A TIMELESS TRADITION
Jen Guertin of Newport’ s Anchor Steam Tattoo, one of the longest-running tattoo shops in the state, shares how the industry and her style has changed over the years.
How did you get into tattooing? I took art classes since I was little. It’ s how I and everyone else identified me— as an artist. I went to RISD for painting, but toward the end, I thought,‘ Oh no, what am I gonna do for my actual job?’ I had a few tattoos, but it wasn’ t something I really thought about until someone asked if I might like to learn. That was around’ 96 –’ 97.
What was the process back then? Most people started with a traditional apprenticeship in a shop. I was like an experimental project for the guy who apprenticed me in Providence; I was his first. It turned out well and he ended up hiring me.
What was the apprenticeship like? Some apprenticeships are loose, but mine was very structured and monitored. There was no such thing as fake skin; we had to go to the butcher shop and get pig ears to practice on them. The machines were a lot more brutalist, whereas today you can have a cordless machine that’ s almost like a pen. And there was no widely available internet where you could just YouTube it— you looked at magazines and watched other artists. Eventually you just had to dive in and go for it.
When did you establish Anchor Steam? I worked in Providence for a few years before there was an opportunity to buy this space [ which formerly housed a tattoo parlor ] in 2000. It took us a couple of months to revamp it, and then we opened Jan. 1, 2001.
How has the tattoo world changed over the years? It started to become popular in the early’ 90s. Back then, it was illegal to be tattooed in Massachusetts— so Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Hampshire were super busy. They eventually legalized it in 2001, right around when we opened, and we were concerned it would be super dead. There was a slight dip but then it started to grow again. They were more prevalent in media and professional athletes made them cool. We always were waiting for the bottom to drop out, because you never know with trends, but it just became more and more common. People started to push the envelope and get bigger tattoos. And then it also evolved to people changing their minds, so the whole skill of covering tattoos became a thing, and now it’ s a large part of what I do.
Tell us more about cover-ups. A cover-up has to be at least as big as what it already was. For me, it was important that the person did not get a larger project that they didn’ t like. It has to be something they would like better. My favorite part is seeing the difference between how much the client hated their original tattoo and how much they love the new one.
You know what that’ s like firsthand. I had two full color sleeves, one American Traditional and one Japanese-style. There wasn’ t too much thought behind them. As I got older and grew as a person, I realized I identified more with ancient culture. I wanted to make the tattoos darker and more timeless. Luckily, my friend Will, who works here with me, said he’ d do it. We worked on it for a good couple of months. Now I feel more comfortable in my skin. 44 Broadway, Newport, 847-4155, anchorsteamtattoo. com, @ anchorsteamtattoo
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