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14 April 20 Jay Blondel Competes on Tattoo Reality Show Artist in Residence Vies for Title of ‘Ink Master’

Jay Blondel competes on a popular that didn’t appeal to me at all. At some point tattooing came into the conversation and that caught my attention. When I television show against some of the picked up my first tattoo machine, that was it. I was hooked.” best tattoo artists in the country. Laying ink to skin At 23 years old, Blondel put the needle to the first piece of skin by Brian Radewitz he would tattoo — his own. Editor “Nobody else was around at the time and I was just so excited, so I tattooed this terrible little skull on my hand with rowing up, Jay Blondel always knew he the date,” he said. “I’ll never fix it or cover it up. It’s part of my story and it’s one of my favorite tattoos.” wanted to work in a creative field when he Since that day, Blondel has been gaining confidence while Gwas an adult, but becoming a tattoo artist working up the ladder in the tattoo world. He started as an was never on the radar until he stumbled into it in apprentice, helping out around the shop and eventually earned his early twenties. Now, 14 years after putting ink the right to tattoo someone other than himself. The first tattoo he did on another person was a skull breaking through the skin to skin for the first time, Blondel is one of the best on a kneecap — not the easiest place on the body to tattoo tattoo artists in the country and is competing for while still learning the ropes. $100,000 on the fourth season of the hit television “A lot of people think that tattooing is pretty easy, but in show “Ink Master” on Spike TV. the art world, there’s nothing like it. Skin can be really hard to work on. It bleeds, it sweats, it has involuntary spasms, it has to get up to go to the bathroom, it talks to you,” he said. “This The Massapequa resident’s trip to the top has been a long one. isn’t a canvas that never changes, that you can work on in a After spending time in art school, and dropping out, he found quiet room by yourself. It’s such a unique medium.” himself working as a party designer for the simple fact that Not to mention the fact that there are no do-overs when it there was an artistic element to the job. Creating 3-dimensional comes to tattooing. The lines that are drawn and the ink that is centerpieces out of foam board was fun while it lasted, but it placed can’t be erased. Most of the time the artwork is there for wasn’t the career that he was looking for. Then some friends life, which adds a mountain of stress to the situation. saw some of his drawings. “I have seen artists completely break down while “I didn’t find tattooing, it found me,” Blondel said. “Friends tattooing,” Blondel recalled. “There was one girl who was saw my drawings and suggested that I paint motorcycles, but Continued on next page

Jay Blondel designs a portrait tattoo on the show “Ink Master” on Jay Blondel gets to work on a tattoo during the filming of the show “Ink Jay Blondel poses for a photo in the shop. Spike TV. Master” on Spike TV. Photo courtesy of Jay Blondel Photo courtesy of Spike TV Photo courtesy of Spike TV 14 April 2014 April 2014 15 Tips On Tattooing Jay Blondel offers up a few suggestions for artists and people looking to get tattoos of their own.

Picking a tattoo If you don’t know what you want to get, you’re not ready to get a tattoo. Think about what you want. You don’t need to have an exact tattoo in mind, but you do need to have an idea. The artist can turn that idea into a design. Take your time and don’t rush into anything. Aspiring tattoo artists If you want to become a tattoo artist, go and hang around a shop. Don’t go in there and say that you want an apprenticeship. Just go to the shop and get to know the people working there. Help out with things that need to be done. Price People pay hundreds of dollars for designer jeans, but want Pictured is the season 4 cast of Ink Master on Spike TV. Jay Blondel works on a tattoo in the shop. to be cheap when it comes to a tattoo. This is something Photo courtesy of Spike TV Photo courtesy of Jay Blondel that you will have for the rest of your life. Save up and go to a good tattoo artist. Bad tattoo artists outnumber good Continued from previous page ones 100 to 1. You get what you pay for. designing tattoos. He can also spread a tattoo over a couple “I was such an armchair quarterback watching the show doing her second tattoo ever. She was halfway through with different sessions and work slow if he wants to. On the show, at home,” he said. “Under those conditions, though, it is so Trends her line work and she started shaking and began to crack. She contestants have a short period of time to develop and design much different when you are actually there. There are cameras When I first started everyone wanted a Chinese symbol or completely flipped out, dropped the machine and ran out with the artwork. They then have a set period of time to ink their everywhere, it’s like you’re under a microscope. We knew that a tribal tattoo. Now people are getting the infinity symbol her gloves still on. We never saw her again.” canvas. our work was going to be criticized, even if it is really good with a word in it. I urge people to be different. Thankfully, Just making it onto the show is a form of validation for they are going to dissect it and find something wrong with it. I’m at a stage in my career where I do mostly custom work. In the limelight Blondel, who had a number of people try to divert him to other The pressure was unreal, but it was also a lot of fun.” The show “Ink Master” brings a whole new meaning to the career paths early on. word pressure. At his home shop — Alchemy Tattoo in nearby “My family hated what I was doing at the beginning,” he Back to reality Bellmore — Blondel has the luxury of taking his time when said. “My dad is a member of the Local 3 electricians union and Overall, Blondel enjoyed the experience of living in a house he kept getting me different applications for civil service jobs. with strangers and tattooing under extreme stress. Getting selected to be on ‘Ink Master’ really shows people that “I made a lot of good friends on the show that I plan on A Creative Career is Born. I’m great at what I do.” keeping in touch,” he said. “I love my job and I really like the “There are a few different tattoo television shows out there people that I work with. If I could do the show over, I definitely now, but ‘Ink Master’ is really the most respected one,” he would, without a doubt. I am happy to be back home, working added. “Just to make it onto the show is like a football player at Alchemy, which is the best shop I’ve ever worked at.” making it into the NFL. There were tens of thousands of people The first episode of season four of Ink Master premiered in that applied. We had to go through so many steps and show so late February. The show airs on Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. much of our work to get selected. The contestants are some of Anyone interested in getting a tattoo done by Blondel the best tattoo artists in the country.” can reach out to him on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter by searching for Jay Blondel. He can also be found at Alchemy 1999 A master of ink Tattoo, located at 2771 Jerusalem Avenue in Bellmore where The year that Jay Blondel “Ink Master” caught the eye of Blondel a few years ago and he works six days a week. began his career as a tattoo he immediately thought that he could easily win the show. Thinking and doing are two completely different things, Jay Blondel does a tattoo on the television show “Ink Master” on artist on Long Island. Spike TV. though. Everything the producers do on the show is done to Like this story? Tell us why. Photo courtesy of Spike TV throw the artists off of their game. hibumagazine.com/survey 16 April 2014 April 2014 17