Hello. I know this is a bit of an odd request, but I’m looking for a Jewish/Hebrew-speaking tattoo artist in the Southern California (LA/OC) area. I’ve made similar inquiries elsewhere to no avail.
I wish I didn’t need to explain why I’m making this request, but since I’ve gotten flamed so badly on other boards, I will:
(1) I want to get my son’s name tattooed in Hebrew script. I have a sketch of the art, and any competent artist could do a good job with it. But I would prefer an artist who saw the letters AS LETTERS — and not as shapes to be copied. Hence, the request for a Hebrew-speaker.
(2) There’s a lot of lore and different interpretations of whether Scripture prevents Jews from getting tattoos. As more of a cultural than religious Jew, this isn’t a big concern to me. (I’m not supposed to eat pork, either, but there’s just no way I’m giving up bacon.)
(3) Tattoos played a nasty role during the Holocaust. That is, I think, the real reason why Jews are generally weary of tattoos. And it’s a big reason why I’d prefer to be tattooed by another Jew.
If you don’t understand this, that’s fine. But please be respectful.
If you know an artist who might fit the description above, please let me know. Thanks.
Hi Grommet
I fully understand where you are coming from being an inked jew myself it can be difficult for others in the community to understand.
I wrote a piece on it on my blog actually that may help with the Torah arguments – whilst I respect the Talmud it is philosophy of jewish law not a direct commandment from G-d so I guess I am a bit of a rebel there. :p
As for a jewish artist –
I can understand you wanting a hebrew speaker there are 2 things that you should consider;
Can the artist speaking hebrew, speak it well or just enough for a bar mitzvah?
Are they a good artist even though they speak hebrew?
I say this because even if the artist cannot read or speak hebrew as long as they have a correct form of the characters they can replicate this in a very artful way.
An example is my current artist has no knowledge of the Edo period but has designed me a backpiece inspired from this period with no problem.
I had a look through my resources but many artists simply do not disclose their religion however by word of mouth I know of a jewish artist in Woodlands CA
http://www.thinkinktattoos.com/noah01.html (Noah Baxter)
If you want a great artist in LA (and don’t mind he is a gentile) I would recommend this studio
Zombie Tattoo (310) 854-0818
I had my Lion Of Judah done by him when touring tattoo studios across the States.
Take Care
Matthew
to be honest as long as your son name is 100% right before you take it to your artist it doesnt matter that he/she can not read it . ( in my opinion )
your time would be better spent looking for a artist that is really neat !
My artist couldn’t read arabic but my son’s name came out beautiful ( check my album)
I had a look through my resources but many artists simply do not disclose their religion however by word of mouth I know of a jewish artist in Woodlands CA
http://www.thinkinktattoos.com/noah01.html (Noah Baxter)
Thank you so much for that recommendation. I will reach out to Noah.
I also appreciate your other thoughts and feedback.
your time would be better spent looking for a artist that is really neat !
My artist couldn’t read arabic but my son’s name came out beautiful ( check my album)
Thanks for your thoughts. That Arabic tattoo did come out beautifully. If it were just about being able to read/understand Hebrew, I would be more flexible. But I would prefer, for some of the other reasons I mentioned, a Jewish artist. (And, yes, most American Jews — myself included — CANNOT proficiently read/understand Hebrew….)
Thanks again.
So,I got inked yesterday. My first tattoo. I had a very positive experience and wanted to share the story here because it bears on my post.
I had written last week asking if someone could recommend a Jewish tattoo artist in the LA or OC area. Despite some nice responses, I basically struck out and became resigned to just finding the best local artist I could, irrespective of religion. That was disappointing to me, since I had thought long and hard about this and strongly preferred a Jewish artist. But, after many months of searching, it became clear that I was after a unicorn and that it was time for Plan B.
Between Yelp and some word-of-mouth recommendations, I settled on Outer Limits Tattoo (Orange location), a shop not far from my house. Jenn Davis came exceptionally highly recommended with statements like “If you let anyone else put ink in your body besides Jen … and you live within any reasonable distance of Orange, CA, you are a freaking idiot.” So, I headed down to talk to Jenn. The shop looks like any other strip-mall tattoo shop, but seemed cleaner and less seedy. This statement probably comes from ignorance and stereotypes, but I expected the shop and its folks to me more gruff and tough. Nope. Sweet and helpful as could be.
Sparing the backstory, I showed her the art I had of my son’s name in Hebrew cursive. She responded, “Wow, that’s really beautiful. I would love to do this for you. But, although I’m Jewish, I can’t really read Hebrew. I would recommend one of our other artists, L. She’s Jewish and can read better than I can.”
Umm…yeah….imagine my surprise to hear this. I search for a while, post in multiple forums, basically give up on finding someone Jewish, settle on a place down the street, and, BAM!, end up with a choice between two fantastic artists, both Jewish, one partially Hebrew-literate. Without any hesitation, I booked an appointment with L.
L was a pleasure to work with. More than anything, working with her affirmed that I was not crazy to want someone who had basic Hebrew literacy. We rapped about it being a couple hours before Yom Kippur, noting the irony. And she said that she really enjoyed doing Hebrew on Jews — that it felt special to her. At one point, the pain increased considerably and I must have screwed up my face in response. She said, “Yeah, we’re on the Reysh, so we’re getting closer to the armpit. That’s a tender area.” Hearing her say “Reysh,” made me realize that she did in fact see each letter as a letter (and ones that she recognized), rather than as just drawings. At the end, she said, “I’m just doing some touch-up on the Aleph — we’ll be done in a second.” Same feeling. That’s EXACTLY what I wanted!
I’ll try to post pictures when everything is healed, but, based on the quick glimpse I got before she wrapped it up, the tattoo came out great. I can’t so much comment on L’s artistic skill (as the art I gave her was very simple), but I can say that she and the whole shop was a pleasure to work with.
I would highly encourage anyone getting a tattoo with letters/characters to find someone who understands them, and doesn’t just treat them like art. It made my experience so much richer.
Reading this thread I just want to emphasize that there are many competent tattoo artists that can do a great job with Hebrew tattoos without knowing the language, as long as they have a clear and accurate design to work with.
Since finding a Jewish tattoo artist is probably not very easy in most places, maybe a compromise like choosing an artist who did Hebrew tattoos in the past is the best idea.
Good to hear your story had a happy end. Looking forward to seeing the pictures.
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