Frequently Asked Questions

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Hello, my name is Dion Kaszas, I am a Hungarian, Metis, and Nlaka'pamux ancestral skin marker, professional tattoo artist and podcaster.  I have been tattooing since 2009. 

My work has appeared in The New York Times, Skin Deep Magazine, The World Atlas of Tattoo, Tattoo Traditions of Native North America and most recently the television series Skindigenous which premiered in 2018 on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network and USA Ink on FOX Nation.

I have been an invited artist at international tattoo festivals in Spain, New Zealand, Samoa  and across Canada. 

I focus on heavy blackwork/neo-tribal tattoos fashioned after my ancestors designs, symbols and motifs. This is a style I developed over the past few years called Nlaka'pamux blackwork.

I also specialize in blackout, handpoke and skin stitch tattooing, however I am open to any tattoo project you wish to embark on, send over your ideas through the consultation form.  

All of my appointments are taken through the consultation form.

I currently have two options:

I charge an hourly rate of $200 an hour plus taxes for smaller projects. 

If we are working on a larger piece, it is at a day rate of $1000 plus taxes. This means we tattoo as long as you can sit for and this allows for as many breaks etc. that are required throughout the day.  This also means the whole day is reserved for you and no other appointments will be booked on the day of your appointment. 

I look forward to booking your next session. 

Yes!

As a Nlaka'pamux person I share designs, symbols, and motifs from within my culture as a gift to the world. It is from my rights, relationship and responsibilities that I share Nlaka'pamux Blackwork. It is from within the boundaries of my culture that these things are offered. 

I am becoming more and more convinced that it is when we come together and honour the gifts being offered from each community through humility and compassion that we can move forward in protecting the earth and all that is. This is why I offer my practice as a transformative blackworker to those who wish to wear it, and participate in a contemporary ceremony for transformation and change. 

I started Nlaka'pamux Blackwork as a way to bring awareness to the beauty and sophistication of my ancestors visual language. Every new piece created using Nlaka'pamux visual language is a way to reinvigorate and enhance our lives. I see the wearing of our designs when applied by someone who has rights relationship and responsibilities to the designs as a form of reconciliation and reparation.  

When you book your next tattoo with me or another Indigenous tattoo artist you are contributing to the lifting up of cultures and communities. 

I speak about cultural appropriation as a question of rights, relationships, and responsibilities.  In the case of tattooing at least one person in the interaction needs to have rights, relationship and responsibilities to the design. Many times it is the practitioner or tattoo artist who have the relationship to the design through their culture. This can also be true if the person receiving the tattoo has the relationship through their culture, in this case it is irrelevant who the tattoo artist is. There is another case that I can see as within this framework or rights, relationship and responsibilities, if an Indigenous artist was commissioned to do the artwork and then gives consent for that artwork to be used as a tattoo.  

If there are no rights, relationship or responsibilities to the designs, symbols and motifs being tattooed by anyone in the equation then this is cultural appropriation. 

It is important to honour the boundaries of our cultures and communities in the same way that it is important to honour the boundaries of our bodies and beings as individuals. I see cultural appropriation as a violation of our cultural boundaries and when they aren’t respected, then it can be understood that the individuals, corporations, institutions, and entities that are violating our boundaries, are unsafe to contribute to and operate within, and alongside. 

It is my responsibility to protect the things that are appropriate for me to share and not share. With this in mind I am aware that there are patterns, combinations of patterns, and designs that are not appropriate to share with none Nlaka’pamux and Interior Salish peoples and it is my responsibility to hold and protect these patterns. 

However the patterns, designs, symbols and motifs that are appropriate to share are offered as a gift from me and my ancestors to the individual who is offered that gift to wear and assist them on their journeys. 

•Remove bandage after 3 hours and rinse tattoo with clean water gently removing any dried blood, ink, etc. Do not re-bandage. Wash your tattoo gently 4-5 times per day for the next 3 days.

•Your tattoo should be healed in 14 days.  

•After the third day, apply a small amount of a good quality unscented moisturizer a few times daily to keep it from drying out as it heals. Some products work for some people but not for others. Always do a “test spot” on a small area of your tattoo before applying it to the entire area… STOP USING IF YOU NOTICE INCREASED REDNESS, STINGING, OR DISCOMFORT OF ANY KIND!! IF YOUR TATTOO GETS “WEEPY OR RUNNY” THIS IS NOT NORMAL. WASH YOUR TATTOO IMMEDIATELY WITH MILD SOAP AND WATER AND CONTACT THE SHOP. These are all signs of a reaction to the moisturizer you are using and you must discontinue use if you wish your tattoo to heal properly. 

•Using moisturizer on your tattoo is only to keep it from dying out. Do not use excess amounts as this will cause your colour to fade. 

•SUN EXPOSURE WILL RUIN YOUR TATTOO IN LESS THAN 1 MINUTE IN THE FIRST 3 WEEKS OF HEALING!!! This applies to tanning beds also. If the sun is intense it will penetrate a thin cotton t-shirt so beware! Sun exposure will fade your tattoo at any time after healing so always use sunscreen SPF30 (sunscreen is for healed tattoos only).

•Do not soak your tattoo in a hot tub, pool, lake, bath tub, sauna, etc. for at least 2 weeks. It is ok to get your tattoo wet in the shower- you want to keep it clean but be brief. Do not pick any scabs or scratch your tattoo. Be very careful not to allow clothing to rub or irritate your tattoo (waist bands, tags, etc.). This will cause inflammation and will interfere with healing. 

THE FINAL OUTCOME OF YOUR TATTOO IS UP TO YOU! TAKE CARE OF IT!