Sentimental Tattoos

This week I went back to interviewing a person about the meaning of their tattoo because I did not have much time to look for or research interesting topics due to the fact I was in the hospital.  I talked to someone from home, Derek, about his tattoos.  His first tattoo is a cross with praying hands located on the upper half of his right arm.  The details of the tattoo contain a ribbon going across the top.  The quote in the ribbon is from his mother's gravestone saying "Life is not forever Love is".   The second ribbon goes across the middle containing dates of when she was born and when she died--"71561-51496".  Finally, there is another ribbon going across the bottom that says "Mom".  This tattoo is meaningful to Derek because it is a remembrance of his mothers passing. It is something of sentimental value that he will always be able to have with him and hold dear to him.

Derek's second tattoo is a quote on his forearm that says "Love is anterior to life, posterior to death, initial of creating and the exponent of life".  He got it after his grandfather Charles passed last x-mas season. It was a quote that Derek had heard his grandfather say on multiple occasions and he believes in it so he wanted to always remember it.

Los Angeles Lakers

It is notoriously known that a majority of the NBA players have tattoos.  I wanted to focus on one of my favorite teams in the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers.  I was searching to find out about the players and the tattoos they have and their meaning behind them.  I ended up finding a video on youtube where the players are specifically asked about the inspiration behind their unique tattoos.  I found it interesting that basically every single player had a tattoo about either friends or family.  The video also shows the difference in quality between tattoos done by amateurs artists or those who are less skilled and professional highly paid tattoo artists. The lakers players can afford to get them done by tattoo artists who can provide them with the highest quality ink and artistry, and it definitely shows.

Take a look at the video and hear the players talking about their tattoos!

LA Ink

Just the other day when I was home for fall break, I was flipping through the television channels and I came across a show on TLC called "LA Ink". I had never heard about the show before, and by the title, I knew it had something to do with tattoos so I wanted to keep watching. I watched two episodes and I found it to be a really intriguing show. From what I saw, the show is mainly about the tattoo artists lives at their shop, High Voltage Tattoo. The main tattoo artist, Kat Von D, is big in the tattoo world. The show is also about people coming to the shop and getting tattoos. The customers talk about what tattoo they are getting and the meaning behind the tattoo and its importance it has on their life.  I really enjoyed this show because it made me realize that people express themselves in all different ways such as playing sports, music, dancing, singing, art, etc. and the tattoo artists at High Voltage Tattoo express themselves with tattoos on their bodies along with tattooing other people. Each person on the show had a meaning for their tattoo, and I thought it really went well for my theme of "Beyond the Ink".

For all the tattoo lovers out there, I encourage you to check out their home page which gives the TV schedule, videos, fun games and quizzes, etc.

100% Satisfaction Guaranteed?

This week I wanted to switch up what I was blogging about.  After interviewing the two previous students on my blog, I was curious to look up if people are actually satisfied with their tattoos.  I did some research on this topic and I found that about 20% of people are dissatisfied with their tattoos, but only about 6% actually get their tattoos removed.  There are a number of reasons why people have chosen to get tattoos such as embarrassment, lowering of body image, and changing a job or career, to name a few.  I am not surprised about the percentage of people who are dissatisfied with their tattoos because it seems like some people get their tattoos without not much thought put into it.  Also, there are occupations that do not allow it or frown upon hiring people with tattoos.  I believe if someone gets a tattoo, or if I eventually get one, it needs to be very meaningful.  If people thought about their tattoos more and the location of those tattoos, the percentage of people who are displeased could go down.  Here I posted a youtube of strange tattoos that are over the top examples of people not thinking before getting tattoos.

Meaning..

The next person I found with a tattoo was another freshman named Logan McKenna.  His tattoo is located in the center of his back between his shoulder blades.  I really enjoyed learning about his tattoo and the significant meaning it has behind it!  His tattoo is a celtic cross with a celtic knot which represents his faith and his heritage.  He is a Christian, so he wanted the cross, and he is 65% Irish, so he wanted the celtic knot.  He got this tattoo because he always wanted something that embraces who he is and also reminds him of his beliefs.  For these exact reasons, the tatto is exactly what he wanted and he feels as if he will never regret it!  The price was $350.00 and it took three hours.  Logan also concluded that it was the worst pain he has ever felt.  I was searching around for other blogs on tattoos, and I found a neat one that talks a little bit about the famous Ed Hardy and also shows videos! Check it out.