Tattoo Flash # 96, July 2009

ARTISTS
6 Gabriel Cece
Harnessing The Chaos
38 George Totten
A Wonderful Life
82 Kyle Cotterman
Opportunity Knocked
EXHIBITS
18 Big, Bold Backs
Living Large
30 Tiki Tats
Culture Shock
50 Phoenix Fables
Fiery Rebirth
DEPARTMENTS
5 Mail Mezzanine
Readers' Wise Words
62 Photo Contest
Rewarding Excellence
66 Flash Gallery
An Ink Idea Book
92 Artists Directory
Finding A Favorite
95 Future Ink
Coming Soon

EDITORIAL NOTE
I've never actually met George Totten. We've talked on the phone. I've sent Markus Cuff to his shop in Santa Barbara to take pictures of his work. His wife, Delia, has been on the cover of Flash a couple of times.
Like many, many tattooers I've come to know over the years, George is a genuinely nice guy dedicated to his art, to his family, and to the tattoo community. He was at the Musink convention in The OC last February. He was one of the judges for the contests, and, as a matter of course, he started taking the collectors whose work he really liked directly to Markus, who had a photo studio set up there. "I was just helping out," he said when I thanked him. He had called to make sure we had everything we needed for his article. "That's what we do," he said. "We help each other."
The more I talk to George, the more I find we have in common. He served his apprenticeship with Gill Montie, an excellent choice. My son has a tattoo, The Taz, for crying out loud. It was done by Gill almost 20 years ago and it still, in spite of the design choice, looks great. Gill was the first tattooer that I interviewed in person at a time when I knew absolutely nothing about tattoos. George was there. I went down to the shop in the dead of night, pretty risky
back then. Fortunately, no shots were fired.
—Frenchie