BellaOnline Forums Beauty and Self Body Art What made you decide to become tattooed?

What decision or series of decisions led you to decide to be a person with a tattoo? For those of you like myself with heavier coverage, what lead you beyond that first piece of ink?

I know as a child I drew on my arms, and especially recall a phase in junior high where I constantly had a few tiny designs drawn on my left forearm along my wrist.

In high school, I got into the punk scene and saw a lot of crude skin art at CBGBs in New York at the all ages shows. I liked the individual expression that seemed to go with tattooing, as no two people approached it for the same reasons. I bought movie-quality tattoo makeup and painted more realistic and elaborate designs on myself in high school. Mom and Dad were a bit nervous, but it was all theatrical so they really couldn't do much...

College was spent studying costume and makeup. I did faux tats for several stage plays and spent long hours in the UCSC library looking through anthropological texts from the South Pacific. Got my first piece at the age of 21, the Japanese kanji koto which means "be different." All I can say is, as soon as that tattoo was done, I knew I had been tattooed before, and I was supposed to be that way in this life too.

Been inkin' along ever since...

- Rae

I got my first tattoo when I was a senior in college, and I have to say it was probably one of those "I think it might be cool" things. I just kind of went one evening with a friend, and there it was. Looking back on it, I don't think I would pick the same design or tattoo shop, but I don't regret it at all.

My next two were definitely better personal decisions. I think some people are turned off by the bicep tattoo, especially since I'm female, but I love it and feel that it's an expression of my personal aesthetic. I've met people who actually make nasty faces when they look at it, or they spend the whole evening talking to *it* instead of looking me in the eye. I guess you could say it's a pretty good indicator of whether I'll get along with someone.

I like you comment about who decides to talk to your body art instead of addressing you directly.

I've got a great quote somewhere where tattooing is described as a type of litmus test that you carry for the rest of your life. It is interesting how non-tattooed people tend to lump tattooed people together. There is a South Pacific culture that considers untattooed adults to be "raw", as though you don't quite get to be grown up until you make this major decision.

- Rae

bump

My tattoo was an impulse, granted I'd been drawing designs for them on paper for years, always having my mother echo in my head "I spent too much time and energy rubbing lotion and love into your skin for you to go and mark it up" and the famous "You'll get ink poisoning!" that resonated through out my childhood. I called a friend and said "I'm getting a tattoo wanna come?"
What I have is a black dragonfly on the inside of my right ankle. It makes me inwardly cringe when peopel say its 'cute'. Little girls see it and giggle, as if they've been let in on a secret that they share just with me. People don't expect for me to have a tattoo at all.
When my mother saw it or the first time several months after having it done she asked "what is that?" My reply? "A big bug."
Being the only one of 5 children to have an identifying mark and having had the piercings and other 'different' things I'm actually quite proud of my little piece of ink.
My next ones are to be an irish harp and a bear paw on my right and left shoulder blades, respectively. Wait til mom sees those. :devil:

I have always been fascinated with body art. I remember totally falling in lust with a punked out tattooed girl from a 2 second scene in some god awful 80's movie when I was a young teen. Since then I've been obsessed with looking at other people's tattoos.

My tattoo is a symbol of who I really am. It is my inner self on top of my outer shell. A constant reminder to be humble and that we all aren't perfect. I spent several hours working with the tattoo artist to come up with a good design. He spent a lot of time getting to know me and making sketches and various suggestions.

Post deleted by Rae - BodyArt/Pagan Editor

My first one...I got when I was about 22. The current boyfriend (later husband #1) and his buddy were going out to get one...and I announced that "they already had at least three each and it was MY TURN".
I wouldn't pick the same tattoo again..or the same shop.
Kept it as a single tat for almost 20 years. Got tat #2 about 5 years ago. Tat #3 was one of those "things" that you swear you'll never do..I had my and hubby #2's name inked on my hip. I did it for a reason, tho...and a good one.
Currently we are re-doing tat #1 and #3...bigger and better. The same artist who did tats 2 and 3 has reworked #1 and is in the process of up dating and expanding on tat #2.
I probably would NOT have done this much if I hadn't have found a tattoo artist that I trust and am comfortable with.

I was 18 and just wanted one, it needs retouched as it's been a decade (eeks!) #2 came when I was 20, a few weeks after my 1st child was born, and it's for her. #3 is going to be to commemorate my son who died in 2001, it's just taken me this long to figure out what it's going to be - baby footprints maybe.

Meg

This an interesting question. I guess my facination with getting tattoos stems from my love of heavy metal as a child. I got my first tattoo when I was 19 a butterfly on the small of my back, I suppose that I got it origionaly because it was trendy to have a tattoo, I mean my best friend and all of my musical heros had them so why not. But I have always had the need to mark on myself begining with markers, temporary tattoos and the like,progressing into the darker side cutting myself burning myself. Just to escape my life,then I found tattooing and body modification, it was perfect for me,as my tattoo collection grows so has my intrest in the relaxation and meditation that can be obtained by actually being tattooed, does that sound crazy? Then when I met my husband he started teaching me how to tattoo and pierce. And the rest has been history. I tattoo at home using all sterilized and new equiptment of course and on a smaller scale then my husband, It has really been my favorite thing to try to share my love of the art with others,giving beautiful pieces of art with the selected few that I tattoo each time. I only work with women so I wanted my home studio to reflect the other side of the art not just to walk into a parlor and get tattooed by some random person, but to make it an experiance a transition if you will. Its a powerful thing ,the concept of modification, aside from the trendy side of it and can truly be a spiritual experiance, I guess thats why I enjoy it so much,