Sheila K Miller, New Media Journalist
Tattoos are not as taboo as it used to be. In 2019, a Statista survey reported that over a quarter of Americans had at least one tattoo. Tattoos can no longer stereotype people. Jamie Delawder, a tattoo artist, says the world is changing slowly. It is no longer just convicts, gangs, or bikers getting tattoos. Delawder has people from all walks of life coming in for tattoos, including medical professionals, teachers, moms, grandmas, and others.
Jamie Delawder, a tattoo and body artist, is the owner of Drawin’ Attention, a tattoo shop in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Art has been a part of Jamie Delawder’s life since he was a young child. Jamie admits to always having some kind of how-to-draw book in his hands. He continued his art studies earning an art degree at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh.
Initially, Mr. Delawder was a body paint artist. He had no desire to become a tattoo artist. As a body paint artist, if the artist makes a mistake, the artist could start over. His concern was tattooing was more permanent than the body painting, making it harder to fix errors. Mr. Delawder said there was a lack of confidence in pursuing the art form of tattooing.
When he was working as a body paint artist, Mr. Delawder had a persistent coworker with him giving tattooing a try. This coworker believed in Delawder’s artistic skills. He even offered to buy the equipment needed to tattoo. After relenting to his coworker, he practiced for a good year on fake skin and fruit. His first client was his coworker.
The reception area of Drawin' Attention tattoo shop in Martinsburg. Photos, Sheila K Miller
Since then, Jamie has built up his clientele. Now, he has a storefront for Drawin’ Attention on Wilson Street in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Besides building and health department regulations for the shop, West Virginia has limited laws in becoming a tattoo artist. Jamie does insist the most significant regulation for a tattoo artist is an internal one. Jamie says, “You have to have some type of artistic skill. You’ve got to be able to see it, understand it.” When comparing a tattoo artist versus a tattooist, he goes on to say, “when you put artist with it [tattoo], you expect a skill level involved instead of just someone with a tattoo gun in their hands.”
A challenge for Jamie as a tattoo artist is keeping his art unique and changing things up. While there may be a few challenges, there is nothing that he dislikes about being a tattoo artist. He does dislike the tattoo artist who is not being genuine to their trade or their customers.
He hopes to one day move and open a second shop. He wants his “Tat Pack” to take business from him. The oldest in his shop wants his crew to grow so much that people do look at him anymore. Jamie's final question was how he differentiates himself from the seven other Martinsburg tattoo shops within a two-mile radius. Delawder states, “It’s not just a tattoo here. It’s the experience. We want people to come in happy and leave even happier.”