Iowa Tattoo And Body Piercing
News And Articles...

Des Moines, Iowa
09/01/07

UNI exhibit focuses on body art.

If you still don't have a tattoo, you're close to being in the minority. An anthropologist at the University of Northern Iowa says a new survey finds four in every ten Americans have some sort of body art. UNI's Kim Taylor, collections manager of the University Museum, says tattoos, piercings and other bodily adornments continue to grow in popularity.

Several decades ago, about the only people in the U.S. with tattoos were veterans, but in the 80s and 90s, Taylor says that started to change. Now, she says body art is much more widely accepted -- and enjoyed.

The exhibit called "Body Art: Adornment Across Cultures" opens September 10th, focusing on tattooing, piercing, scarification, body painting and hair styling.

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Courtesy of: radioiowa.com

Raymond E. Parrish, 42, of 1018 E. Market St., Iowa City, pleaded guilty in July to assault with intent to commit sexual abuse. As part of the plea agreement, he is to serve 180 days in the Johnson County Jail with no possibility of early release for good behavior.

He's also required to register as a sex offender for 10 years, and is subject to a special 10-year probation after his jail sentence is served.

Parrish, a former owner of Nemesis Tattoo and Body Piercing, 110 S. Linn St., took two women he had met at a downtown Iowa City bar to the shop to continue drinking alcohol in the early morning of Nov. 1. When one woman passed out, Parrish made an advance at the other woman, who told him to stop. Instead, Parrish cut the crotch area out of the woman's leotard and raped her.

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Courtesy of: gazetteonline.com

Muscatine, Iowa
05/29/07

Creating art on skin: Artist opens new tattoo parlor and hopes to bring more detail to skin art locally.

Scott Campbell said he’s been creating tattoos for 17 years. He has a little bit of art displayed at the new tattoo parlor, Abstrax Tattoo, 216 Green St., suite 3, to prove that although his shop opened on March 22, he has some previous experience.

Campbell said that he has completed several tattoos already at his new shop and that customers have told him the work is better than they ever imagined it could be.

There is a $65 minimum charge at Abstrax Tattoo. Small pieces are done by a set price and larger pieces are priced by the hour. Campbell said he’ll beat any Muscatine artists’ hourly price and plans to keep the rate below $100 per hour for large tattoos.

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Courtesy of: muscatinejournal.com

Muscatine, Iowa
12/31/06

Muscatine Journal Person Of The Year:
Readers' Pick - Tattoo Artist Stacy Shoppa.

Muscatine tattoo artist Stacy Shoppa is known among her friends and clients as Tattoo Mamma. She wears a sleeve of tattoos on her right arm; on her left arm is a finely detailed portrait of her grandmother.

Shoppa, an award-winning tattoo artist and successful small business person, also is supportive of charitable groups. An avid animal lover, she donates to the Muscatine County Humane Society. She also supports the American Cancer Society, after having lost her mother to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Since opening her business, she has won more than 100 awards in professional contests across the country. Shoppa is also close with some pretty big players in the tattoo industry, such as Kat Von D of the Discovery Channel’s hit show “Miami Ink,” and Lyle Tuttle, whose customers includes actor Marlon Brando and Peter Fonda, among others.

Although she says she’s had offers to work at high-profile tattoo parlors in Chicago and California, Shoppa insists she and her husband, Lloyd, aren’t moving anywhere — except “maybe we’ll become snowbirds” during the winters.

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Courtesy of: muscatinejournal.com

Muscatine tattoo artist meets fame in the flesh.

It’s not every day that Muscatine tattoo artist Stacy Shoppa rubs elbows with her favorite colleague and television personality.

But this month, she and Kat Von D, a star of The Learning Channel television show “Miami Ink,” were invited to set up their booths at the Alamo City Tattoo Show in San Antonio, Texas, July 7-9.

Shoppa, 38, said tattoo collectors come to conventions such as the Alamo City Tattoo Show to seek out the best artists.

Anthony Montemayor of San Antonio said his show, now in its second year, included more than 200 artists from the United States and around the world. Tattoo artists are included in his show based on their reputation for creating “solid, clean tattoos,” said Montemayor, whose exposition attracted some of the tattoo world’s best-known names.

“Everybody at my show has to be top notch,” said Montemayor. “They are among the biggest names in the industry and their legacy will stay around forever.”

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Courtesy of: muscatinejournal.com

Davenport, Iowa
03/20/06

Inking local bodies a perfect fit for Q-C tattoo artist.

Reggelsen, a tattoo artist at Everlasting Arts Tattoo Studio in Davenport, has been drawing tattoos for about five years.

Reggelsen learned how to be a tattoo artist after doing an apprenticeship at All Pro Custom Tattooing, a Davenport-based tattoo studio that has since closed.

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Courtesy of: QCTimes.com

Current And Pending Iowa Laws...

Iowa's new tattoo rules.

-- Tattooing may not be practiced in a residence unless it is completely separated from the living quarters by a solid permanent partition. A direct outside entrance must be provided.

-- No tattooing establishment may operate legally without an Iowa Department of Public Health permit.

-- Tattoo artists must be at least 18 and must submit documentation proving their age.

-- New tattoo artists must have a high school diploma or general educational development certificate, or GED. Artists who obtained a permit before Jan. 1 are exempt.

-- Tattoo artists who are applying for a permit or renewing an existing one must complete and be current in blood-borne pathogen and first aid certification through the American Red Cross.

-- Annual fees increased as follows: Tattoo parlor licensing fee, from $25 to $100; inspection fee, from $200 to $250; tattoo artist fee, from $40 to $75; out-of-state artist performing tattooing services at events such as the Iowa State Fair , from $25 to $50.

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Courtesy of: siouxcityjournal.com

Want ink? ID now a must.

Under new rules that went into effect Friday, tattoo parlors and artists must keep records for at least three years of every client they tattoo.

It's been more than 20 years since the Iowa Department of Public Health last updated the rules governing tattooing. Up until now, tattoo establishments didn't need to keep client records. Now, they're required to record every client's name, birth date, photocopy of his or her driver's license or birth certificate, date of the procedure, artist's name and client's signature.

Eva Nieto, owner of Maya Tattoo in Sioux City, said she's been keeping records for five years for tax purposes and believes documenting client information should be a normal business practice.

Jeremy Boddy, a tattoo artist at 712 Tattoo in Sioux City, said he completely agrees with the new rule because it prevents minors from claiming they were never carded. His business recently started copying clients' driver's licenses,

"It's always been mandatory for me," said Josh Bush of YoYo Dyne in Sioux City. "It's basically a waiver, and I don't have a problem with it."

But as new rules for tattooing take effect, body piercing remains unregulated on the state level.

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Courtesy of: siouxcityjournal.com

City relegating future adult businesses away from schools, homes.

The Mt. Pleasant City Council will not ban adult entertainment industries from entering the city limits. Instead of banning the shops (of which Mt. Pleasant currently has none), the city council has laid down strict zoning restrictions on them - and tattoo parlors as well.

The new city ordinance, which was recently passed by the council and became lawful when it ran in the MP News yesterday, makes it so that all adult entertainment businesses and tattoo parlors will only be permitted in M-1, limited industrial zoning districts. The main reason for the zoning ordinance, according to Brent Schleisman, city administrator, is to keep future adult and tattoo businesses from moving into downtown or residential areas.

Currently there are two tattoo parlors downtown, Big Dog Tattoos and Pure Imagination. The latter has recently moved from the east side of the square to a place one block north, by Radio Shack.

The ordinance will not make these businesses move, as they are grandfathered in - having already located to their current places of business before the ordinance came into effect.

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Courtesy of: zwire.com

Cedar Rapids, Iowa
03/16/07

No Age Requirement for Piercings in Iowa.

Iowa law says you have to be at least 18 to get a tattoo. But piercings? There is no age requirement.

It's up to individual piercing establishments to come up with their own rules on body modifications.

The Neon Dragon in Hiawatha has a strict policy regarding work on minors-- you have to be at least 18 to get any body modification. No exceptions.

The Iowa Legislature is considering a bill that would require parental consent or ban all minors from getting piercings, but the bill is far from becoming law.

The bill would also require piercing establishments to be licensed, just like tattoo businesses.

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Courtesy of: kcrg.com

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