2017 Solar Eclipse

Happy Solar Eclipse day! Here is a small selection of some sun and moon themed tattoos our artists have done. Enjoy the eclipse and safe viewing!

Holiday Hours

During the holiday season, our hours change a bit so our artists and front desk staff can
spend time with their friends and families.

We will be closing at 2pm on Sunday Dec. 20th,
and will be closed on Dec. 25th and Jan. 1st.

We still have a lot of availability for walk-ins and appointments with Steve and Jaesun the week before Christmas and the week between the holidays, so if you’ve been putting it off,
now’s the time to come in and get your new tattoo!!

While you’re at it, stop by and grab a Gift Certificate for your
favorite tattoo enthusiast and come in together!!

Preparing For Your First Tattoo- Part 2

Dragon Sleeve by Natan

Dragon Sleeve by Natan Alexander

 

It’s Tattoo Time…

Okay, now it’s the day before your appointment!! I know you’re excited, but there are a few things you want to keep in mind so that your tattoo experience is the best that it can be!  First, make sure you get a really good night’s sleep the night before your appointment.  If you are well rested, you will be able to deal better with the stresses of the process.  Also, don’t drink heavily the night before; it makes you very sensitive to sensations and will prevent you from getting a good night’s sleep.  Also, it sucks to get tattooed with a hangover and if you have thinned your blood with alcohol you could bleed out a lot of the ink your artist is attempting to put in!!

Its good to shower prior to your appointment, so you have fresh, clean skin; also, if you’ve got any hair in the area that you are getting tattooed, you can shave to prep the area, if you have a general idea of size and placement.  If you aren’t comfortable with that, your artist will take care of it for you at the beginning of your appointment.

Make sure to stay hydrated the day of your appointment and to eat a good meal just beforehand.  It is very important that your body has the energy to deal with the experience and you definitely want to give it more fuel than just chips or a quick snack.  Bring plenty of water and a couple snacks with you, if you are booked for a longer appointment, as you may want to take a break mid-way through your appointment to give your body more fuel to work with.

It is very important to mentally prepare yourself, as well.  Everyone feels it differently, but it is at least irritating and at worst painful.  Depending on your pain threshold, the location of the tattoo and many other factors, you may feel it more or less than friends or family that you have spoken to about it.  It may be good to get yourself centered and grounded; some people prefer to really focus on the sensation itself, or may use meditation in order to overcome the pain.  Some people prefer to distract themselves from the sensation with music, movies or by talking with the artist or a friend.  Overall do what works best for you because everyone will deal with the experience differently.  You may want to psych yourself up a bit, so you can get your adrenaline going, which will help with pain management, but don’t psych yourself out and make yourself overly sensitive or second guess what you’re doing.

SteveGillespie_TraditionalShipTattoo

Traditional Ship and Anchor by Steve Gillespie

You’ve Made It Through!!

You did it! You’re tattoo session is complete and you made it!  Was it what you thought it would be? It wasn’t so bad, right? You may even have already started planning your next one!

So, now that you’re done, the most important thing is taking very good care of it!  You have a large abrasion on your body and its going to take a bit of time to heal, and you have to make sure you do everything in your power to help it heal properly with the least amount of ink loss.

Your artist will probably have bandaged your tattoo at the end of your appointment, so you don’t leak lymph and blood and ink everywhere while your skin starts to clot.  After a couple of hours, or when you are ready to wash it, remove the bandage and clean thoroughly.  Sometimes its easiest to clean it in the shower, so if you have that option, use it.  If the bandage has stuck to your skin, soak it with warm water first and it should peel off after a few minutes.  There will be a lot of ink on the surface of your skin and on the bandage… don’t worry, it’s normal, your tattoo is not falling out!  Using a fragrance free anti-bacterial liquid soap, wash your hands first, then your tattoo.  You want to get all the lymph and blood off your skin, and you want it to feel smooth when you’re done washing it.  The less material on the surface of your skin, the less of a scab will form.  When you have thoroughly rinsed your tattoo, you can pat it dry with a clean paper towel or let it air dry.

The most important thing now, is to let it breathe!  Let the air get at it and keep it clean and dry for the next few days.  It is ideal to wash it 2-3 times a day as you can.  If needed, you can apply the tiniest amount of fragrance free hand cream to it, to relieve tightness and to prevent cracking, but you never want your skin to feel damp or greasy.

It can up to 3 weeks for your skin to look healed after your tattoo, and it can take up to 3 months for your skin to completely regenerate and be considered fully healed.  During that time, make sure to keep it clean; if you work in a dirty environment or go to the gym or public places that have questionable surfaces, you might want to keep it covered with loose clothing, but generally you want it to be able to breathe.

Don’t pick or scratch at it!  I know it itches, but don’t do it… if you must, slap it lightly (with a clean hand) until it stops itching.  Also, if you pick off those scabs, you could be lifting ink up with it or you could scar your skin and mar the tattoo.

Protect it from the sun!  For the first few weeks, you definitely want to keep it covered with clothing and not use sunscreen to protect it, as it could interfere with the healing process; after it has fully healed, you want to always at least have sunscreen on it to protect it from the sun.  The sun is the tattoo-killer and will fade the color right out of your tattoo if you aren’t careful.

You also don’t want to submerge it in water during the first month or so.  Showers are fine, baths are not.  Also, beware of hot tubs, swimming pools, ponds and the ocean; there are chemicals and bacteria in all of these places that can adversely effect your tattoo while it is healing.

Taking care of your tattoo during the healing process and beyond will help to protect your investment and keep your tattoo looking beautiful for years to come.  You didn’t go through all that pain to be stuck with a tattoo that is sub-par because you burned out the color or scratched off a scab and scarred it.

As always, if you aren’t sure about something, ask your artist!! Call the studio at 978-744-9393 and we will walk you through the process!!

Phoenix Arm Piece by Jaesun Duggan

Phoenix Arm Piece by Jaesun Duggan

Witch City Welcomes Guest Aritst Amanda Marie

Witch City Ink is excited to be hosting guest artist Amanda Marie from L.A., April 11th – 17th, 2016 

Amanda got her start tattooing in New York about 6 years ago.  She loves to put her all into every tattoo she does, no matter how big or small.  Amanda values making an inviting atmosphere for her clients and loves to create unique, custom tattoos. She currently works at Evermore Tattoo Company, Los Angeles, California.

To book an appointment with Amanda contact her directly.

Email: amandamarie@dolly-rot.com

Phone: 516-528-8203

Japanese Prints at the Museum of Fine Arts

Yesterday, Natan Alexander gave a thorough and informative guided tour through the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston's “Under the Skin: Tattoos in Japanese Prints” exhibition. The show will remain open through January 2nd, 2011, so if you missed Natan's speech the other day, make sure to go and check out all the amazing artwork while you can!
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Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
“Under the Skin: Tattoos in Japanese Prints”
Showing through January 2nd, 2011
465 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA
www.mfa.org

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News Article Profiling Witch City Ink!

Recently, local Emerson College graduate student, Josh Couillard, stopped by our shop to ask us a few questions, check out the art, and interview owner/artist Natan Alexander. Josh's article profiles the growth of custom tattoos, the development and direction of our shop, and how a pre-existing and sturdy foundation in fine art is absolutely essential for tattoo artists aiming to create the best work possible.

The article is now available to read up on the site surviveandthriveboston.com or you can click on the link below to go right to the page. Ch

eck it out for a great introduction into the direction and motivation of our shop and a brief overview on the growth of the new era of artistic tattooing!

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New Video of Natan on Ch. 5 Chronicle!!

Owner and artist, Natan Alexander, was recently featured on an episode of Channel Five Chronicle about local artists. Click the link below to check out Natan's feature on the show and to gain some perspective on the artistry of tattooing!

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/video/21920655/

Natan is always interested in begi

nning new custom projects and working with new people so make sure to give us a call (781.233.1780) or stop on by the shop (184 Broadway, Route 1, Saugus, MA) to book out your time today!

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New Scarab Tattoo by Molly McKinnon

Scarab Tattoo
This is a tattoo I recently did of an Egyptian style scarab. This was the customer’s first tattoo and she wanted to make it count. Most of the time at Witch City Ink we recommend coming in for a consultation in order for your artist to gather all the information needed to give you a great tattoo. The results always speak for themselves.

Dragon Coverup Tattoo by N^T^N

Some tattoos get done in one session, and some take many. Brad wanted a Japanese dragon and he wanted it bright and strong. Thats exactly the type of tattoo work I like to do and I was very excited about the project. In the initial drawing consultation he described what he would like, we looked at some references, and I took some measurements to help me plan the tattoo. Brad and I began this tattoo knowing it would take a few sittings because there were 2 very solid tattoos that had to be covered as part of the design.

Heres a picture of the 2 tattoos we covered:

Brads Before Picture

Brads Before Picture

When Brad arrived for his first tattoo session we sat right down and got to work. I was careful to locate elements of the design in places where I knew the color would mask the old tattoos. We tattooed for 3 hours and I managed to lay down the entire outline and some of the black. We made great progress but nevertheless, after the first session it was clear there was a long way to go. After our session, Brad took a picture of the outline. The photo is a little bit low resolution but you can at least get a sense of the progress. After 3 hours the tattoo looked like this:

First Session

First Session

The first session we got the whole outline in and some of the preliminary black, in the next session, 6 hours into the tattoo, we began to prepare the underpainting of the scales and background. Fortunately, Brad sat perfectly every session and was patient about getting the results he wanted. As a result I was able to concentrate on every detail along the way. Soon the tattoo started taking shape:

2nd Session

2nd Session

In the 3rd session the entire tattoo started really looking clearer and brighter, and we felt like huge progress had been made. At this point it started getting pretty hard to tell it was a coverup tattoo at all. 9 hours into the tattoo and the 1/2 sleeve looked like this:

3rd Session

3rd Session

At last we got to the final session, the last 3 hours. This is where a large amount of final detail work, color touch ups, and tightening of the outline took place. Using the last session to really perfect the tattoo gave me a chance to go over every area and make those colors pop out. Both Brad and I were very pleased with the final results as seen below:

Brads Dragon Final 1

Brads Dragon Final 1

Front View, Final Session

Front View, Final Session

Brads Dragon, Back View, Final Session

Brads Dragon, Back View, Final Session

Some tattoos definitely require patience, but in the end it pays off.

Japanese Chrysanthemum tattoo by Natan

Kiku, Japanese Chrysanthemum

Kiku, Japanese ChrysanthemumÂ

This is the final piece of a band of Japanese flowers recently completed by Natan at Witch City Ink in Salem Ma.  The rest of the tattoo is viewable in Natans portfolio at witcityink.com.

Natan specializes is custom tattooing and is available for appointments at any of his 3 shops in Massachusetts.  He works by appointment only and is generally booked at least 3 weeks in advance.