reilly in the late 1800s and modeled after Thomas Edison’s autographic printing pen. It creates the tattoo through quick, repeated punctures into the skin, where ink is deposited.

 

The process, depending on the design, complexity and location, can take a long time. Kat first outlines, then shades in the spaces for depth, and finally adds color as the tattoo requires.

Through every step, Kat makes sure that the client is satisfied with the process. Here she holds up a mirror for Aaron to examine his newest piece, his daughters’ names, which she has completed on the back of his neck., 

The final result is a beautiful rendition of Aaron’s design and Kat’s talent. But it’s not over yet: Like all tattoo artists, Kat has instructions for aftercare, including proper moisturizing and cleaning to prevent infection as the tattoo slowly heals.

Tattoo Model : Joanna Angel

Joanna Angel (born December 25, 1980) is an American alternative pornographic actress, Punk fashion, director and writer of adult films. She used her real first name of Joanna for her stage name.

Early life

Angel was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to an Orthodox Jewish Israeli mother and an American father. She was raised in River Edge in Bergen County, New Jersey, where she attended Cherry Hill Elementary School and graduated from River Dell High School in 1998. After graduating at age 17, she enrolled in Rutgers University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature with a minor in Film Studies.
She worked in a Kosher fast food restaurant in Teaneck NJ during high school, then at an Applebees and another restaurant, called Happy's Health Grille during college.
After finishing her degree she relocated to the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York, and created the website BurningAngel, a hardcore adult site catering to an emerging genre dubbed alt porn, while she danced as a stripper at night. Her website followed in the footsteps of the very popular SuicideGirls, which she has referred to as "the McDonald's of alt porn. "When asked whether she thought that alt porn was turning into a movement she stated, "I think it's a movement. I think I've started something.

Career

Joanna has written, produced, directed and starred in films available exclusively through Burning Angel as well as appearing in more traditionally distributed adult films. She was under an exclusive contract with VCA Pictures which expired in March 2007, and was, at one time, represented by the adult talent agency Bad Ass Models.

Following the success of Burning Angel, Angel has been featured in numerous magazines and newspapers, including The New York Times.[7] She was nominated in 2006 for the AVN Awards for both "Best New Starlet" and "Best Actress," and although she won neither, she did take home the award for "Most Outrageous Sex Scene" for her appearance in Re-Penetrator.

She briefly wrote a monthly sex advice column for Spin. She also contributed a chapter to the book Naked Ambition: Women Pornographers and How They Are Changing the Sex Industry.
She was nominated for the 2009 AVN Award for "The Jenna Jameson Crossover Star of the Year".
In 2010, Angel appeared in a Public Service Announcement for the Free Speech Coalition on the topic of internet piracy of adult content, directed by Michael Whiteacre. The spot, entitled the "FSC All-Star Anti-Piracy PSA" found her in the company of adult performers such as Lisa Ann, Julie Meadows, Kimberly Kane, Ron Jeremy, and Wicked Pictures contract stars Alektra Blue and Kaylani Lei.

In 2011, she was named by CNBC as one of the 12 most popular stars in porn. CNBC noted that she owns her own studio and that the "punk look" that she and her other actors share has created a new genre in the porn industry called Alt porn.

Source: Wikipedia

Miami Ink : Kat Von D Tattoo

Kat Von D is the husky voiced star of hit reality show LA Ink.  Set in her West Hollywood studio ‘High Voltage Tattoo’, the series has become TLC’s most popular show ever broadcast and has helped bring the tattoo culture to a much wider audience.  Kat began her television career as the only female artist on original show, Miami Ink.  After a now legendary falling out with fellow cast member Ami James, Kat left to return to her beloved Hollywood and was approached to star in LA Ink, a show which has now overtaken its competitor in popularity and ratings.

Despite her success Kat has faced criticism from fellow artists and tattoo enthusiasts who claim she has glamourized the business in order to promote her show and various other business endeavors.  Regardless of what a few critics say, this young lady is an exceptionally talented artist who has accomplished more in her short career than many have in an entire lifetime. Still only 28 years old, she is the owner of a successful Hollywood studio, star of a hit reality show "LA Ink", creator of her own clothing and accessories line, designed a make-up range for Sephora, and published a best-selling book  featuring a collection of her artwork and personal photographs.  She specializes in incredibly fine line black and gray portraits, and has designed portraits of many famous actresses.

Born Katherine Von Drachenberg in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, at the age of 4 she moved to Colton, California, with her parents.  Growing up, she was taught to play the piano by her paternal Grandmother who instilled in Kat a lifelong love of the works of Beethoven.  Fluent in Spanish, her last name is part of her father’s German heritage.  Her talent for tattooing first became evident when she performed her very first design, a Misfits skull, on a local kid using a homemade rig.  At the age of 14 Kat dropped out of school to pursue a career in tattooing and spent 2 years inking her designs on friends and neighbors in her home town.  At 16 years old she managed to land a job at a seedy studio in San Bernardino, a tough ghetto neighborhood.  Sharing an apartment with a prostitute, she managed to earn a living by giving tattoos to ex-convicts and bikers.  In 1998 she finally got her first full time job at ‘Sin City Tattoo’ in Colton, California.

She spent many years bouncing from different studios including ‘Blue Bird Tattoo’ in Pasadena, ‘Red Hot Tattoo’ in Arcadia, and ‘Infliction’ in Covina.  It was not until she settled into ‘True Tattoo’ in Hollywood that her career really began to skyrocket.  Working alongside Clay Dexter and Chris Garver, Kat had the opportunity to witness first hand some of the amazing work carried out every day in the famed studio.  Her talent did not go unnoticed and upon hearing that Miami Ink was looking for a female artist to feature on the show, Garver wasted no time in recommending Kat.  Originally filling in for Darren Brass after he suffered a broken arm, Kat was invited back to appear in the next two seasons.  Unfortunately Kat’s time on the show was abruptly cut short after a series of fights with owner Ami James led to him asking her to leave.  Upon returning to California she landed her very own show LA Ink which was created with her in mind and featured a cast of female artists including Kim Saigh, Hannah Aitchison (sister to Guy Aitchison) as well as Corey Miller, handpicked by her.

Appearing on LA Ink became the turning point in Kat’s career and saw her turn into a household name almost overnight.  During her time on the show she tattooed a host of celebrities and even broke a Guinness world record by tattooing 400 people in 24 hours.  The series followed the lives of the artists and their work, and some background information on the clients and their chosen designs.  The cast underwent many line-up changes including Kat firing shop manager and close friend Pixie Acia after only one season.  The cast are now preparing for the 4th season and TLC are holding open casting calls for anyone wishing to participate in the show.  As well as taping the series Kat continues to perform tattoos in her studio in the evenings and take an active role in her other pursuits.

Kat is known for her down to earth character and incredibly perceptive nature when it comes to tattooing.  Her bedside manner is legendary among her clients and many turn to her to create emotional portraits of friends and loved ones.  Model and fashion designer Jeffree Star wears a stunning portrait of Jon Benet on his arm (above) that shows the angelic pageant winner with a crown and fur collar.  The eyes of the child convey an innocence and tragedy that strikes the heart of the onlooker and the delicate shading around the hair and fur show what a gentle touch Kat applies with the needle.  The portrait of Bardot shows a feline sexiness and old world glamour that can only be achieved by a delicate and experienced hand.

 Kat's jaw dropping talent for realism is shown in the comparison between a portrait of a cat tattooed on a client and the original black and white photograph.  At first glance it is difficult to tell which image is the photo as the tattoo is so intricately and painstakingly shaded that it looks almost lifelike.  The patience and dedication required to create such a stunning work of art is one of the main reasons that Kat is at the top of her game.

There is a request form available on Kat’s website, www.HighVoltageTattoo.com for anyone wishing to request an appointment, but as of now her schedule is fully booked with a waiting list of anything up to 2 years.  There is a number of other talented artists resident at her studio including Jeff Ward, Nate Fierro, Adrian Gallegos, and Dan Smith.  Kat Von D has brought the world of tattooing to the mainstream and squashed a lot of the negative stereotypes surrounding body modification.  Many tattoo veterans have complained that this is a bad thing and not what the true essence of tattooing is all about.  Whether or not this is true remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure.  Each and every artist that has complained of her ‘bringing tattooing to the masses’ has enjoyed an increased client base within their own studio, and an increase in sales in a business that is not exactly stable can never be a bad thing.

Marilyn Manson Body Art Tattoo

Brian Hugh Warner was born on January 5, 1969 in Canton, Ohio, the only child of Barb (née Wyer) and Hugh Warner. He is of German descent on his father's side, and is a 4th cousin twice removed of Conservative commentator Pat Buchanan. As a child, he attended his mother's Episcopalian church, though his father was Catholic. Manson attended Heritage Christian School from first grade to tenth grade where he experienced traumatic brainwashing at the hands of his Christian pedagogues by way of their apocalyptic biblical narratives. Ultimately, out of fear, this led to his own personal rebellion against Christianity, and religious conformity in general. In a quote from Manson's autobiography The Long Hard Road Out of Hell, he states: "I was thoroughly terrified by the idea of the end of the world and the Antichrist. So I became obsessed with it, watching movies like The Exorcist and the Omen and reading prophetic books like Centuries by Nostradamus, 1984 by George Orwell, and the novelized version of the film a Thief in the Night."

Manson's interest in rock 'n roll music stemmed from a childhood friend who introduced him to bands such as Kiss, Dio, Black Sabbath, and Rainbow and other bands of that genre. Out of these bands, KISS stood out amongst the crowd, Manson was a card-carrying member of the KISS ARMY and attended his first concert with his father in 1979. At the age of ten, a young Brian Warner was photographed in the make-up of KISS drummer, Peter Criss. It has been thought, though never confirmed or denied by Manson that his stage theatrics and make-up partially stem from his influence by KISS as a child.

According to his autobiography The Long Hard Road Out of Hell, Warner is of German and Polish ancestry on his father's side. Raised in his mother's religion, and attending Heritage Christian School, he later transferred to and graduated from Cardinal Gibbons High School in 1987. In 1990, as a college student, Warner attended Broward Community College. As the assistant entertainment editor of BCC's student newspaper, the Observer, his first published article was a review titled "Jane's Addiction returns to shock crowd at Woody's." Warner was working toward a degree in journalism and theater, though never came into fruition. Manson later lied a local magazine to gain employment and experience in the field by writing music articles for the South Florida lifestyle magazine, 25th Parallel. There he met several of the musicians to whom his own band would later be compared, including My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. Manson mentions briefly in his autobiography that he became a musician partly because he wanted writers to gain the same amount of fame and respect as musicians.

Men Tattoo Idea

It is essential to put in a lot of thought if one wishes to have a permanent tattoo made on the body. Firstly one needs to take into consideration the acceptability of a particular design in the society as well as in a person’s career. For e.g., tattooing is not accepted in corporate culture and is often looked down upon. Secondly, certain designs and symbols may create controversy or hurt feeling of certain community. Lastly, one may even get bored of a certain tattoo after some time. One may argue that tattoo removal is possible anytime, however, one should remember that it is a painful and expensive process. If you wish to avoid all this, it is better to go for a design that is decent, socially accepted, yet creative and different. Here are some unique tattoos for men.

Unique Tattoos Designs for Men
Among the popular tattoo designs for men, the star, dragon, lion, tiger, skull, etc. are the most favored and popular ones. Apart from these, here are some different and unique tattoos for guys.

Tribal Tattoos
Tribal tattoos containing any design simply look different and attractive. There are numerous designs to choose from which are made in black or navy blue ink. Some of the best and popular tribal tattoo designs are the tribal sun, dragon, lion, etc. Tribal tattoos are mostly done on the back and arms. Read more on tribal tattoos for men.
Military Tattoos
Military tattoos have been sported by soldiers since the times of Julius Caesar. Even today, those who had previously served in the army, navy or the air force, proudly sport military tattoos to keep the spirit of the military alive, even after the service. However, today these tattoos are also sported by other civilians for their uniqueness. Military tattoo designs include the nations’ flag, eagle, star, fighter plane, etc.
Hawaiian Tattoos
Tattooing or Kakau was known to the Hawaiians since ancient times. Even today the Hawaiian designs and symbols are favored among people and they are one of the unique tattoos for men. If you are looking for small and unique tattoos for men, then you can have animals like the lizards or dolphins inscribed on your body as they form a part of the Hawaiian culture. Otherwise, you can even go for the larger ones depicting a scene or a situation. Read more on Hawaiian tattoos for men.
Bikers Tattoos
If you have the right attitude and already live a specific kind of life, then the biker tattoos are just for you. It is one of the most attractive and unique tattoos for guys. These tattoos are usually larger in size as most of the times, the entire bike or the bike rider is inscribed as a tattoo design. Secondly, logo of certain bikes or simply the name of it in attractive fonts and styles can also be made.
These were some ideas on unique tattoos for men. Lastly there are some tattoo making and aftercare tips that one should remember from hygiene point of view as well as to make the tattoo last longer. Firstly it is recommended to have a tattoo made by a certified tattoo artist. Secondly, one should also use tattoo care products that will help to prevent infection of any kind. So if you have chosen any of these tattoo designs, research a bit and you will definitely find the perfect one for you. Good luck!

Check Out My Tattoo Image