http://www.divingswallow.com/marie.asp

I have no doubt she would be capable of producing striking work no matter the subject matter, but even after brief perusal of her portfolio, one is struck by the stylized charm of her nature tattoos. Whether plant, animal or a combination thereof, her work has a lush and serene quality that belies the brutality of the tattoo process.  The delicacy of her style is deliciously ironic in light of that brutality.  As much as her tattoos are most decidedly stylistically her’s, Wadman’s work also has an almost scientific precision to it that echoes the taxonomic illustrations of Ernst Haeckel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Haeckel
In addition, he use of visual space and eye for composition are phenomenal.  Every one of her pieces is so seamlessly integrated into the body that the skin appears as if it had never looked any other way.  Needless to say, if you want a nature themed tattoo, there are few artists, if any better suited to actualize your artistic vision.

A tattoo is an investment, the better you care for it, the longer it will stay fresh looking and bright.

http://hebrewtattoo.net/?p=487

Ignoring the fact that most of the people commenting on the thread are closed minded, ridiculous or just flat out wrong, the question of Hebrew tattoos is an interesting one for both Jews and non-Jews. Suffice it to say that no, in no way is it stupid to get a Hebrew tattoo if you’re not Jewish. First of all, Hebrew does not belong to Jews alone, the old testament is part of the Christian faith as well, but even that is beside the point.  Tattoos are about personal expression; if a particular Hebrew phrase has meaning for you enough to have it tattooed on you, then by all means, go for it. People get Japanese and Chinese kanji tattoos.  People get Buddhist  scripture tattoos; I have seen Sanscrit, Thai language tattoos, Tibetan and Nepalese language tattoos, Celtic tattoos, Hindu tattoos, Arabic and Farsi tattoos, and on and on.

Being a Jew myself, before I got my first tattoo, I looked into the supposed prohibition against tattoos in the Jewish faith. Ignoring for the moment that although certain specific cemeteries may choose to interpret the Torah’s prohibitions against tattoo to preclude burial in Jewish cemeteries, the notion that there is some sort of bright line rule against burying tattooed Jews in Jewish cemeteries is simply religious urban mythology run amok.  Furthermore, and just to be clear, this is strictly my own personal feeling on the matter, but on my list of life concerns the location of my burial site comes in a few slots behind what happened on the last episode of Hannah Montana.

My irreverence with respect to the burial issue is merely emblematic of one facet of my philosophy about tattoo as well as my personal ideology, but I fully recognize and indeed am curious to learn about the panoply of philosophies permeating the cultural dialog at the intersection of tattoo culture and Jewish culture.

I had a pretty typical conservative (some might say reform) Jewish upbringing, celebrating Jewish holidays, attending Hebrew school and being Bar Mitzvahed at 13, after which I refused to attend any further religious education. For reasons that have been revealed to me over the years, the religiosity is something that just never clicked for me. I went to College at UCLA where I majored in American Literature. I later received my JD from UC Hastings College of the Law and have been a practicing attorney since 2007.  If there is a common thread to be taken from my background, it’s that I have been skeptical, analytical and argumentative since I could form complete sentences.  It is these characteristics that brought lead me, in my quest for self discovery, to atheism, which for me, in many ways shares a kinship with my interest in tattoo.

I struggled with religion for many years after my Bar Mitzvah, all the way through college, when on my occasions I consulted the Rabbi and UCLA’s Chabad.  But in the end, as it is for many people, it was the intellectual environment of college and my proclivity for critical thinking the allowed me to ultimately accept what I had been struggling with since my first year of Hebrew school when I privately counseled myself about the implausibility of many of the old testament stories we learned about.  It wasn’t that I decided not to believe, it was more the realization that I never truly believed.  Make no mistake though, I cherish my Jewish heritage; it played a significant role in shaping the person I am today. To be clear, I don’t begrudge anyone their sense of spiritualism, but I believe that my personal beliefs are integrally linked to my editorial voice, and for this reason I choose to share it with you all.

So what does this have to do with my choice to get tattooed?  Simply put, atheism opened the door the acceptability of turning my back on my cultural programming.  I have always been aesthetically motivated.  Over the years I have enjoyed drawing and painting in my spare time, I have worked as a graphic designer here and there and I ever attended a year of industrial design school before selling out to do something “practical” like go to Law School (gimme a break! you can’t escape ALL of your cultural programming).

Consequently, tattoos have always appealed to me, but I never really considered getting one until my younger brother had gotten into it and started talking to me about tattoo art and culture.  Even then I didn’t pull the trigger until I was 28, when I decided to express my longstanding love for Japanese aesthetic by getting a 1/2 sleeve from Japanese tattoo specialist Paul Dhuey of Guru Tattoo in San Diego.  In retrospect a half sleeve might have been a bit aggressive for a first tattoo, but fortunately for me I love it and am totally hooked.  I have since added a pair of humming birds on my stomach with plans to add to that piece, extend my ½ sleeve into a ¾ sleeve and add a complementary ¾ sleeve on my left arm.

Tattoo is a path I have been walking since I could speak, but was only able to commit to 4 years ago.  It is a physical manifestation of my aesthetic sensibilities, a rejection of the “old rules,” an invitation to judgment from the world, and in no way incompatible with my relationship with my Jewish heritage.

That being said, I would love to take a tattoo vacation some day.  I have always wanted to visit Japan, and it just so happens that one of my absolute favorite tattoo artists works in Yokohama.  The artist, Shige (Shee-gay) is an absolute master at combining the new school style of bold, bright color with traditional Japanese aesthetic. I would love to some day (money permitting) visit and get tattooed by Shige; maybe it will happen.

http://www.yellowblaze.net/shige/gallery/jn_comp/index.html

Japan would be amazing, but there is an incredible tattoo culture with amazing artists right here in the US.  I am fortunate to live in the San Francisco Bay Area, which is blessed with some of the most talented artists in the world, but tattoo talent in this country lurks everywhere from the largest metropolis to the smallest hamlet.

Today I came across this article about tattoo spots in Austin, from the Jetblue website no less, (who knew Jetblue was hip and comfortable?).

http://austin.jetblue.com/2010/02/insiders-guide-to-austins-tattoo-parlors.html

Austin is one of my favorite cities. I have lived in California my whole life, I love it, and I really don’t see myself moving to any other state.  Don’t get me wrong, there tons of great places in this country that I would love to visit, but there are very few places I could see myself living; however, Austin is definitely one of the few outside of California to which I would have no reservations about moving.  So if anyone is interested in  taking a trip to visit one of the great progressive, music loving, counter-cultural enclaves smack in the middle of the land of pickup trucks and gun racks, and possibly spend some time desecrating your flesh, the above article  would be a great start.

Marines “clarify” policy on sleeve tattoos:

The new regulation prohibits enlisted Marines with sleeve tattoos from becoming commissioned officers, even if the tattoos, which were banned in 2007, had been grandfathered in according to protocol. To the list of banned tattoos the regulation adds markings on the fingers, hands and wrists, tattoos inside the mouth, and tattoos visible in PT gear that are larger than a hand with fingers together and extended.

Hypocrisy or just plain stupid? The correct answer is both.  So let me get this straight, the entire reason for the existence of the Marines is to basically be scary and aggressive and kick the crap out of any nation, group or people that don’t respect our authoritah!  We train our marines to be killing machines, to shoot first and think later, to be as aggressive and fearless as possible in the face of imminent death, to cultivate a warrior image and a brotherhood with their fellow marines, a huge part of which has involved the acquisition of tattoos for decades upon decades.  Hmmm, sounds a lot like these guys, no?

So if I understand it correctly the Marines policy is to encourage soldier to look and act scary, but not too scary if you ever want to have a shot at advancing in your career, because no matter how talented you are as a solider, leader, tactician or otherwise, if you look too scary you wont be fit to lead a bunch of people that we encourage to be as scary as possible.  WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?  That’s among the more insanely asinine, hypocritical double standards I have ever heard of.  What’s the problem? Arm sleeve tattoos just don’t look nice with army fatigues?  Even generals wear camouflage fatigues during press conferences.  The notion that a soldier with arm sleeve tattoos is any less fit to lead other scary tattooed killers than someone who doesn’t have sleeve tattoos strains credulity at best and is probably counter-intuitive at worst.  Of course this comes from the same geniuses that brought us “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” so in honesty I have no idea why I find this surprising.  I bet half the assholes that supported this idiotic policy have tattoos themselves.  Good job Marines, way to arbitrarily and unnecessarily limit the pool of potential future leadership within your organization with functionless, brainless regulations.

http://www.manofest.com/Galleries/Funny/The-25-Funniest-Misspelled-Tattoos/

“When you get your hair cut or your nails done in California, you know that your stylist or manicurist has attended school, received a license and is maintaining the businesses up to legally mandated standards.

Honestly, it’s pretty shocking that there aren’t already regulations in place.  Ms. Ma is absolutely correct about the dangers of disease transmission without adequate sanitary measures.  In addition, I would advocate shop inspections along the same lines as those performed at restaurants by the department of public health.  This is yet another reason that I am a constant advocate of doing one’s due diligence and not cheaping out on a tattoo.  While an expensive tattoo is no guarantee of a sanitary environment, suffice it to say that a highly professional, and expensive tattooist has the experience, the motivation and the means to run a clean facility.  Make sure that your shop has an autoclave and talk to your artist about his/her sanitary measures before getting in the chair.  Hopefully these measures will ultimately take effect.  They will have no impact on the shops that are already doing business the right way, and will force other shops to start operating under proper sanitary conditions or risk losing their business.

http://www.thirdfactor.com/2010/01/19/morphotrak-buys-tattoo-matching-technology

“MorphoTrak (Safran Group) is pleased to announce the acquisition of a unique tattoo matching technology developed by Michigan State University. With this technology, the corrections and law enforcement community will now have the capability to accurately and efficiently search tattoo image databases to identify suspects, criminals and victims…”

Bummer, I was really amped for that spiderweb ear tattoo, I guess it will have to wait until after my San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank heist.  *tear*

1. People are stupid? I don’t think so.  Don’t get me wrong, people are most assuredly stupid, but I don’t think stupidity is the reason people ask this question. Several people whose intelligence I hold in the highest regard, have asked me this question.  I believe it is often the result of some ulterior motive.
2. Friendly small talk?  I think on the surface, this is certainly the simplest explanation and owing to Occam’s Razor, I am inclined to put stock in it. In all likelihood, people who do not have tattoos and have a limited knowledge and understanding of the tattoo process or the psychology of getting a tattoo simply do not how to begin a conversation about it.  Genuine curiosity combined with lack of knowledge leads them to ask about the most immediately obvious facet of tattoo in a somewhat inarticulate manner.
3. Some people are hoping for a particular answer?  There is probably a subset of who are curious about getting a tattoo and have never been able to walk the plank so to speak.  They can’t decide what to get, they hate needles…both.  I think perhaps these people want to be reassured.  They want one of the psychological obstacles removed for them.  Ideally they would like to be told that it’s all hype and tattoos are pretty much painless, or at least, if they are living in reality, that it’s not that bad; which, fortunately for them, it isn’t.
4. Corollary to #3.  There is also probably a subset of people who want to find a way to distance themselves from the possibility of tattoo.  Perhaps somewhere deep down they are curious about getting tattooed, but social pressure, fear of needles/pain, inability to commit or concerns pose an insurmountable road block.  These people probably view the entire process with an inherently skeptical, if not cynical eye and in all likelihood view confirmation of their preconceptions as a get out of jail free card.  Maybe they want a tattoo, but as long as the pain is ostensibly too much, they don’t have to worry about it.

In the end, in most cases it probably comes down to simple friendly banter, but I don’t doubt at all that there is a psychological component at work. I’d be interested to here some opinions of my readers on this topic.

Certainly tattoos have historically been a way to publicly display one’s culture, one’s family and one’s ideals, but no less important was their use as a show of strength.  Maori warriors are tattooed head to toe at least in part to intimidate.  Sailors have been tattooed for centuries as a show of strength and toughness, but also as a display of mental fortitude and toughness gained in the experience of life.  In fact, one of the more common tattoo subject matter one might see in modern day tattoo is an homage of sorts to the sailor tattoos of old.  Swallows, tattooed in mirror image fashion on the chest is a common meme in tattoo.  Swallows were often the first birds seen by sailors when returning to port after a long journey, so they represent the journey and homecoming. A sailor would often get a single swallow tattooed on one side of his chest and then get a matching mirror image of the same bird tattooed on the other side of his chest upon his return.  The pain of receiving that tattoo mirrors the pain of being away from friends and family for months or years, as well as the pain of struggle on the open sea, which ultimately becomes a physical manifestation of having overcome pain and adversity.

Likewise, each tattoo is a journey of self discovery.  Particularly large scale tattoos require a discipline and mental fortitude to brave the moments when the pain is so intense that you want to give up.  My entire life, I have had difficulty finishing.  I have, at times, lacked the drive and motivation to forge ahead in times of adversity. Being tattooed was a revelation in this regard. I took my first tattoo as a challenge from the start.  I didn’t start small.  My first tattoo is the half sleeve I wear today on my right arm.  All told, that piece took 24 hours over 5 sessions.  I had no choice but to finish, lest I end up with a ridiculous looking half-finished tattoo.  I dove into the tattoo head first and persevered.  There is no doubt in my mind that through my right arm sleeve, I proved to myself that I have the mental toughness and desire to make it through the pain, no matter how intense. I have and will continue to apply that mental resolve in all areas of my life.

In the  introductory portion of this post, I briefly mentioned my feeling that there is a lack of appreciation for process in tattoo in modern culture. I find myself often looking to the past, looking to the future, impatiently focusing on results.  No one is immune to this. As Yoda said about Luke in The Empire Strikes Back, “This one a long time have I watched. All his life has he looked away… to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. Hmm? What he was doing.” I strive for contentment in the here and now everyday, and everyday I fail, but the days in which I am most successful, I am also most happy and the most calm.  Because of the value I place on those moments during which I am able to focus on being present to the here and now, I appreciate unequivocally, the crescendos, when the pain is so intense that nothing else registers in my conscious mind. Does this make me a masochist? I don’t think so.  I think it makes me a realist.  There is nothing more real than that pain.

Another facet of the experience of pain that tattoo has revealed to me is how the experience of it is relative, not just from person to person, but within each individual.  There is no doubt in my mind that my perception of what truly hurts has shifted since I started getting tattooed.  Similarly, I think that if our experience of pain is malleable, so too, should our emotional response to it.  Certainly at it’s most fundamental evolutionary level, experiencing pain is supposed to trigger a negative emotional response; that’s simply a basic survival mechanism.  However, I think this gives rise the fallacious notion in human psychology that all pain is a bad thing, but pain causes growth, pain makes us stronger, and it teaches self-control; discomfort makes us compassionate, empathetic, and human.  Because of that, I firmly believe that developing an appreciation for pain has made me a better person, and tattoo has been a part of that.

My younger brother has a Thomas Paine quote tattooed on his ribs, which reads “What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly.”  I can’t think of a more succinct way to summarize what I love about tattoo.  There is nothing cheap about getting a great tattoo; certainly financially, but more importantly physically.  I cherish my tattoos because I had to earn them.  I cherish them because of what they say about me and who I am.

In Part III, I’ll wrap up with a short discussion of “Does it hurt?”