Monthly Archives: April 2014

good deeds and prejudice

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I love reading about tattooed (or modified in other ways) people who do random or carefully planned acts of kindness and thus fight against prejudice and stereotypes about the modified. In today’s post you can read about a TX-based shop that went for tattoos for autism awareness (with a video), another shop supporting childhood cancer, a HI tattoo shop tattooing for free as a way to give back to their community, a British woman who got 101 tattoos for charity and another British who decided to sell space on her body to fund her charity trip. Maybe not all these ideas seem ‘normal’ at first (but then again, what is normal?) but it’s better to be considered ‘abnormal’ and at least try to change the world into a better place than to be considered ‘normal’ and do nothing!

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Another thing that is quite important to me these days is dress code and how it’s implemented in the work environment. Another article about a dress code for teachers from California is all about their professional appearance at work and doesn’t say anything about their private image. This text focuses on a tattoo policy for a local police department while here you can read how dress code and tattoos are viewed in the U.K. It’s not a simple matter and it certainly goes against some social norms but, to say the least, it’s hypocritical when a tattooed person is perceived as a negative influence but a smoking person without tattoos is getting a slack.

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two steps forward, one step back ;)

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A British tourist deported from Sri Lanka for a Buddha tattoo made headlines this week. You could read about it all over the Internet. Here you have samples in English, German and Polish. An interesting perspective is, however, presented in this article: ‘No tattoos, please, we’re Buddhists – but casinos no problem!’ BBC also used this opportunity to remind the Westerners where else tattoos can get you into trouble.

Antitattoo class is offered in Germany but it doesn’t seem as awful as it sounds. However, some Cali teachers are expected to cover their tattoos at work which seems too much for them. *sigh* and to think that there are so-called civilized places where apparently you can’t be a teacher and do your work all covered up and , at the same time, be a tattooed person in private as it allegedly violates the mythical ethical code. The world is a very interesting place, isn’t it? 😉

‘Tattoos of memory’ is an American exhibit focused on immigrants and their hard experiences . Modern art also experienced by means of your body in form of tattoos (this time real ones) as a concept from Bytom, Poland. In Canada there’s an interesting exhibit focused on body art and indigenous cultures of Squamish and Lil’wat peoples.

The Washington Post informs that there won’t be a 24-hour waiting period for tattoos and body piercing in Washington, D.C after all which is good news for people from the industry and people interested in body modification. In New Mexico you can learn much from a state ad campaign against unlicensed tattoo artists.

Top 5 tattoo artists in Mexico.

I should use my rudimentary Dutch more often, so here you have an interview with a Dutch hip hop artist who says he’ll be a cool grandpa and talks his tattoos. In case he would like his grandchildren to have his tattoos after his death (a somewhat disturbing idea, I do admit), he can use the service offered by a Dutch tattoo shops called Walls and Skin that has something interesting to offer:

‘Proud of your tattoo? Proud of the moment it represents? Proud of the pain, time and money you put in the making of it and proud of the artist that made it for you?They say tattoos last a lifetime and then some, now your tattoo can really be forever with our service to put your skin as an artwork on the wall (after you died of course).’

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two men, two stories

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If you’re into body modification, you know who Fakir Musafar is! You should know his early experiments with corsetry, his modern primitive  incarnation, his involvement into the modern body modification scene. It’s always interesting to see him featured in the news, so I loved reading this article on a Suscon that just took place in Dallas and what Musafar had to tell participants about body suspension:

“I want the kids at Suscon to really understand what they’re doing. This is not part of scientific culture. It came from somewhere, you’ve borrowed it, you’ve acclimated it, you’ve adapted it, without understanding where it came from, you miss out on parts of the experience,” Musafar says. “It’s an old and honorable tradition and this is what they did and why they did it. And now here’s what we’re doing today.”

here’s a video of Musafar and Jim Ward doing their (own version of ) Sundance. It’s very interesting to watch, especially if you are coming from the modern way of looking at body suspension. Reading the comments is also interesting as it shows from how many POV it can be perceived.

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I’ve never heard about James Hall a.k.a. Blue Man and stumbled upon this tidbit of info only thans to an article about a tattoo convention in Baltimore. Another article is quite old (2009) but the link still works, so enjoy reading it and meeting Mr. Hall! He seems a very fascinating person. Not only he went for a total body suit but also is an Ivy League graduate, a retired city planner and sems a  nice man! He’s one of these people who show you, no matter how critical towards body modification you may be, that being modified (and really heavily at that) doesn’t mean you are an idiot and that you never know how modified may be all these people you come across in your life! Life is full of surprises and that’s the best about it! 🙂

here’s a video about Blue Man!

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clipped wings

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tattoo artist seems to be a new ‘in’ profession for romance/ erotic fiction. Cowboys? Gone they are. Businessmen? Probably went down along with the Lehman Brothers. Now it’s the tattoo artists that personify the wild streak in men and allure for women.

I came ascross this interview yesterday and read it with some interest. After all, why wouldn’t I be interested in reading a story centered on a tattoo artist? The author discussed the plot and the hidden meanings quite eloquently and enthusiastcally. Posts on her website show how active and strong the modern marketing machine is and how omnipresent it might be both for fans and potential readers.

So I was ready to buy the book, impulsive and book-loving as I am. For now, however, I limited myself to just going through a Kindle sample of the ‘Clipped Wings’ story and maybe that’s it for me? Somewhow I would like to read something more meaty about the oh-so hip and depraved world of body mods than a bored tattooist tired of working on college girls and suddenly into a totally unique college girl with the troubled past.

It’s not a review, not a recommendation and certainly not a critical opinion of a book I read only two chapters from; it’s just a way to keep myself (and some others interested in the subject) up to date on what’s published on tattoos and how they are perceived by others out there.

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judge not!

‘Tattoos are for idiots’ text (as it’s hard to call it a decent article) is worth reading for comments’ worth mainly as it shows how something so seemingly common and so really ingrained in human culture as tattoos is still able to excite people. Seeing how the text was signed by one Joe Soap, maybe it’s more about provocation and some s%&t stirring than anything else but, sadly, opinions like the ones expressed here are not uncommon.

An interesting voice in this discussion could be added by an American senior from OH who claims that ‘tattoos are opposed by Scripture’ and tries to convince us that there’s a way to deal with this evil: ‘Otherwise-beautiful people are ruining their appearances with tattoos and piercings. It is nauseating to look at a food server with a pierced tongue and/or multiple tattoos. We can fix that ourselves, by not going to those restaurants.’ Religious tattoos are also a big no-no which must be a big news for these guys here.

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Hopefully the OH senior didn’t read this article about a tattoo artist Scott Campbell who took part in a very interesting art project involving tattoos, teenagers and volunteers ready to believe in the kids’ abilities and potential. As Scott Campbell put it, “The volunteer promises, from that day onward, even if they never see or speak to each other again, to always look at that tattoo [designed by the teens and tattooed on the volunteers] and believe in that kid.” Here’s Scott Campbell talking about the project! Unusual? Certainly! Creative? Sure enough. Evil? Hell no!

Two other, less known but still interesting tattoo artists: Big Sleeps, an expert on Cholo lettering, and a CO-based Brian Thurow.

For everyone judging you by the way you look only, there’s an article about Muslim immigrants in Greece to read – their pain and hard life lessons are obvious in the article.

11 things to know about piercings is something entirely different, of course, but such is a format of this blog and that’s also the way I’m wired 😉

Ear-lobe reconstruction – an article and a video from Canada; in case you’d ever be interested in it.

Full Moon Tattoo Festival combines two things many tattooed people are into – tattoos and horror flicks. It’s certainly an interesting event and the guest list for this year’s edition of the festival looked very interesting.

Rob Zombie, who’s both tattooed and in love with horror aesthetics, was a guest judge on Master Ink and – if you are lucky (due to my location, I wasn’t!) – you may be able to watch this episode on here. For everyone else, here’s another video by Zombie:

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ink likes women ;)

Ink for Autism is a nice idea to help out those affected by the disorder and it’s cool to see the tattoo industry getting involved – Ontario, Oregon, Australia!

Dress code: a tattooed midwife doesn’t cover up her tattoos and wants to change the way people look at tattooed women, Denver Police Department considers a new dress code requiring covering up tattoos after all and both defiant and naïve article ‘I’ll never cover up my tattoos for anyone ever again’ (which makes a mouthful ;)).

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Tattooed seniors here – both beautiful and daring! 🙂

Tips from tattoo artists all over the world – a German old school artist discusses animal tattoos, some words of wisdom from an American tattoo artist, tattoo care tips and a bit controversial article quoting extensively Junior of Junior Ink in Poland who says that people tend to copy others’ designs instead of trying to be themselves.

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A weird project by an American illustrator – have you ever wondered how a person would look if they have tattoos owned by famous soccer players? Me neither but here’s the answer (plus a shot above).

Bastian sent me a very interesting article about sadomasochism and how it may lead people who practice it to altered states of consciousness. Interestingly enough, there’s also some info on ‘energy pulls’ here and I like it quite a lot: ‘The effect might not be so different from what people experience when they push their bodies during yoga, or even during meditation. People who complete the energy pull ritual also report feeling more connected to others.‘

Finally, some tattoo entertainment: Rob Zombie is going to be a guest judge on Ink Master this coming week, so let’s listen to one of his songs in preparation for the big day 😉

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written on the skin!

My fav combo once again: runners and messages written on their skin. Not tattoos per se but important messages carrying deep and moving meaning, especially when paired with the runners’ bodies – not the fake perfect ones straight from the Vogue covers but their own, strong and beautiful, despite the scars and missing limbs!Image

The slide show is a part of the Dear World project and you can also watch some videos of the Boston marathon survivors. It’s moving and touching, even if you are not a runner!

Is it in any way related to body modification? Maybe yes, maybe not. There’s always a way to interpret things and find a deeper meaning or just simply draw some strength from people who went through hell and yet got out of it alive!

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it’s a new tech world out there ;)

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Seeing how much I love my smartphone (and it shows even on here), I just had to read about tattoo apps and even try one; Alas, turned out the choice of the ‘tattoos’ is very limited and not really to my taste. You can play with them if you want to, though!

The new tech world is coming, though, as these articles show: 3D printer turned into a simple tattoo machine and  smart ’tattoos’ storing medical data. Rather interestingly, however, Maori tattoos apparently can be seen as therapy.

The Boulder Tattoo Project is both interesting and reminding me of the Skin Project.

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‘Tattoos make you fat’ is hard to believe, especially if you take a look at a heavily tattooed David Beckham who just launched his swim wear collection for H&M.

Yakuza is becoming very tech, too – Yamaguchi-Gumi have their own website now and want to improve their public image.

Tunisia and how tattoos are perceived there.

Finally, a very interesting one from Bastian, ‘the ancient and mysterious history of tattoos.’

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girl power!

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In a way, Lisbeth Salander personifies the girl power concept with this intriguing edgy look (as not all of us have to look like overphotoshopped supermodels, right?)

But here we have regular everyday superwomen with lots of talent and hard work invested in their work and passion: 10 good female tattoo artists from the US and Europe being represented by two sisters from Austria (their website).

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