State’s tattoo proponents eager for legal ‘ink’

Amanda Campbell, 24, shows off one of her five tattoos. (Ken Osburn/Staff) e-mail this story

But changes may be coming, making the rite of passage often observed by military men and motorcycle enthusiasts increasingly mainstream in the state.

"I think it's stupid that we can gamble, we can have strip clubs, we can have alcohol, but we can't get ink," said 24-year-old Amanda Campbell.

A bill pending before the state House would legalize tattooing, though barring it on the head, face or neck. Piercing and tattooing would not be permitted in the same business.

It doesn't mean, however, that tattoo parlors will pop up on scores of local street corners, though businesses are coming out of the shadows in other states.

Often, tattoo parlors were hidden in not-so-nice neighborhoods, said Charlotte artist Billy Harris. Alternative Arts, where he works, is in a largely retail district within walking distance of a grocery store and an antique shop.

The bill was sent back to committee to consider how far parlors must be from schools, playgrounds and churches. Other provisions may be attached, including one that would require that studios run newspaper announcements giving residents in communities where they plan on opening a chance to respond.

The Senate has passed the bill. The state Department of Health and Environmental Control would license and regulate the industry.

"There are some that feel very strongly that it should be legalized. I just don't know that we want to see a series of tattoo parlors all over the state," said House Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville.

Wilkins said he has always voted against legalization, and the vote in the coming weeks will be close, he said.

Thus, the stage is set for further debate on the art of tattoos and where they can be obtained.

Tattooing has been illegal in South Carolina since 1962. Five bills to legalize it have been killed in the House since the early 1990s.

Campbell said she isn't holding her breath that this one will pass.

She's taken multiple trips out of state, and at least one of her four tattoos was from an underground artist. But it was a studio tattoo of a tribal band and rose that became infected. Soon it was swollen and painful, she said.

Four years later, it's still a little more raised than her others, she said. The experience taught her a valuable lesson: Check the studio and its employees.

That's precisely what's happened elsewhere, where those seeking "ink" have been buoyed by stronger health and safety measures.

"Walking into one of my studios is very much like walking into a doctor's office. We just play better music," said third-generation Florida tattoo artist Bill Hannong.

Harris said people shouldn't seek the lowest prices. A good machine that drives the needle in and out costs between $350 and $400. A sterilization system is an additional $2,000, he said. Factor in needles, ink, gloves and other necessities.

It is likely that some substandard tattoo artists will come out of their kitchens and garages and open shops, said Hannong, who serves as the liaison between the state of Florida and the tattoo industry.

More importantly, reputable tattooers accustomed to following stringent regulations could come and allow people opportunities to apprentice. Competition will push scratchers-turned-shop-owners out of business, he said.

The Florida Professional Tattooers Guild, of which he is president, is responsible for the legislation that regulates licensed tattooers and studios in the state.

If lawmakers want to discourage unsafe practices, the legislation must have teeth, he said. Fines for illegal tattooing or not following safety precautions should deter offenders and generate enough money so it's not a strain on the state to regulate the industry, he said.

Tattoo studios/parlors are not the smoky, rough businesses many who are not in favor of tattoos envision, he said. In fact, during the 30 years he worked as an artist, women have normally made up 60 to 70 percent of his business.

"There's been this preconceived idea that you had to have a lack of social status to be tattooed. That just isn't true," Hannong said.

In Hannong's Fort Myers, Fla., shop, everything is semi-gloss white. The counters and floors are disinfected constantly. Everything is single-use, and anything an artist may touch while applying a tattoo is wrapped in film to prevent contamination, he said. An ultrasound cleans the equipment before it's placed in the autoclave for sterilization.

"We're very, very proud of what we do. The people who brought me into this were doing appropriate sterile techniques in the 1920s," he said.

Keeping tattooing illegal in South Carolina only puts people at risk, he said.

The practice was outlawed in the 1960s out of fear of a hepatitis outbreak. Traditionally, hepatitis B and C are associated with tattoos, said Dr. Carolyn Simpkins, an internist with the Greenville Hospital System.

The viruses attack the liver and can be deadly, she said. Both hepatitis B and C can be transmitted only through exposure to infected blood.

"Both are much easier to catch than HIV," she said.

If tattooing were legalized in South Carolina tomorrow, Chris Stribliey would be tempted to increase his collection of body art to 13.

"I've gone all over the place to find good artists. I've been to a studio in Athens, Ga., a few times," Stribliey said. "There's an artist in Atlanta who wants to do some work for me, but he's booked several months in advance."

In Charlotte, Harris has a steady stream of customers from South Carolina where the practice is illegal. And it's not just college kids and people in a midlife crisis getting body art.

Professors, administrators and law enforcement officers make up a chunk of his business, he said.

His shop is a smaller one where the three artists do custom work, he said. People don't sign their names and just get whoever has time, he said. Most are return customers or referrals, who usually wait a week or two to get work done, he said. Good tattoo artists are well compensated.

For a custom piece, he charges $90 an hour, he said.

"It's more of a corner shop. We work with each person and give them more individual attention," he said. "I would consider opening up a shop in South Carolina because about 60 percent of my clients are from South Carolina."

The pending legislation is also a mixed blessing for Mark Fant, owner of The Outer Edge, a body piercing shop in Clemson.

"I've been watching this for years," said Fant, who has four tattoos. "The problem is we've set up the shop to do both piercing and tattooing."

Adding tattooing would double his business, he said. South Carolina is losing money to North Carolina and Georgia by keeping the practice illegal.

"Just about every city not just the large ones near us, have tattoo studios," he said.

Regardless of where people travel for tattoos, they should be careful to work with someone who knows what he is doing, said Don Osborne, owner of Imagination's Unlimited, a Hendersonville, N.C., tattoo studio. About 70 percent of his business comes from South Carolina, he said.

Legalizing tattooing is important to weed out the "scratchers," he said. They order tattoo kits from the back of magazines and start working on people, Osborne said. They often sterilize their equipment improperly or don't do it at all, he said.

Osborne has been tattooing for 14 years and did his apprenticeship with an artist who has been tattooing for 58 years in Clearwater, Fla.

"Every scratcher with a little bit of money in his pocket is going to open up shop," he said. "In about a year, we'll be cleaning up a lot of tattoos."

Even after it's legal, artists might face zoning battles, and it could be years before the industry is comparable to neighboring states. In some communities they might find their businesses on the fringe of town, said Sen. William Mescher, R-Pinopolis, who introduced the other five bills.

"I tell them they have to accept that. A little bit is more than nothing. We can come back later and make it something," he said.

Ishmael Tate can be reached at 298-4020.