Tight Lines

New Beginnings

2011-04-29T13:00:00.001-04:00

Come visit my new shop in Andover, NJ

Anti Hero Electric Tattoo

66 Main Street Andover, NJ 07821

For Appointments call 973 670 6656

www.erichornung.com is up!

2009-12-08T13:23:00.002-05:00

With Facebook and the website and trying to actually get some work done... Blogging has taken a back seat.
Check out my new website: www.erichornung.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/erichornung add my fan page... "The art of Eric Hornung"

been preoccupied...

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A picture is worth a thousand words.

2009-09-16T12:41:00.001-04:00

I am undisciplined blogger... So until I get back to doing this, I'll just post photos.

Election Day

2008-11-04T12:59:00.003-05:00

I am going to climb the walls until it's official. I'm taking nothing for granted. I can't wait for the polls to close... My hope is that its a landslide so that there is no squabblinga and bullshit that tarnishes the process.

Back in action.

2008-10-25T11:41:00.002-04:00

What's it been... a couple weeks? My need to cut, split, and stack firewood has preoccupied my subconcious. And then the time inside my head while doing firewood has helped me to de-frag so I just haven't felt like blogging.
We had a good weekend at the Salmon River, not as many landed as last year, but hooked up and fought monsters all weekend. My brother fell in and was actually briefly completely submerged, thank god it was only 24" of water. I give him a hard time about it but he rung out his clothes and fished the rest of the day without whining or needing to change his wet clothes. How's the trench foot Steph?
Tattooing is going well, thank god we don't generally tattoo people with a ton of money tied up in the stock market if ya know what I mean. I haven't been doing a ton of mind-blowing original stuff lately but with this economy I don't give a shit if I have to do a Taz every day, as long as we stay busy.

Wednesday

2008-10-08T12:54:00.003-04:00

Without getting political, I looked at that Red State vs. Blue State map of the United States last night after the debate. And I have to say... I was pleased to see how things are looking. It isn't easy to remain optimistic the way the last two elections played out. Look, I have my reasons for my oppinions. I won't bore you with them, but it's refreshing to feel like the idea of change is something the rest of the country is interested in... Not just California and the Northeast.
I will probably continue to talk shit about the south and midwest, but it feels like they're coming around. Now, whovever gets elected... Needs to fix the economy pretty fucking quick. Last time I checked, tattoos weren't a priority in most peoples budget. It's hard to justify a new tattoo when your mortgage doubled and the lights are about to be turned off.

Left on red.

2008-10-07T16:13:00.003-04:00

I'm finding it hard to concentrate, we leave friday for the Salmon River! Every year I wish away the weeks between Labor Day and Columbus Day weekend. I can't decide whether it's better to think fondly of fishing for salmon and huge trout on a fly, or is it the looking forward to it that I enjoy. I can't think of anything more fun than the annual fishing trip, but I'm trying to enjoy the build up. Like right now for instance... I'm looking forward to it. Once we are there it will be cool... but almost over. And I know that once it's over, It's a whole year before I get to go again. I like the idea of only going up once a year, It's kind of like ice cream when I was a kid. If it's a treat, you look forward to it. Once you're an adult and you can eat ice cream for dinner, it is no longer a treat.

This year, we're a smaller group than usual, my brother-in-law, Sean is expecting a baby girl, Richie is feeling the economy, I don't know what Pat the Fisher is doing... bowling probably. So it'll be Me & Steph. Larry, Mike, and Mike Jr.
For saturday at least, It'll be just Me and Stephan, that should be cool. While fishing, We can solve the economic crisis, argue without concern for whether we are annoying other members of our crew, and hopefully hold up some monsters for the camera.
Even as I type this I'm getting distracted by thoughts of the first morning, when the glass is still half full. Fuck! I'm ready to roll right now.

Paul Newman 1/26/25 - 9/26/08

2008-09-27T16:20:00.002-04:00

I recently asked my brother to name one rich person who isn't an asshole... He fired back quicker than I expected and said... Paul Newman. It was an easy answer because he knows that he was a hero of mine, but still he's right. I was deeply saddened this morning to hear that he has passed away. Ordinarily, I feel that the people who have the least give the most, there is of course a few exceptions. Not only was he my favorite actor, he was in inspiration.

Quick anecdote: As most of you know, My family runs a camp for families affected by AIDS/HIV. Paul Newman's "Hole in the wall" camps are for children with life threatening illnesses. We have had a couple kids at our camp that have also attended his. Now, I only bring this up because I hold him in such high regard... We get pats on the back, and "wow, that's great, what you do" Whatever, that's not why we do it. This little story is my favorite compliment that I've ever received...
The Hole in the Wall camps have millions at there disposal because of his generosity. We on the other hand get by on whatever we can scrape together. A couple years ago, I asked one particular camper about his experience at the Hole in the Wall, he said that is was fun, the cabin's were air conditioned, they had video games, internet, celebrity appearances, everything a kid could want... But that he liked our camp better. I was stunned, and am not ashamed to admit that it brought a tear to my eye. You see, when Jen and I started out as councellors, it was an emotional thing to be a part of. We'd get choked up just thinking about our experiences with the campers. Over time, and now as directors, we've hardened and are a lot less likely to have our heart-strings tugged. To think that our humble Healing Community could be preferred to my personal hero's million dollar camp experience! Wow.

I don't bring this up to brag, because what we do pales in comparison to what he has done for people all over the world. I'd like to think that if I was in position that I wouldn't do anything differently. Doing it and thinking it are two entirely different things. Thank You, Paul Newman, you will be missed.

I hate being a Mets fan.

2008-09-26T12:06:00.002-04:00

I couldn't bring myself to talk about the anything yesterday. The Met's absolutely crush me on a daily basis. Well, they got through Chicago yesterday and are still hanging on to a tie for the wildcard. Whatever happens it won't sting as much as last year. I don't realistically see them winning the world series, that being said... Every game for about a month now has felt like a playoff game, so they have been accustomed to tense, nail-biting, drama. Maybe they can pull it out. I wish they'd just win or lose, this up and down rollercoaster is affecting my mood every day.

Artistically I've been out of my rut and on a bit of a roll. I have been drawing alot. I'm really happy with what I've been doing. I just need to ink the sketches and paint them with watercolor. Once I get that done you can expect to see a few illustrations on here, they're fishing related but I figure fuck it, I wanna do what I like and eventually people will come around. Or not, but it makes me happy.

Boo Fucking Hoo

2008-09-24T17:43:00.003-04:00

I read last night that Roger Clemens was "heart-broken" not to be included in the Yankee Stadium closure festivities. It made my night. He truly is a self obsessed, Texas moron. To think with all the negative attention that would have brought on a historic event, he truly thought he'd be included. What an immature, me-me-me, clueless, bore. Almost everyone else involved with the steroid scandel has come clean, appologized and moved on. At least the ones who have been absolved or forgiven have anyway. So, he maintains innocence although he's on trial for purgery... Even if he's cleared on a technicality, I hope he twists in the wind for a long time, and it hurts his hall of fame status. He can hang out with Mark Mcgwire and cry about it. Why do these guys think they are above doubt? To me the funny part was that he had to watch the last game at Yankee Stadium on a battery powered TV, from his powerless home in Texas. I like to think of it as a touch of kharma coming back to him, maybe for the Piazza beanball or bat throwing incident?

Oh and Clay Aiken is gay... Didn't see that one coming. Who will come out of the closet next? George Micheal? I think the only person unaware of that was Clay himself. Well, glad you feel you can be yourself now Clay. Congratulations on your people magazine cover.

So long Yankee Stadium

2008-09-21T21:34:00.004-04:00

No more games played at Yankee Stadium... I'm not gonna watch the coverage but I'm sure there are crying Yankee fans. Ordinarily this is something I cherish. I didn't care to see or hear that troll, Susan Waldman. Or hear Micheal Kay talk about the memories and miss-pronounce "Rodgereekez" Or hear God Bless America for the thousanth time instead of Take Me Out to the Ballgame. But it's an espn game and... The only commentators I hate more than the afformentioned personalities are those two idiots, Joe Morgan and his Professor Honeydew sidekick. It's a tragedy that they get to call this historic game.

As far as the tears... The fans shouldn't be sad to see the old stadium go... They should be sad that they'll never be able to afford a ticket again. Someday I may eat my words but... Do you think Boston would ever tear down Fenway? Or Chicago tear down Wrigley? Nah, Me niether. I can understand the need for a new ball park. Shea is finally being put out of it's misery at the end of this season too. Except with Shea it's like finally throwing out an ugly impractical suit you've owned since the seventies. I'll spare you all my Yankee angst and just say this... It has got to be bad kharma to tear down Yankee Stadium, doesn't it? One can only hope.

689-673

2008-09-19T21:49:00.005-04:00

Well, Anonymous, Since you've asked, I'll explain where I'm at... And then use your question as a springboard to a rant. If you are who I think you are... I think you could do a better job than me, and should quit pulling strings behind the scenes, register in NJ, and do it!

Apparently, I never got the memo... 30 year old, tattoo artist/non-profit directors, with 2 little kids, do not run for public office.

Running for Stillwater Township committee was quite an experience. At a time in my life where I felt I had nothing to lose, I ran and lost... And it was the best thing that could have happened. It was gut wrenching, stressful, and a lot like jumping in the deep end of the pool for the first time. On one hand, I would stand a good chance of being elected if I ran again. On the other, why would I want to include myself in the current committee's self inflicted turmoil?

My Answer...
Although I'm flattered. It's Simple. I like my life as it is right now. My heart bleeds for our town, but I can not at this time justify the level of commitment required.

Beating a dead horse...
I want to enjoy being right about our former mayor, "Boss Hogg", for a little while.
For the record... He is a Napoleonic carpet-bagger, a liar, a coward, a bully, an ego-maniac, a closet drunk, and above all... A sad man. And I would have liked to show him to the town limits when he left. I hope the door did hit him in the ass on his departure. He never cared about Stillwater. He only needed to fill the void in his life created by retirement. Our small town and its municipal building were the unfortunate victims of his short comings. I'd like to tattoo "cheaper today than it will be tomorrow" on his smug, cake eating face. That felt GREAT to say! Ha.

When I'm alone sometimes I go over things that I did in my campaign in my head. The only two things I would have done differently that would have altered the course of the election results and coincidentally Stillwater's history would have been:
1. Explain bullet voting to people who I knew were 100% supporters of mine.
2. Picked up and drove to the polls just the people I know who didn't have a license.

16 votes! I lost to an incumbent, republican, CEO by 16 votes. Whether I'm thought of as an underachiever or a late bloomer or a fuck up, I got 673 more votes than a lot people more qualified than myself, because I'm not afraid to put my money where my mouth is. I think that there were only a handful of people that gave me good odds of being elected. I represented what people felt but weren't willing to say. The 673 votes cast for the underdog were inspiring to me, but it fell on deaf ears on the committee level. Re-election fueled their ignorant arrogance.

I'll be back. When the time is right. I will run again. For right now, you tell me... what's better? Being the Mayor of Stillwater or... "The Mayor of Stillwater"... I know what Bill Morrison would say.

The weekend.

2008-09-16T18:10:00.002-04:00

Wedding was fun... I drank too much and knocked at least one lady over on the dance floor. Actually I accidentally kicked her in the ass cheek more than I knocked her over. She totally fucked up a sweet dance move.

Ah back at work, Busy earlier but have some time to update the blog, I'm really just procrastinating. I need to get back in a creative groove. Although I'm refreshed from the vacation time, I haven't drawn for the sake of drawing in too long. I've got some great ideas I want to put down on paper I just can't seem to make myself do it. I end up sitting down, doodling, and then checking my email, myspace, facebook, blog, and fly fishing forum instead. As convenient as modern amenities are... I need to blow them all up if I want to stay productive. Seriously, go off the grid and and just create. And I know it will never happen, I'd sit in the window and watch the dumpster cats at the shop almost get hit by cars full of mexicans going to the laundrymat, or day dream about catching fish. The difference between a rut and a groove is so subtle, but I'd say I'm in a rut.

Lake George

2008-09-12T22:35:00.003-04:00

We'll be attending a wedding this weekend on a boat in Lake George... I promised Jen, no more fishing off the boat jokes. I like weddings, I usually make half an ass of myself on the dance floor, (my apologies if I attended your wedding and made a whole ass of myself.) And of course, I get my monies worth at the open bar. I can't even take myself seriously any more... as I'm writing this, I'm drinking vanilla flavored vodka and diet root beer. What a LOSER!

I hope this is one of those weddings where they play what the rowdy people wanna hear. I try to be cool when its obvious that the DJ has strict instructions not to play a single hip hop song but... Once the cake is cut, and the hallmark bullshit is over... I'd like to go on record as saying this: OLD PEOPLE DON'T HAVE FUN AT WEDDINGS SO WHO GIVES A SHIT WHAT THEY WANT TO HEAR. Oh, and if you could get a band if all you want to hear is hillbilly stuff, I can deal with that, at least then i won't keep asking the DJ to play "It takes two." I kid... But seriously I always feel like I just asked to hear 2Live crew or something. Who decided... YMCA people yes, you can hear your song. Oh hey, electric sliders, don't worry we didn't forget about you. Old Time Rock n' Roll, Absolutely. Mambo number 5, Si, No problemo. Oh well, Bring on the dirty looks. Let's hope for the best... And that Jen doesn't get sea sick.

Next Week

2008-09-11T16:20:00.002-04:00

I'm looking to start some bigger tattoos now that summer is winding down... Let's get some outlines down so that when you're itching to get work done over the winter we can start blasting huge amounts of color!!!! Who's ready? It's the best time of year to get tattooed. No more worrying about swimming or sunburn. And with the kids back at college, were looking to hook people up!!!

Blah Blah Blah

2008-09-09T15:40:00.000-04:00

Fished monday morning, I had become used to the water being gin clear. The rain muddied it up a bit and the only trout I saw were swimming away from my flies. That big elusive bastard is still there taunting me. Later that evening I checked out The Taste of Newton event, It was nice, good food. I've spent most of the last few days putting my foot in my mouth for one reason or another, so I figured I'd get some things off of my chest on here but then I sit down to vent and I got nuthin.

Rain.

2008-09-06T16:16:00.002-04:00

I'm hoping the rain isn't that power outage, satellite searching for signal kind of rain... Is there anything worse than sitting in the dark and wishing that the power would come on? And then it does and all you can do is bitch because theres nothing good on TV anyway. Well, the streams are low so I guess I should be happy. I kinda hoped to wet a line on monday morning. Should improve my chances of catching that monster rainbow that my brother and I have been chasing. He is sooo leader shy, they don't get that big if they aren't picky. I want to catch him before some asshole and his kid land him on a tuna rod with a chunk of hotdog and then don't release him. I lose sleep if there is a car parked in the parking lot near my spot.
Since I'm on a roll here... I've recently realized that I'm old. I'm actually excited that we bought a new washer and dryer. When did that happen? And once they're hooked up... A new dishwasher! Woo hoo. Seriously, and it's as excited as I used to get over say... a new playstation or something. What have I become? When did hours of mindless wasted time get replaced by smaller laundry piles in my priority list? I need to get in touch with my inner child... Maybe I'll smash a mailbox on my way home tonite.

Customers...

2008-09-05T13:32:00.002-04:00

I need some fresh ideas... I get pretty into Fish, Flowers, and Birds. How about something with a nature or outdoor flair, bold colors, and a sense of humor. Anyone got any input? No tribal, no black and grey crosses... Give me some material to work with!!!!!!! Like a... turtle driving a backhoe, or... I've always wanted to do a blue heron. Or... a flamingo. Or... a venus fly-trap. Anyone? Anyone?

2nd Day

2008-09-04T18:08:00.002-04:00

Today went much smoother than yesterday on the preschool front. Tattooing... It's been a great couple days, fun art, challenging stuff. Some free hand tribal which I'm not usually too excited about doing, came out awesome. Thanks Jay. I find myself thinking about fishing alot, And I just got back from vacation. Thats not good. I need to get pictures of paintings I've done which are now in other peoples collections, So... If you have one send me a clean pic please!!! I need to put up some more artwork up before people become bored with my preschool saga.

First day of school.

2008-09-03T12:20:00.003-04:00

Got a shitty nights sleep... Milla was confident when we woke up. Right up until it was time to go in she was reserved and obviously nervous. Then it was time to leave us and well, let's just say I thought it would go smoother. She's a tough cookie though... She made it thru and even smiled at pick-up and proclaimed she wouldn't cry tomorrow. We'll see! I hope she makes the most of it. If only she could understand how short 3 hours actually is. Ah parenting. If it's any comfort, maybe I'm dilluding myself... But I have no memory of my first day of preschool. So I either had such a bad experience that I repressed the entire experience or no matter how bad it was it wore off over time. Either way they say its always worse for the parents than the kids. If memory serves... I was and continue to be a stubborn pain in the ass, So she's just giving me a taste of my own medicine. Fair enough.

Back in business

2008-09-02T15:17:00.003-04:00

Okay So Im back from vacation. Fished alot... Filled a dumpster with junk from around the house... Finished with the swingset... Had a bbq... And now I need to get this blog thing rolling. I underestimated how dedicated you have to be to post everyday. Keep watching for new pics as I get the hang of it.

Bittersweet Vacation

2008-08-23T22:10:00.003-04:00

As many of you may already know, My wife and I are directors of a camp for families affected by AIDS/HIV. For the first time in over 10 years, we are taking our vacation and not doing "camp". We work tirelessly all year to fund raise and program and brainstorm to pull it off. This year, with the shitty economy, and all things seeming to conspire against us, we've had to accept that a one year hiatus was necessary. Stubborn, stupid, whatever, we waited as long as we could before we were honest with ourselves and we called off about 3 weeks ago. As burned out and in need of a real vacation as we both are, I am sad. We have become so accustomed to kicking ass and taking names and doing this camp that we do, that neither of us even knows what to do with ourselves. There is a hole in our life this year that is usually filled with the experiences both good and bad from camp.
Tomorrow we meet for a BBQ with our families and staff, I look forward to seeing a camper who hasn't been to camp in 5 years. Last time he was at camp he was 12... Now he returns at 17, I'm scared to see that he grew a foot, or he has a huge muscles and a mustache.
This special camper has called me, my wife and my brother, about 5000 times in those five years. Most likely on someone else's cell phone or long distance, Sometimes collect from jail, usually at a bad time like in the middle of a wedding, but he hasn't let us forget why we do it. We do it because we can't imagine not doing it.

Thanks Buddy.

Miami Ink

2008-08-22T23:13:00.002-04:00

Just watched last nights Miami Ink on the tivo... One of the tattoo artists did a rainbow trout and I gotta say... I was completely unimpressed! Maybe in the future he could leave the trout tattoos to someone who has actually seen a trout. At least the guy who got it was pleased.

The Olympics

2008-08-22T17:23:00.002-04:00

For the record... I am now officially qualified to score every event and provide knowledgable commentary to every olympic sport.
I am by no means a flag waver... I outgrew blind patriotism at about 15.
I find myself conflicted... I will always root for the underdog, but USA is a giant, rich, fucking monster. The furthest thing from an underdog, yet I root for our athletes. I miss the days of the USSR, the evil red army of super-natural athletes that USA has now become. With the USSR in the olympics it made it seem less like we were going to win every event. It had a good vs. evil feel in every event, now it's just which American is the favorite. Most events we overmatch smaller countries so heavily that its become less fun. All that being said, I'll still watch team handball or whatever silly event that the programmers put on, because for some reason I can't get enough olympic coverage.

2nd Post...

2008-08-20T22:18:00.003-04:00

I promised myself, I wouldn't let any time go by between posts... Needless to say its been a couple of days since my last entry. Not a lot has gone on. Wet a line monday morning at like 5:30am, I should have stayed in bed. Caught one 14" rainbow, but I spent more time tying and re-tying then I did fishing. Today was a good day, got to do a fishing related tattoo, that always makes for a good day. Actually, its been a good couple days... Yesterday I tattooed Tanya Amabile, her first tattoo! and... Brad B. from Salt, Brad's been letting me tattoo him since the apprenticeship. Thanks! Brad's one of those people that had more confidence in me than I did in my self at times. I've got drawings to catch up on so, I'll keep this one short and sweet.

beginnings...

2008-08-16T12:14:00.003-04:00

First Post. I'm curious to see where this blog will go. The idea started as I found myself looking for ways to market my tattooing but it has the potential to do much more. It's an opportunity to get my name out there to the masses, while clearing my head of the things that I need to talk about. Hopefully, I say this optimistically, but if enough people check it out, maybe it will expose me to other points of view and be a place for people who like my work to check things I've done or find interesting. One thing is for sure... It will be humbling, There are so many haters out there! As an artist, I've learned to be completely comfortable with criticism, as long as it's some what constructive. But I'll put my chin out there and we'll see how it goes.