Info and breaking that stereotype
People often see tattoos as either art or body disfigurement. Something you do when you are young on a whim only to regret it later on in life. Both are true and both are wrong.
Tattoos are an art when you think of them as well rendered pictures on human skin, but a craft in any other sense of what they are. One must go through an apprenticeship, you don't begin tattooing until you know how to clean, maintain a shop and know how to build machines. Basically you have to know everything there is to know about tattooing excluding the art in the first instance. A person tattooing out of their kitchen or bathroom, or tattoo parties should be avoided at all costs. These places are not sanitary! Anyone who started by tattooing their friends at home with no formal tattoo education or state required licenses should be avoided like the plague. These "scratchers" give the craft of tattooing a bad name.
Human bodies and skin are not the easiest things to decorate. Putting on eyeliner straight is an art in itself so you can imagine the difficulty of applying ink into the skin. This requires a certain amount of skill, skin stretches and moves over the body and appendages move, people move.
So next time you go and get a tattoo from a clean, licensed, and skilled tattoo Artist, think about how difficult it is for them to do what they do artistically.
The other side of the coin has to do with the rampant stereotypes about tattoos. Tattooing has been part of civilisation for thousands of years, it's not something sailors invented. Most early tattoos were attributed magical or medicinal properties, such as amulets. People believed them to have power and in many parts of the world they still do. Why tattoos have taken on such a bad image is beyond me.
They are a form of permanent adornment, just like eye glasses, earrings, clothes, shoes, except not as easily removed. A tattoo is not something external to the body that you just put on to impress your peers. It is a part of you, your personality, your being and your life. Sure people always think "do I want to still have this when I turn 60?", why not? It marks a point in your life when getting a tattoo meant something, or symbolised a person, event, belief. Tattoos are not done on a whim, and if they are then yes you will live to regret them.
Those who are tattooed are usually the cleanest people out there for the simple reason that when a tattoo is healing it must be kept clean. And keeping just one spot clean on your body is a little bit difficult, especially in the shower.
Also, yes there are people who get tattoos in prison and gang-related, but it doesn't mean every person who has tattoos is involved in criminal activity or even drugs. If one reads the guidelines as to the do's and don't's of getting a tattoo you'll soon realise that drugs and tattoos are on opposite sides of the spectrum. Alcohol, aspirin and other sorts of painkillers thin your blood, meaning you will bleed more during the tattoo process and also this may delay healing as well as make the ink bleed out. So you want to avoid these things. Deal with the pain, it's not permanent and contrary to popular belief it is a tolerable pain.
Also coming in to a shop drunk or high will more than likely get you kicked out. Nobody wants to deal with a drunk or junkie.
Tattooers probably have it the hardest, since they have to deal with people with stereotypes and utter misconceptions, that are rude and intrusive and who lack respect for what they do. Someone with tattoos that are semi-visible will not lift their shirt to show you on demand, like a dog performing for its owner. Just like I wouldn't ask you to show me your bra if I saw your bra strap sticking out.
Tattoos are a form of self-acceptance and love, they are not made to shock people, get conversations going, or get attention. If you have an ugly scar and feel your body is unattractive because of it or it holds painful memories, you can heal by tattooing over it with beautiful artwork, and be proud of what and who you are.
Don't turn away someone just because they have tattoos, that's just silly. It's as if you decided that people with blue eyes were bad and refused jobs to all people with blue eyes, it's akin to racism as it discriminates against a person with a different appearance.
I think I've written enough of a rant for one day. You can check out a very informative, and artistic site full of tattoo flash by clicking the banner below or in the sidebar.
Tattoos are an art when you think of them as well rendered pictures on human skin, but a craft in any other sense of what they are. One must go through an apprenticeship, you don't begin tattooing until you know how to clean, maintain a shop and know how to build machines. Basically you have to know everything there is to know about tattooing excluding the art in the first instance. A person tattooing out of their kitchen or bathroom, or tattoo parties should be avoided at all costs. These places are not sanitary! Anyone who started by tattooing their friends at home with no formal tattoo education or state required licenses should be avoided like the plague. These "scratchers" give the craft of tattooing a bad name.
Human bodies and skin are not the easiest things to decorate. Putting on eyeliner straight is an art in itself so you can imagine the difficulty of applying ink into the skin. This requires a certain amount of skill, skin stretches and moves over the body and appendages move, people move.
So next time you go and get a tattoo from a clean, licensed, and skilled tattoo Artist, think about how difficult it is for them to do what they do artistically.
The other side of the coin has to do with the rampant stereotypes about tattoos. Tattooing has been part of civilisation for thousands of years, it's not something sailors invented. Most early tattoos were attributed magical or medicinal properties, such as amulets. People believed them to have power and in many parts of the world they still do. Why tattoos have taken on such a bad image is beyond me.
They are a form of permanent adornment, just like eye glasses, earrings, clothes, shoes, except not as easily removed. A tattoo is not something external to the body that you just put on to impress your peers. It is a part of you, your personality, your being and your life. Sure people always think "do I want to still have this when I turn 60?", why not? It marks a point in your life when getting a tattoo meant something, or symbolised a person, event, belief. Tattoos are not done on a whim, and if they are then yes you will live to regret them.
Those who are tattooed are usually the cleanest people out there for the simple reason that when a tattoo is healing it must be kept clean. And keeping just one spot clean on your body is a little bit difficult, especially in the shower.
Also, yes there are people who get tattoos in prison and gang-related, but it doesn't mean every person who has tattoos is involved in criminal activity or even drugs. If one reads the guidelines as to the do's and don't's of getting a tattoo you'll soon realise that drugs and tattoos are on opposite sides of the spectrum. Alcohol, aspirin and other sorts of painkillers thin your blood, meaning you will bleed more during the tattoo process and also this may delay healing as well as make the ink bleed out. So you want to avoid these things. Deal with the pain, it's not permanent and contrary to popular belief it is a tolerable pain.
Also coming in to a shop drunk or high will more than likely get you kicked out. Nobody wants to deal with a drunk or junkie.
Tattooers probably have it the hardest, since they have to deal with people with stereotypes and utter misconceptions, that are rude and intrusive and who lack respect for what they do. Someone with tattoos that are semi-visible will not lift their shirt to show you on demand, like a dog performing for its owner. Just like I wouldn't ask you to show me your bra if I saw your bra strap sticking out.
Tattoos are a form of self-acceptance and love, they are not made to shock people, get conversations going, or get attention. If you have an ugly scar and feel your body is unattractive because of it or it holds painful memories, you can heal by tattooing over it with beautiful artwork, and be proud of what and who you are.
Don't turn away someone just because they have tattoos, that's just silly. It's as if you decided that people with blue eyes were bad and refused jobs to all people with blue eyes, it's akin to racism as it discriminates against a person with a different appearance.
I think I've written enough of a rant for one day. You can check out a very informative, and artistic site full of tattoo flash by clicking the banner below or in the sidebar.
posted by Dancing Moon Publishing House at 10:37 AM
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