The Tat Trend

So... this past week, I went out and got a new tattoo.  I got it for many reasons, but there is one in particular which I wanted to share with all of my blog readers.  It is the general symbolism behind the tattoo that I got.  But first... let's talk about tattoos in general.

As we all know, I come from a small town in Georgia.  Tattoos aren't exactly the kosher thing to do among some small town social circles.  I know that my parents didn't really ever want me to get tattooed.  I remember my final conversation with my mom on the subject rather fondly as it was one of few times in my life when I've stood up to her and said "no" to a request...  I don't look on that moment thinking it was great because I said no, but rather because I finally had the guts and the confidence to do so.  It was a defining moment.  She asked me plainly not to get a tattoo.  I simply replied that it was something I wanted to do at least once in my lifetime and that I had planned to do it for quite some time.  She backed down, and while I know it upset her a little, I appreciated that she did so.

Some people within my family, and even my husband's family seem to have the same opinions regarding tattoos.  They don't understand them.  Some can understand having one or two here and there, but not a whole sleeve or one's entire body.  Others don't see why anyone would do that because needles and therefore pain are involved.  Still others, like my mom, are more concerned about the health risks involved.  So I'm here to make some feeble attempts at explaining the tattoo craze to anyone who may be wondering.

To begin with, I believe there are four different types of tattooed people:

1. Drunks Etc. - Okay.  This one should be obvious.  These are the people who got too drunk to know what they were doing (or what their friends were doing to them) and ended up with a monkey's uncle's ass tattooed some place embarassing...  Of course, we all laugh through the tears, but this is never good.
2. Whims - These are art appreciators.  For the most part, they get tattooed just for the sake of doing so.  Maybe their peers are all doing it, or maybe they just have a quirky interest.
3. Dedicators - These are the people who are tattooed strictly due to sadness or celebration.  Sadness if they have difficulty overcoming a loss.  Celebration if they've found some new hobby or something that is of special interest to them.
4. Storyboards - "My body is my journal, it reminds me who I am and where I came from." - Nico Tortorella (Inked Magazine, May 2011 issue, page 69).  This crowd is a more advanced form of Dedicators.  If something holds any significance in their lives, it will be charted on their body in some way.  I believe there's a fine line between Dedicator and Storyboard, and I personally enjoy flirting with it.

I cannot tell you what drives every single one of these people groups.  I'm not them.  But I can tell you about me.  I can tell you what I've witnessed.  As you may have guessed (if you didn't already know), I really enjoy shows like LA Ink, Miami Ink, NY Ink...  My favorite tattoo artist is Kat Von D.  This is where I discovered a true love of the tattooed world.  In the shows, they always ask the person they're tattooing why they are getting the tattoo.  The stories are a wide range... but my favorites are the dedications, or the ones gotten due to big life-changes.  The ones that have stuck in my mind the most? 

• Parents asking for special tattoos representing children who have passed away.
• Anyone who has lost a loved one and memorialized them in some tattoo, one of my favorites involve swallows (the birds).
• A mother went into one shop and had a rearview mirror tattooed on her.  Her eyes were in the mirror, a symbol of her watching over her children who were in the backseat.
• A Navy wife had a ship in the distance and a maiden standing on the beach waiting on it's return.
• One of the tattooists on Miami Ink invited his mother in as a surprise.  He had her sign "Mom" on his body.  That was special because he actually trusted her with the tattoo machine. to sign her name to him herself.
• A father brought his children in and had each of them write their names wherever they wanted on his legs and arms.  Then they were tattooed, and I believe the eldest child got to use the tattoo machine himself.
• Do you really need to read more?

My point is that just like blood, sweat, and tears, results in food on the table, blood, pain, and the resulting artwork somehow results in closure for some.  On a personal level, I can tell you that there are some things in my life that will never fully be resolved until they are tattooed in place.  Why?  Because they are emotionally painful.  So much so, that it's going to take bringing them out into physical pain to fully deal with.  Fortunately, these "pains" are few, and I enjoy getting tattooed.  It's relaxing to me despite the pain it may cause. 

This was my first tattoo, on the inside of my left wrist.  Basically, just four pinkish-red dots.  But that's not all there is to it.  My husband proposed right after the recent passing of two friends.  He is in the Navy, so naturally one of the things I had to think about was whether or not I could handle being separated from my husband for long periods of time.  Things were weighing on my mind big time.  I was reading Twilight: New Moon at the time, and this one part really stuck with me.  Edward had long since left Bella saying he no longer cared for her.  We later learn that his reason for leaving was in an effort to protect her, thinking that an evil vampire would follow him instead of continuing to attempt attacking Bella.  In Edward's wake, he took everything of his that Bella had in her room, and stored it under the floorboards, but Bella didn't know.  So to her, she had nothing left of him except the bite marks remaining from her last, near fatal, encounter with a vampire outside of the Cullen family.  At one point in New Moon, she glances down at the marks and thinks about Edward.  At this point in my considerations about what my life as a Navy wife was going to be like, I had decided I could take it, so long as I had one thing that was a part of Drew that would forever be a physical reminder of him.  I had chosen a tattoo, but I didn't know what I wanted yet.  So... call me crazy, but when I moved to Norfolk in 2009, I told Drew to bite me, we colored in the teeth marks (the middle two were 'edited' a little) and had them tattooed just like that.

My second tattoo is what I like to call an "identity" piece.  I want certain tattoos to just talk about who I am as a person.  For several years now, I've really enjoyed learning about the zodiac, both Western and Chinese.  I especially like to see the personality charts (not horoscopes, but the general personality chart) for each member of the zodiac in both styles.  It is fun to see how they differ in comparison to the way people who fall into each time-frame actually are.  Mine is actually quite accurate when you consider all the different aspects of it rolled together, and this became a sort of dedication to that.  It is the symbol of the Chinese year of the Ox / Cow / Water Buffalo with the letters TB underneath.  TB stands for Trouble Brew, a nickname that has stuck with me since 2005.  It's on the inside of my right wrist.

Last, but not least is my latest tattoo.  It is a combination of several things in one.  If you look closely, you can see the letters LMB (maiden name initials) or LMW (married name initials) in the body and the wings...  I started drawing this butterfly in highschool minus the head and the horns.  The head and horns are actually the sign for Taurus, which is my Western zodiac sign.  I call this the "Thunderfly" because of the thunderbolts I use for the tail.  The butterfly is the symbol for "new life" and change.  I'm always looking for ways to grow and learn throughout life.  At this time, I'm in the midst of a learning change that I want to remember forever... and I want to always remember to welcome such adventures.  It is on the top right wrist (opposite the second tattoo).
I can't wait to get my next tattoo, and I have a few more planned and some possibilities that may never happen.  I encourage anyone who is considering getting a tattoo to really put a lot of thought into it.  I also recommend stopping by a few shops to price what you think you might want, as well as to ask if you can do a walkthrough of the shop to insure cleanliness and take a look at the work the tattooists are doing and have done in the past.  Better safe than sorry. 

To sum up, I consider tattoos to be a special form of artwork.  While some may disagree with me, here, I believe many of them to be a beautiful form of appreciation for the life God has given us... not because of the artwork itself, but because of the journal we are drawing on our bodies with it.  While it is perhaps not as clear to some, the message I want to send out to others with my choices in body-art are simple.  God gave me a husband to treasure.  He gave me my own life, and has helped to form who I am.  And finally, He has taught me to accept the changes He seeks to make within my life and the lives of others.  It's all easier said than done, of course. 

This is my abstract journal
Blood splashed, pin pricked
Shaded hues
The moments were real 
The dedications all true. 
This is my story
Summed up in tattoo.

As always, I'm available for random questioning and look forward to your comments in the box below.