Former editor of Skin&Ink Magazine and Tattoo Blogger, Bob Baxter featured me on his 'Tattoo Road Trip' Blog back in 2013.  Bob has since died, and the blog has fallen down the memory hole, but it is archived here for your enjoyment.

FISHING FOR CELTIC TATTOO DESIGNS

Six months ago Pat Fish fell off her mule. She really did, and what, subsequently, happened to her is no laughing matter. “When I got thrown, I landed on my right shoulder and severed several tendons,” reports Ms. Fish. Since Pat is one of the world’s foremost tattooists  specializing in Celtic tattoo designs, this has been quite a loss to the body art community. Luckily, Ms. Fish was recently cleared by the doctor to once again take up her tattoo machine and, after too long an absence, get back to work. Good news for all!

Below is Pat’s kind-of mission statement, which we happily publish, along with her request that you check out her Flash Page, a sensational and copious collection of designs researched, articulated, and presented by the veritable “Queen of Celt” herself, Santa Barbara’s own Pat Fish.

Tattoo themes may come and go, but the essential role of the tattoo artist in society does not change. We are the agents of completion, the ones who transform others and give them the means by which they metamorphose into an expanded, embellished self. In my career I have chosen to bring the knotwork of the ancient illuminated Celtic manuscripts and the carved spiral patterns of the Pictish standing stones to life again in skin.

I believe that tattooing has three equal parts: Art, Craft, and Morals. Alone among the decorative arts, we take up the responsibility of indelible change; the savor of permanence, with the attendant personal commitment to honesty within creativity. We are honored by the faith our clients place in us, and the challenge it presents is a fine spur to excellence.