Tattoo - Should I or Not?

Tattoo - Should I or Not?

Tattoo - Should I or Not?
Tattoos are actually a great way to express one's conviction & beliefs. Some people for instance used tattoos as a way of showing to the world their personal advocacies, whether they be about the Iraq war or the animal rights.

three of the avenues of self-expression for the younger generation is the tattoo. Although there was a time when tattoos are thought of only for the punks & the criminals, tattoos now are in vogue with celebrities like Cristina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton & a lot more sporting their own insignias in various parts of their body.

there's actually a lot of designs to pick from depending on what you aim for when having your tattoo. Women for instance will settle for feminine pics like flowers, butterflies & circles while men will put on symbols & foreign wordings. Others will have the names of their loved ones tattooed while other will place symbols of their personal advocacies on their bodies.

When tastefully done, tattoos can also be a way to make a fashion statement. Depending on the placement, a tattoo can be a sensuous & sexy addition to your body. Most women place tattoos on their lower backs, on the cheeks of their buttocks, near their ankles, on their shoulders, or near their belly buttons.

Where to get the tattoo

Some place words that are part of their personal mantras as a reminder of what they believe in & what they should do. If you are also thinking of getting a tattoo, here are a quantity of the factors that you should consider. Read on before you decide!

If you do not know any centers that specialize with tattoos, better ask around before you go. Do not attempt to do your own tattoos or have your friends do it for you. This is dangerous & it can mean infections when not taken cared of properly. Leave the tattoos to the professionals who know what they are doing!

Although tattoos are virtually commonplace for the younger babies, it is still important that you pick the establishment where you will have your tattoo done. Remember that needles are needed to do a tattoo design & it will be used to pierce your skin. It is important then that you pick a place that is both established & safe because you can get all kinds of illness with contaminated needles, including AIDS, Hepatitis & other sickness that can be transmitted through blood.

pick carefully & pick well

Although a tattoo can be erased anytime, it won't be as easy as rubbing it off. sometimes it will leave a scar that will take a long time to heal. It is important then that you are sure of the design that you are going to have tattooed on your skin as this is a permanent thing. once tattooed, it will be hard to remove it.

In choosing designs, it is nice to select three that is universal & timeless. pick something that you will always like. Putting the name of your current partner as your tattoo isn't so nice since there is a chance that you will someday call off the relationship. It is also not nice to symbols that you feel is just a part of your current phase. pick a design that will also grow with you.

Tribal Tattoo Designs

Tribal Tattoo Designs

Tribal Tattoo Designs
The tribal tattoos can help indicate a wide range of expressions. we can be used to identify a person as belonging to a particular group or tribe or as an enemy. we were also used to indicate the rank of a person in the chain of command in the ancient tribal societies. The tattoo sported by a king would be unique. In the same way, the tattoo sported by a soldier would be different from that of a common man.

Tribal tattoos have existed in society for a long period of time. Though we seemed to become missing for a period of time, we're experiencing a revival again. Tribal tattoos are mainly popular because there is a feeling that we're connected with lots of secret tribes of the past. It might also be due to the fact that people who have traced their lineage to ancient tribes want something to remind them of their ancestry.

The present generation has taken a liking to these tribal tattoos for a very lovely reason. These tattoos bring to light some very important features of the ancient tribal societies which even the present generation would like to imitate. For instance, the persons getting the same type of tattoos were supposed to remain together for the whole life according to the customs of the ancient tribes. we were also used as a pointer to the presence of various life forces. we were used to represent energy, ability, skill and power and could be used to inculcate positive feelings within the person.

Popularity of certain tribal tattoos depends on the choice of the person getting them. For example, flower tattoos would be favored exclusively by women and armband tattoos by men with well built biceps. In ancient tribes, the caliber of men and women to be going through certain tasks was judged by their ability to counter the pain while getting a tattoo.

Mara Shares a Decorative Tattoo

I met Mara this afternoon in the plaza at the corner of 39th Street and Broadway. She was kind enough to share the above tattoo, inked on her left forearm.

She talked to me as she finished her soup, and I'm appreciative of that, as I felt a little guilty intruding on her lunch break.

Mara notes that this piece is "purely decorative". It was tattooed by Stephanie Tamez at New York Adorned, based on a design created by her friend Katherine Irwin.


The tattoo is inspired by the work of Aubrey Beardsley (who provided inspiration for a previous Tattoosday entry here). The lines and design, especially the peacock feathers, have a Beardsley-esque feel to them.


Thanks to Mara for sharing this beautiful tattoo with us!

Saint Lucy Graces David's Arm

**This post was updated for clarification of facts on October 13, 2008.

As Autumn advances on New York, tattoos have been less frequently spotted by yours truly, but a recent streak of warmer temperatures have extended the season just a bit.

I spotted the above piece on David's right bicep last Saturday at a green market in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

The tattoo was inked as a result of David taking care of a neighbor's dogs for a spell up in Bar Harbor, Maine, in 1992. The neighbor had grown up in Syracuse, New York. and attended St. Lucy's Church there. The original Syracuse, in the province of Syracuse, in the region of Sicily, in Southern Italy, was where Saint Lucy was born and martyred. She is also known as the Patroness of Syracuse.

David and his neighbor had a mutual friend who was a tattoo artist and the neighbor arranged for the artist to do the tattoo for David as a form of payment for the favor.

The basis for the artwork, which is a portrait of Saint Lucy, was a Jane's Addiction concert t-shirt, circa 1991 and the Ritual de la Habitual tour. The tattooist had a close affinity for Saint Lucy, as he had gone to a church named for her, and she is the patron saint for the blind.

I was unable to find art on the shirt, but I did find the following poster art:


and this additional image, credited to a prayer card, which bears a striking resemblance, and may in fact be the basis for the concert poster and shirt art:

David indicates that the shirt looked more like the prayer card than the poster.

According to her story, her eyes were gouged out prior to her execution, and as a result, when depicted in art, two eyes appear on a plate in the portrait. In the case of this tattoo, they appear to the left of the piece:


Her eyes are often regarded as holy relics.

David also admires her as she is seen as one of the earliest feminist figures in Christianity. He also notes that he gave his friend/neighbor the concert t-shirt which inspired the tattoo, due to his relationship with St. Lucy's Church in Syracuse, NY.

Thanks to David for sharing his tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Tattoo Posts That Go Bad: Peeping Kanji

Last October, I posted a a tattoo belonging to a guy named John here. His friend Donna also had tattoos and tried to show them to me on her lower back/waistline, but she understandably couldn't successfully reveal them fully without lowering her pants to an uncomfortable level. She said she would send me better pictures. She never did. But I kept the post in my drafts folder under the title "Peeping Kanji". Unfortunately, the Kilroy-was-here-esque tattoos could not be deciphered by Kwok, my subject matter expert on the Chinese language.

So is there any value to these pictures? Maybe, maybe not. But I want to wish them adieu and maybe their inclusion here will prompt Donna to finally getting around to send me the photos.




I'd love to know what these kanji mean. Guesses anyone?

Tattoorism 101: Another Form of Tattoo Regret

The other day while walking near Madison Square Garden, I stopped to talk to a woman about the tattoo on her foot. The conversation went something like this:

Me: Hey, can I ask you about your tattoo?

She: Ugh, that thing? I hate it. I got it when I was younger and wish I hadn't.

Me: Well, I write a tattoo appreciation blog, and would love to tell the story behind it anyway. Would you be interested?

She: Nah. I have three tattoos and I am so over them.

Me: [Thinking I spot an interesting tattoo on her ear] Well, would you talk to me about any of them?

She: Nah. Not interested.

Me: Well, thank you anyway. Have a nice day.

So, did she really hate her tattoos, or was she just saying it to make me go away? I'd like to think the former.

Anyway, this is a segue to the Mickey Mouse Fantasia tattoo above.

This was e-mailed to me back in July under the subject heading "Horrible Tattoo".

Here's what the sender said:

Hi Bill,

Stumbled upon your site and thought I'd share the dark side of tattoos. I was young, roughly seventeen or eighteen. Not sure which, as its been almost fifteen years now. I had been plied with beer from my high school girlfriend's brother, and the next thing I knew I was in a tattoo artist's chair. Now, I know that most tattoo artists are of the highest degree of honor, and that I have had the worst luck. Apparently a drunken teenagers wasn't much of an alarm for this fellow. The next thing I knew... I was heading home with the attached image on my arm.

I'm currently searching for a good cover-up. Contrary to a post on your blog, I was raised Christian and now try to follow more Buddhist philosophies. I debated an Aum symbol, a tree of life, a koi fish... none have really struck me as something possible for a coverup. Its quite a depressing thing to hate wearing short-sleeves or taking off one's shirt in the summer. Please pass my warning to the young readers, REALLY THINK about what you want, and never make any decisions while under the influence (which you shouldn't be anyway)! Make sure that it will have a meaning which will stick with you for years, for it shall.

By the by, if you or anyone has any ideas of coverups, please feel free to pass them my way!

-Keith

Thanks to Keith for sharing this tattoo and his story. If anyone has ideas for a cover-up, feel free to post them below in comments.

And please, folks, don't be sending me pictures of horrible tattoos, there's already a website for them.

Flaming Dagger

I'm not sure if this was supposed to be artistic or manly, the flames and the skin-piercing parts look rather pathetic. What I can say for sure is that this guy is a gamer, since every gamer knows that blades on fire are better than the regular ones.