'Wow, that's so creepy but really cool.'

"I favor this type of subject because of the shock value that I get out
of people when they see my drawings," Jamie Henderson says. "They
usually say, 'Wow, that's so creepy but really cool.' Every artist has
his or her niche and that's mine, to be creepy. I just let my
imagination go wild."

Full article:

Tattoo you and your bike, too
By Donna Kessler
dkessler@th-record.com
August 21, 2006

If you've driven along Route 17K through Bloomingburg lately, you'll
have noticed there's a new shop in town. You can't miss it. It's the
one with the huge, ominous ram-skull-like illustration on the window.
Welcome to Forsaken Ink.

Owner and operator Jamie Henderson of Middletown has opened this
one-stop shop for getting a tattoo while your bike is getting
airbrushed. Yep, he does it all.

Jamie is a self-taught illustrator who has been drawing ever since he
could pick up a pencil. He learned the art of tattooing from being an
apprentice for 2 years at another tattoo shop. His forte is
illustrations that reflect horror. There are zombies, skeletons,
tombstones and just plain creepy-looking characters throughout his
portfolio, which he'll be happy to show you. "I favor this type of
subject because of the shock value that I get out of people when they
see my drawings," Jamie says. "They usually say, 'Wow, that's so creepy
but really cool.' Every artist has his or her niche and that's mine, to
be creepy. I just let my imagination go wild."

Jamie is an artist. Whether he puts it on a canvas or a bike or on
skin, he is an artist, and he treasures his art. "It's my artwork that
they are walking out the door with, and I want it to be perfect. I find
pride in the fact that they respect my work enough to wear it on their
body for life," Jamie says.

He is working on trying to promote student artwork from Pine Bush High
School, his alma mater, by possibly displaying it in his shop. He
believes that if a kid has real talent, he should do something with it.
He sees tattooing as an art form. "People need to stop stereotyping
tattoos with just bikers and gangs," he says. "People from all walks of
life get tattoos today."

When you walk into Jamie's shop, you can see that it's really clean.
You could probably eat off the floor. He values keeping the shop clean.
He is an advocate to try to get legislation passed that will make it
mandatory for the health departments to do periodic inspections of
tattoo parlors. Right now, there are no health department inspections
at all. There are sanitation and sterilization guidelines set up by the
New York State Health Department that tattoo parlors must follow, but
they are not inspected.

Sarah, Jamie's wife, is a nurse, and she has educated him in the area
of sanitizing and working with blood. A local college would not allow
him to take a blood-borne pathogens class (cross-contamination and
keeping yourself safe when cleaning up blood) because he was not in the
medical field, so he relies on Sarah for his education.

"It was utterly ridiculous," he says, "I work with needles and blood
every day, but I needed to be in the medical field in order to be able
to apply for the class. I just want my customers and my staff as well
as myself to be safe."

A local ambulance corps also helped him out by supplying him with tapes
on the subject.

Jamie has learned a lot and continues to keep himself educated.

Jamie employs three people. Eva Jung is a talented 15-year veteran
tattoo artist who knows how to get clients prepped. Lauren Freedman is
the very efficient receptionist who will get you booked in. Mike
Caffery is Jamie's apprentice whose artistic talent even impresses
Jamie.

There are two workstations with a third one on the way. The warehouse
behind his shop will soon be ready to take on bikes, cars, helmets,
whatever you want painted.

Clients seeking to get a Forsaken Ink tattoo should refrain from
drinking alcohol for 24 hours before getting the tattoo. Jamie says the
consumption of alcohol can lead to excessive bleeding, and, for that
reason, he will not work on a client if he or she has been drinking.

A client must also be sure to eat to ensure stabilization of blood
sugar to prevent fainting.

Does getting a tattoo hurt? Jamie replies, "If anyone tells you it
doesn't, they are lying." The calf area, wrist, sternum and underarm
can make for uncomfortable tattooing, but other places such as the
shoulder don't hurt as bad, he says.

Well, maybe some day. For now, though, I'll stick to temporary tattoos.

Forsaken Ink is open six days a week, 1-10 p.m. Monday, Tuesday,
Thursday and Friday and 2-6 p.m. Sunday. Visit www.forsakenink.com to
see Jamie's creations on steel and on skin. From:

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbc...LIFE/608210315


--
Curt
http://curtjames.com/