Tiki Tattoos

After much thought and consideration of size, design, etc., I took the plunge and got my Tiki tattoo. You can see it at http://www.tikibot.com.

The artist did a fantastic job and I'm absolutely thrilled with it. It's about 7-1/2 inches tall. I'm looking forward to adding more over the years (if I can wait that long).

In my early web search for examples of tiki tats, I found only one. I'm suprised they don't seem to be very common (which is cool, actually). Does anybody else out there have one? Care to share?

Tikibot

Tiki-Bot, that TAT is way cool, so much detail. Is it your original art or a priceless find? In Dec. 2001 I got a Shag Tattoo on my upper left arm, a copy of
ooguh-booguh with the color changed around. Believe what they say about INK-FEVER. All I can think about is where to put the next one! I think I will wait for winter again to help keep it covered until healed. When they ask if it is real tell them it is a sticker with hair on it. Fight the fever and make it annual. I don't think any body has takin a picture of mine yet so nothing to so you, someday

That is absolutely beautiful! You'll be back for more soon, it's true. Keep that tattooist's number nearby. You've found a good one there.

I'll try to post my tiki tat. Can you tell me the code to paste a photo on this message board?

Kentiki

Tiki-bot

The ink job is really cool. I've got a small tiki on my leg and a larger polynesian tiki combination on my left arm from the top of my shoulder to my elbow.

Yeah, ink fever will hit you soon if it hasn't already. You soon will be sitting in the chair again with a big smile on your face.

Aloha!

Tiki-Bot:

Is that tat from the guy just off fourth street in SR, down by Heatherton? I've heard he's real good, and I like some of the pieces he did for that bar up by Yard Birds.

Looks great.

-martin

Hey Baxdog, I saw your tat walk by me few times at the Tiki Oasis weekend. Nice.

Martiki - yeah, it's done by Theo, the co-owner at Spider Murphy's there on Tamalpais Ave. He had a neat 50s-style tin robot in his book that I loved, so I'm thinking something along those lines will be my next one. Theo's definitely doing any and all tats I get in the future. He's super-talented and a really nice guy, too.

Tiki-bot

So that's Spider Murphy's, in San Rafael? I'm down in the South Bay, so I'm not familiar with the place, but I'm loooking to get another tattoo and I would consider going there based on that alone. The other place that I am thinking of going is a small shop, Homeward Bound, in Redwood City... Craig at that shop did a tattoo on Sfgreaser (occasional poster here) that is absolutely phenomenal.

Oh, and by the way, my one existing tattoo is a 50's sci-fi rocket ship. Took me a long time to find someone who could do that decently... so your mention of the guy doing a tin robot piqued my interest.

[ Edited by: mig on 2002-07-15 19:20 ]

Hi Mig
I think it would be worth the trip to see Theo. He's booked a couple months in advance, just so you know. The other shop that came highly recommended (by Dick at the Oasis weekend) is Goldfield's on Broadway in SF. Dick had some fantastic hula girls he had done there.

Theo had a couple of "space girls" in his book that were very nice. They were in old sci-fi pulp mag cover poses with skin-tight suits, ray guns and bubble helmets. Also had an emblem like old west six-shooters pointed to 10 and 2 o'clock, but they were 50s tin-toy ray guns.

If you want a good reference of 50s sci-fi toys, get the book "Blast-off" (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1569715769/qid=1026842423/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-3796719-4387364)

Happy tattooing!

Tiki-bot

Ah yes, Goldfield's... that happens to be where I had my (currently only) tattoo done! I had it done by Sunny Buick... she's very into this type of stuff. (And she's at http://www.sunnybuick.com).

whee!

tiki-bot said..

In my early web search for examples of tiki tats, I found only one

..if tiki is the popular culture taking the designs of the pacific and adapting it for a western culture then isn't all black tribal tattoos tiki?

atomictonytiki wrote:

..if tiki is the popular culture taking the designs of the pacific and adapting it for a western culture then isn't all black tribal tattoos tiki?

In this case, what I meant by "tiki" was actual tiki statue-type images. I don't really count the ubiquitous tribal designs that are such a fad these days as "tiki" (in the poly-pop, kitch-culture sense of the word).

Tiki-bot

I just did another searh and came up with a couple new ones, one oddly enough on the tiki-news site:

http://www.tikinews.com/prologue/color/12.html

http://www.skindeeptattoo.com/josh2.html

This was the first one I found:

http://www.skindeeptattoo.com/spike5.html

Tiki-bot

Nope I disagree I would consider tribal tats a gateway to tiki proper some of the first tiki's I saw were in tattoo parlours. I'm cosidering a tiki/tribal sleeve at the moment posibly with hibiscus flowers as well. But anyway for tiki flash go to ..
http://www.mitchoconnell.com/webtatfile/index.htm

.. and see an entire sheet of tiki designs.

My tattoo artist has done a few tiki tattoos. here's a pic of a hula girl holding a tiki bowl from The Mai Kai. I took this from The Book Of Tiki. It's a pretty bad pic though, I gotta get a better one, it's just on a hard place to photograph. It's on my richt calf from right under my knee to my ankle on the outside of my leg.
http://www.vintagetattooartparlor.com/babapix36.html

here are a couple of other ones he's done:
http://www.vintagetattooartparlor.com/babapix30.html

http://www.vintagetattooartparlor.com/babapix67.html

oops messed up the first link on his other two oh well good stuff though. On the girl on my leg we left her toes off cause I plan to put another Mai Kai girl on the other side of my leg and a tiki in front and one in back then put something like palm leafs or something like that around the bottom and flames comming up the back to fill in the background. It looks allot better in real life. The pic makes her leg look weird.

Nice stuff there Sam. Would love to see your artwork when it's completed. How long do you expect that to take? I never had a desire to have tattoo sleeves (pants-legs?), I like the "one-pointers". They really seem to stand out more.

People's reactions to my new tat have been really interesting. I like when people who wouldn't otherwise notice me come right up and talk to me about it - and not just other tattooed people. Strangely enough I've had quite a few "older" ladies tell me they really dig it! Funny.

Tiki-bot

I'm not sure how long it will take. I get all muy work done for free so I'm kind of at Baba's disposal, whenever I have something regular anyone in the shop can do it but when I have something really cool I want to do Baba will want to do it himself so I have to wait until he has free time. It will take awhile but I still need more work on my arms to so you know whatevah, whatevah

Ok, so I'm a little late posting this. Some of your saw my tat at Hukilau 2002. I'm very proud of this piece. It's the only one I have just yet.

Yee-Haw & Aloha,
Tiki Kiliki
http://www.tikikiliki.com

Country Fried Hot Rod

[ Edited by: tiki_kiliki on 2002-08-12 13:04 ]

[ Edited by: tiki_kiliki on 2002-08-12 13:05 ]

[ Edited by: tiki_kiliki on 2002-08-12 13:06 ]

[ Edited by: tiki_kiliki on 2002-08-12 13:06 ]

If I can figure out how to post some pix on here I'll show yall my sleeve 13 tiki's to
be exact I must be really screwed up.....

how do I post pix on here????

Bambooh

I´ll get my leg tattooed with some tikistuff pretty soon...
It´s gonna be a tikibar, partypeople, hulagirls and so on.
is there anyone out there with some cool ink??

A popular subject for those who are horrified by the sight of blank skin and have lots of cash.Tiki Central is equipped with a fancy pants high falutin' built in SEARCH feature. To quote from the thread below (Which I found with my own bare, unadorned hands and the SEARCH):

"...just use the "search" button on the top right side of this page and enter "tattoo" and watch the results fly. " -tikibot-

Da Tattoo Thread! Da Tattoo Thread!

I tried the search before i posted, but most of it was pretty old, that´s why i decided to post a new one

On 2005-09-08 12:14, woofmutt wrote:
A popular subject for those who are horrified by the sight of blank skin and have lots of cash.Tiki Central is equipped with a fancy pants high falutin' built in SEARCH feature. To quote from the thread below (Which I found with my own bare, unadorned hands and the SEARCH):

"...just use the "search" button on the top right side of this page and enter "tattoo" and watch the results fly. " -tikibot-

Da Tattoo Thread! Da Tattoo Thread!

wow the guy has 16 posts listed... dont you think you could have replied in a much nicer way?

I have three tiki tattoos, and when I get my digital camera fixed I'll get around to posting them. My wife has one as well. I'm planning on expanding one of them to show three Tiki idols instead of one. There you go. Beware: Very addicting.

ah... this was the kind of discussion i wanted
:)

Hope you can post your ink then.
And yes... tattoos ARE addicting, right now i got one fullsleeve and my whole chest tattooed. to be continued

On 2005-09-08 14:04, ted tiki wrote:
I have three tiki tattoos, and when I get my digital camera fixed I'll get around to posting them. My wife has one as well. I'm planning on expanding one of them to show three Tiki idols instead of one. There you go. Beware: Very addicting.

Yeah, you said that the previous tattoo thread was old. Yeah and then you add to it and bring it back. that makes it fresh again and when you ask if there is more, then we tell you to do a search. And now we are here

:drink:

[ Edited by: teaKEY 2005-09-08 16:24 ]

On 2005-09-08 16:24, teaKEY wrote:
Yeah, you said that the previous tattoo thread was old. Yeah and then you add to it and bring it back. that makes it fresh again and when you ask if there is more, then we tell you to do a search. And now we are here

:drink:

[ Edited by: teaKEY 2005-09-08 16:24 ]

... sometimes the best tattoo is done at home... fun, too..

... get a no-blot pencil from the art store (actually go into an art store rather than shop online, this way you have fun dealing with the employees of an art store when you ask for a no-blot), along with some vellum or tracing paper... with a #2 dixon ticonderoga (or similar), draw your design on one side of the vellum... on the other, trace with a no-blot pencil... rub some clear speed stick on your skin and lay the art "no-blot" side down & rub... peel up and viola, you have your design... wrap thread around a needle and dip this in india ink... poke sharply and firmly along the outlines... be patient... in no time you'll have a great tatoo... drink beer...

[ Edited by: alohabros 2005-09-08 16:53 ]

[ Edited by: alohabros 2005-09-08 16:54 ]

sorry... didn´t mean to harm anyone ok?

On 2005-09-08 16:24, teaKEY wrote:
Yeah, you said that the previous tattoo thread was old. Yeah and then you add to it and bring it back. that makes it fresh again and when you ask if there is more, then we tell you to do a search. And now we are here

:drink:

[ Edited by: teaKEY 2005-09-08 16:24 ]

"wow the guy has 16 posts listed... dont you think you could have replied in a much nicer way?" -rustbeltcat-

I thought about doing it much nicer, but then I realized that wouldn't jive with my whole mean and dirty image.

I probably shoulda mentioned the search feature. I probably shoulda included a link to a previous thread addressing his question, perhaps with a pithy little quote from that thread explaining the magic of the search feature. I probably shoulda tried to do it with a bit of humor. But I must be incapable of offering assistance or pulling of "the funny". Clearly I am part of the problem, not the solution. I feel just awful. And I'd apologize but my keyboard is awash in my tears of shame, failure, and bitterness for being the heartless beast I am and knowing I am incapable of change.

Turbosickboy don't forget you're in America now! :wink:

What started as a simple mistake by a new member has now just turned into a waste of space discussion.
Giving him ahard time is unneccesary, Bongs shoes don't need filling, unless it's by him :)

[ Edited by: cheekytiki 2005-09-09 02:50 ]

On 2005-09-08 16:50, alohabros wrote:

On 2005-09-08 16:24, teaKEY wrote:
Yeah, you said that the previous tattoo thread was old. Yeah and then you add to it and bring it back. that makes it fresh again and when you ask if there is more, then we tell you to do a search. And now we are here

:drink:

[ Edited by: teaKEY 2005-09-08 16:24 ]

... sometimes the best tattoo is done at home... fun, too..

... get a no-blot pencil from the art store (actually go into an art store rather than shop online, this way you have fun dealing with the employees of an art store when you ask for a no-blot), along with some vellum or tracing paper... with a #2 dixon ticonderoga (or similar), draw your design on one side of the vellum... on the other, trace with a no-blot pencil... rub some clear speed stick on your skin and lay the art "no-blot" side down & rub... peel up and viola, you have your design... wrap thread around a needle and dip this in india ink... poke sharply and firmly along the outlines... be patient... in no time you'll have a great tatoo... drink beer...

You can also do it with "real thin bamboo shoots" the ol' fasion way. Hurts like hell!!! but it's the real deal. Try 20 at once for the Tribal look.

@revBambooBen - Any pictures? ;)

... to further embelish the "tribal" look, try several swipes with a single edge razor blade... as the wound begins healing and scabs up, peel the scab away, and go in the sun... this will allow for a permanent flesh "brand"... lit cigarettes will also work for embellishing the overall tribal appearance... and, once again, this can all be done at home... drink beer...

I found this site with some info, not too much though:

Marquesas

and this one too: Tattoo Traditions

http://www.tikihappy.net

[ Edited by: Jawa 2005-09-09 12:37 ]

I merged turbosickboy's topic with one of the original Tiki Tattoo topics. :) Please note that there's many more.

[ Edited by: hanford_lemoore 2005-09-09 16:15 ]

Tattoo Sleeves
With this incredible invention, you can get a fierce tattoo as quick and easy as putting on a shirt.

tattoos for chickens

here's the Tribal Tattoo (not my arm)

i suppose you could save the money and just mark up a pair of pantyhose and slip them over your arms..but this is pretty cool!

I have been asked by a British Tattoo Mag to help put together an article on Tiki,if anyone has any cool Tiki Tattoos, Traditional Polynesian or modern, and would like them to maybe be shown send me some pics.
[email protected]

Kon Hemsby you are already on my list

Turbosickboy maybe you should check Drew Horner from Living Art Tattoo, he's in Floragattan 6B in Lidkoping tel. 0510 68050.
He is a Californian living and working in Sweden.
I bought a Tiki T-shirt from him last year at a tattoo convention in my home town Rotterdam.

[ Edited by: Tiki Rotterdam 2005-10-03 06:24 ]

Yeah, Drew is a nice guy and a great artist.
Is the Rotterdam convention good?? i´ve never been there, but it would be fun to go. Really like tattoo conventions...

On 2005-10-03 06:23, Tiki Rotterdam wrote:
Turbosickboy maybe you should check Drew Horner from Living Art Tattoo, he's in Floragattan 6B in Lidkoping tel. 0510 68050.
He is a Californian living and working in Sweden.
I bought a Tiki T-shirt from him last year at a tattoo convention in my home town Rotterdam.

---

[ Edited by: Tiki Rotterdam 2005-10-03 06:24 ]

There's a big tattoo show at the Truman Gallery in East London this weekend. London Tattoo

I know, and i´m really sad i miss it. it´s gonna be the big thing in the tattooworld, everyone talks about it. are you going??

On 2005-10-05 11:16, Kon-Hemsby wrote:
There's a big tattoo show at the Truman Gallery in East London this weekend. London Tattoo

Oh yeah. My wahine and I will be there.

And taking a couple of tattoo virgins too!

Damn i´m jealous :)
hope you´ll have a good time. what kind of tattoos are you gonna get? who´ll do them?

On 2005-10-06 10:30, Kon-Hemsby wrote:
Oh yeah. My wahine and I will be there.

And taking a couple of tattoo virgins too!

Already got mine (see below), but maybe soon a couple of large Sailor Jerry style Hawaiian women?

My wahine has a couple of tattoos, the largest being a Japanese Koi that covers most of her back.

How was the convention?? Did you get any tattoos??

On 2005-10-07 04:56, Kon-Hemsby wrote:
Already got mine (see below), but maybe soon a couple of large Sailor Jerry style Hawaiian women?

My wahine has a couple of tattoos, the largest being a Japanese Koi that covers most of her back.

Great convention. Very busy. Loads of great artists.
Should be even better next year hopefully.
No new tattoo's but got some great inspiration for when I do.

Try and get there next year.

Just heard from my boss it was probably the biggest convention in the world... really sad i missed it. Next year i´ll be there!

On 2005-10-11 04:06, Kon-Hemsby wrote:
Great convention. Very busy. Loads of great artists.
Should be even better next year hopefully.
No new tattoo's but got some great inspiration for when I do.

Try and get there next year.