The Purdue Exponent

Tattoo artist/father/student takes pride in his work

Jenny Jones/Summer Reporter

OUCH: Mike Prickett, tattoo artist and freshman in the School of Liberal Arts, sets up his tattooing machine at Forever Yours tattoo parlor.

By Jenny Jones
Summer Reporter

Everyday Mike Prickett prepares for work by pulling on a pair of surgical gloves and sanitizing the area.

Prickett, a freshman in the School of Liberal Arts, is not a doctor; he is a tattoo artist.

The first cleanser Prickett applies to the customer's skin is a topical cleaner. While he lets the cleanser saturate the skin, he wraps his cords and machine with a plastic covering and sets up his inkbottles. After arranging the equipment, Prickett applies a stencil to the area of the skin to be tattooed. He prepares his tattooing machine by attaching the needle and spreading on a thin coat of A&D Ointment to the stencil, which keeps the lines clean. He then begins the tattoo; remembering to change his gloves every 15 minutes or less.

"I treat everyone like they have AIDS," Prickett said.

Prickett, who has been receiving tattoos since he was 13 years old, has heard about artists contracting Hepatitis while tattooing, which has promoted his precautions.

"They (some tattoo artists) really don't know what they're doing," Prickett said. "They're not clean."

Considering the stigma surrounding many tattoo parlors about cleanliness, Forever Yours — Prickett's shop — has tried to get the Board of Health to do an inspection, but it has not been successful.

There is, however, a branch of The Alliance of Professional Tattooists in Indianapolis with more being formed in Indiana, Prickett said.

The Alliance of Professional Tattooists helps regulate tattoo shops around the area and addresses concerns about cross contamination.

In addition to maintaining proper sanitation, Pickett said he cards all his customers to make sure they are of age and makes a photocopy of their ID cards. "Most people who try to fake their ID's try to do it with a pen or something, so it's really easy to tell," Prickett said.

Although Prickett uses tattooing to pay for college and to provide for his 2-year-old son, he will not do just any tattoo on anybody. "I wouldn't do anything racist, gang related or satanic," Prickett said. "It's personal preference."

Of the 40 to 60 tattoos that Prickett does a month, the most common customers that come into the shop are working class individuals, such as doctors, lawyers and police officers.

For example, Prickett recently completed a full back piece on a doctor, which consisted of a medallion of wolves and feathers. The tattoo took eight hours, five sessions, to finish. Each session costs $100.

"We get a lot more of the older people, instead of the younger people," Prickett said.

Although the shop usually attracts the working class, it has had incidences of individuals walking in and trying to get a free tattoo. "Everyone wants to be your buddy 'cause they think they'll get deals," Prickett said.

Even though an average tattoo will cost $40 to $80, Prickett, who has over 100 tattoos himself, said he thinks the trend in tattoos is on the rise. "Everyone thinks they have to have a tattoo these days." One of the strangest places Prickett has tattooed is the kneecap.

Prickett, who began tattooing because of his friends' encouragement, started by tattooing himself. "I had to learn on somebody," he said. Now, not only has he tattooed customers and friends, but he has also tattooed an angel on his mom's right ankle and a flower on her upper arm. "It took me a while to get used to (his tattooing, but) he's very good at what he does," said Jackie Jarrett, Prickett's mom. "I'm very proud of him."

In addition to tattooing, Prickett also does piercing. Genital piercing, which can cost anywhere from $60 to $100 with jewelry, is becoming one of the most popular types of piercing, according to Prickett. "Genital piercings are actually some of the least painful because the skin's so thin and flexible," he said.

Tattooing and piercing are not the only art forms that Prickett enjoys; he also does beading, creating things such as jewelry. However, Prickett said skin is his favorite medium.

In spite of the fact that Prickett spends as much as 50 hours a week at Forever Yours working on his beloved art form, he finds time to study for his political science classes in between tattoos and after his son goes to bed at night. Although school is a priority for Prickett, he plans to continue tattooing. "I'm just pretty much going to school for my own purpose."


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