Tattoos

[Gentleman Johnny]

Who's got one (or more) and what is it (are they)? Do you have any particular theme, style or rules or where you'll get them? For example, I don't get them anywhere that would be visible during a job interview. How do/did you pick your design? Do you just pick something cool within a general theme, or design them yourself for some particular meaning?

It seems like the social stigma of tattoos is all but gone, at least in America but the specifics of why and what people get still varies quite a bit.

[Conreezy]

I have four with plans for two more at least, all on my upper right arm, above the elbow, because I like to be able to hide them when I feel necessary. My old job required it, and I suspect that future jobs will too.  I don't have a problem with that.

The "theme" of my artwork is accomplishment: I only get images that represent things I've done that I feel add to my permanent sense of self.  On my right shoulder, like a patch, is a royal blue stylized horse head/knight (as in the chess piece) with a brick red banner beneath it that reads "horseman." My three best friends and I have this in varying ways, as we all call ourselves the Four Horsemen and have been friends for years.  

Down the back arm is a black and grey smallsword, which represents my European fencing (modern/classical/historical).  I chose that weapon because, in my opinion, it's theory is the pinnacle of fencing evolution in the West.  Also, they're just downright gorgeous pieces of deadly art, just like me!  

There's a purple feather quill in an ink well down my bicep. I got that after I earned my degree in literature, though it's really more of a reminder of how I cast away the idiotic laziness of my early youth to complete college, which I'd mostly failed at before.  

I have the Star of Life with some flames on my inner arm because I'm a giant cliche.  It's a good looking piece, though, and it could have been worse: I don't have a maltese cross with axes or Saint Florian or anything.  I did a lot more work as a firefighter with medications than hose lines, which too many people won't even admit.

That doesn't leave a lot of empty space on my arm, but I want to get something relating to my Japanese swordsmanship.  I'm not exactly sure what I want, as I want to avoid the usual images, but I have the idea of an armored hand reaching for/gripping the quill.  But I won't really feel comfortable getting something like that until I reach a certain rank; even then it would be considered pretty gauche by the Japanese, but I don't care.  I want to complete the half-sleeve.

I consider my tattoos a sort of life resume.  If someone found my dead, they'd at least be able to know the things about me I consider important.  The ones I have are the pre-30 timeframe.  After 30, anything else I accomplish will probably go on my right thigh.

[reboot]

I have the chemical structure of beta carotene around one ankle because it was my master's thesis topic and a copper miner's trade union badge on my shoulder blade because of the family connections.

[fakely mctest]

Five thus far with an appointment in January for another fairly large piece. I've been toying with the idea of another after that but we'll see. They're mostly in areas that are fairly easy to cover, but I didn't really think much about that when I was getting them, I just like arm pieces:

* An engraving-style, Moby Dick tattoo on my shoulder that wraps around and on top (so pretty big), with a quote from the book. That one's linework only.
* An antique floral plate family piece that covers about 2/3rds of the inside of my forearm. I picked out a couple of flowers or plants for my mother, my grandmothers, and myself. That one's in color and I get the most compliments on it.
* A text tattoo on the remaining 1/3 of my forearm: from Frank O'Hara's Les Étiquettes Jaunes. It was my 30th birthday present to myself and a good reminder not to expect things (or people) whose nature is mutable to be consistent.
* A little bird right below my collarbone. I designed it and had it done after I'd come to the other side of a really brutal breakup and a nasty bout with depression.
* A stalk of Queen Anne's lace twined with a stalk of water hemlock that takes up the left side of my back. It's a covering piece for my first tattoo, which got really discolored (brown linework=little staying power). I like the plants and it reminds me of the walk in the country when my aunt told me how to spot the difference because one is edible and one is poison.

In January I'm using up the last of my upper arm real estate and getting a Renaissance sea monster because I've always liked those guys. Doing image research was a blast as I've made an amalgam of my favorite parts of several images.

[eselle28]

I've got a couple, a dragon on my shoulder and something that most people would describe as a tramp stamp. The rule I've always had was that I wouldn't get them in places that might affect my professional life, and one I had after college was that I wouldn't get a third one until I found an image that really spoke to me and that I'd still enjoy unequivocally even if its placement or art style became a bit passe in the way my existing tattoos have. Still might happen!

[Herr R]

I still have virgin skin and at my age, perhaps people would question why I would start getting tattoos done now. But I guess if they will help me blend in more and give me an edge (or at leas turn myself into a conversation piece). However, considering that a good tatt goes well into the hundreds of dollars range and my job is pretty much minimum wage, well I don't know if I could afford them. Plus, I'm not really a masochist so I would feel silly going to a parlor and asking if they would go easy on me. I do have some ideas however:

I want to get on both wrists a pair of DNA strands that turn into chains. This would be in line with my transhumanist philosophy about how as long as we are bound by the chains of our flesh, and therefore, our emotions, needs and desires as organic beings, then we can never be truly logical, as that would mean that we must be willing to give up on a lot of the things that make us human.

One that I think would look cool but I debate about getting is the FOXHOUND badge on my right shoulder. I supposed it would serve as a reminder of the day when I almost got ran over by that car and I survived it and I was wearing my FOXHOUND t-shirt at the time. The nurses in the ER commented that I must of have been in the Special Forces to have survived that accident. But I don't think it would be right to get it simply because I don't think I deserved to have survived the accident. So why celebrate surviving something when you were kinda hoping that you would die? Plus, I don't feel all that special or like a spec ops commando for being hit twice by a hit and run driver.

I saw an interesting design a while back representing the saying of "The pen is mightier than the sword". It combined an old fashioned fountain pen nib with a sword as the hollow part of the nib. I thought about replacing the sword with a Gonzo fist. That would go on one of my forearms.

Then I thought about getting a simple line of text done. The only problem is that I don't know what would be ancient Greek for "Plato's Cave Dweller".

Those are the ones with more meaning to them. On the other arm I would like to put the requisite bands-that-I-like logos on it. Maybe even get "KMFDM Sucks" tattooed on my knuckles?

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