Tattoo Machine Tall Tales, True Stories, and My Life in Ink

As the proprietor of the legendary Sea Tramp Tattoo Company in Portland, Oregon, Jeff Johnson has inked gangbangers, age-defying moms, and sociopaths; he's defused brawls and tended delicate egos. In Tattoo Machine, Johnson illuminates a world where art, drama, and commerce come together in highly entertaining theater, a place where committed and schooled artists who paint on living canvases develop close bonds and bitter rivalries, where tattoo legends and innovators are equally revered, and where the potential for disaster lurks in every corner.

"Meticulously observed, savagely funny, and deeply compassionate...Johnson is a sharp-eyed master tattoo artist and an extraordinary writer."---Katherine Dunn, author of Geek Love

"An amazing firsthand account of all the things you wondered about tattoo shops. I loved it."---Gus Van Sant