7 minute read
Skin-Deep Artwork Lives, Breathes Tells a Story
Brandie Medina and her work
BY GERRY MANDEL
– Jack London
The attractive young waitress at a restaurant in The Grove welcomed us with a warm smile, handed us menus and took our drink orders. But my eyes were not on the menu nor her smile. I was looking at her left arm, between her shoulder and elbow. There, in bold lines and colors, rested a large tattoo featuring a flower and a cat’s head. When I asked her about the cat - “It was mine.” - she showed me two more tattoos, equally artistic. Whatever your opinion may be about tattoos (aka “tatts”), be assured they are here to stay. In greater numbers than ever, and with wider acceptance. The art of tattoos, and the demand for them, has come a long way in recent years. Even mothers, who might have warned their kids “you better not get a tattoo” are getting inked now. The younger generation in particular has embraced them, but many new customers are middle-aged or older. So here is the dilemma I faced. Which artist do I talk to for this article? How many? Which parlors? St.Louis has at least twenty tattoo studios and dozens of talented artists with a wide range of experience, styles and specialities. The names of the parlors intrigued me: Self-Inflicted, Enigma, Iron Age, AllStar, Threshold, Art Monster, Alchemy, to name a few. When in doubt, Google. I decided on two: Nate Strautkalns of AllStar Tattoo in University City (he’s co-owner) and Trader Bob’s on South Jefferson in St. Louis; and Brandie Medina of Steel and Ink Studio in South County. One of the oldest continually operating tattoo shops in the U.S., Trader Bob’s opened in the 1930’s. It’s a part of local and national history. Nate has a commanding presence and passion, which became evident as he talked about his journey to tattoos and St. Louis. He’s 51 and has been tattooing for over 30 years. “I was born in 1970 in south Minneapolis. I was an average student, didn’t go to college, had a chaotic childhood, and realized I wasn’t cut out for a straight job.” He was into street art, album covers, graffiti. Gradually he discovered he had a natural talent for art, met someone who showed him some basics in tattooing, and began developing his technique. In 1998 he moved to St. Louis, where he met Brad Fink, an
established artist who offered him the chance to work in his shop. “St. Louis has a good feeling about it,” he adds. While most artists are men, that has been changing over the past few years as more women enter the business. One of them is Brandie Medina, a dynamic young woman who runs Steel and Ink Studio on Lemay Ferry Road in South County. She is a combination of energy and enthusiasm with a widespread knowledge of the business. But it didn’t come easy. “I was born in St. Louis, but grew up in California, all over the state. I learned to pierce in San Francisco, then moved into tattoos.” After she had her fourth child, she moved to St. Louis and worked as a nurse at St. Anthony’s Hospital. Finding a place for a tattoo shop in St. Louis County wasn’t easy. There was resistance, but she knew how to get things done. “I’m what you’d call a free spirit. My grandpa was a beatnik.” That explains a lot. She opened Steel and Ink Studio in 2009, which created a conflict. Tattooing was illegal in South County then, a dated preconception of the booming industry it has become. “I had to petition for a conditional use permit, attend a whole bunch of meetings, and when the Council rejected my application - after I had built the studio - I appealed. They passed it.” She now has approximately ten artists with a variety of backgrounds and experience. I asked how she got into tattooing. Her answer seemed to be taken from a tale of fantasy. “When I was sixteen, I had a dream that I was tattooing. But I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t know it was tattoos. But it made me curious. I found out I had dreamt about tattooing.” Right about here, I’d like to introduce you to Otzi the Iceman. He was a Bronze-Age man from around 3300 BCE. Otzi, who was found in a glacier between Austria and Italy, had 57 tattoos. His frozen body had aged well. That’s the earliest proof of tattoos historians have. As the centuries passed, Greek, Roman and Persian cultures made liberal use of tattooing. The Greeks, for instance, tattooed slaves and criminals so they could be identified if they escaped. Which brings me to the Civil War and New York City. That’s where the first professional tattoo artist opened shop around 1860. His clients: Civil War soldiers, inked for identification purposes. Which is why NYC is considered the birthplace of the modern tattoo. If you think of sailors when you think of tattoos, you’d be right. It was popular with them, which is why so many shops were located near the docks. From there it was just a short hop to the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Lawrence, the NBA and every other major sport. Even President Theodore Roosevelt and Lady Churchill (Winston’s mother) had tattoos. Today there are an estimated 21,000 tattoo parlors in the United States. “I feel like there’s a higher thought process,” says Brandie. “People want to express themselves with a tattoo. It’s a form of medicine to me.” She talks about recent customers who want to memorialize a person or an event, a loss to Covid, a marriage or birth. “People feel the need to honor the person or event.” I asked Nate about his process with a customer. “I make them comfortable, start a discussion about the tattoo and its placement and the meaning behind it,” he says. “I want them to have confidence in me. It’s like a surgeon.” Are there any boundaries you won’t cross? I asked him. “I won’t do something hateful, or something on a young person he or she may regret later. I’m trying to think ahead for them.” Nate says he loves doing flowers, colorful subjects. “The culture has changed. The art has gotten better. People have access to all these resources and information.” So why do people get tattoos? Here is what some of them say. Elini: “My tattoos are a source of strength. They crystalize what’s important to me in life.” Scott: “They keep track of time. Sometimes things happen and you feel you need to mark them down.” A tattoo artist: ““One of my clients, his father passed from Covid, and he ended up getting a rose for him.” Samantha: “I got the New York skyline on my wrist, to recognize my time locked in by Covid.” Johnny: “My body is my journal, and my tattoos are my story.” People with tattoos feel free to express themselves through body art. Most of those are backed by memory, and they all have meaning. Reasons are varied: attention, self-expression, artistic freedom, rebellion, a visual display of a personal narrative, reminders of spiritual/cultural traditions, identification with a group. Both Nate and Brandie agree on the changing profile of the typical tattoo customer. About half the customers are men, half are women. Nate says popular subjects include flowers, trees, landscapes. Also animals, such as tigers, panthers, eagles, dragons. Brandie says tiny, simple tattoos are hot now. Dainty things. Also the timeless tattoos, which include praying hands, roses, crosses, and the Virgin Mary. In case you’re wondering, I don’t have a tattoo. But after exploring the subject, I’m tempted to get one. Maybe I’ll make it a tribute to Otzi the Iceman. He’s about due for wider recognition.
Nate Strautkalns and his work
