Special Feature: Interview with Jeff "Inky" Hess

(Jeff "Inky" Hess pictured above left with rap artist, Yelawolf)

Hey, everyone! Now that my time in Nashville is about to come to a close, I have to say I have had some positive and different life changing experiences here. I have met people of different backgrounds with awesome life stories that I love hearing and connecting with. Nashville is also where I was able to get two pieces of tattoo work on my right arm, my writing quill with the quote “May My Quill Never Run Dry,” and my Slipknot “Unsainted” Paul Gray tribute tattoo. Nashville has also been the place where I finally found the courage to break free from my anxiety and not be afraid to leave the past or a place behind. With these two things together, I was able to form some friendships with a group of travelers who have a love for adventure and life itself. One of the members of this loving community happens to be Jeff Hess, also known as Inky. You're all probably wondering why everyone calls him by this nickname. Inky has been traveling around the country for years in his yellow bus transformed into an RV and tattoo shop, he has been known to work at different music and tattoo festivals over the years. When he is not on the road or tattooing someone, he is baking and decorating cakes, and jamming to Insane Clown Posse. I sat down with Inky in his tattoo shop RV where I was greeted by his sweet and teething pitbull pup named Tennasweet, and his loyal and goofy dog, Joker, and I began to learn his story.

Inky discovered that tattooing was his calling when tragedy struck. “It was shortly after I lost my son. I went and got a memorial tattoo for him and the artist asked me what I was doing in life. I was a truck operator at the time and I drew up my own piece and he asked if I liked to draw. He suggested that I would be good as a tattoo artist and it's something that never crossed my mind before. Two years after that I got my apprenticeship degree almost twenty-three years ago.” Inky states the only difficulty he had was not getting to work with the tattoo gun for the first year but it's not so hard if you have the passion and the drive to achieve your goals. Eventually his dedication and hard work, along with the work of other artists, helped start a music and tattoo festival out in Mansfield, Ohio, INKcarceration. “There were three ladies, one of them was Sarah who was on Ghost Hunters, we would do a couple of tattoo parties. We would always talk about how much we wished there was a type of convention or festival based on tattooing out where we were. A year or two after, we finally got the permits to start it up and it wasn't easy starting it but eventually we were able to put it together.”

When thinking of his biggest project, Inky recalled a friend who had a huge dragon and princess warrior tattoo on their back. “She would come by and bring me a couple hundred dollars a week to work on the piece on her back. I would come up with different lines and designs for the tattoo but she was always changing her mind. Eventually, we were able to come together and make it work. It's still not finished but the top half is spectacular.” When asked about his influences in the tattoo world, Paul Booth and many different tattoo artists came to mind. “There's so many artists I can think of. Everyone has their own styles and designs. Even twenty years later I watch these young adults come in and do tattoos, they have so much talent and I don't even know their names. There are up and coming artists all over the world it just depends on how bad they want it.” When asked about who he would love to have a dream tattoo session with, Inky mentioned Big B from Suburban Noize Records, Jelly Roll, Yelawolf, and Struggle Jennings, just to be able to hang out with them and hear their stories.

(Inky pictured with Big B)

When talking about his creativity process, Inky says it all depends on the tattoo piece. “I have people who really just tell me what they want and I usually draw out three or four designs and I pick what I think looks the best. People allow me to place my designs on them and trust me enough to work on it till it's finished. I think one of the coolest things about being a tattoo artist is that people let you have free reign with an idea and you can create something beautiful.” Some of the best advice Inky can give to all aspiring artists is to never give up. “If somebody tells you that you can't do something, prove them wrong. People have tried to say the same to me and I never gave up. I am highly blessed every day and living my dream.” When it came down to combining his passion for tattoo art and traveling, Inky says the greatest thing is never knowing who you'll meet. “The greatest thing about traveling to these festivals is you get to tattoo people from different parts of the world. I have tattooed people from England, Canada, and Australia. It's so awesome that people come from all parts of the world to attend a four day concert and they trust you enough to lay beautiful ink on them and it tells a story. It's wonderful seeing all the different genres, families, and groups you get to meet on the road.”

One of the families Inky refers to are Insane Clown Posse and their fan base, the juggalos. “ICP has influenced my tattoo work and some of the ink I have on my body. I have my own juggalo makeup with the tattoo machines, I have juggalo tattoos across my hands. Tech N9ne is a big influence for me too.” When it came to funny stories about his work with tattoos, Inky states that he has never had a female pass out during a tattoo. “I have never had a female pass out on me during a tattoo session, I have had three guys pass out though. One of the stories from my shop back home, Flesh Fantasies, one of the guys I was tattooing walked outside to take a break and I asked if he was okay. He told me he was fine and I didn't believe that because he was super pale. He took one hit of a cigarette and fainted and if I hadn't been there nobody would have caught him.” Tattooing has evolved from ancient times to the recent century, Inky sees a lot of positive things for the future of tattoo work. “Tattooing has become more of a normal scene now. You see tattoos on athletes, musicians, doctors, even legal attorneys have tattoo sleeves now. I see it as a body beautification and it should be seen as beautiful art. People shouldn't be judged by tattoos on their body whether it be on their face, neck, hands, whatever the case may be. I see the possibility of more traveling tattoo artists and more music and tattoo festivals.”

(Insane Clown Posse Hatchet Man tattoo)

(Inky with Shaggy 2 Dope of Insane Clown Posse)

Inky wanted to give a special thank you to his mother for her support throughout his whole career. “Her name is Emmagean Smith. She's actually a corrections officer at the local prison in Mansfield, Ohio. She's got one more year until she retires and I would love to tattoo her when she reaches retirement. She swears she will never get one but maybe one day she might. She's always supportive and has always been one hell of a backbone for me.” When it comes to getting work done, Inky is planning to get a business page on social media soon and to pass his contact information to anyone interested in getting a tattoo and you can always find him at different festivals.

I really enjoyed sitting down and hanging out with Inky and getting to know his story. I also plan to have him do my scorpion tattoo idea in the near future. I hope you guys enjoyed reading this special feature and I hope that it has brought out interest in tattoos and tattoo culture. Happy Reading!

-Melanie Lane Fontaine