Interview with Jinxi Caddel
Hello Jinxi Caddel! Thank you
so much for taking the time to do this interview. Please start by
telling us something about yourself, why did you decide to get
tattooed? I first knew that I wanted to get tattooed when I was just a
teenager. I was at Disneyland and saw a girl with a Cheshire Cat
tattoo on her back. I thought it was the most beautiful thing I had
ever seen. I decided that day that I wanted to have tattoos someday
on my own skin, but I did not start getting tattooed until I was
almost 30 years-old and was really confident with myself and my life
and was certain that I wanted to be a tattooed woman.
Q: How old were you when you got your first tattoo?
A: I got my first tattoo when I was almost 30 years-old and it was a
little cherry on my ankle. Once I got it, I never looked back and
continued to get tattooed on a regular basis from that point on.
Q: Did you have support from your family and friends?
A: My husband and children love my tattoos and totally support me,
as do my friends. I guess I wouldn’t really be friends with anyone
who was bothered by my ink. My parents were a little confused when I
started getting tattoos and didn’t really understand why I wanted to
have them. But over the years, my mom has become very supportive of
me and my art. My sister, her husband and my brother are also
supportive. My brother-in-law and brother have quite a few tattoos
themselves.
Q: How it affected your professional life?
A: I have been very lucky to not have any issues with this because
for the last 12 years I have owned my own online collectibles
business (http://stores.ebay.com/mermaidink). I am my own boss and
luckily don’t have anyone telling me how I need to look or what to
wear. Since I sell everything online, most of my customers don’t
even know what I look like, as I pack and ship everything out of my
home office to all parts of the world. I started my business right
before I started getting tattooed, so it all kind of fell into
place. I am also a freelance writer and have written for many
magazines and newspapers. Last year, I co-wrote and edited my first
book with Mike DeVries called Let’s Be Realistic. I just finished
the second book with Mike that will be out later this year, called
Tattoo Prodigies. I also write and blog every day on my website
(www.JinxiBoo.com) about tattoos, being a mom, vegan cooking and
baking, inspirational stories and much more.
Q: How many artists have worked on your body over the
years?
A: Over a dozen artists have tattooed me over the years. I have
almost 400 hours of tattoo work on my body and about 185 of those
hours are with Mike DeVries. I have several artists whose work I
really admire and have not collected from yet, who I plan to save
spots for. I don’t plan to stop until I run out of skin, which,
unfortunately is happening faster and faster, it seems.
Q: Do you have a favorite tattoo on yourself?
A: Oh gosh, this is a hard one because I have so many that I love.
All of the portraits of my family: my husband Steve; and one each of
all three of my children: Brynn, Shea, and Aidan - all mean so much
to me. But besides those portraits which I love for sentimental
reasons, I think my favorite is the octopus on my throat/chest. The
octopus tattoo took 26 hours (6 sessions) to complete and was just
incredible to watch it come to life. It was also the first tattoo
that Mike DeVries did for me and that began a great part of my
tattoo journey when I started collecting his work.
Q: Your tattoos "speak" about your personality?
A: Yes, they definitely do. I tattoo what I love, so it really
encompasses me and my journey through life. Some are very
sentimental, like the portraits of my family; while others are just
things I love, like song lyrics, cartoon characters, words that are
special to me, or cupcakes and candy. I also think that my tattoos
speak about issues that matter to me and statements that I want to
convey to the world. I figure if you are going to wear art for the
rest of your life, you better REALLY like what you choose to put
there, be prepared for people to ask you about it, and be proud of
the beautiful ink that you acquire.
Q: Is there
anything you regret?
A: I am very happy with the tattoo collection that I have so
far. I know it might sound hard to believe, but I do NOT regret any
of my tattoos. Even some that I got a long time ago, that are not
necessarily the best work, those still mean a lot to me because they
remind me of that time in my life when I received them and that is a
part of my entire journey through life. Each one tells a story in
its special little way and in turn, that tells MY story, so I just
couldn’t regret any of them. I treasure them all.
Q: What is the most painful place to get tattooed?
A: I know that this varies for everyone, but for me, the most
painful place to get tattooed so far was on my head. It is a very
tender area and it bleeds a lot. I also had two artists (Mike DeMasi
and Mike DeVries) tattooing my head at the same time. There was one
artist (one Mike) on each side, while I laid down on a table with my
head faced down for part of the tattoo and then laid back in a chair
so they could to the areas around my hairline for the other part of
the tattoo. Having two tattoo machines going at the same time on my
head was really painful. We are not finished with my head project
yet and still have a few more sittings to go, but even when it
hurts, it is always worth it in the end.
Q: Your tattoos are awesome. Your advice on choosing the right artist?
A: I actually just wrote a blog about this, if you are interested,
you can read the entire piece here:
http://www.jinxiboo.com/tattoo-corner/tattoo-advice/finding-a-good-artist.html
But the short answer is that I think it is really important to take
the time to find an artist who really understands your vision for
your tattoo ideas. There are so many great artists in the tattoo
industry, but making sure that they really match up with your style
and the dream you have for your tattoo collection is so important.
It is also really worth noting that getting a tattoo is not the best
time to look for a bargain. You usually get what you pay for when it
comes to tattoo work and since you are going to wear your ink
forever, it is worth saving up for if you need to, to make sure that
you get excellent work from a safe, clean shop.
Q: Do you feel that women have been under-represented in the
tattoo world?
A: I think that respect for women is starting to come around, but in
the scope of the tattoo industry, there are not as many tattooed
women as there are tattooed men, so we might not be as visible in
this way. Don’t get me wrong, there are a LOT of tattooed women out
there. But years ago, it wasn’t as acceptable for women to be
tattooed as it was for men, so we still have catching up to do (he
he). More often, it seems to be society in general who does not give
tattooed women an equal impression. It seems that a lot of people
are even more judgmental towards heavily tattooed women than men, in
a way. I don’t know if it is because they not used to seeing a woman
with so many tattoos and they are used to seeing men with ink, or if
they just don’t think that a woman should have tattoos, but when I
am with my husband or other tattooed male friends and people seem to
give us disapproving looks, I often feel that they are more shocked
by me having a lot of ink than the men around me. I really think
that needs to change and I work hard in my own life to try and give
tattooed women a positive image. I think that the best thing you can
do to try and overcome stereotypes from society that is not
accustomed to tattooed people is to be kind, generous, intelligent
and not ever be judgmental towards another person - in any way -
because hopefully, they will see this, learn the lesson and give you
the same respect.
Q: Do you feel that people treat you differently because
you're a woman?
A: I believe that equality is coming for women, but that we have to
work extra hard to demand that it is there. I have been very lucky
in that I do feel a lot of kindness and respect from my fellow
tattoo collectors and from tattoo artists in the industry. I think
that is a testament to the open minds that tattooed people have over
society in general. When you decide that you are going to modify
your body, you sort of step into a whole other world and know that
many people around you might not agree with your decision, but other
tattooed and modified people understand what you are going through
and are therefore more accepting, whether you are a female or male.
I think that really says a lot about the character of people in the
tattoo world. At least in my experience, it has been very positive
in that respect.
Q: How do you feel after the awesome TV show "Wife Swap"?
A: Wife Swap was a really crazy and eye-opening experience. The show
really found a family that was totally opposite from us, and it was
a big challenge to try and make it through the two weeks of living
in their home when we filmed the show. The other family did not like
our tattoos or our lifestyle and our family thought that they really
needed to open up and have more fun in life. The show did portray
many parts of our life and how we parent our children and live our
lives. Of course, as with all reality television shows, they really
like to show the drama. So when the show was edited, they chose very
dramatic times and scenes. My family and I really learned to
appreciate each other and the lives that we have, the friends that
we have, the family that we have. When you see life from such a
different perspective, like the family that we swapped with, that is
so close-minded and repressive, it really makes you grateful that
you are surrounded by loving people who accept you for who you are
and for being open-minded and diverse.
Q: How long took you to write your first tattoo
book called "Let's Be Realistic". How was the feeling
working with
legend like Mike DeVries?
A: Writing Let’s Be Realistic with Mike was a great experience. He
is one of my best friends, so it was really easy to work together
and we really understand each other well, so have the same point of
view on almost everything that was included in the book. Mike has
tattooed almost 200 hours of tattoo work on me, so given the time I
have spent in his tattoo chair, plus the time we worked on the book,
we definitely have a great appreciation and friendship. The book was
a LOT of work. It took almost 8 months in its entirety; which
included writing, editing, proofreading, and so much more. We were
very pleased with the way it turned out. The second book, Tattoo
Prodigies, will be going to the printer very soon, so watch for it
later this year or early next year to be available for sale.
Q: Any plans?
A: I like to keep busy and always have new plans and goals on the
horizon. My days are full from start to finish and sometimes I just
wish there were more hours in the day. I will definitely continue
writing more and more on my website; about tattoos, vegan cooking
and baking, my family, motherhood, music, books, activism and
anything else that I am involved in. Now that the Tattoo Prodigies
book is almost finished, I want to start writing my own book and
will start outlining the ideas for that soon. I continue to collect
cupcake art for my project, The Cupcake Continuum, which you can
check out at www.CupcakeContinuum.com and I am also working on
building up another website where people can share inspirational
stories about their lives.
Thank you for the opportunity to be featured in your
magazine/website. I really appreciate it and am happy to be a part
of your great project!