Madame Lazonga's Tattoo
Custom tattoo shop located in Seattle's Pike Place Market, owned and operated by Seattle's "First Lady of Tattoo" and world renowned artist, Vyvyn Lazonga.
I started my tattoo career in 1972 as an apprentice for 8 years under a retired seaman named C.J. Danny Danzl. Even before I started to tattoo I had a vision of what tattooing could be. I was one of maybe 2 or 3 women tattooing at that time. Long before the internet all communication was by workd of mouth, letters, and phone calls. Through the years I have garnered many awards and watched how tattooing has taken off and become a fad and a commodity for T.V. My vision still holds true as I continue on. I have always wanted to be a conduit for interpreting other people's ideas into a permanent piece of art that acts as a powerful talisman they can carry with them until they die.
Now more then ever it's important to not only be a talented person with social skills but to wear "many hats" in this business. Networking is the number one skill that trumps everything else these days, so here I am off onto a new journey to learn some new skills and hopefully share with others.
The last several years I have been doing a lot of scar cover ups and mastectomy scar cover ups. It's a joy to be able to turn something that people hate into something that they can be proud of. My approach is not only to just cover the scar but to be able to make a refined piece of art out of something, it should be able to have a nice flow to it so it works with the muscle and bone structure instead of working against it. I am grateful for my talent and to be able to do this work.