HOME | ABOUT MILLER | TATTOOS | BODY PIERCING | STAFF | DIRECTIONS | CONTACTJAKE DALTON | ZACK HOOK |
 |
StaffWe currently have one tattoo artist, Jake Dalton. Zack Hook is our piercer and also a tattoo apprentice. Jake also manages the shop. Click on the names above to view photos of their work.
Jake Dalton's Bio [view Jake's portfolio]My working career started out in the Restaurant Industry -- about as far as one could be from the world of tattooing. I lived and worked at the Lake of the Ozarks. I had gotten tattoos here and there, and this sparked my desire to use my artistic talent. For me, tattooing was going to be much more than a job, it was going to be my lifestyle. I worked for about six months trying to learn tattooing on my own, but was not satisfied with my progress. I heard about Miller Cotton and his reputation as a tattoo artist and wanted to learn from the best. I would go to Springfield on my days off and hang out at his shop, running errands, answering phones and absorbing everything I could of his knowledge and talent. I wanted to show Miller my desire to learn, to let him see that I was a worthy candidate for an apprentice position in his shop. I knew that to be the best, I had to learn from the best. The rest is history. I did my first tattoo in the fall of 1992 and have been tattooing ever since. I have had the great privilege of traveling around the country and tattooing beside some of the best artists in the industry. Always watching and always learning. I have had the great experience of traveling to and tattooing in such places as Daytona Bike Week, Laconia Bike Week, and Sturgis Bike Week, and various other independent tattoo conventions. I have been to Easyrider Invitational Bike show in Columbus several times and this has always been one of my favorite places to visit and tattoo. I have had the great honor to be featured in several tattoo magazines. One of my greatest achievements as an artist was to earn the coveted cover of Tattoo Magazine. I have won several awards and trophies locally, as well as a “Best Tattoo of the Day Award” at a convention in Pittsburg, Kansas. I guess you could say I have come a long way from the young man who wanted to use his artistic talent as a career. You could say my specialty is what my client wants. I do it all, big or small, but really enjoy black and gray work. Although most of my time is spent doing what I love, tattooing, I do take time to enjoy other things in life, such as motorcycling, restoring my old cars, hunting, fishing, and most of all, spending time with my three best friends… my dogs. I am very blessed to be able to do the things I do and have a job I take great pride in and enjoy doing. Not very many people can say that in this day and age. My life has come full circle, as I am back where I first started, at Miller Cotton’s Tattoos. I guess you could say I have finally come home.
Zack Hook's Bio [view Zack's portfolio]I grew up in the Ozarks and though I have lived in other places, I always come back home to Springfield. My first exposure to body piercing was through National Geographic. I grew up seeing and reading about the many different cultures and how piercings were an integral part of these societies, I was fascinated. Once I reached high school, I started getting piercings myself. It was during this time, that I began seeing piercings more as an art and less about the religious and cultural significance. I started piercing in 1998 by accident. I happened to be in the right place, at the right time. The shop that I had been getting my work done at needed a new piercer because they were opening a new location. I was told to ask the owner if I could get an apprenticeship. I was piercing a few months later. Some of my favorite piercings to do are intricate ear piercings and surface piercings. If I am not piercing, I can be found at one of two places, on my motorcycle or at a paintball field. Paintball is the only activity that I have done longer than piercing. I started playing paintball in 1990 and was instantly hooked. I have competed at almost every level and am still on one team that plays on a regular basis, though I do fill in for other teams when needed. Come on in the shop and look at my portfolio for many different piercing ideas.
|
Cheap tattoos aren't GOOD! Good tattoos aren't CHEAP! |
 |
|