Tatu's By Koré

Koré's interest in tattoos began at age three sitting on her grandfathers knee tracing his Sailor Jerry designs:    the mermaid and hula girl on each arm, the pig and hen on each foot, the battleship and blue birds on his chest.  She felt something magical in that ink beneath his skin.  At age 18 she got her first tattoo in Vallejo, Ca. on her right outer wrist "in place of a watch"-the tattoo artist was mad that she brought in her own design instead of "picking it off the "wall".  It wasn't until she met Jamie Somers-a tattoo shaman in the Bay Area did she believe that women could be tattoo artists, and that tattoos were more than just a picture applied to skin.  When Jamie died tragically, Koré felt she must continue her work, and searched for someone to teach her.  She apprenticed under Pat Martynuik of Picture Machine in San Francisco in 1984, practiced in New York then settled in Minneapolis, MN in 1988 to be with the love of her life (and still is!).

​

She opened Tatu's By Koré on April 1, 1990 -April Fool's Day-the same day of her first tattoo years ago.   

She is a "Spiritual Tattoo Artist/Shaman" who incorporates all her abilities during the tatu sessions. 

​

Koré is the Head Instructor & Executive Director of Five Element Martial Arts & Healing Center which opened in 1989.  She supports what she believes in and continues to serve on non-profit boards

with Womens Martial Arts Organizations (AWMAI, NWMAF, PAWMA).  

​

​