It’s no secret that most tattoo artists are fabulous, but some are simply more fabulous than others. Meet Porcelain. Porcelain is not only a great tattoo artist but she’s also a very talented drag performer. Drag has been an art form that has existed for hundreds of years but in the last decade it’s truly stepped up and become recognized in it’s own right. However, the subcultures of tattooing and drag have rarely been linked, partially because each is so very different.
Tattoo Career
Located in San Francisco, Porcelain works at Blue Dragon Tattoo. She specializes in black and gray as well as dotwork and is quite talented. She began tattooing at the age of 19 and in a male dominated industry it’s no wonder she’s had some set backs. In fact, she even lost her job as a tattoo artist when she was younger because of her sexuality. Since then her desire to embrace both parts of her life have led her to be one of the most recognized figures in tattooing. Jordan as the artist was acceptable to many while Porcelain was not, something that led her to leave the East coast in favor of more accepting shores.
Her obsession with art began when she was around 15 and came strongly from a love of fashion and cosmetics. She began tattooing in 2008 while still in high school. As a young tattooer she met another artist named John who specialized in permanent cosmetics who schooled her in the basics of portraiture, highlighting, and contouring. Not only did she use this information to improve her artwork but also to transform her skills in drag.
Drag Queen
Named for her amazingly white-as-snow skin she’s originally from Philly and at 23 was already getting some amazing press as both a dark beauty, and a talented aerial artist skilled in both pole and suspension. Her drag career started early, and she’s been a performer her whole life.
The persona of Porcelain came about because of both teenage angst, a love of punk rock, and a yearning to join the circus. There are even a few pictures of her tattooing while in drag.
Personal Ink
Porcelain has a variety of different tattoos including a massive owl chest piece, an eyeball behind bars, and some goretastic portraits on her legs. In fact, Porcelain is pretty much covered!
It’s no secret that Porcelain is talented and stunning, but there are some real questions here. In a male dominated industry many female artists feel pressure to perform and be “talented and stunning”. In fact, as females Porcelain is giving recognition to something that has plagued the industry for years, that women in tattooing are both admired and despised because of their looks and skills. For a man to be skilled they’re just considered a great artist, but even with today’s society a woman is expected to be a sex symbol too. Jordan/Porcelain straddles both worlds and is talented in both which is what makes them unique.
