By Promise Roy a student submission
Escaping the winter breeze blasting down Midland Street in Bay City, you throw open the door to the dimly-lit Electric Chair Tattoo parlor.
There’s a half-hidden artist in one of the six booths resting at the back of the room. Each booth with its own lighting and a red curtain for privacy. The artist is hunched over, concentrating on their work while another artist, standing nearby, offers some hype, “That will look so awesome with those white highlights!”
These artists do not use paintbrushes. They use tattoo guns. And their canvases are the human body. These are tattoo artists at the iconic Electric Chair Tattoo in Bay City, and this is a peek inside of a significant scope of the art world — the world of tattoos.
Electric Chair Tattoo is one of the many businesses in downtown Bay City. Whichever side of the Saginaw River you end up on, you are sure to find unique shops, good food, and plenty of quality art.
This art might appear in the form of a gallery, a wall mural, or a tattoo parlor located on Midland Street. With this business coming highly recommended by clients, the opportunity to explore Electric Chair a little better and connect with some of the artists is something to consider when visiting Bay City.
Tattoo artist Leah Luna agreed to an interview, to be conducted in her booth so that the environment could be experienced better. After resting comfortably on the long, black, leather seat that her clients would usually occupy, also referred to the “TatSoul.”
Every wall was inviting to be explored like a “search and find” book full of colorful depictions of creatures, people, and scenes, sometimes combined into one being. Each booth was decorated as the individual artist’s personal workstation, containing anything from colorful lights to strange and incredible trinkets.
Luna’s booth holds all sorts of stickers, movie-themed decorations, and trinkets that took the form of many kinds of animals and creatures
Luna started out as many artists do, she grew up drawing and creating.
“When I was in middle school all the high-schoolers would have me like, draw their tattoo designs for them,” Luna shared. “And they would take the designs and go get like house tattoos.”
Sometimes the finished result of these tattoos would not quite come back in the same condition that Luna had sent them out, proving that not all tattoo artists are equal.
Luna knew that she could do better than what these artists had done and that grew into her desire to do something with her art.
Luna’s co-workers chimed in with funny jokes or comments while she was interviewed, giving a good look into the fun environment that is Electric Chair. Each artist has their own opinions and things to add to the conversation, making the environment friendly and relaxed.
But standards are high for the artists.
“I feel like with every tattoo [that I do] I learn something new so I’m just constantly growing as an artist so it’s hard to pick one from the past,” said Luna. “Because I feel like I’m always looking back at my old stuff like ‘Dang, I really could’ve done that better!”
Luna shared a picture of a recent tattoo that she really loves, an image of the legendary Greek figure, Persephone. She has a particular fondness for tattooing images of “goddesses and creepy things.”
The wall of her booth had hangings, black and white outlines of all sorts of beautiful goddesses. Each was elegantly designed with touches of nature as part of their bodies — such as leaves, flowers, wings, horns, and any whimsical idea that you can imagine.
Tattoos are a permanent accessory, so it is important to study the quality of an artist/business before picking one to do your art. It also helps to find an environment where you to enjoy the process, a good atmosphere makes one much more at ease.
When picking out a design, customers can start with a consultation with the artist to try and figure out what kind of tattoo they desire. Some clients even come in with no particular requests at all and leave it up to the artist.
“I like when I at least have a direction to go with. It’s always intimidating when someone’s like ‘Just do whatever you want,’” Luna said. “Because, what if you don’t want what I want? So, I like to have just a little bit of a direction. I like putting the pieces together with someone else’s ideas, I like collaborating with my clients.”
Tattoos aren’t for everyone and have carried a negative stigma for years, even spreading to corporate-level workplaces and affecting hiring processes or dress codes by having tattooed employees cover-up.
However, recent evidence shows that they are being more accepted in workplaces. Even big-name companies such as Disney and UPS have updated policies as recently as 2021— allowing employees in specific roles to show more tattoos for the first time, while on the job.
All the employees at Electric Chair had the same answer to my question when asked what they would say to someone who didn’t like tattoos, “Don’t get one.”
For more information about the Electric Chair, visit www.facebook.com/Electricchairtattoobaycity or call them at: (989) 922-8282, To contact Leah directly, email her at LeahLunaTattoo@gmail.com
