Roughly 40 people, some with ink and some without, attended the Studio 14 tattoo seminar on Tuesday, hosted by University Activities Organization.
The presentation, which lasted 45 minutes, was set up in the Union ballroom with tables displaying information about tattoos and piercings. People were able to get involved in the event by playing some of the guessing games at the tables, getting a free consultation and sketch from a Studio 14 artist, and touring the small art gallery set up.
“Our members set up little exhibits which all have different themes,” said Tarra Pease, UAO member. “We tried to make this informational but we don’t want it to be boring or seem like you’re in school.”
UAO reached out to Studio 14 because some members thought that their normal event ideas were getting stale.
“We wanted to branch out to different types of students so that’s when we came up with the tattoo idea,” Pease said.
John Embry, a tattoo artist at Studio 14 for two and a half years, was the main speaker representing the shop. He said Studio 14 wanted to speak to students about three main points involving tattoo culture: history, safety and how to work with an artist when coming up with a custom tattoo.
“We’re constantly trying to educate people in the shop but we can only get to one person at a time,” Embry said, “It gives us the opportunity with each person that comes here to hopefully pass on the useful information they hear.”
Many students who attended the event wanted to support Studio 14 because of their reputation in the community.
“I want tattoos and my family went to Studio 14 and they said they were really good,” said freshman Lucretia Tittle.
Studio 14 follows all Ohio health codes with artists that go through blood borne pathogen training, Embry said. They also do all custom work.
Senior Layne Higginpothom wanted to come to the seminar not only because of her interest in tattoos and piercings, but because she is a fan of Studio 14. Even as someone with two tattoos and nine piercings, there was still some things presented for Higginpothom to learn.
“The stuff about clean shops, reputable shops and aftercare, I already knew,” she said. “But the history of tattoo was pretty cool.”
Embry ended the seminar with advice on how to properly tip tattoo artists.
“We also cover a lot of little questions that people ask about in the shops, like ‘how do you guys get paid?’” he said.
He said that a tip should reflect how much you enjoyed the tattoo experience and sometimes a small tip is more offensive than none at all.
