I’m Silas Vance, and after thirty years of bearing the weight of the needle, I have come to understand that tattooing is not merely a trade—it is a form of permanent devotion. My path began not in a shop, but in a seminary, until I realized that true testimony often requires a visceral sacrifice, leading me to trade the pulpit for the craft of marking flesh. I have dedicated my career to the discipline of the Old Masters, rejecting fleeting trends in favor of the heavy blackwork and stark contrast found in 16th-century engravings. My goal is to ensure that every image I etch is a sacrament, as enduring and severe as the faith it represents.

Outside of The Gilded Tabernacle, my life is one of quietude in the high desert, away from the neon glare of the city. I spend my days collecting and restoring antique theological manuscripts; there is a profound discipline in preserving fragile, ancient paper that mirrors the patience required to mark the human body. This solitude allows me to focus and reflect, reminding me daily that this skill is a stewardship, and that God provides the strength and the steady hand for the work He has called me to do.