Stoney Knows How is a visit with a master of the Oldest Art In The World – Tattooing. Disabled by arthritis since the age of four, confined to a wheelchair, his growth stunted, Stoney St. Clair (1912 – 1980) joined the circus at 15 as a sword-swallower. A year later, he took up tattooing, and traveled with circuses and carnivals for 50 years. As we watch him at work, we see the determination which led Stoney to use his crippled hands in an art where mistakes are permanent, and we realize …