I remember once back in high school, back in a time when body piercings were just starting to take off and were for the most part, still considered somewhat shocking, that there was a girl who sat a few desks away from me in biology class.  One day our teacher noticed that this girl had a nose ring.  He approached her and asked her numerous questions about it: what her parents thought, if it hurt, etc…and the girl answered the questions nervously, as though she were aware that the entire class knew that she was full of shit.  At the time, I didn’t know that she was full of shit, but I quickly found out that the nose ring was little more than a fake – a magnetic stud that she could put in and remove at her leisure, all the while lapping up the stares and nods of approval at her “hardcore” appearance.

The stares and nods of approval didn’t last, though.  They switched places with scoffs and the sort of ridicule that is reserved especially just for those deemed to be posers.  I don’t know what happened to that girl after high school, but she did stop wearing the nose ring immediately after it became known that it was a fake, forever enduring the scorn of high school kids who smelled a rat.

And so it goes, that when you take the easy route with body piercing and tattooing, you play with fire.  So it’s with this concept in mind that I wonder why anyone would purchase fake tattoo sleeves. I’m guessing that they have been around for a while, but this is the first that I have ever heard of them.  After checking them out a bit, they range from truly horribly fake looking things that resemble a nylon inked with crappy graphics, to reasonably decent fakes that could fool someone into thinking that you had sleeve tattoos (provided that person were standing half a block away and was drunk/high).

My big question with these isn’t whether or not you can fool anyone with them, it’s why you would want to in the first place.  Okay, a Halloween costume perhaps – fine.  But something tells me that these aren’t sold so that people can dress up for Halloween.  Something tells me that major retail shops like Hong Kong’s trendy G.O.D. sell these because people want to look “hardcore” without actually being “hardcore”.  That to me is just sad, but hey, who am I to judge, right?  If you’re excited about the prospect of making other people think that you have sleeve tattoos, then great.  Just remember to keep in mind that while you’re wearing your brand new sleeve tattoos and strutting around looking for approving nods, no matter how long ago high school was, we can all still smell bullshit a mile away.

The city of Bloomfield, NM has just gotten it’s first tattoo studio. Quality Ink, owned by tattoo artists Jason Luster and Leon Alderette opened it’s doors today on April the fourth. These two artists are not only the first to open shop in the conservative city of Bloomfield, but between them they have over 40 years experience.

Needless to say, not every one in Bloomfield was happy to see their first tattoo parlor open for business. Said City Manager Keith Johnson, “I’d rather see them someplace else.” I’m sure he would. Of course that would leave the city wide open for the scratchers to cause all sorts of health problems and put their illegal cash into their own pockets without giving one thing back. Smart thinking there Keith.

Both Jason and Leon have plans to be “a member of the chamber of commerce and hopefully an asset to the community.”

The two owners have tattooed together for a lot of years, and began their joint venture after a chance meeting at First Baptist Church of Flora Vista, where they both are members. According to them the last place they had expected to meet up again was church. They had gone in different directions and had not expected to run into each other again.

According to Luster, “We want to bring quality work to the Four Corners area instead of having people drive to Durango.”

Tattoo artists must be licensed by the state Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists before they can practice in New Mexico. Even if the zoning laws were to change in Bloomfield to prevent other tattoo parlors from opening, Quality Ink is grandfathered in, Bloomfield Planning and Zoning Director Ray Barnes said.

“We hope the residents of Bloomfield welcome us,” Luster said. “Hopefully the community thinks of us as just another art studio.”

We hope so too, Guys. Good Luck, and well wishes to you both.

Know a great tattoo artist who is good at video game tattoo pictures and designs? Leave a link to there video game tattoos in the comments and we’ll add them to Tattoo Blog!

Ed Lott
Slave to the Needle Tattoo & Body Piercing – East Location
403 N.E. 45th St. ¦ Seattle, WA 98105
Phone: 206.545.3685

Ever notice how the people who continue to buy into the idea of a tattoo limiting your ability to become a “serious” member of society are the very same people who make that outdated notion possible?  Wouldn’t things work so much smoother if we all just gave up on that idea and hired people based on their skills rather than their personal taste?  Hmmm…I’m thinking yeah, they really would.

This article from Stars and Stripes talks about US Marines being banned from having sleeve tattoos, as well as police departments having a policy of no tattoos for its officers.  Some police departments allow tattoos, but only if they are covered up during duty.  Other police forces think some tattoos are okay for their officers, so says Jimmy Holderfield, chief of personnel for the Jacksonville Florida sheriff’s office:

“If the Marine had a “Globe and Laurel,” USMC, or an American Flag on his arm he would be OK,” Holderfield explained. “If he had a woman with her breast exposed, a confederate battle flag, or words that would be considered profanity, he would either have to wear a patch or long sleeves to cover them up.”

So in other words, as long as a tattoo is patriotic, then it’s fine.  But – and pay attention here, because this is a big exception – BUT, if your tattoo doesn’t fall into the category of patriotism, then it’s probably either sexist, pornographic, racist or profane and you better cover that shit up.  It doesn’t matter if you’ve got a sleeve of a unicorn blowing marshmallow kisses to a squadron of teddy bears, unless those unicorns and teddy bears are wrapped in ol’ glory and heading to boot camp, it’s going to affect your performance as a police officer and the only cure is to cover it up completely or to not join the police force at all.

It’s all just so ridiculous.  I mean, if an ex-marine wants to join a police force, doesn’t that already prove that he’s got the drive, physical ability and determination to be a cop?  Because let’s be serious here, and I have to go on record as not knowing much about the marines other than what I’ve seen in films, but couldn’t even the weakest marine run circles around the best cop in the physical fitness department?  And if that marine just happened to be tattooed, what difference would it make in terms of how that marine did their job as a cop?  Not only that, but would it not do worlds of good towards eliminating the stale stigma attached to tattoos if people actually saw officers with visible tattoos?  Would that not go to show people that yes, even law abiding cops can have tattoos too?  Maybe they aren’t so bad after all?

As a society, people should start caring less about what police officers have tattooed on their skin and more about the actual job that those officers are doing.  A few weeks back in the city where I live, a bunch of off duty cops beat up an Indian man because they “didn’t like brown people”.  That to me is a strong indicator that someone should not be allowed to be on a police force, because it really doesn’t matter if the guilty officers did or didn’t have tattoos.  It matters how they do the job that they’re entrusted to do.  Bottom line.

It seems that Peter Doherty, lead singer for the alt-rock group The Babyshambles, and one time love interest of super model Kate Moss, has recently turned the other cheek. So to speak.

Doherty had the idea to have a third tattoo added to his collection of one on his neck, and the heart he had inscribed for Kate. Problem was this time he hit  rock bottom. Perhaps he was sober for once in his life? What ever the reason he wussed out and only got half the tattoo done.

The tattoo? Well, depending on who you ask it was the single word “Wasteland” to be tattooed on his tail. The tat was inspired by his supposedly love of the poem of the same name by T.S. Eliot, but it seems strange that the title of his new album is “Grace/Wastelands”. So, was this a real tribute, or just a cheap publicity stunt? Either way all that Pete has permanently emblazoned on his bum is the word “Waste”.

Fairly appropriate when you consider the main function of the area tattooed and the thought that he couldn’t even finish a single word on one of the toughest areas of the human anatomy. The letters must have been at least two inches tall, and half inch wide block style with major shading!

Maybe he didn’t get tanned there often enough growing up. Though considering some of his antics, stealing from a friend and band mate, in and out of rehab more times than Lindsey  Lohan, I’m not real sure he ever did. Grow up that is.

Ah well……at least he’s properly labeled now.

After posting the last story about an artist in Germany who was in financial straights from the economic downturn I got to wondering. Just how badly has the current money slide hit our beloved art? After quite a bit of digging I am happy to report that on the whole the tattoo scene is not only proving to be recession proof, but in some cases is actually growing.

This is, of course, due in large part to the collector’s themselves. While they are still concerned about where and how they spend their hard earned dollars these days, nothing is going to keep them from getting their art.

Major retailers and corporations are all seeing a downturn in sales while most tattoo studios are not only holding their own, but some are even reporting a 20% growth in their business. Mike Cummings, owner of Inksomnia Tattoo in GA stated, “The tattoo business is not like a convenience store. We don’t count on seeing 200-300 people come through the doors every day. If we do 10 tattoos a day, we’re very happy.”

Amen to that, Brother!

Given the number of people who said that the trend in tattooing was just a fad and all the folks out there getting inked would soon be regretting it, I have one thing to say; “Nyah, nyah. Nyah, nyahn, nyah!”

Any art form that can not only weather the economic storm that’s putting a hurtin’ on businesses across the board, and actually show an increase in revenue during those times is certainly not “just a fad”.

Perhaps this will finally get it through their heads that there is far more to tattoo than just a passing fad. You never know, though. Some of those tat haters out there have pretty dense craniums.

Keep ‘em flyin’, gang. 😉

Since I got on the subject in another blog, I figured, “Why not keep the ball rolling with a few people who did the job right?”

A legal secretary in California named Terry Gardner recently shaved her own head for the sake of advertising. The difference being that the tattoo covering the back of her head is a temporary tattoo. Now here is probably the first, and only time I will sing the praises of temp tats.

As part of an advertising campaign for Air New Zealand, Ms. Gardner and about 30 more people shaved their heads and had the advertisement, ““Need A Change? Head Down to New Zealand. www.airnewzealand.com.” put on in henna. For which the chosen few received their choice of either a round-trip ticket to New Zealand worth $1,200, or $777 in cash.

Given that henna wears off, leaving no trace after a while it seems if your going to rent out your body to advertise a temp would be the way to go.

According to Jodi Williams, director of marketing for Air New Zealand, “The participants were, in marketing parlance, ideal brand ambassadors: when co-workers or strangers behind them in the grocery store line asked about New Zealand, they could speak enthusiastically right off the top of their heads.” (pun intended). Considering that most of the chosen participants were from New Zealand, I can see why.

To make matters even better Air New Zealand donated all of the shorn locks to Locks of Love, a group that makes hairpieces for children who have gone bald from illnesses.

Now, that is not only good advertisement, but just plain cool!

I know these trying financial times are hard on everybody, and sometimes it can lead to some really out of the box thinking where matters of money are concerned. God knows how many hair-brained schemes I have kicked to the curb after thinking over what seemed to be a good idea at the time.

Well here’s another one that isn’t going to hold water in the long run, but thankfully it isn’t mine!

German tattoo artist Thomas Tanriverdi had felt the pinch of the economic downturn and wracked his brain for a solution for his financial woes. After much thought he came up with what at first surely seemed to be a foolproof plan? Rent the only place on his body not covered in tats for advertisement.

Now if your already a well known figure in the public eye this would probably be a quick windfall, but as Thomas soon found out no one is going to pay mega-bucks to have an advertisement tattooed onto the head of an unknown soldier.

Tanriverdi had hoped to earn around 50,000 euros, $65,700 in American dollars, from any bidder who wanted to have their ad tattooed onto his shiny head. After the first few days of bidding on a large online auction Web site, the highest offer was 355 euros!

Still, I have to give it to the guy for sticking to his guns. Undaunted, Thomas then lowered his asking price to 500 euros for anyone willing to advertise on his head for a year. “Others have, with bravura, auctioned their skin for advertising purposes,” Tanriverdi said. He has also since modified the offer further with prices such as: for 4,000 euros, his scalp can be yours for three years, or for 18,000 euros or to own the space until the end of his life.

Somehow I don’t think he has thought this all the way through, yet. Nadine Peukert, a dermatologist at the University Hospital in Muenster, says the idea of tattooing one’s head with the intention of removing the artwork by laser and tattooing anew is not only painful, it’s stupid. “It’s not like using an eraser,” Peukert told German news agency DPA. “Afterwards, the skin will look different, and on the scalp, this could easily lead to scarring.”

Not to mention that the cost of laser tattoo removal typically ranges between $250 and $850! Even at the lowest cost of 500 euros comes out to $648.55. After the cost of around $400 to remove the tat, assuming it isn’t so small you would need a magnifying glass to see it, that’s only $248.55 dollars profit for the entire year!

I could do better flipping burgers, Dude.

One of the greatest (at least in my opinion) types of tattoos are quotes or passages from books or poetry or even lines from films.  If these words made you feel a certain way or expressed something that you were truly about or believed in, I’ve always felt that the written word looks great as a tattoo.  Again, I may be biased seeing as I am one of those people who has such tattoos, but that’s just how I roll.  If you can get past the annoyance factor of complete strangers coming up to you to ask you what your tattoos mean or say, then it’s one of the most perfect ways to sum up who you are.

Another thing that I like about these sorts of tattoos is that you don’t see a lot of them around and so they’re a little more original and personal than getting a barbed wire arm band inked around your bicep, or the kanji character for “strength”, or “determination” or any other overused noun or adjective tattooed on to your shoulder.

Recently however, I found out about contrariwise, a website that showcases literary tattoos from different people all around the world.  I was quite surprised to know how many people actually put the words of their favourite authors and books on their skin.  One dude even went as far as putting an entire monologue from Fight Club on his back.  Even Harry Potter’s legacy has found his way onto people’s backs and shoulders.  Not my cup of tea, but hey, it still looks pretty cool.  If you do like the look of these sorts of tattoos and have a favourite book or author’s words you want to immortalize on your body, don’t forget the single most important rule about literary tattoos: be completely certain that the quote or passage you are getting done on your body is SPELLED correctly.  Nothing ruins a tattoo more and makes you look like more of a total knob than having a misspelled tattoo.  Check out the section on exactly that right here.

Thinking about getting an eyeball tattoo? Well not in the state of Oklahoma you won’t.

The recent fad of having the white of the eye tattooed has just been made illegal in the state of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma state Senate voted unanimously to ban tattooing of the eyeball, and I’ve little doubt that other states will soon follow suit.

Sen. Cliff Brannan, (Oklahoma City Rep.), said scleral tattooing is a dangerous fad that can cause damage to the eye or even blindness. This public health issue was brought to the senate’s attention by several concerned ophthalmologists, and I have to applaud them for it.

Now I’m not one for overly restrictive laws, especially where tattooing is involved, but it is just possible that the lawmakers may have something here. Almost every ophthalmologist who has taken a look at this new fad has had the same thing to say about it. Its dangerous.

Take it from someone who has partially lost some of their sight. Any risk to your eyes is too much. No fad, or trend is worth losing your sight over. Ask any blind person what they would wish for if they had one wish and the answer will be, sight.

I think this is one of the few times the lawmakers are right.