Tag: tattoo

Tattoo Tuesday – Will my design make a good tattoo?

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle2 Comments

The best person to answer this question is your tattoo artist.  Actually, I should clarify.  The best person to answer this question is your experienced tattoo artist.  If he has experience, then he has seen more bad tattoos then good tattoos.  He knows best, so listen to him.

My first tattoo (the sun and the moon), I had pictured it being very detailed and complex.  But, I also wanted it very small and on a place where I could show it off when I wanted to and hide it if I needed to.

The tattoo artist said no.  For a detailed tattoo you have to make it big enough so that in 5 – 10 years, the lines won’t blur together.  If it is too small, it is almost guaranteed that it will not be recognizable in a few years.

I wanted to use 4 different colors. I pictured the sun being yellow and the moon being blue and the stars around it in green and white.

My tattoo artist said no.  Black and grey with a few white accents.  He explained that yellow, green, blue and white on my skin tone would not look yellow, green, blue and white.  Color looks best on pale skin tones.  Now, this was several years ago and I have seen people with my skin tone with color tattoos, but they went to artist that were experienced in tatting their skin tone.  Great lesson to remember, which takes me to my next point.

Make sure the tattoo artist is capable of doing the design and style you want with absolute confidence.

One of my tattoos was a great idea, great concept.  The artist thought he could do it like I wanted it.  But, he wasn’t sure.  Red flag.  I didn’t listen and got a bad tattoo.  It has since been covered and correct it, but there is nothing more upsetting then getting a tattoo that you don’t like.

So, look at images, create a concept, pick out a style and color.  But, be prepared.  You artist may have a better way to express your idea and give you a good tattoo as well.  After all, that is the goal.

What are some of your tattoo design ideas?  Anyone else have a bad tattoo? 

I am still looking for submissions for future Tattoo Tuesdays.  Share your tattoo stories. 

Tattoo Tuesday – They Don’t Like My Ink

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle24 Comments
Marvin by Tom Armstrong

When it comes to personal forms of expression tattooing your body is as personal and as expressive as it gets, but we don’t live in a bubble.  People are going to see your tattoo.  You may be thinking, oh, I will get it some place where no one can see.  My personal opinion is what’s the point, but regardless, unless you never plan on taking your closes off in front of anyone every again.  Someone, at some point, somewhere is going to see it.  So, do their opinions matter?  I guess it just depends.

When I got my first tattoo, my parents were not thrilled about the idea.  But, they weren’t exactly surprised about my decision, either.  I have always been the one in the family that was a little different.  I have a long history of stunts that pushed the boundaries on their patients under the guise of self expression (I once shaved my head in high school, but that is another story for another day).  When I told them I was going to get a tattoo, they tried to talk me out of it.

I heard all the typical excuses: your to young, what you like now will change, tattooed people are delinquents, you will regret it when you are older.  I didn’t care. I had made up my mind and I was not going to be dissuaded.  On a family vacation to New York, I broke away from the group, went down to The Village and got may first tattoo from an Asian guy named Sammy.

And you know what, my parent got used to it.  Don’t get me wrong, every time I show up at home with a new tat, my mother still gives me that look, but it is worth it for the opportunity to express myself as I see fit. After all, they were the ones that raised this strong willed, independent, and a little crazy sometimes daughter.  It’s all their fault anyway.  Shout out to my supportive parents.

When you got a tattoo, how did your people react?  Did their opinion effect what you got and where you got it? If you don’t have one, but want one, is this the reason why?  

I am always looking for great tattoo stories.  If you would like be featured on Tattoo Tuesday in the future, let me know.

Thanks so much to Kate for being my first Tattoo Tuesday friend.  Check out her book inspired tattoo, here.

Oh, I almost forgot.  I have a special treat for you next week.  Guess what, I am getting a tattoo.

Tattoo Tuesday – Featuring Kate Byrne

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle9 Comments

I am so excited to have our first tattoo tail on Tattoo Tuesday. I promise, I am done with the alliterations.  My first guest is Kate Byrne.  Here is how her beautiful back piece came about (That one was unintentional).

 

 

 

 

The first is a piece of Bahraini street art from early on in the Arab Spring. The Arabic in the corner roughly translates into “our weapons are but flowers”. You’ll see the English in the petals of the rose in picture two and the antique rifle barrel in picture three.

I went to my tattoo artist with two different ideas. I knew I wanted a book (books are an integral part of my life and being) and I knew I wanted Yggdrasil, the Norse tree of wisdom, but I didn’t know how or where. It was my artist’s idea to incorporate those two into the piece on my back.

One of my favorite things about the experience of getting tattoos is taking your ideas to an artist you trust and then watching him bring your ideas to life in art.
Thanks so much for sharing Kate. Beautiful tattoo.   Please visit Kate’s Blog at Waiting for that Rocket or follow her on Twitter at @burnsy06
Anyone else want to share their tattoo stories.  I would be happy to feature you on the next Tattoo Tuesday.

Tattoo Tuesday – Personal Statement

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle17 Comments
Marvin by Tom Armstrong

See, they are starting out young.  But, Marvin is right.  A great reason to get a tattoo is to express your own personal statement.  But, figure out what your personal statement is, first.  I wouldn’t suggest you get a chef’s hat tattoo and then discover you can’t boil an egg or worse, getting a ‘Thug Life’ tattooed on your stomach when you grow up on a farm in Wisconsin.

My personal statement at the time of my first tattoo was to continue to be the kind of person who was always up for trying new things and having new experiences.  I was on a journey to have experiences that altered and heightened my consciousness.  I read a book in college by Andrew Weil called The Marriage of the Sun and the Moon.  If you haven’t read it, check it out.  Some people use drugs and alcohol, some use coffee.  There are guys in the mountains of Mexico who eat hot peppers to capture that high, if even for a minute.  Andrew’s journey to find the ultimate state took him to the mountains of South America where he witness an eclipse; a marriage of the sun and the moon.  That image was my first tattoo.

To a certain extent it is still my personal statement.  It is why I love to write, why I love to travel, why I love food and why I love getting tattooed.  These are experiences that alter my consciousness and are safer then drugs and alcohol.

What is your personal statement?  Do you think it is tattoo worthy?

Spoiler alert, they hurt and they don’t wash off, so you better be sure.

If you have a great tattoo story you want to share, let me know and I will feature it on Tattoo Tuesday.

Who Owns Your Tattoo? : Inked Magazine

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah MichelleLeave a comment

Who Owns Your Tattoo? : Inked Magazine.

I don’t do illegal downloads; movies or music.  I don’t plagiarize and I only use my photos or public domain photos on my blog.

But, are my tattoos someone else’s property?  I didn’t draw them.  I have portions of two Van Gogh paintings replicated on my body.  I have a flower that I found on the internet replicated and I have letters that represent a saying that I didn’t write.

Did I infringe on someone else’s copyrights for my own benefit?

Legally I am safe because I don’t make any money off of my body art.  That sounds bad.  What I mean is that no one has offered me money to show them my tattoos.  Sounds even worse, but if someone wanted to pay me, I would share the proceeds.

But, it still begs the question, who do my tattoos belong to?

Meet China Jordan – the artist gave it that name.  I just call him CJ.  A free hand drawing on my ankle by Gabe Shum then tattooed by Gabe Shum, referencing a stuffed animal that  I purchased at a souvenir shop, commemorating the year of the bull in China in 2010.