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Okay so being of Scottish and Irish decent my own particular ancestors had their own style of ink. If you are a reader and would like to leave a comment or send an email about who your ancestors were, I will do a post about their ancestral inking habits as well! So the Celts are what I come from and true to sense my taste in the recent Celtic art designs are similar. But what about the ancients? How exactly did they do it?
Celtic tattoos were a common sight among Celtic warriors. Much like the Picts who tattooed their warriors to intimidate their enemies, the Celts adopted a similar strategy for their time. A Celt considered battle among the highest of honors and for this reason carefully considered war strategies that included much psychological warfare.
Unfortunately in those days, they didn’t have blaring radios to pipe over loudspeakers played from hovering helicopters, no, they had a different idea altogether. With themselves being considered brutal and primitive beings they played highly on this fact. Those they warred with were commonly weighed down by the trappings common to hand to hand combat styles of war. Hundreds of pounds of armor or weapons tended to slow them down, still made them very efficient killing machines, but slowed them down considerably. A soldier who fell off his horse would never be able to get to his feet in time to avoid death by the sword of his enemy.
However the Celts found the perfect remedy for this. They would engage in battle bare chested and even naked which caused futher intimidation of their foes who were trained to believe you never allowed a spot of bare skin in battle. This shook their foes who wondered if they may indeed be gifted with godly strength or other attributes. A Celtic warrior also used flower paste and bright dyes to manipulate their hair into wildly colored spikes.
The Woad plant was used to perform all of their tattooing since it is a hardy plant native to northern Europe as well as all of the British Isles. Woad is the reason the tattoos were blue as it is an indigo plant. When their tattoos were performed they would need to harvest and dry the Woad plants. The dried leaves would then be boiled and strained, over and over until the liquid became viscous and then tapped into the skin using needle like instruments that would force the indigo stain underneath the layers of skin.
So we all know someone who is just a fun loving person. The jokester, the one that can always make someone laugh when they would rather be crying. And in all honesty, some of these tattoos are indeed the most fun looking things I’ve seen in skin art.
For some reason I get the feeling Tim Burton would be very proud of this little guy. I do love this actually, because of one simple reason. I have NEVER seen another tattoo much like it and I’ve seen many thousands!
And indeed this one is absolutely fun as well, but well, I mean, hey, I guess I’m just peeved about the angry look on the blue Unicorns face as well as the fact that she is smoking. There are more then one reason each of those things bother me. But fun? Yes, I think so.
Okay well this guy has a video game tattooed on his ass. I think he wins the fun combo on gaming and ink, two of my favorite subjects. So what do you think? Please send me any fun tattoos you know of for future posting!!
Okay, so I’ll say it. I’m not exactly happy with where this war in Iraq and Afghanistan has been going lately, hell, maybe even for a long time now. But the thing is, I believe, that no matter what you believe, that you either support our troops and stand behind them, or you get your ass up and go stand in front of them. The ugly truth is that Freedom is NOT Free. Now I understand more than most people how important it is to be entitled to your own opinion as well. But remember the history of this country before you decide that you are so against the war that you will not support the soldiers in it that are doing their jobs, like millions of other men and women before them. Our country was built on their backs and their very lives.
So with something such as freedom being something so essentially American, and something that is coveted all over this world, there are no doubts why Military or Patriotic tattoos tops the list of types of tattoos most often acquired. So when you speak of honor and love of country, how do you think that is best displayed in permanent ink on your skin? I’d really like to know this from anyone reading, it doesn’t matter what country you are in or what military means to your country, but whatever the people as a whole honor. As most reasonable Americans do their own armed services.
So if you can’t be proud of what the war means in your opinion. That’s okay too, but never discount that wars like these for whatever reason they are fought, always cost the lives of some of our nations leaders and a load of our youth. Be proud of them as they show their pride in themselves!
All this hype about tattoos; celebrities flaunting new ones every day and people discussing their weird and whacko tattoos at water coolers. Ever wonder when and how it all started? Not the hype, I mean, but tattoos as an art form, and as an essential part of our creative history.
Early Tattoos from the Gods and Goddesses
The beginning of tattooing can be traced as early as Ancient Egypt around 2000 B.C. Female mummies have been uncovered with tattoos that match the patterns etched on figurines from the same period, some associated with the Goddess Hathor.
African tribes used to routinely scar parts of the body for ritual and identification purposes. These ritual cicatrices, or raised scars, would then be filled in with dark dyes extracted from plant sources. All male children of the Monomotapa (tribal leader) would be scarred with whorls of raised flesh on their cheeks, foreheads, and arms to identify them as the future tribe leaders.
In Japan, tattoos flourished during the Jomon, Yayoi and Kofun periods. Throughout the Yayoi period, 300 B.C. – 300 A.D., men in Japan and China decorated their faces and bodies to ward off serpents and evil forces and spirits. Native Americans were well known for their tattoos. In the ancient world, tattoos were used not just to identify people, but also to punish them! There were some interesting tattoo-based punishments on offer then.
In Europe, tattooing was an expensive art form, very elitist, and out of reach to the common people. Royalty such as King George V, Grand Duke Alexis of Russia and King Harold bore tattoos. Early Americans followed the European elitist response to tattoos.
World War Skin Art
During World War II, sailors and soldiers displayed their allegiances through body art. They bore names of their units, ships and divisions proudly. Tattoo shops were located on docks and near military bases and tattooing flourished. (Though I do doubt many of them were as patriotic as the shown face tattoo guy here)
The introduction of the electric tattoo gun caused the prices to drop and tattooing to be accessible to everyone. Everyone started getting tattoos; the Hippie movement of the 70’s brought flower power to stay in the form of colorful tattoos.
In India, lasting temporary body art is practiced using Henna, the green paste extract of a particular leaf. Women decorate their hands, feet and faces with intricate designs using this paste, which, when washed off, leaves behind delicate tracings in bright red.
Yes, you might elicit many a shocked gasp when you walk in flashing that bright tattoo on your collarbone, but now you know enough about our tattoo-beginnings to tell the gaspers you’re only following tradition! Surely, they can’t argue that point?
It’s all the rage now – anybody who is already somebody or who desperately wants to be somebody is showing off a tattoo. You want to find out what the fuss is all about! As a first-timer, you’ll have many questions, and you’re understandably very nervous too.
Let’s start with how much you know about tattooing. Do you know what an autoclave is? It’s a device that’s used to sterilize equipments using high-pressure steam, something your tattoo parlor should be having. What are the approved safety guidelines for tattoo parlors? Any other dos and don’ts that you should know before going in? Soon you start to realize that you have much to learn before you let anyone touch your skin with that noisy little contraption!
Here are a few guidelines for you:
How do you tell a good tattoo artist from a bad one? A good artist will follow all the standard safety guidelines for tattooing, be drug-free, and focused. Interview the parlor owners and check their portfolios to ensure credibility and ask for references.
Are tattoos safe? Yes, as long as you go to a reputable artist that is following all recommended safety precautions. Make sure you’re not sick when you get a tattoo. Lowered immunity levels may cause infection in the tattoo site.
Does it hurt? It does hurt, only not that much. People wouldn’t be going back to get more tattoos if it hurt all that bad! The amount of pain you feel depends on your level of tolerance. Avoid taking any medication that can thin the blood immediately before a tattoo. BC powders can thin blood too! Never ever drink or use recreational drugs before getting inked, EVER.
How much is it going to cost? This differs – there are cheap tattoo places and then there’s quality. If you compromise on cost, you’ll soon be crying for a real artist to cover up your bad tattoos. It’s a piece of art you’ll wear for life. What’s a little money?
What kind of tattoo should you get? This depends entirely on you, and your social circles. You might want a tattoo that you can hide with clothing when in public, or go for one that you can proudly show off all the time. Choose a body part to ink based on your comfort zone and needs.
Is there a best tattoo season? Winter is the time that most artists recommend, as the tattoo gets time to settle in before the summer begins. Sun exposure tends to fade tattoos.
Take time to decide on getting your tattoo; once it’s done, removing it can cause pain to both your skin and to your wallet. All said and done, the right tattoo is a cool thing to have; it defines you as a person and gives you an edge, a je ne sais quoi that lesser souls do not possess!
Back in the early 90′s when I was still young enough to be able to spend a lot of time lurking around the shop, pondering this tattoo or that for my next project, a new artist rolled into town and into the shop I frequented. Matty. Matty looked like any other scrawny gray bearded, covered in ink artist you may have seen before. But there was something about Matty for me, and for Matty there was something about me.
Unlikely Lessons
It is important to remember that I was raised by a far right fanatical christian. Bless her soul. My mother was a woman of great faith. But as is the way often with mothers and daughters we clashed more then anything else. So instead of accepting wisdom that she had to offer, and much she did have as I learned in later years, so instead I tended to get my bits of wisdom on the run.
As I did with Matty. I met Matty when I was 17. I knew of course he had a very devoted crush on me. I’d image he would have been at least 55 at the time I met him. And being 17 I knew and I think he knew that that age difference was just a liiiiitttttle creepy on the part of everyone. So instead of falling into some May – December romance, we fell into more of a big brother or even a father daughter role. I was wild. He had lived through his wild days already. I was all over the chart as he was steadily trying to encourage me to chart my course.
Sharing Important Knowledge
Over the next two years I watched him tattoo a thousand people or more. We joked, we bantered back and forth about when I was going to ‘get in that chair.’ And all along he shared stories upon stories with me. Not as a mother or father will preach good morals to their children, just as a man telling me hey, I’ve been here, I’ve gone down this road and it never took me anywhere. And I’d always tell him in some such way that he seemed to be doing fine now, having a job as an artist raking in hundreds of dollars per hour. He would always shake his head and remind me that ‘the road to success was littered with a thousand failures.’
Let the Inking Begin
So in the summer of 1993 Matty began his freestyle piece on me. REMEMBER that this was 17 years ago and this was just a couple of short years before the ‘new school’ ink made its appearance in the skin art world. So there I sat in the chair finally and told him to do his best. He asked me what I wanted in the end, I told him I wanted a free floating island, much like the ones seen in the recent movie Avatar, not of this earth. I told him I wanted a fantasy scene. I wanted all of the ideas of wizards and castles and dragons, Oh my!
“And you trust me to freely create exactly what’s on your mind?” Matty asked as the needle was hovering just over my skin ready to pierce. Of course I do Matty, I feel like I’ve known you forever. And that’s how we began. I would go for three to four hour sittings. We talked, we learned from each other and I got more and more inked. As my exact thoughts were created Matty was also adding his own special and sometimes hidden touches to the work. After each session, I’d toss on a backless shirt or tube top and we would hop on his 67 Panhead for a brisk ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway which just happens to run right through my city.
Man I could NEVER forget how great it felt to have that cool summer breeze on that hot burning mass of inked skin. And I never will forget the torrential downpour we ran into once that had hail balls so fat that both of us were covered in welts by the time we could find an overlook to stop at for the duration of the storm.
So for 5 sessions for a total of 17 hours of sit time. I recall one sitting in particular where as he was inking me I was watching people go by on the street, and a man afflicted with what I now know was likely turrets or Parkinsons, walked jerkily by and the immature cruel kid in my made me giggle. If you have been inked on your back you know that laughing isn’t a great idea. Before I knew what happened Matty spun me around in the chair, looked me hard in my eyes and said, “Good Job Kiddo, not only did you make me bleed you (he had a great light touch with his needle even in the thinnest places) but you also laughed at a man for something beyond his control.” Pointing towards the window where the man had passed he added, “But for the grace of God there go I. Or you, little miss, and don’t you ever forget it.” He spun me around and continued to ink me. I’d heard that from my own mother a thousand times, but until that moment, I had never gave it enough thought to comprehend fully what it meant. To this day, I still have not. Now I am the spirit and soul who will dare you to make fun of the misfortune of others.
I had just begun to get my idea into place on my back. Matty became ill at some point and I refused to let another artist finish his piece. I know that one day I will get it finished. But not until I find someone I have that spiritual connection with. Not until I find the right artist who has the guts to kick my ass if I need it. Not until I find someone I can call a friend as I did Matty.
Useless Flirtations
It was a running joke between Matty, myself and other artist and customers around the shop that I was going to marry Matty before he died and take over his tattoo business. We both knew this was just another smoke blowing contest in a day of the life in a tattoo shop. But as Matty had gotten sick and been forced to retire he invited me to lunch one afternoon to say goodbye. I barely remember choking down the food. Matty told me he had found a great woman and she wanted him to retire and be at home with her. I was so elated for him, this man deserved a good woman and I could only hope he had found a true one. In the blunt manner both of us were so used to he pipes in crudely as I was finishing my lunch and says, “Tell me something, if I wasn’t about to get married, would you run away with me right here and now?” I just smiled at him, played our regular game and replied, “Well Matty my love, you know I would, are you ready to leave now?” We got up from the table and hugged knowing that would be the last time we played our white liars game and that was in 2001. I haven’t seen or heard from him since. I can only hope he found his final success in a good woman and a happy peaceful home.
Mattys Freestyle Creation
Everybody out there is getting a tattoo. With so many designs and possible layouts, it’s confusing as hell. Do you want to one of the millions out there with the same kind of tattoo? Alternatively, do you want something that’s uniquely you, as some celebrities have dared to be?
Many people compete for the best designs, and some people come up with their own designs to avoid having the same tattoo that someone else already has. How do you design your own tattoos?
Let’s start at the basics. A tattoo is an expression, in art form, of your personality. Many tattoo parlors categorize their design albums based on personality types. Delicate tattoos, power tattoos, tribal tattoos, chopper tattoos – the list is endless. Again, these are designs that are made by someone and for sure, someone else out there has it already.
Come up with your own tattoo! Don’t just get the face of your beloved inked on your shoulder. Dig into your roots, find out more about your family, listen to your dreams, and understand what makes you unique.
Decide on a unique placement for your tattoo! A tattoo doesn’t become unique based only on its design. The execution forms a huge part of its appeal. Always wanted to be an outlaw? How about getting a gun tattooed to your belly, and make it look like it’s stuck into your jeans, just ready to be pulled out?
Then there’s this ‘way to go’ slap tattoo on this girl’s ass cheek. Honestly, I’m wary of what this will resemble when shes an 80 year old grandmother, but for now, its damn nifty! Some unique designs can seem to be a tad extreme, but they represent unique creativeness anyway.
Skin art can take on different values for different people. While some may point out how much they have spent on their ink, others will proudly show you the most minuscule artwork that looks quite worthless to the beholder, but has higher value to the wearer. I know growing up that it was unusual to see colors in ink outside of Asian skin art. As time went by and colors improved we began to see more and more. The colors began deep and rich and in recent years have smoothed out into pastels and much more soothing colors.
One of the most interesting activities I participated in as a teenager was to ask the various people I knew who had plenty of skin ink their favorite tattoos. Very rarely were the answers I received expected. The sentimental, the spiritual or the rest in peace tattoos were common answers. They held honorable and cherished memories that the wearers found important enough to sink into their skin for life.
I found most often that some of the first ink those guys and gals received, even when they were old, faded or stretched beyond their original shapes and sizes, were still the most cherished pieces of art they had. And with some of the incredible ink out there, this never really ceases to amaze me.
I will be holding a skin art contest for readers! This contest comes complete with a prize! Please check back for more information on the prize but until then I would like any readers to send me a photo of their tattoos. Please make sure that:
- The photo is high quality for detail
- The photo is of the tattoo that has the most value to YOU, the wearer
- You tell me in 5 sentences or less WHY this tattoo is above and beyond the most valuable piece you wear!
- You include your first name and where you live, state or country is fine!
The rules for judging this contest will be as follows:
- How unique the art is
- The short story behind the ink
The contest winner will be posted along with a special post relating to their tattoo! Some of the story behind the tattoo will be in the post as well. So feel free to explain fully if you need to. I will shorten it to acceptable size when I post!
Please email all tattoo pictures to inkorart@gmail.com
When we last broached this subject we learned that the Polynesians had actually created the word Tattoo by a variation of their own word TATU which means to mark. But let’s not forget to include all cultures who have had a hand in creating what skin art has become in the last 100 years.
Japanese Skin Art
The Japanese originated some of the cultural body suits as well. Their body art came in a bit more colorful version then the Polynesian version but additionally was reserved only for the men. It was unacceptable and unheard of for a woman to have skin art. The Japanese believed that the skin art itself acted as wards in protection from evils. This is why warriors were commonly painted more fiercely the more skill and cunning they showed in battles. Japanese skin art collectors commonly ink dragons, demons and strong warriors on their backs to prevent evil from ‘sneaking up behind’ the bearer of the tattoo. The art form of cultural body suits eventually spread far into Asia and was discovered by none other then the 12th century explorer Marco Polo.Marco Polo then unleashed the Asian concept of body suits onto English Society.
Real Tribal Skin Art
The Aztec, Incan, Mayan and various Native American tribes have practiced tattooing since ancient times. The North American Iroquois Indians shocked European settlers and pioneers with their immense body and skin arts. Some Native Americans became relative curiosities in some of the courts of Europe because of their tattoos and piercings. In the areas of the United States that are now known as Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri resided a large Native American tribe known as the Osage Nation. The Osage nation adorned themselves with skin art as a form of their social status. But unlike some of the other Native American tribes, the most heavily tattooed members were the females. Indeed, the more tattoos a woman had the higher her social rank would become. In most Native American tribes, young warriors should always receive their tattoos from a Shaman or the tribal medicine man.
A professional tattoo artist can tell you that there are several common types of tattoos. Mom tattoos are ever popular although nowadays they tend to be the small segment of a larger picture. Than there are the tattoos of children or pets. And following up with a close third are the tattoos people get to honor a lost loved one. For those who do not understand the world and the love behind skin ink, they may not understand this either. But for those of us who do understand and take our art seriously, there is no higher honor then a permanent place on our bodies for a lifelong memorial of someone we may have loved and lost to an untimely passing or even to a long expected one. The most common type of rest in peace ink is the hearts and wings style. In my opinion this trend is likely due to flash art that is posted inside of a tattoo studio. If you ordered a packet of flash art, I’d be very surprised if you didn’t get at least one batch of hearts and wings style flashes. Lets take a look at some common, or uncommonly seen hearts -n- wings!
Pretty good. This is actually a pretty phenomenal hearts -n- wings tat. Some realism and symbolism makes this likely head and shoulders above most common hearts -n- wings tattoos.
By far more common in hearts and wings skin art. Though the halo does add a bit more uniqueness to the art then usual. Halos on rest in peace tattoos are also, as you can imagine, fairly common.
So with the common out of the way I’d like to display a few tattoos that are not quite so common. None of us want to lose a loved one, but for the skin art collector in all of us, we know what it is like to want to memorialize our loved ones forever. So if you are considering a new piece of skin art to recognize a loved one who has passed to the other side. Then forget that flash art for a moment and go with me to delve into the minds of those who have given deep thought to their memorial tattoos.
Awesome! What an incredible idea. Can you see the name Lucille inside of the butterfly? I believe the last name is Mousel although its not as clear to me as the first name. Great ultra unique rest in peace ink.
Again another lovely piece of ink. I see the north star, the tree of life and some comforting hands holding this infant. This is a very touching piece of work that inspires the mother in me to think a little deeper. How wonderful to view such a painful loss as a child can be in the bigger picture. The symbolism is all over the map here in this picture. If it wasn’t making me so damned teary I’d go on here. But seriously, it is.
100% understand the love of a pet enough to do this. This is a pretty good likeness from where I’m sitting.
I must say that this may be the first cat memorial tattoo I have ever seen. Very lovely picture and a unique idea!
Last but not least are religious tattoos. These are often depicted as crosses wrapped in shrouds, praying hands and angels. When I went searching for the right tattoo to display here I found a unique and IMMENSE example of a religious tattoo mixed with a Mom tattoo that I thought I would share.
Yeah. This guys religious mom tattoo can kick your religious mom tattoos ass! The eagle represents a feeling of spiritual freedom some believe you achieve when you pass over. The cross speaks for itself though this is a gorgeous representation of a tribal tattoo, some Gaelic roots perhaps? Even the cross itself has some beautiful feathery wings. Again the mother in me wants to dub this tattoo the best ever, simple because this guy REALLY loved his mom. If one of my sons told me they planned to get such a piece of work when I passed I may cry for weeks from the honor. Precious!
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