Tattoo Host.com

Uncle Tim 

Interview 2

Name: Uncle Tim Heitkotter

Email: uncledirt13@aol.com

Age: 51

Location: Mendocino, Calif.

Your Website & Url: coming soon

How many years in the biz: 10

Your shop website & Url:

Hobbies & Interests: Writing , Travelling, Hiking, Painting, Carving, Photography, Motorcycles, Fresh water fishing. Museums, Art Galleries, Historic sites. Beautiful tattooed women.

BAW: What made you want to become a Tattoo Artist?

Artist: “I saw some artwork done by Aaron Cane on a close friend and realized that tattooing had become much more than the tired, old imagery I had been accustomed to. I had been airbrushing and hand-painting these images on motorcycle tanks and hot rods for years. I thought this was something I could do and began to pursue it with a vengance. It jumped into my blood immediately. It took control and changed my life forever.”

BAW: Who are your influences?

Artist: “Sailor Jerry Collins, Ed Roth, Greg Irons, Henry Goldfield, Dave Lum, Robert Crumb…..too many to list. I get influenced by the strangest sources, like furniture and textiles.”

BAW: What is your favorite style of work?

Artist: “I love just about anything Asian, but as far as what I prefer actually tattooing, I love my own style. It’s sort of a cross between Mexican folk art, Kustom Kulture, Traditional and Neo Traditional with a bit of Japanese thrown in. I don’t really know what to call it, but I’ve been having a blast developing it over the years. It just comes out of me and my clients seem to demand it these days. Maybe I should call it “Uncle Traditional”. Hell, I don’t know?!!”

BAW: Tell us about your first Tattoo experience?

Artist: “I first got tattooed by “Pinky” Yun in Hong Kong, back in 1973 when I was in the Navy. I remember being very drunk and giving the money to a 9 or 10 year old girl who turned out to be one of my closest friends.  Of course you know her as Lilly, the daughter of Pinky. Her and Da Wei Zhang have a studio in Santa Clara, Calif. And her Dad is in San Jose. It was a row of roses with the word, “gunner”. It still holds its color. Anyway, I liked it so much I went back the next night (sober) and got another one.”

BAW: What is your favorite piece you own?

Artist: “A beautiful Pirate Pinup girl done on my calf by Danielle Oberosler has to be one of my favorites. She amazes me to this day. Honestly, the last one I got is always my favorite”

BAW: What is your most memorable Tattoo given and why?

Artist: “I tattooed a grieving father who’s son had committed suicide on his (the father’s) bed with his gun. After counseling and support groups and clergy and every other method, this was the only way he could get closure. The man had taken his son to get this design put on as his first tattoo. The kid drew it himself. It was a morphing dragon/man design I took from a very blurry poloroid photo that he brought. The experience was so powerful that I cried like a baby when he left. I felt like I took on the man’s pain.”

BAW: Is there a part of the body you won't Tattoo and why?

Artist: “Any area that has crappy skin like the bottoms of feet, the palms or fingers. Those areas seldom stick and I don’t want my name attached to any crappy tattoos. I don’t do faces, either. I definitely don’t do hate related work like gang or racial stuff. I don’t want to be responsible for ruining someone else’s life for money. So, I can be picky about who, what and where I tattoo.”

BAW: How do you feel about female Tattoo Artists?

Artist: “They are just as accomplished as men are. How else should I feel about them?”

BAW: Do you support supply co. that sells to the public?

Artist: “No, I do not. But I can’t stop them. Bottom line is that this is a free market economy and they have just as much right to make a buck as we do. The lack of morality and business ethics is what I object to. There is a responsibility to the well being of the client base. I take care of my end of it. I do not sell my products to the general public.”

BAW: Do you feel there now should be mandatory schooling for soon to be tattoo artists?

Artist: “I think that as this tattoo craze continues, more people will become aware of the posers and wannabees and they will eventually thin themselves out. There is no legitimate school out there for tattoo artists. The classic apprenticeship is the right way to do it. More than just the technical side, it gives us the real texture of this noble craft. It teaches us people skills, business skills and exposes us to the reality of tattooing, not just what is perpetuated by the clueless media. It teaches us how to always do what’s right for tattooing, not just how to take from it.”

BAW: Do you feel Tattooing has changed over the years, and if so why?

Artist: “The quality of artists is improving and forcing the rest of us to keep up. Also the equipment and technology has improved. No longer do we see big thick scabs forming. Most of my tattoos are done healing within a week. Some never peel. Shops are being put together with higher safety standards than ever. The old back-alley biker shop is on the way out. Now we are seeing shops that look like doctor’s offices and art galleries. The old-timer contingent is really threatened by this “safety stuff”, too. It means that they have to go back to school and actually LEARN something new. The negative part is that there are too many people taking from this trade (not necessarily by actually tattooing) and not enough people putting back.”

BAW: Do you think it is important to do as many conventions and shows as possible?

Artist: “Well, to be honest, I’m getting tired of the convention scene. But, I like to go there for social reasons. I like to catch up with my old friends and I have a blast being a judge, too. I did work eight of them last year and this year I’m doing two or three. Nowadays every promoter is getting in on the action. There are way too many shows being put on by people who know nothing about the tattoo business. It puts a bad taste in the mouth of the legitimate artists when we see idiots “cut-throating”, scrubbing tubes in the bathrooms (I actually saw this in Pomona last year) and nobody doing anything about it. These promoters will let anybody in and have little or no knowledge of the dangers this practice presents to the public and the other artists. These promoters have no clue how much damage they are doing to the trade. They could actually care less about the welfare of the artists and the general public. They’re charging outrageous prices for a booth and then provide little service for the attending shops. These guys will set up a show in the middle of a ghetto, like the Cow Palace in San Francisco, (because it’s cheap) and all you have around is liquor stores and crack houses to entertain us before and after hours.”

BAW: What advise can you give to someone who is starting or

looking to get into the tattoo business?

Artist: “Seek out a proper apprenticeship with someone established who you would get tattooed by. It will take time. Be patient. Getting tattooed by this person is the best way to learn and the best way to get your foot in the door. When you actually ask for an apprenticeship, you should have an at least 3” thick portfolio of your drawings ready to show off. Be prepared to have the word “NO” shoved in your face for awhile. If you do not have the patience to persue this, you do not have the patience to learn how to tattoo.”

BAW: What could you say to someone who has had a bad first experience?

Artist: “Don’t go back to that person. It’s that simple. Educate yourself and find the right person for the job. Don’t be cheap. Good artists don’t like “bargain hunters”. Don’t be impatient. Come see me. I’ll treat you with dignity and respect and can refer you to other people who will, too.”

BAW: Since you have started what changes have you seen in the industry?

Artist: “Too many shops and too many conventions. Too many people ripping off the buying public and tarnishing the trade. On the good side….a lot of killer artists emerging.”

BAW: How do you feel about apprenticeships?

Artist: “The only way as far as I am concerned. But, there are too many hacks turning out other hacks. I don’t think anyone should apprentice another person until they have at least 7 years under their belts. Nowadays, these hacks think they have “arrived” just because they have 3 apprentices. Personally, I do not give out apprenticeships anymore. My last one as a young star named Thad Ritchey….look out for this kid!”

BAW: Where do you think the Tattoo Industry is going today?  Do you think it is getting better or worse?

Artist: “Both. Evil cannot exist without Good and visa versa. My Old Timer friends say that Tattooing is coming to the end of a 20 year cycle. It’s a little depressed right now, but it will pick up again by the end of this year. Even the supply companies are getting their stuff manufactured in China , now. Supplies are getting cheaper. I just bought a cool little iron machine from Lyle for $100.”

BAW: Please share any other comments or views or questions to the public you might have.

Artist: “One of my mentors, Steve Hendricks once told me, “Tim, always do what’s right for tattooing and tattooing will do right by you.” I try to live up to that motto. People (including my ex-girlfriend) accused me of having a huge ego by getting to know everybody in this trade. I was accused of being big-headed by writing for “Skin&Ink magazine for two years. I, however, always looked at it as a vehicle for my giving back to the trade, which has given me so much. By writing columns on lettering and product reports, I shared my knowledge with others. When I wrote that feature article on helping Erno to learn to tattoo left handed after losing his right arm to heroin addiction, I felt like I had finally found my purpose in life. I begged editor Bob Baxter to let me tell this story because I knew that it needed to be heard in an industry that is plagued with drug use. We got huge response from people who were inspired by the story and Erno got his life back. Erno and I are friends for life. Some of my best friends are people who give back; Dedicated people like Chuck Eldridge, Madame Chinchilla and Mr. G. and Lyle Tuttle who continue to preserve the rich traditions of this ancient artform.

So, any young and upcoming tattoo artist who is reading this, I want to say, “Examine your motives”. “How you treat this craft will determine who you are as a person and your standing in the tattoo community, not how many ways you can draw a spray can.”

                                                                                                         -----Uncle Tim

GALLERY

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