We are getting ready  for the next few months to pay a visit to our friends on the east coast, and our European friends in London and Spain-details coming soon. Right now I’m running through  the work  you’ve seen on this site for the past few months to bring the showcase up to date on clients that have been coming through the studio and some important things come to mind.

Looking back at each piece I can reflect and break apart areas where I can push the ideas further, and raise the standards that have pushed me to this point with tattooing. I’ve  made it a ritual in the way I work to acknowledge every single client as important as the next, and today that fact is even more important to sustain the level of quality that best represents Black n’ Grey, especially in an industry that is growing at an abnormal rate. The key is working toward totality,  aiming for the long term.

I share an equal passion for tattooing to painting, illustration and art in general, but whenever ‘tattooing talk’ comes up  I’ve ingrained the habit of mentioning the people that have influenced me and have spent alot of time into making opportunities a reality for people like myself to benefit. And in complete truth, the ability to learn-or the rate you learn isn’t the same as grounded experience. The success of work that I’ve been able to experience in the past short 4 years has alot to do with the 17 years, 20 years, and with some who’ve spent their entire lives working to sustain.

With that being said, regardless in what form, all successes is temporary and toxic. Series of actions that lead to an ideal result that have happened in the past may not be the same steps needed for the future. They are what they are-the past. Today brings new sets of challenges that need new solutions to make it work according to this moment. And because this anchors you here, the real ’success’ or the real juice comes from the process that’s needed–The hunt.

The terrain is always changing, like people’s skin-every surface varies from person to person, change is constant, so the way you hunt has to change with it. I point this out to you because all the support you’ve been giving is the drive, and the even more important doubts, is the fire that obligates us to work at the standard in which the art of tattooing belongs-right beside fine art, right beside design, right beside any other category of visual art. And this isn’t about a regional situation, or little shop drama fighting over scraps that really don’t matter-this is about breaking traditions into leading the culture to hold it’s respected weight in history–and maintain it.

So once again, burn it all. They got fat while we starved, it’s our turn, and it’s time to get real honest with ourselves on what the intentions are, and where this is going.

To all my fellow young tattooers, time to raise the bar above it all.

Tyler came through for the final lay in of his right inner bicep we started some time back….

A look at the first block in stages of Don who came through from SF to begin his chest piece.

The piece begins with the classic Laocoön piece to set the foundation for the outer chest.

Still a long road to go with Don–stay sharp.

Lo came through to continue his collection….

His brother Steve also came through to support. Here’s a healed look at his piece we started earlier.

Here’s a glimpse at Troi who came through from Afghanistan to work his chest.

After time and work put in through the army, he’s decided to head back in the field as a contractor working to supply better and stonger tools in the fight. He made his pit-stop home to dedicate a piece to his Mexican heritage and then it’s back to the middle east.

Troi was describing his job working for one of the major tactical vehicle suppliers for the US in the war, and they’ve gotten to a point where hummers are built to withstand road side bombs, rocket launchers, and deflect any caliber of bullets like they were candy. But as equipment upgrades, it produces an even more insane enemy then before. It’s clear, by every year, the more technology advances, the faster, easier, and more efficiently we’ve learned to kill each other. Freedom–sure? Democracy-why not?  But at the end of the day, war is still a business and the men holding strings need to get paid. If any of us want change, it starts here.

Here’s a final look inside Kater Crafts.

The best part of the visit had to be Grace. Grace is responsible for making the final decorative looks for each piece. Perfectly cut and molded leather casings and imprints that wrap around are only done with her hands.

She’s worked most of her life not just for her three kids, but to make every book that comes her way as flawless as possible. After all the years, she’s embraced the simpler lifestyles and found that it brings out the true happiness that everyone else is hunting for.

Here, Bruce runs through the spines of all the different books. After the foundation to each piece is set, the bones that will support each piece is pulled from this rack, which then continues off to final adjustments and decorations.

Along  the production line a couple of these covers were lying around. Ron Hubbard’s Scientology bibles all had intricately designed stamps and embossments to tailor to each ethnic culture-filipinos, arabs, indians, english etc……Kind of crazy, but not sure if there’s a difference between the ideas of the books below and the images above?

This then made more sense why Tom Cruise’s private collection was all over the place and up in the mix……

Being one of the oldest factories around, the place was filled with crazy objects from a combination from Bruce and the employees. This a dried out skeleton of a blow fish sat on the high shelves overlooking the entire place.

And finally, the complete transformation of all the raw goods are processed and ready to go. Seeing this whole thing through gave me alot more appreciation for the value of books and the impact they have to each industry. It might not matter now, but when it’s all over, I got a feeling books are going to hold a lot more weight to who we were, and what we did then the internet. Until then.