Big Cheese From The Old School

Tattooing by Rick Harnowski

By Rev. Chad Wells ITA

Frequently now we hear stories about the wunderkind who drops out of art school to become and overnight ink-slingin sensation. far fewer these days are stories of apprenticing in the school of hard knocks where scarred knuckles, fast bikes, and faster women are the rule of the day. Rick Harnowski's story is a classic of old-school tattooing that harkens back to those carefree, happy days.

Now 56 years old, his story stars in the old country. "I was born in Glowgow, Poland in 1952 and came to the U.S. in 1963 at the age of 11," Harnowski said. "My mom was Czech and my dad was Lithuanian. In Europe they were common laborers, and in the U.S. they were both factory workers. In Poland, we grew our own food and raised chickens just to make ends meet. We never really had toys so we made up games with sticks and other things we would find.

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