With 30 percent of his body covered in tattoos, Jon Pavlakis has no plans to stop.
Pavlakis, a tattoo artist at Untamed Art Tattoo Studio, has been tattooing for close to seven years now, and can’t remember a time when he didn’t want be in the business of body art.
“Even in a Mother’s Day card, I said ‘Roses are red, violets are blue, I still don’t know why I can’t get a tattoo,’” Pavlakis said.
In his seven years, he said he has tattooed at a variety of shops, from Washington to Texas. In April, Pavlakis began working at Untamed Art on East Third Street.
With connections to the Lewiston area, Moscow seemed to be a good fit, with two college towns just 10 miles apart.
“They welcomed me with open arms. I know that they were definitely in need of artists, but the way that I’ve been treated since I’ve gotten here has been amazing,” Pavlakis said.
He described his art style is traditional and neo-traditional. Pavlakis said he enjoys tattoos with extensive line work, sacred geometry and mandalas — though to him, any successful tattoo will be one of his favorites.
Alex Brizee | Argonaut
Jon Pavlakis, a tattoo artist at Untamed Art, tattoos customer Dominique Smith-Pierre.
Being a tattoo artist comes with benefits, as he is able to set his own hours, work for himself and learn something new every day — though he really enjoys the process of tattooing itself, he said.
“Our work always looks so (crappy) half-done,” Pavlakis said. “So, sometimes when you’re working, you don’t know how it’s going to turn out, but once you get to that point, you’re like, ‘All that work definitely paid off.”’
Landing an apprenticeship didn’t come easy at the start of his career, he said. After turning 18 years old, he moved to Spokane and was able to land a job at Rage Studios, where he learned the basics, including how to draw and sterilize — though was not yet able to tattoo.
“I’ve had many uniform jobs and I hated them. I just can’t live like that, with managers younger than me telling me how to do my job,” Pavlakis said.
He said he left Rage Studios for personal choices. A few years later, he got a job in Texas and was able to begin his passion, Pavlakis said.
With the stigma of tattoos still strong in the public sphere, Pavlakis struggled to find regular employment outside of tattooing. He said he had to cover up with long sleeves, paint markers and bandages.
He urges younger clients who come in to think about their tattoo placement, and will even turn away certain requests. However, he said he tends to compromise with most clients, because if he doesn’t, someone else will.
“I would rather them come here and get it done well, then go to someone else who just doesn’t (care),” Pavlakis said.
But yet, the stigma against tattoos remains, whether they are done well or not, Pavlakis said.
While he said he enjoys his employment at Untamed Art, he said he hopes to travel and work along the way, and said he doesn’t like to be cooped up in one place for too long.
However, he said he has to create strong connections with various shops across the country to be able to tattoo on the road as a guest artist.
“Even the people that you tattoo with are developing (as artists),” Pavlakis said.
Alex Brizee can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @alex_brizee