A couple of weeks ago, I did a controversial post on bad stick and poke tattoos. It was controversial because apparently a lot of people have bad stick and poke tattoos and don’t have a sense of humor about it and were really butthurt (word of the day – use it in a comment). Sorry. Anyway, in response to the article, someone who actually read it and saw that I asked for good hand done tattoo artists to be sent my way put me on to SLOWER BLACK. She’s a nomad Canadian tattoo artist who travels around the world doing beautiful hand poked tattoos in deepest, darkest black ink. Don’t ask what ink she uses, it’s a fucking secret, and it’s fucking genius. I don’t think of work like this as “stick and poke” any more than I think of ta moko or kakau as “stick and poke.” This is an ancient art of tattooing done by hand, with thousands of years of practice and wisdom behind it, and results in stunning skin art. Check out a collection of Slower Black’s work below, and you can reach her here to see when she’s passing through your part of the world.
