I recently paid homage to the city I love and got it tattooed across my wrist. A big commitment for some people but not me - you see I already have a lot of tattoos - two quarter length arm pieces, the backs of my legs, the back of my neck, and my right ankle. I used to have a lot of symbols - but I got so sick of people asking me what they meant, that I got them expertly covered. Now none of my tattoos mean anything in particular (other than the Los Angeles one), but people still ask me what they mean so I guess that plan sucked.
Just because my tattoos don’t have some deep symbolic meaning doesn’t mean they are any less personal - after all I did permanently mark them on my body. Regardless this seems to frequently bug people - why? I do not know - perhaps they have watched too many episodes of Miami Ink. It’s fine that your tattoo is a homage to your undying love for your dead dog / Batman / Ketchup etc - mine are just art that I liked but it doesn’t make them any less special to me.If you do not have any tattoos - then fine that is your decision to make. If you think they are gross too - that’s fine as well - I am not a big fan of body piercing but each to their own. What makes us unique is what makes us special surely? However don’t expect me to be as understanding if you ask me;
“But what about when you are old?”
When I am old, I will be an old tattooed lady - my untattooed boyfriend is aware of that , I am aware of that, and we are both fine with that. Yes I will be wrinkled and tattooed - so what? I have never understood the pointless obsession of fighting old age.
“Why did you do that?”
I don’t have to justify to any one why I chose to cover a large percentage of my body with tattoos as much as you do not have to justify the reason you may have dyed your hair a certain colour.
“It’s not very good is it?” or stoney silence.
This is just plain rude. Do I point at your face and say “Wow that’s not good - you are kind of ugly, you should get that fixed?” No. Do I suggest you get plastic surgery? No. I probably wouldn’t even say your taste in clothes sucked because I have manners and consideration for your feelings. I have people show me some horrifically done tattoos or terribly cliched - but I would not dream of telling people that their tattoo blows. Instead I sweetly smile and say ‘that’s cool’.
“Did it hurt?”
Yes - although I guess working out whether having needles jammed into your skin at rapid speeds hurts is a tough one.
I think the thing that bugs me the most is when people touch my tattoos. I am not weird like I can not be touched, but I think its rude to go up to a stranger and run your hand down their arm. Seriously, it’s creepy when they touch you. I have had people lift my shirt sleeve to look at my tattoo better, and I have a friend who had someone in the queue for the bank teller lift up the back of her t-shirt to see her tramp stamp. Over stepping boundaries? Most definitely.
So if I haven’t put you off for life with my rant then I have some gentler words of advice. I used to own a tattoo salon and whilst I would hate to be so bold as to talk anyone out of getting a certain tattoo.. I would urge you to follow some tips before getting a new tattoo – especially your first.
# 1 Rule of all time - Don’t be cheap. It amazes me how cheap people are when it comes to putting something on your body for the rest of their lives. I am not saying find the Gucci of tattoo artists but don’t go to some back alley shop with poor hygiene and poor skills just because it will save you 20 bucks.
# 2 Choose your art then seek out a tattoo artist who is really good at that style. Example.. my first tattoo was a thick tribal arm band which I got done by an multi-award winning portrait artist. It wasn’t a bad tattoo but I would have been better going to a tribal tattoo artist.
# 3 Avoid large black pieces like tribal unless you are REALLY into it. Should 10 years down the line like me you decide you want to cover this – it will not be easy without laser surgery because its a solid black shape.
#4. Use the internet.. there are some amazing artists out there who can give you a tattoo that you will be proud of for the rest of your life.
#5 Lastly.. don’t get a tramp stamp. Please.
Filed under: Life |
Tags: advice, lessons, tattoo rant, tattoos
6 Responses to “Tattoos - A rant and a lesson (hopefully).”
Leave a Reply
You must log in to post a comment.
-
Recent Comments
notgoth on Big Bear Trip 
sjsmart on Big Bear Trip sjsmart on Rebel Weddings 
taskforcedawg on Big Bear Trip 
Ruth on Big Bear Trip -
i got my first tattoo in college. a little heart on my hip - it looked awful - but luckily(?) that same night, i went to a party, had a bit too much to drink and while walking up the steps to my apartment i tripped and slipped all the way down the concrete stairs on my belly. removing much skin, including the ugly tattoo. a few years ago i got a tattoo with that has meaning to me and i love it. it’s on my ankle. i agree with your suggestion to not be cheap, but to find someone good. who wants ugly permanently etched on their body?
There’s a woman in Atlanta who owns two very successful salons and a children’s shop who has these fantastic murals tattooed on one of her legs and one of her arms, at least those are the visible ones. They are amazing works of art…on her body. And it’s easy to understand that these etched images are as meaningful to her as yours are to you, even if no one else can cross the t’s and connect the dots. This woman is, in short, the antithesis of all the bad consequences my mother swore would befall a person if they did the ghastly act which she barely dared to name. The only reason I didn’t openly defy Mom in this instance — and she did her part to set tattoos up as a singularly delicious act of rebellion — is that I’m a big ass chicken when it comes to needles and pain. I say this with no small measure of embarrassment, but there it is. More power to you, Clare.
I find the fascination with tattoos really interesting. When I got my first tattoo (a simple, unimpressive design picked out of a book just to get a tattoo) my mom freaked out because of the permanence factor. Now, when I look at that tattoo I know what she meant and in itself it is not impressive, but as a symbol of something more important to me I keep it, it reminds me of a time and place that mattered. My favorite tattoo (thus far) is my own design and I got it in Chiang Mai. It was done by a Cambodian artist who I adored by the end of the process and I let them add the design to their book because he asked and he was wonderful.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y272/puhleez/Amanda2/SolarTat.jpg
The ways that we choose to express ourselves are less important I think that the fact that we make the choice to be expressive… (though I am definitely down with ‘look don’t touch’!)
@Monica - OMG! Believe it or not I am really squeamish! lol. That nasty fall worked out well for you.
@Melissa - I too am afraid of needles and pain believe it or not! lol I think mums usually have a hard time understanding tattoos - my poor mum is unlucky to have both my sister and I covered in them! heh.
@Amanda - that’s a very lovely story and a nice design. I am a firm believer that the person who marks you for life should connect with you in some (even small) way - no grumpy ass hole is going to tattoo me thank you very much.
hi
i have 7 tattoos one on my hip a dove with my grandma and grandads initials undernieth it and another on my ankle witch say’s lou and is surounded by stars the rest are dotted all over!
my mum hates them but i love them iam in the process of designing my next tattoo all my tattoos have a special meaning to me the dove i had shortly after my grandad passed away and not long before my grandma did she loved my tattoo of the dove because she knew that it woz just for her and my grandad .
the one on my ankle is plain and simple and when i had it done i was in a really bad place mentally and every day i look at it and it reminds me that iam out of that bad place and iam thankfull.
tattoos are a grate way to express your self people who have tattoos will or should understand that they are a way to express your personality and yes they are with you for the rest of your life so my advice is pick something you will like for the rest od your life not just something that takes your fancy that day i draw mine on for a week first to see if i get fed up of looking at them if i dont i get em done if i do then i think of something else and i never have them where i cannot cover them up i.e wrists hands arms am sure you get the picture because i dont want to be an 80 year old woman in a care home with arms full of tattoos i know they are there and also my partner knows they are there the rest of the world hasnt got a clue!
okay revisiting this post because i was reminded of a funny tattoo story… wineymomma and i got our tattoos together. hers on the small of her back and mine on my ankle. mine is predominately blue. and our neighbor, who i doubt had noticed wm’s yet. asked me, “do you get up every morning and draw that on your ankle?” this is a true story.