Grin and Bear It!
Using a sharpened deerbone needle, Indigenous tattoo artists of Southern New England create permanent tattoos with ink created from finely crushed hardwood charcoal. Artists rub the skin with bear oil before beginning the process.
Do You Write? One simple question changed the trajectory of a kid’s life
A couple of Juan Antonio Cortez’s buddies wanted to go ride bikes. There would be music, girls, maybe even some spray paint — everything a teenaged boy could desire. But young Juan could not go because he’d been legally mandated to spend his nights at New Urban Arts. Juan would have to spend another night […]
Center Spread
Tess Perry, Tess Perry Tattoos, Best Cover Up Pete Fortune, Anchor Steam, Critics Choice: Character Jen Clinch Guertin, Anchor Steam, American Traditional Tara D’Agostino, Iron Lion, Critics Choice: Pirate Emma Hamilton, Richmond Street Tattoo, Critics Choice: Femme Fatale Jay Blackburn, Powerline Tattoo, Critics Choice: Healthy Food Chrystal Santos, Phoenix Tattoo, Critics Choice: Hand of God […]
Art Lesson: Experts discuss access to the arts in RI
Rhode Island has a vast and storied history as a creative mecca and artist hub, dating back to at least Native American times, running full speed through colonial days and early statehood, and once again reinventing itself in the modern era and heading into the future. However, with the arts trending as a secondary priority […]
AltFacts: Everybody Gets a Massage!: Cowboy contemplates the agony of da feet
From Russia with Love We already knew that the NRA is slightly stoopid, but this takes the (white flour, American) biscuit. It was recently revealed that a 30-year-old Russian national infiltrated the Nobrain Reprobate Association – among others – in an effort to sway American sentiment in favor of the Kremlin. Complete with heavy Russian […]
Glowrious George
Proprietor of Richmond St Tattoo, Glowrious George, lends a particular feature to the shop. His bodysuit features black light tattoos, which provide an impressive glow in the right setting. “My original tattoo work was all done in pastels and I almost got to a three-quarter bodysuit,” George says about the origins of the black light tattoos. “A unique […]
Snapshot!
The word “visceral” is often overused by critics in describing any work that has an immediate, almost physical impact on the audience, whether via physical events onstage or in the relentless passion of the author’s words. Polaroid Stories, a streetwise stew of classical mythology and urban tales, partly inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses, promises to live […]
Ink in the Office: The evolving cultural acceptance of body mods at work
Anecdotal second-hand reports of tattoos or piercings causing problems for employees or prospective employees are common, but Motif was unable to find any labor lawyer who had been approached on the issue: It simply has not come up, several said. This is not evidence of an absence of incidents, just that hardly anyone has waved […]
2019 Motif Tattoo Award Winners
Tara D’Agostino, Critics choice – Pirate Emma Hamilton, Critics choice – Femme Fatale Pete Fortune, Critics Choice – Character Jen Clinch Guertin, American Traditional Chrystal Santos, Critics choice – Hand of God Q1: What advice would you give an up and coming tattoo artist? A: The advice I would give to an up and […]
Open and Closed
Open CBD Center of RI: A new store selling cannabidiol goods has opened in Johnston at 1239 Hartford Ave. It’s not a typical smoke shop; its mission is to provide products to heal and help patients naturally. cbdcenterofri.com Green Line Apothecary opened their second location last month in PVD. It’s a combination pharmacy and old-time soda […]