Vyvyn Lazonga

Vyvyn Lazonga is a tattoo artist who began her career in Seattle in the early 1970s. She was one of the first women to work for herself in the industry, not her husband or another male shop owner. [cite web
url=http://www.needled.com/archives/2005/06/beverly_vyvyn_l.php
title=Artist Profile: Beverly "Vyvyn" Lazonga
publisher=Needled.com
date=14 June 2005
accessdate=2007-01-06] She worked in San Francisco and was affiliated with Lyle Tuttle, Ed Hardy, and Horiyoshi III for several years, before returning in 1989 to open her current studio in Seattle.

She has, along with Madame Chinchilla, advocated the use of tattoos to cover mastectomy scars as an aid to recovery. [cite news
url=http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=jackietattoo12&date=20060312
title=Redefining beauty: Jackie's journey through cancer
publisher=The Seattle Times
last=Davila
first=Florangela
date=March 12, 2006
accessdate=2007-01-06]

Historical significance

When she began tattooing, there were very few women who had tattoos, not to mention who were working as tattoo artists. When she opened her studio in 1979, there were only a few women tattooing on the west coast.cite book
title=Modern Primitives
last=Vale
first=Vivian
coauthors= Juno, Andrea
date= October 4, 1989
publisher= Re/Search Publications
location= San Francisco
isbn= 094064214X] She had a difficult time being treated as an equal in her craft and acquiring a full apprenticeship.cite book
title=Bodies of Subversion
last=Mifflin
first=Margot
month=October | year=1997
publisher=Juno Books
location=New York
isbn=1890451002] Her work opened many doors for women in the tattoo industry, and is still seen as an example of a fine artist working in the tattoo medium. She was also a pioneer in the use of large-scale full-body tattoos in the West. Victoria Lautman has cited her as an artist who helped "to shift tattoos away from fashionable little rainbows, flowers, and unicorns to the larger, fine-arts-related custom designs."cite book
title=The New Tattoo
last= Lautman
first=Victoria
coauthors=Vicki Berndt (photography)
month= November | year= 1994
publisher= Abbeville Press
location= New York
isbn= 1558597859]

She was also heavily tattooed at a time when it was unusual to see women with major tattoo work outside of sideshows. Asked about the public's perception of her full-sleeve tattoos, she said "I always felt strong and powerful about it, and I still do. But I try to keep my arms covered if I'm taking care of business -- I sorta wear a uniform according to what I'm doing. I want to get my business done quickly and easily, and I don't like having any hindrance or prejudice against me" (Vale and Juno 1989:125).

Current works

Lazonga has been featured in many magazines and books [cite book
title=Tattoo Road Trip
last= Baxter
first=Bob
year= 2002
publisher= Schiffer Publishing
location= Atglen, PA
isbn= 0764315226] and currently writes columns for various tattoo magazines, including a regular column in "Skin and Ink". [ [http://skinandink.com "Skin and Ink" magazine] ] She has also won numerous awards, including the artist's choice award at the 2005 National Tattoo Association convention. [cite web
url=http://www.nationaltattooassociation.com/2005winners.html
title=2005 tattoo contest winners
publisher=National Tattoo Association
accessdate=2006-01-06] She still owns and operates her own studio in a historic building in the Pike Place market, in Seattle.

References

External links

* [http://vyvyn.com vyvyn.com] Homepage of her tattoo shop