Who Did Your Ink?: Shannon Elliott sticks to meaningless tattoos

Who Did Your Ink? is the Straight’s weekly feature, where we ask badass Vancouverites about the talented artists, indelible stories, and, at times, questionable antics behind their most treasured tattoos.

What's your name?  Shannon Elliott.

What do you do?  I’m a tattoo artist at Black Medicine Tattoo and occasional painter/designer.

Who did your ink?  Nomi Chi did my first big piece (a drunk skeleton) when I was 22. Since then, I've mostly been tattooed when travelling or by friends and studio-mates in Vancouver.

I’ve had work done by Jenna Bouma before she moved to New York; Ryan Shaffer in Seattle; Brown Peanut and Kim Sany in Seoul; and Sophie Lee in Berlin. And of course, almost everyone at my shop.

Why did you choose these artists to do your tattoos?  It’s usually someone whose body of work I admire.

Sometimes, I don’t even know what I’m getting until I show up to the appointment but if it’s someone with a solid aesthetic, I put my trust in them.

Is there any meaning behind them?  I am a firm believer in having no meaning behind any of my tattoos (except my first one, which is the acronym for “International High Roller”, my ultimate life goal.)

I get tattoos because I think the design is interesting, or because they were made by an artist whose work I admire, or just because I think that they’re pretty.

Who's your favourite local tattoo artist?  Ali Bruce, Moorea Hum, Alison Woodward, Boone Naka, and everyone at Black Medicine.

What's next on your ink list?  I’m heading to a convention in Shanghai in the fall with my friends Yi Stropky, Colin Cej, Charlie Horse, and Katakankabin. (All amazing tattooers—check them out, too).

I have no idea what it’s going to be like—Mainland China is unchartered territory as far as my style of tattooing is concerned.

It’s exciting, what's going on in the industry right now. There are more great artists out there than ever and social media has made them so easy to find.

I’m hoping to spend the next few years travelling and getting tattooed as much as possible.