matt hodel Archives - Matt Hodel Tattoo

Brewington Cemetery

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…

Why Discipline Is More Important Than Motivation

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…

The Grand Reopening of Randy Adams Studio Party.

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…

The Arkansas “Little Grand Canyon”

The Ozarks has its Grand Canyon but if you head south to the Ouachitas you’ll find the Little Grand Canyon. The latter is one natural wonder you may have overlooked in Arkansas. This feature off of White Oak Lake is a peaceful spot and not to mention beautiful! Let’s go explore this underrated wonder. From…

Church Van Upgrades

van life with Matt Hodel

The Van Build 2022 The Van Build started in May 0f 2022. It was built for my duaghter Emma’s 9 week road trip. This was a down and dirty build. I know some van builds are nicer than your house but this van is built to live out of, not live in. It is made…

Cold Weather Camping.

Great Weekend It is amazing how much you can squeeze into a weekend. Above is just a few things we squeezed into the last few days. We built a platform for the tent entrance, dropped 3 trees, used the shooting range, found some caves, did a cold water bath , hiked a few miles, and …

New Ragtime Shirts!

Ragtime has New Merch! Hey Hey Hey! We are bringing back the Ragtime Flag shirts! This time we are introducing four new color combos, as well as our classic black and white! You will find sizes Small to 3XL, sizes up to XL will be athletic fit, anything higher is a 100% cotton Tee! All…

Choosing Yourself!

What is ‘Choosing Yourself’ Codependency is widly known in most relationships whether we notice or not. It finds itself everywhere from our love lives, to work days. We often forget about ourselves in the mix of things. In the article, “What is ‘Choosing Yourself'” Ellen Nguyen gives a basic layout of focusing on yourself and…

How Much do I Charge?

How much should I save for my Large Tattoo? The cost of a tattoo sleeve can vary widely depending on several factors, such as the size, design, and location of the tattoo. The experience and reputation of the tattoo artist is also a factor. Some artists are in such high demand that they can charge…

I Peaked

Washed up? I have been rebooting my career. I have been taking stock of what I have accomplished, and what I am worth. I have been trying to find the fire that has driven me for so many years. The truth is, no one can recreate the past. Here is what I have discovered. My…

Tipping Your Tattoo Artist

Tipping Your Tattoo Artist Lets talk tips. Like a server, bartender, hairdresser, etc tips are apart of the service industry. They are not expected but very much appreciated. The article “Tipping your Tattoo Artist” by Hamptons Ink perfectly outlines tipping in the tattoo industry. Not by percentages yet based on your overall experiance with the…

Does Numbing Cream work for Tattooing?

Does numbing cream work for tattooing? Numbing cream can be used to reduce the pain associated with tattooing. The cream works by temporarily numbing the area of the skin where the tattoo will be applied. How long the numbing lasts is dependent open how much lidocaine is in the cream. The most common numbing cream…

Tonk The Tattooist!

Bringing Back Tonk! If you have followed this sight over the past year, you have already met! Back in Febuary 2022 we released the Zine, “Tonk the Tattooist”, ‘the first asshole of skin scribing”. As I noticed Tonks popularity rising again I figured I’d reintroduce him to everyone. I’ve Linked our original article in the…

Tattoo Artists Share 10 Mistakes People Make When Getting Small Tattoos

Small Tattoos! The more I look around the more I see people getting tons of small tattoos rather than large pieces. Im not here to tell you the right or wrong way to get tattooed but with the use of the article “Tattoo Artists Share 10 Mistakes People Make When Getting Small Tattoos” the author…

Your Taste is on Display

Your Taste is on Display Have you ever looked at a dude and said, “What in the hell did you do to your arm? Sometimes it baffles me what people choose to openly display on their bodies. Who Am I too judge? Well here is the deal, I tattoo for a living. I study peoples…

Study the EYE!

Sketching is the Artist Workout. I wanted to be a Scientific Illustrator. This was my original goal when I was in my teens. I still want to be an illustrator and any chance I get to freelance, I take it. Tattooing is cool but it demands a set of rules to follow that hinder the…

Van Life

Get out. Love more.

Professors View on Tattooist

Behind the Needle: Professor Explores the World of Tattoo Artists This week we look at Kara Snyder and Dr. David Lane’s take on the world of tattoo artists! Dr. David Lane Dr. David Lane is an assistant professor of criminal science that grew up in the world of tattooing. Many of his peers pushed for…

Reboot My Career

Rebooting My Career I Am Not Done Yet I’m rebooting my career. I have survived 27 years in an industry that has shaken off a lot of dead weight in the last few years. Tattooists from back in the day are succumbing to age, lack of drive and feeling irrelevant. I have friends in the…

Horimono: Traditional Japanese Tattooing

Look what Gaël wrote! Engraving of Kyumonryu Shishin (九紋龍史進) by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川国芳) | Image from Kuniyoshiproject.com Gaël wrote an impressive article titled: “Horimono: The History of Traditional Japanese Tattoos”. This writing takes the reader through Japanese tattoo culture dating back to 1603, up into more recent days. The author does a comprehensive dive…

A day in the Country

It is time to check on the property in the Ozark Mountains. Matt and the Family and the Dogs drive down to see if the Canvas Tent has survived the snow and winds from the last few months. Join us as we off-road some logging trails, and scout for a new home for the tent.

Samurai Tattoo Added to an Old Joe Allhoff Dragon

Old Tattoos Completed Chris got a really nice Dragon from an old coworker of mine. Joe Allhoff and I worked at Trader Bob’s from 2004 until I left in 2012. Joe was singled handedly the most naturally talented Tattooist I have ever worked with. I have never seen an artist render images so effortlessly. I…

Ryan Uses a Computer

Matt teaches Ryan Computer Ryan and I want to make a YouTube channel. We both do cool stuff and have fun lives. A good friendship is rare and we have been each others yin and yang for a decade or more. We help each other quite a bit. I think the trick to have a…

Saturday Morning Cartoons

Cartoons Inspire Creativity I was born in 1975. The 1980’s world of Saturday Morning Cartoons was a small window of time from 7:30 am until noon. I cannot express enough what an escape those few hours were for me. The fantasy worlds of Smurfs and Dungeon and Dragons and He-Man were a stark contrast to…

Codye.

I did Codye’s first tattoo less than a year ago. As I remember he was quite the handful. He was rather nervous and really persistent at communicating the importance of the getting his first tattoo perfect. I don’t mind. I was told a while back that the energy like this just means the client is…