Tattoos - Body Art that lasts a lifetime
Lima News - April 21, 2005
Findlay – The artwork that Ken Chorba creates lasts throughout a lifetime. The pieces he completes for each customer are originals, and each drawing he creates holds some meaning to those who provide Chorba with visions for his work. And Chorba takes time to come up with different variations of that vision – he knows that wen he’s finished, the artwork is going to be part of someone for life.
For 20 years, Chorba has worked as a tattoo artist, not just a tattooist. He’s spent 15 of those years in Findlay, and the last nine in a studio that’s an extension of his log cabin home.
Chorba talks with everyone who walks into his studio about what kind of tattoo they want, and he uses those conversations to come up with different sketches they can choose from. The tattooing doesn’t begin until he creates a tattoo the customer is excited about.
Experiencing that excitement, seeing how happy a person is with their body art is what it’s all about for Chorba.
“It takes time and consideration from me and the customer,” Chorba said of the process as he worked on a large back piece on Mark Brumbaugh. “If it jives, it turns out so great. You create something people are going to be wearing on their body for the rest of their lives. You can’t get better than that.”
Chorba’s shop is different than many others, he said, because you won’t find a wall filled with tattoos that anyone could get. In 20 years of work, he’s never duplicated a tattoo.
Pictures of people showing off some of his bigger tattoos cover the walls inside the studio, while photo albums are filled with other tattoos Chorba created over the years.
Tattooing is Chorba’s side job – his full time work happens at Cooper Tire in Findlay. He’s met many of his customers through his main job and those customer has spread the word.
David Karcher met Chorba at Cooper Tire, and when he decided he wanted more body art, he knew Chorba was his guy. Karcher and his wife, Tonita, ended up with matching tattoos – his around his arm and hers on her lower back.
Even though Tonita Karcher said she used to think tattoos weren’t for her; the pair decided they wanted something that represented them as a couple. Chorba talked with them about what they wanted, and it took about six months before both pieces were completed, Tonita Karcher said.
“It’s the expressionism,” Tonita Karcher said of what she liked about Chorba’s style. “It really is. What he helps you bring to the surface.”
No one ever walks out of Chorba’s studio with a finished tattoo after the first visit, Chorba said. It takes time for him to complete the drawings, and he can’t start the outline on the skin until customers select the art that suits them best. He works on the skin until it begins to react and swell – which is different for different people – and then he’ll stop for the day. After the outline is done, customers come back for shading and coloring to avoid overstressing the skin.
When Michael Pinks came to Chorba for a tattoo, he expected to have something on his arm when he left the studio. He was disappointed at first, but after seeing the tattoo he helped create grow with each visit, he knows the outcome will be worth the wait.
Once it’s finished, the tattoo won’t just be something Pinks picked off a wall – it will be a piece of art that tells a little about him, something that is meaningful to him.
“It’s just something that you watch come to life,” Pinks said. “… The more I look at it, the more excited I am about getting more done on the piece.”
Dan Myers and Cloyce Wolfe both have pieces that are more special than most. Myers has three tattoos created from drawings his son did before he died, and Wolfe has a tattoo in memory of his daughter, who also died.
Both men have other tattoos and Wolfe, who has a tattoo of a wolf on his arm, even had Chorba cover up an old tattoo that he didn’t like. Myers is thinking about what other tattoos he might add to what he already has, but no matter what he gets, he knows he’ll come to Chorba.
Chorba decided to get into tattooing because he didn’t like how he was treated when he got his first tattoos, he said over the sound of a tattoo gun. The quality wasn’t as good as he expected and he felt like the process rushed. He decided he could do better and went on to learn the trade from “old timers” who believed in the art behind tattoos.
Jason Augsburger felt comfortable with Chorba and he now has a large, colorful piece on his back because of it.
Once Augsburger walked into the studio and saw all the artwork, he was ready to start talking about what art would end up on his back.
“It’s an original piece, something that no one else will never have,” Augsburger said. “It was all about me. I didn’t pick something off the wall and slap it on my skin. It took close to a year to finish mine.”
Chorba began working on Mark Brumbaugh’s back tattoo in 1999, and said he has no idea when he’ll finish. Brumbaugh, who met Chorba at work, has more elements to add to the large piece that includes a mountain man. The pieces in his tattoo tell a lot about Brumbaugh, who describes himself as outdoorsy and someone who’s into history.
Brumbaugh doesn’t mind that it’s taking so long to finish, he’s just glad he’s able to trust the person who’s doing it.
“This is a lifetime decidion when you do something like this,” Brumbaugh said. “You better know what you want and know who’s going to do it. You don’t want a mistake you’re going to have to walk around with the rest of your life.
No matter where people go to get a tattoo, they should go somewhere they feel comfortable and where they know they can ask questions, Chorba said. If it seems like the tattooist is rushing you through it, leave and find another studio. Make sure the person holding the tattoo gun doesn’t skip any steps when it comes to sterilization and safety.
It’s limitless what you can do when it comes to tattooing. Chorba helps his customers turn their ideas into art, no matter how big or small the piece is.
“It’s an all-trust feeling. It’s an all-trust thing,” Chorba said. “They’re putting their body, their skin, in my hands. How can I do that wrong?”