24.09.2011

Farlige tatoveringer! LES DETTE!

Det å skaffe seg en tatovering har blitt kjempepopulært etter at realityshowet Miami Ink gjorde sitt inntog på TV for noen år siden. Det samme antallet mennesker som ønsker å bli tatovører. Dette har ført til et stort marked for salg av tatoveringsutstyr på internett, og desverre kan hvem som helst kjøpe utstyr.

Og hvorfor synes vi som er profesjonelle utøvere at dette er så fælt? Hva er egentlig galt med å kjøpe seg sitt eget utstyr og kjøre i vei - hvis man er flink til å tegne og har sett hvordan det gjøres på TV og kanskje på en "lær å tatovere" DVD som fulgte med i utstyrspakken?

Jo, nå skal dere høre:

1. Det er ulovlig å tatovere i et lokale som ikke er godkjent av kommunelegen. Det stilles strenge krav til både innredning av lokale, hvilke renholds- og desinfeksjonsrutiner man må ha, hva slags utstyr som må brukes til rengjøring av utstyr og det å kunne veilede kunden i behandling og stell av tatoveringen. Mer info finner du her:

http://lovdata.no/cgi-wift/wiftldles?doc=/app/gratis/www/docroot/for/sf/ho/ho-19980506-0581.html&emne=fris%F8r*&

2. Det er stor forskjell på å bruke en tatoveringsmaskin og en blyant. Maskinen er tung, den må settes opp på riktig måte, riktig fart, riktig avstand på nålen etc etc. I tillegg vibrerer den.. Huden er et helt annet materiale å jobbe på enn papir: Den er sensitiv og hvis man ikke vet hva man driver med og ikke får opplæring og veiledning av en kyndig tatovør er det lett å skape arrdannelse og sår som er utsatt for infeksjon.

3. Det kreves mye dyrt og spesielt utstyr for å holde en tilfredstillende standard i studio, og det er mange ting man kanskje ikke tenker på hvis man driver hjemme, eller som man kanskje ikke har mulighet til å finne ut av på egen hånd uten hjelp fra noen som kjenner til hva, hvor, hvordan og når ting må gjøres for å gjøre tatoveringsprosessen trygg for kunden. Kort fortalt kan man regne med å måtte ut med min. 50000 kr for å tilfredstille krav til utstyr og lokale for å drive tatovering - folk som tatoverer hjemmefra bruker kanskje 2000 kr på ebay for utstyret sitt: Det burde si noe om kvaliteten på arbeidet som kommer fra slike mennesker!

4. Vi er imot hjemmetatovører (eller scratchere som vi kaller dem) fordi de stjeler maten fra bordet vårt. Når folk går og blir tatovert hos folk som gjør det gratis eller billig betyr det at alle vi som driver lovlige studioer (og bruker tid og penger på å holde standarden oppe, har gått i lære i mange år og ikke minst at vi betaler skatten vår som alle andre arbeidstakere) taper penger. Nå kan man argumentere for at de som ender opp med elendige tatoveringer og må få rettet opp eller dekket over disse er jo et marked også - men hvor gøy er det egentlig å måtte rydde opp i dritten etter andre - spesielt når utgangspunktet er elendig er det også vanskelig å gjøre en god jobb som man blir fornøyd med...

5. Standarden og kvaliteten på tatoveringer generelt synker betraktelig. Tatovører som får utdanning i godkjente studioer av kvalifiserte tatovører får masse trening i tegning, kundebehandling, teknikk, vedlikehold etc etc. Folk som sitter hjemme og leker i stua har ikke denne kompetansen og det gjør at det plutselig florerer av stygge tatoveringer, som igjen gir bransjen vår et dårlig rykte: "tatoveringer er stygt" vil mange tro - men det stemmer jo ikke, tatoveringer er kjempefint hvis det er en god tatovering, problemet er jo at folk ikke vet at det finnes fine tatoveringer fordi alt de ser kommer fra idioter som tror de vet hva de driver med!

6. Sist men ikke minst er at det er farlig!!!!! Smittevern og etterbehandling er et fag i seg selv, og folk som sitter hjemme og tatoverer for gøy burde være klar over at det de gjør faktisk kan være livsfarlig. En infeksjon i en tatovering kan bli meget alvorlig dersom det ikke blir behandlet i tide.

Til sist vil vi gjerne vise dere noen bilder av hva man risikerer å sitte igjen med hvis du lar kompisen til fetteren til venninna di løpe løpsk med nåler på deg i kjellerstua til mor:

















Så til alle som har lyst på tatovering: Nå er dere advart!! Det er også desverre slik at et tatoveringsstudio ikke nødvendigvis er hverken godkjent eller holder tilfredstillende standard selv om det fremstår som seriøst. Derfor råder vi alle som har tenkt til å skaffe seg en tatovering til å følge disse rådene:

1. Sjekk at studio er godkjent av helsemyndighetene - be om å få se godkjennelsen dersom den ikke henger synlig i studio.

2. Ta en runde i studio og undersøk tilstanden. Be om å få gå på do og se hvordan renholdet er der - det sier ofte nok om renholdsrutinene. Sjekk at det ser rent ut over alt og at det virker organisert og ryddig.

3. Be om å få se tidligere tatoveringer, be om å få se tegninger som tatovøren har gjort selv. Sjekk opp om studio har et godt rykte og om tidligere kunder har vært fornøyde.

4. Hør på tatovøren din og følg de rådene og veiledningene han/hun kommer med. Hvis du får beskjed om at designet du ønsker ikke kommer til å bli fint, at plasseringen er dårlig etc etc - ta det til etterettning ellers er det fort å angre seg og tenke "fader heller, jeg skulle gjort som han/hun sa" i etterkant. Husk at vi gjør dette hver dag og vet hvilke feller folk går i og hvordan tatoveringen kommer til å utvikle seg ettersom tiden går. Og til sist: Følg nøye instruksjoner om rengjøring og vedlikehold at tatoveringen din!!!

5. Ja, det er dyrt - men det er faktisk kunst som skal sitte på kroppen din resten av livet! Og det er faktisk slik at det koster penger å drive et tatoveringsstudio - dette er yrket vårt og vi skal leve av det. Vil du investere penger i å få et kunstverk du kan være stolt av eller vil du spare penger og risikere å bli skadet og stygt merket i all evighet? Valget er ditt! Moralen er: Du får det du betaler for... Hvis du ikke har råd - vent til du har spart penger og kan skaffe deg noe skikkelig, uansett hvor keen du er på å få blekka deg!

Vi håper at dere synes dette innlegget har vært interessant og nyttig. Hvis dere vet om folk som tatoverer hjemmefra setter vi pris på at dere sier fra til dem at det er ulovlig og uansvarlig, i tillegg kan man melde dem til Norsk Tattoo Union som igjen melder fra til helsemyndighetene: http://www.norsktattoounion.org/home.html

 Å TATOVERE ER ET YRKE - IKKE EN HOBBY


Hjelp oss å holde standarden, kunsten, sikkerheten og miljøet på topp og i live - si nei til hjemmetatovering!

Marked For Life; The story of blood, sweat, tears and tattoo needles! Part 4

My  first weeks as a working apprentice.

As a working apprentice,  I had to bring in a couple of my friends and tattoo them for free so Buzz could see what I was doing and how I worked. He sat over me for a total of two tattoos. He corrected me twice while I was working and told me to do a couple of things different. Basically, everything I knew  at this point was things I learned from Mick, Jason, and Baron. Since Jason was Buzz's son, I knew that all he had learned was from his dad, so I really paid attention when he gave me advice on things. After I was done with the free tattoos, Buzz sat me down and started talking a bit about the equipment I was using. He asked to see my tattoo machines so I handed them over. He threw them straight in the trash! I stared at him in disbelief.  "If you wanna learn to tattoo like us, you have to use the same equipment that we do." (I dug my machines out as soon as he left the room, but never used them after that.) At that time, they were using Spaulding machines- one supreme and one lightweight, or puma. I had already bought myself a Spaulding lightweight, but the power supply that I was using had a minimum output of 30 volts, therefore I couldn't use it because it got really hot and still ran way too fast and hard.

Buzz loaned me a small power supply that he had bought from a man called "Creeper". He said "Guard this with your life, because I don't think he makes these anymore!". He then pulled out a large box full of old tattoo machine parts and dug out a frame for a supreme machine. He then told me to see if I could find the rest of what I needed in the box to make a complete machine. I quickly pulled out the other machine I had and began to work on finding the parts to make another. The next day, also with a little help from Jason, I had the machine all put together. When Buzz saw it he just said, "Happy birthday! Now you have to tune it up. But Jason is better at that than I am so you should talk to him!" Jason helped me tune it up, and basically taught me everything I needed to know about a tattoo machine after that.

At this time, I spent a lot of time making the tattoo needles... the most boring part of tattooing, ever... besides scrubbing tubes. I had to do a lot of that too. The coolest part of being able to make your own needle groups is that you know exactly what you are working with when you use them. This seems to be one of those traditional tattoo rituals that have faded out of existence for many of today's tattooists, as we now buy them in bulks of ready to go laziness in a package and then get pissed if they aren't always perfect.  Other than that, it was a lot of the usual... cleaning and keeping the shop in order, talking to customers and just making sure the place was opened each day on time.

As for tattooing, for me it was more or less a "learn by doing" process. Since it was only Jason and myself, Buzz threw me in straight away. Aside from the regular duties, I spent long hours tattooing. It was never really so busy on weekdays, but on weekends you could kiss your social life goodbye. There were days when we showed up to find people waiting at the door for us and by the time we got them in and situated, more were pouring in. Before then, I wasn't a very talkative or social kind of person but soon, the tattoo shop would become my social life. On weekends it wasn't uncommon to see the sun come up with the sound of machines still steady in the shop. The worst was that sometimes when we were just getting done and should have closed the shop, a new wave of people would show up and want work done... And I was always willing to oblige. (Something you can't really expect out of me now, though! :P)

As for when we weren't so busy, Jason and I continued the long-standing tradition of "bar-hopping". We would go out and hand out our business cards so that people knew who we were and where to find us.

One of my most memorable moments with Jason was on his 18th birthday...
He came in that day and told me that we were gonna do some serious partying that evening! I asked of the occasion and he said it was his birthday and that he was finally "officially legal". Now at this time, Jason looked older than he really was and I had thought that he was a year or two older than me, so I was a little surprised to find out that he wasn't.  Needless to say, we went on an epic "bar-hopping drinking spree"! We, along with Chris Benson (R.I.P.) went to nearly every bar in town (or so it seemed) during the course of the night and along the way, we emptied six bottles of tequila... or at least that was the last number I remembered.  Speaking of remembering things, the next thing I remembered was waking up feeling like I'd been hit by a train and Jason running out the door of his house half naked and screaming something about not being able to find his motorcycle. When I could finally peel myself from the sofa I followed him out and found that my car was parked with the front bumper against the oak tree in the middle of his front yard and his motorcycle was leaning against it on the driver side front fender... neither of us remembered getting there... The only comment I have on that... We are trained jack-asses so don't try this at home! Neither of us have attempted or repeated this amazing feat since!

Stay tuned for more of the story when I can get back and write it, so peace out!
Q:)


Marked For Life; The story of blood, sweat, tears and tattoo needles! Part 3



American Tattoo, 1989-90 continued?

I hung out with Mick for about three months. In that time, I also met Jason, Mr. Buzz's son. He kind of kept the same attitude towards me that his dad did. They acknowledged that I was there, but they didn't pay me a whole lot of attention. At least, that's what I thought at the time. The first chance that I really got to talk to Buzz was when I decided to get a tattoo from him. I decided to get an old nickname tattooed over the top of my right shoulder. I was sitting in the shop and talked to him about it, and he told me to draw it up. I wanted it in the same style of lettering as was used on Motley Crue's album, "Dr. Feelgood". I drew it up and he got all excited about the little skulls and crossbones on each end of it. In the end, he made some changes to it and I was actually glad he did. He made it his own. He wasn't so open about his methods of tattooing as Mick was, but I could see and feel the difference. It hurt more, but I preferred his style. Something about his old school biker demeanor just made you respect him as well. 

Shortly after that, he opened another shop in Mississippi which was 2 hours away. He and Jason spent most of their time there and then came another artist known as "The Baron" or just Baron as we called him. He was from New York, he was big, he was loud, and for me, he was downright intimidating. I spent some time talking to him here and there and still doing a lot of drawing for him and Mick when I could be there. But at this point, I was getting quite a reputation for myself as a "tattooist?". I was tattooing my friends on my days off and they were out showing off my work, which in turn, brought more people to my door.
Keep in mind that this was over 20 years ago, and at that time, tattoo artists and shops were few and far between. Also at that time, tattooing was not near as socially accepted as it is today. In fact, there were still a lot of tattooists that thought latex gloves were cool just because they didn't have to wash the colors off their hands when they were done (never mind all the other funky shit they got on them).

In the meantime, I realized that tattooing was something that I wanted to take seriously, so I quit my job on the boats and looked for something a little more "inland". In the end, I found a job at Wal-Mart, of all places. I was basically a janitor... cleaning floors and doing maintenance work from 10 at night til 7 in the morning. Around 1 in the afternoon, it was time to sling some ink. Within 6 months, I was stressing to get done with the last tattoo so I wouldn't be late for "work".



Just about the time I was starting to rethink my situation of working in some form or another for 15 to 17 hours a day, I got a phone call from Jason. His dad was offering me a "learn as you work" apprenticeship.
Well... he didn't have to ask me twice! I went to Wal-Mart that evening and told them that it was my last night working for them. The next day, without sleeping, I took the hour drive to Houma to talk to Buzz. When I got there, I found out that both Mick and Baron had quit and the shop was closed for almost a week. Incidentally, Mick called me 3 days later to tell me that he and Baron had opened a shop in Cut Off... across the bayou from my mother's house (practically across the street).

One day when I had some time off, my younger brother and I decided to go in and say hello to them. By this time, they had heard that I was working for Buzz and both of them basically started dogging me for it. They were pissed because I didn't drop everything and come and work for them. But as I told them, I was grateful for what they've helped me with, but at the same time, it was Buzz's shop that I learned it in. Not to mention, all the work I had done for them in drawing designs, cleaning up the shop for them sometimes... and nearly getting my nose broke once. As an argument was getting started, I looked down at a portfolio of artwork on the table in front of me. It was Baron's and there was the sailor's crucifix that I drew up for Mick's customer a few months earlier. It was near identical to the first that I drew and signed by Baron. When I called him on it, he said, "What? I added a rope to the anchor!" Then he went into a fit and started yelling at me... "You think you're somebody, you little bastard, but you ain't shit! Maybe in 5 years you'll learn something, but maybe you can get a job cutting hair!" I thought to myself, "Where the hell did that come from? Cutting hair?". Then my brother, who was 15 at the time, cut in... "Quentin's already better than you, so maybe you can learn something from him in 5 years!" I started to laugh! It didn't go over too well. Baron retaliated with, "This is my shop, and it's my bayou now, so both of you get the hell out of here and don't ever come back!" As we left, I told him, "You might think it's your bayou, but I'm local and we'll see how far that New York attitude gets you, down here! Good F#cking luck, pal!" Mick never said a word... which seemed odd to me, but on the other hand, that was Mick. 

The next day at work, I was sitting with Jason and telling him about what happened. Suddenly, four bikers came pulling up at the front door of the shop. Two of the men waited outside in front of the door while the other two came in. One of them was a man we knew as "Pumpkin" or "Pun'kin" as we said it. He was huge and made a full size Harley Davidson look like a Honda rebel 250 when he sat on it... and trust me, that wasn't his scariest quality. He got in an argument with someone and the man pulled out a 357 magnum and shot him in the face. He was missing an eye and half his nose and the fact that he survived from it, told you that he was one tough fothermucker! And he just walked through the door and asked for me... by name. Somehow, I knew they weren't here to invite me to dinner.     As I stood up and introduced myself, he poked his finger in my chest and said, "Who the hell do you think you are, walking into my tattoo shop and saying that you own the bayou?"

Hmm... What goes through your mind when this happens? To be honest... there's not much that doesn't go through your mind. I figured an ass-whoopin' was coming one way or the other, so I might as well speak my piece and take it like a man. And I told him that. Then, I basically explained it just like I wrote it a few lines back. He just stared at me... for a minute... through his one eye... then he said, "Let's get one thing straight... It's my bayou and my tattoo shop, and I don't wanna hear about you setting foot in that place again. You got that?" Well, I'd pretty much made up my mind on that the day before... But I wasn't gonna tell him that. So I just said, "Easy enough!"
Let's face it, if the president of the local bike club is pissed at you and he claims he owns the whole damned world... you can safely assume that he does. But when someone else "stretched the truth" (about 28 miles (which was the distance he had to drive to whip my ass... in which he was either disappointed or relieved that he didn't (more about that later...), I'm sure somebody is going to hear it in the end!

At any rate, when it was said and done, Jason and I just stared at each other... Both of us were a little shocked at what just happened. He called his dad and told him about it. Buzz's reply: "Did anyone get hurt or shot?... Nope...? There's probably nothing to worry about, then! Just try to avoid this sort of thing in the future!" 

Let's just say that "avoiding this sort of thing" was going to be a challenge due to upcoming events? :P






Until next time... May the force be with you... :P
Q :)



P.s. Here's a pic of me and my younger brother... This was taken right about the time we visited that tattoo shop... :P


Marked For Life; The story of blood, sweat, tears and tattoo needles! Part 2

Well, it's been hectic times lately but I've finally found the time to write the next chapter... this is where it began for me as a tattoo artist...
One day a friend came to me and asked if I could design a tattoo for him, and of course, I graciously complied! The thought of someone wanting a tattoo of something that I drew up myself... Well, that was just awesome! So we sat down and drew out a design that consisted of a dragon and some skulls and the remains of an old jailcell that had broken walls. It was a cool concept at the time and a very typical jailbird design. When we were done, he ran off to the nearest parlor (again, at least an hour away) to get it done. Apparently, the complexity and size of the tattoo had added up to quite a price so he came back to me and said that it was a little rich for his blood. Then of course, he came up with the idea that since it was my art, I should do the tattoo. 

At this time, another friend had turned me on to some tattoo magazines that she had laying around. In one of those magazines was an article about a man named Jack Rudy. There was a few pictures of some portraits that he'd done. Among them was a portrait of Jack Nicholson from the movie "The Shining". It was "f@cking amazing!" For what we were seeing in our area, it gave a new outlook on what one could do with a tattoo machine if one had the talent to apply. As for my friend wanting the tattoo from me, I told him I would look into the cost of a tattoo machine and some supplies. Since he'd sat in a bit, he said "Oh don't worry about that! I'll show you how to make one!" In which he did... we didn't have any ink to use for it, and when he was supposed to come back a few days later with some... well he never showed up, and that was the last I'd heard of him. I can only wonder about what ever happened to him.

Needless to say, the little home-made tattoo machine got put away in a drawer for about a month until one day when another friend came over. We were piddling around with something and needed a screwdriver so I sent him to the "junk drawer" to find one. He came back with a little contraption in his hand and said, "Is this what I think it is?" And indeed it was. "Have you tried it? You got some ink? What about needles?" A flood of questions came out of it. To which the answer to all of it was pretty much "no". He ran off and about half an hour later came back with an art pad and some india ink. "I want to do this on my arm!" and he showed me a drawing that he did that consisted of a large flaming skull surrounded by a group of smaller skulls. We had no idea how a stencil worked, so I freehanded with an ink pen... which started to disappear after the first few lines. In the end, the design ended up nearly all freehand with the machine (which by the way, was a really slow piece of shit!). I'm not sure how long that thing took, but time didn't seem to matter.
I ended up doing about 6 or maybe 7 tattoos with the "contraption" as it was affectionately called. It was difficult, as I had to make a new needle and tube setup for each person I used it on. And I must say that my friends and I were very lucky that we were so stupid yet so fortunate as to not end up with infections or worse. 

After those 6 or 7 tattoos, I decided to go to a tattoo studio, (or parlor, as it was called then) and talk to them about an apprenticeship. I drove to Houma, Louisiana and there, I found only one.

American Tattoo: Houma, Louisiana
1989

When I walked in, I was greeted by a tall, slim, biker-looking type... his name was Adam West (like the original "Batman" and the mayor of Quahong on the "Family Guy", believe it or not:P) He was just a guest artist, passing through. I asked if the boss was there and he told me to wait and he went out the back door. When he came back in, he was followed by an older, scruffy biker gent who was wiping motor oil off his hands. He introduced himself as "Mr. Buzz". I told him that I wanted to be a tattoo artist and I was looking for an apprenticeship. I also told him that I'd done a little work with a home-made machine but I wanted to learn to do it with the real deal. He told me "First off, if you wanna learn it right, bring me a thousand dollars, an art portfolio and ten sheets of hand-drawn flash. And if you insist on still using that home-made shit, here's a stack of business cards to hand to your customers. Then they'll know where to get it fixed! Second; you can just come and get a lot of work done and maybe you'll learn something... or maybe not? Either way, it'll cost you around a thousand dollars." He smiled and went back to whatever he was workin' on out back. In an effort not to be discouraged, I stuck around to check out the portfolios of those who were working there and look at all the flash on the walls. After a little while, Adam finally came over and asked me what kind of stuff I liked to draw? "Whatever people ask me to!" was my reply. He asked if I had any tattoos, and at that time I only had three, which I had done myself... He took a look at them and told me he was actually impressed (by at least two of them... The third, is being covered by Vilde). 

A month or so later, I had come back to get my first professional tattoo. This time, there was another guy working there alone. His name was Mick Nickles. As I was talking to him, a guy that I went to school with came in and asked for a custom design. He asked Mick if it was ok that I try to sketch something out for him and it was fine with Mick since it was less stress for him. The design was a "sailor's crucifix" which consists of a cross, anchor and ship"s wheel. Mick was blown away that I pulled that off in 15 minutes and gave him a tattooable design. It was simple, clean, and all you had to do was shade it in. I let Mick do the other guy first and when it was my turn, we got to talk about tattooing and I got to pay close attention to what he was doing. That was about the time that I had just gotten a set of "actual" tattoo machines, a sterilizer, inks, and some tubes and needles. I was working on tug boats at the time, so I worked for 2 or 3 weeks at a time and then had a week off in between. Which I usually spent in the tattoo shop, hanging around and drawing for Mick. Buzz came in from time to time and seen some of my drawings and didn't seem to mind that I was there... He still handed me more business cards and told me "You know what to do with them!" :P

Meanwhile, Mick and I were getting to be quite good friends. I didn't drink at the time, so I didn't mind going out with him and driving him from bar to bar. As I was also learning at that time, that "barhopping" was a tattoo artist's favorite passtime activity! ;) The only real problem was that Mick drank a lot... which was usually followed by a bad case of "diarrea of the mouth" on his part. He'd get drunk and couldn't shut up, so I'd always have to talk "our" way out of a fight, or fight "my" way out of a bar... whereas Mick was already waiting in the car when the talking or fighting was done. :P

Whatever the case, I got to hang out where I wanted to be, and Mick gave up lots of secrets. And all I had to do was draw (and drive... and occasionally take one to the jaw)! :P

Stay tuned for more action and adventure..!
Rock out and keep on rollin? on!
Q

Marked For Life; The story of blood, sweat, tears and tattoo needles! Part 1

Hmmm... where to begin when one tries to explain how it began? From the beginning? BOORRING!
Tattoos! That's where it begins...

My father was a sailor and he had a number of tattoos. As a child, I was fascinated by the fact that they never washed off. As I got older and understood what they were, I was more and more positive that I wanted one too. My dad was cool and I wanted to be like him... His response was basically... "If you turn out like me, I'll kick your ass... no tattoos!" He never layed a hand on me in my life, but somehow, I took him seriously! Still, there was this obsession... art that you take with you... expression... commitment. Once you've expressed yourself, you can't take it back... you wear it on your sleeve for life (no pun intended)! Growing up, I loved to sit with a pencil or pen in my hand and doodle around. Through all the years of growing up and just plain growing, all the changes in interest, there was only two things that remained the same... art and the fact that I wanted a tattoo.

Aside from my dad, the only others in my family that had tattoos was my two uncles who have a couple of parrots on their forearms.I think they were done in the 60's or early 70's. One of my uncles had actually hand poked a tattoo on my mom (my dad's initials). When I was twelve, my youngest uncle came home with a tattoo. It was a devil's head with an iron cross... it was quite a bit different from the pinups and parrots of my dad and other uncles... Incidently., he contracted hepatitis from it. It was a point and a reminder that tattoos aren't always safe. Everyone freaked out when he had to go in quarrantine for 2 weeks... I still remember my great grandmothers words... "Now he done tattooed da devil on him an' he's gonna die!" Pretty serious shit to hear when you are 12...lol.  Still it didn't deter the obsession... I still wanted one.

When I was 16, the older brother of a friend came home with a new tattoo... I don't remember exactly what it was, but I remember that it wasn't that cool of a design. We asked where he had got it and he told us it was from the bar across the bayou. Now there was an old man tattooing in the back room at the "Welcome In". The closest other tattoo parlor was at least an hour away so if you don't have a car and short of money, you won't get far... so me and a friend went to see old man "Frank". When we got to the bar it was no problem to come in... It was dark and a little creepy... Only the bar and pool tables were lit up. There was 3 people at the bar, the bartender and the sound of something buzzing away coming from a half open door to the left. I had my design in hand and was ready to take the leap. As we walked through the door, I met this little old guy hunched down and grinding on his suffering customer... when he turned to greet us, the first thing that got my attention was was the super-thick cokebottle eyeglasses he was wearing (man, those things were probably bulletproof)... Then I could see the piece that he was working on and blood starting to drip down the side of the guys chest from the tattoo... This was the only place you could get tattooed before you were 18... I thought to myself, "It's probably not a bad idea to wait a couple of years!" Needless to say... We quickly found the door.

To be continued......

Rock out, but don't roll over!   Q:)

23.09.2011

Tattoo symbolikk - part IV - Minnetatoveringer

Da er det dags for et lite dykk i symbolikkens verden igjen.
Forrige gang fikk jeg forespørsel om å skrive noe om minnetatoveringer, så da tar jeg for meg det temaet idag. Er det noen som har ønsker om å vite mer om ulike motiver etc så kom gjerne med forslag under kommentarene!

MINNETATOVERINGER
Å minnes noen man har mistet - og å bære dette minne med seg resten av livet er en fin tradisjon, og det er ikke uvanlig at folk velger å ta en tatovering i denne sammenhengen. Valg av motiv, plassering etc er noe man må gjøre selv, men jeg vil ta for meg noen praktiske råd i forbindelse og se på noen motiver som er vanlige til minnetatoveringer.
Det første man må tenke nøye gjennom hvis man vurderer en slik tatovering er om man faktisk har lyst til å bære det minne så tydelig resten av livet. Sorg tar tid å bearbeide og har ulike stadier ettersom tiden går. I begynnelsen vil de fleste ha sterke følelser som oftest avtar med tid. Derfor er mitt viktigste råd at man venter en god stund før man tar en avgjørelse selv om det kanskje er noe man har lyst til å gjøre umiddelbart kan det godt hende at man senere vil angre på en forhastet avgjørelse og tatoveringen kan bringe frem vonde minner som man ellers ville ha lagt bak seg.

Har man mistet nære  familiemedlemmer er det naturlig å tro at en vil bære en slik tatovering uten å angre - familien din vil jo alltid være en del av deg. Men har man mistet f.eks. en partner bør man vurdere om å bære dette på kroppen kan påvirke fremtidige forhold på en negativ måte.
Det er også vanlig med portrett eller poteavtrykk av kjæledyr man har mistet - det er jo alltid sørgelig å miste en god kompanjong og kan være et hyggelig minne som kanskje ikke blir fullt så 'alvorlig' som om man mister en person - og som neppe vil skape vanskelige situasjoner senere i livet. Her er et bilde av et portrett (forøvrig mitt første) jeg gjorde av hunden til Shannon (Qs lillebror) når vi var i USA nå i julen.



Hvis man bestemmer seg for en minnetatovering er den første avgjørelsen valg av motiv. Min anbefaling er at man tenker nøye gjennom hvem denne personen var og hvilke minner og ting man husker som positive i det forholdet man har hatt til vedkommende. Det kan også være en god ide å snakke med noen av de andre personene som sitter igjen for å få innspill fra flere som kjente den avdøde.
Plassering av tatoveringen er også viktig å tenke nøye gjennom. Slike tatoveringer er jo veldig personlige og det er ikke sikkert at man vil synes det er ok å bli spurt 'hva betyr tattooen din' i tide og utide. Samtidig er det jo noe man skal bære med stolthet og kanskje har lyst til at skal være synlig - men tenk hvertfall nøye gjennom hvor tilgjengelig dette skal være for resten av verden og husk at den vil alltid være der.

VANLIGE MOTIVER I MINNETATOVERINGER
Mange av motivene som blir valgt i minnetatoveringer er ganske vanlige motiver, så husk at dersom noen har et av disse motivene betyr ikke dette nødvendigvis at det er en minnetatovering :)
Korset er vel kanskje det vanligste - og da gjerne med banner med navn evnt. datoer etc.



Praying hands, evnt. med bønnekrans og banner er også vanlig som minnetatovering.Her er et par jeg har laget:



Mange velger også et hjerte - gjerne da et 'flaming heart' og oftest også med banner rundt.



Engler og englevinger står også høyt på listen. Her er en liten en jeg lagde på Caroline som hun tok for å minnes pappaen sin :)




Blomster er en klassiker. Roser og liljer er de vanligste typene.



Portrett av foreldre og besteforeldre ser vi også mye av - en av de mest kjente portrett tatoveringene er kanskje den Kat Von D gjorde på en veninne hvor bestefaren sier 'Mona - get me a beer' hvorpå hun repliserer ' Get it yourself' he he.. godt å ha humor! Fant desverre kun et bilde av 'bestefaren'...



Ellers velger jo mange mer personlige motiver som kanskje ikke nødvendigvis gir noe mening for andre enn en selv.
Har noen av dere en minnetatovering? I såtilfelle hva og evnt hvorfor - om dere kunne tenke å dele det med resten av oss :)
Dett var dett for idag - kom gjerne med tilbakemeldinger eller forslag til hva jeg kan ta for meg i neste runde.
Peace out and in loving memory of those we lost!
-v

Tattoo symbolikk - part III - BLOMSTER

På ann igjen som Eggum sier :) I dag vil jeg skrive litt om blomster og symbolikken rundt ulike varianter.


ROSEN
En av de mest brukte blomstene i tatoveringer - dette er en klassiker :) Den er et eldgammelt symbol på skjønnhet og kjærlighet. Rosene var hellige og representerer flere ulike gudommeligheter, bl.a. Isis, venus og Afrodite.
Tidlige kristne brukte roser med 5 kronblader som et symbol på de fem sårene Jesus ble påført på kroppen under korsfestelsen.
Rosen er nasjonalblomsten til Storbritannia og USA. Den er ofte brukt som symbol på sosialisme, gjerne sammen med en hånd.
I noen naturreligioner og mytologier mente man at 'the undead' eller spøkelser - spesielt vampyrer, ikke kunne krysse en sti av ville roser. Man trodde også at ved å plasserer en villrose på kisten til en avdød hindrer man denne fra å 'gå igjen'.
Rosen er også et symbol på stillhet.
Ifølge bibelen var rosene i Edens hage opprinnelig hvite, men 'rødmet' av skam pga syndefallet slik at de fikk farger :P




LILJEN
Denne blomsten har mange ulike assosiasjoner - alt fra døden, livet, kjærlighet og sensualitet ++ Og seff, et populært tattoo motiv :)
Liljen er mye brukt i kristendommen - bl.a. for å symbolisere tro, overgivelse til Guds vilje.  Den ble brukt under fjell-prekenen (igjen - mine religionskunnskaper er meget begrenset, don't shoot the messenger).. Liturgisk sett representerer den  påsken, Jesus, gjenoppstandelsen og evig liv.
Brukes ofte i forbindelse med begravelser og assosieres ofte med døden og renhet. Brukes ofte i minnetatoveringer.
I middelalderen og renessansen var blomstersymbolikk nesten et språk i seg selv. På den tiden ble liljen brukt som et symbol på renhet, kyskhet og uskyldighet. Hvite liljer representerer Jomfru Maria. Engelen Gabriel er ofte avbildet mens han overrekker en lilje til Maria i forbindelse med at han opplyste henne om at hun var smelt på tjukka av vårherre :P
Liljens er også en frodig, tropisk og sensuell blomst med former som lett gir assosiasjoner... så den er kanskje ikke så uskyldig som folk skal ha det til...?



En populær variant er 'Fleur de Lis' eller 'Livets Lilje' om du vil. Det finnes varianter av dette symbolet helt tilbake til oldtiden og det figurerer i så å si alle kulturer og deler av verden, både i fortid og nåtid.
Ofte brukt av adelen i Europa og ofte assosiert med kongelige. Også mye brukt i ulike våpenskjold og flagg.
I Kristendommen settes den gjerne i sammenheng med Salomos høysang. Sett på som et symbol på tro, visdom og ridderlighet.
Også kalt 'Flower of light' - navnet antas å stamme fra det arkaiske språk: Fleur-de-luce, latin: lux-luc = lys.



LOTUSBLOMSTEN
Er et mye brukt symbol i asiatiske tradisjoner og er hyppig sett i japanske og orientalske tatoveringer.
Lotusen står sentralt i hinduismen og buddhismen, både som offergave og symbol på skaperkraft og begynnelse så vel som et symbol på renhet. Lotusliljen har sine røtter i gjørme som symboliserer ondskap, mens selve blomsten vokser over vannet og symboliserer opplysning.
Representerer gudommelig skjønnhet, de gradvis åpnede bladene er et bilde på utvidelse av ånd og sjel. Kan også bety seksuell tilbakeholdenhet og uavhengighet.




That was it for today folks! Kom gjerne med tilbakemeldinger eller ønsker hvis det er noe dere har lyst at vi skal skrive om!
Peace out!
-v

Tattoo symbolikk - part II - STJERNER

STJERNER
Det finnes mange ulike varianter at dette motivet med en stor variasjon av betydninger. Sånn helt grunnleggende er vi jo avhengige av en stjerne for å eksistere - nemlig solen! Så jeg vil vel tørre å påstå at stjernen representerer grunnlaget for alt liv på jordkloden. Her er en oversikt over noen vanlige stjerner:
Den 4-kantede stjernen har sterk tilknytning til mange indianske stammer og blir ofte assosiert med indianeres stolthet og identitet.




Det er også Betlehemsstjernen og symboliserer jesu fødsel og betydningen/hensikten med det. Ofte brukt i jule- og adventstider.



Den 5-kantede stjernen, enten som bare en solid stjerne, en stjerne med kun linjer rundt, en nautisk variant eller et pentagram (hvor linjene går gjennom symbolet sammenhengende) har mange mytiske og magiske betydninger og er vel den mest 'kjente' og brukte formen.
Den første varianten - en 'solid' stjerne  er den mest vanlige formen for å symbolisere en stjerne. Det blir ofte sett på som et symbol på positivitet og ambisjon. I den vestlige verden er det også ofte satt i sammenheng med militær makt og krig. Mange kommunistiske land bruker bl.a. dette symbolet - ofte sammen med en sigd og hammer.



En stjerne som kun er 'outlined' er et gammelt symbol brukt av hedninger og i forbindelse med 'hekseri' - den overordnede betydningen er søken etter gudommelig kunnskap og livets betydning. Hver av taggende representerer hhv. jord, ild, vann, luft og ånd - altså 5 elementer.





Pentagrammet var originalt et symbol på de ti jødiske stammene som brøt ut fra makteliten med Judah, Benjamin og prestene i spissen. ((Min kunnskap om kristen historie er begrenset - så don't kill the messenger om dette er feil...)) Dette symbolet ble 'kopiert' av satanister og snudd på hodet for å representere 'dragen' eller 'geita' om du vil - altså djevelen. Legger man til en sirkel rundt pentagrammet blir dette et symbol brukt av iseralitter som symboliserer døden - bokstaven 'samek'.






Den nautiske stjernen er mest velkjent som et sjømanns merke - de gamle sjøfarerne navigerte ut fra stjernene og brukte derfor dette symbolet til å representere veien hjem og et håp om en trygg reise. I dag brukes ofte i bl.a. den amerikanske marinen med samme betydning.
Symbolet ble også brukt av lesbiske samfunn for å vise at de var lesbiske - ofte tatovert på innsiden av håndledet slik at den kunne skjules enkelt på dagtid - men vises frem i nattens mulm og mørke for å finne likesinnede.
Punkere er en annen gruppe som har adoptert symbolet - men mye av den samme betydningen som det har hatt orginalt - en ledende stjerne som viser vei...




Den 6-kantede stjernen (hexagram) har eksistert helt siden bronsealderen og hadde en magisk betydning - en obskur variant er at den er et symbol på den hedenske guden 'the Star of Remphan (satan).



Men den mest kjente varianten er nok davidstjernen - adoptert offisielt av jødene som et symbol på deres samfunn og religion på 1700 tallet. Den representerer balanse og skjønnhet.



Den 7-kantede stjernen (septagram) som er relativt sjelden ( i tatoveringer ) er bl.a. grunnlaget for geometrien i 'Le Basilique de Saint Quentin' som representerer den perfekte mann.



Den er også et symbol på feer og alver. Den representerer magi og spirituelle plasser og blir av mange oppfattet som et symbol på nettopp magi og også barndommen.




Mange sheriffer og politimenn bruker gjerne dette symbolet i USA.


Sist men ikke minst er jo tallet 7 ofte ansett som et lykketall: lucky 7 - 7 farger i regnbuen - de 7 verdensvidundrene etc, så man må vel kunne si at denne stjernen er en 'lucky star'!
Den 8-kantede stjernen (octogram) er i dag brukt i USA som et symbol på brannvesenet og er populært blant brannmenn i dette landet.




Det er et symbol på 'korset' til St. John.




Og det er emblemet til Ridderne av Malta og ble brukt under korstogene. De åtte kantene representerer riddernes verdier: Taktfullhet, utholdenhet, tapperhet, lojalitet, fingerferdighet, Tact, Perseverance, Gallantry, Loyalty, Dexterity, Eksplisitet, Observasjon og sympati.




Det er også kalt mye brukt i den arabiske verden og symboliserer forskjønning.Gjerne også sett på som den arabiske stjernen: Rub el Hibz




En annen variant er 'the star of lakshmi' som er et hinduistisk symbol for åtte former for rikdom og gudinnen Lakshmi.



Såh - det var det jeg kunne finne om stjerner - husk at dette er undersøkelser jeg har gjort på nettet, og jeg kan ikke garantere at det medfører riktighet, men det er vel interessant kunnskap uansett :)
Peace out folkens - ha en strålende helg!
-v

Tattoo symbolikk

Sommerfuglen
Sommerfuglens livsforløp fra larve til puppe ((fnis - pupp)) til fullvoksen sommerfugl symboliserer for mange en overgang, modning, utvikling, metamorfose etc.. Grekerne så den som et symbol på sjelens vandring fra den jordiske form til den åndelige, mens japanerne på sin side bruker sommerfuglens befrielse fra puppen som en metafor for jenters overgang til ung kvinne. Indianerne i Nord Amerika bruker sommerfuglen som et symbol på vekst og forandring.




Kirsebærblomst
Denne vakre blomsten blir i japan sett på som et symbol for livet: syklusen fra knopp til full blomst - en persons produktive år - til den uungåelige avblomstringen - døden. Kirsebærblomsten var også logoen til Samuraienes Bushido-kode. Så har du en kirsebærblomst tatovering bærer du et symbol som oppfordrer til å leve hver dag som om det var den siste!




Hodeskalle
En hodeskalle blir oftest oppfattet som et symbol på døden eller satt i sammenheng med menneskers dødelighet. En av de mest kjente settingene for hodeskallen som symbol kommer vel fra Hamlet : 'To be, or not to be. That is the question.' - det sier vel egentlig det meste.. he he..  En populær vri på dette motivet er en 'sugarskull', som brukes i feiringen av Day of the dead i Mexico som er en fest for avdød familie og venner. Sugarskulls'ene blir gitt som gaver til enten levende eller døde - de er, som navnet tilsier, laget av sukker, sjokolade e.l. og prydes med mottakerens navn i panna.




Det var alt for i dag folkens!
Peace out!
-v

Nye tatoveringer og oppusset blogg!

G'kveld i stugu godtfolk - blir en liten kjappis før jeg fyker hjem til budskapen (les: hund&katt) i høstmørket *brrr*
Her har det vært full rulle hele uka med full timebok, så tenkte å gjøre det enkelt og greit og bare legge ut litt bilder av det jeg har gjort i det siste. Også ser kanskje noen av dere at bloggen våre begynner å forandre seg litt - Marita, vårt nyeste tilskudd i 'familien' har gjort en kjempejobb så langt med å pusse litt på web-fasaden vår, så om et par uker eller så regner jeg med at vi ser så proffe ut som bare det!! Jippii!!

Og her var litt eye candy - ka dokker tru?

Aiza fikk ferdigstilt et stort kors med roser og banner med navnet på søskenene hennes i :)


Einar gjorde vi en sist epåfyll på en cover-up på brystet.. da var gamledama forhistorie og jeg tipper forloveden er ganske så fornøyd med det :D


Tove var innom og fikk initialene til ungene sine på leggen med noen sammenflettede hjerter bak :)


Marianne spiller althorn i korps ville ha en notelinje med en ordentlig sang! Noen musikalske genier der ute  som klarer å se hvilken det er? Synes denne var utrolig gøy å gjøre - my first tattoo song!! jippo!



Og tidligere i dag var Waldemar fra circus Merano (som har forestillinger på sletta bak studio denne uka) innom og fikk en 'polsk' ørn i old school style. Ikke den stilarten jeg pleier å jobbe mest med, men en artig utfordring og synes den ble finfin - Waldemar var hvertfall strålende fornøyd :)
Ha en fin kveld ((forhåpentligvis innendørs i dette uhufselige mørke høstværet)) videre - I'll be baaaack!!!
Peace out
-v