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As always history, symbolism and meaning provide an
interesting overlap of cultures and times.
If you are thinking about getting an tattoo
it helps to know the background on them and do some
research to find out the different meaning and
symbolism of tattoos.
Some common designs in ankle tattoos are a tribal
symbol, a floral arrangement or an initial. An ankle
tattoo can be small enough that it isn't noticeable
unless the person is very close.
Many professional women choose this type of tattoo
because it isn't overbearing and at the same time it
allows them to carry something personal on their
bodies always.
Once you have decided on a design and coloring for
your ankle tattoos
you'll want to visit a reputable establishment that
does tattoos. Looking through the yellow pages is
one route but if you know anyone who has a tattoo
you should ask them
about their experience. Quite
often they'll be happy to share with you and they
may recommend a place for you to visit.
After deciding on a
tattoo parlor you'll want to discuss with the artist
your concept. If you come there without a design in
mind they will
be able to show you a
range of images that you can choose from. Most
people prefer a smaller design for ankle tattoos and
if the artist feels that yours is too large, they
will work with you to bring it down to a scale that is more
appropriate. Getting a tattoo involves
piercing the skin, and so there is going to be some
pain involved, no matter how small the tattoo and no
matter where it is on your body. The
amount and type of
pain experienced is highly variable depending on each
individual's tolerance to and acceptance of pain. While
tattooing, the needles puncture the skin at a very fast
rate and at a variable depth. The outline is usually the
most painful work, because the needles are being used to
create a nice solid black line that will define the
tattoo, and so it is inserted deeply and carefully to
ensure complete and effective coverage. The shading is
usually not as painful, but this also depends upon the
depth of penetration and the desired effect. The pain
you feel is generally as a slight burning or hot
scratching sensation. Generally, the tattoo is more painful if applied to
areas of the body where there is less muscle and fatty
tissue covering bone, like wrists, ankles, chests, and
other normally sensitive body areas. Upper arms are
usually the least painful, while the ankles and sternum
can be quite sensitive.
The tattoo pain is certainly not unbearable, here
are some tips for coping with and minimizing the pain:
Find a reputable tattooist that you feel comfortable
with to get the tattoo work done, the confidence you get
from a tattooist can minimize your pain to the highest.
Don't show up drunk or on drugs. Go in with some determination and accept the fact that a
few hours of discomfort without giving the tattooist a
hard time will help ensure that you get a first-rate
tattoo. If you feel you can't take the pain anymore,
tell your tattooist. Take a short break, or come back in
a few days. Tattoos don't have to be applied all in one
sitting.
Break up your session if needed. Listen to music or let
your imagination go wild during the procedure, a certain
degree of distraction set by your self will help you put
less concentration on the pain. About the Author Visit
Tattoo Crosse for free articles and tips of tattoo Thinking
About A Tattoo?
So, you're considering a
tattoo. It's quite a step to take. Along with the
obvious things to consider like the pain involved and
the risk of infection, I think the most important thing
you need to remember is a tattoo's permanence. One of my
favorite Jimmy Buffet song lines is a tattoo is a
"permanent reminder of a temporary feeling".
Tattoo's have grown in acceptance and have become much
more mainstream in the last ten or so years. It's
interesting that tattoo businesses are now calling
themselves tattoo "salons" and tattoo "studios" instead
of using the old phrase tattoo "parlor". In a 2003 poll it was found that 16% of American
adults have a tattoo. You see many young women now
with a lower back tattoo. Technology has helped advance
the popularity of tattooing with better longer lasting
colors and improvement in equipment. Helping the
popularity also is the emergence of reality TV shows
like A&E's "Inked". There are even forums on the web for
people with tattoos and for people considering getting a
tattoo.
There are literally hundreds of thousands of mass
designed tattoo art works available, and, if one of them
isn't right for you all that is standing in your way is
your imagination and the right tattoo artist. Tattoo
artists, like those featured in "Inked" actually get
followings due to the quality of their work.
One of my favorite tattoos is a Rosie the Robot from the
Jetson's (not that I would ever have one on my skin).
There are of course animal tattoos, flower
tattoos, bird tattoos,
butterfly tattoos, demon tattoos, cross tattoos,
heart tattoos, insect tattoos, skull tattoos,
unicorn tattoos and of course tattoo goes very
often with piercing.
The
care that you receive in a tattoo studio must be
flawless. There are measures that each tattoo studio
must follow in order to ensure a sterile environment for
patrons. Each state may have their own laws governing
tattoo studios. Some tattoo studios require their
artists to have mandatory training in sterilization
techniques. Check
with the studio. Also, how do you
choose a tattoo artist? Perhaps, like me, you have a
co-worker who isn't shing down her panties
to reveal her large flower and total or complete body tattoos.
Word of mouth is the best way to find a tattoo artist.
Look at their work. Visit the studio, go several times.
Look around, do you like what you see? Are the work
areas clean? Do the artists seem to be following
guidelines assuring cleanliness? How are they
interacting with the patrons? Make sure that you
consider the tattoo process thoroughly. Having a tattoo
removed can be painful, and costly too.
About the Author Catherine Olivia
To learn more about Tattoos please visit
http://www.tattoo-dragon.info
Who has
a tattoo, and where?
What do you get when you're
a celebrity who has everything? These days, the answer
seems to be a tattoo. No longer the exclusive decoration
of sailors and bikers, tattoos are leaving a permanent
mark on the arms, legs, chests -- and other body parts
-- of a growing number of celebrities and
non-celebrities. Depending on your point of view,
tattoos are vulgar or vogue, shocking or sexy,
degenerate or de rigueur. As tattooing's appeal catches
on across the country it's becoming obvious that there's
more to this trend than meets the eye.
Total or
Complete Body Tattoo
Part of tattooing renewed allure is the rebellious
image portrayed by many who have one. "Rap culture
has a lot to do with it," says Jacci Gresham, a tattoo
artist in New Orleans. The majority of her clients are
under the age of 25. "They see these rappers on TV and
want to be like them. They copy the clothes, the speech,
so why not the tattoos?"
Tattoos also adorn the
muscles of many athletes, including 35 percent of those
in the NBA,
and grace the curves of a
growing number of starlets and recording artists. As
part of her latest makeover, Janet Jackson has several
tattoos, including one on her lower back and another
below the bikini line.
Actress Halle Berry sports a
tattoo on her rear end (a sunflower that covers
ex-husband David Justice's name) and has been seen
wearing a temporary one around her navel, Rappers Sean
(Puffy) Combs and Mase both have real tattoos.
Singer
Mary J. Blige has several, including her name around one
arm and a rose on her thigh. As far as we know,
basketball sensation Michael Jordan doesn't have a
tattoo, but his teammate Dennis Rodman has a total of
22.
Despite a resurgence in popularity, tattoos are not
for everyone. In most states, you must be at least
18 or have a parent's permission to legally get one.
Doctors stress that tattoo parlors should be sanitary
and the artists must use clean instruments to
prevent spreading disease and infection.
Experts say the process of having ink injected into
the skin with multiple needles can range from a
mildly irritating experience to an excruciating ordeal.
Also, artists who haven't been formally trained and
operate without a license should be avoided.
"You don't want someone who isn't licensed
injecting ink into your skin," advises Dr. Janee
Steinberg, M.D., a cosmetic surgeon in Lauderdale Lakes,
Fla. Actress Lisa Nicole Carson got her first tattoo on
impulse. "
Devil Tatto on the upper Back
It was raining," she explains. "I was hanging out
in Alphabet City [in New York City] and a guy named
Jack Daniels convinced me to do it."
Like many other celebrities, the star of Eve's Bayou and
FOX television's Ally McBeal couldn't stop with just one
and now has three other tattoos "sprinkled" around her
body. Upper back tattoos are also very popular.
At 19, musician Lenny Kravitz got his first tattoo.
His mother (the late actress Roxie Roker) wasn't easily
dismayed by her son's wild antics, but even she was
taken aback. "She was shocked because it was so big,"
says Kravitz, "but after awhile, I think she dug it."
The elaborate image of a Japanese dragon took weeks to
complete. He went on to get seven more, including his
favorite, the words "My Heart Belongs to Jesus Christ"
inscribed on his back.
Showing off a tattoo means showing some skin, and for
many that baring of flesh adds to the sex appeal.
However, tattoos don't work for everyone. "I
think tattoos are sexy on some people, or at
least interesting," says Carson. "On other
people, it's just corny."
Kravitz agrees. "I think a tattoo can be very
sexy, depending on where you put it."
The most popular place to get a tattoo is the upper
arm. Following closely behind are the chest, ankle,
shoulder, calf and back. In recent years, celebrities
also have begun sporting tattoos on their wrists,
stomachs and rear ends.
The types of tattoos are just as intriguing as their
locations. According to Gresham, the average Black
client tends to get the traditional Black panther (men),
rose (women) or names of loved ones, but celebrities
tend to take more creative chances. "You see a lot of
symbolic designs," says Gresham. Tribal patterns, Asian
symbols and beautifully rendered portraits are common.
For most, the tattoos have a personal or spiritual
significance. "It doesn't make any sense to have tattoos
that don't have meaning," Gresham believes. "You can't
just wash it off; it will always be a part of you."
What if you experience buyer's remorse? You could
try heavy makeup, or hire a tattoo artist to cover it up
with a new one. If you experience an allergic reaction
to the dye or decide the tattoo isn't you, new
technology can erase it. Tattoos can be permanently
removed without leaving a scar. Experts use special
laser lights that break the ink into smaller particles,
which are then absorbed by the body and flushed out of
the skin.
For people who like the look but can't make the
commitment, fake tattoos are a painless and temporary
solution. Stick-on versions can be detailed and
colorful, but they don't fool anyone at close range.
Another option is mehndi. "Why make a commitment to a
tattoo if you feel unsure about it?" says Loretta Roome,
a trained mehndi artist and author of Mehndi:
The
Timeless Art of Henna Painting. A 5,000-year-old art
form originating in Egypt, mehndi is the practice of
drawing patterns onto the skin with an all-natural henna
dye. Roome has painted intricate designs on supermodel
Naomi Campbell and superstar Madonna, among others. With
mehndi, her clients have body art that looks permanent
and can be reapplied or replaced when the original
fades.
The types of people who come in for tattoo are
"extreme," says Roome. "It even blows my
mind. We've done a lot of women in their 70s
side-by-side with people in their 20s.
Whether permanent or pretend, the allure of tattooing is
more than skin deep. As a constant symbol of rebellion
and personal expression, those who take the plunge and
get a permanent tattoo should be prepared to deal with
the consequences.
"Tattoos are for life," says Gresham. "If you can't
accept that, you have no business getting one in the
first place."
Author Melissa Ewey COPYRIGHT Johnson Publishing Co. and Gale Group
It's
not the tattoo, but where you put it,
Few subjects arouse more heated arguments than the
ancient tribal art of tattooing. An Australian friend
whose husband has just run off with his busty blonde
secretary, whose whippet was flattened by a truck and
whose job with a fashion magazine has just folded, rang
in tears the other night to tell me that none of these
setbacks compared with the anguish she was presently
feeling having just discovered that her 16-year-old son
had had an elephant tattooed on his arm.
What sort of elephant, I asked, Indian or African, for I
have only lately discovered the difference. Indian
elephants have neat, floppy ears whereas African ones
have those huge, surprised ears the shape of fig leaves
It was not the right
response. Catherine said furiously that the
nationality of the elephant was irrelevant.
Frankly, it wouldn't have made any difference to
the way she felt if the tattoo had
Angelina Jolie Tiger Tattoo
been of a jumbo jet. It was the fact that
Oliver, her beautiful son with the physique of a
Greek god and skin as smooth and supple as a
baby's, had permanently violated his young body
and would never be the same again. Oliver, it
turned out, has joined a rugby club in Melbourne
whose logo is an elephant, which apparently is
the reason that Caleb Ralph has had his left arm
tattooed with the fern insignia of the New
Zealand All BlacksCaleb who? you might say as I did when a TV producer
sounding all of 13 telephoned this morning to ask, in
view of the news that the Queen's granddaughter is
dating an All Blacks rugby player with a tattoo,
called Caleb Ralph, would I be prepared to take part in
a late-night chat show about the social and
psychological implications of body painting. No I
wouldn't, I said, and might have added that I couldn't
give a stuff if Zara Phillips was walking out with a
cross- dressing accountant with a parrot.
As a matter of fact, I do know a bit about tattoos.
Two of my daughters have them. One has an elongated
Egyptian eye on her hip, though don't ask me why. When
she showed it to me, it reminded me of a haddock I had
just seen on the fishmonger's slab. The other has a rose
behind her ear and a star on the inside of her wrist
where she says it doesn't show. This surely defeats the
point of having it at all, I would have thought, but, as
my daughter would be the first to point out, I am stuffy
and old- fashioned and don't appreciate the finer points
of style.
Tattoos, once the domain of rough, tough macho blokes -
sailors with mermaids on their chests, truckers with
"love" and "hate" on their knuckles, gangsters with
black dashes round their throats and the instruction to
"cut along the dotted line", are now eagerly sought
after by fashion-conscious young women.
Most of my daughters' friends have a tattoo somewhere,
usually a flower or Chinese star sign not so big like
the full body tattoo of this Japanese Lady here, and I'm
reliably
informed that Victoria Beckham has "good luck" in
Chinese tattooed on her buttock. Her husband has eight,
including his children's names and Victoria in Sanskrit
on his back, though apparently it is spelt wrong. Robbie
Williams has the musical notation of "All You Need Is
Love" - crochets, quavers, demi-semi-quavers, all
careering across his stomach. I did hear of a man who
had his entire back tattooed as if the skin had been
removed and you could see all the ligaments, bones and
organs replicated underneath.
It cost a fortune because there were so many colours,
took three months and hurt like hell, but he said it was
worth it. Forget the social and psychological
implications of body painting. What about the
straightforward pain. By pure coincidence. someone
showed me a junk-mail brochure he had been sent in the
post with examples of various saucy new tattoos
currently on offer. It's one thing to have a swarm of
bees tattooed on your shoulder, where your skin is
relatively tough, but where the brochure was suggesting
it should go - above the caption "Bees round the
honeypot" - it looked horribly painful.
Years ago when I first came to London, I got lost one
day in the maze of streets around King's Cross and found
myself outside a door marked Jock's Tattoo Studio. What
an eye-opener. Jock, a massive, bearded Glaswegian who
looked as if he ate
Japanese Lady with Full Body Tattoo
sheep whole, was making a pretty good fist of
reproducing the roof of the Sistine Chapel on a
scrawny young man's even scrawnier back. Was it
the most difficult tattoo he'd ever done, I
asked.
No, said Jock, he'd once been asked to tattoo a
Scotsman's testicles tartan.
Author
SUE
ARNOLD
Copyright Independent Newspapers UK Limited Provided by
ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights
Reserved.
Athletes Tell
The Meaning Behind Their Tattoos
As star athletes play in coliseums, areas and stadiums
across the country, their fans can't help noticing the
growing number of tattoos that adorn their bulging
biceps and other muscle-laden limbs.
Tattoos are transforming their classic physiques into
true works of art. Every symbol or phrase holds a
meaning as unique as the famous person it decorates.
Some of today's hottest sports stars reveal why they
chose them and what they mean.
Body Tattoo Group
ALLEN IVERSON:
The NBA's 2001 MVP captivates fans with his electrifying
play and his array of tattoos. Philadelphia 76ers
Iverson displays 16 tattoos that describe his attitude
in life (Only the Strong Survive), on the court, and
ones that are dedicated to his family and friends. On
his left arm, Iverson's nickname, The Answer, is written
above a bulldog, is the Georgetown University
mascot--Iverson's alma mater.
SHAQUILLE O'NEAL:
Taking off his cape to celebrate his back-to-back NBA
championship, O'Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers typified
his Superman tattoo throughout the recent playoffs. In
addition to the "S" inside the emblem, the 7-foot-1,
315-pound superstar has on his massive biceps "Taahairh,"
his daughter's name, and the declarations "The World is
Mine" and "Against the Law."
RAY LEWIS:
One of Super Bowl Champion Ray Lewis' two tattoos is a
panther on his right arm because he loves cats. "I study
them," said Lewis, the NFL's 2001 MVP. "They are
cunning, quick, crafty, intelligent and focused."
Perhaps this exemplifies Lewis' play, a bulldozing
linebacker who earned the Associated Press Defensive
Player of the Year Award last season. Asked if he plans
to get more tattoos, Lewis told JET, "No, my mother
won't let me."
MARCUS CAMBY:
This flourishing strong forward uses symbols to express
himself. The Chinese tattoo on his right shoulder means
"Strive to be your best." The one underneath is a symbol
meaning "Love your family." The sensational Camby of the
New York Knicks got the tattoos about three years ago
and says he doesn't have the same tattoos as anyone
else. "At least not that I know about! I purposely chose
the ones that I did because I wanted them to be
original."
LARRY HUGHES:
This impeccable guard's confident court attitude is
visible on his body. Working magic with a basketball
against his opponents, Hughes has a two-headed dragon
with a magician holding a basketball in the middle
tattooed on his forearm. "This [represents] my skills in
basketball." The human symbol that And I basketball
apparel uses on its clothing is tattooed on his right
arm. "The guy has shorts on and no shirt, holding a
basketball," said Hughes. "That's how we play, shirts
and skins." The Golden State Warrior gains motivation
from the large tattoo on his left arm that is three grim
reapers, a skull and Psalm 26.
YOLANDA GRIFFITH:
At 6-foot-4, this Olympian proudly
wears seven tattoos in the national
spotlight. Varying from animals,
names, numbers and symbols,
Griffith's first tattoo was her
nickname Yo Yo on her right leg.
This painful experience took place
in the girls' locker room at her
high school: a lesson to get her
tattoos professionally done. The
African symbol she wears on her left
arm means "strength, beauty, and
vigilance." Her most recent tattoo
is of a large panther on her right
thigh. "I wanted it for a long time
and it was something I said I was
going to get," Griffith told JET.
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