clipped from: sfgate.com Vyvyn Lazonga, 60, started tattooing more than 30 years ago and was one of the first female artists in what was then the manly man's world of tattooing. Madame Lazonga, as she is known, worked in San Francisco for many years until the '89 earthquake destroyed her Haight Street shop. She has long advocated the importance of tattooing in peoples' quest to connect with the divine. I spoke with her by phone from her home in Seattle about the spiritual side of tattoo art.
I like Buddhism and paganism. I like the idea of worshiping or honoring the Mother Earth and things that grow out of the earth. And honoring people. And most of all honoring myself.
Everything in my life has changed due to having tattoos. My whole outlook on the world has changed. So has the way I perceive people and how they perceive me.
Joseph Campbell used to say, "Artists are the modern-day mythmakers, shamans and storytellers." I talk about this a lot on my Web site. Some people think of tattoos as a way to mark a time in their lives. For me, it is beyond time. I believe the images we wear on our bodies can represent profound and universal concepts. Whatever images we choose, our body art is a true expression of our mythological belief systems. And mythology, in my opinion, has always been the glue that has held societies together. Tattooing is more than just skin deep. I'm honored when people let me put artwork onto their bodies.