Iron Raven TattooBOLD & BREATHTAKING

Tattoos with a beautifully bold twist

DAVE KNAPP The man behind

the machine

BEHIND THE SCENESAn inside look at a few of the

Wisconsin and Minnesotatattoo conventions

www.ironraventattoo.com

A tattoo: would you? According to recent research the answer is very possibly, yes. One fifth

of contemporary British adults have at some point been ‘inked’. Once consid-ered the preserve of a variety of subcul-tures – criminals, sailors, prostitutes, bikers – tat-tooing is now mainstream. S a m a n t h a Cameron has one (a discreet dolphin below the ankle), as does the actress Charlize Theron (a fish on her ankle and a flower on her foot). Angelia Jolie has too many to count, dit-to David Beckham (including his wife Victoria’s name misspelt in Hindi).

However, while today’s press get ex-cited about every new indelible etching, this fetish for tattooing among society’s elite is not new. Indeed over a hundred years ago tattooing was a novel pastime among the very wealthy in London’s most fashionable circles: an artistic re-

minder of the nation’s imperial reach. Certainly the tattoo’s modern origins were exotic, if a little painful:

What can be sufficient inducement to suffer so much pain is difficult to say; not one Indian (though I have asked hundreds) would ever give me the least

reason for it.In 1769 the nat-

uralist Sir Joseph Banks, who served as botanist on Cap-tain Cook’s first voyage to the Pacific, became

the first European to speculate as to the motive for tattooing among the native Polynesians he encountered. The answer eluded him, but he con-cluded: … possibly superstition may have something to do with it. Nothing else in my opinion could be a sufficient cause for so apparently absurd a custom. While Banks branded the natives’ intri-cate, inky patterns ‘absurd,’ this bewil-derment did not prohibit his detailed, if squeamish, accounts of how the tat-

“This fetish for tattooing is not new.”

Tattoo After-Care

1A tattoo is an open would - keep it clean!

2Wash tattoo thorough-ly with hot water.

3Use sunscreen and keep it moisturized.

Dave knapp

favorite style Bold lines. Has a pas-sion for black and grey realism. Enjoys working with different shading techniques, and large, intricate pieces. technique tips Don’t just tattoo what-ever your customers demand - tell them it won’t look good there, or that it needs to be smaller, or that it shouldn’t have color. Focus on quality, not quantity.What’s neXt the shop is in the pro-cess of relocating to the Mosinee area and changing their name from Lucky Raven Tattoo to Iron Raven Tattoo Company. Hoping to reach a larger audience.

Where froM Wausau, Wisconsin, grew up in Athens Wisconsin (right outside of Wausau) tattooinG professionally for 10 years.

Inked ... A look at some of Dave Knapp’s work

inkinG outside the boX: MidWest tattooconventionsAn inside look at Green Bay,Madison, and Chicago tattoo conventions

Tattoos are no longer a piece of art that are occa-sionally seen on someone’s body around Rich-mond. Everyone from VCU students to musicians,

teachers to soccer moms, seem to have collected at least one tattoo on their body.

It’s become integrated into our culture and also landed us as the third most tattooed city in the country.

With our community having such a fascination with body art and with more than a handful of tattoo shops in the city alone to choose from, what better place to hold a festival for this unique painting of the flesh than Richmond. Serving as a hub for artists from all across world, Richmond is a prime location for styles from western, eastern, and every culture in between to come together.

The Richmond Tattoo and Arts Festival will make its mark for the 24th year in a row this weekend bringing over 100 local and internationally recognized tattoo artists to-gether to show off their inking skills.

With all the varying styles, from vibrant colors to simple black and white, this year’s convention will provide fans and artists alike with a multitude of different artistic perspec-tives. And while people explore the festival there will be a number of entertainment options to view as well as com-petitions for adults and kids alike. And beyond that, some tattoo artists will teach seminars on acrylic, oil, and spray-based painting.

Jesse Smith, owner and tattoo artist at RVA’s Loose Screw Tattoo and Kenny Brown (Owner/Artist) of Jack Brown’s Tattoo Revival in Fredericksburg head up the event and en-courage young artists who are looking to break into the tat-too industry to come out and meet some rising stars.

“The convention encourages young

artists looking to break in to thetattoo industry ”

Dave Knapp holding his 1st Place award for Best Back Piece in Chicago

Green Bay: Rick’s 14th International Tattoo ConventionAwards won: 4

Ashley Taylor - 2nd Place Native American

Rick’s Tattoo Convention was Knapp’s first convention showing his work. Not only was

he the winner of 4 awards (his first) he also had the privilege to meet Lyle Tuttle, a legend and a teacher in the tattoo community. Though Tuttle retired in 1990, Knapp was the recipient of one of the only tattoos that Tuttle still does, which is a small tattoo of his signature on his ankle.

The convention was a success, teeming with fa-mous guest appearances, well-known tattoo art-ists, and plenty of drinks and entertainment.

Dave brought home 2 first place awards, one 2nd and one 3rd for his work on Ashley Taylor and Ariel Goronja. The shop plans to attend the next convention, hosted in February of 2017.

Knapp with Ariel Goronja - 1st Place Best Back and 3rd Place

Large Black and GreyKnapp receiving his tattoo from

tattoo celebrity Lyle Tuttle

Madison, WIChicago, IL Villain Arts Awards won: 8

Both the Madison and Chicago conventions were both hosted by the same traveling convention - Villain Arts.

The conventions were a huge success for Iron Raven Tattoo (then called Lucky Raven Tattoo) as the conventions were much larger, with a wider variety of competition and some very big names in the tattoo industry to compete against. The Lucky Raven, being a small tattoo shop with one artist resid-ing in the small, rural city of Wausau, WI, had their work cut out for them.

Knapp’s work was a huge success, and made waves amongst the judges, wracking in 8 wins between the two conventions. Ariel Goronja’s phoenix (to the left) in it’s 2nd stage of work, brought home 3 of those 8, bringing her total awards up to 5. Kevin Delaney (bottom right) brought home a 1st Place cov-er-up award, and Tracy Wallander’s chest netted a win for the “traditional” category.

The convention also included a “freak show,” for entertain-ment, complete with human suspension and live music.

Minneapolis,Duluth, MNTattoo YouAwards won: 7

The two conventions in Minnesota were eventful, complete with 7 wins and Nicole Knapp’s first award for her piercings. The Minneapolis convention was the 3rd Villain Arts convention that the shop attend-ed, and the Duluth convention - “Jokes and Pokes” was a smaller, but very prominent event, complete with musicians, bands and comedians for entertainment.

Top left: Nicole Knapp’s shoulderLeft middle: Ariel Goronja’s legRight middle: Ariel Goronja’s ear Bottom left: Jim Down’s chest pieceBottom right: The 3 awards won at the Duluth convention.

Kevin Delaney’s award-winning side pieceTracy Wallender’s chest

piece - Traditional winner Down’s 2nd place chest piece and the 3 awards from the Duluth convention

Pionst vastris in tandi, quam det? Quo ca nosuli sentili-istes hos optebem vis acta, qua no. Cas atredem su igi-lique potem sceruri, consum oca que nin hocultus Mae ignatiam fac rent. Vala noncepo tiliur la pericas damdii in Itatarem ina det nitri cestrunum cae pessil tem, dere, Ti. Ad fatiu se, vides ad alareo molus, se consulinum in-atam tem Patium aucit, conscipse, Patus aperae me tum praecta licit, cone fatiu iliustelabem in satquod inatuam Roma, quis adduceps, senihil icatium aciaectum ubit L. Am sulis, consuni hilicavervid mantus, Catrum se nostis.Fendet; none num adhus, C. Arbit, sescioc for lost es interem inticie ndiisqua consuludes illabef entere fur-num ficis? Opiocup iessim demquam conste consuntin patuam idessa dis cons pesciortanu silica statenatilis intemovente taricatales con Itam senatisque ex maior aus fitabeffrem tala terisquam Patientiu essimpricio unum te mante quam pratiae cerudam autertus, qua dum es inatus; nos eriteristum omnos, niu itiumeis, stere pere ignovid am iam tam fecrum tienatu roravo, qui caestre-nia atquam nonsulestrei inatem ute ad ignons pat opub-licum pris morudes erum, quidet? Icasdam renatidicae opublissent, nortu que fit L. Dio antiam nem et in sedo, nossent enimmortuam nonsus condiis ad fur. Omne

Iron Raven Orbs and Stones

Dave Knapp doesn’t just work his artistic mag-ic in his tattoo shop. He also puts his talents to work creating artwork on stone and metal.

Iron Raven orbs are hand-cut, custom made fire pits, specially designed by Dave. Not only is the orb cre-ated specifically for the customer, Dave also cuts the metal himself and welds the pieces together to create a unique and beautiful addition to any yard, campsite or business. The process generally takes about 35 hours on each orb, and the orbs themselves are enormous. They cost around $3500 at the moment.

Dave also spends his time creating stone oil lamps using a unique technique of his own creation to carve timeless art in to the face of the stone. He then drills holes through the slab and adds wicks and glass candle holders. You can buy a variety of different scented oils to add to the candles, and he makes a different holiday themes for the lamps, so you can enjoy a different one for any season or holiday of the year.

Aside from the orbs and stones, he also uses the same carving technique on bottles and glass sheets to fill with lights and create other beautiful works of art for your home, camper and cabin.

Hand-cut, custom made fire pits to create a lifetime

of memories.

GAUGED

Nicole Knapp is the piercer at Iron Raven. If you are in the market for a piercing,

Nicole’s your gal! She has magic hands that know how to poke, prod and pierce, to give you that unique piercing you’ve always wanted.

A big misconception in the piercing indus-try is that the piercer is responsible when a piercing doesn’t heal, which is just not the case. When a piercing doesn’t heal, it’s usually your body’s way of rejecting the foreign object. It is rarely the fault of the piercer, but be sure to have it professionally looked at and removed.

Nicole’s method of after-care tends to work better than any typical sprays or cleaners, and her after-care system is all-natural! No harsh chemicals entering your freshly opened wound, causing issues with healing. You want to protect your investment, and Nicole will help.

Nicole Knapp’s Piercing Alcove

Rook and conch piercings Triple conch

Surface nape piercings

Chest dermals

Tips for Fast Healing

1 Use a mixture of sea-salt and hot water for to clean your piercing,

and wash hands thoroughly.

2Wash with unscented, no-dye soap & water daily. 2-3/day for

week 1 and 2, and 1-2/day after.

3 Stay away from pools, lakes oceans etc. for at least 3 weeks

to avoid an infection.

4Do not remove jewelry if you suspect an infection! It needs to

remain in to allow drainage.

Cartilage piercings in the shape of a paw