Homework #32, Tats.

Tattoos can be a way to belong to a certain group, or clique, or club.. In New Moon, all of the tribe members cut their hair and get the same tattoo on the same shoulder, and they are all really muscular. There's a scene where Bella can't really tell who is who since they all look really similar. One of the tattoos, close up. And The Werewolves as a whole group. They don't talk about getting the tattoos or why they get them. The only person that seemed really upset about the whole Werewolf group was Bella, who (in the movie) said something like "You've got a tattoo now? What have they done to you?"

I know for my family and me we got our tattoos for similar as well as different reasons. My mom and her ex -but at the time her boyfriend- got matching rune tattoos on their shoulders. Her tattoo was actually black a couple years ago but it's been turning purple and fading over time, which shows that tattoos don't always last forever, even though they are more permanent than temp tats. The tattoo looked like an arrow pointing upwards, but it symbolizes being a warrior. That's the first tattoo her and her (ex)boyfriend got when my brother, my mom's (ex)boyfriend's son and I were away for a while. Then my mom's ex got a big tattoo on his shoulder that was supposed to be my mom. It was a woman with really curly hair -like my mom's hair because he told the tattoo artist to do it like my mom's hair-, and a spear pointed towards a dragon that was curled up near her feet. I'm not sure about the whole dragon thing but I know that he wanted the woman tattooed on his shoulder to represent my mom. My brother has the word "FIERCE" tattooed to the inside of his lip (lip tattoo), because he's fierce I guess. Or since he likes that word.
Mom's ex's tattoo, I'm not sure how to make it not blurry:


My mom's warrior tattoo, present day, and fading:


My brother Kyle's FIERCE tattoo:


My mom, my brother and I all got star tattoos in February, 2009. One day my mom got three shooting stars on her hip. She has a pink one, a purple one, and a blueish green one. They're supposed to be the mommy and her two kids (my brother and I). I have one shooting star on my wrist, and it's pink, as the baby star. And my brother has a star tattoo behind his ear, as the third star. His isn't colored in because he didn't know what color to do and he didn't really want to get it colored in. We all like stars and we wanted to do something as a family, since we're a really tightly-knit family. So my brother took my mom to get the tattoo on her hip one day when I was at a sleep-over at my friend Yasmin's house. Then the next day Yasmin, my brother, my mom and I went back to Saint Marks. My brother Kyle was going to get a star tattoo. As usual I got dragged along, and convinced to get a tattoo of my own because I didn't want to feel out of the loop in the little star clan. Or as Mara has said before, we're like our own little secret Farmery Family Star Clan.

Another little story behind my tattoo is that I had Yasmin J design it on a piece of paper for me, then the guy drew that on my wrist and turned it into a tattoo. Also, I got my tattoo on my wrist because I felt like if I was going to go through all that pain of getting a tattoo, then I wanted to be able to see it every day. My mom got her tattoo on her hip because she wanted it to be under clothes when she's wearing clothing and for it to be visible when she's at the beach and wearing a bathing suit. She also put me (the pink star) on the bottom of her hip because I'm her oldest kid. My brother Kyle wanted his tattoo behind his ear so that he can put his hair over it if he ever models.
My mom's tattoo, on her hip:


My brother Kyle's tattoo, behind his ear:


My tattoo, on my wrist:


My really good friend Alice also got a tattoo on her lower arm, because her mom saved up the money for her big brother and her to get tattoos. Her mom begged and guilt tripped Alice into getting a tattoo because she had saved up the money as a present. Alice's story is similar to mine, she designed her tattoo and had the person tattoo it on her. Yet the place she got her tat done wouldn't do it on her wrist because wrist tattoos are considered dangerous.
A picture of Alice and my tattoo (that's the only picture I have of her tattoo):


Tried zooming in on Alice's tattoo but it's really blurry:


My Aunt also has a couple tattoos. She has one on her ankle, and she has what we Americans call a "tramp stamp"(Andy used this link too I know..) because it's on her lower back. The one she got on her ankle is a sweet pea flower because one of her dogs passed away and she used to call him her "sweet pea". She also has a butterfly flying towards a plant on her back, I'm not sure what the reason is behind that tattoo.

January 10th, 2010, My Aunt's sweetpea tattoo on her ankle:


My mom, her ex, Alice, my Brother, my Aunt and I didn't get tattoos to try and be cool. I didn't want to be the only one in the little group to not get a star tattoo, but I don't have to have a tattoo to be cool. So some people get tattoos to be "tough", or "cool", yes, but in my personal experiences mentioned above, we didn't get the tattoos because we were trying to be cool. I think one of the main reasons people get tattoos is to represent something. Like a couple of my friends want to get tattoos of their family or loved one's names because they passed away, as a way to remember them by.

January 6th, 2010:
There's also this really sweet short story I'd like to use as an example of people getting tattoos as a reminder of loved ones that have passed away.. My brother's friend Anthony's mom passed away, and he got her name tattooed on his heart. I think it's incredibly sweet that he would put her name right there, like she is always in his heart. He's still really young so I felt like it was sort of deep for him to get her name tattooed on him. He also has his last name tattooed on his back, in between two stars. I guess it's cool, like he has pride in his last name. I really wanted to put the pictures of his tattoos up as well, but he moved to the Dominican Republic a couple years ago, and he doesn't have his phone with him. I might add his tattoos and my aunt's tattoos soon though. I also haven't gotten the chance yet to interview someone, but I'd like to try and add that soon as well.

My mom also told me about a "Free Hugs" guy at Bamboozle, who had a Phoenix tattooed on his back. *Free Hugs people. which is a self explanatory name.. Are people who give free hugs, and there's always a bunch of them at places like Bamboozle.* One of his really good friends had moved away, and his name was Phoenix, which is why the guy got a tattoo of a Phoenix. He wanted the tattoo to remember his best friend by.
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Kat Von D is a tattoo artist, who has a show called "L.A Ink". There were a couple days where my brother and I just sat in front of the tv and watched hours and hours of her show. I found it really interesting seeing how the professional artists could help create artwork for their customers. There was one episode where Kat Von D submitted her store's name to a 24- hour compition for the Guiness Book Of World Records, to see if they could tattoo 400 people in the twenty-four hour time period. Everyone had to get a tattoo of "LA" wherever they wanted then excluding I think their necks and their feet. Her team was extremly exhaused, but they all stuck with her until the very end. So many people lined up outside and around L.A Ink to wait to get their tattoos. Some people they interviewed had even been there from around 24-hours to 48-hours standing in line.

There was this girl who "sweet talked" her way to the very front of the line, and she was in and out of the store in roughly two hours, while so many other people waited 24-hours or more to get their tattoos done. She said, "You're only young once, I could step off of the sidewalk and get hit by a bus and I would be happy knowing that I participated in the Guiness Book Of World Records. Why Not?" I thought this girl was a little foolish, but I also found it interesting that she was like "hey, I'll get this tattoo of LA on my arm, why not? You're only young once.."

There was another girl who had never gotten a tattoo before, and she also got the tattoo of 'LA' on her.. ankle -I think- She seemed like a sweet, sort of young female and she'd felt like getting 'LA' tattooed on her for a good cause was the perfect start to getting a tattoo. So another reason to get a tattoo is to show spirit and support. These people were supporting Kat Von D and her crew, and showing their appreciation as well in a way. They also wanted to be part of this event because the compition did end up in the Guiness Book Of World Records (I think..). To get more information on this compition, go here.

One woman that went on the show another day got a tattoo of a Garden Gnome. She actually had several Gnomes tattooed on her arm, but this day was the first day she hadn't gone to the person who had done all her other gnome tattoos. In person, she collects Garden Gnomes. Some of her friends buy them for her as presents, and name them for her because she feels like it's bad luck if she doesn't name them. So even the gnomes on her arms have names. I hadn't really thought about people who would actually collect Garden Gnomes, let alone getting several tattooed on one's body before I saw this episode. There was also some kind of singer/ dancer who got a tattoo of a fictional dancer/ singer on her. She didn't want to get just any tattoo, she wanted to get a special one. I wish I could remember what specifically she was and what her tattoo was of but I can't, and I haven't been able to find it online.

Another man on L.A Ink came in with Buddha. His friends call him Buddha, so he got a tattoo of a big chubby Buddha. His tattoo took up most of his big chubby stomach, and Buddha's belly button was his belly button as well. This was also a really silly tattoo to get in my mind, but the drawing and tattoo came out really well, and it was cool to see how their belly buttons were the same one. So, I hope I have given some other good examples of people getting tattoos for other reasons than trying to be "cool".