Local San Marcos tattoo artist portrays art through Buddhism

By Haley Velasco Assistant Life and Arts Editor

From the age of seven, Jerry Lee, owner of Jerry’s Tattoo Shop in San Marcos, knew what he was destined to do. By 22, he was working as a tattoo artist under manager Jason Pool at Black Point Tattoos in San Antonio.

In 2015, Lee took a break from tattooing to fix the luxury car he had bought his girlfriend that she damaged by driving it into a telephone pole. His attempt to not lose thousands of dollars on the car resulted in arguments with Pool about Lee’s absence from work. Lee ultimately lost his job, he and his girlfriend broke up and she left with his dog. He didn't know where to turn, so he went to a place he least expected to patch his problems: a Buddhist Temple.

An old client had called Lee about another tattoo, but he declined as he was wary of revisiting the negative experiences associated with rejoining the industry from which he was terminated.

The client suggested Lee go to the Rissho Kosei-Kai Buddhist Center of San Antonio (RKSA). Instead, Lee went to a mental health clinic where he said he did not find the help he was looking for. That's when he turned to Rissho Kosei-Kai.

“The lady evaluates me and she goes ‘well, there’s nothing wrong with you. You’re just stressed because you lost your girlfriend and your job,’ and she didn’t think I needed medicine or anything and I just needed to find peace,” Lee said. “That was a waste of my time. I get in my truck. I go up to the stop sign and it’s either left to go home or right to continue to the temple. I really don’t like not doing what I said and I told my client that I was going to check it out, so I did.”

Lee grew up on the West Side of San Antonio and learned the ropes of tattooing from a prison inmate at the age of 15. With a rough childhood surrounded by motorcyclists and drugs, Lee already didn't have a strong faith in spirituality or religion, especially after going through a long line of bad luck in 2015.

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