Is tattooing your talent?

Over the years, many people have asked me why I don’t pursue a career in tattooing, or ask the constant question, “Have you ever thought about becoming a tattoo artist?” Yes, of course I have thought about it! I love the art of tattooing, the designs and expression involved. I have researched the process and witnessed established artists at work, but the truth is, I don’t have the talent or desire to pursue the career. I always tell people that tattooing involves some extra “T’s:” talent, training, time and tenacity.

Talent

I will be honest with you, if you cannot color inside the lines and your idea of a masterpiece is a fully humanized stick figure, then you’re probably not going to be a very successful tattoo artist.

Tattoo artistry is much different than simply drawing with pen or pencil on paper, but the skills for the trade begin there. In order to even consider entering the industry, you will need the basic raw talents of drawing or sketching, shading and tracing. You will also need to create your own designs, using what is called flash art, in a portfolio.

Training 

If you do have raw artistic talent, you will now need skill. You can develop skill in tattooing by taking classes, working with other artists, watching videos, reading books, participating in online training courses, and of course, practicing. The mastery of tattooing requires lots and lots of practice.

There are various schools that teach the art of tattooing. Most programs take one year to complete and include a final certification exam, but that may vary depending on the school and state.

In general, most professional tattoo artists recommend that you serve as an apprentice before attempting to become a tattoo artist. Actually, the majority of states even require that tattoo artists have logged a certain number of hours as an apprentice before being licensed to work. (It is important to find an apprenticeship that best suits you.) Aside from developing the craft of applying tattoos, you will learn how to clean your equipment to meet health regulations, operate a tattoo machine, adjust your power supply, protect yourself and your clients from disease, manage your business, price your work and understand other business details.

Time

Apprenticeships can last varied lengths of time; however, most last five years. It typically takes six to 12 months before you will be allowed to start tattooing. When you have completed your apprenticeship, you will then be considered a journeyman. Once you have spent 10 years as a journeyman, you will be considered a professional tattoo artist.

Tenacity

Because the process is strenuous and can be expensive and time consuming, a person who truly desires to become a tattoo artist must be tenacious. It takes much more than talent; it also takes desire, perseverance and a love and passion for the art of tattooing.

Do you have the talent to become a tattoo artist? If so, have you ever thought about pursuing this line of work?

Look beyond the image

There are so many different stories behind tattoos, and each is unique to the person who receives it. This week, I decided to interview freshman Zavion Williams, a Lipscomb University student and basketball player, about one of his tattoos (seen in the image below).

 

 

The text reads, “The game is my wife. It demands loyalty and responsibility and gives me back fulfillment and peace.”

 

Williams decided on this tattoo because to him, “basketball is way more than a game.”

 

 

He has played since he was 6 years old and fell in love with the game when he first stepped foot on the court. Like so many other competitive athletes, he has been forced to devote the majority of his time to his sport. Spending hours on the court or in the weight room has forced him to give up or miss out on other opportunities, events and even time with friends.

 

He says, “I knew in order for me to be successful in basketball and get to the place that I am, sacrifice was necessary.”

The puzzle pieces in his tattoo represent the way in which basketball has put his life together and made it whole. It has not only given him the opportunity to utilize his talents, but has created other significant opportunities to help and advance his future.

The quote is self-explanatory, but is more easily understood after hearing Williams speak about his devotion and true love for the game, as an essential part of his life. The quote is placed in a sky backdrop as representative for the freedom he experiences while playing and also his desire to be “on top.”

The city shown at the bottom of his bicep is Clarksville, Tenn., the city to which he claims to owe all of his talent. He says, “My city has supported me and showed much love to me since I was in sixth grade until I finished school.”

One of the reasons why I love tattoos is because each represents so much more than what an outsider can visually see. Although we see words, city buildings, the sky and puzzle pieces, Williams sees his love and passion to a game that he truly understands and believes in. So, this week, I challenge you to ask people who have tattoos about what they mean. I can almost guarantee you they represent something beyond what you see.

She vowed to be imperfect

Her head hangs low, lulling at the bed of her chest with her chin nestled welcomingly between her breasts.  Her eyes fall predictably to the ground.  Composure brands her skin.  There is a pounding below, yet the surface remains still and unshaken.  Sweat breaks the barrier and tears through her cheek, clawing at her skin and rips all the way down, like the answer she does not know in her chest, deep and burning.

She will come home to an empty house, open room and barren table. David works late tonight, with full-time hours at a half time job.  His name, like their home, has been battered and scorched, beaten out of Dad and into David, out of a home and into a house.  Too many things were missing for it to all still be familiar. There were too many people gone. Husband and wife wore into relatives, thinned into terms and slowly dissolve as strangers.

“Bend till she breaks,” she knows.  But, he fakes.  She feels every splinter as he mends his fraudulent wounds.  He doesn’t break because he doesn’t care. She sweats.  It dribbles down her face, blistering her skin until it turns to the color of blood, thick and stained.  Jesus, Joseph and Mary, this was not the life she had chosen.

Her insatiable need for order and control was a disease and her preconceptions of this term made it hard to accommodate this reality, leaving her to believe her irrational personality and obsessive behaviors were all facets of her addiction – an addiction that was really only ever about the loss of their son.

She makes one correction, two, three and another.

Her addiction extends way beyond any physical impulse for perfection.  It traps her body in an unrelenting grip satisfied only by the rarity of accomplishment or reckless abandonment.  It traps her mind just as inexorably, but without the satisfaction of relief because her mind refuses.

It keeps her moving, thinking and running. She cannot stand still.  She cannot wait.  She cannot allow him to love her again.

“Nate…son.” She calls out in the desolate space.

All that is left is David. He doesn’t understand, she thinks.  He doesn’t suffer, he doesn’t sweat and he doesn’t break.  He doesn’t care.

She had an illness. This was a fact and unarguably the one from which she could find an implacable perspective.  She never doubted its validity; she never underestimated its impact.  The rest she simply chose to ignore and for the time, it ruined her marriage.

I wrote the story above about a married couple that lost their son Nate when he was only three years old. His death caused the two much pain and hardship for the years following, and their marriage began to suffer the consequences. Having described their situation to me, I designed tattoos for both of them, after the wife decided to seek counseling to manage her grief. In order to renew their love and commitment to one another, they each got a tattoo of the vows they spoke to one another on their wedding day. Also, to commemorate the passing of their son, they each got his birth and death date tattooed under the vows.

Of the tattoos I have drawn, the most rewarding are those that designate a significant change in a person’s life. To feel as though I am helping someone better their life, no matter how minor my role may be, is worth all of the time and work I may put into the drawing.

Think about your own talents and interests. How can you use them to help other people?

Are people getting under your skin?

“In archaic times, a practice used to show respect and mourning for the death of a loved one emerged in the Middle East. People cut their forearms and rubbed ash into the wound. The ashes came from the funeral pyres used to cremate the body of the deceased.  In doing so, a person could literally carry the deceased with them.”

If you follow my blog or have read some of my posts, you may recognize the above quote. I introduced the subject of the history of tattoos with the above segment in my post, “Looking past American art.” Reading over it again, some of you may find the practice described as honorable and admirable, whereas some may find it eerie, unnatural or maybe just plain strange. Well, believe it or not, the practice is similarly mimicked today, here in America.

When you lose a loved one, it is common to keep something belonging to them so you can feel as though they will always be with you. When a friend of mine passed away in December, I made a special place for the letters he wrote me while he was alive. But for some people like Kim Mordue and Travis Green, this idea has transformed into a very literal translation.

In what some people are calling a “craze” or “trend,” you can now inject a person’s cremated ashes, or cremains, into the skin as a tattoo. The tattoos are being called commemorative tattoos. Even though they are not a new principle, they are certainly still new and very controversial to the modern tattooing world.

Personally, I am uneasy and uncomfortable with the practice, but I can respect people’s reasoning and intentions for receiving commemorative tattoos. If you are someone who may be interested in participating in the practice, or like me, are simply and strangely intrigued by the subject, let me provide some more detail about the process, preparation and health and legal concerns.

Process and preparation

The ashes cannot be directly inserted into the tattoo guns. First, they must be sterilized and form a more fluid consistency. In order to accomplish this, you should:

• Thoroughly clean the container in which you will store the ashes with hot water and soap.
• Pour the ashes into a blender.
• Add a small amount of vodka (about 1 tbsp.).
• Blend the mixture for about 1 hour at medium speed.
• Pour the mixture back into the storage container and be prepared to use as soon as possible.

Keep in mind that the amount of ash actually used for the tattoo is microscopic and will be mixed with normal tattoo ink to be injected into the body.

Health and legal concerns

• Some medical experts worry about the health implications of injecting cremains into your body, however there have not yet been any reported cases of infection or other related health problems.
• The practice is legal in that it is not explicitly unlawful, but there are laws about the misuse of human remains. Are commemorative tattoos a misuse of cremains? Each person has his or her own opinion on the matter.
• It may be legal, but is it socially or culturally acceptable? Is it taboo or admissible, disturbing or honorable? Again, “to each his own.”
• Many tattoo artists are appalled by the practice and refuse to service those desiring commemorative tattoos. This reluctance could be due to moral objection or uneasiness, or beyond that, some could fear liability if complications arise.

I’ve given you some of the basics about commemorative tattoos and I’ve told you my opinion of them. Now, it’s your turn. Participate in the poll below and tell me what you think of the idea.

She stripped us of living death

Last week, I asked you a question regarding your opinion on memorial tattoos. This is a topic very dear to my heart. I have lost several friends over the course of my life and know that if I were to ever get a tattoo, it would be one to commemorate one or more of these tragedies. Because the topic is such an important one to me, this post is one of several I will devote to the discussion of memorial tattoos.

I provided a metaphor in a previous post, “I branded her by words and birds“, for the emotional catharsis I experience through tattoo design. Although I do not specify the type of design I am referring to in the metaphor, I am hinting at drawing for those who have lost loved ones. Many of the tattoos I design are for people whose loved ones have passed away. When I write a name, date or symbol for these memorials, there is something so profound in that moment; to know that the name with which I cannot always attach a face, can give me both peace and heartache.

In high school, I received a letter from a classmate’s father who had lost his 9-year-old daughter to leukemia. Her name was Julianna. In the letter he told me he wanted a tattoo to commemorate her passing, asked if I would design it, and if so, told me the idea he had for the design, asked how much I would charge and finally, gave me his phone number and asked me to call after making my decision. Below is the story of what happened when I dialed the number.

She paced the room, walking from the couch to the wall and back again as she read to herself. She had gotten these kinds of requests before, but this one struck her as something all together different. The way he expressed himself, the grief and simultaneous relief in his words frightened her. But, this was business, and just as the letter said, she picked up the phone, dialed the number and left a message for “the Wilson family after the beep.”

In a matter of hours, Mr. Wilson had returned her call, and the two had discussed business. But, somewhere in the middle of it all, it was she who began to cry. There was no explaining it, only that the tone of his words and duality of his speech tore her into a helpless pile of pathetic. She was embarrassed and apologized to him for her lack of professional behavior. He merely chuckled and added, “she does that to people.” They ended the conversation shortly thereafter and it was only when she hung up that she realized what he said. The “she” he was referring to was his daughter; his dead daughter. What did she do to people? It didn’t make sense. The words were so odd, so uncharacteristic of his obvious sorrow, yet revealed the kind of girl Julianna used to be in a somehow positive light. She made him laugh and forget the formalities of business, the tediousness of his work. She stripped him of rules, constraints and standards and allowed him to live. She did that to people; she helped them live, even if she could not.

Suddenly, this was no longer just business, this was real and raw, and for the first time, her hand quivered when she put her pencil down to draw. Her mind and stomach turned about the one-dimensional view of Julianna’s name, detached from a living body, now plastered lifeless across the constraints of 8.5 by 11 inches.

This tattoo would cost him nothing and she told him so. It had already rewarded her the privilege to be alive, breathing, forever disturbed and forever changed, and she told him so.

This post is the introduction to a series of posts about memorial tattoos. If you may, I want you to go check out a blog dedicated solely to memorial tattoos by Dr. Joanne Cacciatore. She specializes in working with and counseling those affected by traumatic death. Her blog is titled “Becoming,” and I think she has some truly significant insight about the topic. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Looking past American art

Tattoos are defined as permanent markings on the skin and have been around for centuries, used for many different purposes depending on the culture.

In archaic times, a practice used to show respect and mourning for the death of a loved one emerged in the Middle East.  People cut their forearms and rubbed ash into the wound. The ashes came from the funeral pyres used to cremate the body of the deceased.  In doing so, a person could literally carry the deceased with them.  It was believed that when the ashes fused with the carrier’s blood, the deceased would be revived and lived again, bringing peace and luck to the carrier.

I’m going to write today about the history of tattoos and how they have been used differently in various cultures around the world. Believe it or not, rubbing ash into your skin is considered a form of tattooing; let me tell you why.

The word tattoo originates from the Tahitian word “tatau,” which means to mark something. What most people don’t understand is that tattoos can be more than simply a decoration.  In fact, Americans were some of the few peoples who first used tattoos in this way.

Historically, most cultures used tattoos for ceremonial, medicinal, religious or honorable purposes. Archaeologists have discovered mummified remains in different parts of the world displaying tattoos.

• In 1891, the mummified remains of an Egyptian priestess dating back to 1260 B.C. were discovered, and on her body were several markings of lines and dots. This art form was reserved for pregnant women, with the belief that the markings would protect the unborn child by encasing the womb.
• In 1948, mummies were found in the mountains of Siberia dating back to about 2,400 years ago.  They had pictures of unidentifiable creatures in their bodies that were thought to have a magical significance.  A person bearing one of these creatures was of high status and was to be honored above others.
• In 1991, a 5,000-year-old corpse was found between Austria and Italy, named “Otzi the ice man.” His skin bears 57 different tattoos. The positioning of the markings suggests that they were used for therapeutic reasons, possibly for arthritis.

No one is sure where the first tattoos came from; however we do know that nearly every culture in history has a record of using some form of tattooing.

• Pacific cultures are thought to have the most intricate and skillful tattooing of the ancient world.
• The Polynesian peoples believe that a person’s “mana,” or his or her spiritual power, life force or personality, is symbolized through his or her tattoo.
• In Samoa, ceremonies for young chiefs were conducted at the onset of puberty.  At these ceremonies, the chiefs received tattoos as a key development in their leadership roles.

When Europeans landed in Samoa and saw these tattoos, they brought the idea back with them. They spread most popularly through the British navy, which then transferred the idea to the Americas. Tattoos became most popular during the time of the Civil War, when tattoo artists would line the battlefields hoping that men with lost comrades would come to them seeking a commemorative or memorial tattoo.

Although people no longer rub funeral pyres into their open wounds, many people have taken this Middle Eastern idea and made it their own, designing and receiving decorative tattoos to commemorate and memorialize the loss of a loved one.

To help me for my next post please participate in the poll below.

I’ll catch you in the end

The name of my blog is Pen and Needle because of my love for writing, design and tattoos. In my About page I say,

“This blog is about tattoos and the stories behind them; it is about my experience designing tattoos and how I attempt to capture emotion in the drawing. I will also venture into my love for writing, sharing with you how different designs can help write intriguing stories about tragedy, joy, pain and love.”

Today, I want to share a story with you; it’s titled Hunted.

I’ve taken to keeping a tally. Starting from the ninth grade I believe we’ve hit 300. Things have only just begun and I have little reason to hope that they will ever slow down. My feet moved with every mark on the scoreboard and rounding out to 300, my laces are wearing thin, the heels of my shoes are collapsing and long have I passed the precipice of exhaustion. Past the caution signs, past “danger ahead,” past every screaming warning, I ran straight off the ledge of sanity, landing unbalanced in a tumbling array of false composure, and gathering my footing, took off running again. But with every jump, every senseless leap of faith, I pray he’ll be waiting with the strength to catch me at the bottom. I pray that he’ll stop running long enough for 300 to rest a while. But God has yet to answer me, so I tally and I run. With no real purpose, without a clear motive and no idea what to do if I catch him, I’m running to chase and chasing just to show him that I still care; that no matter how fast or how far he runs, I will always be following, cleaning up whatever messes he leaves behind because that’s the only thing I know. It’s all I’ve got left. It’s all he’s got left. His body is thinning faster than my laces and his lungs are collapsing faster than the heels of my shoes. With bones protruding, his frail skin clings fearfully to a limp, intoxicated frame. I run after his steps, chasing and hunting a drug trail as he leaves behind the pieces of a shattered life.

One of my closest friends has received four tattoos. The story I wrote above is based on one of her tattoos.

We came up with the words for the tattoo together and it reads:

I’ll catch you in the end, I’ll love you through it all
Faith, hope and love, let Him be your withdrawal.

Her brother had a drug addiction and struggled for years with a conflict between his devout love for God and his believed need for heroin. She always tried to take on his problems as her own, believing that she could somehow “save him.” It wasn’t long before she understood that she could only love and pray for him and she would have to leave the rest up to God.

She knew she wanted a tattoo that described in some way his addiction and desired faith. She wanted a tattoo of words rather than an image and decided that her own words would be better than getting a literary tattoo, which is a tattoo based on books, poems, lyrics and several other literary sources. Ironically, my utilization of tattoos in order to write stories is opposite of the “literary tattoo” premise.

Whether the story comes first or the tattoo, the meaning, beauty and power in each is what truly matters.

I branded her by words and birds

Freedom lives in the wings of a sparrow, perched readily on the frame of a branch. Its wings have seen the life of a thousand miles; its feathers fan out, smooth and unruffled. It can feel the north winds upon its belly, accepting flight’s warm invitation. Its legs bend, feet sturdy and in 3, 2, 1, it lunges forward, shaking a flower off the bounding branch. Both reach the expanses of the outside world, one falling as the other soars. The sparrow retracts and extends its wings as it bows a testament to the lives it has shaken to the ground. Many will rise as they are picked up and treasured in the hands of a child. Although some are trampled, the sparrow cherishes a new bloom in their places, awaiting the time it will return to the trees to accompany the next lost cause.

When I first started designing tattoos, I had a slight obsession with drawing bird tattoos, especially sparrows and swallows. In fact, the first tattoo I ever designed was three sparrows each positioned differently based on direction and action (but more on that in a post coming soon). For a long time I used birds and trees to symbolize most abstract ideas associated with death, life, freedom and imprisonment. Essentially, birds symbolized everything.

In a high school creative writing class, I wrote the following excerpt in a piece about faith and death after a friend of mine had passed:

“If they come and take me away by the skies, I’ll throw my hands to the heavens and thank God that I did not stay kissing the ground beneath my feet. Instead I’ll rejoice to the rolling clouds and leave the earth for those who are able to walk it.”

A girl in my class read my paper and asked if she could have the two sentences above tattooed on her outer thigh. She had recently been diagnosed with a serious illness and told me that my words reflected her newfound trust in God’s plan for her life more perfectly than anything she could have come up with herself. Honestly, it was a little weird at first but such an honor at the same time that I easily gave my permission. She knew that I designed tattoos and asked if I would draw something to go with the quote. Naturally, I drew sparrows to frame the words.

My words, my drawing and my initials will forever brand a girl I once knew. God only knows how they can perfectly reflect an otherwise indescribable emotion shared by two very different people.

  Birds symbolize everything.

My hand quivers with every initial stroke of the pencil, praying with each inhaling breath a mistake will not follow. As my heartbeat slows, breathing steadies and mind opens, I fly into the readiness of the palette, exploring emotions with the attitude of the design and the raw stroke of my hand. I glide my pencil across the expanses of the page, mapping the course for beauty to follow. For some, the beauty is lost in the page for its lack of emotion, meaning or sympathy as it falls to accompany abandoned and retired ideas. But, some day it may be recycled and revitalized, changed and embellished, for the hope of a new cause. In this new cause I will remember the last, cherish the present and cry for the future product.

When creativity freely flows and my mind releases its clench on the insecurities of my hand, I blossom; I blossom and soar.

Guns: Putting people under arrest and under ink

After a friend of mine was arrested, he began writing me letters about his regrets, lessons learned and overall experience in prison. Before truly getting to know some of his fellow inmates, he classified each by the crime(s) they had committed. In his first letter to me he wrote,

“I was too afraid to ask what the teardrop under his eye meant, and I pretended to be intelligent enough to understand that the clocks on men’s arms simply meant they were serving time, just like me.”

Photo Credit: Taylor Ann Summers and Kelsey Reiman

“I may not know what every tattoo means, but what I do understand perfectly well is that some of these guys are in here for some pretty serious stuff.”

Obviously, I was intrigued. It is true, I had designed plenty of tattoos before and some for previous criminals, but never had I researched the symbology or history behind common prison tattoos.

First, may I point out that tattooing while in prison is forbidden in most parts of the United States. Therefore, unless prisoners receive tattoos upon release, then they are done with homemade tattoo guns. The “needle” could come from metal guitar string or a part of a paper clip, and an empty pen typically holds the “needle.” The ink may come from the pen or melted plastic. If fixed to a motor, the device can function similarly to a professional tattoo gun.

So, now that the making of the gun is complete, it’s time to tattoo.

There are certain prison tattoos that over the centuries have developed specific meanings. The following is a list of some of them:

• Teardrop: The design is worn just under the eye and typically signifies that the wearer has either killed someone or knows a friend or family member who has been killed.
• Hourglass, spiderweb, chains and clock with no hands: These designs usually mean that the wearer has done time, or is doing time. The spiderweb design is often found on and around the elbow.
• Area codes: The tattoo is usually reserved as the neighborhood location of the wearer’s gang.
• Three dots in a triangle, the number 14, the number 13 and the ace of spades are all different types of gang-affiliated tattoos.

Although these are all common prison tattoos, the same designs began to enter into mainstream society as tattoos became increasingly accepted and popular.

How many of you have a “mainstream” tattoo that at one point was reserved strictly as a prison tattoo?

WWJD: Would Jesus get a tattoo?

Photo Credit: Taylor Ann Summers and Kelsey Reiman

There is a common phrase that has circulated through the youth of the 21st century: WWJD, or “What Would Jesus Do?” We have used this question to distinguish whether our actions are morally right or wrong. In fact, even now I can hear my mom asking me this very same question when I was a child.

“Do I have to invite her to the neighborhood party?”

“Kelsey Nicole Reiman, what do you think? What would Jesus do?”

Yes, I grew up with those kinds of parents. I come from church pews and picture Bibles, from the breaths of God exhaled faithfully into the hands of Mom and Dad. I was thrust into the world of Christianity, out of the womb and into the church. House rules came from the Bible first, Mom and Dad second, and that was final; there was no third option. So, when I began wrestling with the idea of getting a tattoo, naturally I looked to the Bible first, Mom and Dad second, and that was final; there was no third option. Ultimately I decided not to get one; honestly, I didn’t really have a choice. I either went to college or got a tattoo. My parents let me decide that one for myself. Even though I am not “tatted,” I have spent much of the past four years of my life designing tattoos for other people on one condition: the tattoo must not interfere with or contradict my Christian beliefs.

So, you may ask, what is my Christian view of tattoos?

First, I think it is important to look directly at the Scripture. Leviticus 19:28 says, “Do not cut your bodies for the dead and do not mark your skin with tattoos. I am the Lord.” Well, the command seems simple enough; tattoo equals sin. However, I do not actually believe it’s that simple. Here’s just a few reasons why:

• The text surrounding this passage deals with pagan rituals and God’s desire for the Israelites to be separated from pagan cultures. The focus of the command is therefore to prohibit the pagan practices of worldly, heathen worship.
• Leviticus 19:27 forbids haircuts.
• In the New Testament (Matthew 5:17) Jesus says, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” If we were to obey the exact laws of the Old Testament, we would also be forbidden to pork eating, wearing clothes made from two different fabrics, hairstyles and even eating cheese on our hamburgers.

Is getting a tattoo a form of pagan worship? My answer would have to be no. Some share my opinion (Clarifying Christianity); however, there are many, like Terry Watkins, who disagree with me.

I do not think it is morally appropriate to abuse the body that God has made for us, in His image. Our bodies are temples for God (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) and should be treated accordingly. To be more specific, I do not agree with an excessive amount of tattoos, vulgar or sexually suggestive tattoos (based on design and/or placement), and any tattoo that is designed for attention rather than glorification of God. Granted, the majority of tattoos I have drawn have not been Bible verses or crosses but have had a faith-based message or significance, visually obvious or not.

If you are a Christian and are debating whether or not to get inked, ask yourself this question: Am I getting a tattoo for attention or to honor and glorify God?

I cannot tell you if tattoos are morally acceptable, but I will leave you with the following verse:

Romans 14:23, “…everything that does not come from faith is sin.”