Keeping Oregon Weird One Tattoo at a Time
By Bob Baxter and Mary Gardner
Schiffer Publishing, $80.00, 320 pages
Oregonians pride themselves in being everything weird. Not weird in the sense of ostracizing oneself or a community, but as a way of making a statement that being unique and defining one’s path is how a community supports and protects one another. With society in general becoming more accepting of this same mentality, 1 in 5 adults now sport a tattoo and the number of tattoos rise every year. Oregon in home to a considerable amount of tattoo studios supported by very talented artists. Tattoo Road Trip: The Best of Oregon is a whopper of a book featuring tattoo artists and their work from hand selected studios from all over Oregon, including the smaller communities, like Yachats. Each page is a glossy full color spread with each studio featuring one artist that participated in the author’s top ten questions, giving readers an inside glimpse into the life of an artist and what drives them.
“Never close your mind. There is always something new to learn.”
The photography could have been higher quality, especially when the focus is on body art and the book being a photography based book. However, it doesn’t devalue the tattoos represented, nor the skilled hands behind them. This is definitely a book to keep lying on the coffee table or at the office, as makes a rad conversation piece.
Reviewed by Kim Heimbuch
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