Dempsey 1

Griffin Dempsey
Instructor Rebecca
Writing 1101
25 July 2014
Discourse Community Observation Notes
Jotting (282 words)
o Three different groups of customers
Us (4 girls), 9 people (6 girls, 3 guys), 2 people (male, female- In
back with another artist, Puff)
o 3 tattoo artists- Weezie, Puff, and Curtis
o Group of 9 are trying to design tattoo ideas and piercings
o Weezie says their tattoo cannot be done
o Group of 9 leaves
o Weezie approaches us and asks what we need help with
o Curtis looks pissed because they just lost so much business
o Everyone cusses here- EVERYONE
ME: I just stopped cussing. Im getting a cross tattoo; dont make
me cuss.
WEEZ: Its a tattoo parlor; you are supposed to cuss. Shit, let it
out.
o Music is playing all throughout the shop
Weezie is playing rap music
Puff is playing metal/rock music
Curtis is not playing anything because he does not have any
customers
o All the workers have tattoos
o Some have more tattoos than others
o Some of the tattoos were done by other artists in the shop
o Most of them have gauged ears as well (not too big though)
o There is a piercer that works there as well (Crispy)
o Crispy has been tattooed by everyone in the shop
o We were Weezies only customer of the day
o Curtis, other artist, was still pissed when weezie took us back
o Weezie told us that he doesnt really like Curtis- hes a douche
o ME: You cant buy a new aux cord? We know you make bank.
WEEZ: Making bank? Guess how many customers Ive had today before
you? None.
ME: Is that normal?
WEEZ: When Curtis steals my customers and regulars, yes. No comment
after that.


Dempsey 2
Description (325 words)
Its Friday, July 25
th
, 2014. Its 10:15 PM and the shop closes at 11:00PM. I am at
Tattooing U tattoo shop- about 1 minute form campus in the terrace at University
Place. I am observing the tattoo artists as well as their language, behavior, and other
components that make them a discourse community. I am also observing the customers
and other people in the studio. The studio has three tattoo artists present at the time of my
walk-in. The three tattoo artists names are Weezie, Curtis, and Puff. They are all covered
in tattoos and have stretched ears- even the piercer, Crispy. A group of African-American
people walked out very upset before we were attended to. The owner, Curtis, looked very
angry once the large group left because they had just lost so much business. Weezie,
however, just laughed and then confronted us. He was very chill (relaxed) and
immediately helped us figure out how we wanted the tattoo done. He was very patient
and easy to talk to. He told us that he only told the people before us that their tattoo ideas
were not realistic to their shop because they would not be as detailed and desirable for the
size (small) that they wanted. The other artist, Puff, had been working on the same guy
for almost three whole hours. The guy getting tattooed was lying on the chair in Puffs
room very calm and on his stomach. Puff stopped momentarily to ask if the customer
needed to get up and stretch or wanted something to drink. Puff and Weezie talked over
the loud music in their stalls (rooms) making jokes about how bad the music playing in
Puffs room was. Weezie told us stories about his tattoo background, his artwork, his
friends, his tattoos on his body, his certification experience, being tested for STDs, and a
lot of weird, random events of his life that brought him to where he is today.

Dempsey 3
Analysis (138 words)
I think that the tattoo discourse community is a lot different than the stereotypes it
receives. Many people like to stereotype tattoo artists, and those who get tattoos, as being
rebellious and/or ignorant. During the tattoo session, I found that Weezie was a very
dedicated artist. He didnt really see his tattoos as anything more or less than his own
artwork. He was very open about his life and background to us even though we had never
met him. Unlike most (male) tattoo artists, Weezie was very calm and patient- while most
male tattoo artists become very irritable and annoyed by female customers and their
reactions to pain. Some of the artists were very inexperienced, but had amazing
portfolios. This made me not know what the exact differences between an expert and a
novice in the tattoo community.
Reflection (107 words)
I learned that the tattoo discourse community is made up of many very different
people that can be broken down into sections. There are the tattoo artists that care about
the quality and comfort of their customers and their artwork. There are also those who do
not care about safety, comfort, or anything- just making money and taking advantage of
people who are uneducated on tattoos. At Tattooing U, they are very serious about the
safety, comfort, quality, and hospitality of their services and their customers. I learned
that there is a lot about tattoo artists and their environment that I had not been aware of
before.