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INKEDblog takes you beneath the skin of today's tattoo culture. Our mission is to celebrate tattooing as a modern art form which incorporates art, fashion, style, and pop culture. While paying homage and respect to the past, we look to present a contemporary take on the present and future of skin art.
Home / Stories
Wednesday Oct 25, 2006
EveryBODY has a Story: Rappin’ Venom
I’ve been reading comics since I was a kid, and Spiderman has always been my favorite. This tattoo is the symbol for an anti-hero, named Venom that came out in the 90’s.
Venom has always been one of my favorites. He’s not good, but he’s not totally bad either. I drew up this tattoo myself and took it in to an artist. The artist modified the legs slightly so they would not wrap all the way around my arm.
I like drawing, and me and a friend of mine drew up a comic book once, but that was a while ago. Now, rather than drawing, my main artistic outlet is music. I’m a rapper with a group called The NightWalkers. Come check us out at www.myspace.com/thenightwalkers. One of our songs is actually about Venom.
I plan on getting the actual image of Venom on my leg, and a Spiderman on my back. I still read Spiderman; it’s a really great comic.:
| Thursday Oct 19, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: Wherever Love Is, I Want To Be.
EveryBODY has a Story: Wherever Love Is, I Want To Be.
I got this tattoo almost exactly a year ago. I remember when it was because I broke up with my partner the day after I got it…
The text of this tattoo is from a book called, “The Passion” by Jeanette Winterson. She wrote several other books including “Sexing the Cherry”.
When I read this quote, I knew that I wanted it as a tattoo. I was pretty sure about the placement from the beginning, but the font wasn’t what I imagined at first.
During my first consultation with Dan, from Atlas Tattoo, I asked him to tattoo the quote in an old-fashioned handwriting typescript. He talked me out of this, saying that it would be much harder to read, and that the text would have to be a lot bigger. If it were bigger, it would change the shape of the quote on my arm.
He suggested that that I go with a standard typewriter font, Courier.
As for the relationship, I knew that things had not been going well and I suspected my partner of being attracted to someone else. We had an argument the next day, and my suspicions were justified. I initiated a breakup that day.
I don’t know if the tattoo gave me the impetus to ask my partner about our relationship or not, it’s hard to say. What I do know, is that love has always been the most important force in the world for me.
Love is something about which I have spent a long time musing and thinking. Why else would we be here, other than love? I get a lot of comments on this tattoo. The sentiment really fits me, because love is my guiding force.
Tuesday Oct 17, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: Lil’ Joker
"This tattoo was done with the single needle style work that was perfected in San Quentin, and developed into distinct tattoo style. My dad did this tattoo for me and his name is Joker. My dad learned to tattoo while in prison, and he was in and out during most of my childhood.
I really love my dad though, and when I told him I wanted a Joker tattoo, he was real proud of me. It was kinda like he marked me as his son.
Since then, my nickname has been Little Joker. I actually got the tattoo when I was fourteen years old. I’m all grown up now, but at the time the tattoo was really intense. I asked for it for a while before he would let be get it, though.
I was on a table with my dad working on my back; it was cool until I got to this nerve in the center of my back. That hurt like hell. I just wanted to lay perfectly still until it was done.
I really love this tattoo now. My dad actually just filled in letters fairly recently, and I have a new one that I’m going to have done by another artist. I’m not a gang member or anything; this tattoo is just about my dad and me.:
Monday Oct 16, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: Peace at the End of the Journey
EveryBODY has a Story: Peace at the End of the Journey
I got this tattoo done by Don Nolan, who is a real famous tattoo artist. He works at Acme Tattoo in St. Paul. He has a lot of work that’s been in magazines.
I got my tattoo done in 1980, when I was around thirty or thirty-one years old. I got Don Nolan to do it when he was going around to attoo conventions.
At the time, I was getting a divorce. It really broke me up. You think something is going to last forever, then it falls apart like that. It was a bad time. Everybody mellows over the course of their life, though, and I’m no exception. I was a lot rougher back then. I was a boxer for eighteen years, and pretty scrappy.
During the time of the divorce, I needed something to clear my head, something that would bring me some peace. I spent a lot of time reading the bible. In the book of Revelations, there is a story where God tells a woman angel to bring the seed of Jesus to Mary. The serpent devil will try to swallow you up and destroy the seed, God said, but if you succeed, I will give you the wings of eagles. You will live out the rest of your life in peace.
I found this story comforting. The face of the woman is so peaceful; it made me feel peaceful. I spent seventeen years single, but I am now remarried, and have a family. I haven’t read this passage in a while, but I still remember the way it makes me feel at ease. Wings of eagles…"
Friday Oct 13, 2006
EveryBODY has a story: Circle of Love
I am a ordained minister and last year in San Francisco had the honor of performing the commitment ceremony for my heart sister and her partner.
The three of us got matching tattoos to commemorate the occasion.
The circular coil symbolizes the infinite nature of love, but you'll notice that the circles are not perfectly round. That's because love is never perfect. Even the best relationship has its its rough spots. These "imperfections" don't make love--or the relationship-- any less special or any less precious. We wanted the tattoo to symbolize that.
My heart sister and her partner got their tattoos underneath their wrists, while I got mine on the top of my wrist, to symbolize that while there are differences in our relationships from one another, we are all family."
EveryBODY has a Story: Band of Life
"This band was a birthday present to myself on my thirtieth birthday. I had just graduated from medical school. I had been submerged in medical school life for four years, and after I finished I wanted to be as far from that world as possible. At that point, I guess I started doing everything you weren’t supposed to do after medical school. I started working in a bar, dropped all my medical connections, and generally stayed as far as I could from all things doctor.
Right at the same time, I had just met my future husband, but we were just dating. I didn’t even tell him about my tattoo appointment because I wanted it to be entirely my decision.
The tattoo took three hours. It was actually a really fun experience. The artist was really nice, and we chatted the whole time. I took ibuprofen before I went in, and the pain was in no way overwhelming.
This tattoo represents the circle of life. When I requested the drawing, I asked for a band made of entwining vines. I wanted a representation of instinct, trust, faith and nature over an achievement-based, sterile, science universe.
When I came to get the tattoo, the artist had included these jewels into the drawing. They were not part of what I had originally asked for, but I liked them a lot. There are five of them, which is also a strange number. I try to imagine what they mean. Did they predict my children? My dreams? My marriage? My feelings of success outside the medical world? I’m still not sure, but I am certainly happy with the choices I’ve made."
Tuesday Oct 10, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: Mom and Dad
"When I got this tattoo, I was actually working in a tattoo studio as a receptionist. I had only one other tattoo at the time, and whenever the artists in the shop were bored, they would say “Come on, let me give you a tattoo!” But no. Not just for nothing. I didn’t want a tattoo without any meaning, so I took my time.
My first tattoo was based on my own aesthetics but the Mom and Dad tattoos are traditional American-style tattoos. During the time I worked at the shop, I really gained an appreciation for that style and I decided to get a tattoo that reflected that.
I decided to base my tattoo on classic flash, but modify it to make it my own. I’m now a graphic artist for a company called Spartacus Leathers http://spartacusleathers.com/ and I’ve always had an art background. It happened to be close to Father’s Day, and I decided to make the tattoo say ‘Dad’, like the classic ‘Mom’ tattoo. I chose this placement both because it’s striking, and because I wanted to cover up a small scar on my wrist.
When I came home to show my father, he was really surprised. He thought it must be a fake tattoo, he couldn’t believe I really did it!
I called my mom later to tell her, and let her know I’d get one for her, too. The mom tattoo came soon after. I think they both ended up really liking them."
Every BODY Has a Story: Belly Out
"When I was twenty-five, I had a lot of trouble controlling my inward looking nature. It was uncomfortable to not be able to leave my own thoughts, and the competitive education and jobs I had only served to make this phenomena worse.
I decided that I needed a physical sign on my body to force me to remember to look out- to put energy into the world instead of keeping it inside. I wanted to send goodness to others, not stay in my own head.
I have always felt my belly is the core of my body, and this seemed like a natural place to tattoo this message.
I chose a compass and sun shaped symbol because the sun shines out, and the compass helps to direct.
After I got the drawing, the artist asked me where I wanted the design. When I told him I wanted it on my belly, he asked if I was planning to have children. At the time, I wasn’t… But now, two children later, I can’t think of a tattoo I would want to wear on my pregnant belly more.
The image was very hard to place evenly because of the shape of the body, and the artist had to try three times. It was worth it. Though I may not have accomplished all my goals, I always have a beautiful reminder."
Friday Oct 06, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: The Tiger
"I started this tattoo last Tuesday. It’s going to be a full sleeve when it’s finished, and I’m sticking to a Japanese theme throughout the piece.
My boyfriend, Gene Hannan @ www.happygoluckyart.com has been a tattoo artist for ten years. This is the first tattoo he has ever done for me. Next week is our year anniversary, and the tattoo is celebrating that.
I really like tigers a lot, but I have let him design the tattoo. Tigers represent strength in Japanese culture. This one is unusual in that it has a third eye. My friends say that the tiger reminds them of me when I’m angry …
In tradition Japanese tattoo art, the images are generally more cartoonish. I wanted this one to be a little more realistic than that.
We are going to add wind bars as well (the black and gray swirls and filler in Japanese tattooing). Also, he is going to do a lot more flowers. I said to him “Baby! Give me flowers!”
These are flowers that will last forever. Who else can give you that??"
Every BODY Has a Story: Subgenius has a Deadeye
This tattoo was the second tattoo that I got. My first was a small tribal sun god I got in Flagstaff while I was working at the Grand Canyon. This tattoo, though, was inked at one of the oldest tattoo shops in San Francisco.
This tattoo is a three-legged gargoyle in the shape of a seven-inch spindle insert. The kind of spindle needed when the hole of a music record is too big to put on the deck shaft.
This tattoo represents my loyalty to Subgenius (see subgenius.com) or “Bob” and is the church of Slack. The central belief of thee church is the pursuit of Slack, which generally stands for the sense of freedom, independence, and original thinking that comes when you achieve your personal goals.
Subgenius is an organization for “mutants, blasphemers, disbelievers, rebels, outcasts, hackers, freethinkers” and generally people who consider themselves out of the mainstream of society.
For me, original thinking in making music is the highlight of what this tattoo means to me. Also the relation that music equals freedom, and my personal goal and central passion is to create good music. My current project is Deadeye. Check it out @ myspace.com/deadeye.
Thursday Oct 05, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: Prophetic Crows
"People seem to have very hot or cool reactions to this tattoo. Either they say “why do you have a tattoo of something that eats dead animals on your arm,” or they say, “Cool, I love crows”.
At first, I got seven crows on my upper shoulder. The number seven wasn’t significant to me other than the aesthetic value. The image is actually from a postcard I had from middle school that I loved. It was a whole murder of crows, shot from underneath as they were taking off. There is actually one pigeon in the picture too. Which is pretty funny. The tattoo artist told me there was a different kind of bird, but I didn’t find out until later it was a pigeon…
The banner is lyrics from an Iron and Wine song. Iron and Wine is by neo-folk singer, Sam Beam. The songs are powerful, and though melancholy, the lyrics are amazing. This particular song reminds me of a friend of mine from high school. The work was done by Adam at Painless Tattoo.
I was a couple years older than my friend and I used to drive him home from school in the afternoons. He was a real quiet guy, but when we were in the car, he talked and talked. When I went to college, he was still in high school. He used to walk home because he didn’t like his mom picking him up. The way home was over two sets of train tracks. They were commuter trains.
One evening I was working on a theatre production, and they had just sent me out to usher people. There wasn’t really anyone to usher, so I was kind of standing around playing with this lighter I have. It always works, and I keep it full of fluid.
I kept checking my watch to see what time the performance was going to start. It was at 7:15 that my lighter stopped working. At 7:30, I looked outside and a huge group of crows all took off at the same time.
He was struck by a commuter train on the second set of tracks at 7:30 that night. He didn’t see it coming. He died instantly. My parents were informed right away, and I found out he died right at the time when the crows all flew away. The Iron and Wine song reminds me of all the things he didn’t get to do."
Every BODY Has a Story: Theda Bera
"This image is from a photo of Theda Bera, the silent film star. She was known as Hollywood’s first sex symbol. I’ve actually loved this rare photo of her since I was a little girl.
My dad had a record shop, and this was one of the photographs in the shop. From a young age, I remember thinking about how attracted I was to the dark beauty– it’s a style that has always been intriguing to me.
Theda Bera is best known for her lead in one of the first film versions of Cleopatra. She had the reputation of a vamp, and this was played up by Hollywood in films that suggested she was a vampire. This was my first tattoo and I wanted the image as a tattoo for years before I turned eighteen.
When my dad sold the record shop, the picture disappeared somewhere. I thought it would be easy to find, but I tried everywhere. All the research I did turned up nothing. Soon after, I was walking down the street and amazingly, the exact photo was on a poster for a local band! I used the flier to get the drawing.
People ask me a lot if it’s a picture of me, and it’s kind of weird. I do feel this odd connection with Theda Bera, I’m not exactly sure why. When I got the tattoo, my parents were very nervous about the whole idea. It took three and a half hours to finish, and the work was done by Mathew Madison at Tigerlily Tattoo. When I got home and showed my parents, they ended up loving it. They had waited up for me to get home in order to see the tattoo of Theda."
Tuesday Oct 03, 2006
EveryBODY has a Story: Leaves Fall to the Water
I started this tattoo in August of 04’ and finished it in November of 05’. When I originally had the idea, I wasn’t sure if it could be transcribed into a tattoo format. I went to my artist and said that I wanted something that looked like a watercolor piece; autumn leaves falling into the water. “Is that a stupid idea?’ I asked him. “No!” he answered. He told me that he had always wanted to do a tattoo like that.
For me it is a tattoo about the fall, which is my favorite time of year as well as when I was born. It’s my mom’s favorite time of year as well. The artist, Adam and I discussed how to make this image work. The water in the background is done in the style of Japanese symbolic clouds, all in gray shade.
Adam drew the design freehand with a pen onto my skin in order to have the sense of three-dimensions that the tattoo needed. The first session was four hours and he outlined out all the leaves and made bloodlines for the water. A bloodline is when the artist uses ink that is so watered down it only leaves light mark that doesn’t last. We filled in the water in a later session.
I let Adam have fun with the color. He knew I wanted it to look like fall and a watercolor feel. He decided on the final look. I love this tattoo. My mother was initially really apprehensive about the tattoo, but now that she’s seen it see loves it too.
Every BODY Has a story: I'm a Vegan
"Here's the story of my tattoo: my tattoo says "vegan" and that's what I am. I really believe in veganism; it's my commitment to the animals and to the planet.
Moreover, I want everyone to know this is not just some phase I am going through. I intend to live the rest of my life without eating food that comes from animals.
It's a permanent choice, just like the tattoo is permanent. I know I'm not the first to have an ink like this, but I think it's important to have a visible reminder of my allegiance to the tribe. I have a vision of an army of vegans; all with our choice boldly emblazoned on our bodies, proclaiming that we live cruelty free."
Friday Sep 29, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: Hellboy
"This is my favorite and most recent tattoo. I love how the black and white contrast ended up looking. This cartoon is from a series that I LOVE called Hellboy, by Mike Mignola. At one time, he worked for Dark Horse comics.
Mike’s style in general, is high contrast, which made it good for this tattoo. Also, I loved this particular part of the cartoon. I guess Mike’s editors asked him to do a short piece on Hellboy’s childhood. Mr. Mignola thought it wouldn’t make more than a page or two, but it ended up being a lot longer. It’s a Hilarious section.
Hellboy is being introduced to pancakes for the first time, and though he is wary, he tries them. He discovers he likes them, which leads to hell being completely screwed up.
The tattoos that I have on my upper body are all pretty serious. I wanted the ones on my lower body to be funny. I got this last July (06’), but I had planned on having comic books on my legs for a while. I have always loved comic books and I plan to do another one. My name is Jen, and I have a comic called ‘Killing Time’ that will come out on lulu.com this December or January. "
Every BODY Has a Story: Orcas
"I entered a raffle at some event at my job and I won a trip to Cordova, Alaska.
I couldn't believe I won a trip to a place no one has even heard of!
But I had a great time, and one day I towards the end of the trip I was looking around this little tiny gift shop and I saw this greeting card and I instantly thought "hey, THAT is my next tattoo."
And so it was.
It reminds me I am lucky sometimes, and that a trip to Cordova Alaska is better than no trip at all."
Tuesday Sep 26, 2006
Every BODY Has A Story - Kyle
"I got this tattoo in April, I drew it up and it is quite different from my normal artwork which I liked the idea of. It is a strange abstract shape or city, the 2 boxes in the middle are up and down which represent life's highs and lows. The arrows also indicate change and movement. I really liked the idea of having a messed up isometric city on my ribs."
Friday Sep 22, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: Walla Walla
When I was twenty-one, I was intrigued by the idea of getting a tattoo, but very aware of cultural taboos associated. I’m Jewish, and it was forbidden for Jews to get tattoos historically, though this is changing with some people.
My parents felt hesitation at the idea of my tattoo, but really most of the hesitation was from me.
I thought about it for quite a while before I decided I wanted a tattoo. Once I decided I wanted one, I chose something very quickly that was part of something I loved during that part of my life. I’ve done that with other tattoos since then as well. They are almost like souvenirs of my history.
Many Waters is the Native American name for Walla Walla. Walla Walla is the town where I went to college. For the first two years, I didn’t feel as if it was my place, but by the last two years, I really loved the town. I am a photographer, and during my senior year, I did a photo show about subjective views of Walla Walla. I wanted to capture spaces that most students never saw in Walla Walla.
This is what I chose for my first tattoo. I wanted an unusual placement, one that I could show or cover up. I know I wanted it on my ribcage, but the placement ended up being dictated by my mole. I like how it looks like a bit of punctuation before the words. My partner took a photo of this tattoo, and I used it for the title page of my photo show.
Thursday Sep 21, 2006
Every BODY Has a story: My Soul Will Find You
"On 9/11 my best friend was in LA and I was in Philly. It looked like the end of the world, and I asked what would happen if one of us died and the other one didn't. She said simply "I will come and find you."
That single statement reassured me more than anything else that day, and in many days to come.
When I decided to move from Philadelphia and away from my friend, I wanted a tattoo to honor our friendship. "I will come and find you" seemed like the obvious choice.
But the place where I wanted the tattoo already had some ink of a fierce looking rabbit that was a mascot from the women's empowerment march and I thought "I will come and find you" right by such a fierce looking rabbit would look like some kind of weird revenge tattoo.
So I asked for script "my soul will find you..." which is flanked by "Vi" on one side and "Wes" on the other, which are the names of my niece and nephew, who I was also leaving behind in Philly."
Wednesday Sep 20, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: Japanese Back piece
"I got this tattoo while I was living in Flagstaff, Arizona. I saw one of the artists at Burly Fish (See www.burlyfishtattoo.com) draw out this geisha for another client who ended up not getting the tattoo. This happens from time to time, but usually, if the artist has done a really great drawing, it won’t sit around for long. Someone will want it.
As soon as I saw the geisha girl, I decided I wanted this full back piece. I started it about five years ago, and it took about thirty-five hours. However, the thirty-five hours was over a period of about five years.
I started working at the shop, as a piercer. Both my back tattoo and my desire to learn to draw and tattoo were put on hold because I was so busy doing work as a piercer. I got my degree in graphic design, and have always loved making all kinds of images. In my graphic design work though, I used finished elements to create a whole piece, rather than starting with a sheet of blank paper. I needed to work a lot on how to sketch. My drawing has steadily improved since that time.
Though the geisha was already drawn when I decided I wanted it, all the surrounding elements I chose before or during the process. Japanese tattoo art is very symbolic, and I used images that were both beautiful, and meaningful.
In this piece, the geisha girl is turning into a dragon. Often, the dragon represents enlightenment. For me, the geisha girl turning into a dragon represents change and re-birth. In Japanese, the word for ‘luck’ sounds very similar to the word for ‘bat’. So it’s kind of a Japanese pun, but bats are considered very lucky. The dragon girl is surrounded by ‘lucky bats’. The cherry blossom represents the shortness of life. There is a bloom, then it’s gone. It is important to savor the moment you have. "
Tuesday Sep 19, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: The Great Lakes
"This tattoo is of the five Great Lakes of the United States. I got it in February of 05’ in San Francisco.
A woman named Annie Danger gave me the tattoo as part of a sort of benefit. She and her roommates were being kicked out of their apartment because the landlord was selling it to developers.
It’s pretty hard to find a place in San Francisco and they were in somewhat of a jam. Annie was a tattoo artist, and was raising money that way.
I had wanted a tattoo since college, and I knew I wanted the Great Lakes. When Annie offered her services, it just seemed like the right time. I’m originally from Detroit, Michigan.
Detroit is an interesting city in that there is only a river separating us from Canada, and it’s the only US city North of Canada. I like the topography of the lakes as well. Michigan forms a big peninsula. This is pretty unusual for a state too, I think. A friend of mine in college from Kansas had a tattoo that was a red and orange heart with stalks of wheat sprouting from it. She told me the tattoo expressed Kansas for her. I really liked that idea. This is different, but exactly what I wanted."
Every BODY Has a Story: Tree of Life
"This is actually my least favorite tattoo to show; though I like it personally. It has gone through a few incarnations. It began as a serpent on my toe after I started Tae Kwon Do.
I got it done at Ghoul tattoo because it was cheap. This was about fifteen years ago and the whole experience was pretty messy. We were there for hours while the guy was sterilizing the equipment. During this time we went and had a few beers, came back, had a few more.
When he finally finished, it was midnight. I gave him my credit card, and he informed me that felons can’t use cards. Great…
I really did not like the way the serpent looked so later, I got it turned into a tree at a different studio I liked much better. This was done all in black, which showed up blue on my skin. The problem with this was that when I went hiking and took off my sock people thought it was giant veins or something. So I went back (to the same place), and had them add the henna colored details.
I am a trainer at Gold’s Gym and Missfits. The thing about the tree of life on my foot is that even if the image has been hard for other people to see the way I do, it is wonderfully helpful for me with yoga.
The way the trunk moves down into my feet is a constant reminder about balance and rootedness."
Monday Sep 18, 2006
Every BODY has a story: Our Lady of Lourdes
"I have a lot of scars on one of my arms from my self-destructive youth, and had wanted for years to get a cover-up, but no one would touch it.
Last year, a friend I love very much got sick and we made plans to go to Lourdes, France in hopes of getting a miracle cure. Lourdes is a famous area for healing because of an appearance of the Virgin Mary about one hundred and forty years ago.
My friend got too sick to make the trip, and one day when we were sitting around, she said "you should get Our Lady of Lourdes on your arm." I told her that no one wanted to touch it, but she said, "you’ll find someone" and the next day I found out about this woman named Jackie at No Ka Oi in Philly. I went in, showed her, and she said--without hesitation-- "oh yeah, I can do that."
She designed it almost overnight and we did it all in one sitting. Then my friend got better and we made our trip to Lourdes. We joked that we should get a discount at hotels, etc for my tattoo.
We didn't get the discount, but I feel like the tattoo and the trip were miracles in themselves!'
Every BODY Has a Story: Dreams
"I got this tattoo about two years ago when my youngest son was one and my older son was five. My husband and I are from the East Coast, and we were surprised by the styles on the West Coast – Everyone has a tattoo!
We had talked about the idea of getting a tattoo ourselves a few times, but nothing serious. Then for Christmas, under the tree, my husband gave me a gift certificate for a tattoo. I actually didn’t go in to get it though, until the following March…
My husband ended up getting a tattoo at the same time. He’s a novelist, and it’s his dream to work at writing fulltime. He got a tattoo that says “Once upon a time” around his ankle. I got the paint palette because my dream is to be a full time painter. My husband wrote a children’s book that I would love to illustrate some day.
I am about five months now pregnant with our third now, and it is sweet to wear our dreams on our skin."
Thursday Sep 14, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: HOPE
"I started this piece last summer, and only finished it a couple of months ago. I got all the work done by the same tattoo artist. We actually worked together in another shop before he started working in the shop he’s in now.
As we discussed this tattoo, I knew I wanted roses, and I knew I wanted the word ‘hope’.
Roses are something I’ve always loved. I don’t grow them now, but my family used too. I have other tattoos that have roses as well, so it has become a sort of theme.
As for the word ‘hope’, hope may seem like a small thing when things are going all right, but when you have difficulties your life, it’s really the only thing that can sustain you sometimes.
Like everyone, I have had my share of hard times, friends moving away, and hard break-ups. Tattoos are often very empowering when they have strong meaning for the person who got them. The word, ‘hope’ for me, is to remind myself of an optimistic outlook, and recognize the power of that tiny word."
Wednesday Sep 13, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: Glowing Memories
"About three years ago, this buddy of mine told me there was this guy who was doing his apprenticeship and he needed some clients. He had a good-sized portfolio, but I still felt a little like a guinea pig…
Though the spirit of the tattoo is very meaningful to me, I didn’t tell him much when it came to design. I just said I wanted a tribal design on the back of my neck.
He did the tattoo in his living room, and drew out the picture then and there. I decided I wanted the edges to done in a kind of ink that glows in black light. At that time it was not considered totally safe, so I only had a little of it done. Now that you can get safer black light ink, I’m going to get more of it filled in.
The tribal theme stems from my heritage. I am Spanish, Sicilian and Apache. My family is very close, particularly my father and I. He showed me many Apache traditions as I grew up. For example, when I first killed a deer, my father told me to taste the animal’s blood, and eat a bit of its heart. This was to show respect for the animal. The heart is where the Apaches believe a being’s strength is kept. By having a piece of the heart, my father showed me how to respect the strength of the deer and to honor it."
Every BODY Has A Story - Travis Lee Button
"My friends and I recently attended the local Garlic Festival in Little Falls, NY. It was held in an are of the city called Canal Place which consist of several galleries and the Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts building. I picked up a business card in one of the galleries I stopped
in for a tattoo artist named Denise De La Cerda. She is new to the area and I had not heard of her but I immediately got a good feeling from the business card. My best friends birthday was approaching and I knew he was itching to get some more ink, so I gave her a call and scheduled an appointment for us to get inked on his birthday. We arrived and the shop was really nice and very clean, Denise is a great conversationalist and an all around awesome person and turns out she is a really really
good artist. I had her do this Tudor Rose design for me, Ive been holding on to it in my tattoo wishlist for a while. Needless to say I have already scheduled an appointment to discuss a more complex piece with her that I plan to have done in December. Again she is new to the area so I am trying to give her a hand and spread the word.
Tuesday Sep 12, 2006
Every BODY has a Story: Transformation
"This tattoo is a very powerful symbol called a rune. Runes are ancient symbols people used in magic ceremonies. Many people think that they are Irish in origin, but actually, they have Anglo-Saxon ancestry.
This rune, is the rune of transformation. I got it very recently, and it is something I want for myself. I really need the strength of transformation in order to get rid of an unhappy situation in which I have found myself.
I am still dealing with this situation, but the rune is a constant reminded to me of change, and growth, new beginnings, and old endings.
When I went in to have it done, I was going to have it done on my shoulder, but as soon as I was in the shop I realized that I Had to have it on my neck in this place. It is also a powerful place on the body, but the only place that felt right for my rune."
Monday Sep 11, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: Classic Pan-Culture
"This tattoo is based on some traditional sailor tattoo art. Originally, I was going to get it done in the style of a puzzle, with some of the pieces missing.
Once the artist started to draw it out however, it was clear that would have been to busy with the puzzle pieces for the image I was imagining.
Sailors actually brought the art of tattooing to the United States from Asia, and I wanted a classic tattoo that would incorporate both styles.
When I talked to my artist, we discussed additions to the classic ‘Sailor Jerry” tattoo in order to add elements of Asian tattoo culture.
We decided on the snake and dagger being surrounded by cherry blossoms, and the clouds over the top are done in the Japanese ‘wind cloud’ style.
My grandfather was in the navy station in Asia, and he had some navy tattoos, I’m not sure if this influenced my choice, but I remember his tattoos well"
Friday Sep 08, 2006
Every BODY Has A Story: The Three Monkeys
"I got this tattoo about four years ago for my thirty-third birthday. It was actually a present from all my friends. My partner at the time organized it, but so many other people contributed too, including my good friend, Paul Anson from Discourage Records.
It was a time in my life where I had finally gotten clean from drugs, and this tattoo is a sort of talisman to that effect.
These monkeys are the “see no evil, hear no evil, say no evil” monkeys. I had had the idea for a while, but for my birthday I got to get the tattoo with Paul Zenk from Infinity tattoo.
Before he did the drawing, we went out together and I told him what I wanted. I saw him start the sketch while we were together and it still looks great.
Along the side of each monkey, the image corresponds to the action. Next to the “Speak no evil” monkey, there are comic book, *&%$#@-type swear words. Next to the “Hear no evil”, there are warped musical notes, and next to the “See no evil”, there are tons of staring eyeballs.
This tattoo is my totem. It speaks for itself, and gives me the feeling of balance."
Tuesday Sep 05, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: Liechtenstein’s Gun
I was always into art, but not necessarily so great at making it, though I like doing collage work and things like that.
I grew up in a little hellhole, meth town called Lebanon, Oregon. It’s not an easy place to get out of, and definitely not the place to discover a lot of art.
I did manage to leave, and though I’m into a bunch of different artists, the one on my tattoo is just one of them. This image is from a Liechtenstein print.
The way I got this tattoo is sort of unusual. I was at a bar at a heavy metal show, and a little buzzed, I noticed that they had raffle tickets. The raffle tickets entitled the buyers to a free drink. I figured what the hell and bought one.
After I tried to get a drink with it, they informed me that the Other raffle line was for the free drink tickets that were about the same price as a drink anyway…
Whatever. I bought the free drink and the other one and hung out at the show. After a while, they called the raffle numbers. When they called my number, I had no idea what the raffle was for. Turns out that I won, and the prize was a free tattoo.
I had a week to come up with the image I wanted, I ended up with this. The eye of the gun is covering and cigarette burn from my Sid Vicious days… Now I’m playing with some people in a project called Sex Apache. Check us out."
Thursday Aug 31, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: Ophidiophobia
"Once when I was a kid, I was doing some work for my grandmother. I was about ten years old, and taking the shingles off of her roof. I worked on the roof for a while, and then suddenly–¬¬¬ I slipped and fell off!
The roof sloped down to a little hill. I rolled down the hill, fell in a pond, and unbelievably, into a nest of snakes.
I don’t know what kind of snakes they were. Probably not poisonous because I didn’t get sick or bitten or anything, but it was crazy. I had snakes in my hair, in my shirt, in my pants…
I was an ordinary ten-year-old kid, and this scared the hell out of me. I was screaming and freaking out. It still creeps me out to think about it.
Ever since then, I have had a big fear of snakes.
The artist who does my tattoos, Scott from Twenty-First Century Tattoo, is a friend of mine. A while ago we went to this bar and were just hanging out when he brought a little Live snake out of his pocket. It scared the crap out of me!
Some time after that, I told him I wanted a snake tattoo. I guess I wanted to somehow take control over the fear that I had.
I’m still afraid of snakes, but I really like my tattoo…"
Every BODY Has a Story: Mother
"This is my fist tattoo and I got it around November of 1996 in my living room. There was this guy from Seattle who would come down and do tattoos, and he was a good artist.
When I got this one, I hadn’t seen my mom is about two years. We were both just busy, I guess. I was a senior in college at that time.
I didn’t intentionally show it to her until the next March. She wasn’t very happy; in fact, she sort of freaked out. She kept talking about the permanence…
I told her that I could have gotten a flaming skull, and I think she kinda chilled out after that. Her exact quote was “It’s your arm”. True enough.
My sister told me I was an idiot and that I’d regret it, but I never have. I still really like it.
In fact, I’m going to go get a tattoo next week. I’m not sure what I’m getting yet, but it’s the first time I’ve had any extra money laying around for a long time."
Wednesday Aug 30, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: Green Tara
"This tattoo is an image of the goddess, Green Tara. Tara was the mother of Buddha, and there are several different versions of her including White Tara, Red Tara and Gold Tara.
I was raised Catholic, and am now not a religious person, but a spiritual one. Buddhism is more of an interest for me than a dominating religion. My name is actually Tara, and my parents named me that because of the link with the word Earth, or Terra, in Latin.
I was introduced to the Buddhist name Tara by my stepmother, who was also interested in spiritual matters.
She had a number of books on Buddhism, and I naturally followed the stories containing my name. I was very intrigued by Tara because of her compassion and her motherly qualities.
I got this tattoo in ’99 when I was about twenty-six. I got it at a shop called Electric Rose, in Seattle, Washington. At the time, I knew that I wanted to be a mother some day, but it is something that has become increasingly important to me as I get older.
Now, I have two stepchildren and a baby on the way. I am three months along. I look forward to having Tara continue to guide me with her beauty, her compassion, and her beautifully maternal nature."
Every BODY Has a Story: Swan Song
"My best friend and I met in the second grade. He was an Asian kid, and we had a funny, kind of competitive relationship that lasted until the day that he died.
We were competitive with everything. Whether it was basketball, sports, or life, we were always trying to one up each other.
We always stayed close through the years. About ten years ago, when he was twenty-six, he had finally gotten it all together. He moved out of his parent’s house, got a killer job and had his first girlfriend.
That night, he died in his sleep. I guess he had some sort of heart problem that no one knew about. It was a huge surprise for everyone.
This tattoo is the first tattoo that I ever got. It is the Led Zeppelin picture from the album, Swan Song. I went in to get a tattoo for him, but I wasn’t sure what to get. I saw this picture up on the wall, and realized that it was perfect.
The picture looked a whole lot like me at the time. I had long hair, and was a nude dancer, so I was naked a lot. I figured that with this tattoo, when I died, I could go up there and be competitive with him again some day. I know we’ll meet up.
A few months after that happened, my dad passed away. I thought about getting another angel, but I figured the one I had would work for both of them."
Tuesday Aug 29, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: Native Dreams
"I got the Dream Catcher part of this tattoo about seven years ago. I’m of Native American descent, and both my parents are Sioux from the Lakota tribe of Pine Ridge. The Lakota tribe comes from the Western half of the Dakota’s. When I was a kid, jobs were sometimes hard to find, and we moved all over the country. I lived in twenty-two states. Luckiest kid in the world, traveled the whole country and my dad paid for it…
My mom was a homemaker, then she went to school to design missiles and satellites. She had top secret clearance from the government. There’s probably Still some satellites hanging around up there in the sky there my mom mighta had something to do with…
The Dream Catcher is a tattoo that honors my family. The men in my family have always been incredibly close. Male bonding, you know? My own dream came true when I had my son. The war bead in the dream catcher represents him.
Though I got the tattoo for my son, I got it at a time when my dad wasn’t living close by. I was really missing him a lot, and thinking about how much I loved my boy.
With the flag tattoo, I sat down with my wife and told her I wanted the flag draped with no wind, across my arm and around the Dream Catcher. She actually drew it up for me, and then I took it to Jason Bradbury at Atomic Art. See http://www.atomic.ws/. Jason is a great artist, and he cleaned the picture up and did the tattoo.
I got this American flag right after 9-11. For me, we’re all Americans but being a Native American gives me a unique outlook on being American. Everyone else is a transplant; I’m a Native. Both of these tattoos have to do with my heritage and my love for this country. Although I gotta say, I love my country, but I don’t trust my government…
Every BODY Hs a Story: Outsiders
"The Outsiders is a bike club that my friends and I are in. We have around a couple hundred members and my brother was one of them.
He joined a long time ago. Even before me. The Outsiders are just like another family, everyone takes care of each other, and what needs to get done gets done. I have also been president of this club during my membership.
My brother, Robin, had this same tattoo. He developed bone marrow cancer and died. I knew I wanted to get one like it, but in our club you need to get permission from all the members before you get a tattoo of the name of the club.
They all gave me permission, but I waited two years before getting it. This is a tight bond, in memory of my brother, and also a sign of the connection between myself and the other guys in The Outsiders. If you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us, but we are there for each other. Whatever needs to be taken care of, gets taken care of.
I got this done at Family Traditions Tattoo Studio."
Monday Aug 28, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: Family Band
"When I was growing up, I was greatly influenced by my grandmother who was a member of the Native American tribe, Nez Perce.
Native American symbolism ruled in our family, and it was a point of honor to respect these symbols and give them their correct due.
I got this tattoo about six years ago. I had gotten married to the most wonderful woman in the world, and I decided to give a token of my skin to those of my family who held that reservoir of strength for me.
The top of this tattoo is a symbol of the sun, the moon and a star. In my culture, this celestial embrace is the symbol for family, something I have never taken lightly.
The band all the way around my arm represents the eternal nature of this connection. On the inside of the band is a Native American version of a dragon. This represents strength. Because no matter how wonderful and strong your family is, you still need the strength of your own will to carry you through your life.
I got this tattoo at Vertigo Tattoo. It has certainly stood me in good stand. Not only am I still married, but also I have a baby now. That will continue the legacy from which I came."
Friday Aug 25, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: Road Runner Gets Caught
My wife and I are dog groomers at a pet store called Animal Crossing. She has been a groomer for longer than we have been married, but I started to go into business with her when we got married. This was about seven years ago.
She has had that tattoo on her leg of the Road Runner for a long time. I’ve spent quite a lot of time thinking about that tattoo… She says she got it because she was always fast, I say it’s because she was so good at getting away!
We actually met about eighteen years ago, and were always very attracted to each other. Unfortunately, one or both of us were always married every time we came across each. This seemed to happen over and over for years and years.
The first time we saw each other single, well, that was it. We lived together for about a year, and have been happily married since then.
I got this Wile E. Coyote tattoo last week. I had wanted a tattoo there for a long time, though I wasn’t sure of what to get. My dad was a great big fan of Wile E. Coyote, and always took us to see those cartoons. In a way, I’m kinda keeping my dad around with this tattoo.
Of course, the tattoo has a double meaning too. Wile E. Coyote was Always chasing the RoadRunner just like me. The thing is, in our story; the RoadRunner got caught…."
Thursday Aug 24, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: Aries
"I met my best friend when I was in third grade and she was in second. We have been best friends ever since then.
We have also been roommates for quite a long time now and gone through a lot of living together. She has been a surrogate mother for two different families, and I lived with her during that time. She does not see the children, but the parents sent her pictures of them.
When I first decided that I wanted to get this tattoo, we wanted to get one together. She ended up becoming pregnant soon after that, and the doctors said that it was best to wait for at least two months after giving birth (to TWINS), before she got her tattoo.
I had wanted to get this Aries tattoo for at least a year. I love being an Aries. Aries people are bull-headed and stubborn. They are set in their ways, just like me.
The actual symbol for the Aries id a ram’s head, but I didn’t think it was exactly what I wanted. I want something more feminine. I had Wade, from Raven tattoo draw out this floral pattern to encircle the word Aries. It was a great thing to wait for my friend to get this tattoo with me. Everyone always compliments me on it, and I am really proud of it."
Wednesday Aug 23, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: Cars and Girls
I got these tattoos about eight or nine years ago. First the one on my right calf, then the second one on my left. I had known a lot of people with tattoos, and I thought about what I wanted for a while. I must have been about twenty-nine or thirty when I got these.
I ran across this book of art by Robert Williams, who is very famous in the tattoo world. There was one thing I knew I always wanted– a woman with a car… Robert Williams’ art has that in spades.
I took the book to a friend, Paul, at Infinity Tattoo, and told him to find an image with a girl and a car that he liked. On my right calf, the tattoo is a little simpler, the image was a black and white one, and Jesse colored it in. He drew the tattoo out from the picture.
It took about five hours to get the work done on each side. I guess I wasn’t very surprised about my pain tolerance, but the people at the shop were. Five hours is a long time to go on a tattoo…
After I got the first one, I knew that I wanted another pretty quick. When I got the second one, Jesse filled in the background more than in the first. I got my girl, and I got my car. "
Tuesday Aug 22, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: Parental Photo
This is a portrait of my parents, taken on their wedding day in 1980. I got this tattoo about six or seven years ago after my grandmother gave me the picture. I had never seen a picture of them together before.
You see, my dad died from cancer when I was five. For a lot of reasons I don’t want to go into, by the time I was sixteen, I wasn’t living with my mother. She refused to go to the doctor, and ended up dying of pneumonia when I was just sixteen.
When I got this tattoo, I was living in a house with a guy that did tattoos. When he cared and was working hard, he did wonderful tattoos, but if he wasn’t in the mood, he did a horrible job. I’m actually getting one of the ones he did before covered up today. In the house, we called him ‘the basement dweller’.
As soon as my grandmother gave me this photo, I knew I wanted to get it as a tattoo. I told the guy in the basement (put the fear of God in him, really) that he had Better do this one well. My parents look so peaceful in the picture. I think the basement dweller did a good job.
People ask me about it all the time. I look a lot like my mother, and sometimes people think that it’s a picture of me.
Every BODY Has a Story: the sacred heart of mother
During my college years, I didn't get along with my mom very well. I think a lot of it started brewing around the time that my mom turned 50 and decided to finish her own schooling and become a teacher. I was very proud of her for this, but it put us into a situation where we were sharing classes at community college. It was kind of a novelty for the first week or so, but you can imagine how cool it became to be a guy in your early 20's sitting next to your mom in math class. "Did you get your homework done" takes on a whole new meaning when your mom has been assigned the same thing. Compound this situation with the fact that independence and getting out of the house was at the forefront of my mind... it was basically the perfect storm. That year we both said a lot of things that we didn't mean, or maybe things that we did mean at the time but later regretted.
I ended up leaving to go to a university in the fall and finally got to live in the same town as my long distance girlfriend (who is now my wife). So the independence problem was being resolved, but probably not so much the relationship with mom. I majored in art and graphic design, with a lot of focus on serigraphy (screen printing). When studying art history in light of screen printing, you learn a lot about pop artists like Warhol who worked with appropriated images and collage.
So I had this idea for a particular assignment that would combine a couple images. The first being a classic image of Christ from the side of a prayer candle. I owned one of these candles, which itself was a point of "discussion"
with my mom. Being raised baptist, she didn't see any need for such an object in the house. I assured her that I didn't plan on praying to it and I only enjoyed it for its cheesy aesthetic value and she pretty much let it be.
The second image was mom's senior portrait. The photo always stuck in my head as very iconic, as if it belonged in a stained glass window... or on the side of a candle. I don't know exactly what my motivation was to do it. I think partly there was this sarcastic attitude of "look at my mom, the saint".
When you screen print, especially once you get the hang of it, there's a lot of time to think. Once the initial design is done, you have to print each color individually. This one was 9 colors, and it took about an hour for each one.
Half way through the whole process I start realizing the weight of what I'm doing. I'm putting my mom's face on the body of Christ. What am I thinking?
What does this mean? Is this blasphemous? Is God trying to tell me something?
This photo of mom brings a lot to my mind. She would of been a few years younger than I was at the time. She didn't yet know what her life would bring.
The pain of three miscarriages, wondering if she could even have children for seven years before having me. Then spending most of her pregnancy with me laying in bed, praying that God would allow me to live and that I would know and love Him someday. Seeing her this young reminds me of my childhood, when she was my best friend in the world. When if there was ever an example in my life of Christ-like love, this was it. And more than that, I knew that this love never changed. In spite of every fight, backhanded comment, and flippant attitude, this love would endure in spite of it all. I don't know if I could describe the love that Christ Himself has for me any differently.
"The Sacred Heart of Mother" won an honorable mention that year at a student show. I told my wife this whole story of what the image means to me and how I never want to forget it. She said, "You've always wanted tattoos, I can't think of a better idea than this for your first one." I told her that sounded pretty crazy. A year later I had it done on mother's day.
-streeter
Monday Aug 21, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: Casa Sanchez
"There’s this Mexican restaurant in the Mission district in San Francisco called Casa Sanchez. It wasn’t an official announcement or anything, but the word was spread that anyone who got the restaurant logo tattoo would get themselves free food for life.
The problem was that the whole thing blew up- everyone was getting the Casa Sanchez logo. I mean, at Least forty people…
I was probably one of the last people to get the tattoo. It was sort of a weird situation. A friend of a friend knew someone from this German television station who had heard about this deal, and wanted to document it for a show.
I got a call saying I could get a tattoo for free, but it had to be the exact logo. I figured free food for life, it was kinda an investment, who could turn it down?
The German TV station filmed me eating a burrito, getting the tattoo, than going back and eating ANOTHER burrito… It was pretty crazy.
They promised they’d send me footage from the show, but I never got it. If anyone who knows the show in Germany is watching, send an email to INKED!
But, at least I know where my next burrito is coming from…"
Friday Aug 18, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: Heather’s Hotdogs
"Hotdogs have got to be the most hilarious American icon in the world, seriously- hotdogs??
When I was living in San Francisco, I had a bunch of friends who all started coming up with the most ridiculous tattoo ideas we could. It started with a friend who got a tattoo of Barbie, holding Ken’s severed head. As if that wasn’t enough, soon we got someone with Rainbow Bright and a mace, and Strawberry Shortcake with a dagger.
This totally cracked us up. For my birthday, my boyfriend bought me two matching cheeseburger tattoos on my shoulders. This was at Everlasting Tattoo in San Francisco.
A bunch of my friends then turned to odd logos. One got 7-Up, on one wrist, and 7-11 on the other. Other logo ideas followed suit…
I got the hotdog tattoos about two years ago from a guy named Mod at Tigerlilly Tattoo. He didn’t know me as well as my old artist, but thought it was a cool idea. He drew them out for me, and one of the interesting things is that it fits the shape of my arm so well. They really look good! The mustard squirting out of each end was Mod’s idea…"
Thursday Aug 17, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: Living Poetry
There’s a book called The Prophet, that was written in the early nineteen hundreds by a Lebanese-American man named Khalil Gibran. It became very popular in the sixties and seventies as people became open to the idea of spiritualism. My grandmother actually gave the book to my mother as a present, and often, my mother read The Prophet to me as a child. When I was older, she passed the book on to me.
I have always loved the book, and it has been a sort of reference guide for me on life. The section of the book that my mother read to me was the chapter on children. The book is a sort of prose poem and this section begins,
“Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls…
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.”
This tattoo is based on the image in that chapter. In the original, The main figure of the archer is male, but I had Autumn Marshall from Icon Tattoo redraw it for me as a female character. I am a doula by profession, which is a woman who aids in births and afterbirth care.
I leave a copy of this book for every new parent with whom I work."
Lori's Tattoo
From Lori, an INKEDblog reader:
"I think the sexiest place a woman can get tattooed is down her side. So, when I decided that I wanted to do a side piece I went to our tattoo artist, Zac Meyer at The Psychodelic Butterfly in Little Rock, and told him what I wanted.
I wanted a grouping of water lillies that started out sketched and by the end was full detail, full colour. He came up with a design that I absolutely loved and was totally one of a kind. After we did the 'original' upper flowers, I decided that I wanted the tattoo to continue down my side and down onto my lower hip. Which is the point we're at now. When it's finished it will start out sketched, go to full colour on the two middle lillies and then back to sketched. Hopefull I'll be able to finish it in a few weeks!"
Tuesday Aug 15, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: Rubber Bug
"About five years ago, I was living in San Francisco working for Levi’s. My housemate was friends with this guy, Jesse, who came to stay with us for a while. He and I became friends, and he was a tattoo artist.
Jesse brought all his stuff with him, and was immaculate about sterilization etc. I brought him over a lot of clients, and it turned out that everyday we would have two or three people coming to get tattoos at our house. We would all go out and party at night when they were done. It was fun.
Because I brought him a lot of business, Jesse told me he would do a tattoo for me for free. At the time, I had met this girl in New York and she was coming to stay with me. She wasn’t my girlfriend, more of a fling, but what a great fling!
We went to Chinatown and she bought this weird rubber bug for some reason. After she went home, I told Jesse that I wanted the bug tattooed on my leg…
Some time after that, I visited her in New York. Of course, I didn’t tell her about the tattoo, that would have been creepy. She had a boyfriend by that time, and I wore long pants."
Monday Aug 14, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: Clouds
"On my arm, I have a series of cloud tattoos. I got the first three clouds five years ago when I was twenty-seven. In most Japanese tattoo work, the clouds make up the background of the piece, and I found myself interested in using them graphically as a center.
I was born and grew up in Japan, and was always sketching. I am an artist at Temple Tattoo, now. I started on these cloud images when I was about sixteen. Both of my parents were career artists as well.
They met at an art school in Tokyo called Tamabi. My father worked on advertising campaigns where he did illustrations of ‘60’s and ‘70’s movie stars holding pipes (among other projects), as well as selling many abstract pen and ink studies. My mother was an oil painter.
After Tokyo, we moved to a tiny village in the countryside of Japan. I have no idea why my parents made that move. My parents were really kind of hipsters at the time. My mom was the first woman who had smoked cigarettes in that village. It was not great growing up there.
They still live there, but I moved to the US fourteen years ago. For me, the clouds suggest a sort of neutrally and flexibility. They could be anything; they could go anywhere. Like me. I also have cloud tattoos on my legs, and I plan to Never have any other sort of tattoo other than clouds."
Every BODY Has a Story: The Harpies
I got this tattoo two weeks ago and it healed really fast. I got it from Tim at Optic Nerve Tattoo where I work.
The tattoo is of three Harpies, which are Greek mythological part bird/part woman monsters. They are supposed to be really disgusting and mean. I got the idea with a friend of mine one night when we were sitting around getting drunk.
I wanted a new tattoo, and needed some ideas. I have never been really into Greek mythology, but my friend Rhea is. She asked me what I thought about a Harpy tattoo, and I told her I didn’t know what that was.
She started to draw it out for me, and made the birds have chicken feet. We thought it was so funny, we started looking up images of Harpies on the Internet. We found tons of cool ones.
We decided to get these tattoos as matching tattoos, but on opposite sides of our legs so if we stand together, the Harpies are touching…
We gave the image to Tim, who went all out and drew us this crazy sleeve tattoo. We decided that we couldn’t afford it though, and started to work on this image.
He took our printed picture, cleaned it up, and made the lines really distinct. What can I say- best friends forever!"
Friday Aug 11, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: Dominguez the Aztec
I got this tattoo about four days ago, but it’s been a long time in coming. I am twenty years old, but I feel so much older. It has been a hard life.
This tattoo says my name, Dominguez, in a custom script that a friend of mine came up with. I met him in art class a long time ago and he is an aspiring tattoo artist and has been sketching forever.
The actual script is based on Aztec writing and the imagery is based on the Aztec Wall of the Dead. The Wall of the Dead is an Aztec story that after a battle, the Aztecs would pile the bodies of their victims into a wall as a warning to their enemies and an appeasement to the gods of war.
I’m supposedly of Aztec descent but I grew up in a small and racist town. Life was never easy for my brother and I. He and I came to a great separation of beliefs at a certain point. He decided to go into the military and be a traditional American. Me, I opted for extremism and individuality though it has not been easy.
This tattoo for me is about protecting my family. I do not want anyone to ever mess with us again, and I will use the spirits of my ancestry to show this warning."
Thursday Aug 10, 2006
Every BODY Has a Story: More than a Muscle Man
"Around 1989, I went into the army after some trouble at home, and was stationed in Germany for a while. After I got out, I started teaching myself to tattoo for about two years. This tattoo, of the muscled man with the small head, is one that I did myself. It was one of my first ones ever. I was about twenty at the time.
For me, it represents all the false valuations people place on the external. They want a better car, better muscles, bigger boobs, nicer teeth and it’s all really bullsh-t. Do you want to end up with all that and still be thinking small little thoughts? No.
After about two years, a German tattoo artist named Kevin Heath took me under his wing, and I did my apprenticeship with him. I started a tattoo studio there, then moved back to the states and started another studio, Tattoo Revolution, in Las Vegas.
I tattooed Jesse’s sleeve, from INKED and also taught Big E (from Ultimate Fighting Championship), t