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By infmom, July 31, 2009 11:40 pm

As I mentioned in the last post, it’s been hot lately in Los Angeles.  This means I am almost always wearing a shirt that shows off at least part of my swirly-stars tattoo over my right collarbone.  People notice it and often ask me what the rest of it looks like, and it’s easy to show off.

That often leads to conversations about tattoos, or getting tattoos, or the other person’s ink, which is all to the good.   One of the receptionists at our veterinerians’ office has a star tattoo that looks a lot like mine, so we were instant friends. 

The other day, as we were checking out at the grocery store, the cashier noticed my stars and we got to talking about a tattoo she’s planning to get soon, that has a lot of personal meaning for her.  She’s really looking forward to the experience.  After we finished the conversation and walked on, my husband made the suggestion that it would be a good idea for me to have business cards with the URL of this place, so I could invite people to come have a look.  He was right!  That definitely falls into the category of “Why didn’t I think of that?”

I started designing cards, using a business-card-design app I’ve had for years, but after I’d messed around with it a while I realized that to do justice to a multicolored design I really should get the cards professionally printed on paper that’s better than you can buy at the office supply store.

Which leads me to tell you about a company called MOO. Ayear or so ago, they opened up a LiveJournal, and offered a free package of MiniCards to other LiveJournal writers.  I took them up on that, getting a nifty design with my cat Caliban’s eyes on them.  I still have a few of those left, because I like them so much I have been hoarding them.  I thought the MiniCard size would be perfect to carry around in a pocket and hand out to fellow ink admirers, and when I discovered they had a beautiful multicolored design with a triskele in the center, I was sold.  I also ordered a plastic keychain case to carry the cards in so they won’t get crunched up in my pocket or purse.

MOO is located in the UK, but they can now ship from within the USA as well (and if they’d for pity’s sake open up an office in Los Angeles I’d be first in line to apply for a job) so I should have the cards in hand next week.  Can’t wait!

I wish this had dawned on me earlier, because my stars are a good conversation-starter and it’d be even better if someone with whom I’d been talking could come here and say hello.   Onward and upward!

If you’d like to check out MOO for yourself, they offer a free sample pack of business cards.  Go here and scroll down the page, you’ll see where to click. If you get some, you show me yours and I’ll show you mine.

photo credit: FiveAcres

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By infmom, February 11, 2009 6:41 pm

JM’s comment on my post about geometric designs, concerning symmetry intrigued me.

Many of us feel that our body art should be balanced.  That is, if we have a certain number of tattoos on the right side, we should have an equal number on the left.

Thus, after getting my first tattoo over my right collarbone, I got the second on the inside of my left ankle.  Then I got another over my left shoulderblade.  My original intention was to get a fourth tattoo on the outside of my right leg, but you know how life sometimes interferes with your best-laid plans.

I see the balance as right/left, inside/outside.  None of my tattoos even slightly resemble each other, although the tattoos over my collarbone and over my shoulderblade cover approximately the same area.  I added on to the tattoo on my left ankle, making it much bigger than it started out, and I would have balanced that with a fairly large design on the right.

But I had an unplesant reaction to the red ink in the “upgrade” on my ankle tattoo, so I have put further ink on hold for a while.  It still feels as though I should get one more to achieve that balance.

Now, in my mind, balance and symmetry are entirely different concepts.  One can have balanced designs that are not symmetrical, and symmetrical designs that are not balanced.  Put a gorgeous mirror-image artwork on your right hip and leave it at that, and you’re not balanced.

I admit my view on the matter is somewhat quirky.  Some people feel that in order to be balanced the artwork has to be pretty much the same on both sides.  Some people feel the subject matter has to be either the same or closely related.  Some see balance only as symmetry and require the artwork to be symmetrical across the center line, wherever it’s placed.

What are your views on symmetry and balance?  Did you make an effort to achieve one or the other or both when you got your ink?  I’d be interested to hear how we all feel about this.

photo credit: bobster1985,

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By infmom, February 2, 2009 5:55 pm

Image via Wikipedia

Geometric designs are among the oldest tattoo patterns in the world. It was easy to create them with primitive tools (especially using the horribly painful technique of “sewing” a pigmented thread just under the skin to make the designs) and a surprising variety of patterns could be created with just a few simple shapes.

In modern times the tribal tattoo has brought the ancient geometric shapes back into fashion, even though it might be difficult to find an actual tribe out there with any of those designs.    One of the major advantages is that the design’s size can be easily changed to fit the amount of skin available–an arm band can wrap around perfectly, for example, or a bracelet or sleeve be made to fit as though they were clothing on the skin.

The geometric pattern can be made with solid colored shapes, or outlines, or anything in between.  It can be the same shape repeated, or mirrored, or a selection of harmonizing shapes.  It can be created in such a way that small mistakes are not noticeable, which would not be so easy to do with writing or a recognizable image.  Many tribal patterns today are done in solid black ink, but I have seen them applied in a rainbow of colors as well.

The down side to a geometric pattern is that if it is applied by a less talented artist, it can quickly look muddy or blurred.  If the ink is applied too deeply, the spaces between the elements can fill up and destroy the pattern.  If you plan to have a geometric or tribal tattoo done, be sure to check your artist’s portfolio for similar work.  Don’t rely on the selection of flash on the wall–anybody can put flash on a wall.  What’s important is how the flash translates to body art.  If you have a particular design in mind, be sure to bring a clear photo, drawing or printout of what you want, just so you and the artist understand what’s to be done.

Geometric designs are striking and attractive when done right, and their popularity is well deserved  I don’t have any geometric designs myself, but I have often contemplated a bold bracelet in bright colors.  Maybe this will be the year I’ll get it done.

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By infmom, January 25, 2009 6:04 pm

Some of the most ancient tattoo designs appear to have been intended to protect the well-being of their bearer.

Sometimes this takes the form of a geometric design, sometimes  a design representing a protective symbol,

infmom and her newly applied dragon

sometimes a design representing a protective animal.

When you think about it, a protective tattoo makes sense–an amulet could get lost, but a tattooed design was with you for life.  That kind of protective marking is widespread even today.

Ötzi the Iceman, the 5,000-year-old mummy found in the Alps, was tattooed with lines and dots over areas of his body that turned out to be arthritic.  Many of the tattoos found on ancient people are straight lines, which might be due to the tools used to make them, or the lines might have had mystical significance of their own. We’ll never know.

In ancient Egypt, as far as we know, women were tattooed with dots and lines that seem to indicate a connection with the goddess Hathor, or perhaps a wish for fertility.  Not many tattooed mummies have been found, so there really is not enough information available to make an educated guess about what the designs signified.

The ancient Celts were described as “painted” by the Romans, and this could have included tattoos as well as paint.  Celtic art is full of mythical creatures that appear to represent protective elements.  Whether the Celts tattooed these symbols on their bodies as well as carved them into rocks is unknown, but given the strong association of those designs with the protection of the spirit world, it seems likely.

In recent years, archaeologists have turned up tattooed mummies in central Asia.  It is very likely that these people were Celts, or Scythians, or closely related people, so there seems to be a good basis for believing that the Celts were tattooed as well.  The designs these people chose were quite elaborate.

Today, of course, people choose protective designs that come from their religious beliefs and their personal history.  I talked about spiritual designs before, and the profound significance they can have.  One of my tattoos is a Chinese dragon and another is an Eye of Horus.  The dragon had special meaning to my grandmother, and the Eye of Horus has special meaning to me.  So, I hope, I am doubly protected. 

Have you chosen a design for protection or for spiritual reasons or for personal protection?  What did you choose, and why?

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By infmom, November 12, 2008 1:07 pm

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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By infmom, October 11, 2008 1:11 pm

I’m taking an art class this semester, and yesterday I wore my TATTOOS ARE MY WAY OF INVESTING IN ART t-shirt to class.

This led to an interesting discussion with one of my classmates, who has several tattoos herself.  She said that all her tattoos have a common theme, something very spiritually meaningful to her.  Like me, her ink is usually covered by clothing, but she described some of her tattoos and explained why they fit her theme.

I obviously never had a “theme” in choosing my tattoos, but all of them have deep personal meaning to me, so in that sense they go together even though visually and stylistically they don’t match in any way.  But the idea of planning each tattoo with one central theme in mind intrigued me.  I wonder how common that approach to body art must be?

Obviously, the people who get whole-body Japanese tattoos are following that kind of philosophy.  But is a gangbanger whose ink reflects gang sensibilities even though not coming together in one unified design doing the same?  What about a person whose tattoos relate to the same general principle (religious art, for example) but are all done in varying styles or by different artists and present a mish-mosh of visual effects when seen as a whole?

What happens if a person starts out with one theme in mind and then goes off in a different direction?  Can the original ink be altered to match the new theme?  Should it be?  I’m reminded of the tattooed lady in Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land who starts off as a standard-issue sideshow performer and then has her tattoos transformed into a religious work of art by her husband, the tattoo artist.

And what if some of the art is done by one artist and some of it is done by another artist with an entirely different style?

I guess what I’m asking is whether having a theme results in a “unified field” of body art or not. 

Do you have a theme?  Do you know anyone who planned their ink in advance?  I’d be interested to hear what others think about this.
photo credit: rasseon

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By infmom, March 18, 2008 11:34 am

Even though tattooed people are highly individual, there are a lot of tattoo designs that show up more often than others. People like hearts and flowers and butterflies and stars and military symbols. They like dogs and religious symbols and tattoos that show they love their mothers. They like dragons and Celtic knots and abstract tribal designs.

But what about the ones that are more offbeat? Like a bar code, or an outline silhouette of a person with an arrow pointing to the tattoo’s location and the caption YOU ARE HERE. How about a tattoo that looks like a window through the person, or an open wound, or that contains deliberately misspelled words?

My own tattoos are a combination of the common and the offbeat. My first tattoo was a “swoosh” of seven stars amongst multicolored dots. (Yes, I had a reason for wanting that, but it’s really too personal to explain.) My second was a dragon, which is a common motif, but I adapted it into an abstract, multicolored design to at least make it a bit less common. And my third was a scarab and Eye of Horus, which was later expanded into a larger Egyptian-themed design. I felt it was important to make my designs as uncommon as I am.

But yet, I have seen lovely work done with standard flash. Those pictures are on the tattoo parlor walls for a reason. They are tried and true. And of course the artist is free to adapt a standard flash design to make it a bit more original while it’s being applied. But truthfully, if a person wants the Marine Corps symbol or a classic butterfly, no need to reinvent the wheel, so to speak.

So which do you think is best–a completely original new design, or a good piece of standard flash?
photo credit: graphic.ward

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By infmom, November 23, 2007 12:03 pm

I know, I know, this is old news. But it seems important during this “holiday shopping season” to mention the “act in haste, repent at leisure” problem in tattoo art. Using a few brain cells while picking your design is vitally important!
This guy made the news recently, with a series of Zune-logo tattoos. It made me wonder how a person who got, say, a Commodore logo tattooed on him/herself 25 years ago would feel about it today.

I don’t think the “here today, gone tomorrow” principle applies to any field of endeavor more than it does to trendy consumer electronics. Well, maybe trendy pop stars come in a close second (anyone for a Shaun Cassidy tattoo?)

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By infmom, September 3, 2007 12:02 pm

(Otherwise known as Everything Old Is New Again)

Even if you’ve spent plenty of time thinking about your design, and working with your artist to create it, the old saying that “There’s nothing so sure as change” still applies. As time goes by, you may well change your mind about that tattoo. So, then what?

How about having it re-worked into something else? Not every design is suitable for this, of course, but with enough imagination and careful ink placement it may well be possible to transform something old and/or unwanted into something fresh and new.

Amy Krakow’s Total Tattoo Book includes some photos of old designs being covered up by, or reworked into, new ones.

A lot depends on what color the ink was in the original design and where it’s located. Black ink, of course, will be the most difficult to cover up. But even that can be worked around if you’re willing to take time and think about it.

My own transformation

I had a small Eye of Horus on my ankle that I was never entirely happy with. The artist went too deep on the outline, and over time the black outline spread into what was supposed to be the gold color of the Eye, and obliterated the nice little spiral in the “eyeball’ that had originally been highlighted in white ink. When I consulted with another artist about re-doing the gold color, she explained to me that tattoo ink is transparent, not opaque (which, believe it or not, I had not known up till then) so it would not be possible to color over the excess black with more gold. However, she suggested that she could highlight the entire area with gold after she applied the new surrounding design, to make it look like the Eye of Horus had been designed with a golden highlight. And that’s what she did.

Here’s how that turned out:

So if you’ve changed your mind about your ink, don’t make the tattoo-removal clinic your first stop. Get someone to take a picture of your tattoo, and print out several copies at life size on plain paper (the quality of the reproduction is not as important here as is having a good surface to draw on and paper that doesn’t cost a lot if you toss out several sheets while you’re working through your idea). Try drawing a new design with the old one. If you don’t have much in the way of artistic skills, sketch in what you want as best you can and take the drawing to your favorite tattoo artist and see what he or she says about it.

Even if you’re not a fan of the Transformers, you can still be transformed.

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By infmom, August 24, 2007 1:22 pm

One of our cats died early Thursday morning, after a long illness.

And thus, today’s entry is about one of the most profoundly personal of all tattoos, one designed as a memorial for a lost loved one. From the simple addition of someone’s name, to something as elaborate as my nephew’s back piece that serves as a memorial for his fallen colleagues in Iraq and Afghanistan, the placement of an image to honor the loved and lost can be among the most satisfying of decorations.

It is important, though, in the decision to get a memorial tattoo, that one not act too much in haste. Taking proper time to think, consider, and allow the first sharp pain of the loss to die away a bit is essential to getting the very best design.

Start by making a list of all the things that would serve to remind you of your lost loved one. Set the list aside for a while (adding to it if you happen to think of something else). Come back to it in a month or so and reconsider. (Your ink will last forever, so waiting and thinking carefully first won’t hurt, and can really help make the design the absolute best.)

Would a portrait be appropriate? You will need to find an artist who specializes in portrait work, for the best results. Would a picture of something else do better? Would it be enough to just have a simple “In Loving Memory” with the person’s or pet’s name and dates? How large a design do you want, and where should it best be placed? Even more so than with other designs, a memorial should be the product of careful consideration.

My dragon tattoo is in honor of my grandmother, and it took me about a year of thinking, drawing, and re-drawing to get the design perfected. I didn’t put her name on it, but I did have the artist add a very tiny Chinese character for “woman” underneath. When a Chinese friend saw the tattoo for the first time, he said “Oh, it’s a GIRL dragon.” I’m sure my grandmother, who always thought that she was the reincarnation of a 9th century Chinese poet, would have smiled at that.

This blog, by the way, is partly my memorial to our cat. Her name was Calypso, and she was a calico, and I often called her “Multicolor” in honor of her lovely fur.

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