The ritual of tattooing and adorning the body with ink and color has been a tradition for centuries, among many populations throughout the world, from Africa to Asia, and Europe to the Americas.
Tattooing is definitely not a fad, or a practice reserved to any particular element of society. It is a tradition that has been found in all parts of the world, in different sects of society. In fact, the famous ice mummy called “Iceman” had tattoos on his body, and his age has been estimated at nearly 5,200 years. I think it would be safe to say that if the practice has been around for more than 5,000 years that it would be safe to assume that this is not a fad that will disappear in just a few years. Tattooing is not like the “pet rock” – here today and gone tomorrow.
In the United States, during the 1950′s and 1960′s, tattooing had been associated with rebel tribal groups, such as motorcycle gangs and the such. In other times, tattooing was a mark of distinction for the royal classes of Europe. In Africa, tattoos have long been held to be a key element in the process of maturation into adulthood.
Those who do not have tattoos are constantly asking what the great appeal of a tattoo is? In our modern age, many people see tattoos as a marring of the flesh – a disrespect to what God has made. Some people simply do not believe that our skin should be decorated or changed from its natural condition.
People get tattoos for different reasons, but tattooing is considered a personal and unique expression by those who get them. What is being expressed is obviously differs from person to person.
If You Are Considering A Tattoo, Consider These Important Tips
If you are contemplating the idea of getting a tattoo, perhaps it would be useful to consider carefully what I am getting ready to tell you.
My first tattoo was intended to reflect a particular feeling, during a particularly important time of my life. I wanted to carry a reminder of that time with me for the rest of my life. To this day, I carry that reminder with me, but the experience had some downsides to it. Not because I did not like my tattoo or regretted getting it, but because I did not think through my decision.
One thing I learned in my experience was that it is important to know exactly what you want when you show up at the tattoo parlor to get your tattoo. It is very important to have a clear and well thought out idea that you can easily communicate to your tattoo artist. If you have the opportunity to draw it out, before you go to the tattoo parlor, that could be very helpful to the tattoo artist. Even if you do not have that artistic spark to draw your own, your drawing can lead the tattoo artist to deliver more of what you had in mind when you started the process.
Your tattoo artist will collaborate with you to create a piece of art that you can be proud to wear and the artist can be proud to see on your flesh. When I went into the tattoo parlor, I knew what I wanted my tattoo to read, but I did not think it through very thoroughly. I gave thought to the idea of what I wanted my tattoo to say, but I had no comprehension as to how big I wanted it or the type of font I would have liked it to be.
The tattoo artist sketched my phrase on a piece of paper for me, and he used a font he had designed himself.
At the time, I was simply too timid to ask any questions. The one question that I did not ask and should have asked was whether the size drawn on paper would be the size of the tattoo on my body.It is important to be bold and to ask questions when you are getting inked, after all, what goes on today is likely a permanent addition to your body. If you have grown the nerve to get your tattoo in the first place, then it should not be a big deal to speak up and ask questions about what the tattoo artist is going to do for you. After all, while tattoo artists are generally very skilled with their artwork, they still have not perfected the art of reading minds. If you don’t speak up, the tattoo artist will have no idea as to what you would really like your tattoo to look like.
When my tattoo was finished, it was much larger than I had anticipated or wanted, and no one can be blamed for that but me, because I did not clarify my intentions beforehand. Don’t be intimidated by the tattoo artist! He or she is actually there to help you get “what you want”. (To see how script looks on a famous shoulder, see the Angelina Jolie picture on the Tattoo Trouble website at: http://bit.ly/5AKVP At best, Jolie’s tattoo can give you an idea of how a tattoo can go horribly wrong.)
If your tattoo idea includes getting a line of script, remember that fonts and font sizes can significantly impact the beauty or ugliness of your tattoo. The width of the script and the spacing between the script characters can also improve or destroy the perfect tattoo design. If you choose smaller fonts in order to reduce the cost of your tattoo, the final product could literally be unreadable, with more in common with a bar code than the written word.
In time, the general sagging of skin could also leave you with a script tattoo where the letters blend together making the script perfectly unreadable years from now.
Think carefully about what you want and why you want it. Also be certain that you are not afraid to ask questions and to share your opinions with the tattoo artist, once you’re in the chair! Remember that the tat you are about to get today has a tendency to last a lifetime.
Article also published here.
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Eileen Howerton is a full-time, freelance writer. If you have a tattoo you would like to get removed, you can spend thousands on laser tattoo removal treatments, OR you can explore the Nuviderm Home Tattoo Removal System, which accelerate the process of removing tattoos, without emptying your wallet. Visit http://nuviderm.com/ today to learn more about the Nuviderm solution for tattoo removal.
Read more articles written by Eileen Howerton
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