Share Your Tattoos!

[Mental Magpie]

I currently have only two tattoos, but I like to show 'em off.  I have the plans for the next few, just not the money!

The first one is the elemental symbol for Earth and is on my forearm.  There really isn't a story behind this one except that I really love the Earth and the outdoors.



I got this one done on my back only to find out the tattoo artist was on drugs when he did it  .  What was put on my back was not at all what it looked like on paper.  It is a memorial for my father.



Luckily, after about two years of having that  , I got it covered up.  Now I think it looks beautiful!

[Lynnv]

Very nice cover up!

I have two as well.  I am seriously considering a third...but have not really figured out what I want. 

The panther was a flash piece that I got done when I was in my early 20s.  But I still like him.  The phoenix is about 6 years old.  The photo was taken when the phoenix was new (so it has faded a tad since then), but his color has held up well and I am still really pleased with him.

[MiseryLovesYou]

I'm sure I'm not the first person to get it or the last, but one of mine is "Nobody's Perfuct".

[GreenEyedHawk]

This was my first tattoo, done in October of 1999

It was originally supposed to be filled in black, but the tattooist asked if he could try some shading, and if I decided I didn't like it, then he'd fill it in.  I liked it with the shading, obviously.

My second tattoo, done in 2001.  He's faded quite a bit since he was originally done and is badly in need of a touch-up :S


Ferret #1, meant to be a likeness of the late great The Cheat.

Also a ferret paw print I had done in November of 2011 for a local Humane Society fundraiser.  Not that I needed an excuse to get more ink

Ferret #2, a likeness of my ferret Otto the big fat fatty (he was huge)


I also have a ring of little paw prints around my right wrist but they are badly done and I don't generally show them off much.

[Bijou]

I don't have any and likely never will, but I remember someone I knew who had a yellow cartoon bird on her breast and she said when she took off her bra he got 'long and skinny'.  I thought that was TMI but really funny.

I am wondering, though, why a person would have a tattoo in an area where they cannot see it, themselves.  Like the back.  I would think you would want to see it, unless I'm missing something about why people get them. 

[cabbagegirl28]

I don't have any and likely never will, but I remember someone I knew who had a yellow cartoon bird on her breast and she said when she took off her bra he got 'long and skinny'.  I thought that was TMI but really funny.

I am wondering, though, why a person would have a tattoo in an area where they cannot see it, themselves.  Like the back.  I would think you would want to see it, unless I'm missing something about why people get them.

One reason could be that the back has more muscle than other places on the body, and then it wouldn't hurt as much to get the tattoo there. It's also more easily covered than, say, a foot tattoo or a neck tattoo, depending on placement.

[Mental Magpie]

I don't have any and likely never will, but I remember someone I knew who had a yellow cartoon bird on her breast and she said when she took off her bra he got 'long and skinny'.  I thought that was TMI but really funny.

I am wondering, though, why a person would have a tattoo in an area where they cannot see it, themselves.  Like the back.  I would think you would want to see it, unless I'm missing something about why people get them.

One reason could be that the back has more muscle than other places on the body, and then it wouldn't hurt as much to get the tattoo there. It's also more easily covered than, say, a foot tattoo or a neck tattoo, depending on placement.

Oh, no, no; I can tell you first hand how much back tattoos hurt.  It isn't about the pain...

One reason is because it's a relatively flat area on which you can put a larger piece.  Another reason is because I am displaying art; I don't have to see it to appreciate it.  Think of it like a bumper sticker (hehheh): you know it's there and what it says but you don't have to always look at it to appreciate it.  If I can think of a better way to put it, I will update.

[TurtleDove]

I am a lawyer and cannot have visible tattoos, so I had a friend who is a tattoo artist tattoo me using white ink.  I love the results -- I can see my tattoos whenever I want to (on my wrists) but unless you are looking for them, no one else can.



This is a white tattoo on my wrist - it's the infinity symbol for my husband who killed himself a year ago, and I am holding the cross from his baptism as an adult in January 2011.




This is a white tattoo ambigram of HOPE and FAITH.  I got it to help me move forward with faith and hope after the above tragedy.  [hmmmm....one was supposed to post showing FAITH - I can't figure it out!]

I also have three other tattoos: a sun on the small of my back; a five bumped celtic knot I designed on my hip; "Peaceful Sleep" in my handwriting under the knot for my younger sister who died in 2006.

[Bijou]

Dark Magdalana, that is a good explanation.  Obviously if you felt the need to look at it, you wouldn't get it there, because looking in a mirror must not be the same.  I suspected it is a personal statement.

[Jones]

I don't have any and likely never will, but I remember someone I knew who had a yellow cartoon bird on her breast and she said when she took off her bra he got 'long and skinny'.  I thought that was TMI but really funny.

I am wondering, though, why a person would have a tattoo in an area where they cannot see it, themselves.  Like the back.  I would think you would want to see it, unless I'm missing something about why people get them.

I have two on my back, and it was a practicality thing.

I didn't want a tattoo that was difficult to cover in case I ever had a job that stated they have to be covered; that meant no face, neck, hand, arm and possibly ankle/calf tattoos (I like to wear skirts in the office sometimes). I also knew that if I ever had kids, severe stretching would occur to my stomach, breasts and possibly butt/thighs. So my back seemed the best choice. I can look at them in the mirror and think about their meaning/the reason I got them, I can reach back and touch them (the lines are raised, it is a scar after all). Plus they look aesthetically pleasing...from my POV in the mirror, anyway .

[Mental Magpie]

Dark Magdalana, that is a good explanation.  Obviously if you felt the need to look at it, you wouldn't get it there, because looking in a mirror must not be the same.  I suspected it is a personal statement.

It definitely is for me but I can't speak for anyone else (but Dark Boyfriend, he said his is, too).  To me, I am decorating my body with what is important to me.

[Snooks]

Dark Magdelana - out of interest what design were you expecting when you got your first one, was it the eventual design of the cover up?

[Mental Magpie]

Dark Magdelana - out of interest what design were you expecting when you got your first one, was it the eventual design of the cover up?

Similar to what actually showed up, just imagine an actual artist drawing it instead of a kindergartener.  There were beautiful mountains with grass on the left, a stream on the right with a fisherman, and a herd of elk in the background.  It was like he showed me one picture (the initial drawing), stood behind me, sketched a stencil, put it on my back, and freehanded everything.  The picture you see is where he stopped for a break; I took one look at it and walked out.  Unfortunately I had already paid for part of it.

So, no, it wasn't eventual design of the cover up, but I love to coverup.  I wish I would have gotten it first so it could have just been line art instead of color.

[JonGirl]

I have a coloured tattoo of Betty Boop just under my left shoulder.
It didn't really hurt but getting the touch up was the worst! 
I want to get the Welsh flag tattooed on me next.

[Mental Magpie]

TurtleDove, I love your white tattoos.  They look so elegant.