Friday, March 12, 2010

Tattoo referral

"I can’t think of anything that I liked in my twenties that I would want tattooed on my body now. Okay, maybe chicken Parmesan, but that would take up too much space."

Now go read the rest of my good buddy Paul Ita's latest essay for masslive: My Horrible Tattoo: A Cautionary Tale for America's Young People.

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15 comments:

Big Mark 243 said...

Okee-dokey!! I used to want a tattoo of the chinese character for 'victory' on my arm... but otherwise am un intersted in the process

Kalei's Best Friend said...

Tats are fine as long as they are in discreet places and not just OUT THERE...Pt. being, have u noticed Angelina Jolie's? tats seem to detract when she wears a gorgeous gown and there is a tat showing... and I will never understand how women or men will get tats if they are so overweight- it totally gets distorted...

Matt Conlon said...

That's a great read. I too love the chicken parm!

I'm 30 now, and still would like one someday, but I'm hoping to find something that means something to me that'll never change. I've considered some kind of Celtic cross, where the circle around the top comes down into the Claddagh, but something like that is likely to cost more than I currently have to burn.

Chris said...

I got a tattoo at 28, a dragon of the Asian variety, and I've never regretted it. Partly because I was smart, and got it on my hip where it's easily hidden, but mostly because it still means something to me; strength, courage, wisdom, and the belief that the universe needs more dragons, metaphorical or otherwise.

Erin O'Brien said...

Here is a pic of my tattoo. It is my own design.

Leslie Morgan said...

I think my tattoo experience has been different from most. I didn't start until I was 49, and I'm fairly addicted. I have tattoo "rules" like they must have color and I must be able to see them even if no one else can. I can show some, all or none, depending on what I wear. These very personal pieces of art have been chosen carefully and I've never regretted one of them. When they lay my cold, hard body out on the slab, it would be OK if everyone filed by me while I was naked. I'm that entranced by my body art.

Matt Conlon said...

I posted this over at the older post of your tattoo, I guess it would have made more sense to post it here...

"You know, I'd considered getting something on my shoulder or something like that, but I always felt like if I couldn't easily see it (and let's be honest, I'm not quite the definition of "limber") that I wouldn't get any pleasure out of it.

Do you ever feel like it might as well not even be there? "

HeyJoe said...

A great read. Thanks for the referral, E.

Erin O'Brien said...

I like my tattoo. I've had it about 13 years. I like it because it doesn't look like any other tattoo, and it's sort of private, you only see it if I show it to you.

I wanted this one very much, but never wanted another. I think having only one makes a statement. The tattoo is about me and who I am. It's mine in many ways.

There's nothing fleeting about the image. I like that. What it represents to me is integral in the design. It has movement, like a bird or a sea creature. It is oddly distorted, but evocative of a an orderly checkerboard. It's about contrast and the unexpected.

The center of the back seemed natural because it's the part of the body that's most like a canvas.

Kalei's Best Friend said...

Erin, Now that is a tat that I am talkin about... I like the design and yep discreet it is!.

DogsDontPurr said...

My sister is tattooed all over, with some major art on her aging chest. She got most of it done during her career as a heroin addict. She also got hepatitis C....but does not know which needles that came from.

She now has major regrets....both about the tattoos and the heroine. Major.

Even after witnessing her withering life, I still toyed with the idea of getting a small tattoo. There was an artist who was writing a novel but in tattoos. Each person who signed up would be given a random word to have tattooed, and only those people would get the full text of the novel. A secret novel tattooed on strangers. I LOVED that idea.

Alas, I signed up, but never got picked.

After that, I spent a long time thinking about what image I would be able to commit to my body...and where on my body to put it.

But then I had a medical procedure done on my hip that involved a needle....bone marrow biopsy. OMG....it was excruciating. It was then that I realized I did not want any needles anywhere near my body....especially not my hip, a common setting for tattoos. Yeowwwch!!!!

But having said all that (in a comment that's wayyyy too long), I love yours Erin. It's perfect. So simple, but yet hypnotic. Timeless. Excellent choice!

kamper said...

Erin, thanks for the link! Now I have truly arrived. I have always dug your tat - I like them on other people, just not on me. Oh, and the gal got the They Might Be Giants tat by the way. It's big and right between her shoulder blades. It looked good and she loves it, so what more is there to say?

Anonymous said...

I'm on the cusp of getting inked, I've thought about it a long time and I'll be past Limes age when I start. I worry a little about that Hep thing but Dogs comments about his sis make me sad.
If you read this Dogs tell her she's just as lovable now as she was on the day she was born.

RJ

melissa said...

I went to get my first tattoo when I was 18. I had known since I was 12 that I wanted one and had decided what it would be by the time I was 16. I am 37 years old now and regret nothing. I think that the ink I have is beautiful. I resent anyone's implication that I wasn't thinking or was too young or that most people regret their decision. I think my art is beautiful and it makes me feel more confident and in touch with myself.

MostlyFlumxdArt said...

What. The. Hell?