Behind the Body Art

Elton “LT” Duarte. Photography by Chad Weeden

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Chelsea Dolan. Photography by Chad Weeden

Chelsea Dolan. Photography by Chad Weeden

“The biggest [influence] was my grandfather. He raised me. He moved from Virginia to Newport for the Navy and they made them all get their first names tattooed on their arms as their identification. So, he had Fred in a super old sailor script and it was done on the ship in the fifties. That made me want to learn more about the history of tattoos, and it’s why so many of mine are very American Traditional, like old Sailor Jerry. I got my first tattoo at sixteen with my mom’s permission for my birthday. From there I would travel to cool places and I’d get something. For me, a lot of it was more about the tattoo journey. I still have bare spots because I want to collect experiences. I’m very sentimental too where different pieces represent different parts of my life. They have also given me a way to be super confident in my skin and walk into a room like, ‘You got this.’ If I got rid of them at this point in my life, I wouldn’t be me.” — Chelsea Dolan, computer science undergrad and bartender at Julian’s and Kimi’s in Providence, @nunur_biz

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Makala Chubbuck. Photography by Chad Weeden

Makala Chubbuck. Photography by Chad Weeden

“I got my first tattoo on my wrist right after I turned eighteen. Then I got a new one every three or four months until I had about eleven, and I remember feeling like, ‘Wow, I’m heavily tattooed.’ But now that I have over eighty, I’m like, ‘Oh.’ I’ve stopped counting. Almost all of them are flash; I worked at Unicorn Ink for a while, and I have a lot of artists’ first tattoos. There was one convention where I got nine in one weekend — that was a lot for my body to handle. As I’ve gotten older, the pain’s gotten worse; I think that happens when you heal your trauma. The times I’ve been in emotional duress and gotten tattooed, I’ve been like, ‘This is fine.’  Then I’ll get one in a similar spot when I’m in a better state mentally, and I’ll say, ‘Oh my God, this is the most excruciating pain I’ve ever been in.’ But my favorite tattoo is always my most recent. I already have my next appointment scheduled.” — Makala Chubbuck, mobile pet groomer and host of Queeriosity trivia, @mm_chubbs/ @queeriositypvd

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Mamata Head. Photography by Chad Weeden

“I’m Niuean. Being Polynesian and growing up in the United States as an islander, I always wanted a way to be here in the US but also be identifiable as an islander. It’s hard to represent your culture when you are so far from it. After visiting since I was seven, I flew to New Zealand to go to my tattoo artist (Iata Peautolu), specifically for the tattoo because he is one of the only artists who specializes in Niuean tattoos. He did it free hand and designed it in the moment as I was telling him about my family on the island. With certain tattoos you want to make sure they’re true to you and this is the one tattoo that I was certain I’d never regret.” —Mamata Head, local restaurant server

Mamata Head. Photography by Chad Weeden

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Elton “LT” Duarte. Photography by Chad Weeden

“I feel like there’s a huge misconception that if you’re tattooed or heavily tattooed, it’s trashy. I think tattoos bring out the beauty in a person. You don’t need tattoos to be beautiful, but it brings out the aura of a person. Tattoos aren’t just for criminals, that stigma should be long gone. You have police officers, doctors, reputable people with tattoos.  My little brother Jay, who now works at my tattoo parlor, did [my chest piece]. The hawk is my spirit animal and it’s holding a snake which is wrapped around the anchor. The anchor will always be planted no matter what. The snake’s trying to take me down but the anchor is keeping me grounded. It’s surreal to have my little brother tattooing me because, as his mentor, I taught him so much of what he knows. My body is pretty open for tattoos but now I’m finally able to get tattooed by someone I really trust. He’s going to do my whole back.” — Elton “LT” Duarte, owner of One with the Arts in East Providence, @owta___

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Eleanor Dobson. Photography by Chad Weeden

Eleanor Dobson. Photography by Chad Weeden

“In 2020, I found out I had a brain tumor the size of a lemon, and I was one teaspoon of cerebral fluid away from dying. I underwent a fourteen-hour surgery to remove it. During my recovery, Fredd [from 1001 Troubles] who did a tattoo on my leg, sent a message asking if I was okay. It clicked: I wanted to get a tattoo of my journey and he’s the one to do it. I tell him the whole story and he says, ‘This is so surreal, like Alice in Wonderland. Can I go with that?’ Little did he know, that was my favorite book in high school. He showed me the concept drawing and I almost cried —  honored wasn’t even the word. The lemon tree, the hair, the bunny, the clock — they all represented pieces of my journey. Even the portrait of the girl with her determined expression, she looks just like me as a child. It took fourteen hours to complete. All of my other tattoos I can hide, but I purposefully went out of my way to make it so that you cannot hide her. We are not defined by the things that happen to us, we are defined by how we react to them. She is my reaction. Carrying her with me every day is important because I sometimes forget what I’ve been through. She’s a reminder that I did go through something monumental. She is strong and she is beautiful and so am I.” —Eleanor Dobson, Sign Maker and Historian at Historicelly, @uncreativellie. For more, check out her new podcast, I Have a Brain Tumor, on Spotify.

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Tara D’Agostino. Photography by Chad Weeden

“My favorite thing about being a tattoo artist is creating something unique for my clients that they can look at and be proud of and wear forever. I love how people feel after a tattoo, and I love the connections I get to make with my clients.”— Tara D’Agostino, owner of Iron Lion Tattoo in Warwick, @ironliontattoo

Tara D’Agostino. Photography by Chad Weeden