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| Charles Cain, striving to maintain
artform of the tattoo |
Becky DiVerniero
Features Beat |
Monica Geraci | The Appalachian |
Although Charles Cain,
owner of the Mark of Cain tattoo parlor, may look like the stereotypical
tattoo artist, he claims the similarities end there.
“I don’t drink or do drugs,” he
said. “Those things don’t go well with body modification.
“If someone is drunk or high when they are
working on you, or asks if you want to get high before they start,
they probably don’t really care about the person they’re
working on. |
“I may be a little
weird; I have some weird stuff; I like my motorcycles, but I’m
not like most tattoo artists,” said Cain, the proud owner of
a newly purchased hearse, a vehicle typically used by funeral homes
to carry coffins to gravesites.
Adding to his originality, Cain was ordained
as a minister in the late 90s.
“I think everyone should be ordained,”
said Cain. “Everyone is a total spiritual unit. You need to
find God inside yourself. I’m not part of a satanic church
either. I may wear black clothes, but that doesn’t mean I pray
to satan.”
The name of his parlor, Mark of Cain, is even
a biblical reference, alluding to the story of brothers Cain and
Abel. In the parable, Cain kills his brother and is then marked
by God.
“I think the mark meant he was one of God’s
people,” said Cain.
Cain began doing business in Boone seven years
ago. He has become intensely popular, evident by both his waiting
list and amount of return customers.
“I work between six to seven days a week
and do about three to five pieces a day,” he said. “I
do roughly 1,000 pieces a year and 700-900 of those are return customers.
“One-third of my business is locals, one-third
is within three hours [of Boone] and one-third is over three hours
away. A guy from Hong Kong came all the way here to get a tattoo.
He didn’t have any other business [to conduct] in the states.
I have a guy in Germany that comes three times a year to get work
done,” said Cain.
Cain has been widely published. Unlimited magazine
recently named him one of the top 10 artists in the Southeast in
a spring 2002 issue.
“I was the only one from North Carolina
that was on the list,” he said. “I’ve been published
in 21 magazines, and those are the ones I actually know about, there
could be more.”
Cain attributes his success partially to his
talent, but also to his determination to treat his work as true
art.
“In this fast food culture people are trying
to get your money and get you out,” he said. “There’s
more of a money drive than an art drive. There are more bad artists
out there than good. Getting a tattoo is cosmetic surgery, you need
to get it done right.
“Body art used to be revered as an art form.
We’re the first generation to think of it as less than art.
Some people will say they think it is, but when I tell them I’m
a tattoo artist they look at me differently,” said Cain.
Cain currently does all the body art and only
employs one person to work on piercings. He said he has no plans
to add anyone else.
“A lot of places will have more than one
person working on people, but they probably aren’t all equally
talented, so why should they get paid the same?”
Cain occasionally speaks at health fairs and
to classes about tattoo parlor health codes, an issue in which he
takes pride. Any interested customers that enter his parlor will
receive a copy of his latest health inspection.
“I’m not required by law to show [it]
to anyone, but I do because I think it’s important,” said
Cain. “It’s basic health information, but most places
won’t show you it. If you get a tooth pulled the dentist has
to warn you of what could happen, but not tattoo artists.”
Along with any health information they desire,
Cain shows interested customers a portfolio of his work.
“Most tattoo artists display their work
all over the walls where you first walk in. I don’t want my
customers to pick a tattoo off the wall. It’s not a Big Mac,
it’s a tattoo.”
Sara Younts, a senior journalism major at Appalachian,
went to Cain in December 2001 to get her first tattoo.
“I got a dolphin because I absolutely love
dolphins and I figured I always would, so I didn’t think I
would regret [the tattoo] later in life,” said Younts. “I
went to Cain based on my roommate’s recommendation. She does
not have any tattoos but knows a couple of people who do who got
them from Cain, and those people had high recommendations of him.
Also based on how long you have to wait before he can see you, I
figured he must be good if everyone’s going to him.
“I think he did a great job because I wanted
my dolphin to look more real than a cartoonish-looking character
and I didn’t even have to tell him that; that was the way he
thought he should do it just because it would look better that way.
And as an artist, I think he was great. I like the way he drew it.
I am thinking about going to get another tattoo,” said Younts.
Body art is far from the only medium Cain takes
part in.
“I paint and sculpt,” said Cain. “I
do about six graphic art pieces a year and turn down about 10-20
pieces every year. I could stop [tattooing] right now and still
be OK. I’m tattooing because so few are doing it properly.”
Cain said whenever he does a piece he takes into
account the shape of the person’s body so the tattoo will come
out even and stay that way whether weight or muscle tone shifts.
“Whatever I do always suits the body,”
said Cain. “What’s the use of a tattoo if you can’t
read it 20 years later?” |
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