Polishing the Black Stone: Scott Boyer

Earlier this week I was asked to appear on a podcast. I declined. Luckily for us, Scott of Yellow Beak Press isn’t as curmudgeonly as me; he sat down with artist Nick Filth for an episode of Polishing the Black Stone. You can listen to the episode (or check out previous casts) here: http://www.nickfilthtattoos.com/polishingtheblackstone/

Scott Boyer is one of Nick’s closest friends despite the distance between them. Nick had recently taken a trip to Colorado Springs to visit Scott with the intentions of doing Sensory Deprivation. It was Nick’s first time, and they immediately recorded the podcast after. The hour an a half podcast is the result.

 

The World’s Greatest Tattoo Fan

“In all societies, the man or woman who is not decorated in some way – changed from their natural state – is, in a sense, decoratively inarticulate…body decoration is a type of language or code, which is spoken through hairstyles, mutilations (pierced ears), tattooing or painting (makeup). In the West, because of our obsession with clothing for almost all parts of the body…we have restricted the amount of skin available to be used as a cosmetic language. Most of us have forgotten that perhaps the first works of art dedicated to the combination of form and color were carried out on the skin.” – Mary Jane Haake

Another VHS tape sent in for archival by the fine folks at Yellow Beak Press, The World’s Greatest Tattoo Fan is a 1989 documentary on legendary tattoo fan Elizabeth Weinzirl. I’d write something up about Elizabeth and her friendship with Bert Grimm and her connection to the tattoo world, but that’s all covered in the documentary. Instead, I’ll encourage you to read the Wiki page on director/tattoo artist Mary Jane Haake to find out more about a very under documented tattoo culture personality.

 

 

 

 

 

Tattoo Totem: Sailor Vern

In 2015 Scott and Kayla of Colorado’s Yellow Beak Press released a comprehensive book on the life, times and art of Sailor Vern Ingemarsen (which can be found here: Yellow Beak Press) and they’ve just recently loaned me a copy of an obscure tattoo film called ‘TATTOO TOTEM’ that belonged to Calamity Jane. I’m in the process of capturing, editing and preserving the contents the whole video, but this first clip was too good to wait for the finished archival so we decided to let the cat out of the bag a little early.

The VHS- which was provided to Yellow Beak by Aaron LeGore- has some audio and tracking issues which I’ve done my best to fix. All things considered, given it’s age, it’s held up fairly well and is a great chance to put a voice to Sailor Vern.

If you haven’t had a chance to check out Sailor Vern by Yellow Beak Press.. treat yourself. Like all of the YBP books it’s made by and for the tattoo community and their dedication to collecting stories from it’s golden age.

 

Lost Love 2 is coming!

Our friends at Yellow Beak just rolled out the pre-order for their latest volume in the Lost Love series- 232 pages of vintage tattoo flash and never before seen photos. Scott and Kayla are adding special goodies to the first 200 pre-orders (a photo print of Cap Coleman, a flash print, and a Lost Love themed enamel pin designed by @timbecktattoos) so get in early and secure what’s sure to be one of the best tattoo books of the year!

**Pre-Order** Lost Love Volume 2

 

Sailor Vern Pre-Order @ Yellow Beak Press

Pre-orders have gone live over at Yellow Beak Press for their latest offering- SAILOR VERN.

From their website:

An upcoming biography: Sailor Vern Ingemarson, a tattooer for 30+ years, was a disciple of Cap Coleman. In the 1940s, he started his career working alongside Coleman and Paul Rogers in Norfolk, VA and later worked with Duke Kaufman in San Francisco. This book contains never before seen flash, acetates, photographs, and line drawings from Sailor Vern, Duke Kaufman, Cap Coleman, Paul Rogers, Percy Waters, and many more.

• 258 Full Color Pages
• 9×12 Heavy Hardcover Format

Yellow Beak consistently puts out the best tattoo history books on the shelves, so jump in early and get yours secured!

http://www.yellowbeakpress.com/collections/books/products/sailor-vern-book-pre-order

Blueprints!

It’s always a good day when I get information on a new Yellow Beak Press project in the mail.

In 2015, Yellow Beak Press will be releasing their upcoming biography Sailor Vern. Leading up to the release of the Sailor Vern book, Yellow Beak Press will be selling limited prints of selected Percy Waters blueprint sheets from Sailor Vern’s personal collection. They will be 18×24 offset printed posters on 80lb gloss paper. Every one of these sheets carry with it classic imagery from one of the greats, presented in Waters’ unique printing method. We will be releasing each sheet individually over the course of the next few months and will reveal more detailed descriptions of each as they are listed. The first in the series will be released this week! Available now in the Yellow Beak Press store. Aaron LeGore will be selling them as well on ebay and through his shop, Calamity Jane Tattoo (970)424-5065.

Stay tuned for more details about the Sailor Vern book and follow us on instagram @yellowbeakpress or check our blog for more updates!  

The photos I’ve seen from the book are amazing; when the pre-order comes out I’ll get the information up.