Bowling Day

By mlhodel

I wish I could figure out a way to do a bowling day once a month. Everyone would be invited. We’ve been bowling at Concorde Lane but just calling people at last minute.. We should figure it out. Some more people can enjoy Sundays with us.

Read More

What to name the Property?

By mlhodel

My wife and I bought some property a while back. It’s in the Saint Francis Mountains and it’s pretty rugged country. We are 40acres I next to us my buddies got some property. Together with my buddy we have 88 acres. There’s no fence lines so you need a compass to get around. You also…

Read More

Tattoo Apprentice or Unpaid Labor

By mlhodel

My thoughts on Apprenticeship. The the book “Grit” by author Angela Duckworth, she talks about passion.  Through here scientific research she has found that passion is fostered.  It starts with interest.  “Is it a drag that passions don’t come at us all at once, as epiphanies, without the need to develop them? Maybe. But the reality…

Read More

I’ve wanted this tattoo for 35 years.

By mlhodel

When my buddy went off to the Navy he came back with some of the coolest tattoos. In 1988 I didn’t know tattoos could be so personal. I thought tattoos were just Eagles and flags and anchors that you picked off the wall. I had no idea that you could bring in your own image…

Read More

Hot Springs Arkansas

By mlhodel

Went on a vacation with the family. The spent a lot of time at the theme park. I tried to go but it was too hot in the theme park, I did take Lady on a few hikes. It was still hot but being in the woods is a different hot that asphalt hot. Here…

Read More

Motorcycle. It’s a better way to see.

By mlhodel

Some of my motorcycles through the years. If you own multiple motorcycles, you know they mark points in time. Looking at these pics of my old motorcycles. It’s like looking at different personalities I had. All good times Now that I’m older I definitely like dirt more. There’s something about riding a dual sport that…

Read More

AI Adobe Firefly tattoo design!!

By mlhodel

Let AI Help Yes, that is AI. Why am I using AI? Because I had no idea where to start with my clients design. She said it was very important that she had a treehouse on the beach with palm trees. No palm trees have no branches. This makes it very hard to build a…

Read More

The Impossible Cover Up

By Matt Hodel

It is wiser the take the energy of a tattoo and work with it rather than fight it. Some cover ups cannot be blasted over. Sometimes you just need to massage a new tattoo into it. This dark tribal design wasn’t going to be covered easily. So I used the old tattoo as the texture…

Read More

Summer time is too hot for the big tent.

By Matt Hodel

Tent Maintenance. I need to get the tent repaired. It’s a very durable canvas tent but without some TLC it will fall apart. So we went camping this weekend. It was awesome. 60 degrees at night. The shade keeps the campground cool till 11am even on the really hot days. It’s tucked away behind a…

Read More

KC Roadtrip!!!

By Matt Hodel

I got my supercharger on my Xterra finished but I don’t like it. I don’t have the intake manifold that the supercharger used. I used the intake manifold for the Naturally Aspirated engine. In theory it works. I Just wasn’t comfortable with it. Also there is a “supercharger solenoid valve” that is connected to the…

Read More

Attaching a Halfsleeve Tattoo!

By Matt Hodel

Mike came back to finish a sleeve! I knew he would. That’s why I designed his halfsleeve to seamlessly connect to whatever he wanted to do next. It’s almost like I planned it this way! Clients are not always ready to get a whole sleeve but I am ready for when they are. When I…

Read More

Outside my comfort zone!

By Matt Hodel

I am an American Traditional tattoo artist. Over the last year I’m trying to do more polished designs. It takes a different approach than what my normal SOP. Here are some examples. I’m being vulnerable by posting these here. Hope you like them.

Read More

Catie

By Matt Hodel

I have been tattooing catie and her family for decades now. We added a caterpillar- butterfly on her arm. Her back is 10 years old and I love how it has aged! Check out these photos I got this week.

Read More

Photo Studio is Back!

By Matt Hodel

It’s been too long since my last photo shoot. I finally set everything back up in my new office. I was able to get 2 clients in this week. One has an awesome back piece of a Phoenix and the other has been collecting from me for so long I have forgotten everything we have…

Read More

I ripped my TENT!!!

By Matt Hodel

I ripped my slightly used canvas tent. Pretty bummed but I fixed it!! Watch the video and learn how to cook pork steak on an open fire, dig a hole, fill a hole, and have fun in the country!

Read More

Brewington Cemetery

By mlhodel

Brewington Cemetery, Iron County, Missouri Have you ever wondered who was buried in those little cemeteries along the back roads of Missouri? My good friend Pat is the caretaker of a small cemetery called the Brewington cemetery. He doesn’t know when it was started but his father took care of it back in the 50s…

Read More

Why Discipline Is More Important Than Motivation

By Emma Hodel

Motivation V. Disipline Motivation- the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way. Disipline-the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience Now that you know the text book definition of each term, which do you think is more important? Both terms can be beneficial when…

Read More

The Grand Reopening of Randy Adams Studio Party.

By Matt Hodel

Matt Van Cura Inherits a Legacy. Technically Matt purchased the shop from the legendary tattooist Randy Adams. Randy is the fellow with the hat on backwards in the photo above. If you got tattooed in the 80’s in Fort Worth, Randy did it. I know Randy from the covers of old 80’s Tattoo magazines. He…

Read More