Boyhood Hero Is Tattoo Partner -- Courant.com

Jon Spencer's writing and Rick Hartford's photograph are exceptional. Pat and Jon are a great team.

They say the reaction to the shop has been positive and they hope it will become a community gathering place. Squier also intends to offer gallery space to local artists.

Communbity gathering place????
That is Sick-- as in being mentally missfit.Tatooing is a perverse abomination just as any other appearance altering body modifacation such as but not llimited to lip stretching with insertion plates ,filing teeth to points ,and other body piercings.

To some, tattooing may seem like a "perverse abomination," but it is an art that has been practiced for thousands of years in many cultures. For many years there had been distaste for tattoos because they were worn by people who were 'rough around the edges' such as sailors or bikers; more recently tattoos have become more common on people of all ages and backgrounds. I am tattooed myself and consider them to be a collection of art that I can take with me everywhere.

The town of Collinsville is already heavily occupied by artists and art appreciators, so a tattoo shop right below one of the most popular spots in town, could easily be incorporated as a community place. At the very least it could provide a familiar place for those who are - as was so eloquently written before me - "mentally misfit" for having chosen a look which includes body modifications.

Collinsville...What a terrific place!!! Looking forward to Halloween.

I think that its a form of art and if certain people want it great, if you dont want a tat then dont go there. I dont have any tats but i dont mind if others do. Most people get one for a certain reason each one can tell a story.

I think JonArt is cartoonish and pretty amateur looking stuff, but if you want his 'art' on your body forever, that's your issue.