Multi.Colored—tattooed people, tattoo dreams

OK, so it’s after Thanksgiving, I can write about holiday gifts now. 

If you missed last year’s series of holiday-gift posts, you can find the beginning here.

I’m going to throw out a few brief suggestions, with more to come in subsequent posts.

• Vintage flash, framed for display (available on eBay and multiple web sites)
• A tattoo shaped charm, to wear on a necklace, key chain or charm bracelet
• A t-shirt with a tattoo design or an appropriate slogan
• Tickets to an upcoming tattoo expo
• This would probably require the cooperation of the recipient:  A full color photo of his/her best ink, framed
• A photo of your own favorite tattoo to give to an appreciative friend or relative
• Tickets to see a tattooed musician or musical group

What’s your best gift idea for multicolored people?

photo credit: PORKCHOP RULES

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Sorry I have taken so long between posts lately! I have been working as an intern on the Lifehacker web site, and the time I used to spend browsing around for body art information has been spent on other things. 

However, to make up for that a little bit, here’s some great links.

Evil Tattoo’s Tattoo Gallery
Tattoo Finder
5 W’s Tattoos
Tattoo Art of Pat Fish
TattooArtists.org
BMEInk (a lot of adult oriented material; viewer discretion advised)
About.com’s tattoo and piercing galleries

What are your favorite web sites featuring body art?  I’m always up for someplace new to look!

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In my last couple posts I talked about rude, crude tattoos and images of death. In the wake of the elections in the USA, I think it’s now time to focus on upbeat, positive images that reflect well on us and send a positive message to the world as well.

I wrote earlier about spiritual designs.  Putting an affirmation of your spiritual beliefs on your skin could be one way of sending a positive message, although in today’s increasingly fractured world other people might not see the message you are trying to send.   But in thousands of years of religious art, there are plenty of examples of designs that uplift both the wearer and the observer.  It’s worth doing research to find exactly the right design.  The usual run of religious (mainly Christian) flash can be found just about anywhere.  You want something that represents you, not a bazillion others with exactly the same flash, right?

Another form of positive design is a memorial to a lost loved one.  I have mentioned before that I am not a fan of fine-line portraits.  I think there are plenty of other ways to honor those we have lost.  Think about what mattered to that person and find a design that showcases that.  I have a stylized dragon on my back to honor my grandmother.  That, to me, is more profound than just getting her name or a portrait inked on my skin.

And of course there is a wide lexicon of images that are upbeat and postitive all on their own.  “Sunshine, lollypops and rainbows” is more than just the title of a 60s bubblegum song.  :)  Well-done Celtic designs can combine the spiritual and the decorative.  The tried-and-true images of four-leaf clovers, lucky horseshoes and the like are popular for good reason.  There are more elaborate designs representing good fortune from pagan beliefs and non-Western cultures.  Once you set your mind to it, the possibilities are limitless.

What kinds of positive images does your ink show the world?
photo credit: showbizsuperstar

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Now that we’re past Halloween and the Day of the Dead, I’d like to consider the use of death images in body art.

Skulls, skeletons, and other ancient images of death remain incredibly popular as body art.  In ancient times such markings would have been used as a symbol of power, or for protection from evil (archaeologists turn up such designs all the time, all over the world).  Today, at least in “western” society, those images are often used to convey a message.  Politely phrased it would be “Don’t mess with me.”

Gang tattoos are loaded with death symbolism, in an attempt to convey power, fearlessness and the disposal of enemies.  But the skull-and-crossbones motif once used to identify a pirate has long since passed into popular culture and adorns many bodies today as well.  Some body art explicitly displays the destruction of other living beings.  Some just conveys the threat.

As the old saying goes, “You are what you eat.”  To my somewhat mystical way of thinking, such toxic images would be poisonous to the soul of the wearer.  I feel that body art should represent something positive to its wearer–even if that image is in honor of someone who has died.  One of my tattoos is in memory of my grandmother, but it’s a bold and colorful dragon.  I would not put a tombstone on my skin.

What do you feel about images of death and destruction?  Are they just so much ink, or does their presence affect their wearer in some way?  Am I just too far over the moon?

photo credit: katie cowden

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