Tattoo Flash # 96, July 2009

<span style="font-weight: bold;">ARTISTS</span><br>
6 Gabriel Cece<br>
Harnessing The Chaos<br>
38 George Totten<br>
A Wonderful Life<br>
82 Kyle Cotterman<br>
Opportunity Knocked<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">EXHIBITS</span><br>
18 Big, Bold Backs<br>
Living Large<br>
30 Tiki Tats<br>
Culture Shock<br>
50 Phoenix Fables<br>
Fiery Rebirth<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">DEPARTMENTS</span><br>
5 Mail Mezzanine<br>
Readers&#39; Wise Words<br>
62 Photo Contest<br>
Rewarding Excellence<br>
66 Flash Gallery<br>
An Ink Idea Book<br>
92 Artists Directory<br>
Finding A Favorite<br>
95 Future Ink<br>
Coming Soon<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">EDITORIAL NOTE</span><br>
I&#39;ve never actually met George Totten. We&#39;ve talked on the phone. I&#39;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.<br>
Like many, many tattooers I&#39;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&#39;s what we do," he said.
"We help each other."<br>
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<br>
back then. Fortunately, no shots were fired.<br>
—Frenchie