Jim Schuhrke
Published August 2007
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If the last name Schuhrke sounds familiar to you, it’s because we featured Jim’s wife Penny in our April 2007 issue. Jim works along side Penny at China Doll Tattoo in Hammond, Indiana. While Penny is soft spoken, not hyping herself or her art, my conversation with her husband Jim was a little different. He’s all too happy to show off Penny’s art, and as we flipped through the shop’s books, Jim pointed out Penny’s work every chance he got. Jim is a very talented artist himself, and prefers doing the smaller pieces that come through the shop, while Penny prefers doing the larger work.

Dave Muller: How did you get into the business?

Jim Schuhrke: Basically, I had gone to art school and I was looking for a job. I ran into two guys that are in the industry right now, both working as tattoo artists. They were working at a street shop that needed help, back in ‘93. It was just the two of them, and they didn’t have any drawing skills. Meanwhile, I was a “card carrying” artist, so they asked if I wanted to do this for a living, At the time tattoo shops weren’t as mainstream as they are now, so I didn’t really know what I was getting into. I said yes, thinking that it would just be a summer job, but my summer gig turned into a lifelong career. That was 16 years ago, even though it doesn’t feel like it’s been that long.

Dave Muller: So you got your start in art school?

Jim Schuhrke: It was that or the mill, or some other type of blue collar job. I hate the cold, and I wanted to be happy with what I do. Since the age of three, I was drawing on everything, homework, coloring books, pretty much anything I could draw on. Now, I do skin, illustration boards, motorcycle helmets and everything in between.

Dave Muller: How do you feel about the tattoo business in general?

Jim Schuhrke: I think it’s become more mainstream. People aren’t afraid to show off their tattoo work. People are getting more work done in visible areas, where before they were more discreet. I feel people are becoming more selective about what they want, rather than just picking something off the wall. They want something more unique and custom, so we’re getting to be more creative. People get a starting point somewhere, and then we get to run with it.

Dave Muller: What kinds of pieces do you like to do?

Jim Schuhrke: That’s really hard to say, I like a little bit of everything. Hot rods, pin-ups, and fantasy stuff like dragons, knights and warriors. I like a lot of the new school stuff, where you take a normal object and just twist it into something cool. It doesn’t matter if it’s something small and cheesy or big and cool, I just love to do tattoos.

Dave Muller: What won’t you do?

Jim Schuhrke: I won’t do gang stuff, anything anti-Semitic, or things that will get people into trouble. I won’t do things that are stupid, I once had a guy who wanted someone swinging from a tree, or some requests for things with certain numbers; they just say it’s for their ‘group’. If I don’t feel comfortable with it, I won’t do it. I have to be comfortable with all of the work that goes out of this shop. In this business it’s so hard to get a good reputation, and so easy to get a bad one. People never say good things about other shops, but it’s really easy to say bad things. I’m more worried about our customer’s reactions, I want everything in the shop to be positive.

Dave Muller: What are your future plans?

Jim Schuhrke: I’d like to get my name out more, and push my art to the next level. I’d love to do more art in other mediums as well, maybe get into some airbrushing. I’d like to have more of my own personal artwork for sale at the conventions we go to, and maybe some T-shirt designs as well.

Dave Muller: All this from a guy with only one tattoo of his own?

Jim Schuhrke: Yes, that’s all I have. I hate the pain. Everyone in the shop thinks I’m a huge vagina when it comes to getting work, but I just haven’t figured out what I want to get yet. When I got my first one, I had just started tattooing, probably for about 6 or 8 months. It’s not huge, and I don’t regret what I picked, I just don’t know what else to get. When you tattoo everyday, and you see everything, it can be hard to decide what to get. So I just what to plan it out a little. Eventually, I’d like to sleeve out my arm, but what kind of theme do you do for a skinny-ass arm?

Dave Muller: Anything else you’d like to add?

Jim Schuhrke: I’m just a humble guy that likes doing tattoos, I’m not full of myself, I’m more worried about the customer being happy with my work than anything else. I like to make sure that everyone gets the same amount of attention.

When you walk into China Doll Tattoo and see how much flash they have on the wall, it’s easy to forget that they are primarily a custom shop. In fact, they have more flash on the wall than most of the street shops I’ve been to. When you stop by, be sure to take a look at their books, and don’t forget to tell them that we sent you.

Written by: Dave Muller
Photos courtesy of: China Doll Tattoo

Copyright ©2007 By The Intense Media Group. All Rights Reserved.