Watching: 21 Jump Street season 1
Reading: Vampire Hunter D Volume 4: Tale of the Dead Town
Listening to: The Key of Awesome Megamix by Mike Realm.
What do you guys think of tattoos?
I tend to see it on the side of body modification, somewhere in the middle of the scale. I happen to love them. I think that the love and thought that goes into someone's tattoo (for the most part) is reflected back in the art that is now a part of them. Each one can tell a story and a very good artist makes that story worth looking at every time.
I currently only have one tattoo (and one piercing) on my right wrist. It's my zodiac symbol and I got it because my 3 best friends and I decided that we would all get that as our first tattoos once we turned 18 to symbolize not only our becoming adults but our friendship with each other. I look at it and I not only see a piece of my personality that I can't change staring at me, but also (in essence) my sisters and how we are linked together by that decision to put ink on our skin.
For the most part I don't think tattoos are ugly and I don't feel that people should be discriminated against for having them. They do not affect someone's work ethic nor does having one somehow make you a bad person. Tattoo technology has evolved to the point now where you can get UV tattoos. In essence, it's a tattoo done with ink that only shows up under a UV blacklight. My one roommate has an entire hand tattoo done in this ink. Essentially an invisible tattoo. I want to do the same thing on my fingers. (The plan is to get some foreign characters (don't know which ones yet) on my first or second knuckles on my left hand that says, from pointer to pinky: friend, lover, wife, mother. Bonus points if you know where I got the idea from.)
I started thinking about it when my friend Dani got her 8th tattoo. Each one looks beautiful and has some meaning behind it. They are a part of her that is on display for the world to see. I love that kind of strength and courage. It takes a brave person to put parts of themselves on display like that. Whether it's an aspect of your personality, a favorite hobby, family, an emotion or a piece of your heart. It takes strength and courage to show the world that part of yourself, no matter how mundane it may seem.
I plan on getting quite a few more tattoos in my time, though nothing like the sleeves and huge murals that some people have on their bodies. What about you? Do you plan on getting tattoos? What do you want to get and why? Do you have any currently? If so, what are they? Why did you get them?
I should shut up now.
"I don't feel that people should be discriminated against for having them." -- I agree with that whole-heartedly.
ReplyDeleteI think the UV tattoos sound cool, but I'd be concerned about what sort of substance was being stuck inside my body.
I will never get a tattoo for a number of reasons:
If you put on weight or lose weight it will damage the tattoo.
A tattoo costs a lot of money and pain to remove, and the skin can never be returned to normal. I'd rather not have to decide to change my skin forever and then live with regret later.
It seems backwards to me to pay for something that is painful, and involves getting stuff stuck inside my skin.
I don't trust another human, even an excellent artist, to put something on my skin exactly the way I want it done.
I believe most tattoos make a person less beautiful, not more so. I think some tattoos are very beautiful, but generally I feel that they do not flow with the body's natural form and do not compliment it.
I feel that I'm already unique enough without any art of piercings.
All of the above said, I don't have anything against it at all. I dated a tattoo artist for two and a half years and he had tattoos, of course. I even considered becoming one. What someone wants to do with their skin is their business and it doesn't affect others much.
Speaking as someone who both has a UV tattoo, and as someone who researched them extensively before getting one, I can tell you that so long as you are going to a reputable place to get it done, the UV ink is perfectly safe. The only way that the FDA had discovered that could cause the UV inks to be unstable and negatively affect the body after tattooing was by being exposed to extreme (read: -30 or worse cold) cold for extended periods of time.
ReplyDeleteIn short, you would die frozen to death before the UV inks could even make you sick.
And technology has developed to the point where, assuming your tattoo was not done wrong, you can have it removed entirely, and the skin IS returned to normal.
Celtic Quinn,
ReplyDeleteIn theory, sure. But the FDA also says that GMO-foods are safe, and doesn't seem to think that GMOs need to be labeled on products even though other countries do, and some countries have even outlawed genetically-modified produce altogether. Also, the food pyramid is a ton of bull shit. So I really don't trust the FDA's opinion on anything, especially not when half of the people running the thing are also working with Monsanto (or have worked in Monsanto in the past).
So, maybe it's safe, maybe it isn't. I'd rather not take the risk, personally. Like I said, I wouldn't discriminate against anyone for it, and I rather think the idea of it is cool. I love art. Being an freelance graphic designer, I really, really love art. :D
But, more important than anything in the world is having my health. I've had all kinds of things go wrong with my body when doing something a doctor said was safe, or that the FDA is safe. I don't trust the "professional" opinion. I'd have to meet fifty different people who all had UV tattoos, who'd had them for years and years that still looked good, with no ill effects at all to even consider it. That's just me.
As a random aside, the choice of blue and purple on this template: I think it's nifty from an artistic standpoint, but if I was reading this blog for long enough it would give me a headache. So, it's cool for one or two entries, but I wouldn't want to look at it for extended periods of time. Just thought I'd point it out.
@ PhoenixMuse:
ReplyDeleteThe weight thing depends on where the tattoo is, for one, and whether your gaining or losing an extreme amount of weight. For instance, I don't think my wrist tattoo will be affected by a 10lb increase, nor will my ankle ones. Maybe a 100lb or 200lb increase, but not anything around what I normally gain. Sleeves and main body tattoos are probably more affected, but not by any small increases or decreases. You'd have to do something extreme.
If I'm getting a tattoo, I'm thinking it over before I get it. What I get is not something picked off a wall. It's a design I've thought about and really want. It's not something I'm going to regret and want to remove. Many people think like that. That's why I don't think it should be discriminated against. Nobody wants to remove their tats, especially for something like work.
Pain is relative. Piercings hurt too, but the pain is only temporary and easily forgotten. Plus, hurts a lot less than some natural stuff your body goes through, like labor.
I have found some absolutely amazing tattoo artists that I believe could faithfully recreate what I want on my body. I also, have no faith in my own artwork. It sucks balls. These people can re-render something ten times better than I can and I bet I'll love it. You find the person whose artwork you WANT to have on you.
And the beauty outlook on it is a completely personal thing. Some people (like you) just don't like them and that's fine. I only have the problem when they think they need to judge you badly because you have them. I don't think it makes me more beautiful, but I like the look of something there rather than just a plain expanse of blah. I don't want to be completely covered in them, but I do want a few things here and there to enhance areas of my body. Like my stomach piercing. I like how it sparkles now. To me, it's a bit more cheery that way. :)
Also, Rae, I know the blog needs work as a template. I suck like hell at coding. Think you could give me a bit of a hand? I'd like to be able to have something a bit more unique than just this.
ReplyDelete