Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Examining body modification
Examining body modification
How permanent is a tattoo, or an ear piercing that has been stretched to the size of a nickel? Turi consults Steve Truitt, founder and owner of Ascension Body Mod in Albuquerque, on whether you can fix such bodily “damage.” Truitt also chats about the reasoning behind modifying one’s own body, why he had several tattoos removed and how tattoos of foreign letters and symbols can go terribly wrong.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Tried the Goth fashion craze, yet?
Tried the Goth fashion craze, yet?
The style is quirky, fashionable and works well on a night out. Here's how you can transform into a Goth gal today... It was Tim Burton's The Corpse Bride, that brought the spotlight back on macabre. But today, the look is everywhere. Sexily-clad vampires in corsets, velvet gowns and Victorian jewellery make for the backdrop in many serials and movies of late, take series like Twilight and Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, or even The Woman in Black. Images of fashion-meets-brooding is also increasingly seen in books, on the ramp and other popular culture, making the Gothic aesthetic one of the most talked about trends.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Which Comes First, the Tramp Stamp or the Tramp?
Which Comes First, the Tramp Stamp or the Tramp?
Back when I was in middle school and dinosaurs roamed the earth, the cultural signifier of a girl's so-called "sluttiness" was a belly button piercing, especially in the shape of an animal — like, say, a dolphin acquired during a boozy after-prom trip to Wildwood — which is now basically obsolete. (Praise Yeezus.) Similarly, in the last ten years, tramp stamps — the now-infamous lower back tattoos that mark supposedly-promiscuous ladies, now 23 percent strong in America — have been relegated mostly to suburban Hooters girls or contestants on VH1's Rock of Love.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, May 15, 2013
What Your Piercing Says About You
What Your Piercing Says About You
Where are you pierced? Remember those really cool kids who got pierced in their belly buttons when they were about 16? And that was also a time when you could wear midriff tops? Right, I was not one of those kids. Not even close. And I’m still mystified by a lot of facial piercings. I am pierced in my ears. I bet you can guess what that says about me. Nonetheless, I will spell it out...
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Tattooing Makes Transition From Cult to Fine Art
Tattooing Makes Transition From Cult to Fine Art
London, England -- Late last year, the British model Kate Moss revealed a personal fact that intrigued not only the fashion and celebrity media, but also the art world. The revelation went beyond the acknowledgement from Ms. Moss, one of the most photographed women in the world, that she had tattoos. It included the claim that the swallows on her haunch were the work of the German-born British artist Lucian Freud, who had died the previous year. In a rare interview published in the December issue of Vanity Fair magazine, Ms. Moss pondered the financial value of that tattoo: “It’s an original Freud. I wonder how much a collector would pay for that? A few million? I’d skin-graft it.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Jerusalem pilgrims get ink by same family that has been tattooing the faithful for centuries
Jerusalem pilgrims get ink by same family that has been tattooing the faithful for centuries
Jerusalem, Israel - Orthodox Christians visiting the Holy Land often return home with more than just spiritual memories. Many drop by a centuries-old tattoo parlour in Jerusalem's Old City, inking themselves with a permanent reminder not only of their pilgrimage but also of devotion to their faith. The same Jerusalem family has been tattooing pilgrims with crosses and other religious symbols for hundreds of years, testament to the importance of the ancient ritual. While Catholics can get a written certificate of their pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Orthodox Christians opt for a tattoo, a permanent reminder of their visit.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, May 09, 2013
State Assembly bill would ban pet tattoos and piercings as animal abuse
State Assembly bill would ban pet tattoos and piercings as animal abuse
A Manhattan pol is trying to stop tattooing and body piercing from going to the dogs. Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, a Democrat, has introduced legislation to ban the piercing or permanent tattooing of companion animals. “These are living beings and they should not be subject to human whims and fashion choices,” Rosenthal told the Daily News Thursday. Rosenthal said subjecting pets to body piercing or tattooing is cruel and “just like any other abuse.”The bill has the support of the Humane Society of New York.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, May 09, 2013
Developing thick, and colorful, skin
Developing thick, and colorful, skin
You have to have thick skin to make it in the world of body art. Piercing needles and tattoo guns aren't the only things that sting. That's the lesson Austina Obscure learned when she opened Holier Than Thou Tattoo & Body Piercing (318 Wyoming Ave., Wyoming) in 2007. Though she originally started out doing just piercings, expanding into tattoos simply made sense. Besides, she said, she'd always wanted to learn. Too bad no one wanted to teach her. “It's a male-dominated industry. That was a problem back then. It's still a thing, but it's starting to open up more to women,” Obscure explained.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, May 09, 2013
Modern Punk Models: The 5 Dark Angels
Modern Punk Models: The 5 Dark Angels
When we hear the word “punk,” we think Sex Pistols, Siouxsie Sioux, lots of leather, safety pins, fishnet stockings, mohawks, and anarchy! And with all the excitement in the run up to the opening of the Met Costume Institute exhibition "PUNK: Chaos to Couture," the FashionTV style panel have picked out our top 5 dark model angels of modern day culture, who -- despite many not having even been born in the punk era -- still carry the rebellious punk attitude, style, and non-conformist disposition.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, May 03, 2013
An Ode to Everyone With an Embarrassing 'Trendy' Tatoo
An Ode to Everyone With an Embarrassing 'Trendy' Tatoo
(Video) Noted song parodist Stephen Lynch — who had songs go viral before that was a thing — performed his song “Bad Tattoo” on SiriusXM’s Opie and Anthony. It’s a fitting tribute to all of the regretful tattoos out there in the world.
Somewhere, a guy with a barbed wire tattoo is…probably not watching this because they don’t have a functional wi-fi connection in his trailer park. But still.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, May 03, 2013
Tattoo Underground
Tattoo Underground
Regina, Saskatchewan -- In a generation where tattoos are the new norm, the thought process before getting ink has become more deliberate. Although it is still frowned upon amongst some employers, the labour world is quickly becoming more accepting. The tattoo industry is now looked at as an art, and its canvases often display the work proudly as fashion statements. In the same way that an item of clothing is either loved or hated, a tattoo often is the cause of discussion.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, May 02, 2013
Raising The Bar: Why Are Facial Piercings Deemed Unprofessional?
Raising The Bar: Why Are Facial Piercings Deemed Unprofessional?
Here I am finishing my university degree and finding myself once more in the tedious ceremonial that is the job hunt. The constant string of CV printing, interviews and searching. This is a fairly unpleasant process for most, but for someone with facial piercing it's always a bit more uncomfortable. We're always told to not get piercings because they are 'unprofessional' and will apparently hold us back from jobs but I'm still unsure why this is even a problem.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, May 02, 2013
A Delicate Piercing Craze Sweeps the Fashion Set
A Delicate Piercing Craze Sweeps the Fashion Set
I’ve never wanted to get a tattoo because I’m too afraid I’d regret it later. It seems lately, that I’m one of the only people who feels that way–and that all of lower Manhattan and Brooklyn (specifically the East Village, Williamsburg) is wallpapered in skin ink. But, still, when I turned 30 this year I wanted something. So I went to J.Colby Smith at New York Adorned, the piercer to the fashion set, and pierced my helix–that’s your ear cartilage, for the uninitiated. (Into the Gloss has an awesome, comprehensive guide to piercings, if you want to know more). I knew to go to Colby because it seemed like everyone I worked with had gone to him and had delicate arrangements of gold studs, spikes, and hoops adorning all parts of their ears and noses.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, April 29, 2013
Tattoos becoming bigger and more colourful as people parade their individuality
Tattoos becoming bigger and more colourful as people parade their individuality
Vancouver, B.C. -- As a child, Erin Smillie promised her mother she’d never tattoo her head or neck. The promise did not extend to the Australian’s arms and legs, which are wrapped in swirling tattoos that look like landscape paintings. Chilliwack’s Kevin Sexsmith has a portrait of his mother on his head, along with his wife and his father. Andie Aichholz plans to one day be “covered” from the neck down. The Vancouver woman added her seventh tattoo — a “black magic chick” — at the Vancouver Tattoo and Culture Show on Saturday. Her favourite is the octopus on her hip. Tattooing entered the mainstream more than two decades ago, as taboos around body modification relaxed in North America.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, April 28, 2013
Thunder Bay tattoo artists welcome stricter regulations
Thunder Bay tattoo artists welcome stricter regulations
Thunder Bay, Ontario -- CBC news has learned the Thunder Bay District Health Unit is looking at the feasibility of licensing tattoo parlours — and some tattoo artists in the city like the idea. At Central Body Art, where three staff members each tattoo as many as four clients a day, manager Beth Bennett said she's happy to tell customers how equipment is sterilized. But people are more interested in the price. “Cheap is not always good,” she said. “Good tattoos aren't cheap. Cheap tattoos aren't good.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, April 26, 2013
Vancouver Tattoo and Culture Show 2013
Vancouver Tattoo and Culture Show 2013
The 5th annual Vancouver Tattoo and Culture Show returns to Vancouver from April 26 to 28, 2013 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Passes are available at the door, only $20 for day passes and $45 for a weekend pass. It will be one very ‘inked’ weekend featuring Canadian and Japanese tattoo artists such as Horimasa, John the Dutchman, Ryan Halter and Katia Somerville. Check out the Vancouver Tattoo and Culture show website for a complete list and profile of featured artists. There will also be tattoo contests to honour the best portrait, cover-up, flash, lettering and much more.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, April 26, 2013
In Times of Tragedy, People Get Boston-Themed Tattoos
In Times of Tragedy, People Get Boston-Themed Tattoos
What seems like endless amounts of charities, fundraisers, and efforts to generate money for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings have cropped up in the days since April 15, including $20 million in donations to the city’s “One Fund,” which will go toward those most affected. But in this time of tragedy, as people look to help and bond together, others look to solidify their support in the form of permanent tattoos—something Carmen Vanderheiden, owner of the tattoo removal business Tataway, says can be risky. “It all boils down to—and this is what I’m finding in my own experience—is that the underlying component is that emotional decisions and emotional tattoos are more often taken off,” she says.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, April 26, 2013
Guide to Nostril Piercings
Guide to Nostril Piercings
Nostril piercings penetrate the soft cartilage that surrounds the outside of the nasal passages (nose). The piercing can be placed anywhere on the nostril, even in the dimple, but each person's nasal anatomy will make different locations look better or worse, so it's important that you're absolutely sure about the placement before making it official. Your piercer should place a small dot on your nose to show where they're going to insert the needle, and it's your job to really look at it and decide if that location is good or not.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, April 22, 2013
Thunder Bay tattoo artist's clients may be at risk
Thunder Bay tattoo artist's clients may be at risk
Thunder Bay, Ontario -- A Thunder Bay tattoo artist has been ordered to stop offering services. The health unit said it issued the order to Dale Doucet because he was providing uninspected home-based tattooing. A public health inspector with the health unit said Doucet's clients may have been put at risk of infection. “If he was, perhaps, performing a tattoo on an individual who had a blood born pathogen ... [and] he didn't adequately clean and disinfect and sterilize that equipment and, then started tattooing someone else ... those pathogens, bacteria and viruses could be passed from person to person,” Anita LaPointe said.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, April 22, 2013
A Look at Eyeball Tattoos and Extreme Body Modifications
A Look at Eyeball Tattoos and Extreme Body Modifications
At underground parties, it's not unusual to see people in novelty contact lenses, which can re-create the golden glare of a tiger or the blue-in-blue of a Dune Fremen. Some body-modders, however, wish to have their eyes permanently colored -- and are experimenting with a technique that makes this possible. "Eyeball tattoos" (technically, ink injections into the sclera or whites of the eyes) are a relatively new extreme body modification. They have garnered more controversy than Japanese Bagel Heads because the look is striking and irreversible, and the long-term effects on vision are unknown.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, April 22, 2013
Scleral Tattooing: What Are The Risks Associated With Tattooing Eyeballs
Scleral Tattooing: What Are The Risks Associated With Tattooing Eyeballs
Scleral tattooing progressed from the eyeballs of pigs in butcher shops to people looking for iris-popping artwork, if that doesn't sound painful enough maybe the fact it temporarily turns your tears black wouldn't keep you from crying. The daredevil artwork was pioneered by artists after trial and error procedures and is categorized as a rising star in the extreme body modification art world.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, April 19, 2013
Hooked on a feeling
Hooked on a feeling
Quick, picture somebody hanging from hooks. For some, that’s likely to conjure up grotesque images from a Hellraiser sequel. In actuality, however, body modification and suspension is an ancient art used to test the limits of human endurance. It’s an art that the crew of The Captain’s Sideshow proudly continues to this day. “Captain’s Sideshow is an oldschool, Coney Island sideshow that does old-school sideshow tricks like bed of nails, bed of glass and human blockheads,” said Dustin Mathis, group ringmaster. “But we’ve changed it up and put our own twist on it. We do body suspension, and we also have put in hook play, which is putting hooks in our body and doing various things with that.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, April 19, 2013
A Neo-Aztec in Mexico City
A Neo-Aztec in Mexico City
[...]Our next stop was the Sangre de Fuego, Blood of Fire, tattoo parlor, which promotes a popular neoprimitive Aztec aesthetic (their card depicts a guy slicing a thick slab of skin from his cheek). Aztecs were obsessed with body modification: they would jab thorns of maguey into their ears on religious holidays and pierce tongues and penises. Aztecs kids were initiated into adulthood at the age of eight with ear expansions, usually made from wood, leather, ceramics, or bone. Lip plugs were trendy for both men and women, but only nobles were allowed to wear gold or silver plugs or have rings hanging down from their noses.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, April 19, 2013
Brazilian Man Has Eyeballs Tattooed Black
Brazilian Man Has Eyeballs Tattooed Black
What’s the next step after you’ve had 70 per cent of your body covered in tattoos? Getting your eyeballs tattooed, obviously. So that's exactly what Rodrigo Fernando dos Santos did. “I cried ink for two days. Only now is the color of my tears lightening up. I think they are still half gray,” the 39-year-old, who is also a tattoo artist himself, told Brazil's The Local. He paid fellow inker Rafael Leao Dias nearly £350 to do the eyeball darkening.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Are Belly Button Rings Making a Comeback?
Are Belly Button Rings Making a Comeback?
As evidenced by the Fall 2013 runways, the Nineties are back with an absolute vengeance. Flannels, babydoll dresses, tiny backpacks, and Doc Martens have returned to our radar in full force. But one late-20th century trend in particular completely blindsided us when we spotted it cropping up under, well… crop tops in the past several days–yep, we’re talking about (drumroll please) belly button rings! You may be feeling a bit of anxiety over this one–we get it. It’s nearly 20 years since a pre-Clueless Alicia Silverstone had her navel pierced in front of the world in the video for Aerosmith’s “Crazy,” skyrocketing the style into a sort of right of passage for girls.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, April 15, 2013
Tattoo cover-ups rising in popularity
Tattoo cover-ups rising in popularity
Calgary, Alberta -- Alternative to tattoo removal transforms old ink -- Remember that "awesome" band back in 1988? They were so awesome, you were compelled to tattoo their logo on your back? Twenty five years later, you're older, wiser, and pondering the wisdom of inking the words "Def Leppard" between your shoulder blades. Your faded tattoo is "bringin' on the heartbreak," but removal seems like a painful and lengthy process. Fortunately, there is another option: the tattoo cover-up.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, April 14, 2013
Comforting Skin’s twitchy tattoo still bewitches
Comforting Skin’s twitchy tattoo still bewitches
Vancouver, BC -- The B.C.-filmed indie psychological thriller Comforting Skin returns to a Vancouver screen this Sunday (9:15 p.m., the Rio, Tickets $10 Adults, $8 Students, $6 Seniors)[...] Vancouver stage actor Victoria Bidewell stars as Koffie, a lonely and self destructive woman who comes to be possessed by a new tattoo. The tattoo speaks to her while migrating around her body. Hers is a brave, raw performance, with the actress essentially playing two characters.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, April 14, 2013
Sudbury far from being infected tattoo capital of Canada
Sudbury far from being infected tattoo capital of Canada
Sudbury, Ontario -- Greater Sudbury is not the infected tattoo capital of Canada, says Statistics Canada. On Twitter, people have been retweeting a post from @stats_canada that “Sudbury, ON is the infected tattoo capital of Canada.” However, the Twitter account, @stats_canada, states that it is a satire site, and that it’s “100.6% not affiliated with Statistics Canada.” Satire or not, the account is popular — the Twitter account has amassed more than 168,000 followers and its Facebook page has 809 likes.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, April 14, 2013
Chest tattoo covers woman's scars from 3 bouts of cancer
Chest tattoo covers woman's scars from 3 bouts of cancer
Ottaway, Ontario -- An Ottawa woman's elaborate tattoo across her chest, where her breasts used to be before a mastectomy, has attracted the praise of thousands online. Kelly Davidson, 34, has battled three bouts of cancer. After surviving Hodgkin's lymphoma, breast and thyroid cancers she had a double mastectomy and opted for a tattoo instead of reconstructive surgery. She said she's delighted to hear people are drawing inspiration from her tattoo, which was posted on the Facebook page, "Why We Ink."
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, April 12, 2013
In pictures: Goa's 'Nomads'
In pictures: Goa's 'Nomads'
An exhibition of photographs taken by well-known Indian fashion photographer Rohit Chawla was recently held at the Religare Art Gallery in the capital, Delhi. Titled "Goa Style", the exhibition showed pictures of foreign travellers visiting the holiday destination of Goa. He says the "nomads" he met came from countries such as the US, Easter Island, Chile, Spain and Russia. The men and women - with tattoos and body piercings - came dressed in dramatic outfits made with lace, leather, fur and feathers and immediately attracted attention.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, April 12, 2013
New Brunswick Dental Society warns of oral piercing dangers
New Brunswick Dental Society warns of oral piercing dangers
The New Brunswick Dental Society is taking aim at oral piercings, saying there must be more education and regulation around the industry to cut down on disease and other dental problems. Body piercer Becca McCabe does about a dozen tongue piercings a month. She says she always tells her client to practice good oral hygiene to prevent infection, and informs them about potential risks associated with oral piercings. “We also tell them not to play with it, which is difficult,” says McCabe. “A lot of people develop oral fixations. People like to play with their jewelry, especially when it’s in their mouth, and it gets hard not to.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, April 07, 2013
You Show Me Yours: Tattoo Nation's Corey Miller
You Show Me Yours: Tattoo Nation's Corey Miller
The former L.A. Ink star tells us what he thinks of the mainstream appeal of his beloved artform -- Once reserved for society's more unseemly characters, tattoos have in the last two decades become acceptable for anyone above voting age. Peer around any weight room, college campus, or grocery store checkout line, and you’re bound to see ink ranging from meaningful memorials of loved ones to ill-advised tramp stamps. (Sometimes, they're one and the same.)
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, April 07, 2013
Know What You’re Doing: Tattoos and Piercings with Some Extras
Know What You’re Doing: Tattoos and Piercings with Some Extras
Every year I get the urge for a new tattoo, new piercing or hair color just to mix things up a bit. I have six tattoos, more than eight piercings and dye my hair at least once every year or two. Having learned a few things here and there I’m going to share with you some tips on what to look for and consider in body modification. Regardless of your location or job, if you are considering any form of body modification there are a few things you should really keep in mind. Hair dying isn’t as serious as tattoos or piercings, but I will say a few things about it. Try to avoid ammonia and/or peroxide in the dye itself, for it can really fry out your hair without you being able to see the damage. Also, make sure you aren’t allergic to any ingredient used in the product for obvious reasons, so you don’t break out in a rash or have any other harsh reaction from it.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, April 06, 2013
Health warning for tattooing in Hamilton
Health warning for tattooing in Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario -- Hamilton residents who had tattoos done by an unlicensed artist working out of a private residence, on 932 King Street East or 307 Barton Street East, are being advised to get immediate medical attention. Public health services say the tattooing equipment was not cleaned or sterilized between clients. Those who've had tattoos done in these locations may be at risk of getting blood borne infections like Hepatitis C, or HIV.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, April 06, 2013
Justin Bieber Could Be Fined For Tattooing Without A License
Justin Bieber Could Be Fined For Tattooing Without A License
Neighbourhood troublemaker? Check? No-shirt-haver? Check. Monkey abandoner? Check. Illegal tattoo artist? Yes, it looks like Justin Bieber can add that to his impressive resume. According to The Daily News, Justin inked New York tattoo artist Bang Bang after he was tattooed last June. The problem is that you can’t just go around tattooing without a license. The fine is $2,000 so it’s not going to break his piggy bank. Bang Bang, who has a real name that’s Keith McCurdy, has a habit of asking celebrity clients for tattoos, and has body art by Katy Perry and Chris Brown.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, April 04, 2013
Tattoo artists hang on the walls
Tattoo artists hang on the walls
Otttawa, Ontario -- The Atomic Rooster is a bar and bistro that’s making an effort to have real art on its walls. The latest show is titled Ink and Oil, and it features works by Ottawa tattoo artists including Glen Paradis, Joel Conroy, Julie Card and others. The vernissage is 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2, and the show continues to April 28. What I’ll be looking to see is which of the artists are simply transferring their tattoo art to other surfaces (canvas, board, etc.), and which are pushing themselves beyond their comfort zone to less-familiar, non-tattoo places.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, April 04, 2013
Good people, bad tattoos: New television special shines spotlight on America’s worst tattoos
Good people, bad tattoos: New television special shines spotlight on America’s worst tattoos
Many bad tattoos spring from a combination of youth and inebriation, according to tattoo artists. In honor of the upcoming TLC show, 'America's Worst Tattoos,' New Yorkers show off their worst ink and experts dole out tips for getting a tattoo you'll love forever. Piercings can be removed, but tattoos are forever. But that doesn’t stop people from getting bad tattoos. In fact, there are so many regrettable tattoos that on Thursday, TLC will air the two-part special “America's Worst Tattoos,” a compendium of unfortunate ink stories and transformations.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, April 04, 2013
'Alt scene' praises move to record attacks on punks, goths and emos as hate crimes
'Alt scene' praises move to record attacks on punks, goths and emos as hate crimes
United Kingdom -- Attacks on subcultures will be treated with the same seriousness as offences against race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or transgender identity -- Attacks against goths, punks, emo kids, metallers and other followers of alternative music scenes will be recorded as hate crimes by Manchester Police. The move has been hailed by campaigners as a much needed drive to tackle a form of prejudice that causes misery to thousands every year but rarely receives much attention. It is the first time a British police force has classed attacks on subcultures with the same seriousness as offences against race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or transgender identity.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, March 31, 2013
Stretching: A Brief Look
Stretching: A Brief Look
Gauging, stretching, weighing – whatever you would like to call it, the concept is the same: making a hole in the body bigger in diameter in order to insert jewelry of a wider diameter. Wandering the crowd at any rock or metal concert there is destined to be at least one person with more metal in their earlobe than skin.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, March 31, 2013
Tattoos, body modifications represent more than they let on
Tattoos, body modifications represent more than they let on
Considering the vast expansion of body modifications among mainstream Americans within the last several decades, you’d think they would earn a better rep. According to a study by author Derek John Roberts, estimates on the amount of Americans with tattoos range from 1 in 10 to 1 in 5. No longer solely attributed to societal deviance, spiritual expression or both, body modifications are being viewed as positive contributions to identity formation and fashion. Altering one’s appearance — whether by tattoos, piercings, hair dye, etc. — has become an acceptable form of expression among youth culture, ranging in reasons from simply being cool to reminders of personal value.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, March 29, 2013
Tattoo Nation: Film Review
Tattoo Nation: Film Review
Tracing the family tree of one type of tattoo artistry back to its roots in prisons and other places of ill repute, Eric Schwartz's Tattoo Nation proves more serious about history than expected, spending ample time on light sociology before putting its most mindblowingly intricate body art onscreen. Enjoyable face time with the grandfathers of "black-and-gray" tattooing makes the doc a colorful ride even for non-fanatics, but those serious enough to attend conventions and subscribe to tattoo mags will be its most reliable audience.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, March 28, 2013
Four hooks and some rope: Not your typical piercing
Four hooks and some rope: Not your typical piercing
Thunder Bay, Ontario -- It’s not every day when you hear someone say they want to hang from hooks pierced through their own flesh, although I suppose I’m not exactly the most conventional person in the first place. Nonetheless, I recently saw myself standing with a friend of mine at the foot of a run-down - frankly, abandoned looking - building, wondering if I was in the right place. The address seemed correct, the email said “studio two,” yet there wasn’t much to go on to determine which door was which.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, March 27, 2013
5 Body Modifications That Can Give You A Sixth Sense
5 Body Modifications That Can Give You A Sixth Sense
Body modification has taken on vastly different meanings over the years, from wearing makeup and piercing our ears to getting tattoos and going to tanning salons. As the Verge and futurist blog i09 have reported, body modification now even covers "biohackers" who seek to make changes to their bodies so they can gain additional senses. This new form of body modification may be heading mainstream -- and fast.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Surface vs. dermal piercing
Surface vs. dermal piercing
I was asked recently what the difference was between a surface piercing and a dermal piercing. While each has their own appeal, there are very distinct issues that ned to be considered. Here is my answer hopefully demystifing the process for you. The textbook definition of a surface piercing is where the jewelry enters and exits on the same surface plane of the skin. A popular surface piercing is the naval piercing. In simple terms the migration of surface piercings are greater because the jewelry bar does not go 'through' the skin but rather 'under' it.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, March 25, 2013
Man's Netflix tattoo scores free year's service
Man's Netflix tattoo scores free year's service
A man who permanently inked his body with the Netflix brandname has received a year-long free subscription to the online streaming service. A man using the Twitter account TheRealMyron, later identified by media reports as Myron Robinson of Kokomo, Ind., sent out a message with a photo of his recent tattoo — the Netflix logo on his upper torso. The message was directed at Netflix, with Robinson telling the company he "loves them" and that it should feature him in a commercial.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, March 25, 2013
Unlicensed tattoo artist prompts health warning
Unlicensed tattoo artist prompts health warning
Hamilton, Ontario -- Hamilton Public Health Services is advising people who received a tattoo from an unlicensed artist to seek medical attention. Public health says the tattoos were given at a private residence at 932 King St. East or 307 Barton St. East and there is evidence that the tattooing equipment used by this artist was not cleaned and sterilized between clients. This could put people at risk for blood-borne infections such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, or HIV. Public health recommends anyone who may be affected speak to their physician about the need for testing.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, March 01, 2013
‘Ink Master’ and the Tattoo Culture: Does mainstreaming tattoos ruin art form?
‘Ink Master’ and the Tattoo Culture: Does mainstreaming tattoos ruin art form?
When I first heard about “Ink Master” before its premiere season two years ago, I could not wait to watch it. I had just gotten my first tattoo a few months before the season began and I was curious to see if I would learn anything new from watching the show. Then I began noticing a trend in social media and other sites from the subculture of the tattooed: they were not pleased. Many artists boasted they would not support a show that glorified the artists over the art in a way that was disrespectful and negative to the culture.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, February 28, 2013
Inking script into skin the latest tattoo trend
Inking script into skin the latest tattoo trend
Edmonton, Alberta -- Megan McGregor is a hard-working Grade 12 student in Sherwood Park, dreaming about a career in medicine and the tattoo she plans to get as soon as she turns 18. She and her friend, Hannah Kirchenbauer, an aspiring writer who hopes to one day get her PhD in English, will likely go with a couple of friends this fall to get tattoos together, once they’ve all turned 18, the age at which they can get inked without their parents’ consent. Not that their parents don’t approve. Kirchenbauer’s folks are buying her a tattoo as a gift for high school graduation and her 18th birthday. McGregor’s mother has nothing against tattoos — she has one of her own that reads “famille” (French for family), on her wrist.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, February 28, 2013
Nine tips before getting your body pierced
Nine tips before getting your body pierced
Women once got their ears pierced simply to wear a wider variety of jewelry. But these days, more and more women and men are getting other parts of their bodies pierced -- from eyebrows and noses to navels, tongues, and genitals -- as a popular form of personal, cultural, or artistic expression.
By one U.S. estimate, 49% of women and 19% of men aged 18 to 50 had piercings in their earlobes in 2004. And 21% of women and 8% of men had piercings in other places.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, February 26, 2013
P.Ink Launches Pinterest Tattoo Ideas and Inspiration Post-Mastectomy for Breast Cancer Survivors
P.Ink Launches Pinterest Tattoo Ideas and Inspiration Post-Mastectomy for Breast Cancer Survivors
To showcase the healing potential of reconstructive ink, today P.INK debuts a video documenting one survivor's experience. The video chronicles Los Angeles breast cancer survivor Molly Ortwein getting a seven hour scar coverage tattoo. Through a beta version of P.INK, Ortwein connected with Miami-based tattoo artist Colby Butler, who inked her two-year-old mastectomy scars this past January. "I was the last person you'd expect to get a tattoo," said Ortwein. "But I rethought my options after my doctor told me that I wouldn't get my nipples back. My coverage tattoos gave me the confidence to close that chapter and move forward."
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, February 24, 2013
Celebrity tattoo artist Megan Massacre explains why people get tattoos
Celebrity tattoo artist Megan Massacre explains why people get tattoos
Megan Massacre knows why some people see their skin as a canvas. She is the featured tattoo artist at this weekend's Skin Deep Body Art Expo at The DeltaPlex. "Some people look at their body and think, 'I should have been born with a tattoo right here,'" she said. Massacre also works as a tattoo artist on the TLC reality TV show "NY Ink," and works as an alternative model in New York. "People get tattooed for any reason from it's cool to they're drunk and it's a bad idea. It really is endless," she said.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, February 24, 2013
The Point of Piercing
The Point of Piercing
Hoops, posts and metal studs are hardly startling finds on the bodies of college kids. Body piercings have become increasingly common among 16 to 25-year-olds during the last decade. In 2009, CBS News reported that over half of college students have piercings beyond lobe earrings for women. With the growing trend of body art, the appeal of piercings, though varied from individual to individual, can’t be denied. For some, like Muir College junior Liz Edelman, piercings are a form of self-expression. Edelman has a total of eight piercings on her ears, nose, lip and navel...
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, February 22, 2013
Breast cancer survivor’s chest tattoo photo goes viral after Facebook tries to remove it
Breast cancer survivor’s chest tattoo photo goes viral after Facebook tries to remove it
When Ontario-based tattoo design collective Custom Tattoo Design posted a photo on their Facebook wall of a tattoo that covered the bare chest of a breast-cancer survivor, Facebook removed it. It was reposted. And then it was removed again. Facebook officials claimed the image violated the nudity rules in its terms of service. Apparently post-mastectomy tattoos falls short of the Facebook nod. "We also impose limitations on the display of nudity. We aspire to respect people’s right to share content of personal importance, whether those are photos of a sculpture like Michelangelo's David or family photos of a child breastfeeding," the social media company states. To protest the repeated removals, the tattoo group asked that people share the photo — and share they did. "We also impose limitations on the display of nudity. We aspire to respect people’s right to share content of personal importance, whether those are photos of a sculpture like Michelangelo's David or family photos of a child breastfeeding," the social media company states.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, February 22, 2013
Bruce Campbell will pay for your Evil Dead tattoo
Bruce Campbell will pay for your Evil Dead tattoo
How dedicated are you to The Evil Dead? Last night, the cult classic film’s star put out a challenge on his Twitter feed claiming he will reimburse the first lucky (or unlucky) person willing to get inked in celebration of his production of the film’s 2013 remake. Sounds easy enough, but there are a few ground rules: the tat must be inspired by the new Fede Alvarez remake coming out this April, and it must beat out this maniacal masterpiece...
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, February 22, 2013
Toronto’s tattoo parlours, hair salons to face tougher licensing rules
Toronto’s tattoo parlours, hair salons to face tougher licensing rules
Toronto, Ontario -- City council is expected next week to require tattoo parlours, piercing shops, hair and nail salons to hold licences and display health cards in windows. If the city has its way, you could soon be seeing red, yellow and green pass/fail signs in the windows of close to 3,000 more businesses, from barber shops and nail salons to acupuncturists and tattoo parlours. Sweeping new licensing rules to be debated by council next week will require all facilities that risk exposure to blood to hold licences, at a cost of $319 plus $210 annually, and post inspection results in the window.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, February 22, 2013
Inksanity Open
Inksanity Open
Nanaimo, B.C. -- Anyone looking for a new tattoo or body piercing in Nanaimo can check out the Inksanity tattoo shop at A-1483 Bowen Road which officially opened on Jan. 1. The business is located in the same spot as Inside Out Tattoo, which closed about a year ago. Currently the tattoo and body piercing shop has one main artist, who goes by the name Sugar and brings years of experience in the field to his first business, as well as assistant Tanya Simpson. Simpson said that after the first few weeks in operation, the shop is drawing a steady stream of new customers.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, February 21, 2013
Artists use skin as a canvas
Artists use skin as a canvas
Lethbridge, Alberta -- canvases and a unique art show in Lethbridge features those who work on skin. Epic Dermis is an art show and sale celebrating tattoo art forms in a variety of media. The show is the brainchild of Todd Lacharite, a concert and arts promoter in Lethbridge. With more than 10 tattoo shops in the city Lacharite figured their work should be highlighted. "I purchased a whole of bunch of practice skins. They're for tattoo artists that are apprenticing just to practise. It's like tattooing on real skin except you're not tattooing on someone," Lacharite said.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, February 21, 2013
Smart questions to ask to ensure a safe, positive tattooing experience
Smart questions to ask to ensure a safe, positive tattooing experience
As tattooing grows in popularity in American culture, many people know what they want in a tattoo but still have questions about how to ensure a safe and positive experience. Though tattoo culture might appear confusing to the uninitiated, a few insider tips can shed some light on the process. An important part of getting a tattoo is deciding where to get it done. Picking a shop could be the best or worst decision you make when getting a tattoo. It can be an incredibly simple process for those with previous experience, but making the right choice can prove difficult for first-time clients.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, February 21, 2013
Got Piercings? Plan on Taking Your Jewelry Out Before Surgery
Got Piercings? Plan on Taking Your Jewelry Out Before Surgery
It may sound like an annoying rule that some hospital dreamed up just to make your life more difficult, but taking your piercings out before surgery is just plain smart. Piercings in general are not dangerous, and pose minimal risk for infection, but you still need to take them out before a procedure. Plan on putting spacers in prior to your procedure so you don't piercings don't close. Same with regular jewelry, take it off before surgery. If you are having imagine studies (xray, MRI, CT scans) of a part that is pierced, same thing goes... take out the piercing.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, February 21, 2013
More than just poking holes
More than just poking holes
You would think that if needles made you squeamish, being a piercer wouldn’t exactly be a natural career choice. Not so for Mackie Hunter. When Hunter started her piercing apprenticeship with Seven Sagas in Greensboro a few years ago, she wasn’t sure she could actually stomach pushing a needle through skin. She already had several piercings of her own, now totaling six, and has been drawn to the bodyart industry for as long as she’s known tattoos and piercings existed. Fortunately it didn’t take too long to get over her fears, and now Hunter takes a clinical approach to her profession.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Suspension: Taking Piercings to the Extreme
Suspension: Taking Piercings to the Extreme
It seems as though everything can be taken to the extreme: extreme sports, extreme eating, even extreme couponing. Those who participate often say it is "for the rush." But what about taking piercing to the extreme? Piercing is a common enough practice, but some people are looking for more. “People are into piercings, body modifications, different things," said suspension artist Bradde Hamman. "People like to push themselves to the limit. And this is one way people push themselves.” It's called "suspension." Participants hang the human body from various hooks pierced directly through the flesh.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, February 12, 2013
I've got you... blunder my skin!
I've got you... blunder my skin!
Hilarious photos of misspelled tattoos reveal why you should take a dictionary when you get body art -- Misspelling a word in an email is one thing but permanently tattooing it onto your body is quite another. Unfortunately, as these hilarious pictures prove, many tattooists did not bother doing a spell check before inking their hapless clients. One man's 'awsome' tattoo was sadly less awesome than he intended when a crucial letter was missed out. A drama fan attempted to pay tribute to their favourite art form but had a bit of shock when their tragedy mask was spelt 'tradgey'.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Adele’s New Tattoo: A Tribute to Son?
Adele’s New Tattoo: A Tribute to Son?
For someone who doesn’t want to publicly reveal her baby boy’s name, Adele sure is dropping a lot of hints! While picking up the Grammy for Best Solo Pop Performance on Sunday, the “Set Fire to the Rain” singer – who gave birth to a son in October – flashed a new tattoo: a script “A” behind her right ear, which was only noticeable because her strawberry blond locks were styled in an updo. While the British songstress said in January that she’s “not ready” to share the name of the child she welcomed with her entrepreneur beau Simon Konecki because it’s “too personal and intimate,” the latest clue gives more credence to reports that her wee one is named Angelo.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, February 10, 2013
Casting directors shouldn't punish actors with tattoos, piercings
Casting directors shouldn't punish actors with tattoos, piercings
Were you bothered by Daniel Day Lewis’ pierced ears in “Lincoln” because it threw off the film’s historical accuracy? Never mind all of the praise Lewis has received for transforming into the 16th president in mind and body. The minuscule holes in the actor’s earring-less ears were enough to distract some history buffs, writes The Times’ Rebecca Keegan. Seriously. That reaction probably didn’t come as much of a surprise to Hollywood casting directors who’ve been tasked more than ever with finding actors whose natural looks fit in seamlessly in period pieces.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, February 10, 2013
Are Penis Piercings Safe?
Are Penis Piercings Safe?
All piercings contain some degree of risk—infection, irritation, or the body rejecting the piercing (which means that the jewelry in the piercing gradually migrates closer to the skin’s surface and may eventually fall out). This is true no matter what part of the body is pierced. You can minimize these risks by choosing a qualified, experienced piercing professional who maintains a safe and sterile work environment and by practicing good piercing aftercare.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, February 10, 2013
’56 Star’ Artist Tattoos Name Across Teen Girlfriend’s Face
’56 Star’ Artist Tattoos Name Across Teen Girlfriend’s Face
Anybody remember the Belgian teen who claimed she fell asleep in a tattoo artist’s chair, then woke up with 56 stars on her face, only to later let everybody know that, no, she had totally requested the design and was just scared of her angry father? Unfortunately, the artist who tattooed her, Rouslan Toumaniantz, still had his career ruined by the fandango and actually fled to Russia in order to start over. After he was there, he began to date an 18-year-old named Lesya online. The pair eventually met in person and, 24 hours into knowing each other IRL, Lesya asked Toumaniantz to tattoo his name on her face.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, February 08, 2013
The Power of Piercings
The Power of Piercings
The piercing is something of a university phenomenon: a uni-life crisis, if you like. Before university, few piercings exist beyond the traditional earlobe. Some people do break the trend with the odd addition but, for the most part, ‘different’ piercings are rare — avoided, even. There are some obvious reasons for this. Schools often ban piercings, and for others the mere suggestion of a piercing would send their parents into some kind of coronary trauma. In contrast, university is a place of freedom — a place where many of us, for the first time, gain the independence to take control of our lives; in many ways, the piercing is a physical representation of this. It symbolises choice.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, February 08, 2013
Tattoos’ Impressions in Print and in Film
Tattoos’ Impressions in Print and in Film
“Certainly the history seems to be more legitimately documented now,” said Margot Mifflin, who recently updated her 1997 study, “Bodies of Subversion: A Secret History of Women and Tattoo” (powerHouse Books). Reality television programs like “Ink Master” and “Permanent Mark,” she added, “seem to have raised people’s consciousness about the quality of tattooing you can get, and also the meaning.” For the new edition Ms. Mifflin added discoveries about Jessie Knight, who ran tattoo shops in British seaports from the 1920s to the ’80s. Knight attached her needles to doorbell mechanisms, and offered designs including Disney characters and Queen Elizabeth.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, February 03, 2013
Tattoo and earring photos released in effort to identify woman's body
Tattoo and earring photos released in effort to identify woman's body
Victoria, B.C. -- Coroners are asking the public to help identify a woman whose body was pulled from the Burrard Inlet Thursday. According to the B.C. Coroners Service, the woman appears to be Caucasian and between 25 and 40 years. She has an olive complexion, dark brown hair, with brown eyes. She is about five-foot-one, and weighs about 112 pounds. She has Asian characters tattooed on her right inner calf and left forearm, and a tattoo of lilies and a bumblebee on her right shoulder. She was wearing size small black leggings and a size small pink sweater. An earring with a purple gemstone was found in her right ear.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, February 02, 2013
Earlobe gauges: Stretching the bounds of fashion
Earlobe gauges: Stretching the bounds of fashion
Piercing and stretching ears, sometimes to an extreme, is moving from edgy body modification to mainstream as the practice becomes more common. Gauges — the jewelry put inside a stretched lobe — are now being sold in many specialty stores. They come in a variety of colors, patterns and sizes. Gauges even come in a flesh tone, in case you want it to blend in and cover the holes. C.J. Lastella and Krista Slack of Controlled Abrasions tattoo and piercing parlor on Route 6/209 both have gauges in their ears. This week they answered a few questions about the practice of wearing gauges.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, February 02, 2013
The Future of Extreme Body Mods: A Chat With Steve Haworth
The Future of Extreme Body Mods: A Chat With Steve Haworth
"Let me show you something," says Steve Haworth. Grinning like a kid, he places a small magnetic ball on the tip of his right ring finger. He lets go and rotates his wrist. The ball sticks. The force is with Steve, thanks to a neodymium magnet in his fingertip that attracts objects and detects fields -- a feeling he describes as a sixth sense. When he turns on an electric can opener, the metal dances. Steve Haworth is one of the world's best-known body modification artists. Flesh is his medium, and his works expand the creative possibilities of human appearance and ability.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, January 31, 2013
The Modified Dolls erasing negative stereotypes of tattoos and piercings
The Modified Dolls erasing negative stereotypes of tattoos and piercings
Don't judge a Doll by her cover. That is the attitude shared by members of The Modified Dolls, a worldwide nonprofit organization of women who have "modified" their bodies with tattoos and/or piercings. The Dolls' goal is to erase negative stereotypes about piercings and tattoos through monthly fundraising events in its chapters' communities. The group has chapters in more than 25 states and overseas chapters in Australia and England.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Tattooing Religious Figures
Tattooing Religious Figures
It is always risky drawing over sacred images, because it may be viewed as a lack of respect to a religious group. But Ramon Maiden is ballsy enough to ink over Jesus Christ and Saint Teresa of Avila. His work is influenced from Classical European and Mexican art, and Polynesian and American old-school tattoos.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Intrepid Women Celebrated in Tattoo Exhibit
Intrepid Women Celebrated in Tattoo Exhibit
The latest exhibit at Tattoo Archive in Winston-Salem celebrates female tattoo attractions — provocative and daring women who performed in circus sideshows as human canvasses beginning in the late 19th century. The visual objects of gawkers, their predecessors were tattooed tribesmen from the South Pacific brought back to Western Europe by explorers for presentation to royals and other members of high society and treated as exotic specimens for pseudo-scientific examination. The female tattoo attractions share a lineage with early burlesque performers, and their poses betray a hint of flirtation that points towards the Hollywood pinup girls of the 1940s and 1950s.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, January 28, 2013
Why I Wear What I Wear:'I feel very lost when I feel normal'
Why I Wear What I Wear:'I feel very lost when I feel normal'
Great Falls, Montana -- It’s hard not to notice Amanda Rothweiler. With her bright green mohawk, multiple piercings and large tattoo on her skull, she stands out in a crowd. But unless people are rude, she doesn’t pay attention to their awkward stares. “Honestly, I wear what I wear because I like it, that’s simply why,” Rothweiler said. “I would rather be stared at for looking like a weird person than look like everyone else. I guess in some ways you could say I do it for attention but not entirely. I do it because I generally like the way it looks.” Rothweiler is wearing leopard-print leggings and a black Deviantart hoodie. Her boyfriend found her Army-issue leather boots outside a Dumpster and she personalized them by adding colorful laces.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, January 28, 2013
Seriously crazy tattoos
Seriously crazy tattoos
Mary Jose Cristerna known as The Vampire Woman poses for a photo at the 3rd annual Venezuela Tattoo International Expo in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 25, 2013. As many as 300 tattoo artists from a variety of countries are expected to attend the 4-day event, sharing their skills including under the skin implants and body piercings.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, January 26, 2013
Shamanic Skin: The Art of Magical Tattoos
Shamanic Skin: The Art of Magical Tattoos
It has been estimated that 500 years ago perhaps 1,000 indigenous cultures practiced tattooing. Today, most of these groups have completely vanished from the face of the earth, and only a few continue to persist in the remote hinterlands of Asia, South America, Africa, Melanesia, and Polynesia. Only fragments of this once rich heritage of body art remain in our modern world, but they allow us to gain a glimpse of a culture that connected tattoo, ritual, religion, myth, and nature from which indigenous tattoo culture ultimately sprang.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, January 25, 2013
Tattoo historian follows ink trail of art
Tattoo historian follows ink trail of art
Vancouver, B.C. -- Local tattoo artist Nick Wasko comes by his love of ink naturally. "My grandfather was a carnie and he had a lot of tattoos," said Wasko. "I've seen pictures of him and some of his tattoos look a little homemade, but some of the other ones look professional." Wasko is concerned that the history of North American traditional tattooing isn't being recorded and archived. According to Wasko, "traditional" tattooing in North America includes subjects popular in the 1920s through 1940s, including eagles, flags and pinup girls. In an attempt to preserve as much history as he can about traditional tattooing in Vancouver, Wasko is looking for anyone who was tattooed, or had family members involved in tattooing, before the 1970s.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, January 25, 2013
How to Become a Licensed Tattoo Artist in Canada
How to Become a Licensed Tattoo Artist in Canada
You've spent your life making artistic doodles and drawings, and maybe you dream of displaying those creations on a human canvas. Yes, we're talking about tattoos. No longer relegated to the seedy underworld, the tattoo artist (or permanent cosmetics professional) is now a career path held in high esteem, especially in Canadian society, where the government is debating public funding of tattoo parlors inside of prisons to prevent the spread of disease from using unclean needles. Here's a quick guide to some of the steps you might need to take if you're considering a future in "doing ink."
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Beautiful scars: an extreme form of body modification
Beautiful scars: an extreme form of body modification
Nanaimo, B.C. -- Every scar has a story. It might recall past struggles and pain, courage and bravery, or mistakes and sheer stupidity. It could be the result of an accident, a life-saving procedure or the birth of a child. It can even be the physical expression of a hurting spirit. Scars often draw powerful and visceral reactions from their observers, whether sympathy, concern or machismo respect and admiration. That’s because most people view them as violations of an unwilling body. Others, however, choose to have patterns, symbols and words carved into their skin in order to be meaningfully and permanently marked. This is scarification, a form of body modification that originated in equatorial cultures but is now attracting adherents in Western culture.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Natural & Organic Body Jewelry - History, Types & Care
Natural & Organic Body Jewelry - History, Types & Care
For those that want to learn about the history of natural and organic body jewelry, I'll take you back 4,000 years ago during the days of the Egyptian Pharaohs. Body jewelry during these times were only for the royal family. In these days, only the royal family and the wealthy were allowed body piercings. But only the Pharaoh was allowed a belly button piercing. Anyone who had a belly button piercing, besides the Pharaoh, was executed. But the Egyptians loved their body jewelry and it put people in a different social class. It even was thought to bring luck or even special powers to those who wore it.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, January 21, 2013
Ottawa mulls infection safeguards for spas, tattoo parlours
Ottawa mulls infection safeguards for spas, tattoo parlours
Ottawa's board of health is meeting Monday and it is expected to approve a motion ordering Ottawa Public Health to explore ways to better improve infection prevention and control practices at personal service settings, a broad category of businesses that includes everything from tattoo parlours to spas. (See sidebar.) Marotta said she agrees with the idea of increased inspections and tighter control on infection prevention.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, January 21, 2013
Tattoo tolerance: older generation must embrace body art
Tattoo tolerance: older generation must embrace body art
Most grandparents in this country would probably shake their heads with disdain at the idea of their teenage grandson tattooing his entire left arm or piercing his lip. My parents in particular describe tattoos as unprofessional and tasteless, even as likely to destroy one’s chances of ever being taken seriously. Although I’ve always been the type to obey everything my parents say, I think this judgment is ignorant. As our generation comes of age and begins to preach new moral standings, the stigmas associated with tattoos begin to fade, and rightfully so. In a time when the new generation is breaking social barriers and combating conservative ideologies, discrimination against body art is simply unreasonable and outdated.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, January 19, 2013
Guide to Cheek Piercings (Dimples)
Guide to Cheek Piercings (Dimples)
Cheek piercings are exactly what they sound like. They are located on the (facial) cheeks, either in pre-existing dimples or in the same approximate area in order to simulate the look of a dimple. Typically, this is a symmetrical piercing, meaning that both cheeks would be pierced at the same time so they match. This is a popular piercing because there's something about dimples that symbolizes childhood. When a person smiles and has natural dimples, there's an element of innocence that remains even when the person is older.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, January 19, 2013
Tattoos, piercings OK for Ottawa Hospital staff, arbitrator rules
Tattoos, piercings OK for Ottawa Hospital staff, arbitrator rules
Ottawa, Ontario -- The Ottawa Hospital’s pioneering attempt to impose a dress code on its staff has been struck down by a labour arbitrator, who ruled there was no justification for ordering workers to cover up their tattoos and remove their piercings. Defending a policy considered unique in Canadian health care, the hospital had argued the body art could be disturbing to patients who need all the help they can get to recover.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, January 17, 2013
Are facial tattoos still taboo?
Are facial tattoos still taboo?
A tattooed face hasn't held back the Czech presidential hopeful Vladimir Franz. Are facial tattoos finally acceptable – and what drives people to ink their faces? Vladimir Franz has a face you remember. As well as being an opera composer, a painter and a professor at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, he is currently in third place in the presidential race in his native Czech Republic. He is also covered from head to toe in tattoos.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, January 17, 2013
Inked: Tattoos can prove harmless, harmful or helpful
Inked: Tattoos can prove harmless, harmful or helpful
Beautiful Women and Dead guys are always popular. Barbed wire and butterflies may have passed. Pirates are back, with their ships and their swords and their wenches, scantily clad. Skulls still come adorned with roses; eagles with the backdrop of the American flag. Marvel superheroes and NFL mascots seem unrelenting. Angel wings spread across backs. Devil horns peak over hips. Christ appears, crucified or ascended. Koi fish flit by. Octopi are big. Unicorns exist. Praying hands and winged hearts, impulsive acts and long-thought-out commemorations, so go the tattoo trends passing through the parlor door.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, January 15, 2013
African Women Tattoo Their Gums Black for a More Beautiful Smile
African Women Tattoo Their Gums Black for a More Beautiful Smile
Senegal, Africa -- There's a new page in the ever-growing book of bizarre beauty procedures. Joining the list of treatments like extreme butt implants and Japan's "bagel heads" comes gum tattooing. More specifically, tattooing your gums black to achieve a more beautiful smile. While it may sound extreme to most, women in the country of Senegal have been doing it for years. The West African country inherited the custom from their ancestors and believe it will help women attract men. We're now learning about this unique beautification method thanks to a video that has surfaced following a young woman named Marième as she undergoes the procedure.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Up to his ears fixing damage from piercing
Up to his ears fixing damage from piercing
Canberra, Australia -- Maturing Canberrans who stretched their ears in their youth with extreme piercings are turning to plastic surgeons in increasing numbers to have the damage reversed. Plastic surgeon Tony Tonks performs the half-hour surgery under local anaesthetic at least once a month in Canberra. "Perforated ears or cleft of the ear, depending on how they do it, the cost in my operating theatre here is $350 and there is a small Medicare rebate on that,'' Dr Tonks said "The excess [skin] is excised and the bits that are left are reshaped to form an ear lobe.'' Dr Tonks said skin had an amazing capacity to snap back into shape and surgery was only necessary when the hole was larger than 10 millimetres.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, January 10, 2013
Hello, Sailor Jerry — tattoos, rum and a cross-country Airstream
Hello, Sailor Jerry — tattoos, rum and a cross-country Airstream
Toronto, Ontario -- Arron Thomas won’t go so far as to say his looks got him the job. There is the moustache, which he calls: “An out of control Fu Manchu, with a modified Lemmy,” meaning the lip coverage doesn’t quite connect to his sideburns. And then there are the tattoos: his left arm is a tribute to The Big Lebowski; on his right is a fake Rolex set to two minutes to midnight, an Iron Maiden call out. Tattoo-edness is pretty much a prerequisite for the ambassador to the Sailor Jerry rum brand.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, January 10, 2013
Tattoo School: Getting 'A's' in Ink
Tattoo School: Getting 'A's' in Ink
Watch Video: "World's Only Tattoo School" in Louisiana hosts a two-week course to turn students into artists.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, January 10, 2013
How to Gauge Your Ears Without Getting a Blowout
How to Gauge Your Ears Without Getting a Blowout
So some of you "gauge" (stretch) your ears, or other piercings, correct? But many people don't know how to do this correctly and use guages, screw end fittings or other items that can damage the health of their skin. This article will teach you how to stretch your earlobe with tapers. This is considered appropriate for 00ga and smaller. Beyond that, the taping method is recommended.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, January 07, 2013
Tattoo Inks Pose Health Risks
Tattoo Inks Pose Health Risks
Tempted to get a tattoo? Today, people from all walks of life have tattoos, which might lead you to believe that tattoos are completely safe. But there are health risks that can result in the need for medical care. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is particularly concerned about a family of bacteria called nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) that has been found in a recent outbreak of illnesses linked to contaminated tattoo inks.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, January 07, 2013
Justin Bieber gets another tattoo
Justin Bieber gets another tattoo
Justin Bieber took to Instagram to show off his newest tattoo. The already inked 18-year-old singer added three roses to the already existing praying hand from March on his lower left calf. This isn’t his first set of tattoos, or his first Internet reveal. He posted a shirtless photo that showed off a new crown tattoo on his upper chest in September.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, January 06, 2013
Getting a (Slightly Geeky) Tattoo at 30
Getting a (Slightly Geeky) Tattoo at 30
A few of weeks ago, I turned 30. While some people get totally bummed out at the idea of becoming so old, I am actually more excited than anything else. Thirty feels not like an important number, but an important milestone. As such, I am using it as an excuse to evaluate where I am, pat myself on the back for the things I am proud of, and adjust my attitude towards the thing that I am not.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, January 06, 2013
Dave Navarro gets real about tattoos and how music saved his life
Dave Navarro gets real about tattoos and how music saved his life
Hot off the second season of “Ink Master,” host and Jane’s Addiction lead guitarist Dave Navarro has signed on to do a third season. The tattoo competition show, which airs on Spike TV, has become a surprise hit by showcasing tattooing, not just as a form of self-expression but as another form of art all together. “I’m excited about season three. I think it’s nice to be able to highlight an art form that used to be frowned upon, yet it’s something that takes tremendous skill, a lot of talent and a lot of care,” says Navarro. ”A lot of people have come up to me and said they didn’t realize how much went into the craft,” adds Navarro.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, January 05, 2013
Shooting at B.C. tattoo parlour injures woman
Shooting at B.C. tattoo parlour injures woman
A woman was shot Friday night at a tattoo parlor on Capstan Way near No. 3 Road. According to Richmond Mounties, they responded to a call of shots fired at Floating Shop Tattoo Parlor, 8388 Capstan Way, around 8 p.m. When investigators arrived, they found a woman had been shot, and she was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The suspect or suspects fled the scene prior to police's arrival.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, January 05, 2013
Nipple Piercing: Is It Compatible with Breastfeeding?
Nipple Piercing: Is It Compatible with Breastfeeding?
Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaton, Roman Centurions and some Victorian society women have a striking connection with many mothers of today. The tie that binds them is body piercing: each has pierced a navel or a nipple. Body piercing has enjoyed a resurgence over the past 20 years. People young and old are piercing their eyebrows, noses, navels, lips, tongues, genitals, hands and nipples. Leaders working with breastfeeding women are seeing more mothers with pierced nipples. Phone log entries reflect this trend as calls from women curious about the effect of nipple piercing on breastfeeding continue to increase.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, January 04, 2013
Modified skulls from 1,000 years ago found in Mexico
Modified skulls from 1,000 years ago found in Mexico
An archaeological dig in Mexico has uncovered strange elongated skulls from more than a millenia ago. The skulls have been seized on by UFO enthusiasts as evidence of 'aliens' - with one poster on David Icke's site asking, 'Does this look human to you?' The burial site contained 25 individuals, 13 with elongated skulls - reminiscent of the monster from Ridley Scott's Alien. Five of the skulls also showed signs of dental mutilation. The remains were found 1,000 feet from the village of Onavas, south of Sonora in Mexico. The 'cranial deformation' in the skulls is actually intentional - carried out by binding the heads of babies to produce the bizarre effect.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, January 04, 2013
Henna - Nature's Own Body-Art Ingredient
Henna - Nature's Own Body-Art Ingredient
Deepika Lal holds a cone made of plastic bag, filled with henna paste. Grasping it with artistic perfection, she uses subtle, meticulous strokes to draw out lines on the palm, converging to create an intricate design. The process, to the bystander, looks more like putting icing on a cake, but Lal is practising the ancient Indian and Middle Eastern art of applying 'Mehndi' (the name for Henna), which, over the years, has become a fashion statement as well as a mystic Eastern charm. Even after centuries, the rudiments and fundamentals of this art of adornment are based on the skill-set, imagination and creativity of the person applying henna.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, January 03, 2013
Surface vs. dermal piercing
Surface vs. dermal piercing
I was asked recently what the difference was between a surface piercing and a dermal piercing. While each has their own appeal, there are very distinct issues that ned to be considered. Here is my answer hopefully demystifing the process for you. The textbook definition of a surface piercing is where the jewelry enters and exits on the same surface plane of the skin. A popular surface piercing is the naval piercing. In simple terms the migration of surface piercings are greater because the jewelry bar does not go 'through' the skin but rather 'under' it.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, January 03, 2013
Animal-lover tattoos pictures of five dead cats on her back
Animal-lover tattoos pictures of five dead cats on her back
Animal-lover Fran Bailey knows a pet is for life – so has had the faces of her five dead cats inked on her back. She had the puss picture tattoos to ‘always remember’ pets Tinky, Woody, Mr Brush, Mr Spock and Bella. And each design reminded her of her pets’ personalities, she said. ‘I love my cats and I love my tattoo,’ said the 23-year-old. ‘A lot of people who have lost pets can relate to it.’ But the tattoo artist has her limits and won’t be adding more faces to the memorial marking.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, January 01, 2013
Tattoos After Trauma - Do They Have Healing Potential?
Tattoos After Trauma - Do They Have Healing Potential?
Whether you have many tattoos or would never consider getting one, you may be surprised to learn that 40% of Americans between the ages 26-40 and 36% between ages 18-25 have at least one tattoo. Once associated with marginalized, oppressed, victimized or transient groups in the population, tattoos are increasingly part of mainstream culture. Americans spend $1.65 billion dollars annually on tattoos.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, January 01, 2013
Think Ink! Meet Alexis Kovacs
Think Ink! Meet Alexis Kovacs
On January 10, Alexis Kovacs will be making the pilgrimage from Bethlehem, PA to Washington, DC for the DC Tattoo Expo. Alexis’ bright and bold tattoos may have won her a spot on Oxygen’s Best Ink, but she made it to the finale by playing it cool, pushing herself, and making lots of friends along the way. On Tap sat down with Alexis to hear about some of her own ink.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, December 30, 2012
Temporary Tattoo Gauges Body's Metabolic Stress
Temporary Tattoo Gauges Body's Metabolic Stress
A temporary tattoo-like sensor that looks like a smiley face could help to monitor metabolic stress in the body, according to new research. The sensor is applied just like a regular temporary tattoo -- where it's transferred onto the skin with a warm water-soaked paper towel -- and works to monitor metabolic stress in the body as a result of physical exertion, according to the research published in the journal Analyst.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, December 30, 2012
How to Safely Stretch a Piercing: Stretching or Gauging Up
How to Safely Stretch a Piercing: Stretching or Gauging Up
If you’re interested in stretching a piercing, there are safe ways to do it and then there are unsafe ways. Knowing what your options are and what the differences are between them will help you figure out which way is the best for your piercing. What Is It? Stretching, also known as gauging, is the process of increasing the size of a piercing hole (fistula). It is typically a gradual process that can take many months or even years to reach the desired gauge size.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, December 30, 2012
We Have What in Our Belly Buttons?!
We Have What in Our Belly Buttons?!
And now for your daily dose of gross: Researchers recently discovered that your belly button contains more than 2,000 different species of bacteria. During the study, researchers asked participants to swab the inside of their belly buttons. Once analyzed, scientist discovered some new types of bacteria, along with others not previously found in humans. [...]There is one thing doctors are worried about when it comes to belly buttons: Piercings.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, December 29, 2012
Ke$ha's symbolic body art
Ke$ha's symbolic body art
Ke$ha's tattoos symbolise her life. The Die Young singer has numerous inkings all over her body and she says each etching represents something important or meaningful to her. She exclusively told BANG Showbiz: “I mean they're all silly little stupid tattoos, but I consider them to be like scars, you know? They symbolise my life. It was amazing. “I'll have more. I have a tattoo gun. I give tattoos as well.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, December 29, 2012
'Ink Master' finale 'Ink Master Live' on Spike
'Ink Master' finale 'Ink Master Live' on Spike
On tonight's season finale, the final four tattoo artists were brought down to three when Tatu Baby was eliminated in the semi-final. The presentation was a live elimination hosted by Dave Navarro, with finalists, Sarah Miller, Steve Tefft and Sebastian Murphy. Each one had a master canvas with 24-hours to complete a tattoo on their canvas. This had to be the tattoo of their lives and a tribute to their dedication to details. They would do the tattoo of their choice in three 6-hour sessions in their hometowns.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, December 27, 2012
Nova Scotia unlikely to put age limits on tattoos
Nova Scotia unlikely to put age limits on tattoos
Nova Scotia passed legislation earlier this month governing the tattoo and piercing industry, but no age restrictions are enshrined in the new law. The regulations — the specific rules connected to the spirit of the Safe Body Art Act — have yet to be developed. But the Health Department’s ministerial assistant, Gary Ramey, said it’s unlikely those rules will ban tattoo parlours from inking anyone under 18. The reason being, Ramey said, is that doing so would also prevent children from “going with their parents” to get their ears pierced. It’s unclear why piercings and tattoos could not be treated separately under the regulations.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, December 27, 2012
Mom wants parental consent for tattoos
Mom wants parental consent for tattoos
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia -- A Dartmouth woman is calling for stiffer regulations governing the tattoo industry after her 14-year-old daughter came home inked this month. Bonnie Speight said her daughter told her on Dec. 14 that she was staying after school to get extra help with math. It wasn’t until the next Tuesday that she confessed she had gotten a tattoo that day. “I was sick to my stomach,” Speight said. “I needed a couple of days to just comprehend that.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, December 17, 2012
Whistler Film Festival Roundup: American Mary
Whistler Film Festival Roundup: American Mary
I've heard it said before that surgeons are simply reformed psychopaths that have found a way to channel their sadism into productive careers. If that's the case, Mary Mason (Katharine Isabelle), the chilly star of Jen and Sylvia Soska's gory new horror flick, American Mary, took that theory to new extremes in this intriguing look at the world of hardcore body modification and underground surgery, which played at this year's Whistler Film Festival and opens in theatres everywhere this January.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, December 17, 2012
6 Celebs who Have Multiple Ear Piercings
6 Celebs who Have Multiple Ear Piercings
Ear piercings don’t only go as far as punching one hole in each ear on the earlobe. There is a whole world of other places to pierce, and some of them can even connect and be worn together with a long bar or chain. These 6 stars all have more ear piercings than just the standard, adding more holes along the ear or even the tragus on the other side. Experimenting with an array of jewels to show off their new piercing proudly, here is a look at some stars who’ve gone to town on their ears, adding hole after hole and then accessorizing with their favourite earrings on display and getting creative with the look!
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, December 16, 2012
Tattoo artist Kat Von D engaged to boyfriend Deadmau5
Tattoo artist Kat Von D engaged to boyfriend Deadmau5
They split up last month after a whirlwind romance, with Kat Von D proclaiming it was a 'no-brainer' to end her relationship with DJ Deadmau5. But the pair have now not only reconciled - they're engaged. The celebrity tattoo artist very proudly accepted her boyfriend's proposal on Saturday night, after he asked her to marry him on Twitter. 'I can't wait for Christmas so.... Katherine Von Drachenberg, will you marry me?' the 31-year-old DJ wrote. Deadmau5, real name Joel Thomas Zimmerman, also posted a picture of the ring, a diamond flanked by two skulls which is being customised for his bride-to-be.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, December 16, 2012
The girl with the monkey tattoo: Woman to ink Ikea monkey on her stomach
The girl with the monkey tattoo: Woman to ink Ikea monkey on her stomach
That was fast: A woman says she's getting a tattoo of Darwin the monkey, after he became an international celebrity at a Toronto Ikea this week, and she already has the stencil drawn on her stomach. A Reddit user posted an image on the site that shows a tracing of the little macaque, now known as Darwin, wearing his cozy shearling coat. The post has 325 comments and counting, including one from a user who says it's a photo of her.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Want to Get Pierced in an Odd Place? Here's What to Expect
Want to Get Pierced in an Odd Place? Here's What to Expect
I'm not exactly sure what possessed me last week, but I decided that I wanted to get my tragus pierced (the part of your ear closest to your cheek). I have a bunch of tattoos and I've had my ear lobes and belly button pierced, so I thought I was pretty familiar with the process. But after watching a bunch of tragus-piercing videos on YouTube, I started to get a little nervous. Lucky for me, I had a great experience, and it's healing up fine. So if you've wanted to get your own tragus or other unusual body part pierced -- or think you might in the future -- I've got all the gory (or really, not so gory) details for you ...
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Is gauging for you?
Is gauging for you?
Stretching, also known as gauging, is a form of body modification. Gauging is when a healed piercing is slowly expanded to accommodate larger jewelry. People stretch their piercing(s) for many reasons; some people just enjoy the process, and others love the beautiful and varied jewelry that can be worn in a larger gauge piercing. [...]Since stretching isn’t a natural process you need to be careful and take your time. If you gauge up too fast, you could cause a blow out. A blow out is when you have an extra flap of skin that pops out when you gauge. If you gauge slowly and properly, you shouldn't have this problem.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, December 10, 2012
Get to the point — start piercing
Get to the point — start piercing
While most of us mere mortals are still trying to wrap our heads around the fact that it’s actually December, Planet Fashion already has its mind rooted firmly in next year. So as January’s issue of Vogue touches down on news-stands today, it’s time to start thinking about the inevitable: what’s en Vogue for 2013? While I’ll leave the matter of what length of trouser leg we’ll be wearing to a day when we’re not all exhausted by the prospect of present shopping, one prediction within the style bible’s pages is somewhat harder to leave undiscussed — body piercing. It’s in.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, December 10, 2012
Medical tattoos can hide unsightly scars and give new confidence
Medical tattoos can hide unsightly scars and give new confidence
Calgary, Alberta -- Changing people’s lives is all in a day’s work for Jody Stoski a medical tattoo specialist at Cinnamon Girl Clinic. One of only a handful of certified professionals in Canada, she helps more than 1,000 clients a year, both men and women, with scars from accidents, burns or surgery and hair loss due to alopecia or cancer treatments. Medical tattooing, also called micropigmentation, is often combined with a process called “needling” that stimulates collagen and helps old scars heal. Then a neutral palette of colours is applied using more traditional tattoo techniques to gently restore the skin’s original tones.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, December 10, 2012
'Love You Forever' leaves indelible impression of artist Tobias Wong’s work
'Love You Forever' leaves indelible impression of artist Tobias Wong’s work
Vancouver, B.C. -- Tattoos can be appreciated for their design and esthetic, but most have a deeper meaning and a personal story below the surface. The same goes for the art and design of Tobias Wong, and at the Museum of Vancouver on Saturday, the late enfant terrible of the design world was celebrated for both. At Love You Forever: A (pop-up) Tattoo Spectacle, seven participants got inked with Wong-inspired body art in the first known pop-up tattoo parlour held in a Canadian museum. A tattooing station was set up in the foyer of the posthumous retrospective exhibit of Wong’s work, which blended high art concepts with the utility of design.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, December 04, 2012
Daring hair tattoos back in style
Daring hair tattoos back in style
Hair tattooing has been around for a while, but the trend is rising in popularity again as people look to ways of expressing themselves without the pain and the permanent marks. Tribal swirls, zig-zags, lines and stars are the popular patterns men and women, young and old, are asking hairdressers to shave onto their heads. Hair tattoos are based upon tattoo designs, but are created by using an assortment of clippers to shape and cut the hair into designs, sometimes followed by using paint brushes to apply colours to the design.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, December 03, 2012
Beauty Trends From History: Have You Ever Considered A Lip Piercing?
Beauty Trends From History: Have You Ever Considered A Lip Piercing?
I am a total body modification wuss. No tattoos, no piercings – I don’t even have pierced ears. Which does not stop some boyfriends from buying me earrings. I’m sure that a healthy percentage of my readers are more ballsy about these things. But just like I look at pierced ears and think “ouch, no thanks.” I’m sure that even the most inked and pierced of you have the same type of reaction to more extreme body modifications.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, December 02, 2012
Father of bullying victim Amanda Todd gets tattoo to commemorate daughter
Father of bullying victim Amanda Todd gets tattoo to commemorate daughter
Before friends and family gather to remember bullying victim Amanda Todd at a public memorial in Coquitlam, B.C. on Sunday, the teen’s father honoured her in a more permanent way. Norman Todd decided to get a tattoo. “I figure this is the best reason I could think of for getting my first tattoo or any tattoo,” he said. Hundreds are expected to join the mourning Todd family to celebrate the young girl’s life, which was cut short after the teen took her own life last month. The 15-year-old committed suicide in October after months of torment, verbal abuse and blackmail. The troubled teen became an icon of the growing anti-bullying movement, after she posted her plea for help to YouTube. Her video has since been viewed more than six million times.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, December 02, 2012
Tattoos form missing ink between dying art and the art of dyeing
Tattoos form missing ink between dying art and the art of dyeing
Is handwriting set to ''vanish from our lives altogether?'' Are emails and texts robbing us of ''the most powerful sign of our individuality?'' So asks Philip Hensher, author of the new book The Missing Ink: The Lost Art of Handwriting. But Lauren Winzer would beg to differ. A tattoo artist with Sydney's Hunter and Fox, she says a growing number of people over the past year have requested their loved ones' handwriting be permanently marked on their bodies. ''It's definitely more popular, it's always something meaningful that they want to get tattooed in handwriting,'' Winzer says. For instance, she has had mothers request their own names, as written by their kindergarten-aged children, be inked on them.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, November 30, 2012
Revolution translates into big business for Egyptian tattoo parlours
Revolution translates into big business for Egyptian tattoo parlours
Cairo, Eygpt -- The real estate on her body is up for debate – perhaps somewhere along the upper back, or near the collarbone – but the young Egyptian woman who visits Laurice Matta’s shop knows what she wants: a profile illustration of the pharaonic Queen Nefertiti, wearing a gas mask. In the back of her small beauty salon in the Cairo neighbourhood of Zamalek, Ms. Matta provides a rare service in this mostly conservative country. As the owner of one of Egypt’s very few tattoo parlours, she has seen the steady evolution of what was once a nearly non-existent subculture in the Middle East.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, November 30, 2012
Tattoos and piercings – what you should know
Tattoos and piercings – what you should know
If you are thinking about getting a tattoo or body piercing, you are not alone. For many people, piercings and tattoos are a way to express their individuality and personal style. However, these procedures may increase the risk of contracting a number of serious blood-borne diseases. Blood-borne diseases such as hepatitis and HIV can be spread from one person to another through unsafe tattooing and piercing. The best defense against disease and infection is to carefully choose where you get your piercing or tattoo.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, November 30, 2012
Kat Von D Tattoos 12 Birds on Demi Lovato
Kat Von D Tattoos 12 Birds on Demi Lovato
Three months after Demi Lovato considered getting some of her tattoos removed, the X Factor judge got inked again Nov. 25. Lovato shared pictures of her new body art via Twitter Nov. 25. "Thank you so much, Kat Von D, for my new ink! I think it's beautiful and I love it," she wrote. The "Give Your Heart a Break" singer also tweeted two pictures of the 12 black birds drawn on her right forearm. In addition to the "birdies," Lovato has a feather behind her ear, "Stay Strong" on her wrists, a cross on her hand, "Peace" on her finger, "Faith" on her arm and lips on her wrist -- among many others.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Five tips to help you get a great tattoo
Five tips to help you get a great tattoo
Recently I watched a show on the TLC network called America’s Worst Tattoos, which featured some of Amurikuh’s most prized inhabitants displaying some of the most poorly thought-out and terribly executed tattoos I have ever seen. As someone who is fairly new to the tattoo world—I have seven tattoos in my collection so far— I know firsthand that getting a tattoo can sometimes be a pretty scary and intimidating experience, especially if it’s your first time getting some work done. So, to help make your tattoo experience a bit less painful (see what I did there?!), I’ve put together a few tips based on lessons I’ve learned through getting tattooed myself.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, November 26, 2012
Skin City: Tattoos come of age
Skin City: Tattoos come of age
Why would someone voluntarily undergo several hours of a needle stabbing them several thousand times per minute? The simple answer is for the sake of art, but the long answer is a bit more complicated. Thanks to athletes, celebrities and TV shows, tattoos have gone from taboo to typical over the past 20 years. What started as a form of rebellion in the United States has become more of a personal fashion statement and, despite Springfield’s reputation as a holdout against style, this city is well stocked with both the inked and the inkers.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, November 26, 2012
Hooked on you
Hooked on you
We've heard of suffering for your art, but these people have taken that to new heights. Fans of extreme body art came from around the world to show off their extreme tattoos and piercings at the third annual International Tattoo Convention. Some of the shows at the convention, in Medellin, Columbia, are certainly not for the squeamish. A favourite performance with the crowd was a red-haired woman in a leather corset being suspended with two metal barbs through her back. Not to be outdone, another performer at the festival of the most extraordinary - not to mention eye-watering painful to look at - body art joined her on the tenterhooks.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, November 25, 2012
Jews and Tattoos: The Body Wholly
Jews and Tattoos: The Body Wholly
My rabbinic father-in-law and my lay leader mother agree on one thing: no body piercing. Ears, nose and bellybutton, all are sacred property on loan from God. No girl in either my family or my husband's had her ears pierced in childhood, although one girl on each side did make the cut during her rebellious teens. I was not one of the latter: my father relinquished me to my husband under the huppa whole and unpierced. The united family front was disturbed by my daughter while still a pre-teen. Every girl in the world was getting earrings she claimed; she wanted them too.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, November 25, 2012
Models with tattoos - Is it a make or break career choice?
Models with tattoos - Is it a make or break career choice?
It is said that skin tattooing is an ancient practice and has been in existence for more than 35 000 years. The practice of tattooing symbolises different things in different cultures, but the most common is that of decoration…an expressive form of human body art. Today, some people see it as a fad and designs of various forms expressively emblazon muscular arms and other parts of their body. Among these people are athletes, gang members, students, teachers and a host of professionals, including models. However, for models or those desirous of pursuing a career in the modelling and fashion industry, the decision to get ‘inked’- as the popular saying goes - can either make or break a their career.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, November 22, 2012
Ink artist pushes the boundaries of tattooing
Ink artist pushes the boundaries of tattooing
The skin as canvas, inks and needles replacing the palette: tattoos by Khan transcend mere decorations. Whether he is depicting eye crinkles in a portrait of the Dalai Lama or the leer of a supernatural ghoul, his rich color and technical realism redefines the boundaries of art and pop culture. Born Park Sung Gyun in South Korea, Khan, 40, gave up a promising career as an architect 10 years ago to learn traditional Japanese tattooing. He explains about the professional name he uses as a tattoo artist: "I am Korean, but I started this art in Japan, so I wanted to mix both together." The kanji he uses is pronounced "kan" in Japanese and means "Korea." In the Korean language, it is read as "han." Khan's work has been featured in tattoo magazines and venues all over the world, but for Khan, it's about the challenge to create beauty, whatever the form.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, November 22, 2012
CUPE battles Ottawa Hospital over dress code’s tattoo coverup
CUPE battles Ottawa Hospital over dress code’s tattoo coverup
Ottawa, Ontario — The union that represents about 3,400 employees at The Ottawa Hospital is challenging a dress code implemented by the hospital last year. And tattoos are one of the most contentious issues. The hospital dress code covers everything from the shoes employees wear to the condition of their fingernails. It also mandates that large tattoos, if visible, must be covered, and bans “visible, excessive” body piercings.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Dennis Avner, 'Stalking Cat,' Dead At 54: Body Modification Enthusiast May Have Committed Suicide
Dennis Avner, 'Stalking Cat,' Dead At 54: Body Modification Enthusiast May Have Committed Suicide
Dennis Avner, better known by his Native American name "Stalking Cat," died on Nov. 5. He was 54. Avner, who underwent extensive body modification to transform himself into a big cat, is believed to have committed suicide in his hometown of Tonopah, Nev., the New York Daily News reports. The cause of his death has yet to be confirmed, however. The Nye County Sheriff's Office confirmed Avner's death to The Huffington Post but was not able to provide additional details. According to Jodie Michalak of About.com, Avner, who is of Native American descent, had "felt his spirit…called to the wild and [had] made it his goal to modify his body in honor of the tiger," his totem animal.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Piercing European market
Piercing European market
One in five British adults has one and, if you are aged between 16 and 44, it’s almost one in three. It is a tattoo and it’s big business for Barber of Sheffield. The Chapeltown medical products specialist is the biggest UK distributor of tattooing and piercing products and is opening up new markets abroad after its recent acquisition of Montpellier-based Northstar Tattoo Supply. Barber has also clinched a deal with a Spanish distributor, is on the lookout for potential partners in Italy, Germany and Holland and is keen to find a distributor in Russia. [...]Today the company supplies tattooing and piercing studios with everything from piercing products and jewellery to tattoo machines, inks, aftercare products and medical gloves and is the European distributor for leading brands like Tattoo Goo and Eternal Ink.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, November 18, 2012
Tattoo artist starts ink removal business with location in Cambridge
Tattoo artist starts ink removal business with location in Cambridge
Toronto, Ontario -- The pain is “excruciating.” It’s feels like white heat slapping her skin, it gives her blisters and is unlike anything she’s ever experienced. But for Stephanie Gorchynski, 32, the discomfort is worth it to get what she calls those two black “death angels” off her back. Gorchynski, a pastry chef and owner of Sweet Revenge foods, has spent thousands of dollars and about 12 months removing what she describes as “bad art” from her body. Hovering ominously on either side of a crest featuring flowers and a large S, the offending cherubs are part of an extensive art piece she got on her back during 2007 and 2008. They are, she says, “scary and creepy” — not the look she was going for.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, November 15, 2012
How to Keep a Piercing from Rejecting
How to Keep a Piercing from Rejecting
Rejection, when your skin pushes a foreign object out by killing the tissue on top of it, is a risk with any piercing. In order to reduce this risk, you must take good care of your piercing, and plan it well. Good placement is just as important as good aftercare. Find a piercer that is experienced in the type of piercing you want. Check their portfolios for healed piercings in addition to fresh ones. Ask about their experience and qualifications.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, November 15, 2012
Surface Implants: Anchors, Dermals, and Micro-Dermals
Surface Implants: Anchors, Dermals, and Micro-Dermals
Microdermals are the newest and most popular form of dermal piercing. Dermal implants used to be reserved for only the most extreme body modifier--spikes, horns, and other protruding metal objects could be worn almost anywhere on the body, including the head. While those larger implants are still available, the newer microdermals or dermal anchors have quickly become a favorite across the board in the body art community. They're small, decorative, easy to implant, and still have the advantage of almost limitless placement options.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Tattoo gives Toronto Argonauts veteran W.R. Barnes proper perspective
Tattoo gives Toronto Argonauts veteran W.R. Barnes proper perspective
Oakville, Ontario -- When adversity rears its ugly head in Jason Barnes's football life, he doesn't have to look far to gain proper perspective. The Toronto Argonauts receiver bares a tattoo of a heart with angel wings on the left side of his neck featuring the phrase, "Never Give Up." But the significance of those words is real: Barnes got the tattoo for his mother, Ann, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2007 and succumbed to the disease less than a month later.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Scarlett Johansson shows off lucky horseshoe tattoo
Scarlett Johansson shows off lucky horseshoe tattoo
Scarlett Johansson is feeling lucky after having a horseshoe tattoo inked on her torso. The Avengers beauty visited French graffiti writer and tattooist Fuzi Uvtpk during a trip to Paris, France last week, and had the new design inked on her side along with the words, 'Lucky You'. A snap of the blonde showing off the tattoo appeared online, with the star pulling up her top to unveil the artwork. It is Johansson's fourth time in the tattooist's chair - she has a landscape picture on one arm, the initial 'A' on her ankle and 'I Heart New York' on her wrist.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, November 12, 2012
Zombie Boy, Fox TV settle body art copyright dispute
Zombie Boy, Fox TV settle body art copyright dispute
Lawyers for Rick Genest, best known as Zombie Boy, and 20th Century Fox Television have settled a legal dispute over copyright infringement of the tattooed Montrealer’s body art. Genest, a local hero and model who has appeared in Lady Gaga’s Born This Way video and catwalks from Paris to Toronto, has copyrighted his skeletal body tattoos. Actor Evan Peters sports similar body makeup in FX’s American Horror Story and his character goes on a shooting rampage. Copyrighting the body art was a process that began last year, said Genest’s Montreal legal counsel, Colin Singer. “When someone has an extensive creation, it is intellectual property.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, November 12, 2012
Tattoo Psychology: Art or Self Destruction? Modern-Day Social Branding
Tattoo Psychology: Art or Self Destruction? Modern-Day Social Branding
Body art, body bling, self-graffiti, walking billboards, fashionable ink accessories... Each of these expressions depict the physical nature of the tattoo. What's often NOT discussed, however, is the emotional side of tattoos. I vividly remember the first time I saw a "tramp stamp." A woman was reaching for something in the front row of a large auditorium and a few rows of men and women witnessed her walking artistry. Everyone had a reaction. And once she left the room, we all talked about it. It was like group therapy. The responses ranged from "She's definitely a party girl, probably drinks a lot, has a lot of sex and a rough childhood," to "She's probably really creative, edgy, a leader and an independent thinker." Some liked her more, some liked her less and many guys were more interested in her because of the tattoo. Whatever the response, we were all intrigued, and each of us conjured up our own personal version of her story -- all from the sight of a well-placed tattoo.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, November 12, 2012
The real Magneto men
The real Magneto men
Pulling a pair of small, round magnets from his pocket, Morris Umali smiles. “I carry them everywhere with me,” he says. Umali is sometimes called ‘Magneto,’ after the comic book villain who can control metals. It may sound like a joke, but he has more in common with the character than one might expect. Placing the magnets on his left palm, Umali hovers his right fingertip over them. Like magic, they fasten onto the pad of his finger. He doesn’t have superpowers, but it’s almost as weird; Umali has a magnet implanted under his skin.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, November 08, 2012
Tattoo artists use skin-colored ink to hide scars
Tattoo artists use skin-colored ink to hide scars
From the simple to the elaborate, tattoos are as unique as those who proudly wear them. But some are getting tattoos they hope no one can see: medical tattoos that are used to hide scars from surgery. Suzanne Herzner is hoping to mask a scar with skin-toned ink. "I'm not comfortable wearing v-neck shirts, it's hard during the summer wearing a bathing suit because it's a topic of conversation at the pool club, people always ask me, oh what's that, how did you get that? I always try to cover it up as much as I could, and it just doesn't work," she said.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, November 08, 2012
Body piercing trends always changing
Body piercing trends always changing
surprises Maryborough's Mary Jensen when it comes to requests for body piercing. Mary works at Under the Gun Tattooing and Body Piercing as a consultant and she can never predict what each new day will bring. From tongue piercing to eyebrow or belly button piercing, each day brings fresh requests. She has seen lots of new trends become popular, including skin divers, which are piercings that are implanted almost anywhere on the body, but particularly the chest and back. The lobes of the ears are traditionally a popular place to get pierced but more and more Mary is handling requests for other areas of the ears to be pierced.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, November 05, 2012
Ink on, ink off: the shady side of the tattoo removal industry
Ink on, ink off: the shady side of the tattoo removal industry
Fine black lines on white skin immediately catch the eye as she pulls down her sleeve to reveal the empty birdcage on her arm. “I don’t like where it is. The size is wrong and it’s too exposed. The design doesn’t suit me either.” The list goes on. “It felt wrong from the start, and I constantly asked people what they thought of it, because I just wasn’t convinced.” Andrea Skovgård seems lost in her thoughts of regret as her stern eyes examine the tattoo. “Yeah, I dunno.” She slides her sleeve back over her arm. “I just want get rid of it.” Fortunately for Skovgård, there’s a way out. Unluckily for Skovgård, it’s an expensive way out.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, November 05, 2012
Tattoo professionals want tougher licensing standards for practitioners
Tattoo professionals want tougher licensing standards for practitioners
In Wisconsin, getting licensed to work as a tattoo artist requires no more than updating your vehicle registration — you simply send in an application and a fee. But local tattoo studio owners — as well as city and state regulators — say that raises a host of health and quality issues. Tattoo studio owners Sean Fletcher and Johnathan Zbinden say their shops are inspected and held to high standards, but the weak regulatory link is the ease of obtaining a Wisconsin individual practitioner’s license, with no training or education requirements. “I think there needs to be some formal education, because we’re dealing with blood,” said Fletcher...
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, November 01, 2012
Erik Sprague proudly ink-lined to be freaky
Erik Sprague proudly ink-lined to be freaky
HE is tattooed from head to toe in green scales, has sharpened teeth and a forked tongue - but to Erik Sprague, the 700 hours of pain were all worth it. "Pain is not a reason to not do something if you really want to do it,'' he said. "Exercising can be painful. I find jogging more painful than tattooing. I'm told childbirth is extremely painful and yet people keep having kids. It's all about whether it's worth it to you and this is worth it to me.'' Affectionately dubbed "The Lizardman'', the 40-year-old said his obsession with body modification began when he was a young boy - drawing on himself while sitting in the classroom. "Some of the kids draw on paper, some of them draw on the walls, some of them draw on themselves - guess which one I was,'' he said.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, November 01, 2012
HMV criticised over tattoo ban
HMV criticised over tattoo ban
Staff at entertainment retailer HMV are up in arms after a new policy bans them from displaying tattoos and having long hair. An open letter to new chief executive Trevor Moore calls the new appearance policy, which demands “high standards of personal grooming”, “upsetting” and a “slap in the face”. The anonymous letter urges HMV to rethink the policy, The Sun said. The letter adds: “I wouldn’t expect to be greeted by a tattooed punk in my bank, I wouldn’t expect to be welcomed into my underwear shop by a nun and I certainly would not expect to be met by a shop full of identical, corporate aut
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, October 28, 2012
Modern electric tattoos
Modern electric tattoos
Winnipeg, Manitoba -- Rebel Waltz Tattoo, located in the heart of the inner city on Notre Dame Avenue, is one of Winnipeg’s most versatile tattoo shops, providing modern electric tattoos to willing patrons since 2009. Each resident artist specializes—but is not limited to—a different style of work; whether it be Bram Adey (with his stick-and-poke style tattoos) or Chris Stans (who excels at more modern designs) one thing is for certain – if you’re looking to get a traditional tattoo in Winnipeg, Don Ritson is the guy to talk to.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, October 26, 2012
Inked cops in Calgary A-OK
Inked cops in Calgary A-OK
Calgary, Alberta -- While some police forces ban visible tattoos, the thinking on inking in Calgary is much more relaxed. Up until 2010, the local force didn’t even have a policy for officers. “It used to be bikers and sailers who had tattoos, now it’s become more mainstream,” said Regimental Sgt. Maj. Mike Inglis, who is in charge of dress and deportment for the service. “I would say as long as it doesn’t go across that line, we’re not discouraging it, we’re not punishing it.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, October 25, 2012
Body piercing trends always changing
Body piercing trends always changing
Nothing surprises Maryborough's Mary Jensen when it comes to requests for body piercing. Mary works at Under the Gun Tattooing and Body Piercing as a consultant and she can never predict what each new day will bring. From tongue piercing to eyebrow or belly button piercing, each day brings fresh requests. She has seen lots of new trends become popular, including skin divers, which are piercings that are implanted almost anywhere on the body, but particularly the chest and back. The lobes of the ears are traditionally a popular place to get pierced but more and more Mary is handling requests for other areas of the ears to be pierced.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Daredevils' roller-coaster tattoo stunt admittedly 'stupid'
Daredevils' roller-coaster tattoo stunt admittedly 'stupid'
Vancouver, BC -- Don’t try this at home, if perchance you have a roller-coaster in your yard and a tattoo gun lying around. Stunt performer, The Great Orbax, attempted to tattoo a smiley face — complete with lolling tongue — on his brother’s bare leg while riding Playland’s bump-riddled roller-coaster Tuesday. He and the freshly tattooed Sweet Pepper Klopek are known as the Monsters of Schlock. The daredevil duo usually performs painful stunts in the name of entertainment. They hold five Guinness world records, including “most mousetraps set off on the human tongue in one minute,” and “farthest distance to pull a vehicle using fishhooks in the back.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Latest body modification trends—beyond ‘bagel head’
Latest body modification trends—beyond ‘bagel head’
In a world filled with millions of people, it’s no wonder a sense of individuality can be hard to come by. For people who aren’t content limiting their passions to common-place piercings and tattooing, other forms of body modification have generated appeal. Recently on the news, the ‘bagel head’ trend made headlines. However, bagel heads are by no means the only nor the most extreme methods of body modification—and definitely not the most dangerous when it comes to health issues. The side effects of many of the body modification procedures have yet to be determined, but as more and more people strive to stand out in the crowd, the medical complications associated with body modification are sure to come to light.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Guide to Unusual Piercings
Guide to Unusual Piercings
If you've got an inch to pinch on your body, you can probably pierce it. While many people go for conventional piercings, there is a strong part of the piercing culture that elects more unusual piercing locations. Ear: Don't limit your thoughts of piercing to the lower lobe. The rim, inner fold and ridges can all be pierced. Even the concha, the little tab in front of the ear canal, can be pierced. Basically, you can cover every inch of your ear with piercings; chains can even be hooked from piercings to create a web of body art.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, October 22, 2012
‘Bagel head’ body modification has roots in Canada
‘Bagel head’ body modification has roots in Canada
An extreme form of body modification that is gripping parts of Japan has its roots in Canada. “Bagel head” is a technique where a person’s forehead is injected with 300-400cc of saline to create a temporary bagel-like shape. The procedure takes two hours and lasts up to one night, according to the National Geographic Channel’s Taboo TV series, which recently featured the phenomenon in the episode “Extreme Bodies.” Photographer and journalist Ryoichi “Keroppy” Maeda brought the technique to Japan after meeting Montreal-based photographer Jerome Abramovitch, who pioneered the technique, at a Modcon convention in 1999, Maeda told VICE Magazine last year.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, October 22, 2012
Forever Ink Tattoo Products
Forever Ink Tattoo Products
As a permanent expression of self-expression, tattoos have graduated from something fun and rebellious to a chic and contemporary art form. Who doesn’t admire David Beckham’s ‘Guardian Angel’ or Megan Fox’s portrait of Marilyn Monroe? However, a tattoo is only as good as the skin it’s on. Therefore it is essential to take care of a tattoo, just as you would the rest of your skin.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, October 19, 2012
Genital piercing is good sex
Genital piercing is good sex
As someone who happens to have quite a few piercings, people always assume I have some that are “hidden” below the belt. I don’t. But that doesn’t mean I’m closed-minded about the topic. Like many, I’m open to discussing things I’ve never tried or experienced. But then again, a “private piercing” is something I’ve never considered. Jasmine Zeboski, body piercer at The Exotic Body, said she’s seen almost everything done for the purpose of pleasing a partner.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, October 18, 2012
Tattoos: From sailors and convicts to the mainstream
Tattoos: From sailors and convicts to the mainstream
Calgary, Alberta -- There was a time when an arm covered in tattoos meant you were either a weirdo or a criminal — at least in the eyes of the more conservative members of the populace. But with the annual Alberta Bound Tattoo & Arts Festival attracting thousands of people each year, tattoo culture has become just about as mainstream as hockey. “I think Calgary has definitely matured a lot, especially during the past five years,” says Nick Luit, a tattoo artist with Bushido Tattoos on 2 Street and 17th Avenue South East. “Because I tattoo for a living, I have the liberty of having tattoos on my hands and neck or whatever. I’ve never been embarrassed by them, but I definitely notice a difference between wearing these tattoos now as opposed to five years ago.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Artist shares tattoo, piercing smarts
Artist shares tattoo, piercing smarts
A local tattoo artist urged students to think before they ink. Randy Stuff, owner and tattoo artist at Wea Ink, has 52 tattoos, but said it is important to take appropriate time before getting a piercing or tattoo. The “A Living Canvas: Tattoos and Piercings” presentation was a part of the University Board’s “Cultural Arts: Teach Me Tuesdays.” Stuff said he is a self-taught tattoo artist and has been tattooing since 1990. Stuff said getting a tattoo should be a thoughtful and planned out decision.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, October 16, 2012
The 10 Worst Celebrity Face Tattoos
The 10 Worst Celebrity Face Tattoos
It’s hard to hide a tattoo, when it’s plastered on your face forever! While several stars get inked in places where they can hide their body art if needed, others are more fearless and bold about their permanent etchings – going under the needle and marking their mugs. [..]Mike Tyson was one of the first high-profile stars to boldly get a face tattoo and the professional boxer’s facial marking is so famous, that it was even parodied in The Hangover 2.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Fox Settles 'American Horror Story' Legal Spat Over 'Zombie Boy' Tattoo
Fox Settles 'American Horror Story' Legal Spat Over 'Zombie Boy' Tattoo
Twentieth Century Fox Television, producer of FX's American Horror Story, has settled an under-the-radar copyright fight with a model who claims his tattoo artwork was stolen for a key scene in the Emmy-winning series. Rick Genest, a Canadian model who appeared in Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" video and has been called "Zombie Boy," is known for his distinctive skeletal body art, which he has copyrighted. An early episode of the first season of FX's hit series American Horror Story featured a scene in which a student played by Evan Peters dons extremely similar skeletal body makeup and goes on a shooting rampage in a high school before committing suicide.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, October 15, 2012
Mom Arrested After Giving Her 11-year-old a Tattoo
Mom Arrested After Giving Her 11-year-old a Tattoo
If your pre-teen wanted a tattoo, would you let her get one? A North Carolina mom who moonlights as a tattoo artist figured it would be fine, and now she's in trouble with police for giving her 11-year-old daughter a tattoo. "She asked me to do it," 30-year-old Odessa Clay, who sports plenty of her own body art, told WCTI-TV. The tattoo is of a small heart near the girl's right shoulder. Clay told the TV station that she thought minors could get tattoos as long as their parents approved; given that she's the girl's mother, she didn't think it would be a problem.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, October 15, 2012
Lawmaker wants to crack down on human branding
Lawmaker wants to crack down on human branding
A father's plea has lead to legislative action to ban human branding.
State Rep. Keith Gillespie, R-Springettsbury Township, is sponsoring legislation which would prohibit human branding procedures on anyone under the age of 18. The his legislation, known as House Bill 2673, would amend the Pennsylvania Crimes Code regarding tattooing and body piercing of minors without their parents' consent. Human branding would be added to the code, Gillespie said. The bill currently has 24 co-sponsors. "The legislation comes out of a case that was referred to my office," Gillespie said. "Anyone who has had this done to them is essentially physically marked for life, in addition to having had to undergo what I can only imagine to be a very painful experience." Gillespie said he started working on the bill about two months ago after a conversation with a father of a 14-year-old boy who branded himself twice on the torso with a red-hot three-inch nail under the instructions of an 18-year-old man during a sleepover.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, October 12, 2012
Tattoo Nation
Tattoo Nation
When Cecilia Lancelloti told her family she was getting her first tattoo, her father was appalled. “In my house, I was the first to get a tattoo and my father didn’t like it. He was like, ‘oh, what are you doing to your body,’ ” she remembers. “But then I explained to him that it has a meaning. When I explained why I was getting it. He said, ‘OK, go ahead.’ ” To Lancelloti, the lotus flower she has inked on her back symbolizes resilience. Now the 21-year-old cooking student from Brazil is commemorating her move to Canada with another piece of art, her third.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, October 12, 2012
New body modification styles becoming popular
New body modification styles becoming popular
In recent decades, the public has become more accepting of tattoos and body piercings than in the past. What was considered taboo or unusual 40 years ago is now considered a common form of self-expression. In fact, the majority of Americans have engaged in body modification of some sort, even if it is something very simple and small. According to the June 17, 2004, article “Health Risks of Tattoo and Ear or Body Piercing” from medicalnewstoday.com, between 73 and 83 percent of women in the U.S. have their ears pierced. Additionally, a 2006 Pew Research survey found that 40 percent of Americans over the age of 18 have at least one tattoo.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, October 11, 2012
Calgary Tattoo and Arts Festival
Calgary Tattoo and Arts Festival
Who Will You Meet There? Probably not Grandma. A 2006 Pew Research Center survey found that 40 per cent of people between the ages of 26 and 40 and 36 per cent of people between the ages of 18 and 25 have had a tattoo. That number dips to 10 per cent for people between the ages of 41 and 64. People older than 64 weren’t surveyed. The Highlight Tattoo-artist booths featuring Dan Smith of L.A. Ink, Megan Massacre of NY Ink, plus Liz Cook, Paul Jeffries, Robert Egbert and others.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, October 11, 2012
The flesh is evil and must be punished! Your guide to body horror from page to screen
The flesh is evil and must be punished! Your guide to body horror from page to screen
Grimmfest Film Programmer Steve Balshaw offers a quick guide to Body Horror, ahead of next weekend's horror extravaganza. A few months ago, I was sent a review copy of The Mammoth Book of Body Horror: Twenty-Five Stories of Transformation, Mutation and Contagion, an excellent and comprehensive compendium of corporeal chillers, edited by those master anthologists Paul Kane and Marie O’Regan. A series of side-tracks, digressions and distractions meant that I never actually did get around to writing the review, for which I owe both authors a sincere apology, and a bit of positive publicity here. Because it really is an excellent and astute collection, one that nobody interested in horror fiction should be without.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, October 11, 2012
Extreme Body Modification Trends Show Individuality
Extreme Body Modification Trends Show Individuality
Extreme body modification is not a brand new trend. In fact, it has been practiced for thousands of years in different cultures around the world. Individuals who modify their bodies do so for various reasons. In some parts of the world people view it as a rite of passage into certain stages of life. For others, it is seen as a form of beauty or self-expression in order to shock mainstream society.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, October 08, 2012
Pierce of the action
Pierce of the action
I collaborated with LA-based jewellery designer Amanda Thomas of Luv Aj to create a 21-piece line named the Septum, drawing inspiration from 1990s body piercings. We channelled the toughness of those accessories and translated it in a much more wearable way with simple brass collars, bracelets and rings with spike details inspired by the bull ring, septum piercings and nipple rings.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, October 08, 2012
The Tattooed Body Politic: Czech Aims to Be First Tatooed President
The Tattooed Body Politic: Czech Aims to Be First Tatooed President
Vladimir Franz, 53, is a Czech drama professor, a talented painter and a prolific opera and theater composer. But Franz wants to move out of the arts and into politics. If he can win his longshot bid to become president of the Czech Republic, he'd go down in history as the world's first head of state with a fully tattooed head. Franz has tattoos covering 90 percent of his body, a variety of body piercings and dyed, blue hair.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, October 05, 2012
Female tattoo artists make their mark
Female tattoo artists make their mark
A huge increase in the number of female tattoo artists is changing the business. Why are they so popular? Some of the top names explain -- I've been trying to get an appointment with Valerie Vargas, one of London's best-known tattooists. I'm told that she's not taking any new customers. I've been scouring her Twitter feed on a near hourly basis for the slightest whiff of a cancellation but, so far, my attempts have met with failure. I also try Claudia de Sabe, Nikole Lowe and Saira Hunjan, but their waiting lists are so long that, by the time they bestow their colourful gifts on my skin, men might be able to give birth. "Female tattooists are definitely more sought after now than when I started tattooing 16 years ago," Hunjan tells me.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, October 02, 2012
Bagel Head: Saline Injection Body Modification Trend On the Rise in Japan
Bagel Head: Saline Injection Body Modification Trend On the Rise in Japan
National Geographic's show "Taboo" shed some light on a new fad in Japan called Bagel Head. The process requires injecting saline into the forehead, then pressing a thumb into the swollen area to create a bagel shape. The trend is a new extreme way of modifying the body and it is growing popular among piercing and tattoo fans. National Geographic shows three people in Tokyo go through the process. John, Marina and Scorpion have needles inserted into their foreheads. They then sit for two hours while 400 cc of saline drips into their skin which causes their foreheads to swell up.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, October 02, 2012
Too Old to Wear Body Piercings?
Too Old to Wear Body Piercings?
Now that 50 is the new 30, we're seeing plenty of aging celebrities proudly wear their piercings later in life. Dennis Rodman, 51, has just about everything pierced (and this is just the parts we see); lovely Tia Carrere, 45, wears a pierced nose. What do you think about piercings? Is there an expiration date on them or should they be okay for any age, like tattoos?
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, October 01, 2012
Some B.C. artists want stricter regulations
Some B.C. artists want stricter regulations
Maria Leoczko, a Nanaimo tattoo artist for more than a decade, has seen her fair share of teens showing up at her door hoping to fix a tattoo they got on impulse. “The name of our shop should be the Janitor, that’s what we do is clean up people’s sh*t,” says Leoczko, co-owner of Sandra’s Inks and Labyrinth Tattoo Studios. “They don’t know it’s going to be thousands of dollars to remove it. They have uneven lines, fat lines on the left hand side, skinny lines on the right…it looks like they had a seizure. So we get an influx of people that are really unhappy, people are crying.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, October 01, 2012
Teens skirting tattoo rules, says Winnipeg industry insider
Teens skirting tattoo rules, says Winnipeg industry insider
At least one tattoo industry insider in Winnipeg says teenagers are often getting tattooed without their parents' consent, either by going to someone working from a home or by going to parlours willing to bend the law. "There's lots, and I mean lots, of underage people getting things done," said Eric Johanson of Soul Survivors Body Art in Winnipeg. Johanson lobbied for years to get the City of Winnipeg to bring in tougher rules. "The age was a big one," he said. "We had people coming into our shop that had been to other locations that had procedures done terribly wrong." In most Canadian cities, there are no laws preventing teens from getting tattoos, only guidelines recommending teenagers obtain parental consent.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Is a tattoo for you? The ins and outs of getting inked
Is a tattoo for you? The ins and outs of getting inked
Body art long ago moved into the mainstream, away from the seedy tattoo parlours and outlaw image of years past. Roughly one in five Canadians has a tattoo, according to a recent survey. The customer in the artist’s chair could just as easily be a suburban soccer mom as a burly biker. So is a tattoo for you? The interactive guide below covers the basics of body art, from the science of getting inked to the ways a regrettable decision can be undone.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Tattoo culture making its mark on millennials
Tattoo culture making its mark on millennials
More urbanites going under the needle as tattoo taboos fade, artists and sociologists say -- "I have to be honest. I didn't put a hell of a lot of thought into that first one. But now there's a cultural expectation that if you have a tattoo, there has to be some story behind it." It's an indication of how the industry has grown up in the decades since then, artists and their clients say, with popular perception of tattoo culture shifting to serious art movement from deviant behaviour. Atkinson — whose arms, chest, ankle and lower neck are inked — describes tattooing as part fashion, part communicative act in a consumer culture that encourages swapping the old for the new.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, September 25, 2012
B.C. teens getting tattoos without parental consent
B.C. teens getting tattoos without parental consent
A CBC News hidden camera investigation reveals some B.C. tattoo parlours are inking teenagers without parental consent — despite a recommendation from the province that minors should obtain the permission of a parent. Artists at Fetish Ink in Prince George say this tattoo, done on a 15-year-old girl, is not their work. CBC News sent a 17-year-old volunteer to three tattoo parlours in the Lower Mainland, where the teen made her age known. An artist at Geronimo’s Tattoos in Burnaby initially said he believed parental consent was only required for those under the age of 16.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, September 24, 2012
The Therapeutic Experience of Being Suspended by Your Skin
The Therapeutic Experience of Being Suspended by Your Skin
A woman lies face down on a massage table. She is tended to by five men wearing surgical masks and gloves. The men aren't wearing scrubs, though, and elaborate tattoos are visible on three of the men's arms. They insert large fishhooks under the woman's skin: in her calves, thighs, and lower, middle, and upper back. They work quickly and with practiced efficiency, grabbing a good sized piece of skin, pushing the hook into the skin until -- pop -- it slides in and out the other side. There is no blood...
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, September 23, 2012
B.C. NDP, some artists seek stricter rules on tattoos for teens
B.C. NDP, some artists seek stricter rules on tattoos for teens
Nanaimo, B.C. -- Sarah Windsor regrets using up her prime body real estate with four “crappy” tattoos she had inked before her 17th birthday. Windsor, 36, got her first tattoo at the age of 15. The tribal scorpion on her right shoulder was an impromptu, “that’s kind of cool” decision from an image she picked out from the wall of the studio where her boyfriend’s brother worked as a tattoo artist in Campbell River. Her parents were livid when they found out, but that didn’t stop the teenager from going under the needle three more times. An image of Pegasus spreads it wings across her left shoulder blade, a vine with two roses creeps up her right calf and a puzzle piece with a Japanese symbol marks her left calf. All were done in the comfort of the same tattoo artist’s home. Twenty-one years later, Windsor now uses the body art to teach her teenagers what not to do.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, September 23, 2012
Tattoo removal still a long, slow process
Tattoo removal still a long, slow process
Certain types of tattoos - including those done with yellow or blue ink, or older and bigger tattoos - are harder to remove than others using traditional laser treatment, a new study suggests. But even smaller tattoos done with black ink can take multiple years to erase, researchers found. Of 352 people getting a tattoo removed with the so-called Q-switched laser, just under half had their ink successfully eliminated after 10 sessions, and three-quarters after 15 sessions, in research from Italy. Smokers, as well as people who had their treatment sessions less than two months apart, were less likely than others to see their body art disappear.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, September 17, 2012
Sex Confession: I Got Pierced Below the Belt to Spice Up My Sex Life
Sex Confession: I Got Pierced Below the Belt to Spice Up My Sex Life
With three kids and 10 years of marriage, it's kind of hard to spice things up when you've kind of tried everything already and ... well, have three kids running around never giving you any free time to really get creative ... sexually with your husband. I've always liked piercings on women -- nose rings, lip rings -- but never had any except for my ears. I had never even thought about getting any kind of kinky piercing before because I was worried about how it would heal and how bad it would hurt. But you know what hurts worse? A dwindling sex life.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, September 16, 2012
Japanese tattooist draws the line between art and the underworld
Japanese tattooist draws the line between art and the underworld
For tattoo artist Horiyoshi III, the skin into which he sinks his ink-infused needle is a canvas for the myths and legends of Japan – where body art is indelibly linked to the criminal underworld. The mountains and waves of 18th century art and the fabulous mythical creatures are a far cry from the stylised designs in the West that usually draw disapproval from parents and teachers. But the tattoo in Japan has a much worse reputation. It is associated with the violent gangsters of the yakuza criminal underworld – an association that tattoo proponents argue is unfair.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, September 16, 2012
Gaga follows live tattoo with eccentric outfit for new perfume launch
Gaga follows live tattoo with eccentric outfit for new perfume launch
Never one to do things by halves, Lady Gaga has treated her fans to several displays of her wackiness for at the launch of her new perfume: Fame. The Bad Romance singer arrived at Macy's New York department store on Friday by horse and carriage and emerged clad in a black latex outfit and gold headdress which masked her eyes. Gaga completed the look with enormous black platform heels, adorned with figures of gold men, echoing the fragrance's campaign which depicts miniature people walking on the star. Earlier on Friday Gaga had sparked excitement about the event by tweeting "Macy's here we come!" and let slip a few teasers about her dramatic entrance when she said "I wonder if the horse is rehearsed? Princess high."
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, September 13, 2012
Body Modification and the Workplace
Body Modification and the Workplace
As she slowly removes various components of surgical steel body jewelry from her face, 27-year-old Nadine Surja lets out a deep sigh. Surja is originally from Romania but has lived in Eugene for five years now. She proudly veils her body with various forms of body modification including tattoos, piercings, branding, and even scarification. With certain extreme modifications (including double stretched nostrils at an eight gauge and a facial tattoo), it is very difficult for Surja to find work in the United States. Originally an art student, Surja had to start school over again. But in order to make her way through school, she must work. Surja says, “I’ve had several different jobs while I’ve been here. And I have had most of my body mods since before I moved to the states.” In Romania, Surja was often stared at for her appearance. But in Eugene she is treated better:
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, September 13, 2012
Piercing heats up in town
Piercing heats up in town
She has pierced her eyebrow, ear lobe, navel and nostril. How loud is the beep when she is under inspection at a checking point? Does the policewoman or guard frown hard because of the noise the detector makes from all those accessories? I bet she spends a chunk of her income buying rings for each piercing. Why did she do it? “I did this for adventure and I am planning to pierce my chin and lower lip,” Anita says. When she was young, her mother pierced her ears and Anita has taken it further. But are piercings, like hers, a good or bad thing?
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Calgary shop owner calls for scarification regulations
Calgary shop owner calls for scarification regulations
A Calgary piercing shop owner is pushing for more regulations for an extreme form of body modification. Scarification continues to grow in popularity, but Keith Kennedy of Tribal Expressions says it's not always being done safely. A quick search of scarification on Youtube pops us some pretty graphic images — a scalpel digging into the skin carving out an image, with blood all over the place. Something tattoo artist Steven Peace says he would never do. "I just don't think it's safe at all," he said. "That's a medical instrument, not a needle — which is what we use, so it goes too far over that line." Scarification uses a scalpel to cut about a 16th of an inch into the skin to create a permanent design, and can also include burning or branding.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
7 Pierced Women So Pretty You'll Want a Piercing Too
7 Pierced Women So Pretty You'll Want a Piercing Too
There is something about a piercing that can change everything about a woman -- and it's different for each woman. Sometimes it can make her look magical or mystical with a hippie feel. Or it can add a punk and rebellious edge. All of it gives off the feeling that the woman is daring, carefree, even spiritual. I love how it can be big and bold or small and subtle. And it suits some women so well you can't imagine them without it. A piercing is more adaptable than a tattoo in that it's body modification that you can change.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
10 Body Hacks That Will Be Available By 2025
10 Body Hacks That Will Be Available By 2025
As witnessed with today’s success of the iPhone, technology advances quickly and without much advance notice if driven by market demand and commercial backing. The next wave of the future could go beyond the technology we’re holding in our hands and extend to what’s embedded inside our hands. There is experimentation with bio-technological hacks going on today both in the lab and in an unsanctioned underground of fanatics that could result in body implant “upgrades” being as ubiquitous in 2025 as smartphones are now.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, September 07, 2012
Computer ID's Culprits with Tattoo Recognition Program
Computer ID's Culprits with Tattoo Recognition Program
It's a plot point in countless detective shows and movies. An investigator finds fingerprints at a crime scene, scans the prints into a computer, and automatically finds matches in a huge FBI database. Now, researchers are working on technology making it just as simple for law enforcement to scan in and find not only matches for suspects' photos, but also their body ink. The face might be the obvious place to start for Facebook, homeland security and other groups interested in automatically identifying people in photos.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, September 07, 2012
Experts want more oversight of tattoo industry
Experts want more oversight of tattoo industry
Once the exclusive domain of bikers, sailors and prison inmates, tattoos are now so popular that parlours are sprouting up in malls, and suburban moms are lining up to get inked. But an outbreak of skin infections in the United States may give tat-hunters pause. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning last month after receiving reports of about two dozen people who developed skin infections after getting tattooed. An additional 30 people had suspected cases. The outbreak spread to several states, including New York, Colorado and Iowa.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, September 07, 2012
How to clean your new piercing
How to clean your new piercing
Body piercings are always in fashion, but whilst they may look good they do need some caring after. The piercer will most likely explain to you how to take care of it, but if that information manages to slip your mind here’s exactly what you need to do. Avoid touching the piercing for up to 24 hours later – even after those 24 hours, make sure your hands are clean before you touch the piercing. Dirt and hand oil can aggravate the healing process and eventually lead to infection.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Tattoos, turtles his passion
Tattoos, turtles his passion
London, Ontario -- Tattoos and turtles are the twin passions of London artist Mike Austin. Austin, 44, is one of the city's most experienced and sought-after tattoo artists. Booked for a year in advance, he and his brother John have run Austin Custom Tattoos for 20 years. But for the last five summers, the Austin brothers have scoured the banks of the Thames River searching for the spiny soft-shelled turtle, a native species threatened by loss of habitat, natural predators and poachers.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Body Piercer Gives Himself Magnetic Arm Implants To Hold iPod
Body Piercer Gives Himself Magnetic Arm Implants To Hold iPod
Taking his love of body piercing and his love of tech to the natural extreme, Dave Hurban had an Apple iPod Nano attached to his wrist — we asked him why. The pantheon of bodily devotion to tech just got a new hero: Meet Dave Hurban. He’s the guy that embedded 4 magnets in his left wrist in order to attach an iPod Nano to his body. The project is called iDermal, and Hurban can now simply rest an iPod on his arm and be on his merry way — that is, until Apple inevitably redesigns the diminutive music player, which is now on its sixth iteration.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, August 27, 2012
Body Piercing Rejection and Migration
Body Piercing Rejection and Migration
When it comes to body piercings, unfortunately, migration and rejection sometimes become an issue that can frustrate and even frighten the person experiencing it. I've had 3 piercings migrate on me and I'll admit, it's not a pleasant thing to endure, but with knowledge and understanding also comes the ability to handle these situations without fear. The first thing you need to know is what rejection and migration are. Some people tend to confuse the two or think that they are one in the same, but that is not actually the case.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, August 27, 2012
Police have policy for body art
Police have policy for body art
Lethbridge, Alberta -- Lethbridge police officers won't be following suit with their Medicine Hat counterparts in regards to new tattoo regulations as the local force already has a policy regarding body art. It has been in place for just more than a year. Negotiated by the City of Lethbridge and the Lethbridge Police Association, the policy changes came about as part of a discussion looking into relaxing overall appearance standards, specifically dealing with facial hair. A decision was made to allow facial hair within a defined length and grooming standard. "For years we had a policy that forbid that (facial hair at all)," said Tom Kramer, Lethbridge Police Association president. "Our membership expressed it as an issue and so we approached the executive on it. We started looking into tattoos, piercings, all those type of things, and then we put it under one policy."
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, August 27, 2012
Investigators trace nasty tattoo infections in 4 states to ink
Investigators trace nasty tattoo infections in 4 states to ink
An outbreak of infected tattoos has led to an unlikely source: the ink. With the growing popularity of tattoos, health officials say they are seeing more cases of a nasty skin infection caused by a common bacteria traced to the ink. In the largest outbreak, 19 people in Rochester, N.Y., ended up with bubbly rashes on their new tattoos, researchers reported Wednesday.
Infections from tattooing are nothing new. Hepatitis, staph infections and even the superbug known as MRSA have been tied to tattoos. Dirty needles and unsanitary conditions are often to blame. But all the New York cases were linked to an unidentified artist who wore disposable gloves and sterilized his instruments. The problem, investigators concluded, was in the ink.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, August 20, 2012
The original painted ladies
The original painted ladies
Vintage photographs reveal incredible head-to-toe tattoos on women in the Twenties, Thirties and Forties -- From bike gangs, to star-crossed lovers and rebellious teenagers, tattoos are often thought of as modern day markings, usually of the wayward and tough. However tattoos are far from a new cultural phenomenon. Decades before Jimmy Buffet sang 'It's just a permanent reminder of a temporary feeling', women all over the world were proudly adorning their entire bodies in defining ink. Whether it was 1926 in the Bronx, the Thirties in England or 1946 in Japan, these incredible vintage photographs reveal how tattooed ladies paved the way in tattoo design for the rest of the world.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, August 20, 2012
Siberian Mummy Tattoos Amaze Researchers
Siberian Mummy Tattoos Amaze Researchers
A Siberian mummy with intricate tattoos decorating her body has been revealed in Russia. Researchers estimate the mysterious woman, known as the Ukok princess, was probably 25 years old when she died nearly 2,500 years ago, ABC News reports. She was most likely a member of the Pazyryk tribe, nomads who lived in the Altai mountains of Siberia. Her mummy was discovered in 1993. It was kept preserved in the permafrost, which is why her tattoos are still visible.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Olympics fan marks London 2012 with surface piercing
Olympics fan marks London 2012 with surface piercing
A Sports-mad Olympics fan kicked the celebrations off in style by having the iconic rings pierced to her leg. Laura Thornton has had five interlocking rings threaded to her right thigh in a painful tribute to the Games. The 27-year-old’s body decoration is only one-inch wide and features five Olympics style rings. The painful procedure took just 30 minutes to complete and was carried out by Laura’s younger sister Natalie, 23, who works as a professional piercer. The rings were attached using a technique known as 'surface piercing'.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Dave Navarro To Use Flesh Piercing’s For ‘Theatre Of The Escapists’ Suspension Show
Dave Navarro To Use Flesh Piercing’s For ‘Theatre Of The Escapists’ Suspension Show
When Jane’s Addiction announced their Theatre of the Escapists tour, they made no secret that they were searching for something new and fresh. But when the band put out the feelers for people who could do ‘outlandish’ things, no one knew just how far they were planning on taking it, with guitarist Dave Navarro donating his body to the concept. The band has posted a video of the axeman himself getting pierced and suspended with hooks from chains. So the footage isn’t for the weak stomached. Suspension shows aren’t meant to be pretty but to showcase the discipline and also to give testament to the human body and mind. It’s an artform, albeit a graphic one.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Medicine Hat police must hide tattoos, piercings
Medicine Hat police must hide tattoos, piercings
Medicine Hat, Alberta -- A new policy banning visible tattoos and piercings for police officers is creating a stir in Medicine Hat, Alta. Chief Andy McGrogan says he's pleased with the changes, which prohibit his officers from revealing any tattoos, piercings or wearing unnaturally coloured hair. The changes are well researched thanks to a 2011 community survey that showed residents favoured appearance standards for police, McGrogan said. “It’s not what I think, it’s what members of the community think,” McGrogan told CBC News. “At the end of the day, our community has spoken and we just changed our policy to reflect that.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Ottawa Hospital awaits ruling on tattoo, piercings dress code
Ottawa Hospital awaits ruling on tattoo, piercings dress code
Ottawa, Ontario -- Management at the Ottawa Hospital have “eased up” on tattoos and piercings for now, according to the union. “It seems as though everything has been put on hold,” said Rob Driskell, executive chief steward with CUPE Local 4000. The matter is currently in the hands of an arbitrator following a grievance against the hospital’s revised dress code policy which was implemented in March 2011. It bans excessive body piercings and staff must conceal large visible tattoos while working.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, August 09, 2012
What It's Really Like To Be A Tattoo Artist
What It's Really Like To Be A Tattoo Artist
It's not every day you see a woman hammering skulls and snakes and daggers into people's flesh, to a heavy metal soundtrack. "I was definitely a novelty," Jess Fitzgerald says, when at age 18, she began her career as a tattoo artist, working as an apprentice, inking Harley Davidson eagles at a biker parlor in Connecticut. Now, six years later, Fitzgerald is even more of a novelty, as the 24-year-old owner of a tattoo shop in Valdez, N.M. All the artists at her Talisman Tattoo and Body Piercing shop are female.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, August 09, 2012
Beyond ‘Mom’: Tattoo Artists Talk Trends vs. Custom Work
Beyond ‘Mom’: Tattoo Artists Talk Trends vs. Custom Work
When customers eager to get inked walk into a Williamsburg or Greenpoint tattoo parlor with a design in hand, chances are the artist has seen it — or something like it — before. So the busy Brooklyn tattoo artists profiled in the Journal Thursday admit tiring of trends like Chinese characters and Japanese lettering, getting a bigger kick out of inking customers with their own designs. In an ideal world, artist Jeb Maykut would create designs for all walk-in clients at Flyrite Tattoo in Williamsburg. “It would be, ‘I want a rose,’ and that would be all the input. When you come and you see it, you say ‘OK, that’s great,’” Maykut says. “The worst client you can get is an art director in a graphic design firm, because, they’ll drive you crazy.’”
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, August 08, 2012
The Twisted & Surgical ‘American Mary’
The Twisted & Surgical ‘American Mary’
Directors Jen and Sylvia Soska are back with their second indie feature, American Mary, which will star both Katharine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps, Freddy vs Jason) and Paula Lindberg. “Starring Katharine Isabelle, this metaphor for the Soskas own journey through the independent film industry follows medical student Mary Mason as she becomes increasingly broke and disenchanted. The allure of easy money sends Mary into the twilight world of body modification and underground surgeries where obsessed flesh artists will pay anything and go through any pain to get their unusual procedures done. But Mary soon finds that her new ‘profession’ leaves more marks on her own psyche than on her freakish clientele.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, August 08, 2012
Cyborg America: inside the strange new world of basement body hackers
Cyborg America: inside the strange new world of basement body hackers
With the advent of the smartphone, many Americans have grown used to the idea of having a computer on their person at all times. Wearable technologies like Google’s Project Glass are narrowing the boundary between us and our devices even further by attaching a computer to a person’s face and integrating the software directly into a user’s field of vision. The paradigm shift is reflected in the names of our dominant operating systems. Gone are Microsoft’s Windows into the digital world, replaced by a union of man and machine: the iPhone or Android.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, August 04, 2012
'New ink new album': Lady Gaga unveils new tattoo
'New ink new album': Lady Gaga unveils new tattoo
With nine tattoos already adorning her body, it's fair to say Lady Gaga is a big fan of skin etchings. But the 26-year-old singer's new inking seems to be much more than just a piece of attractive body art. The Born This Way hitmaker revealed her new addition on her social networking account Littlemonsters.com, and in the process teased fans with the name of her new record. Posting a link to the image on her Twitter page, Gaga can be seen holding her right forearm towards the camera with the word 'Artpop' neatly etched down it in black ink.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, August 02, 2012
Olympic ink: Olympic athletes with tattoos
Olympic ink: Olympic athletes with tattoos
Olympic inspired tattoos have become like a rite of passage for Olympians. Mike Bruner who took home two gold medals in 1976 said, “It’s like being a member of the Army Special Forces.” Back then people associated tattoos with bikers not swimmers and gymnasts. He didn't get his Olympic rings tattooed until the 2008 trials when he saw so many swimmers sporting the tattoos. Now swimmers who don't have the Olympic rings tattooed somewhere on their bodies are in the minority. So where did this trend start? It is suggested the first Olympic rings can be traced back to Olympian Chris Jacobs, in the 1980s. He won three gold medals in the 1988 Seoul Games.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, August 02, 2012
New York Governor signs teen body piercing law
New York Governor signs teen body piercing law
Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation that requires minors in New York have parental consent before obtain body piercings. New York joins thirty-one other states in mandating parental consent for this popular form of body art. "Body piercing can result in severe health risks and it is our obligation as New Yorkers and parents to make sure that our teens are taking every precaution to remain healthy and safe” – Governor Andrew Cuomo
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, August 01, 2012
Tattoos replacing medical-alert bracelets for those with diabetes, other ailments
Tattoos replacing medical-alert bracelets for those with diabetes, other ailments
The first time Jimbo Carriero died, it lasted only a few minutes. "I didn't see the white lights everyone talks about, but I sure got an overwhelming feeling of total bliss," Carriero said of complications following a stent procedure after a heart attack in September 2008. "It was beautiful, just a beautiful feeling, like all my bills had been paid." So the next time, he wants to stay there. The 52-year-old owner of Body Branding Tattoo Emporium in Naples had "Do Not Resuscitate" tattooed on his chest a year later.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, August 01, 2012
Polish Rapper Gets Eyeballs Tattooed
Polish Rapper Gets Eyeballs Tattooed
Polish rapper Popek has had his eyeballs tattooed as part of a new mini-documentary. See the video below. The video includes graphic scenes of the eyeball tattoo. Popek is a Polish rapper and martial artist who has achieved success in his homeland at both. He agreed to be videoed as his eyeballs permanently tattooed for a new short film by documentary maker Will Robson-Scott. The longterm implications and risks of tattooing eyeballs are unknown.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, July 30, 2012
Tattoo you and me? Body art can be good to share
Tattoo you and me? Body art can be good to share
Tattoos are permanent reminders of temporary feelings – at least if you believe the report in Thursday's Daily Mail, which looked at "embarrassing" matching couple tattoos – designs that complement or complete each other across two, romantically involved bodies. Yet there are millions of people who feel no embarrassment about the tattoos they share with their friends, lovers and even exes. Moreover, as with most perceived "new trends" in tattooing, this practice is one with a history far older than the current generation; it's a phenomenon that provides both an insight into human beings' fundamental relationships with their own bodies and the bodies and lives of those close to them.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, July 30, 2012
Ink Fresh
Ink Fresh
Tattoo artist Ami James tells Bibi Nurshuhada Ramli how he is kept on his toes when it comes to his craft -- artist Ami James had his first tattoo when he was just 13. And it was “home-made”. “Back then, in the cool 1980s punk era, tattoos were a norm for youngsters,” he says in an phone interview from New York. “We were too young to get them done professionally, so we found a way to do it ourselves. Not in a smart way, though.” He adds that children used to have their tattoos in areas that were not in full view of people. “I have mine — it says ‘Miami Punk Scene’ — 18cm up from my knee, so I never wear short shorts. My mum never knew about it.” However, when he got his first professional tattoo two years later, it made him want to become a tattoo artist.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, July 27, 2012
Tips on caring for organic body jewelry
Tips on caring for organic body jewelry
Organic body jewelry -wood, bone, horn, stone, amber- are often worn in stretched piercings, such as the ears, labret, or nose. They are generally considered healthier for the healed piercings, as the porous and somewhat rough texture encourages thicker skinned, less smelly piercings, and allows the skin to breathe. The downside to organic body jewelry is that it is somewhat higher maintenance.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, July 27, 2012
DIY Piercing - Brilliant or Brainless?
DIY Piercing - Brilliant or Brainless?
Why Body Art Ought to be Left to the Professionals -- D.I.Y. or Do It Yourself is becoming a household phrase. Why pay someone when you can do it yourself? Of course, it's not just a cost issue, but also a matter of pride! To do something with your own two hands brings a sense of self-worth and satisfaction. DIY book sales have soared in recent years, featuring handyman instructions for everything from small craft projects to building your own home. However, tattoos, piercings, brandings, scarifications and other body modifications are not do-it-yourself projects.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, July 27, 2012
Tattoos and piercings: How young is too young?
Tattoos and piercings: How young is too young?
Will and Jada Pinkett Smith's 11-year-old daughter, Willow, was recently given a tongue-lashing on social media after posting a picture of herself sporting a tongue piercing on Instagram. [...]Though she later revealed that it was in fact a fake, magnetic tongue ring, people were already whipping their opinions back and forth about whether young people are too vulnerable to make permanent (or potentially scarring) decisions about their bodies. The issue: What is classified as "too young"?
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Our annual roundup of Winnipeg's tattoo trends
Our annual roundup of Winnipeg's tattoo trends
There are many reasons a person would pay to have someone stab them repeatedly with a needle and then fill the puncture wounds with ink. From ancient art form to modern expressionism, tattoos have acquired a lot of lore and culture on their way to becoming the ubiquitous badge of individuality they are today. One in five adults has at least one tattoo, up from 14 per cent in 2008, according to a recent Harris Poll. Most (86 per cent) have never regretted getting inked. Three in 10 say their tattoos make them feel more sexy, while a quarter reported feeling more rebellious.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, July 24, 2012
What age is too old for a tattoo?
What age is too old for a tattoo?
You turn 70 years old and to celebrate the milestone, you decide to buy yourself a piece of art – marked permanently into your skin. Is it respectable for a septuagenarian to get a tattoo? Lady Judy Steel, the wife of Scottish peer and former Liberal Democrat leader, David Steel, didn’t have any hesitations when she decided to treat herself to a tattoo of a three-inch pink jaguar on her left shoulder. “I saw someone with a tattoo that I really liked, and I realised that tattooing can actually be an art work so decided to give one to myself for my 70th birthday,” Lady Steel, now 72, told The Sunday Telegraph.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Surface Piercings – Your Body Hates Them
Surface Piercings – Your Body Hates Them
Surface piercings are any body piercings that take place on the surface of the body through areas which are not particularly concave or convex, where the piercing canal transverses a surface flap of skin, rather than running completely through a piece of body tissue from one side to another. A surface bar follows the plane of skin, while a standard piercing is pierced through the plane. Basically this is any piercing that enters and exits the skin on the same side of the body.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
What does a body modification artist do?
What does a body modification artist do?
Last June 16, the GMA Network program “Day Off” featured Leo Roque, a body modification artist. He has 15 years of experience in tattooing, a profession that can be likened to painting except that it entails the use of needles instead of paint brushes, and human skin instead of canvasses. Tattooing is only one example of the different types of body modification in which Leo specializes. He also performs body piercing, transdermal implantation or the process of placing objects beneath the skin, and branding or burning the skin to leave decorative scars.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
I Have Really Stretched-Out Earring Holes; Should I Get Them Fixed?
I Have Really Stretched-Out Earring Holes; Should I Get Them Fixed?
I begged and begged to have my ears pierced. I remember it very clearly, the pediatrician with a walrus-like moustache, the clear piercing gun, the shiny orange Naugahyde of the exam table. I was four years old, and I was dying to wear the tiny Minnie Mouse post earrings someone had gotten me as a present. Now, over twenty years later, the holes in my earlobes are pretty decimated. It’s not even accurate to call them holes; they’re basically lines, completely stretched out.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, July 13, 2012
Book: "Spiritual Skin: Magical Tattoo & Scarification" by Lars Krutak
Book: "Spiritual Skin: Magical Tattoo & Scarification" by Lars Krutak
In this second post on upcoming titles by Edition Reuss, we share our great excitement over Dr. Lars Krutak's new book "Spiritual Skin: Magical Tattoos and Scarification." The 400-page, large format hardcover looks at healing, protective and shamanic tattooing and scarification across the tribal world -- a world that Lars has explored in his 15+ years researching tattoo traditions and rituals (a number of which he has experienced himself).
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, July 12, 2012
Interview with Tattoo Artist Jon Sanford
Interview with Tattoo Artist Jon Sanford
Q: You have a lot of strong, bold work. How important is black to your palette?
A: Black is extremely important, for sure. The amount of black used can make or break the tattoo. I use a lot of black in my tattoos because I feel that it gives them a dark, solid, tough look. Not only is the look it gives important for aesthetic purposes, but a tattoo with a good amount of black used in the right places is going to make your tattoo hold up and look nice over time.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Aurora tattoo artist celebrates ancient art form
Aurora tattoo artist celebrates ancient art form
Aurora, Ontario -- It is an eclectic emporium populated by artisans and their art; a magnet for people whose lifestyles range from alternative to average.
Parked outside the Aurora strip plaza storefront are clients’ rides: from a squat, muscular Harley Davidson motorcycle to a sporty import to a family van. A window poster promotes an upcoming Punks Against Racism concert.
Inside, there’s a lively cacophony of music, chatter and laughter. The sound reverberates off walls resplendent with diverse art, Warholesque paintings of pop icons, tribal masks, Japanese panels and exquisitely whimsical prints. The canvas of choice for the artists, however, is skin — live, thin human tissue, offered willingly and frequently to the artists and their electric brushes at Fatcat Tattoo.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, July 10, 2012
How to remove a henna tattoo
How to remove a henna tattoo
Okay, so, you’ve decided you want in on this fabulous form of art, you find a great mendi artist (or maybe not so great) and you have your design done, you let the henna stay on for as long as you’ve been told by the artist, and when it’s time to reveal the design, you love it, or hate it! Either way, there will be a time when you want it gone! If you love your design, that’s great, but when it starts to fade, you may find that you just look like you have dirt on yourself – and you will want it off! If you hate your design from the beginning, you will also want it off, so here are some great ways to rid yourself of unwanted Henna tattoos!
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, July 09, 2012
Life Is Wild on the Outlaw Fringe of Body Modification
Life Is Wild on the Outlaw Fringe of Body Modification
The crowd hoots and whistles as Jose Eduardo Alvear, better-known as "Coco Stabs," saunters onto the stage. His bushy blond hair is pulled into tight buns, Björk-style. The blush on his cheeks softens his imposing 350-pound, six-foot-three frame. His gut hangs over white-and-green boxers, and a baby's bib covers the Sacred Heart of Jesus and eagle's wings inked on his broad chest. On his left hand, an outline of brass knuckles rises from his flesh thanks to a subdermal implant, a type of jewelry surgically placed beneath the skin.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, July 08, 2012
New tattoo service helps cancer survivors
New tattoo service helps cancer survivors
Coquitlam, BC -- For many, tattoos are a way of remembering loved ones we've lost, identifying who we are or expressing emotions. But for surgical nurse Sandy Saunier, tattoos are etched on to one's body for a different purpose - they are a symbol of courage and strength in the face of a life-threatening illness and are a way of healing thereafter. Saunier is one of only two trained areola tattooists in the province who provide a unique service to breast cancer survivors in the Lower Mainland who have undergone reconstructive surgery.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, July 08, 2012
Tattoos: Good, Bad, and Covering Up with Megan Massacre
Tattoos: Good, Bad, and Covering Up with Megan Massacre
Outside of tattooing, Megan has been working as an alternative model since 2007, and has been featured in a many national and international publications, including 15+ magazine covers. She also works as a DJ and has recently created a new DJ project called “Letz Massacre” with her boyfriend Joe Letz from the band Combichrist. TLC ran a show called “America’s Worst Tattoos” that focused on people with ‘Tattoo-regret’: the syndrome that occurs when someone gets themselves inked with something truly unfortunate. Whether the decision was made because they were too young, or drunk, or just trying to give a gift to a lover (or ex-lover), tattoos are forever, right?
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, July 05, 2012
A New Piercing Trend to Get Under Your Skin
A New Piercing Trend to Get Under Your Skin
Summertime has arrived and skin is in... "All the kids are out of school, everybody's going on vacations, parties, things like that," said Tattoo Artist and Piercing Pro Christopher Sobey. Sobey... who works at "Otto Matick Tattoo and Piercing"... knows how to get under your skin. "People nowadays love to express themselves. They want everybody else around them to know exactly how they feel of what their message is," said Sobey. As more El Pasoans enjoy the pleasures of the flesh... Sobey adds a new piercing trend to his body of work... dermal implants.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, July 04, 2012
Fans of body art attend tattoo festivals and conventions across the US
Fans of body art attend tattoo festivals and conventions across the US
The hobby of collecting tattoos has exploded into the mainstream of society in the US with tattoo conventions and festivals held year-round across the country. Above, artist Greg French works on his client, Brittany Keylon at the Hampton Roads Tattoo Festival in Virginia. Brittany has recently separated from her husband, overcame a battle with cancer and the death of her father. She considers Greg her therapist during their sessions and says that each piece of work done on her represents her life story.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, July 03, 2012
Your First Tattoo
Your First Tattoo
So you’ve decided to get a tattoo. But before you get inked, it’s important to do your homework and be prepared. Kings Cross Ink Tattoo has some helpful tips to get you started. Beautiful skin art is being adorned on all walks of life and when carried out properly will stand the test of time. Here are some points that will help you start the next phase of your life.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, July 03, 2012
Bedazzle Me
Bedazzle Me
I spent last Saturday morning at a tattoo parlor with my teenage daughter. But don't worry; we weren't there for a tattoo. (I do have some standards.) We were there to pay someone to shove a 16-gauge needle through the cartilage of her ear. A month before this day, my soon-to-be 15-year-old asked if she could get a piercing for her birthday. We were in the car, idling at a stoplight and I was scrolling through work emails on my phone. "Sure," I said, figuring I'd fight this particular battle at a more convenient time. But given that this is the same kid who emailed me a Power Point presentation of her Christmas list -- complete with live links to the requested merchandise -- I should have been prepared for the marketing blitz that ensued.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, July 03, 2012
Ear Gauging: Safe Ways to Stretch Your Ear Piercings
Ear Gauging: Safe Ways to Stretch Your Ear Piercings
It's trendy right now to wear pierced earrings fashioned from plugs or with thick, decorative posts and rings. Even if your ears were pierced to a standard size, you can stretch the holes using a gradual process that is commonly referred to as gauging or simply gauge. Piercing pros will tell you that is not the correct term, but it's become the word most people use to describe the stretching process. It will take time to gauge (or stretch) your pierced areas, but if you do it carefully you'll be able to wear thicker body jewelry and keep your ears healthy.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, June 29, 2012
Jewellery To Flaunt Your Pierced Nose
Jewellery To Flaunt Your Pierced Nose
Cartilage or nose piercing for the purpose of wearing jewelery is a fashion statement these days. It is the most common form of piercing to be found in women after earlobe piercing. But what might bother you more is what kind of jewelery to wear in your nose piercing so that it makes you look sexy. Well there is nothing to bother about for we are going to offer a plethora of choices of nose jewellery out of which you can take your pick and see what suits you the most.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, June 28, 2012
My Strike Branding Experience
My Strike Branding Experience
I had been a fan of BME for about a year before I decided to look into getting a scarification of my own. In everything I read and all the photos I saw I realized a few things. Getting a skin removal scar was not going to happen, the first reason being nobody in my area was attempting this type of modification and I wasn't sure I could handle a skin removal process. This led me to the branding area of scarification so I did my research, watched videos, looked at pictures of the healing process and pretty much knew what I was in for, (or so I thought). I knew the designs had to be simple so I decided on a rather large artistic heart and a simple for of my zodiac Taurus, the locations were easy to decide. The heart would go on my upper right should and the zodiac my lower back.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Ke$ha's new lip tattoo
Ke$ha's new lip tattoo
Some pop stars pretty up their pouts with red lipstick. Others show us how badass they can be by getting tattoos inside their lips! On Wednesday, one of Hollywood's edgier ladies debuted her sick new ink on Twitter. In the picture, this gold-toothed girl pulls down her lower lip to show "SUCK IT!" tattooed on the fleshy part of the skin. She'll probably wash that mouth out later with a bottle of Jack…So who is she? Ke$ha, of course!
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Abbotsford teen gets corset piercings for her legs for prom
Abbotsford teen gets corset piercings for her legs for prom
Abbotsford, BC -- Women (and men) have gone to great lengths for beauty ever since humans have been around. Some want to blend in to current culture, while others want to kick it up a notch and lead the way. That may have been on Aimee Fauteux's mind when she decided to have her calves pierced with 20 rings for her prom night, which took place on Saturday. Originally the 17-year-old thought she'd do it down her back with a backless dress, but instead she decided on her legs. Her idea was to have two rows of five steel loops on each calf, then lace them with ribbon, like one would do on a corset.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, June 25, 2012
Making a living on 'living' canvas
Making a living on 'living' canvas
Nanaimo, BC -- "Good tattoos aren't cheap, and cheap tattoos aren't good," said Relegation Tattoo artist Cory Farrell on Saturday as he set to work laying down some turquoise base colour on a client's torso. Kris Love, sitting across the studio at work on a forearm muttered a solemn "amen" in response to Farrell's well-known, and wise words. There's a lot that people don't know about tattooing outside of what's depicted in shows like L.A. Ink, or the Learning Channel's Tattoo School. What airs on television is mostly unrealistic and misleading, both agreed. "Part of this job is about education," said Love, who opened Relegation in 2010. "We need to help people understand what it is they're about to do."
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, June 25, 2012
Rheumatism patients should take extra tattoo care
Rheumatism patients should take extra tattoo care
Rheumatology patients taking immunosuppressants may be less able to fight off infection after getting a tattoo and should choose their tattoo artist carefully, rheumatologists have advised. After reviewing data on tattoo-related complications, the pair said they were unable to definitively advise such patients against going under the needle. However, their reduced capacity to fight off a range of infections means those on immunosuppressants should “receive their tattoo from an expert tattoo artist in an established licensed studio,”
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, June 24, 2012
Horihide still practices the dying art of hand tattoo
Horihide still practices the dying art of hand tattoo
Gifu, Japan -- Hand tattoo artist Horihide is one of the few tebori practitioners who remain, as body ink carries a stigma in Japan and young apprentices are few. Hidden away in the backroom of a modest apartment in this central Japanese city, one of Japan's last remaining hand-tattoo masters is preparing his tools. Over the last four decades Oguri Kazuo has tattooed notable geisha and countless yakuza, members of Japan's notorious mafia. Today, the 79-year-old artist, known professionally as Horihide (derived from "hori," meaning "to carve"), is working on a client who is a little more subdued.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, June 24, 2012
Glass as a material for body jewelry
Glass as a material for body jewelry
Glass should be considered safe for body piercing jewelry, and I don’t think this is a matter of opinion. The science supporting the use for glass is well established. From protective encapsulantion for electronic implants and RFID tags to tissue cultures and skin grafts contained in petri dishes, glass has been proven virtually non-reactive to human tissue.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, June 23, 2012
Your body is canvas for talented Comox artist
Your body is canvas for talented Comox artist
Comox, Vancouver Island, BC -- Imagine donning jewelry, lace or plaid — that's 100 per cent paint. Local artist Lisa Marshall, 30, specializes in realistic 3-D face and bodyart, and at the end May, she won an international award for her work. The Up and Coming Artist Award was presented to Marshall for her skills, instruction and interaction with fellow painters at the Face and BodyArt International Convention in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, June 23, 2012
Healthy Living: Piercings
Healthy Living: Piercings
Piercing can be seen as an art form for those who choose to express themselves that way, however, it comes with responsibility. "If you're not going to take care of your piercing the way you should, there's a risk of infection," said Courtney Colon. She works at Extreme Graphix in Greece. According to her, the upkeep is very important. Piercings are restricted for anyone under the age of 16. Those who are between the ages of 13 and 15 can only get certain body parts pierced and they must have parental permission.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, June 22, 2012
Tattoo health warning
Tattoo health warning
London, Ontario -- People who received a tattoo at a private residence in the area of Trafalgar St. and Clarke Rd. should get tested for HIV and hepatitis, the Middlesex-London Health Unit said Friday. In the meantime, they should prevent the possible spread of disease by using condoms and not sharing injection drug equipment, razors, nail clippers, toothbrushes or other personal items. Though the risk of spreading blood-borne infections from inadequate sterilization of tattooing equipment is considered low, infections may go unrecognized because some people do not have initial symptoms.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, June 22, 2012
Temporary tatts take off
Temporary tatts take off
Celebration and commemoration of life's events is a serious business. And for those looking for a unique way to mark a significant stage in their life, henna tattooing is proving a popular choice. Owner of Henna Harem, Oriel Paterson is seeing increasing numbers of people opting for this traditional method of temporary tattooing. Henna is a naturally-derived plant paste that stains the skin for about two weeks after application. The henna dye is applied using a small bottle and nib with the full effect coming on after 48 hours.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Much ink spilled over tattoo crackdown in Japan
Much ink spilled over tattoo crackdown in Japan
It is easy for outsiders to admire those in Japan who sport tattoos. First, think of the pain: The body art known as irezumi is inflicted on a wearer's torso with wooden needles and charcoal ink. During as many as 50 sessions, the irezumi master brooks no tardiness, insobriety or whining. Then there is the lifetime of pariah status that follows. Bathhouses and hot springs usually forbid entry to tattoo wearers. So do swimming pools. Men may believe that their swirling, ornate body engravings reflect a roguish masculinity, but many Japanese women disagree.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, June 20, 2012
A tattoo artist's take on summertime body art
A tattoo artist's take on summertime body art
Summer can be high season for tattoo artists, a time when people bare more skin than usual and the parade of body art tends to spark inspiration.
But it's not necessarily the best time of the year to get inked. "The skin is very sensitive when the tattoo is still fresh," Atlanta-based tattoo artist Kurt Fagerland said. "You need to keep a new tattoo out of the sun and the pool. The healing process needs it to be covered, and that's not the easiest thing to do in the summer."
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Expressions of art in intimate places
Expressions of art in intimate places
Body adornments and sex tattoos, once the hallmark of a small but specific group in society, are now seen by many as chic and cool. Reliable statistics reported by the American Academy of Dermatology found that 24 per cent of people between the ages of 18 and 50 have tattoos and 14 per cent have body piercings. It is much higher for those aged 18 to 25, who have between 35 per cent and 50 per cent more piercing - and this figure does not include the ears. Although tattoos are an ancient form of adornment, many of us are quite challenged by them. Getting a tattoo is considered by many to be a rather sexy move, but going down this track requires serious thought and research. Apart from the cost, consideration has to be given to the style, the kind of ink used and the time the skin needs in order to heal. Remember, a tattoo is forever.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Love of body ink tattooed on my...heart
Love of body ink tattooed on my...heart
Toronto, Ontario -- Tattoos will soon go the way of jazz, mullets and hula hoops. Our kids will wrinkle their noses at all our body ink and sneer: “Ewwww. That’s so old.” Then they will rebel in their own way. They will paint their teeth pink, maybe, or — shudder — walk without texting, or God knows what else. Anything but tattoos. No one wants to look like their parents. But, for now, we rule the world and tattoos are hot, hot, hot. I just strolled back from sunny Dundas Square — two blocks — and spotted: A unicorn, a skull, reams of Celtic script, a sword, a maple leaf and several items too small or indistinct to identify without getting arrested. Tattoos are like tulips. A surefire sign of summer.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, June 17, 2012
Tattoo artist undeterred by would-be firebomber
Tattoo artist undeterred by would-be firebomber
Conception Bay, Newfoundland -- Police are investigating what may have been an intended firebombing at a tattoo parlour, in what the business owner calls a deliberate attempt to shut him up. "They were serious. They were not kidding around," said Ken Power, who runs a tattoo business in Conception Bay South, describing how someone last week threw an incendiary device through his company's front window. Damage was limited, as the object that Power believes was a Molotov cocktail failed to set much on fire at his business, Ken Power Tattoo Company.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, June 17, 2012
Do's & Dont's Before Piercing Navel
Do's & Dont's Before Piercing Navel
You have worked hard to get that flat, toned stomach and now you are thinking of getting your navel pierced. It does look sensuous and is very attractive, but there are a lot of things to consider before and after you have it pierced. Firstly you have to mentally prepare yourself that navel piercings take around 3-4 months on an average to heal and in certain cases almost 9-12 months depending on your skin, health, weight and other facts. Secondly and most importantly you have to remember that you will have to make many changes in your daily lifestyle to take care of it.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, June 17, 2012
Students get red square tattoos in Montreal
Students get red square tattoos in Montreal
Montreal, Quebec -- If a tattoo is a permanent proof of temporary insanity, scores of tuition hike opponents don’t mind having the memento. A red square “tattoo-o-thon” advertised on Facebook drew a sizable crowd to Émilie Gamelin Park on Thursday evening, offering $10 for a permanent mark of the Quebec student protest symbol. “I’m part of the student strike, and it’s an historic movement in Quebec,” said Jennifer Pawluck, her Achilles tendon freshly tattooed. “I want a mark of it for life.” Anyone who wanted a tattoo had to fill in a consent form and show proof that they are over 18. A diesel generator on a pickup truck powered the tattoo machines handled by three artists.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Punk Hairstyles - From Rebel Culture to Fashion Statement
Punk Hairstyles - From Rebel Culture to Fashion Statement
Punk hairstyles - those bizarre, colorful things that you see in high streets, villages and black-painted teenage bedrooms! I'm not a punk and have never been one, but I have always been fascinated by the whole punk look and ideology - probably because I was a teenager at the very time that punk exploded, kicking, screaming, swearing and spitting, into popular culture. Punk took off as a mainstream fashion and music trend during the mid-1970s, largely due to the efforts of high profile English fashion designer, Vivienne Westwood and the crown princes of punk - The Sex Pistols. The Pistols were managed at the time by Malcolm McLaren, who was Westwood's partner (personally and professionally) and the crazy mixture of these 3 forces gave rise to what would become a global phenomenon.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
How to Safely Stretch a Piercing: Stretching or Gauging Up
How to Safely Stretch a Piercing: Stretching or Gauging Up
If you’re interested in stretching a piercing, there are safe ways to do it and then there are unsafe ways. Knowing what your options are and what the differences are between them will help you figure out which way is the best for your piercing. What Is It? Stretching, also known as gauging, is the process of increasing the size of a piercing hole (fistula). It is typically a gradual process that can take many months or even years to reach the desired gauge size.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
10 Tattoo Virgin Tips
10 Tattoo Virgin Tips
Getting your first tattoo is a rite of passage. The air of walking on the wild side can be intoxicating, because you know your parents likely won't approve. They still think tattoos are for bikers and sailors. But you see this beautiful art on all kinds of people and you want to join the ranks of the alternative kids. Maybe you want to make a statement, or simply commemorate an event or something personal to you. But before you get your guitar gently inked on your bicep, it's important to do your research and know what you're getting into. Here are 10 tips for the tattoo virgin.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Interview with Tattooist Chris Garver
Interview with Tattooist Chris Garver
Chris Garver is a reluctant rock star of the tattoo world. Being celebrated in tattooing’s inner circle is one thing but being a reality star was another, so he’s tried to skirt the limelight since Miami Ink. Although little has been heard from the man in the flat cap, he has much to share. On his blog, he regularly posts new tattoos and art, from his dragons and irezumi work to black-and-gray pieces and a simple Superman logo tattoo that he somehow made pop. Even the big, beautiful, intricate pictures on his site are accompanied only by a spare line or two of explication. Graciously, Garver gave INKED some of his time and artwork—and more insight into his life than ever before.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Why You Should Choose Organic Body Jewelry
Why You Should Choose Organic Body Jewelry
Do you know that the word organic is more often used in jewelry than in food and clothing? Organic jewelry is actually one of the most fashionable jewelry types nowadays. Aside from the fact that these jewelries are made of natural materials that are not treated in any way, these are also sourced from sustainable resources with correspondingly reasonable practices. In other words, organic jewelry uses materials that come from natural sources like wood, stone, bone, and horn among others.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, June 10, 2012
Celebrity Tattoos For Exes: Stars Who Got Inked For Love
Celebrity Tattoos For Exes: Stars Who Got Inked For Love
Getting a tattoo in honor of a significant other almost always seems like a good idea at the time. Nothing says "I love you" like a little ink that will likely last a lifetime, right? Casper Smart disagrees, for now at least. Rumors were making the rounds this week that the dancer and current beau of Jennifer Lopez had decided to show his love for the singer and "American Idol" judge by getting her named tattooed above his, uh, private parts.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, June 10, 2012
Personal Branding
Personal Branding
Nanaimo, BC -- Every scar has a story. It might recall past struggles and pain, courage and bravery, or mistakes and sheer stupidity. It can be the result of an accident, big or small, of a life saving procedure, or the birth of one's child. It can even be the physical expression of a hurting spirit. Some people, however, choose to have symbols and words carved into their skin on purpose, in order to be meaningfully (and permanently) marked. This is the practice of scarification, a form of body modification that originated in equatorial cultures but is increasingly attracting practitioners worldwide.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, June 10, 2012
New laws to regulate tanning, piercings, tattooing
New laws to regulate tanning, piercings, tattooing
The Newfoundland and Labrador government has introduced legislation to regulate a range of "personal service" industries, with the changes aimed at protecting public health. The new law will affect services from tattooing to body piercing to indoor tanning in Newfoundland and Labrador. Health Minister Susan Sullivan says voluntary guidelines that many businesses followed weren’t sufficient. "Obviously we felt that they weren’t stringent enough, they weren't strong enough, and for us, we wanted to see the overall protection of our young people,” Sullivan said. Industry representatives applauded the initiative.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, May 26, 2012
Childhood scars spur tattoo artist to help others
Childhood scars spur tattoo artist to help others
Toronto, Ontario -- After a horrific childhood accident left Basma Hameed badly scarred, the Toronto tattoo artisan took matters into her own hands. She taught herself the tattoo techniques to conceal her scar and is now offering free help to those with similar scars but no money for expensive surgeries. Her story began when she was just two years old. While playing with her brother in the kitchen of the family's home in Iraq, a pan filled with hot oil fell from a stove top onto Hameed’s face. The accident left the left side of her face badly burned. Raw, red tissue extended from her left eyebrow to her jaw line and her eye was seared shut.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, May 26, 2012
Safe suspension depends on gear
Safe suspension depends on gear
Suspension, like any other form of body modification, requires strict sanitation and caution. Steve Truitt, founder of the suspension group Ascension, operates under a stricter set of rules than the state of New Mexico requires. Fishing hooks are the cheapest hooks of choice for suspension, and Truitt files down the barbs so they are usable. He said sometimes multiple people suspend from each other, meaning they are attached to the primary suspender by hooks and ropes. For these types of suspension, the group uses hooks designed for suspension. He said they have never broken any of these hooks.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, May 25, 2012
Nostalgia and nose piercings
Nostalgia and nose piercings
Body art and multiple piercings can carry deeply personal or spiritual implications. They can be done in honor of a loved one or commemorate a moment that is special enough to be carried forever. Then there are other motivations. On the last day of class my freshman year, I dragged some friends with me and smiled through the sting as a needle was shoved through my nostril. In short, I pierced my nose to look cool. There is a strange sort of statement many of us make when we come to college in general and Berkeley in particular. I was no different.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, May 25, 2012
Tattoos in Japan
Tattoos in Japan
Tokyo, Japan -- It is easy for outsiders to admire those in Japan who sport tattoos. First, think of the pain. The body art known as irezumi is inflicted on a wearer’s torso with wooden needles and charcoal ink. During up to 50 sessions, the irezumi master brooks no tardiness, insobriety or whingeing. Then there is the lifetime of pariah status that follows. Bathhouses and onsen (hot springs) usually forbid entry to tattoo wearers. So do swimming pools. Men may believe their swirling, ornate body engravings reflect a roguish masculinity. But the worst of it is that many Japanese women disagree. And so body-art narcissism takes place mainly among other tattooed men. Such groups of even innocent men immediately take on the air of gangsters, for yakuza and irezumi are inseparable.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, May 25, 2012
True Confessions: I Pierced My Nose
True Confessions: I Pierced My Nose
My first piercing experience began in the third grade via Spencer's at the Mall. It hurt but was worth it. In my early 30s after a big breakup I got my belly button pierced which was painful too but was worth it at least for a while. I let it close up as it was always getting in the way of sit-ups and working out. For the past few months the feeling of wanting to get my nose pierced came up. Its funny how once you decide you want something you see it everywhere. I started noticing how many people have nasal piercings in this city!
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, May 18, 2012
Beauty and pain: How far are you willing to go?
Beauty and pain: How far are you willing to go?
Tattoos are one of the oldest forms of body modification, dating back thousands of years. This body art form is still in practice today. Rodney Clark, owner of Sacred Temple Tattoo in Shreveport, has been in the business for 17 years. If you can imagine it Clark can design it. Many of his customers say a tattoo is more than a right of passage or kind of look. Each tattoo represents something special. "The first one [tattoo]was right whenever I was 18. They mean something to me, I guess you could say," says Brandy Joe.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, May 18, 2012
Jewelry store, owners fined for illegal piercings
Jewelry store, owners fined for illegal piercings
Calgary, Alberta -- A northeast Calgary jewelry story and its co-owners have been fined a total of $8,625 for seven charges for illegal body piercing, in which one woman contracted hepatitis B after having her nose pierced there. Provincial court Judge Ken MacLeod imposed the fines Tuesday for the Public Health Act offences after Rashmi Bhalla and her husband Naresh Bhalla pleaded guilty on behalf of themselves and their two companies — Avon Apna Jewellers Inc. and Apna Jewellers Inc.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Public health looking for tattoo patrons
Public health looking for tattoo patrons
Guelph, Ontario -- Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health is asking anyone who has ever received a tattoo at a private residence on Harris Street in Guelph by Shannon Moss or Chris Haines to call WDG Public Health for information. Testing is recommended for hepatitis B & C, and HIV. The location is an unlicensed establishment and has not been inspected by Public Health. They have been unable to provide evidence that required infection control measures were followed. It is possible that expired, pre-sterilized equipment may have been used.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Tattoos announce medical conditions
Tattoos announce medical conditions
Having your medical condition publicly announced is rarely welcome, as anyone with an indiscreet pharmacist can attest. But for a growing number of Canadians, advertising illness can be a matter of life and death, and they're choosing a decidedly permanent way of doing so. The Canadian Medical Association Journal reported Mon-day that medical tattooing "appears to be a trend on the rise," with people inking every-thing from chronic conditions to emergency health directives onto their skin.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, May 13, 2012
Nipple piercing to rack up cash
Nipple piercing to rack up cash
A HOSPITAL fundraising drive to help breast cancer patients is set to receive a wacky boost – by encouraging people to get their NIPPLES pierced.
The Touch of Pink appeal has joined forces with city tattoo and piercing parlour Bloodline Ink, which they have promptly re-christened Bloodline P’ink. And from May 18 it will be running a two-week breast cancer promotion, with £5 of the cost of each nipple piercing being donated to the appeal.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, May 12, 2012
Not for the faint hearted: Man embeds magnets in arm to mount iPod
Not for the faint hearted: Man embeds magnets in arm to mount iPod
It's a sign of true love when you never want to be without each other. Dave Hurban clearly feels the love for his iPod Nano — taking the unusual step of drilling holes in his arm to house magnets that will keep his Nano ever ready.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, May 10, 2012
Childhood scars spur tattoo artist to help others
Childhood scars spur tattoo artist to help others
After a horrific childhood accident left Basma Hameed badly scarred, the Toronto tattoo artisan took matters into her own hands. She taught herself the tattoo techniques to conceal her scar and is now offering free help to those with similar scars but no money for expensive surgeries.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, May 09, 2012
Safe suspension depends on gear
Safe suspension depends on gear
Suspension, like any other form of body modification, requires strict sanitation and caution. Steve Truitt, founder of the suspension group Ascension, operates under a stricter set of rules than the state of New Mexico requires.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, May 08, 2012
The Evolution of Tattoos
The Evolution of Tattoos
Tattoos date back to 3300 BCE. Anthropologists say a mummy believed to have lived during that time was found to have nearly 60 small tattoos. Researchers believe they were used for medical purposes.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, May 07, 2012
A New Form of Discrimination: Why Body Modification Does Not Reflect Your Character
A New Form of Discrimination: Why Body Modification Does Not Reflect Your Character
Every citizen of the United States is supposedly guaranteed freedom of expression due to the First Amendment; however when it comes to body art, freedom of expression is commonly overlooked, especially in the work place.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, May 07, 2012
Virada Cultural features woman suspended from piercing hooks
Virada Cultural features woman suspended from piercing hooks
It's not something you see everyday.
A woman takes to the stage suspended in the air from hooks attached to her piercings in her back, covered in white body paint, blood pouring down her back.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, May 01, 2012
Kat Von D Tattoo Concealer by Sephora
Kat Von D Tattoo Concealer by Sephora
Have a special event coming up where you need to fake a flawless look? The Kat Von D by Sephora Tattoo Concealer is the perfect solution for all of those important dates from weddings to job interviews; your tattoos should be the last of your worries! Watch as Kat Von D covers up her tattoos and achieves a perfectly bare complexion, just as you can with this new concealer available at Sephora...
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, April 30, 2012
Indelible mark of a craftsman
Indelible mark of a craftsman
Halifax, Nova Scotia -- speak for others who type for money. For me, the great thing about writing about factual matters is the research. In fact, the only way the whole process could be any better is if I did not have to write down what I had seen and try to impose some order on it afterwards. Then I would be left with the pure joy of wondering, for instance, what the inside of a tattoo parlour is like and then just going off to find out. The visit was way overdue. Halifax is a port town. Port towns are the natural habitat of hard-looking practitioners of the dark art of etching disturbing lines and colours into human flesh. Do I romanticize? Andy Ferrier, the owner of Utility Tattoo and Piercing and the Coast’s perennial choice as tattoo artist of the year, doesn’t think so.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, April 30, 2012
Body piercing myths and dangers
Body piercing myths and dangers
Although there are certain risks involved with getting a piercing, paralysis is an incredibly small possibility. The first and most important way to avoid this problem is to seek a professional and experienced piercer. There are certain major nerves in areas of the face and tongue that could result in loss of sensation or even paralysis if pierced. However, these nerves are located in very specific areas and an experienced piercer will know how to perform a safe and harmless piercing without getting anywhere close to these nerves.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, April 28, 2012
Body-Mod King
Body-Mod King
Regular Bizarre readers will recognise the name Pauly Unstoppable. He’s cropped up in dozens of articles we’ve written about body modification, and he was all over the Body Art book we published last year (still available in good book shops, since you ask.) Love body mods and tattoos? Take a peek at our Bizarre Body Art 2 book He even appeared on our cover, with two knives sticking through what were once the largest known nostril stretchings in the world. But until now we’ve never written anything exclusively about Pauly, despite the fact he’s one of the most recognisable faces on the body modification scene, and someone Bizarre readers clearly admire. We’re sorry. Enjoy.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, April 27, 2012
Should I let my daughter get a piercing?
Should I let my daughter get a piercing?
The teen years are challenging times in which, as a parent, you need to protect your child’s health while respecting their emerging independence and desire to make decisions about their own body. Generally, if there is minimal risk involved, letting your teen make her own choices is usually the best option, even if that choice rubs you the wrong way. Teens who want to dye their hair purple or get a brush cut (or even a Mohawk!) would be some examples.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, April 26, 2012
West Coast Tattoo show leaves its mark on Coquitlam
West Coast Tattoo show leaves its mark on Coquitlam
It's a big commitment, it's fairly expensive and it hurts. Tim Lajambe's characterization of the tattooing process doesn't necessarily sound like a ringing endorsement to get inked up, but that hasn't stopped thousands of people from flocking to the annual tattoo shows he's organized over the past four years. Having previously staged the West Coast Tattoo and Culture Show in Abbotsford, Langley and Vancouver, the 37-year-old Port Moody native is now gearing up for this weekend's fourth rendition of the show, which runs from Friday, April 27 to Sunday, April 29 at the Boulevard Casino.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, April 26, 2012
Don't trust study that finds people with tattoos drink more
Don't trust study that finds people with tattoos drink more
Researchers in France say people with tattoos drink more than those who don’t, and now American newspapers are trying to tell the public this is a fact and happening in the U.S., too. Coming from someone who has a tattoo, these results are outrageous. Researchers from the Universite de Bretagne-Sud, in Morbihan, France, went to 21 bars on four Saturday nights, in Brittany, France, and asked roughly 3,000 people as they were exiting if they could Breathalyze them. Out of those who agreed, apparently the people with tattoos had consumed more alcohol than those without.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Industrial Piercing
Industrial Piercing
Industrial piercing is a special type of piercing where two (or sometimes more) pierced holes are connected with a single jewelry- most of the cases with a long barbell while occasionally with a curved one. Industrial piercing is frequently performed on ear, though it is possible to make it in any other part of the body. This sort of piercing was first introduced by a Californian piercer Erik Dakota in “Body Play Magazine” #4 (1992), where it was titled as “industrial ear project.” Industrial piercing is nowadays becoming very popular among the youngsters throughout the world and especially in western countries. It is also known as- Crossbow piercing (in Canada), Construction piercing (in Alaska), Scaffold piercing (in the UK and Australia), and Transversal piercing (in Brazil).
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, April 23, 2012
Not just 'grinding ink' anymore
Not just 'grinding ink' anymore
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan -- Now that tattoos are becoming more mainstream, the ink industry is hoping to keep growing and improving with the rise in popularity. "I don't know if the trend is going to continue, but I hope so," said Patrick Burke, owner of Saskatoon's Rites of Passage tattoo shop and organizer of the Ink Alley Tattoo and Art Show, which ran during the weekend at Prairieland Park. "(Increasing popularity) will help the industry become cleaner and more professional." Burke said Saskatoon tattoo artists are working to establish a guild for their profession, partly to help the industry navigate and improve health regulations.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, April 23, 2012
Experts call for greater regulation of the body modification industry
Experts call for greater regulation of the body modification industry
Wales -- Experts have called on the Welsh Government to take steps to regulate the whole body modification industry rather than just cosmetic piercing. The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health in Wales believes new rules should be introduced to cover all forms of body modification, including piercing, cosmetic fillers and the extreme practice of scarification. The call comes as the Welsh Government is planning to introduce a new law, which would mean all children under 16 must have their parents’ permission before they can get a piercing. A consultation revealed widespread support among piercers, the public and young people for such a move.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, April 21, 2012
Natural & Organic Body Jewelry - History, Types & Care
Natural & Organic Body Jewelry - History, Types & Care
For those that want to learn about the history of natural and organic body jewelry, I'll take you back 4,000 years ago during the days of the Egyptian Pharaohs. Body jewelry during these times were only for the royal family. In these days, only the royal family and the wealthy were allowed body piercings. But only the Pharaoh was allowed a belly button piercing. Anyone who had a belly button piercing, besides the Pharaoh, was executed. But the Egyptians loved their body jewelry and it put people in a different social class. It even was thought to bring luck or even special powers to those who wore it.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, April 21, 2012
When ink stinks
When ink stinks
Tattoos have long been crucial to human beautification. They adorn the back, right knee and ankles of Ötzi, a German-Italian better known as the “Iceman,” whose mummified corpse is 5,200 years old. After England's defeat at the Battle of Hastings, King Harold's body was identified by his tattoos. According to a recent Harris Poll, tattoos have become only more popular since then. Whereas 14 percent of U.S. adults reported having a tattoo in 2008, the number jumped to 21 percent this year. Tattoos appear particularly prized in the West, where 26 percent of adults reported having at least one tattoo in 2012 – compared with 21 percent in the East and Midwest, and 18 percent in the South. But local tattoo artists say the real boom is not in tattooing, but in tattoo removal.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, April 20, 2012
Tough crowd: Scientists found link between tattoos and heavy drinking
Tough crowd: Scientists found link between tattoos and heavy drinking
PARIS — French scientists said Monday they have found evidence proving the stereotype that people who sport tattoos and piercings are heavier drinkers. Alcohol tests performed on nearly 2,000 young men and women frequenting bars in the west of France showed a strong correlation between body art and boozing, they said. “Pierced and/or tattooed individuals had consumed more alcohol in bars on a Saturday night than patrons in the same bars who were non-pierced and non-tattooed,” said a study for the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, April 20, 2012
Human Branding Body Modification
Human Branding Body Modification
Today we’ll look into perhaps the most painful of all body modifications, human branding. Branding is a process that involves burning the skin in a manner that will result in a permanent scar or mark, usually in a pattern or the shape of a specific symbol. Branding works through the process of controlled injury and should never be considered “Safe”. Although if applied by a professional with experience in branding the risk could be considered acceptable.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, April 19, 2012
Gauge your tribal quotient
Gauge your tribal quotient
After piercings and tattoos, extended earlobes seem to be the next level of cool. Inspired by celebrities and music icons, youngsters in the city are going for tribal style gauge earrings — involving a long, often painful process of gradually stretching the size of the earlobes to the desired level. While some go for the real deal, fake gauge earrings are also popular. Student Ankit T, who has been wearing a taper in one ear for the past three years, adds, “I got it done by a friend in college and I’ve just been slowly pushing it in further by myself. Now it’s reached the maximum level and people always do a double take when they see me the first time.” That, he admits, is exactly the reason why he wears the earring.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, April 19, 2012
Ink link to loved ones
Ink link to loved ones
Ipswich inkers are opting to have a permanent reminder of a loved one's passing etched on their skin. Commemorating passed family members and brandishing the names of children are the latest tattooing trends to hit Ipswich. Tattooist Tina Johnson said getting the names and birth and death dates were the most common requests. She sees more and more Ipswich people sitting in her tattooist chair at Heritage Custom Tattooing on Limestone St making the same request.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, April 19, 2012
Atomic Tattoo conquers mall taboo
Atomic Tattoo conquers mall taboo
Atomic Tattoos has done something that is virtually unheard of in the tattoo industry; the company has opened parlors inside shopping malls. In the past, having a tattoo shop in a mall was rather taboo. However, with a newer, younger audience to cater to, and malls struggling to rent their space, they’ve allowed select tattoo companies to open mall locations. With the added locations, the older audience has also joined in to the tattoo crowd. “My 54-year-old mom came with me to get my tattoo at the Atomic Brandon Mall studio,” said customer D’Anna Fiorelli. “After seeing that it wasn’t a ‘back-alley, sketchy’ location, she set up an appointment for herself.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, April 12, 2012
Think before you ink, says top tattoo artist
Think before you ink, says top tattoo artist
Geelong tattoo artist Jason Stewart presents as the responsible face of the ink business. He said not everyone who came into his parlour received the body art they ask for. "I believe we have a duty of care to our prospective customers," he said. "We don't do racist slogans, Swastika designs, drug paraphernalia or anything profane." He said he often refused to do neck and face tattoos, especially on the young. "I try to suss people out and where they are going with their lives," he said. "I recently had a young bloke come in who wanted a dagger tattooed onto his neck and face. "He was an engineering student, so I told him to come back when he knew where his career was going." Mr Stewart also advised people against having the name of a lover imprinted on a visible part of their body because "the romance may be over within a few months and then the whole tattoo thing becomes an embarrassment".
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Rihanna Reveals Her Style Icons And Talks Tattoos
Rihanna Reveals Her Style Icons And Talks Tattoos
The ever evolving style of superstar Rihanna is almost as talked about as her music, and in the May issue of Company magazine, the singer reveals who her fashion icons are and why she likes getting inked so much. The 23-year-old is known to experiment with her style, fleeting from boyish and trendy looks to downright raunchy, and changes her hair colour more often than most people have hot dinners. But it may come as a surprise to you that RiRi's style icons aren't exactly... conventional. The singer has revealed that her many daring outfits could be inspired by the only and only, Rod Stewart.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Eye Liner Temporary Tattoos
Eye Liner Temporary Tattoos
With nail designs all the rage, here comes the next phase in beauty art: temporary eye liner tattoos. I first heard about the concept back in October when Dior launched a line of velvet eyeliner patches made to mimic the look at their Spring Couture show. Dior’s eyeliner patches “velvet eyes” come in all different sizes- from thin to thick to bedazzled ones. The patches are applied directly to your lids and are secured best by using eyelash glue.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, April 09, 2012
'Game of Thrones' Fans Pledge Family Loyalty With Tattoos
'Game of Thrones' Fans Pledge Family Loyalty With Tattoos
Does your loyalty lie with the Stark, Greyjoy, Baratheon, Lannister or Targaryen family? It’s a question that fans of the popular HBO series, “Game of Thrones” can answer without hesitation. But is your loyalty steadfast? Dedicated enough to make a permanent pledge on your body? To promote the April 2 premiere of season two of “Game of Thrones,” HBO put fan loyalty to the test with “Pledge Your Allegiance,” a Facebook app that allowed fans to preview five videos -- one for each family -- and pledge their loyalty prior to the premiere.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, April 08, 2012
Tattoos a form of communication
Tattoos a form of communication
Niagra, Ontario -- The ink owls on her arm are a memorial tribute to her grandparents. Perched among tiger lily’s, the owls take up most of the top of Jessica Ciaramelle’s right arm. She wears them proudly. “They helped raise me and I learned a lot from them,” the 30-year-old Brock University communications student said. Ciaramelle’s tattoo, one of many, inspired her to explore body art as a form of communication for a poster project in her media analysis course. She discovered through her research, a survey of tattoo shop customers and interviews with tattoo artists, that most ink means something to the people whose skin it’s on.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, April 06, 2012
Piercing in Iowa: There are no rules
Piercing in Iowa: There are no rules
Christina Brandt of Waukee made a point of watching the professional piercer sterilize the needle he used while piercing her belly button last summer. But even so, within a few weeks her navel was swollen, red, tender and pus-filled. Brandt, now 21, sought the advice of another piercer who removed the silver ring she had purchased from a local mall shop. He showed her that the ring was not the right quality or size to allow for swelling in a fresh piercing. “It was faded and losing its color, and he told me, ‘All of that is going into your body.’ It was very scary,” Brandt said.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, April 06, 2012
Columbus body piercer hooked on suspension
Columbus body piercer hooked on suspension
Colorful tattoos, gauged ears and horns are all physical modifications that grace the body of 32-year-old Jared Anderson. If you passed Anderson on High Street, you might be quick to judge the horns implanted on his head as satanic in nature, but you’d probably be off-base. He’s not going to steal your kid’s candy or even open the gate to the underworld. Anderson will, however, fascinate you with his hobby: suspension. Suspension performers hang themselves from hooks that pierce through the skin in various places.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, April 05, 2012
Kimberly Caldwell talks tattoos, 'Best Ink'
Kimberly Caldwell talks tattoos, 'Best Ink'
Kimberly Caldwell was inkless when she competed on American Idol in 2003. Now, though, she's host of Oxygen's Best Ink tattoo-artist competition, and she's got seven tattoos of her own. The first one came not long after Idol -- a music note with an angel wing, a design she'd created in high school, that she had put on her left shoulder blade. "My best friend in high school passed away, so that's the angel wing, and, of course, I love music, so that's the music note," she says. "I used to draw it on every single binder that I had."
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, April 05, 2012
A Tattoo for Beverley
A Tattoo for Beverley
Coquitlam, B.C. -- Beverley Klein was many things in her 73 years. A doted-on little sister to two brothers. A devoted mother to four boys. A wife, three times over. A sweet little girl who adored her Air Force father, and never dreamed of disobeying him. That is, until recently. Klein was dying of cancer and spending her last days at Crossroads Hospice. It was hospice volunteers who hatched a plan to fulfill a lifelong dream of Klein’s — a bit of giddy rebellion for a woman who has always played by the rules. Klein got a tattoo. It came nearly 60 years after she first asked her father for permission to get one, and was promptly refused.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, April 02, 2012
More Than Just a Jewel: Body Piercings As Outlets of Expression
More Than Just a Jewel: Body Piercings As Outlets of Expression
Many are reviving an old tribal practice as a means of personal statement.
Whether used to resist conservative society, symbolize a subculture, or simply look cool, body piercings are marks of individuality and expression for many. For Brianna Theodore’ 12, who has a belly button ring and nine distinct cartilage piercings that cover nearly the entire length of her ear, they are a mark of rebellion and personal empowerment. “My parents don’t know about my belly button,” Theodore said. “But finally this year I decided it was my body, and I was going to get it done at some point regardless of their opinion.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, April 02, 2012
Vibrating tattoo alerts patent filed by Nokia in US
Vibrating tattoo alerts patent filed by Nokia in US
Vibrating magnetic tattoos may one day be used to alert mobile phone users to phone calls and text messages if Nokia follows up a patent application. The Finnish company has described the idea in a filing to the US Patent and Trademark Office. It describes tattooing, stamping or spraying "ferromagnetic" material onto a user's skin and then pairing it with a mobile device. It suggests different vibrations could be used to create a range of alerts.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, March 31, 2012
The Evolution of Tattoo Art
The Evolution of Tattoo Art
While it's not entirely known what spurred early man to tattoo their bodies, we do know that the proof of tattoos dates way back to frozen tribesmen and ancient mummies. Mankind has always seemed to have some need, or love, of the tattoo art form. Many cultures throughout the ages have used hand-poked tattoo techniques for their religious and tribal beliefs. Certain tribes in Somoa and Borneo use tattooing as a rite of passage for the individual to this day, honoring all of the ceremony and tools of their history. In Japan, a few master tattooers still use tools whose conception is nearly as old as the myths and legends of the stories and characters they portray on the skin of their clients old and young. Both of these ancient styles are even being handed down and used by a few of the newer generation of tattooist today.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, March 31, 2012
Oregon Piercing Test Pioneer -- But Few Takers
Oregon Piercing Test Pioneer -- But Few Takers
Salem, Oregon -- Ever on the leading edge of body art regulation, Oregon regulators are now waiting for practitioners to catch up --- judging by the lack of candidates for what is probably the nation's first body piercing practical examination. The Oregon Health Licensing Agency (OHLA) instituted both a written and practical examination on January 1 as qualifiers for both new applicants entering the body piercing field and as a condition of renewal for existing body piercing licensee. Even though OHLA is offering the examinations at no cost to existing body piercers whose licenses are up for renewal, only a handful have taken the agency up on the offer.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, March 31, 2012
Tattoo artist helps cancer survivors
Tattoo artist helps cancer survivors
Few tattoo artists tell their clients they could win a wet T-shirt contest. Then again, few tattoo artists are quite like Vincent "Vinnie" Myers. In his shop in a modest strip mall in Finksburg, a half-hour drive from Baltimore, Myers specializes in tattooing nipples and areolas onto women who have undergone breast cancer surgery. Using precisely mixed pigments, he creates a perfect 3-D illusion of the real thing - and in doing so, enables women who have undergone mastectomies to feel fully like women once again. "It's far more rewarding than anything else I have ever done," said Myers, 49, who has dedicated the last decade of his 28 years as a tattoo artist concentrating on post-op cosmetic tattoos.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, March 26, 2012
Boomers embracing their bodies as canvas
Boomers embracing their bodies as canvas
Cowichan Valley, BC -- Linda Baldwin has a bumper sticker that really sums up the new attitude on body art. "Tattoos — not just for sailors and whores anymore." And that's a growing consensus — even among the 50s-and-older crowd. In fact, more and more baby boomers are viewing their bodies as an art canvas. They're ready and willing to try a bold new hair colour or style — think a purple streak, or a chic cut — or finally get that tattoo they've always wanted. "It's definitely changing," says Richard Hickey, owner and tattoo artist at Primal Urge Body Art.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, March 26, 2012
A Day In The Life: Body Piercing Artist
A Day In The Life: Body Piercing Artist
Body piercings are ways that people can accent their physical features in their own way. Shaun Saylor has been doing piercings for 7 years. Saylor enjoys working with his customers at Marked 4 Life along Eastern Boulevard in York. Saylor says there isn't a piercing he hasn't done and he loves to make people happy with his work. Saylor prides himself on providing customers with the safest and most visually pleasing piercings.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, March 25, 2012
Women going bigger, bolder with their tattoos
Women going bigger, bolder with their tattoos
Regina, Saskachewan -- Nearly half of Amanda Crews’ body is tattooed. One of her biggest features an aqua-coloured diamond entwined in a bed of roses that stretches across her chest from shoulder to shoulder. Two others sit just above the piece, creeping up each side of her neck and landing near her ears. For those who don’t like what they see, Crews is unapologetic. “I remember a time when women didn’t want to get elaborate tattoos because they thought it would take away their femininity, take away their beauty,” she said.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, March 25, 2012
Let’s Customize: Bikes and tattoos a popular combination
Let’s Customize: Bikes and tattoos a popular combination
Montreal, Quebec -- Quebec has had a long and tumultuous history when it comes to bikers, and with good reason. But with any group or association, you should avoid painting everyone with a wide brush because you will likely miss out on meeting some people who are very passionate about the art of the custom motorcycle. A similarly judged community is that of the tattooists and their clients. Some of today’s most talented artists are creating their works of art on the temporal surfaces of the human body. These masterpieces have finite lifespans, those of their patrons. When they pass from this earth, so does the artwork.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Students follow new piercing trend
Students follow new piercing trend
For many teenagers, college is the first time that they get a glimpse of freedom. Many take advantage of this newly found independence and begin to experiment. Some dabble with alcohol, some resort to drugs. Others, however, find comfort in getting piercings. The sense of autonomy that many college students have causes them to take part in activities, such as body piercing. Body piercing seems to be all the rage as of late, with many people, old and young, participating in this craze. Standard ear piercing has become obsolete with the many different options and body parts to choose from in this day and age. Dermal perforation has become one of the most popular types of piercings in pop culture.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, March 18, 2012
Toronto Fashion Week: Rick Genest ‘Zombie Boy’ creeps for Montreal’s Mackage
Toronto Fashion Week: Rick Genest ‘Zombie Boy’ creeps for Montreal’s Mackage
Toronto, Ontario -- Rick Genest, who also goes by Rico the Zombie or just plain Zombie Boy, is one head-to-toe tattoo that depicts living death in record-holding numbers of images of bugs and bones. But within all that freaky ink resides a modest soul. Asked what he thinks his talent is, he answers with a good-natured, honest laugh, “My talent? It’s hard to say. I mean, everything I can do, I’ve seen someone do it better, so I don’t know if you’d call it talent.” In international fashion circles, Genest, a 26-year-old Montrealer, has been a star since early 2011. Discovered by Nicola Formichetti, creative director at Mugler and stylist to Lady Gaga, he appeared on the Mugler catwalk and in Gaga’s “Born This Way” video.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, March 18, 2012
Body suspension a painful art
Body suspension a painful art
It would ''hurt like hell'' but body suspension is beautiful, says skin puppeteer Richard Barker. Mr Barker and his partner, Sylvia Regan, are the co-founders of Christchurch-based group Skin Puppets. ''We're an extreme sports performance group,'' he said. The couple recently travelled to Wellington where they performed seven ''lifts''. They are returning next week, and will be performing at the Capital Fetish Ball in Wellington in August. Although some people associated lifts with bondage, discipline, dominance, submission, sadism and masochism (BDSM), it was not done as a sexual thing, he said. ''The serious practitioners won't see it as a sexual outlet. ''People do it for a number of different reasons. Some do it for personal reasons, some because they want to prove themselves, some think, 'Wow, that's exciting' and some see it as a form of spirituality.''
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, March 17, 2012
Tatooing: A craft handed down from master to apprentice
Tatooing: A craft handed down from master to apprentice
Forget Chinese characters and the Southern Cross, there is much more to tattoos than following kitsch trends. Tattooing is considered a craft by many in the industry and rightly so. "It's an informal apprenticeship. It's a craft that's handed down from master to apprentice," says Kian Forreal from Inner Vision Tattoo in Sydney. Forreal says it takes years of practice before you develop a skills set. The drawing he does at home is only one aspect of the process, he says, "but the craft of getting the art onto the skin is the real technical stuff".
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, March 17, 2012
Adoring the human canvas
Adoring the human canvas
Humans have adorned their bodies since the earliest recorded times. In some ancient cultures these embellishments were primarily temporary decorations, like the use of make-up by the Egyptians (as early as 3500 B.C. according to archaeological evidence) or the art of mehndi, in which a henna-derived ink is used to draw intricate designs on the skin, in India. For other societies, however, gilding the body meant permanent modification of its form. Examples of these alterations span from the widespread practices of tattooing and piercing to more exotic customs such as neck stretching by the Kayan women of Burma, Chinese foot-binding for girls, cranial shaping within numerous Native American tribes and much more.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Body Piercing 101
Body Piercing 101
Are you thinking of getting your ears pierced? What about other parts of your body? If you're considering it, here's the lowdown on what you need to know to make an informed decision. How is body piercing done? A professional inserts a hollow needle through the body part getting pierced. Then a piece of jewelry is placed into the hole. What can you get pierced? Earlobes, nostrils and bellybuttons are pierced most often. You could also get your eyebrow, cheek, lip, tongue or other fleshy body parts pierced.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, March 12, 2012
Fox's tattoo removal 'painful'
Fox's tattoo removal 'painful'
Actress Megan Fox struggled to sit through her first tattoo removal procedure to erase a Marilyn Monroe inking - because the laser sessions are "incredibly painful". The Transformers star grew tired of displaying the face of the late Hollywood icon on her forearm and turned to experts to get rid of the prominent piece of body art. But the first session left Fox wincing in pain, with the star likening the ink removal to "little kernels of popcorn popping up" from her skin.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, March 12, 2012
'Glee' Star Lea Michele Is No Rachel Berry & She Has the Tats to Prove It
'Glee' Star Lea Michele Is No Rachel Berry & She Has the Tats to Prove It
Ever since she became a bona fide star, it seems like Lea Michele has been haunted by comparisons to Rachel Berry, the character she plays on Glee. Which wouldn't be so bad, except, well, Rachel isn't all that likeable, is she? Speaking as a Gleek, I'm going to go ahead and admit she's kind of prissy and way into herself. But Lea seems much more fun. So I was glad to hear the actress dishing about all her body art this week to Prestige magazine. And by all her body art, I mean A LOT of body art. This does not sound like a Rachel Berry moment at all!
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, March 11, 2012
Women wild about ink
Women wild about ink
Think tattoos are mostly for toughlooking men and only a few women? Think again. The fair sex is getting inked more often these days, according to a new poll. The TV network behind the new show Best Ink and Lightspeed Research asked just more than 1,000 people across the United States about their perceptions of body art. It turns out 59 per cent of women have tattoos compared to 41 per cent of men. But women get their ink in different shapes and sizes than men, and the act of putting a piece of art on their skin is often a shared experience. The number of tattooed celebrities and TV shows have increased cultural acceptance and spurred more people to not only get them, but display them openly.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, March 11, 2012
Piercings trend toward quality, uniqueness
Piercings trend toward quality, uniqueness
Like clothing, hair and makeup, body piercing trends evolve and change frequently. The first recording of a body piercing — a nose ring — was documented about 4,000 years ago in the Middle East. “There really isn’t anything that hasn’t been done,” said piercer Leo Ziebol, who owns 5 Point Studios in Clive. “Pushing the envelope with the area you get pierced isn’t happening anymore,” he said. “It’s the jewelry. That’s how you can be unique.” You can choose from titanium, precious metals or surgical steel for rod piercings. Or wood, acrylic, glass, stone, metals, bone and more for ear plugs. Or precious stones, glass designs, wood carvings and more for decorative elements.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, March 09, 2012
People with piercings still facing job hurdles
People with piercings still facing job hurdles
Amelia O'Reilly has 20 piercings and two jobs: one is her profession, the other a casual job. One of her employers requires her to cover her piercings - but it isn't the one you would expect. She works full-time as a psychiatric nurse at the Austin Hospital - where her piercings are accepted. ''I had most of my piercings when they hired me and I didn't take them out at the interview,'' she says. But as a casual usher at one of Melbourne's biggest concert and sporting venues, she must cover them up. ''The only thing I change when I'm nursing is I flip the septum piercing up, for safety, so nobody grabs it,'' the 23-year-old says.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, March 09, 2012
Unlicensed basement tattoo artist shut down
Unlicensed basement tattoo artist shut down
Langford, British Columbia -- Health authorities on Vancouver Island have shut down an unlicensed basement tattoo artist after complaints he tattooed girls as young as 14 without parental permission. Grace Figueiredo contacted CTV's Steele on Your Side after her 14-year-old daughter came home with a Chinese character tattooed on her hip. The teen said she had been inked by Douglas Hughes, who tattoos from his brother's home in Langford. "I was livid," Figueiredo said. "I'm still a bit livid."
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, March 09, 2012
Women Get More Tattoos Than Men
Women Get More Tattoos Than Men
When I turned 18, I was dead set on getting a tattoo. I had the brilliant idea of spelling out a Greek word on my side, but thankfully my older sister (who'd had her own experience with bilingual ink) stepped in. "Wait two years," she told me. "If you still want it after that time, get it." Sure enough, two years passed and I couldn't believe I'd ever considered a four-inch tattoo (in a language I don't even speak, by the way). My sister wasn't so lucky: It took her multiple, painful laser surgeries to remove the two Japanese symbols on her back and neck. But according to an Oxygen media poll conducted by Lightspeed Research, we're not the only girls piqued by the idea.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, March 05, 2012
Tattoo guide the CBSA’s newest weapon in the fight against gangs
Tattoo guide the CBSA’s newest weapon in the fight against gangs
Ottawa, Ontario -- Canadian Border Services agents may have one more tool to help in detecting gang members or members of a criminal organization: a new tattoo handbook. According to the Canadian Border Services Agency, a cat tattoo can represent a prisoner’s “life as a thief.” “A single cat signifies that the criminal acted alone, while several cats together show that the criminal was part of a gang,” the handbook said. The head of a tomcat is considered “good luck” for a thief or serves as a warning “as it signifies a dangerous criminal who hates law enforcement, especially if worn on the chest,”according to the agency.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, March 05, 2012
'Dotted' designs, a new trend in tattoos
'Dotted' designs, a new trend in tattoos
If you like geometry, this one's for you. Area, angle, perimeter, circumference; no we aren't talking of studies here, but of inking all these on your body. Surprised? Welcome to 'Dottism' - the latest trend in tattoos which are made of geometrical designs. Made popular internationally by tattoo artists like Xed lehead, Kostas, Amanda Rouse and having entered the Mumbai and New Delhi market a while ago, these dotted little things now feature in the design menu of the city tattoo parlours as well. So what are dotted tattoos? Tatoo artist, Andy Haq explains, "Basically, dotted tattoos are geometrical patterns drawn in shapes like triangles, squares, rectangles. These look very eye catching and the entire tattoo is a multiplication of the same pattern that can go on till eternity.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, March 02, 2012
Mile End ink: Bodkin tattoo has left a mark on Bernard
Mile End ink: Bodkin tattoo has left a mark on Bernard
Montreal, Quebec -- A little over a year ago, Mile End’s Bernard gained a welcome addition for ink enthusiasts. Artist Dominique Bodkin owns Bodkin Tattoo, a neighborhood business with a cozy feel and a sharp approach to body art. Business is growing swiftly for this Mile End parlor, who recently celebrated its one-year anniversary. The shop is one large room, with a small, enclosed area at the back for clients who prefer to have ink applied away from curious onlookers. The place feels like an old repurposed Mile End apartment, with vintage wall trim and mouldings. Posters of classic tattoo drawings and inked sailors share the wall with eclectic art prints.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, March 02, 2012
It’s called a tramp stamp, but I call my lower back tattoo a sign of the times
It’s called a tramp stamp, but I call my lower back tattoo a sign of the times
Toronto, Ontario -- White-knuckled, I focus on the drawings of well-endowed school girls bursting out of their uniforms on the wall across the room. My eyes travel past them to classic pin-ups and more generic anchors, roses and butterflies before the needle’s first zing, piercing a thin layer of skin in the middle of my lower back. I clench my teeth and see spots. A three-inch high, one-and-a-half-inch wide angel emerges just above my backside. I was 18. In Germany and Australia, they’re called “ass antlers.” In Canada, the term is “tramp stamp.” Mine is rather larger than the usual flower or Disney character, but it still qualifies. And 10 years after first getting inked, I simultaneously love and am embarrassed by my tat.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, March 01, 2012
Love it or loathe it? Send us a picture of your tattoo
Love it or loathe it? Send us a picture of your tattoo
Love it or loathe it? We want to see your tattoo. Email a picture of your body art, subject line “tattoo,” to life@thestar.ca. Please include your name, and number and a description of the tattoo and what inspired you to get it. Your story could be featured in the Toronto Star or thestar.com at a later date.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, March 01, 2012
Which body piercings are the most dangerous?
Which body piercings are the most dangerous?
Generally, infection is the most common side effect of a piercing, and it all depends on where you get it done. The ear, which is relatively exposed, is a low risk area, while genital piercings are the most high-risk area. It can also depend on what kind of piercing -- a post, ring or loop -- you get in a given area. "There's some things, for example, let's say you get your nose pierced, the nares of your nose. Well, if it's the kind of thing where you have a post, so you have a back to the post, where the back to the post is inside your nose, right? Sometimes what can happen is you're going to inhale that in your airway," said Patricia Quinlisk, State Medical Director for the Iowa Department of Public Health.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, February 26, 2012
Lasers easing tattoo remorse
Lasers easing tattoo remorse
Tattoo regret is an expression for someone who has "inked" and now wishes they hadn't. With tattooing more popular than ever, getting the artwork removed is growing in demand as well. And today's technology is making tattoo remorse, a lot more bearable. Angel Claudio is the proud owner of 3 tattoos. It's number 4 that he can do without. "As soon as it went on I knew I wasn't happy with it. Sometimes I would find myself wearing a short sleeve shirt in the middle of summer, a t-shirt", Angel says. Not comfortable with older tattoo removal technology, which often involved left painful scarring, Angel waited almost 20 years until he heard about Dr. Lydia Parker, and her success with tattoo removal.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, February 25, 2012
The lowdown on body piercing: Dermatologists study, offer checklist
The lowdown on body piercing: Dermatologists study, offer checklist
In one of the most comprehensive health examinations of body piercing, researchers have found that the wildly popular fashion statement is relatively safe although about 20% of piercings become infected. Northwestern University dermatologists analyzed the overall safety, complications and medical consequences of piercings, focusing on the ear, nose, mouth, nipple, navel and male and female genitalia. They found infections, although treatable, were the most common complication, followed by allergies, loss of blood, scarring and interference of medical procedures, such as X-ray or ultrasound.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, February 25, 2012
Tumblr Takes a Stand; Prohibits Self-Harm Blogs
Tumblr Takes a Stand; Prohibits Self-Harm Blogs
The internet, and social networking sites especially, have become valuable spaces for people to form communities and share ideas and inspiration. Unfortunately, these sites can be used for ill as well as good, as we’ve seen with vicious crowds gathering to bully someone on Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere. Some sites are starting to fight back; most recently, microblogging site Tumblr announced plans to prohibit blogs that promote self-harm, self-mutilation, eating disorders, and suicide. [...]While many applaud it, some decry the move as an attack on free speech and wonder just how far Tumblr will take it—will they remove blogs that promote excessive piercings and tattoos, considering them a type of self-mutilation?
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Women and Tattoos: Part 3
Women and Tattoos: Part 3
The popularity of body art, such as tattoos and piercings, have created conversations in the workplace. Do employers allow it to be shown or do employees have to cover up? Tattoos come in all shapes and sizes, and are expressive art right on the body. Industry veterans said hit TV shows with people sporting ink have helped build interest. "Like 'oh wow, everybody and all different races, lifestyles are getting tattooed so it must be OK'," said Debbie Lenz, owner of Artistic Dermagraphics in Boardman. But going big and bold in not so private places could be problematic in the workplace.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, February 20, 2012
Women and Tattoos: Part 2
Women and Tattoos: Part 2
Some consider tattoos a fad, while others feel they are a true appreciation of art. "Every tattoo that I have means something to me. I'm not going to just mark up my body because hey it's the cool thing to do," said Jena Kosinski of Austintown. Kosinski got her first tattoo at 16. Now, at 18, she has five of them. A cross on her left shoulder is a representation of her faith. A vine, which extends from her back right shoulder to her back left hip is a work still in progress. The Youngstown State University freshman notices the popularity of women choosing to get inked.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, February 19, 2012
Women and Tattoos: Part 1
Women and Tattoos: Part 1
Researchers say more women are choosing to get tattoos, and some in places they can't hide. "Thirty years ago, women were getting tattoos, the majority of them were very small like on the hip, the back shoulder, the ankle and mostly hidden," said tattoo artist Debbie Lenz. Lenz remembers inking those dainty designs 30 years ago. Now a veteran tattoo artist, she works her magic at her shop, Artistic Dermagraphics in Boardman. And, she has seen an increase in women choosing to get inked. "But getting larger tattoos, you know, and not being afraid to like hang it out there, show it," Lenz said. "You know what, people hang their art on the wall, I like to walk around with mine," said body piercer Lisa Rouse.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, February 19, 2012
9 Tips Before Getting Your Body Pierced
9 Tips Before Getting Your Body Pierced
Women once got their ears pierced simply to wear a wider variety of jewelry. But these days, more and more women and men are getting other parts of their bodies pierced -- from eyebrows and noses to navels, tongues, and genitals -- as a popular form of personal, cultural, or artistic expression. By one U.S. estimate, 49% of women and 19% of men aged 18 to 50 had piercings in their earlobes in 2004. And 21% of women and 8% of men had piercings in other places. When done by a trained professional, body piercing is fairly safe overall. The most common problem is infection, affecting up to 20% of all piercings, according to a new review by dermatologists at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, February 17, 2012
Health unit issues warning about home-based tattooing
Health unit issues warning about home-based tattooing
London, Ontario -- The Middlesex-London Health Unit is warning people of potential health risks associated with home-based tattoo parlours after inspectors found a shop using unhygienic procedures. After receiving a complaint, health unit inspectors visited the Arbour Glen Crescent residence and found several infractions, including improper cleaning, disinfection and sterilization practices. Given the potential risk of blood-borne infections due to improper practices, the health unit advises anyone who received a tattoo or other body art at this, or any other unlicensed location, to contact their health care provider or visit a walk-in clinic and arrange for blood testing. The health unit emphasizes this advisory is being issued as a precaution.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, February 17, 2012
Spike orders more Ink Master
Spike orders more Ink Master
Viacom owned US cablenet Spike TV has ordered a second season of tattoo themed competition series Ink Master, increasing the number of episodes from season one. Spike will air 13 new episodes of Ink Master produced by Original Media with air dates to be announced shortly. The first series premiered on January 17 and is currently halfway through an eight episode run, averaging 1.5 million viewers in its Tuesday 22.00 timeslot. In the show ten of the US’s top tattoo artists compete for a US$100,000 prize, editorial feature in tattoo magazine Inked and the title of Ink Master.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
This will only hurt a bit
This will only hurt a bit
A skull of Homo erectus, a strand of DNA wrapping around his leg and an anatomical heart are inked into his skin. The bright light behind his golden hair captures his own work — gauged ears and a pierced chin. Western junior Thomas Hall holds a sterilized needle and pierces it through the skin. “Take a deep breath,” he said. It is over in a matter of seconds. Blood begins to surface as Hall cleans up his client’s newly-pierced ears. Western sophomores Zarina Ismagilova and Emma Destromp went together to get their ears pierced. It is not unusual for friends to go together for moral support, said Hall, a body piercer at Chameleon Ink Tattoo & Body Piercing in Bellingham.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Love Ink'corporated
Love Ink'corporated
Tattoo artists from around the city suggest innovative designs for Valentine's Day -- Till death do us apart is an apt slogan for the festival of love. We suggest you and your Valentine get a tattoo as a lasting symbol of your love. If you're sceptical about inking names on your body, you can indulge in tattoos with visuals instead. "Usually, we discourage our customers from tattooing the names of their partners because six months down the line they come back to us to cover it up with another design," explains Nirmal Bihani, tattoo artist at Guns at Work, Koregaon Park. "Instead, we suggest a similar tattoo for both partners such as a star, dove or something that has a more significant meaning for them," he adds.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, February 13, 2012
Leggings or skinny jeans?
Leggings or skinny jeans?
The alarm goes off at 7:15 a.m. and panic begins to set in. That alarm, which rang so lovingly, was over an hour late. And now you have to deal with the rush of picking out an outfit that seems at least somewhat acceptable. So what to wear? Should you stick to a casual look—leggings, or a little bit nicer—skinny jeans? The looks are similar but slightly different. But that one tiny little difference could alter your entire day. With such a hard decision looming overhead, how can you possibly be expected to choose? To start off with the basics: leggings are for longer shirts, i.e. shirts that hit mid thigh. Nobody really wants to see someone walking around in leggings and a short t-shirt, her bottom on display for the whole world to see.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, February 12, 2012
The Most Tattooed Athletes
The Most Tattooed Athletes
Athletes get tattoos for a number of reasons: to have a sense of belonging, to alter their public image, to feel powerful, to bring good luck or ward off bad luck, to honor family, to honor their team, to honor their home town, to honor God, to remind themselves of hard times or humble beginnings or just to see how nifty the tats will look pixelated in the latest version of NBA 2K. Some athletes stop at one or two. Some have up to a dozen. Others, well, they fill up the canvas.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, February 11, 2012
Where adornment meets anthropology
Where adornment meets anthropology
If jewelry is on your Valentine’s Day shopping list and diamonds are out of your budget, you might check out Onetribe Organics’ new location. But instead of rings and bracelets, be ready to consider labrets, spikes, tusks and plugs. After nine years, Jared Karnes, who designs and makes body jewelry that is equal parts adornment and anthropology, has moved his crew to 211 W. Seventh St. from 403 Stockton St.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, February 10, 2012
“Think Before You Ink” service offered by Tattoos for Now
“Think Before You Ink” service offered by Tattoos for Now
For almost twenty years now, permanent body art has been a growing trend in fashion and popular culture and shows no signs of abating anytime soon. Just look around you! It’s not just sailors, heavy metal musicians, or Maori warriors that get tattoos these days. Everyone, from corporate executives, to clergymen, to suburban soccer moms, even senior citizens now seem to be “getting ink” as having a tattoo becomes both more popular and socially acceptable.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, February 10, 2012
Experts answer piercing questions
Experts answer piercing questions
For students away from home and free from parental reign for the first time, piercings or tattoos can seem like ways to assert individuality or maturity. But some botched jobs can ruin the fun of having this work done, so here are a few things to keep in mind. Safety first. The easiest way to ensure a safe piercing is to go to a clean shop, said Chris Pollok, a body piercer at Red Room Tattoo. Ask questions about how they sterilize equipment. If they can't come up with answers to basic questions, that's a problem.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, February 09, 2012
Thinking of a tattoo or piercing?: Get it done safely!
Thinking of a tattoo or piercing?: Get it done safely!
Cypress County, Alberta -- If you are considering a tattoo or body piercing, Cypress Health Region’s Public Health Inspection department is encouraging you to ensure that it is completed in a safe and sanitary environment. The region’s Public Health Inspectors have always included all ‘personal service facilities’ in their massive list of organizations that require routine inspections to ensure public safety. These facilities may provide invasive procedures such as tattooing and body piercing which carry a high risk if not done safely. Tattooing injects ink deep into the second layer of the skin (dermis), while piercing breaks the skin and inserts jewelry. With the increased popularity for self expression, Public Health Inspectors want to ensure that practices offered to the public are done safely.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, February 09, 2012
Rihanna's 'Thug Life' Joins List Of Hip-Hop Tattoo Tributes
Rihanna's 'Thug Life' Joins List Of Hip-Hop Tattoo Tributes
Rihanna has raised a lot of eyebrows this week with her latest body modification: a tattoo that reads "Thug Life", in honor of late hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur. While 'Pac had the words emblazoned across his abdomen, Rihanna opted to write them across her knuckles in what appears to be glow-in-the-dark ink. Say what you will about whether the pop princess is living the kind of rising-up-from-the-streets life Shakur was honoring by splashing the name of his crew across his stomach, but she joins a long list of musicians who've used body art to pay homage to fallen homeys or musical inspirations.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Illegal tattoo operator shut down; clients sought
Illegal tattoo operator shut down; clients sought
Lethbridge, Alberta -- Local officials are advising anyone who may have had work done by an unapproved, home tattoo operation be tested for health concerns. Anyone who received tattoos from the Sandra Wiltzen tattoo operation are asked to contact Alberta Health Services at 403-388-6664 to arrange for confidential testing to determine whether they might have been exposed to viruses which can be spread through unsanitary tattoo procedures. "To prevent the spread of infection from one person to another, equipment used in tattooing must be cleaned, disinfected and sterilized according to health standards," said Dr. Vivien Suttorp, South Zone Medical Officer of Health, in a news release Monday. "The Sandra Wiltzen tattoo operation did not have these proper sterilization processes in place, meaning individuals who received tattoos through this operation may have been exposed to viruses including Hepatitis B and C, and HIV."
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, February 07, 2012
It's Not Just a Tattoo, It's Art
It's Not Just a Tattoo, It's Art
Like their work, Jon Elliot and Ken Adams have been a permanent fixture in the tattoo world for nearly two decades. Together, the pair owns and operates Green Man Studio in West Hartford, an award winning tattoo and piercing shop that first opened its doors back in 1995 and has grown not only in popularity but also in size. GMS now boasts seven tattoo artists who specialize in a wide range of styles centuries old craft. Elliot, a Middlefield resident, and Adams, who lives in New Britain, recently opened the Green Man Tattoo art exhibit at the Charter Oak Cultural Center in Hartford, a gallery of about 300 images that highlight the history of tattooing.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, February 06, 2012
Province shuts down piercing parlour
Province shuts down piercing parlour
Calgary, Alberta -- Alberta Health Services has closed down an unapproved piercing operation and is encouraging clients to be tested for viruses. The piercing operation was run out of Avon Apna Jewellers, previously known as Apna Jewellers, in the Westwinds Commercial Development at 5120 47 St. N.E. AHS officials learned about the facility during a routine Hepatitis B case follow-up investigation and shut it down last October. Alberta Health Services is advising anyone who got a piercings at the facility to get tested for viruses that can be spread through unsanitary piercing procedures.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, February 06, 2012
Stretching the envelope
Stretching the envelope
Spend some time in downtown New Bedford, stroll into a local high school cafeteria or take one step into Hot Topic and you'll probably find that earlobe stretching in SouthCoast is as popular as ever. These days, stretching (known by many as "gauging," because of how the widths of the jewelry are designated) is "mainstream, definitely," said Davey "Doc" Johnson, master piercer at Sinners and Saints Tattoo and Piercing in Wareham, whose own earlobes are stretched an inch in diameter. Johnson, 40, has been piercing people for more than two decades and said he's seeing more and more locals going bigger and bigger. Over "three or four years — five years, it's gotten huge," he said. The reasons for stretching are as diverse as the people who do it.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, February 02, 2012
Maori 'considering preserving tattooed heads'
Maori 'considering preserving tattooed heads'
A New Zealand professor says that Maori are talking about the possible revival of the ancient practice of preserving tattooed heads. He says some artists have been experimenting with using the technique on the heads of piglets. The debate was given fresh momentum this week after France returned 20 preserved Maori heads and sets of remains, some 200 years after they were taken from their homeland. The tattooed heads and bones of the twenty Maori, collected from nine universities and a museum in France, were given a send-off in Paris this week and a heartfelt welcome home at Wellington's Te Papa museum.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, February 02, 2012
Gay tattoo artist shatters stereotypes in “NY Ink”
Gay tattoo artist shatters stereotypes in “NY Ink”
Tattoos mean different things to different people. TLC explores the phenomena of tattooing in both the gay and straight world in “NY Ink.” The reality-TV format of “NY Ink” peeks into the Wooster Street Social Club, the premier tattoo establishment of New York City. Of course the club is a gallery of sorts and as such, heaped with canvases of heavily inked skin. Gay tattoo artist and floor manager, RoBear, is no exception. RoBear, aka “RoBeast” on his bad days, took a couple of minutes on a cold, Manhattan afternoon to talk about “NY Ink” and the mixed messaging that face a gay man in the often testosterone poisoned world of tattoos.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Ear lobe speakers are music to your ears
Ear lobe speakers are music to your ears
The world's first ear lobe speakers are being trialled in Queensland.
And the mini music blasters look set to turn up the volume on the annoying commuter debate. The novel device is placed in the ear lobe in large holes created by body modification stretchers. "Just 100 of the Music Plugs have been made and we have 50 and the other 50 went off to a shop in LA," said importer Tim Raymond of Piercing Planet in Brisbane City centre. "They were made in Asia and finally the first batch arrived last week," he said. "It's the new big thing but I'm not sure how they will go down on public transport or public places where music may invade other people's space."
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Is this beauty skin deep? Scarification a modern day slice of life
Is this beauty skin deep? Scarification a modern day slice of life
Women have long gone under the knife for the sake of beauty. A growing trend in body modification, however, is now seeing them do so in the name of art. Unlike tattoos, which use needles to create a permanent design, scarification involves carving patterns into the flesh with a scalpel. And to hear it from industry insiders, an estimated 60 to 70 per cent of those being cut aren't countercultural thrill-seekers but rather professional women, aged 25 to 50, desiring something more understated than traditional ink. "It can produce the same type of image as a tattoo but it's a lot more subtle and less aggressive," says Keith Kennedy, a Calgary scarification artist for the past eight years.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Get the drop on big earrings: how to wear the trend
Get the drop on big earrings: how to wear the trend
After years of necklaces, stacked bracelets and cocktail rings, statement earrings are back in the spotlight. Frankly this is making a lot of women nervous. Heavy dangling earrings are an invitation to damage. If you have pierced lobes you know what I'm talking about: stretched piercings, pain (big earrings rival stilettos) and, at the extreme, splits or tears that require cosmetic surgery repair. Here are tips on how to wear the trend and save your ears. Look for lightweight delicate chandeliers and drops in lacy filigree or woven gold or silver, or choose clip-back styles that won't damage piercings instead of posts and hooks.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
How This Tattoo Artist Became A Tech Entrepreneur
How This Tattoo Artist Became A Tech Entrepreneur
Meet Fred Giovannitti, whose ability to tease designs out of people's brains proves useful in two very different pursuits: tattoo artistry and environmental engineering. Fred Giovannitti is that rarity: a man who divides his time between two extremely disparate careers. Giovannitti makes his living giving tattoos to discerning customers in Las Vegas, but he also spends a considerable amount of time as the creative director at Vor-Tek Recovery Solutions, a young company with a mission to engineer new ways of cleaning the world’s oceans and waterways. Vor-Tek was a finalist in a recent X Challenge dedicated to faster cleanup of oil spills, partly due to Giovannitti’s innovative designs.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
In your face: Front-and-center tattoos no longer just a gang trend
In your face: Front-and-center tattoos no longer just a gang trend
"LOYALTY" is written in the center of a giant spider web on the right side of Jamar Wheeler's neck, beneath a spider that appears to dangle from his ear. "I get tattoos like a stress reliever," said Wheeler, 23, of Oxford Circle. Below a tattoo of a cross near his right eye is a teardrop tattoo, adorned by a facial piercing. The letters "FOE" line the arch of his hairline - Family Over Everything. The same tattoos and piercings decorate the left side of Wheeler's face - except for the "$OMM" near his hairline, which stands for Money on My Mind.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Celebrity Piercings: 8 Young Stars With Body Bling
Celebrity Piercings: 8 Young Stars With Body Bling
After Justin Bieber made headlines by showing off his newest tattoo, a large inking of Jesus on his leg, celebrity tats have been all the rage. Even 11-year-old fashion rule-breaker-in-the-making Willow Smith is rumored to have gotten some permanent body art on the back of her neck! And Miley Cyrus not only has a total of nine tattoos, but she's also sporting a number of piercings, including her nose, belly button, and several on her ears. Tattoos and piercings used to be a rebellious form of self-expression, but now they're just the latest way to sport some bling. While some prefer subtle nose studs, other celebs go all-out with eye-catching belly-button piercings.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, January 24, 2012
How Men Feel: About Your Tattoos
How Men Feel: About Your Tattoos
Last week, Jamie shared that she doesn’t really like people coming up to her and touching her tattoos for no reason. Sane, yes? Yes. This prompted some male commenters to say things like “I see girls with tattoos and all I think is low class …” and “No problem, we all know what they mean any way: You’re easy, you uglied yourself up, and you easily follow shallow trends.” I like the way they used “easy” twice in the same sentence. In any event, this delighted me because it meant we could round up the man panel! And they would seem so enlightened and grammar savvy! And not as awful! Here is how some actual non-troll men feel about tattoos.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Tattoo parlour health reports could be made public
Tattoo parlour health reports could be made public
Niagra Region, Ontario -- Tim Hearn wouldn’t think twice about decorating his tattoo parlour’s window with a document declaring a clean bill of health from Niagara Region. Hearn, the manager of Artistic Impressions Tattooing and Piercing in St. Catharines, said he’s all for a proposal being explored by the Region to give the public a look at health inspections for hair salons, tattoo parlours and other such locations. A survey was launched on the Region’s website recently seeking feedback into the program. “I fully support that,” Hearn said. “I believe people have the right to see the results of the health inspection. It should be public record.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, January 23, 2012
San Diegans led the charge for body-art regulation
San Diegans led the charge for body-art regulation
The Safe Body Art Act marks the single greatest legal change in how tattoos are inked and skin pierced -- Imperial Beach-based tattoo artist Mike Martin travelled to Sacramento in 2010 to ask Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign the Safe Body Art Act. He might as well have been going to the Vatican to ask the Pope if he wanted his labret pierced. “His assistant flat-out told us, ‘You’ll have to wait until next year. It’s not going to get signed,’” Martin, who runs Flesh Skin Grafix, recalls. “I thought it was kind of an insult…. Here, the tattoo industry is reaching out to the administration, the government, and trying to get regulations passed that we feel make our industry safer, and we got shut down like that. I thought it was pretty nasty how it went down.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, January 23, 2012
The case against stretching earlobes
The case against stretching earlobes
Landon Rochat-Boeser has decided it's time to grow up. In about a week, the 24-year-old is going to have plastic surgery to repair the earlobes that he has spent 10 years stretching through the insertion of ever-larger discs. "It's not that I regret it [stretching the lobes], but this is a different time in my life," he said. "If I want to be taken seriously as a professional, I have to start looking like a professional. Whether you like it or not, or whether it's fair or not, people judge you based on your appearance." He's going to have his lobes repaired by Dr. Ralph Bashioum, a Wayzata plastic surgeon who is hearing from a growing number of people like Rochat-Boeser.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, January 22, 2012
Body art a spiritual ritual
Body art a spiritual ritual
When Christian Honeycutt talks about surface bars, microdermals, ear gauging, scarification, tattooing and suspension, he glows. His skin, marked with three tattoos, five scars and 17 piercings, is a highly textured map of his journey into the world of body modification. Honeycutt, a religious studies and comparative literature double major who lives in Chapel Hill, is drawn to body modification, or body mod, because it explores the relationship between mind and body, he says. "Body manipulation and pain rituals have been a part of society for as long as we've been people," Honeycutt said. "It's about connecting and disconnecting the mind and body. It's a liminal thing, moving between those poles."
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, January 22, 2012
Georgia Mom Arrested for Allowing 10-Year-Old to Get Tattoo
Georgia Mom Arrested for Allowing 10-Year-Old to Get Tattoo
A Georgia mother who was arrested for allowing her 10-year-old to get a tattoo said she had no idea it was illegal for him to get one, even with her consent. When Chuntera Napier’s son Gaquan Napier asked her if he could get a memorial tattoo for his 12-year-old brother Malik who died after being hit by a car, Napier was touched by the request. “My son came to me and said, ‘Mom, I want to get a tattoo with Malik on it, rest in peace,’” she told ABC News’ Atlanta affiliate WSBTV. “It made me feel good to know that he wanted his brother on him.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Ear Gauging - A very “holy” addiction
Ear Gauging - A very “holy” addiction
Walking down an Amsterdam street, 19-year-old Brent Yager embraces the stares he receives by people, and ignores the whispered comments as he strolls by them. He knows exactly what they are talking about: the 2-inch holes in his ear lobes. He has been gauging his ears for over four years. “I don’t see what is so repulsive about gauges. They are just holes in my ears, and people make a huge deal about them every time they see me as if I’m a freak or something. It’s like I’m defined by my ears.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, January 18, 2012
UCSD fellow studies Southern California tattoo culture
UCSD fellow studies Southern California tattoo culture
How did a young, black-metal fan with stretched ear lobes and a fascination with corpse-simulating face paint score the prestigious “Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowship for Academic Diversity” at UCSD? Dr. Todd Honma, the recipient of the honor for his work on body modification, says he doesn’t know—it took him fully by surprise. However, the fact the selection committee contacted him indicates a shift in academic acceptance of tattoos and piercing as a legitimate subject of study. Honma’s work examines and analyzes what tattoo aesthetics reveal about race, class and sexuality in Southern California, particularly among Asian and Asian-American communities.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, January 18, 2012
100-year-old granny gets her studs
100-year-old granny gets her studs
Windsor, Ontario -- Even at 100 years of age, people are still susceptible to peer pressure. Viola Arnold of Windsor, Ont., is turning 101 this year and at the behest of her friends, she pierced her ears for the first time in her life Wednesday. "I got to the age of 100 and they figured I'd better have them done, so here I am," Arnold said before it happened. Several of her fellow Huron Lodge retirement home residents took the short bus trip across town with Arnold so they could be there for the piercings. "I was like a little nervous mother. I was getting a little teary, I really was," Huron Lodge arts and crafts coordinator Susan Novelletto said.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Jersey tattoo artist vies for top spot in Spike TV's 'Ink Master'
Jersey tattoo artist vies for top spot in Spike TV's 'Ink Master'
Brian Robinson’s eyes are trained on Alex Rosario’s right arm with a laser-beam focus. It’s what Rosario calls his “bad arm.” He rests it atop a white towel under a light. With a gloved hand, Robinson approaches the arm and shaves a length of skin. Rather than attempting to rehabilitate this arm in some way, Robinson adds to the bad, shading the skeleton faces of a pack of ghouls with a buzzing tattoo gun. Rosario calls them “lost souls.” The whole arm is cloaked in a sleeve of intricate ink, flames curling up toward his shoulders.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, January 14, 2012
3 Questions About Facial Piercings
3 Questions About Facial Piercings
Do you have facial piercings? No judgement, just curious!
Every time I see a picture like this, I end up wondering three things, which possibly people who actually have facial piercings can explain. 1) Do you have to rearrange the way you do simple stuff once you get them? Like, this guy, I imagine he’s going to have to learn how to see things again. Do you have to rearrange the way you eat with a lip piercing? The way you sneeze with a nose piercing?
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, January 14, 2012
Tattoos, Through Time: A New Museum for Amsterdam
Tattoos, Through Time: A New Museum for Amsterdam
In Amsterdam, which claims to have the greatest number of museums per square mile in the world, few topics are left unexplored. There is a museum that delves into sex, another on war (or at least the Dutch resistance), and a museum dedicated, of course, to marijuana. Last fall, a museum opened with a focus on another topic that rarefied institutions generally avoid: tattoos. Founded by the Dutch tattoo artist Henk Schiffmacher, the Amsterdam Tattoo Museum is dedicated to the art, history and preservation of tattoo culture.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, January 14, 2012
Penis Tattoo Leads to Permanent Erection
Penis Tattoo Leads to Permanent Erection
A 21-year-old Iranian man has a permanent semi-erection after having “borow be salaamat” (good luck with your journeys) and the letter “M” (his girlfriend’s initial) tattooed on his penis. The man, whose name is unknown, was diagnosed with nonischemic priapism — a condition resulting from the inability of blood to exit the penis. His case was detailed in the latest issue of the Journal of Sexual Medicine . “In our case, most probably, the handheld needle penetrated the penis too deep, creating an arteriovenous fistula,” wrote the study authors from Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences in Kermanshah, Iran.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, January 11, 2012
For the love of God: Christian tattoos and body piercing
For the love of God: Christian tattoos and body piercing
Vancouver, BC -- The large Celtic cross tattooed on the small of Amy Bonde’s back testifies to how she sees Jesus Christ as her “lover.” The Hebrew letters encircling the young Vancouver woman’s ornate cross are from the spiritually erotic Bible chapter, The Song of Solomon. They read “I am my beloved’s, and he is mine.” The sentiment captures Bonde’s desire to be in an intimate relationship with Jesus. The lanky 23-year-old, who wears bluejeans and black platform shoes, is one of a growing subculture of evangelical Christians who are flouting their religion’s straight-laced past and adorning their bodies with permanent religious tattoos.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Canadian public health can't keep up with body modifications
Canadian public health can't keep up with body modifications
Public health authorities across Canada are struggling to address the growing popularity of body modifications such as splitting one's tongue like a snake's and surgically altering ears to make them elf-like and pointy, fearing the spread of infection in an unregulated industry. Scarification, which is effectively carving or branding an image into your skin, and suspension, which involves being hung from the ceiling on hooks lodged into your back, are among the more common forms of extreme body modification happening in tattoo and piercing shops across the country.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Justin Bieber shows his higher love with new tattoo
Justin Bieber shows his higher love with new tattoo
Justin Bieber has a new tattoo celebrating the love of his life — and, no, it's not Selena Gomez. The Biebz has a big tat of Jesus plastered on the back of his leg, reports Hollywood Life, and proves it with this pic snapped at Venice Beach in Los Angeles, where Justin and his dad were catching some rays. The website speculates that the Canadian heartthrob got the spiritual art around the time a pap snapped him in his bandaged-up glory while vacationing with Selena in Mexico recently.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Kristen Bell Makes Tattooed Funny or Die Video
Kristen Bell Makes Tattooed Funny or Die Video
Fans of Kristen Bell have been begging for a “Veronica Mars” movie ever since the t.v. show got canned a couple of years ago. While it may not happen any time soon, Bell followers can at least bask in the glow of her hilarious Funny or Die video “Body of Lies”. The blonde starlet reveals to Inside Hollywood that she’s actually covered from head to toe in tattoos. The video shows the actress arriving at her trailer at 3:30 in the morning to sit in the makeup chair for twelve hours in order for her Kat Von D-like body art to be covered up.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, January 08, 2012
Stop order issued to Thunder Bay tattoo artists
Stop order issued to Thunder Bay tattoo artists
Thunder Bay, Ontario -- The Thunder Bay District Health Unit has issued an order to a city couple to stop offering home-based tattoo services until they're inspected. The Health Unit reports Andy Hrycyshyn and Taisha Rose have been providing tattoo services in the city for at least six months at various locations and may have gone to people’s homes as well. The city’s medical officer of health, Dr. David Williams, said tattoo operators don't need a licence, but they do need an inspection.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, January 08, 2012
Body modifications ‘push the envelope’
Body modifications ‘push the envelope’
Metal and flesh are in harmony — at times. With body modification, a simple prick, slash or burn can be used to ornament or manipulate the body. Some do it for pain. Others for pleasure. And others are just curious. And University student Melody Hansen — who has 17 piercings — understands the visceral connection between steel and skin. “I started as a biology major and I’ve always been really interested in what you can do to your body,” she said. “It’s kind of like a physical manifestation of my imagination, my personality and kind of just how I see myself.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, January 06, 2012
Rick Genest’s dead cool body art
Rick Genest’s dead cool body art
Montreal, QC -- Around this time last year, Montrealer Rick Genest received a Facebook message from Nicola Formichetti, Lady Gaga’s famous stylist sidekick who had been newly appointed as creative director for fashion label Thierry Mugler. Formichetti was curious about Genest’s body art – tattoos covering nearly every centimetre of skin, which make him look like a walking corpse. Think elaborate Day of the Dead makeup – blackened circles around the eye sockets, a smile that extends past the lips to reveal a skeletal jaw – in permanent ink. And that’s just his face.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, January 06, 2012
Wearing Body Jewelry
Wearing Body Jewelry
Body jewelry in the form of piercings including earrings is more popular in the West now than at any time for several thousand years. The revival of body jewelry commenced in the early Seventies with the Punks in the United Kingdom. What many people - especially parents - had hoped would be just a passing fad has continued to grow from strength to strength during the last 40 years. In that time, much thought has been put into how and what to use and where to put it.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, January 02, 2012
HIV danger from Bali tattoos
HIV danger from Bali tattoos
A West Australian has contracted HIV after getting a tattoo in Bali, prompting the Health Department to issue a health warning. The Health Department was unable to give details of the case but said all evidence pointed to a tattoo the person received in Bali being the cause. The Department's communicable disease control director Paul Armstrong advised against getting body art and piercings done overseas, particularly in developing countries. "This case demonstrates the very real health risk in having this type of procedure done overseas," he said.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, January 02, 2012
Mother covers 85 per cent of her body in tattoos
Mother covers 85 per cent of her body in tattoos
Jacqui Moore, 41, has spent the last eight years getting 85 per cent of her flesh inked with a continuous black and grey ‘full body-suit’ tattoo. Just her left armpit, half her right leg and most of her face has been left uncovered. But she hopes to complete the tattoo by getting the final 15 per cent of her body daubed next Spring. Jacqui, a gardener at a posh private school in Oxford, fell for tattooist Andreas Moore, nicknamed ‘Curly’, 45, after divorcing from her husband Martin in March 2003. She said: ”I went to get a new tattoo to symbolise my freedom and the new chapter in my life."
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, January 01, 2012
Tattoo removal on the increase in Spain in the battle for jobs
Tattoo removal on the increase in Spain in the battle for jobs
Barcelona, Spain -- Act in haste, repent at leisure, or so the saying goes, and not just at leisure but in pain and considerable expense when it comes to having a tattoo removed. As job competition increases, what once seemed a cool fashion accessory – the spider web tattooed on your neck, that python encircling your forearm – can be a blot on your CV when it comes to job interviews. The Planas clinic in Barcelona has reported an 81% increase over the past few years in the demand for laser treatment to remove tattoos. "Having a tattoo removed takes longer, costs more and is much more painful than having one done," Rafael Serena, head of the clinic's laser unit, told La Vanguardia newspaper. "It's not something people usually think about when they get a tattoo."
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, January 01, 2012
Who is to blame for this forehead tattoo of Drake’s name?
Who is to blame for this forehead tattoo of Drake’s name?
“Who the hell is Drake?” asked numerous posters on music websites in December after a photo of a fan with the rapper’s name tattooed on her forehead went viral. Even the artist responsible for the tattoo, Kevin Campbell at Los Angeles’s Will Rise, didn’t know who Drake was. “I figured it was her hood ..., not some goofnugget R&B dude,” he told Vice.com. In a Dec. 22 radio interview, Canada’s homegrown ‘goofnugget R&B dude’ fired back, putting the blame for the bold, block-lettered face tat on the artist’s heavily inked shoulders. “You should lose your job and should never do tattoos again,” said Drake, who doesn’t have a face tattoo, but does have a face tattooed onto him (an alleged portrait of the late singer Aaliyah).
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, December 29, 2011
Ontario salon's unsterile piercings prompt health warning
Ontario salon's unsterile piercings prompt health warning
Windsor, Ontario -- Health authorities are warning customers who received body piercings from a Chatham, Ont., nail salon to get tested for viruses including HIV. A warning issued by the Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit Thursday says Easy Nails has been giving unapproved body piercings that failed to meet regulations. As a result, the health unit believes clients risked contracting hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Chris Nuñez Talks Ink Masters, Tattoos, and Human Canvasses
Chris Nuñez Talks Ink Masters, Tattoos, and Human Canvasses
Like tattoos? Get your single needle guns, sharpened guitar strings, and professional gear ready for Ink Masters, a new tattoo reality competition series where contestants battle for $100,000. We caught up with judge Chris Nuñez, who was on Miami Ink, about why Ink Masters is better, truer to the game, and how he makes people cry when their work sucks. Here's what he had to say.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Samoan tattoos badges of honour
Samoan tattoos badges of honour
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. Pause. Wipe. Brace. Tap, tap, tap. The unmistakable wood-on-wood sound stops momentarily as white-gloved hands use a cloth to wipe away excess ink and blood. This is old-school tattooing - tattooing the way the art began and has always been done in Samoa - and no needle is involved. The deep-blue of the ink is "hammered" into the smooth tanned skin of the young woman. She is undertaking the ritual in full view of the public inside an open hut at the Samoa Tourism Authority's cultural village at the 2011 Teuila Festival in the capital, Apia, on Upolu Island.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, December 25, 2011
Body modifiers deny risks of procedures
Body modifiers deny risks of procedures
Guelph, Ontario -- Don’t tell Kimberly Hack body modification is a big health risk. She’s undergone a variety of procedures without infection and considers the risk low, countering a recent warning by the local health unit. “I’ve never had an infection or an issue with any of my body work,” says the Guelphite, 33, a tow motor operator by profession. Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health issued a report recently warning body modification, including scarring and ear pointing, is on the rise and poses a risk of serious infection, emphasizing practises in non-surgical settings are unregulated and practitioners self-trained.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, December 25, 2011
It’s a double standard for facial piercings
It’s a double standard for facial piercings
I recently applied for a job and was turned down because of my piercings. The woman explained to me that if I belonged to a religion that encouraged body piercings I’d be allowed to keep them in, but since I’m caucasian with little to no religious background I would have to either take them out or look for a job elsewhere. I have two easy-to-hide facial piercings. Neither have been in long enough to be removed without closing, and both could be replaced with plastic retainers which would be nearly impossible to spot unless someone was searching for them, though I was told these aren’t allowed either.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, December 23, 2011
12 Most Extremely Modified People
12 Most Extremely Modified People
Dennis Avner , also known by "Catman" or his native american name of "Stalking Cat", undergone incredible extensive surgery in order to look like his totem animal, the tiger. Modifications include extensive tattooing, transdermal implants to allow whiskers to be worn, subdermal implants to change the shape of the face and the filing and shaping of the teeth to make them look more like a tiger's.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, December 22, 2011
Who Is The Ink Master?
Who Is The Ink Master?
Finally. After years of Project Runway, America’s Next Top Model, Top Chef, and Top Valet Parker, Spike TV has given tattoo artists their due with Ink Master, a worthy new addition to the genre of reality competition shows. And that makes perfect sense, since you can judge a finished tattoo through the TV screen much better than you can judge a turbot fillet from Hell’s Kitchen. Speaking of judges, Spike has brought on Jane’s Addiction rocker Dave Navarro, venerable tattooers Chris Nunez and Oliver Peck, and a rotation of guests (including INKED’s creative director) to award one of its 10 competing artists $100,000, a feature in this magazine, and the title of Ink Master.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, December 22, 2011
Health unit issues piercing warning for business
Health unit issues piercing warning for business
Chatham-Kent, Ontario -- Citing infection concerns, the Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit has issued a warning about a downtown beauty salon. Clients of Easy Nails who received a body piercing should consider being tested for hepatitis B, C and HIV, the health unit stated, as the piercings were reportedly provided without prior official approval and failed to meet requirements for infection prevention and control. "We always follow up to ensure measures are in place to decrease the risk of skin and blood-borne infections. If we aren't able to confirm the required infection control practices are in place, we need to let clients know of the risks," said health unit director April Rietdyk in a media release issued late Thursday.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Tattoo regulation welcome, artists say
Tattoo regulation welcome, artists say
Tattoo artists told a D.C. Council committee Wednesday they support legislation to regulate their industry for the first time as long as the associated fees and rules do not overburden them. A quintet of tattoo-shop owners told the Committee on Public Services and Consumer Affairs that any decent tattoo or body-piercing shop should meet or exceed standards in the bill, introduced by committee Chairman Yvette M. Alexander, Ward 7 Democrat, and six of her colleagues. The legislation would require tattoo and body-piercing artists to register with and obtain a license from the city’s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. It also establishes minimum health standards for the industry.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Ottawa parents remember son by tattooing his image all over their body
Ottawa parents remember son by tattooing his image all over their body
Ottawa, Ontario -- Sheri and Patrick Leighton have decided to carry permanent memories of their son, Eric, with them wherever they go. "It was something I had to do. It was two weeks after Eric had passed. I just found I had to do it," said Eric's father Patrick. Patrick Leighton was not the only one who felt the need to have permanent reminders on his body. Eric's mother, sister, grandmother and two friends have also gotten tattoos. Patrick is considering filling his arm and back with memories of his son's life. For his mother Sheri, the tattoos are also to remind the world of how Eric died.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, December 18, 2011
'Body modification is a way of life'
'Body modification is a way of life'
Says Spanish body modification artiste, Jesus Cabanese who was in India for the international tattoo convention. Body modification, is a term India is still getting introduced to. For those still in the dark, remember Lady Gaga's face prosthetics in "Born This Way"? Yes, that's what we're talking about. Jesus Cabanas aka Sala, who had come to India for Tattoo Republic, India's first international tattoo convention in Pune, spoke about this unusual body art.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, December 17, 2011
Featured Artist: Brandon Bond
Featured Artist: Brandon Bond
Brandon Bond just might be the most interesting person I've met.When I first made contact with the All or Nothing CEO, he could not have been more excited about the interview. He seemed more like a life-long friend than a tattoo artist I had never met before, as the jokes were flying during our mobile exchange.After setting me up with some magazines, books,DVDs and full leviathan of past work, it was clear that Brandon Bond is unlike any other artist — and that's any medium or style — I've ever come across.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, December 17, 2011
Would you donate toys in exchange for tattoos?
Would you donate toys in exchange for tattoos?
As Christmas approaches, several groups collect toys for less fortunate kids -- but one U.S. business stands out for its very permanent way of thanking donors. The owner of a Tennessee tattoo parlour, House of Ink, is hosting a "Toys for Tattoos" exchange for the fourth year in a row, according to the Commercial Appeal information service. Participants are asked to bring in toys of $25 US value or higher in exchange for a tattoo or piercing of a similar price. The idea has been a hit in past years. Store employees have arrived to find toy-touting customers lined up around the block, waiting for the parlour to open.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, December 15, 2011
Body Art Dissatisfaction
Body Art Dissatisfaction
One situation that I've never found a good response to is when someone tells me how unhappy they are with their body art. As a person who has been tattooed and pierced for over twenty years, and who is still happy that way, I've had conversations over the years with people who were unhappy with their body art. And it always makes me wonder just how they got to be so dissatisfied and if there's more that can be done to avoid that. The most awkward encounters are when I'm talking to someone in person and they show me their tattoos and say how much they don't like them anymore. There's nothing you can really say at that moment that is supportive or positive. But just what is it that people don't like about tattoo after a while or after many years?
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, December 15, 2011
Owner of Calgary tattoo parlour jailed in torture plot
Owner of Calgary tattoo parlour jailed in torture plot
Calgary, Alberta -- The central character in a bizarre plot to kidnap, torture and kill a man he believed had set fire to his family’s northeast Calgary tattoo business last June has been sent to prison. Luciano Carlo Ferrazzano, 39, was sentenced on Thursday to seven years in jail, which includes credit for his guilty plea and time already served for conspiracy to kidnap and loan sharking. Provincial court Judge Sean Dunnigan, who had also sentenced Ferrazzano to a conditional jail sentence last year for loan sharking, accepted a joint submission by Crown prosecutor Shane Parker and defence lawyer Don MacLeod for the prison sentence.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, December 13, 2011
What is that in your ear?
What is that in your ear?
I’ve had gauges for about 4 years now. They are one of the many things that define my style, and people don’t seem to get them. I don’t have them for a fashion statement, it eventually becomes an addiction. And i still get a kick out of the comments people give me when they see them. “Are those stickers in your ears?” asked 10 year old Hannah Kim on Saturday. That’s not even the worst of them. Some of the questions and comments I get are so ridiculous they don’t even make sense.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Leaving a mark on professionalism: The tattoo generation
Leaving a mark on professionalism: The tattoo generation
Twenty one-year-old Rhode Islander, Lexi Neelis, sheds light on her fascination with body art. “I have tattoos because I feel they enhance my body aesthetically. They are a way for me to bring a part of my personality literally to the surface of my skin.” Almost every guide to professionalism makes a point of condemning the tattoo junkies from displaying their latest tribal symbol or finished sleeve. Necks, faces, wrists, hands and sometimes shoulders are some exposed areas of the body in which sporting a tattoo may not go over too well in the office environment. It’s becoming more common, however, for job seekers to show their tats proudly, whether traditional employers like it or not.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, December 12, 2011
Canadian health care can’t keep up with body modifications
Canadian health care can’t keep up with body modifications
Public health authorities across Canada are struggling to address the growing popularity of body modifications such as splitting one’s tongue like a snake’s and surgically altering ears to make them elf-like and pointy, fearing the spread of infection in an unregulated industry. Last Wednesday, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health’s board of health received a report warning that one can suffer a “serious or possibly life-threatening consequence” while undergoing one of these surgical-like procedures in a “non-clinical” environment where there’s a higher threat of contracting HIV or hepatitis B and C.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, December 12, 2011
Body mod artist perfects art of piercing
Body mod artist perfects art of piercing
Steve Easley, the owner of Release Body Modification, gave himself his first piercing when he was 13. "[It] was not professional by any means," Easley said. He had no professional tools to get the stud into the skin between his chin and bottom lip. "The way I went about doing it was absolutely ridiculous," the 28-year-old said. "I took a guitar pick and put it between my bottom lip and my gum. Then I took an X-Acto knife and spun it into my lip until the hole was big enough to fit the stud. Now the hole is about the size of nickel. It is filled with a large stone that separates his chin and bottom lip. As a 7-year-old, he knew he wanted to work in a tattoo shop.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, December 10, 2011
Some colour to skin
Some colour to skin
Celebrity tattoo artist Ami James was the frontrunner of the hit American Reality TV series, Miami Ink. He has now moved base from South Beach, Miami to New York, where he has set up shop with an all new crew. His experience in New York is the dough for a new series — NY Ink, which premiered recently on TLC. James speaks of how NY Ink is different from Miami Ink — “The tattoos have changed a bit. The styles of tattooing right now are a little more hip. We have, luckily, this beautiful shop in the middle of SoHo, which is in the heart of the Art District of New York City; the oldest Art District.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, December 10, 2011
The Kitchen Ink
The Kitchen Ink
backThe Kitchen InkTattoos of food rule the restaurant world, from the front of the house to the back - Watch any episode of “Top Chef” and one thing becomes abundantly clear: Chefs like their ink. “We’re really artistic, and tattoos are one way of showing that,” says Hamilton Johnson, chef de cuisine at Vidalia. Johnson has “over 100” tattoos, depending on how you count (“My left arm is all together, but it’s numerous tattoos”). Seven of Johnson’s tats are related to food, assuming you count a California raisin singing into a microphone; the others are a peach, a lemon, a piece of key lime pie, a waffle fry with ketchup on it, a cherry and a Vidalia onion.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, December 08, 2011
"Skin and Soul" exhibit shows that tattoos are more than skin deep
"Skin and Soul" exhibit shows that tattoos are more than skin deep
Winnipeg, Manitoba -- The art of photography and the art of body tattooing come together in an exhibit that will touch your heart and change your perceptions. Winnipeg photographer Rodney Braun has collaborated with Winnipeg tattoo artist Kelly Mcrae to create a unique show that runs until Thursday December 8 at the Exchange Community Gallery in Winnipeg. SCENE asked two of the subjects to share their stories...
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, December 08, 2011
Got a Tattoo? Say Thanks to the Electric Tattoo Machine, Patented 120 Years Ago Today
Got a Tattoo? Say Thanks to the Electric Tattoo Machine, Patented 120 Years Ago Today
No longer confined to the bodies of sailors or sideshow freaks, tattoos have entered America’s cultural mainstream, offering consenting adults the chance to adorn themselves with a permanent mark of rebellion, remembrance, or just plain bad taste. And the electric tattoo machine, originally patented on this day in 1891 by the legendary New York City tattooist and inventor Samuel F. O’Reilly, made it all possible. Based on the design for Thomas Edison’s autographic printer, which was essentially a motorized engraving tool, O’Reilly’s invention sped up the process of tattooing while vastly improving the quality of the final product.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, December 06, 2011
Don't Pierce Your Daughter's Ears at the Mall
Don't Pierce Your Daughter's Ears at the Mall
I intend on piercing my own daughter's ears when she's old enough, but unlike my own experience, I won't be taking her to a piercing booth in a mall, and I especially won't be having the piercings done with a piercing gun. The Association of Professional Piercers and Body Modification Ezine, two of the largest information sources on contemporary body modification, are BOTH against gun piercings. Why? I'll tell you. Sanitation of the facility: Piercing parlors are required to thoroughly and regularly clean their piercing area (which consists of easy-to-clean materials like a doctor's chair) regularly, and only allow paying customers into the area to prevent any contamination of their sterile equipment.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, December 06, 2011
Designing a future in body piercing could be for you
Designing a future in body piercing could be for you
As a body piercer, you would pierce various parts of your clients’ bodies with a needle or piercing gun and then insert different types of jewellery and metal as a form of decoration. Your work would include: discussing with the client the type of piercing they want and advising on what may be suitable, explaining the procedure and pointing out any risks involved, advising on suitable types of metal and jewellery, sterilising the piece of jewellery and the area which is being pierced, disposing of the needle following health and safety guidelines, showing the client how to care for the piercing as it heals, and what to do if there is a problem.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, December 03, 2011
LoLo tattoo shop target of suspected vandalism
LoLo tattoo shop target of suspected vandalism
Vancouver, BC -- Tattoo artist Darryl Gardner has three security monitors in his East Vancouver home displaying footage captured from the area around his Lower Lonsdale tattoo shop. But when Gardner woke at 3 a.m. early last Saturday morning, one of them wasn't working. Odd, he thought. To be sure nothing had happened to his shop, Tip of the Needle. Gardner hopped in his car and made the trip over the Second Narrows bridge. When he arrived, he noticed the power lines from the building at 114 E. 1st St., which houses Tip of the Needle, were hanging down. Gardner said he "thought nothing of it" at first and entered the shop. But when he saw one of his security lights had been tampered with said he felt unsafe and exited the building.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, December 02, 2011
The Way We Are: More Stories Skin Deep
The Way We Are: More Stories Skin Deep
Tattoos had been used in ancient Greece and Rome to mark ownership of slaves and as punishment for criminals. Rather than being ornamental, the tattooing practices signified degradation, punishment, and permanent ownership. In Greek literature, the first reference to tattooing is as stigmatias or “a marked slave.” The word stigma in English is derived from the Greek and indicates discredit or shame. Apparently the Greeks adapted their tattooing practices from the Persians, and later, the Romans continued the practice of tattooing slaves and the term stigmata.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, December 02, 2011
Nose Piercing & The Jewish Mother
Nose Piercing & The Jewish Mother
The day my 17-year-old daughter got her nose pierced, I spent the morning reading up on body piercing with regard to Jewish law. My daughter was about to get a small hole on the left side of her sweet nose and I wanted to understand if she was adorning her face or mutilating it. The rabbis have been historically divided on the issue of body piercing. Some sages liken piercing, even the earlobes, to inflicting a wound on a body that belongs first and foremost to G-d. Others see it as an act of beauty because one can prettify the body with jewelry.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, December 02, 2011
Ear stretching: 10 of your stories
Ear stretching: 10 of your stories
Stretched ear lobes are becoming an increasingly common sight. From pop stars to people in the street, there are more and more flesh tunnels and plugs on display. Like other sub-cultural practices such as tattooing and piercing, ear stretching has become popularised, says Prof Victoria Pitts-Taylor, from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Here are some of your stories.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Dundee tattoo project could help identify bodies
Dundee tattoo project could help identify bodies
A university has appealed to people around the globe to email them pictures of their tattoos and piercings. The images will go into a giant "body modification" database for use by forensic experts. Dundee University said the project could help identify bodies by establishing tattoos or piercings common in specific areas. Any pictures submitted to the Interpol database will be treated with "strict confidence". Professor Sue Black, who leads the university's Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification, said the database could be very useful when trying to identify victims of a disaster, like the Asian Tsunami in 2004.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Choosing A Good Earring Metal or Material
Choosing A Good Earring Metal or Material
For the first few thousand years of ear piercings, people didn't give much thought to what metals or materials their earrings were made from. Indigenous people worked with what they had, and not too many cultures were practicing ear piercing. Jump forward to the late 20th century and early 21st century and ear piercing is now one of the most widespread body art practices you can find on the planet. Choosing what metal or material you wear in your ear piercings now is something that requires thinking about allergies, potential healing problems and if the material is legally-sourced or comes from a sustainable resource. Here is a basic guide to various material used to make earrings.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, November 27, 2011
Miley Cyrus turns 19, sheds tattoos
Miley Cyrus turns 19, sheds tattoos
Miley Cyrus turned 19 yesterday, and we can report that all signs indicate Hannah Montana is entering her final year as a Teen Queen like any 19-year-old might -- providing they're rich and famous and have a music production crew, team of doctors and a unicorn at their disposal. [...]So do reports that Cyrus is regretting some of the dumb crap she did in her younger teen years (not including 99 per cent of her YouTube output). The pop star has nine tattoos, last Hollywood Life counted, but the outlet reports that Cyrus was spotted at an L.A. tattoo-removal clinic the day before her birthday. If this means she's finally sick of the dreamcatcher that’s inked on her torso, the world can officially say she's grown both older and wiser.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, November 27, 2011
Eminent scientists and their tattoos
Eminent scientists and their tattoos
From DNA to dinosaurs, scientists have a surprising and secret penchant for tattoos – of a particularly cerebral nature. I happen to be friends with Professor Sandeep Robert Datta, a neurobiologist at Harvard Medical School. I call him Bob. In the summer of 2007, Bob and his wife Eliza and their two boys, Jasper and Theo, came to a pool party for the birthday of my nephew Blake, and the esteemed neurobiologist splashed around in the water for hours. It was then that I noticed something on Bob's arm. He had a tattoo. The tattoo, I could see, was that most famous molecule, the twisting ladder of DNA.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, November 24, 2011
Traditional facial tattoos fading with time in SW China
Traditional facial tattoos fading with time in SW China
It's a rare sight to see a facial tattoo. But you may be surprised that in China's southwest, there are 41 old women who have retained their facial tattoos once seen as a symbol of beauty. Let's head to Yunnan Province to check it out. Facial tattooing is an unique tradition of the Derung ethnic minority. They live in the mountains of the Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province. Girls used to have their faces tattooed before marriage. But as time goes by, only 41 old women are left to testify about the now extinct practice. Most of the tattoo women live on the Gaoligong Mountain, more than 2,000 meters above sea level. In order to make this cultural heritage live on longer, border police started to give a medical checkup to the old women with facial tattoos in 2006 and established archives for them.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, November 24, 2011
David Lohr
David Lohr
Jamestown, NY – Jamestown, the celebrated birthplace of actress and comedienne Lucille Ball, isn't your average rural New York town. For starters, it's home to a horned tattoo artist who runs a museum of oddities so bizarre, Robert Ripley himself might not believe it. "Everything's real and some of it's really real," Ryan Gillikin told The Huffington Post during a recent tour of his shop. You'd be tempted not to believe Gillikin because he actually speaks through a forked tongue. He had it surgically bifurcated, giving him a reptilian look. But that's just where the fun ride begins. Gillikin and his wife, Denise, have horns that were implanted by famed 3D body modification and human evolution artist Steve Haworth .
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Tattoos etc.
Tattoos etc.
Vancouver, BC -- "So, do you have a tattoo?" I suppose it's a natural first question for people to ask when you explain that you're doing a couple of feature stories on the tattoo industry in BC. I don't in fact have a tattoo. I'm too fickle to have a piece of permanent art on my skin, and I'm not sure I could sit still long enough to go under the needle. I have, however, been intrigued by tattoos since I was a child. For as long as I can remember, my dad has had this mark on his left forearm, about an inch square. When I was old enough to talk, I asked him about it.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Nova Scotia tattoo artists to be regulated
Nova Scotia tattoo artists to be regulated
Tattoo artists in Nova Scotia would be required to have a permit and meet standards for cleanliness and infection control under legislation introduced Wednesday. Health Minister Maureen MacDonald said the body art industry needs to be regulated to help protect the public from the risk of disease. She said regulations are needed because the industry has evolved in recent years to include branding, scarification, tongue splitting and implants, in addition to body piercing and tattoos.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Stories On The Skin: The Life and Times of Tattoos, Piercings, and Modifications
Stories On The Skin: The Life and Times of Tattoos, Piercings, and Modifications
On a spectacularly sunny, end of March Sunday I attended a "tattoofest" in a Tampa hotel. Outside a group of bikers and other attendees sat soaking up the sun. I entered tentatively, not knowing what to expect. I picked up a magazine at the check-in tables called "Prick", filled with ads for conventions and tattoo artists’ studios. A columnist, Chuck B, wrote, "Even the meanest looking heavily tattooed characters out there are longing to be coddled, not hurt. Believe me, I know. So let’s all get together and have a big love fest." I was surprised by what I saw. This was not just displays and sales pitches. People getting their tattoos applied and those doing the applications occupied the majority of booths. Music from the blues-rock band The Accelerators echoed across the floor, although the din of tattoo machines on high vibration and convention chatter dimmed much of the music.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Ear stretching: Why is lobe 'gauging' growing in popularity?
Ear stretching: Why is lobe 'gauging' growing in popularity?
Stretched ear lobes are becoming an increasingly common sight in the street. But why has creating a large hole in the ear lobe started to appeal to more and more people? Ear stretching goes back a long way. But you don't have to visit a museum or travel to a remote-ish part of the world to see it because the practice has been adopted in many Western countries. However, it is not so common that it goes unnoticed. Stretched piercings do tend to stick out like the proverbial sore thumb, particularly if the hole is substantial enough to hold a small object.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, November 20, 2011
Now that's an image re-VAMP: Twilight fan has inky tribute tattooed across her entire back
Now that's an image re-VAMP: Twilight fan has inky tribute tattooed across her entire back
A fan of the popular Twilight books has taken her love of the vampire series to a more permanent level by having the characters etched across her back. Cathy Ward, from Reading, Berkshire, showed off her £4,000 body art masterpiece at the opening of Breaking Dawn: Part One, at London's Westfield Stratford City last night. And the supermarket worker had her dreams come true when she managed to get heartthrob Robert Pattinson to sign her arm.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, November 20, 2011
19 Fanatical Twilight Tattoos
19 Fanatical Twilight Tattoos
True fans of Edward, Bella, Jacob and all of the characters in the Stephenie Meyer series have shown their devotion with ink that will live as long as the series’ immortal hero. As Breaking Dawn: Part 1 hits theaters, see photos of the top Twilight body art inspired by the franchise. For her 50th birthday, Fran Richards decided to get a tattoo of the Cullen Crest (not pictured), representing vampire Edward’s (Robert Pattinson) family, in 2009. “I was so wrapped in this tattoo and loved the whole Twilight Saga so I decided to get more...”
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, November 16, 2011
What’s the worst tattoo you’ve ever seen?
What’s the worst tattoo you’ve ever seen?
Halifax, Nova Scotia -- In grade 10, my friend got a coloured tattoo of a knife piercing through a basketball. Yes, you read that right. A massive knife literally stabbing an innocent orange basketball. When asked about it, she said it was mean to symbolize the saying “no pain, no gain.” While she used to be addicted to basketball, and while yes, at one point this might have made sense in her head, I am pretty sure she regrets it now. ---Rachael Van Rijn
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Tattoo parlours go mainstream, Stouffville artists dispelling myths
Tattoo parlours go mainstream, Stouffville artists dispelling myths
Stouffville, Ontario -- Gone forever are the days when tattoo parlours were mainly the shady domain of tough guys and criminals. So say two local tattoo artists who are using a friendly, small-town atmosphere to build their business while continuing to challenge such outdated stereotypes. “We’re trying to break the myths of tattooing and how people view it … it’s not like that anymore,” said Warren Tapscott, who runs Stouffville’s Depression Ink studio with partner Kris Phillips. “It’s not sailors and bikers.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, November 14, 2011
8 things your tattoo (and where it is) says about you
8 things your tattoo (and where it is) says about you
16 percent of the world’s population is tatted up, with that number sure to rise in the very near future given societies gradual acceptance for body modification. While some people strategically choose tattoos that can be covered by ordinary pieces of clothing, other more daring art enthusiasts select body parts and appendages that can’t be as easily covered. While selecting where you’re going to put a tattoo is the easy part. It’s selecting what you’re going to make a permanent addition to ones body that takes a little time. But choose both wisely because where you put it and what you get speaks volumes about your personality.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, November 14, 2011
Inked passion
Inked passion
Priceless are the experiences of life. The self-worth of individuals is determined on how they view life and act upon it. Personal rituals often develop for those motivated by passion felt towards life. Tattoos and piercings like many other art forms have become tools to satisfy these practices. To interpret oneself externally can become confusing and frustrating, in part because of the many options and opinions bombarding society by instant electronic communications. Not knowing what options can be made can make you fall short from what would be an otherwise ideal body modification –leaving a permanent alteration that is damaging to the body and, of course, self-image.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, November 14, 2011
Looking ‘cool’ with body studs
Looking ‘cool’ with body studs
In the past, body piercing was considered a sacred art. Roman centurions pierced their nipples to signify strength and virility. It was a “badge” of honour to show their dedication to the empire. During Thaipusam, faithful devotees pierce their tongues and cheeks to impede speech and attain full concentration on Lord Murugan. But nowadays, body piercing is adorned by people from all walks of life. Once a proud bearer of 13 piercings on her body, Tabitha Penelope Chang Swee Ling now only keeps her tongue and ear piercings.The 25-year-old corporate event management freelancer experienced her first piercing 10 years ago.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, November 13, 2011
Prehistoric men scarred, pierced, and tattooed privates
Prehistoric men scarred, pierced, and tattooed privates
Men in prehistoric Europe manipulated their privates with body art and piercings in ritual and to just fit in. Men in prehistoric Europe scarred, pierced and tattooed their penises, likely for ritualistic and social group reasons, according to a new study. Analysis of phallic decorations in Paleolithic art, described in the December issue of The Journal of Urology, may also show evidence of the world's first known surgery performed on a male genital organ. The alteration, or surgery, might have just been for ornamental purposes, or a piercing, the researchers suggest.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, November 13, 2011
Southeast Asia's Sacred Tattoos
Southeast Asia's Sacred Tattoos
Ron Gluckman reviews "Sacred Skin" by Tom Vater and Aroon Thaewchatturat and Sacred Tattoos of Thailand" by Joe Cummings. Across Southeast Asia, some tattoos are considered so sacred that this summer the government of Thailand considered making it illegal for foreigners to obtain them. Intricate but primitive-looking, with distinctive blue-black, hand-scrawled letters, often accompanied by cartoonish animals or demons, sak yant supposedly protect wearers from harm and give them mystical powers. Mixing religious beliefs and folklore from India, Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand, sak yant evolved over centuries and appeal to a broad range of people. The lower classes and criminal elements are big fans. But it is foreigners who are partly responsible for the tattoo's recent resurgence.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, November 13, 2011
The Search for a Vegan Tattoo
The Search for a Vegan Tattoo
For thousands of years, humans have been using a host of animal byproducts to decorate their bodies, but there are finally alternatives: At a party in Midtown a few weeks ago, a friend and I were caught up in the rush of an open bar with name-brand liquor and a buffet table stocked with delicious vegan options. Something about the dizzying lights mixed with being broke among successful entrepreneurs made us feel mischievous and impulsive. Once the discussion turned to our mutual desire to stop being the last people in Brooklyn without tattoos, we made a pledge to impulse-buy some body art on the way home.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, November 08, 2011
Troubled-Hacker Chic? H&M Announces ‘Dragon Tattoo’ Clothing Line
Troubled-Hacker Chic? H&M Announces ‘Dragon Tattoo’ Clothing Line
The fast-fashion retailer is looking to fellow Swede Steig Larsson’s novel and its hacker heroine, Lisbeth Salander, as inspiration for its upcoming collection. The Swedish retailer announced that it has collaborated with Trish Summerville, the costume designer on David Fincher’s forthcoming American adaptation of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, to create a 30-piece line based on the brilliant but troubled fictional character.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, November 08, 2011
How to Maintain Organic Body Jewelry
How to Maintain Organic Body Jewelry
Organic Body jewelry and body piercings are made of exotic organic natural raw materials and are true work of art. It takes years of practice to master the art of carvings and material preparation knowledge for presenting a finish jewelry piece which is not only outstanding in its look and appearance but also lasts as such for a very long time. This article will explain below how to care and maintain organic body jewelry in order to get the maximum results while using them.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, November 07, 2011
Should employers care about body art?
Should employers care about body art?
Although more than 10 million Canadians sport body art, Global National’s Francis Silvaggio reports that tattoos and piercings are still associated with social stigmas in the workplace. It’s a phenomenon that University of Calgary grad student Cayla Martin is studying. “Specifically women are not as capable or are promiscuous or are heavier drinkers,” she says of the common prejudices. “As someone who has piercings and tattoos I find offence with those types of stigmas.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, November 07, 2011
More women commemorating motherhood with body art
More women commemorating motherhood with body art
Without the stigma it once carried, getting a tattoo can be a social event: It might be a baby’s footprint, a child’s name, or a favorite portrait, but whatever the design, more and more Dayton women are choosing tattoos which reflect their roles as mothers. “It’s a modern-day brag book,” said Michelle Wells, who manages husband Chad Wells’ private tattoo studio in Vandalia. “I think women who get these tattoos are very proud to be mommies. It provides a great excuse to talk about their family.” Tattoos don’t carry the social stigma they once did. “Everybody is getting tattoos these days. Everyone you can think of,” Wells said. “It really doesn’t matter what age someone is or what they do for a living.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, November 06, 2011
Beefed-up body art regulations a good thing
Beefed-up body art regulations a good thing
Montrose County commissioners will convene Monday morning as the county’s Board of Health to take a variety of issues under consideration, perhaps none as important as a series of proposed enhanced regulations for the local body art industry. While many county merchants and residents normally would view increased government regulation of business as a bad thing, we doubt most of them will voice any objection to this proposal. In fact, when the county held a public meeting several weeks ago to discuss the proposed changes and gauge public opinion, several representatives of local tattoo and body-piercing shops showed up to voice their support for the measure.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, November 06, 2011
Reformed skinhead endures agony to remove tattoos
Reformed skinhead endures agony to remove tattoos
Julie Widner was terrified — afraid her husband would do something reckless, even disfigure himself. "We had come so far," she says. "We had left the movement, had created a good family life. We had so much to live for. I just thought there has to be someone out there who will help us." After getting married in 2006, the couple, former pillars of the white power movement (she as a member of the National Alliance, he a founder of the Vinlanders gang of skinheads) had worked hard to put their racist past behind them. They had settled down and had a baby; her younger children had embraced him as a father. And yet, the past was ever-present — tattooed in brutish symbols all over his body and face: a blood-soaked razor, swastikas, the letters "HATE" stamped across his knuckles.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, November 03, 2011
Testing a Tattly: Temporary Tattoos Created by Professional Designers
Testing a Tattly: Temporary Tattoos Created by Professional Designers
Horrified by her young daughter's clip-art temporaries, Tina Roth Eisenberg, the designer known as Swiss Miss, created some of her own. Why do so many people inject ink into their skin at considerable cost and with much discomfort? Why would any rational being want to indelibly mar their otherwise pristine bodies? And why, knowing the inevitable ravages of age, would they want to inflict self-imposed discolored blemishes anywhere on their extremities? If not for my wimpy squeamishness, I could see getting a tattoo image that represents something near and dear. I cannot say what the allure is, but the tattoo as a personal statement appeals to me on some deep level.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, November 03, 2011
The Extreme Tattoo For Cause Event !
The Extreme Tattoo For Cause Event !
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario -- Success is not a word strong enough for the turn out at Extreme Tattoo and Photography on Friday Oct 21st. The Tattoo for the Cause event had a donation target of $700 but by the days end, A grand total of $3000 was calculated as the final tally to be donated to The Canadian Cancer Society. "We did complete a total of 89 tattoos for the days event that was scheduled from 2pm to 10pm. But in fact, we started at 12:30pm and went on until 1:am that night." Paul Grimard the owner of Extreme Tattoo and Photography also added that some other appointments were taken for future dates to accommodate some of those that were unable to have the tattoo completed on the day of the event.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, October 31, 2011
Piercing professionals speak about the rules of the trade
Piercing professionals speak about the rules of the trade
Parental debates with teenagers tend to hit the same subjects, generation after generation, with one hot, recurrent topic being the tender matter of body piercings. While my parents forbade me from having my ears pierced before the age of 13, the other day I listened to my friend explain how she was taking her one-year-old daughter to have her’s pierced in the coming weeks. Opinions over the rules and restrictions of ear and body piercing seem to be varied, but who should be making these decisions?
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, October 31, 2011
Tattoos: Inks Raise New Health Concerns About Age-Old Designs
Tattoos: Inks Raise New Health Concerns About Age-Old Designs
While they've adorned skin since time immemorial as exotic emblems of beauty, rebellion or even criminality, if I start talking about tattoos, I can tell that lots of you of a certain age will react simply by sighing deeply or clucking your tongues in disapproval. Sorry, Mom and Dad: we're long past the time when just sailors, soldiers, performers in burlesque acts or gangsters got inked. An estimated 45 million Americans have tattoos, and that number is quickly rising. Although the practice seemingly is becoming, along with piercings, ubiquitous among certain younger or youthful-minded folk across the country, the ink that tattoo artists inject remains unregulated.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, October 29, 2011
Made in America Tattoo Company Has Halloween Trick Up its Sleeve
Made in America Tattoo Company Has Halloween Trick Up its Sleeve
An Arizona-based temporary tattoo manufacturer, which got its start in a garage before growing into a big business, is now looking to leave its mark on trick-or-treaters – literally. While costumed kids still are sure to be bombarded with the holiday's traditional candy, Tattoo Manufacturing and its parent company TM International have unveiled more than 100 new Halloween-inspired tattoos in hopes of positioning their product as an alternative to candy this Halloween. With a collection including devils, ghosts, pirates, pumpkins, skulls, spiders, witches and vampires – some of which glow in the dark – Damon Safranek, director of corporate strategy and analysis for TM International, said the company also has seen a notable uptick in the number of people adding them as the finishing touches to their costumes.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, October 28, 2011
A Brief Overview of Body Modification
A Brief Overview of Body Modification
Body modification is the technical term for tattoos, piercings, and all other body alterations deemed alternative or cosmetic. Tattoos originated over 10,000 years ago, and have since been discovered on ancient Egyptian mummies and preserved Neanderthals from the ice age. In many societies ear piercing is also done as part of a ritual such as in Borneo where the mother and father each pierce one ear of their child as a symbol that the child depends on their parents. Women tattooed their symbols on their forearm indicating their particular skill. Tattoos around the wrist and fingers were believed to ward away illness. Today, a large demographic of young adults have multiple piercings and tattoos, but it wasn’t always as popular.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, October 28, 2011
Regulations Keep Tattoo Business Clean
Regulations Keep Tattoo Business Clean
With a quarter of American adults sporting tattoos, health regulations are becoming more and more important. Montana adopted its first laws governing tattoo practices during the 1990s. "It's for everybody now. And when it becomes something for everybody it has to be regulated to be safe," Owner of Body Works Christopher Hamilton said. Hamilton, along with two other tattoo artists, crafted the original legislation. Tattoo has always had a stigmatism to it if you offer it some kind of regulation you offer it some kind of legitimacy. With the laws comes legitimacy," Hamilton said.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Blood shed over Guinness Record
Blood shed over Guinness Record
Burnaby, British Columbia -- Blood ran from two meat hooks pierced into Burnaby Q. Orbax’s back and pooled at his waist as he pulled a 4-tonne pick-up truck 111.7 metres Tuesday to beat a Guinness World Record. The longest previous pull was 107 m. Orbax followed a strongman-training regime prior to attempting the longest vehicle pull with the least number of meat hooks. But there was nothing that could prepare him for the two back piercings that dug inches into the soft tissue behind the shoulder blades. “I’m not worried so much about the hooks coming out,” said Orbax of the likely possibility that the hooks could rip his skin. “I’m more worried about the physical exhaustion — it’s not easy pulling a 9,000-pound truck.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Age restriction for piercing could be introduced in the UK
Age restriction for piercing could be introduced in the UK
An age limit for ear piercing could be introduced in Britain with campaigners warning that children cannot even keep their bedrooms clean, let alone a fresh wound. The Welsh government is set to announce plans to prevent under-16s from having piercings – including in the ears – without permission from their parents. Ministers will discuss whether a legal age limit ought to be imposed amid fears of health problems caused by complications such as infections. Campaigners said many parents would be surprised to learn there are no age laws in place for most types of body piercing.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Study examines society's perception of body art
Study examines society's perception of body art
With tattoos and piercings adorning more and more bodies, a University of Calgary student is out to discover whether negative perceptions of body art have dwindled. "More and more people have them so they should be more accepted, but I'm finding that people are still feeling the stigma," Cayla Martin told CTV Calgary. Martin, who sports a lip ring of her own, has launched a study which examines how body art is perceived by others. Though the graduate student's investigation will focus on women, it raises questions about whether tattoos and other art affect a person's public image. While body art sometimes conjures up negative stereotypes, the owner of a Calgary tattoo parlour said it's becoming more widely accepted.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Animal Planet to air 'Tattooed in Detroit' pilot starring artist Tom Renshaw
Animal Planet to air 'Tattooed in Detroit' pilot starring artist Tom Renshaw
Ask Clawson's Tom Renshaw, who inks for Eternal Tattoo , why he was picked to star in the new pilot "Tattooed in Detroit" (airing Nov. 19 at 9 p.m. on Animal Planet). He's got a simple answer. "I knew that I was probably the best man on the whole planet for the job," he says. We tend to agree. "Tattooed in Detroit" is produced by Intuitive Entertainment , who brought the "Pit Boss" series to Animal Planet. Renshaw, one of the nation's most renowned wildlife and portraiture tattoo artists, is also a wildlife photographer and videographer.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, October 22, 2011
Body Modification Trend in Japan Leads to “Bagelheads”
Body Modification Trend in Japan Leads to “Bagelheads”
A recent trend in body modification is implanting objects, such as magnets, in the skin. Why is beyond me, but apparently something small and barely noticeable isn’t good enough for some Japanese individuals. Introducing “bageheads.” Yes, it is exactly what it sounds like, though there are a few differences between the process and standard body modifications. Instead of an actual object being placed in the skin, a saline solution drip is used to cause inflammation and swelling in various parts of the body.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, October 21, 2011
Medusa Piercings - Guide to Philtrum Medusa Piercings
Medusa Piercings - Guide to Philtrum Medusa Piercings
Medusa piercings are one of several possible piercings of the upper lip, but this one is located right in the philtrum. Your philtrum is the little indent - or dimple - between your nose and upper lip. That dimple is sometimes referred to as "cupid's bow." When a single, horizontal piercing is placed in this indent, it's commonly called a Medusa if not referred to by its anatomical name. It's basically a mirror image of the labret, and typically uses the same labret stud jewelry.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, October 21, 2011
Parents Accuse Tattooed Tokidoki Barbie of Being a ‘Bad Role Model’
Parents Accuse Tattooed Tokidoki Barbie of Being a ‘Bad Role Model’
[D]espite all the controversy Barbie has drawn, the doll still winds up in little girls’ hands every Christmas. Each year, Mattel comes out with new editions, both geared towards kids and adult collectors, and each year, Barbie continues to inspire rage from her haters. The latest controversy: Tokidoki or “Tattoo Barbie,” a collectors’ doll created by Italian designer Simone Legno, which goes for around $50 and has light pink hair, caries a small dog named Bastardino and is covered with permanent tattoos. Predictably, parents are not pleased. As Telegraph pointd out, Holly Lebowitz Rossi, a writer for parents.com, commented, “For those who look to Barbie as a role model for strong, empowered girls, the Tokidoki doll is overly-sexualised and inappropriate.” One could easily argue the opposite.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Tattoos, piercings focus of public health campaign
Tattoos, piercings focus of public health campaign
Waterloo, Ontario -- The Waterloo Region public health unit is running a campaign this week in local high schools to promote safe tattooing and body piercing practices. Local data shows that eight per cent of secondary school students have a tattoo and another 21 per cent are eager to get one, the health unit said in a news release. The school campaign includes posters and announcements to be read over the public address systems about safe tattooing practices. This campaign is part of the health unit’s observation of Infection Control Week in Canada which started Monday.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Body art vs. body image
Body art vs. body image
Amanda Eagles got her first tattoo at 16 years old. Since then, she’s added two more, had the original tattoo removed and racked up five piercings — four of which are above her neck. The body art has never been a problem for any of her employers, and she doesn’t expect it to become an issue when she starts working toward a career in nursing. “I have one friend who’s a paramedic … one friend who’s a nurse, and they are covered in tattoos,” said Eagles, a 21-year-old Londoner who works at Coffee Culture. “It just seems like it’s more acceptable these days.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, October 17, 2011
Tattoo no longer taboo
Tattoo no longer taboo
Calgary, Alberta - Body art is more popular than ever before and now a University of Calgary student is investigating whether the old stigmas remain. The demand for tattooing and body piercing has grown in recent years.The graduate student study examines employer's reaction to body art. "I found people are still experiencing this. We think it's a trend and should be more accepted but people are still finding stigma," said Cayla Martin from the Faculty of Education at the U of C. The study focuses on women and whether they need to consider how body art is perceived ahead of making the decision to get a tattoo or piercing.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, October 16, 2011
Ten Things Your Tattoo Artist Wants to Set You Straight On
Ten Things Your Tattoo Artist Wants to Set You Straight On
?Tattooing is art, and those who place tattoos on our bodies are, simply put, artists. This means that when you stumble in to the tattoo parlor with a bellyful of Patron shots and a hankering for a tramp stamp, there are some basic guidelines to follow. We sat down with the owner of a prominent San Francisco tattoo shop (name withheld at their request) to mine some of the most frowned-upon tattoo patron behaviors. Ink-hungry denizens of San Francisco, you've been warned.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, October 16, 2011
Natalie Roelle applies flourishes to Cleveland flesh
Natalie Roelle applies flourishes to Cleveland flesh
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Natalie Roelle considers herself an artist with a special canvas: your skin. Roelle, 38, co-owns Voodoo Monkey on the Near West Side. By appointment only, she has tattooed a couple of top chefs and all sorts of other locals. I see you wear lots of your wares. I've got bees and flowers and a bat. I love bats. There's a honeycomb and a little bee larvae. I've got a scarab, a lotus, a bird, cherry blossoms. I just got a fox and these roses on my ankles. They're still tender, but I love them.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, October 14, 2011
Culture Craze brings tattoos, piercings to the mainstream
Culture Craze brings tattoos, piercings to the mainstream
Tsawwassen, British Columbia -- Tsawwassen may not be a Mecca for the tattooed and pierced community, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a market for body jewelry and ink-inspired clothing. Culture Craze is the latest retail store to move into the Tsawwassen Town Centre Mall. The shop, which officially opened its doors Oct. 7, carries everything from graphic T-shirts to blue hair dye to eyebrow rings. “We’re trying to break down the stereotypes placed on the tattooed and pierced lifestyle,” said store owner Lisa LaFauci, a Tsawwassen resident. Body modification is not about being “scary,” she says, it’s all about appreciating art and expressing yourself. But Culture Craze is by no means limited to just inked and pierced customers.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, October 13, 2011
Father Outraged Over Body Suspension Artists in Backyard
Father Outraged Over Body Suspension Artists in Backyard
Shane Shields can't tell you exactly why, but he gets a rush out of being pierced through the skin with thick hooks and hanging by ropes in the air – a fringe art known as body suspension. The 29-year-old body modification artist runs a licensed tattoo facility as a day job, but on weekends, he joins other body suspension enthusiasts in a Springfield, Mo., backyard. But one neighbor insists that Shields and his fellow body artists are traumatizing his children and has pledged to ban the practice so young onlookers don't have to hear the screams and see bodies drenched in blood.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Working-Class Cyborg
Working-Class Cyborg
When Rob was 13, his right eye was damaged in a shooting accident on a family member’s farm. Six separate surgeries were performed over the years to repair the eye’s vision, but each time it regressed, and the eye grew larger, turned white, and became increasingly disfigured and painful. “I’ve had a doctor stick a needle straight into my eye about 10 times,” Rob says, “and I was thankful for it. Like, ‘Please stick the fucking needle in my eye.’” Several years ago, the ophthalmologist father of a friend of his told him he had to prepare to let go of his eye, and after a year and a half of deliberation and anxiety, he decided it was the right move. “It’s a hard thing to let go of a part of your body,” he admits, “but it was time for that garbage to go.” Three years ago, he finally had it removed. Now, Rob, 36, a filmmaker and videographer, wants to make good use of the vacant lot in his face: He’s trying to build a miniature video camera to wear as a prosthetic eye in the empty socket.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, October 11, 2011
The artist and the ink: Tattooist forms style from anime, comics and Filipino culture
The artist and the ink: Tattooist forms style from anime, comics and Filipino culture
Bellingham, Washington -- Sitting at the tracing table with dubstep music blasting, 25-year-old Bobbie Darezbex, the only female artist at Chameleon Ink Tattoo & Body Piercing, finishes up the sketch and stencil for piercing artist Thomas Hall’s new leg piece. The skeleton of a large bird quarreling with a live snake is the newest addition to Hall’s body. Despite her profession, Darezbex has no visible tattoos. Dressed in leggings and a simple dress with big-framed glasses, she doesn’t exactly adhere to tattoo artist stereotypes. In the cramped space of Darezbex’s studio, she and Hall, a Western junior, prepare for two hours of work. Wearing black, sterile gloves, Darezbex opens up the packaged needle and assembles her gun, applying murky black ink.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, October 10, 2011
Tattooing through Asperger's Syndrome
Tattooing through Asperger's Syndrome
Asperger's Syndrome is a form of autism that affects communication skills. A young Jonesboro man is defying the odds of the disorder which often keeps folks from holding regular jobs where they have to work with people. Zack Hodge has always been passionate about drawing and art and he dreams of one day holding a job in the industry of tattooing. However, Shelby Knight, who works with other special needs children and adults, says his communication disorder often keeps people like Zack from being able to keep their jobs.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, October 10, 2011
Body Piercing Teacher Achieves International Status
Body Piercing Teacher Achieves International Status
A body piercing teacher has achieved international status after teaching students from France, Germany, Portugal, Hungary and as far afield as Pakistan and Thailand. Malcolm Phillips of Mad Malcs Tattoo Parlour in Winyates has been teaching the art of body piercing for more than three years. In that time Mr Phillips and his partner Karen Fincham, who own and run Mad Malc’s, have seen the trend grow and taught students from not just the UK but the all over the world.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, October 09, 2011
3D Body Implants: Body Art for Extreme Individuals
3D Body Implants: Body Art for Extreme Individuals
Along with tattoos, piercing, branding and scarification, implants are a type of body modification, or body art as some call it. Implants are created by placing an object under the skin to make a design. It's a pretty simple procedure really: an incision is made near the area the implant will be placed, then a pocket is made and the object is inserted. The incision is then stitched up and it's all done. Steve Haworth is a pioneer and expert in the art of 3-D body modification. When asked, in an interview with bmezine, what motivates people to get the implants, Steve replied, "Extreme individualism.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, October 09, 2011
Think before you ink
Think before you ink
Calgary, Alberta -- No longer strictly desired by bikers and sailors, tattoos are attracting more people, making them more mainstream than ever. A study by Leger Marketing showed that in 2002, more than one third of Canadians in the 18-34 age range had a tattoo, with the number growing each year. According to Statistics Canada, the majority of eligible Canadian voters in the 2012 census will have a tattoo. “Tattooing is rampant right now, and from a respectable shop owner’s point of view, it is like a bad virus,” said Sondra Musa, the owner and operator of The Arthouse Inc. in Kensington. The number of tattoo shops in Calgary has risen from approximately 30 shops in 2002, to over 100 today, not including basement shops.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, October 09, 2011
What's the best way to take off a keloid?
What's the best way to take off a keloid?
Keloids are a type of abnormally thick and raised scars. These scars tend to occur in people with darker skin and can result from a wide range of skin injuries, from minor scratches to body piercings, burns and surgical incisions. The scars may be slightly larger than the injured area or may grow well into the surrounding areas of skin and become several inches long and wide. Keloids can develop over weeks or months and typically do not go away on their own. While they are not harmful, they often create a cosmetic concern and can cause pain, itching or contractures, which pull on the affected skin and make it tighter.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, October 05, 2011
Tattoo charity drive draws a crowd
Tattoo charity drive draws a crowd
Victoria, British Columbia -- The prospect of getting inked for a special cause was enough to send a lineup of people out the door and down the block at the Empire Tattoo shop Friday. All were attracted by a chance to get a tattoo featuring the pink-ribbon symbol that stands for the fight against breast cancer, in exchange for a donation to the cause. The tattoo extravaganza leads into the annual breastcancer run - the CIBC Run for the Cure - on Sunday at the University of Victoria. Shop owner Ory Pereira said Friday's occasion, appropriately called Ink'd Pink for the Cure, was a major success. At times, the line grew to a few hundred people along the 1600 block of Douglas Street during the five-hour event.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, October 05, 2011
Tattoo artist turns singer: Kat Von D records 'dark' album
Tattoo artist turns singer: Kat Von D records 'dark' album
Celebrity tattooist Kat Von D has landed her first record deal and is currently putting together her debut album. The skin art expert has revealed her project will be full of "dark" and "romantic" songs. And she insists she's more talented than most reality TV stars-turned-rockers, telling Eonline.com: "I've been passionate about music all my life. I've been playing classical piano since I was six, so I understand the form. It will be fun to be able to translate a message."
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, October 03, 2011
Scarring, intimacy a part of practice
Scarring, intimacy a part of practice
Chris Jennell, a body piercer at Evolution Inc, said he learned to perform cutting because he likes blood. “Blood is cool, we’re all full of it, nobody sees enough of it,” he said. “We’re one of the most reserved people as far as modification. That’s why a lot of people are so into it, because it’s a big ‘f*** you,’ a middle finger to society.” Jennell practices other forms of body modification, such as piercing and tattooing, to further indulge his fascination with blood. Sometimes negative reactions stem from the misperception that cutting is the same as self-mutilation, he said. “There’s a reason behind everybody’s individual choices, and there’s nothing we can do to get in the way of that,” he said. “We can either choose to assist people in doing those things appropriately, or we can get in their way and allow them to self-destruct.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, October 03, 2011
Body Art Makes a Personal Statement
Body Art Makes a Personal Statement
It takes considerable thought to purchase art, especially when it’s a tattoo and the body serves as canvas. That introspection takes place before clients enter Vanity Rites Tattoo in Southington. “There’s a lot of different factors that inspired my tattoos,” said Margaux Martinez, back for her fifth tattoo which on the shoulder. It tells the world in no small terms that she is a force to be reckoned with. “A tattoo represents a state of mind. Each one symbolize different periods of my life.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, October 01, 2011
ScreamFest comes to Calgary
ScreamFest comes to Calgary
Get ready to get scared! We're just two weeks away from the beginning of ScreamFest at Canada Olympic Park. This year, Canada's largest Halloween carnival has seven haunted houses, carnival games, a bug eating contest and performances from contortionists and fire spinners. In addition, a new face comes to ScreamFest in 2011: sideshow performer The Enigma. Born Paul Lawrence, The Enigma has undergone extensive body modification including horn implants, ear reshaping, multiple body piercings, and a full-body jigsaw-puzzle tattoo.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, October 01, 2011
Halifax tattoo artist makes her mark
Halifax tattoo artist makes her mark
Halifax, Nova Scotia -- It's not much like most waiting areas: there’s the Marilyn Manson music, and the fact some of the clients are there to voluntarily have metal stamped into their genitals. Amber Thorpe charges $135 an hour, and has in common with many other specialists that it takes months to get in to see her. The owner of Adept Tattoos came to Halifax five years ago to set up shop after apprenticing in Calgary. An hour after she opened her doors, she was tattooing an Alexander Keiths stag on a sailor. "I had a feeling that Halifax was going to be a good spot for me, socially and economically," said Thorpe, who now employs nine people.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, September 29, 2011
Ryan Gosling accidentally tattooed a 'cactus' onto arm
Ryan Gosling accidentally tattooed a 'cactus' onto arm
Ryan Gosling says he accidentally tattooed a "cactus" onto his body. The 'Drive' actor wanted to personally create a tattoo for himself but when he tried to ink a monster's hand with a bloody heart onto his left arm but his needle skills left with a design that looked like the prickly plant. He said: "One of my tattoos is supposed to be a monster's hand dropping a bloody heart but I did it myself with a tattoo kit so it looks like a cactus." Despite the self tattooing disaster, it hasn't put Ryan off getting more pieces of body art and he has the cover of children's book 'The Giving Tree' on his left upper arm because it reminds him of his mother and sister.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, September 29, 2011
Tattoos: Should people test-drive them first?
Tattoos: Should people test-drive them first?
As tattooing becomes ever more popular and mainstream, how can people ensure they don't end up getting one that they later feel they have to painfully remove? Joe Munroe says he will never regret his tattoo. Black ink meanders across his forehead, snaking its way to his cheeks, ears and down, covering his whole body. "It made my mum cry," he says. But he has no second thoughts. Neither does Roni, 7ft tall in platform boots and resplendent in purple frills. She says she tattooed her own eyeballs. The whites of her eyes are now jet-black. "It didn't hurt that much," she says, blinking.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Selena Gomez's Temporary Justin Bieber Tattoo
Selena Gomez's Temporary Justin Bieber Tattoo
Did Selena Gomez get permanently inked with her teenage boyfriend’s name on her wrist?!? The 18-year-old stepped out at a show in Las Vegas this past weekend with a writing on her wrist that simply read: Justin. However, her reps did confirm to E! that it wasn’t real. We know that Selena and her 17-year-old heartthrob boyfriend Justin Bieber have been seriously packing on the PDA but would she really tattoo his name on her body?
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Is Body Piercing Safe?
Is Body Piercing Safe?
I have been a fan of body art for as long as I can remember, and I personally have had a variety of piercings ranging from ears, nostril, tongue, and many others. Body piercing can be seen in cultures throughout the world, and it dates back in history to even the earliest known civilizations such as the ancient Egyptians. Why Choose Body Piercing? Body piercing is done for a variety of reasons. Some people choose it for purely aesthetic beauty, while others may choose to do it for more spiritual reasons. Others even boast sexual enhancement and pleasure derived both from the experience of the piercing and the utility of the studded jewelry during sex.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, September 25, 2011
Tattoo blues: What happens to your skin art as you age?
Tattoo blues: What happens to your skin art as you age?
So there you are, getting a tattoo. The needle's buzzing, you've chosen a meaningful image. You've made peace with the permanence, and it's all well and good. Just keep in mind: No matter how young you are, you are painting on a deteriorating canvas. "The sun turns grapes into raisins, and plums into prunes, so you can bet it does the same to your skin. Have you ever looked at a farmer's neck?" asks legendary inking icon Lyle Tuttle, who opened his first tattoo shop in San Francisco in 1960 and has placed enduring images on the likes of Janis Joplin, Cher and Peter Fonda. "Tattoos become part of your skin, and your skin is deteriorating from the get-go, so get ready for that," he says.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, September 25, 2011
Home-based tattoo parlours in Alberta shut down
Home-based tattoo parlours in Alberta shut down
Edmonton, Alberta --Alberta Health Services has shut down a tattoo business that operated without approval in Wetaskiwin and Leduc and is urging former customers to get tested for potentially life-threatening viruses. Darren Kennaway and Thomas Kennedy, operators of Loki’s Haven Tattoos, have allegedly been tattooing people in homes in Leduc and Wetaskiwin — including one at 5414 55th Avenue in the latter community — without the necessary permits for at least two years, said Dr. Digby Horne, a medical officer of health for AHS’s central zone. There is a “strong possibility” that people in other places in central Alberta may have received tattoos from the men, he added.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, September 24, 2011
Tattoo this pierce that
Tattoo this pierce that
Today we are surrounded by new styles, eclectic people and different forms of modern art. One of these forms is facial and body piercings and tattooing. Nearly everyone you meet has a tattoo or a piercing. There is a wide range of body parts that can be pierced. The most common are ears, which include the lobes, cartilage and the tragus. Many people also have nose piercings, belly button rings, and lip piercings. Different piercings require different types of needles and can be pierced in a variety of ways. A nose piercing has to be pierced with a hook needle rather than a bone needle. The bone needle is a straight hollow needle used in belly button piercings and lip piercings.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, September 24, 2011
'Most Pierced' man has 278 we can't show you
'Most Pierced' man has 278 we can't show you
The Guinness World Record holder for "Most Pierced Man," Rolf Buchholz, has 453 studs and rings all over his body. Buchholz, from Dortmund, Germany, has - among others - 94 piercings in and around his lips, 25 in his eyebrows and eight in his nose. He also has 278 in his genital area. The newest edition of the best-selling book, Guinness World Records 2012, was released today.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, September 19, 2011
Skin Deep: Tattoo art in London 2011
Skin Deep: Tattoo art in London 2011
In the lead-up to this weekend's London International Tattoo convention, two artists reveal how to make your art stand out: Tattoos have experienced a golden era during the past 10 years, taken even further into the mainstream by reality TV shows such as London Ink and by their high-profile positions on the bodies of celebrities such as David Beckham and Rihanna. The days of anyone choosing to adorn themselves in body art being treated as an outcast are long gone. In 2012, bankers, architects and doctors – perhaps even your parents – are inked. And, as each generation discovers the thrill and satisfaction of a high-powered needle leaving a design that will always be with them, inkers are finding no shortage of canvases.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, September 19, 2011
Modified delegate shows that politics can be colourful
Modified delegate shows that politics can be colourful
Party bigwigs sitting at the top table usually grab most of the attention and headlines during the political conference season. And with actor Hugh Grant also making a guest appearance on the first day of the Liberal Democrats' annual get-together in Birmingham today, there was no shortage of publicity-seeking names to keep the press pack busy. But there was one other face that stood out from the crowd of delegates at the International Convention Centre. Party volunteer Matthew Wheelan - who has legally changed his name to Body Art - is definitely proof that politics does not have to be bland, drab and conventional.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, September 19, 2011
Scarring, intimacy a part of practice
Scarring, intimacy a part of practice
Chris Jennell, a body piercer at Evolution Inc, said he learned to perform cutting because he likes blood. “Blood is cool, we’re all full of it, nobody sees enough of it,” he said. “We’re one of the most reserved people as far as modification. That’s why a lot of people are so into it, because it’s a big ‘f*** you,’ a middle finger to society.” Jennell practices other forms of body modification, such as piercing and tattooing, to further indulge his fascination with blood. Sometimes negative reactions stem from the misperception that cutting is the same as self-mutilation, he said. “There’s a reason behind everybody’s individual choices, and there’s nothing we can do to get in the way of that,” he said. “We can either choose to assist people in doing those things appropriately, or we can get in their way and allow them to self-destruct.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, September 18, 2011
Ripley's Immortalizes Mexican Vampire Woman
Ripley's Immortalizes Mexican Vampire Woman
Ripley's Believe It or Not! took body casts of Maria Jose Cristerna, known as the Mexican Vampire Woman, on Friday. Cisterna has titanium implants that serve as horns. She also has fangs, piercings and tattoos. She said she made the transformation after a period of domestic violence. Ripley's will create a wax figure of Cisterna.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, September 18, 2011
ModBlog News of the Week
ModBlog News of the Week
It’s time again for the weekly news round up. This week we’re going to get started with a story that a lot of people sent in. Before I get into it I want to remind people that the person involved in the story is friends with many ModBlog readers and as it stands is currently being charged with a crime, he has not been convicted. The reason I bring this up is because of the nature of the reporting surrounding this story. As some of you know by now, Caius has been charged with homicide and is currently awaiting a trial. He is best known for his large array of heavy facial modifications, and as such the media is latching on to this. What shouldn’t come as a surprise is how the media is handling the story. Reactions have been mixed. Agencies like ABC news touch briefly on his modifications (while using his photo to garner attention), while other outlets like The Sun are completely ignoring facts and just making assumptions based on photos.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, September 18, 2011
Tattoo Designs: Script and Lettering
Tattoo Designs: Script and Lettering
Script and lettering is a popular choice for a tattoo for many reasons. It’s a way for one to express themselves verbally without speaking. This tattoo design allows a person to carry their favorite quotes, song lyrics, and names of loved ones forever. Handwriting is another way to personalize a tattoo design. The tattooed soul can either use their own scrawl or that of a child, parent, friend, lover, etc. This choice may need some cleaning up to make it tattooable but it can be done. The artist may add his or her own twist to a certain style and create that one of a kind, unique piece.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, September 17, 2011
HIV-positive man refused piercing
HIV-positive man refused piercing
A HIV-positive Cranbourne man says he was left feeling “discriminated against” after being turned away from a piercing studio. John (surname withheld) said a piercer at Divine Results Beauty Clinic in Cranbourne told him she could not go ahead with his requested nipple piercing because the wound wouldn’t heal properly. He believes he was refused the piercing because he declared his HIV status. “I’ve ticked [the form] to be honest and she said, ‘Because of what you’ve written on the form, we can’t go any further’,” John said.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, September 17, 2011
A love that is skin deep
A love that is skin deep
Love is skin deep for Melbourne couple Kandy Maiolo and Joey Thorne, whose passion for tattoos has come at a cost. The childcare worker has paid more than $10,000 for a series of "girly" tatts of mermaids, bluebirds, pirate girls and roses on her arms, legs, stomach, back and ribs. Ms Maiolo also has a floral centrepiece, which reads "love never fails" on her chest. Mr Thorne, a plumber, admits sometimes he dislikes his skin art, but "I will only regret it when the days I hate them outnumber the days I love them". The couple were among the crowd at the Tattoo and Body Art Expo at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre held yesterday and today.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Ashley Tisdale, Vanessa Hudgens get tattooed together
Ashley Tisdale, Vanessa Hudgens get tattooed together
Nothing says BFF like getting inked with your girlfriend. That's what Ashley Tisdale and Vanessa Hudgens did last week in Manhattan. "The High School Musical" costars made a late-night visit to East Side Ink and got new body art by the well-known tattoo artist "Bang Bang." Tisdale, 26, and Hudgens, 22, were in town Wednesday for New York Fashion Week when they made the pitstop. Tisdale's foot tattoo reads, "jamais seule," French for "never alone," while her pal got the symbol for "Om" on the back of her hands.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Snooki Permanently Crowned Thanks To New Tattoo
Snooki Permanently Crowned Thanks To New Tattoo
Snooki may be the pint-sized queen of Jersey Shore, but has her freshly inked crown also thrown her onto the bad tattoo list of shame? Jersey Shore star Snooki's new tattoo is a sight to see. The 23-year-old reality television star went under the needle recently and is now showing off her new body art. Fans of Snooki's Twitter page were treated to the first photo of the fresh ink on Friday.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, September 12, 2011
Tattoo shop apologizes after nude photo of client posted on Facebook
Tattoo shop apologizes after nude photo of client posted on Facebook
Edmonton, Alberta -- It was a personal decision to honour lost loved ones, a decision that Crysta Hammond didn't plan on sharing with the world. So, when she discovered a naked photo of herself on Facebook, she knew precisely who had put it there. "I was absolutely mortified," Hammond said. Hammond recently had a memorial tattoo done, and when the artist asked to snap a photo of the artwork for his personal portfolio she didn't hesitate. However, the photo soon ended up on Facebook, and though Hammond's face couldn't be seen, the tattoo artist did post her name, revealing her identity to all of Facebook.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, September 12, 2011
American Idol’s Kimberly Caldwell Teams With Oxygen For New Tattoo Series!
American Idol’s Kimberly Caldwell Teams With Oxygen For New Tattoo Series!
Former American Idol contestant, Kimberly Caldwell, is teaming with Oxygen for a new competition series that will search for the next great tattoo artist. Read on for all the details. She conquered a Fox reality show and proved with various other gigs she can host with the best of them. Now Kimberly Caldwell is teaming with Oxygen in a series all about ink. The competition show, Best Ink, features 12 tattoo artists living in one house, facing challenges based on their artistic expertise in the field of tattooing.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, September 11, 2011
Temporary Tattoos Tempt the Timid
Temporary Tattoos Tempt the Timid
Thinking about getting a tattoo? Try a temporary one first. The first thing my husband said when he saw it was, “Get rid of it!” One of my friends, aghast, asked, “What is that?!” If you want to elicit a strong reaction from someone, get a tattoo. Tattoos seem to be one of those things that people love or hate, and I’ll admit that I don’t like them. With tattoos, the decisions you make are permanent. You can’t change your mind unless you want to undergo the lengthy and painful process of tattoo removal.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, September 11, 2011
Tatted Up
Tatted Up
It took 11 months and nine appointments with Ben Alvarez, owner of Done-Rite Tattoos, for me to finish my sleeve. Each time I parked outside Alvarez’s shop, located in the Crossroads district of Kansas City, my stomach would flutter in anticipation. My excitement arose partly from seeing my vision become a reality, but also from my endless conversations with Alvarez about the fascinating world of tattoos.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, September 09, 2011
Police cutting off piercings 'widespread'
Police cutting off piercings 'widespread'
woman suing police over claims a constable removed her genital body piercings with boltcutters today claimed the practice was widespread in police stations. A judge has retired to consider his decision over whether the police officer is guilty of cutting off a female prisoner's body piercings with a pair of industrial bolt cutters at a Christchurch police station. Police are being sued by the woman for $150,000 over claims that five piercings from her tongue, belly button and genitalia were lopped off with "proper, heavy" bolt cutters.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, September 09, 2011
Metal Face brings virtual body piercings to iPhone
Metal Face brings virtual body piercings to iPhone
You don't need to get drunk and wake up with metal hanging out of your face to know what you would look like - Cat Head Studios has released Metal Face. The 69p app allows you to pick your preferred metal enhancements and then hold your mouth up to your iPhone, and voila - you can look like somebody out of Kiss without upsetting your Mum. 6 piercings can be selected, including the slightly more placid ring or something a little more drastic like Snakebites.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, September 08, 2011
Inkling of concern: Chemicals in tattoo inks face scrutiny
Inkling of concern: Chemicals in tattoo inks face scrutiny
Although sleazy "scratcher shops" with unskilled artists and dubious safety records are becoming a thing of the past, scientists are growing concerned about what's going into tattooed skin, not just how it got there. New research has turned up troubling details about chemicals in tattoo inks, including some endocrine disruptors and toxic metals, and a compound that has been called one of the most potent skin carcinogens. The FDA has launched an investigation into concerns about ink safety. But that doesn't seem to concern tattoo artists or their clients. More than 45 million Americans – including nearly 40 percent of adults in their late 20s – have a tattoo.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, September 08, 2011
Q&A: Tattoo Shop Owners on Body Art
Q&A: Tattoo Shop Owners on Body Art
Juliette Hannan’s arms, décolletage, and feet are covered in colorful body art, some telling stories and others simply chosen for their beauty. There’s homage to her dogs. A chrysanthemum adorns her foot. She lifts up her pant leg to reveal a dinosaur. Hannan and her husband Ram—known as Fat Ram—own Fat Ram’s Pumpkin Tattoo in Hyde Square; he's a tattoo artist and she manages the shop. Open since 2001, shortly after tattooing was legalized in Massachusetts, the shop recently relocated in May to an expanded space a few doors down.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, September 01, 2011
Growing fad for branding as body art sparks health fears
Growing fad for branding as body art sparks health fears
Hot branding irons were once used to mark slaves and to permanently scar thieves for life. But now the practice of branding – rarely used on cattle anymore – has become a form of extreme body art. Experts fear it is on its way over here after fielding inquiries from people eager to set up shop in Wales. They are also concerned home branding parties could spring up – similar to the trend for home tattooing – increasing the risk of life-threatening infections. Under British law, branding could be classed as actual or even grievous bodily harm. But the practice, which creates pronounced and permanent scar tissue and carries a huge risk of infection, is not covered by the regulations for piercing and tattooing.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, September 01, 2011
New trend gets under skin
New trend gets under skin
Melissa Moncada had been craving a change for a while, something more permanent than an updated hairstyle or Facebook identity. She drove up to a local tattoo parlor with a friend and decided to get something new. While she didn't get a tattoo or a typical piercing, she did get something very new and very different: a microdermal piercing. Microdermal piercings, also commonly referred to as microdermal implants or dermal anchorings, are semi-permanent piercings. They are considered semi-permanent because if the body jewelry is removed, the body will heal completely, leaving no hole.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, September 01, 2011
Lindsay Lohan gets a Billy Joel-inspired tattoo
Lindsay Lohan gets a Billy Joel-inspired tattoo
Lindsay Lohan is making a statement again, this time tattooing the words of Billy Joel on her rib cage, just south of her right underarm. The inked lyrics -- "Clear as a crystal, sharp as a knife I feel like I'm in the prime of my life" -- are from "I Go to Extremes," a cut from Joel's 1989 album "Storm Front." The tattoo represents "where she is in life and everything she's been through ... it signifies that she's focused," a source told TMZ, which has an exclusive picture of the body art.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, August 29, 2011
Tips on caring for organic body jewelry
Tips on caring for organic body jewelry
Organic body jewelry -wood, bone, horn, stone, amber- are often worn in stretched piercings, such as the ears, labret, or nose. They are generally considered healthier for the healed piercings, as the porous and somewhat rough texture encourages thicker skinned, less smelly piercings, and allows the skin to breathe. The downside to organic body jewelry is that it is somewhat higher maintenance. Many organic jewelry materials are more fragile than their forged, machined, metal and acrylic counterparts. They are affected by moisture, can often shatter or crack when dropped, are extremely heat sensitive-they can warp, crack, or weaken with exposure to high temperatures, and they are vulnerable to chemicals. Most of these problems are easily avoided though, and well cared for organic jewelry can be both beautiful and healthy.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, August 28, 2011
Kat Von D's 'L.A. Ink' cancelled
Kat Von D's 'L.A. Ink' cancelled
Kat Von D's 'L.A. Ink' TV show has been axed. The series - which follows the goings on at High Voltage Tattoo, the Los Angeles shop owned by the tattoo artist - is set to finish at the end of the current fourth season, which has seen the 29-year-old star showcasing her wedding plans with motorcycle entrepreneur Jesse James before they were cancelled. TLC told RadarOnline.com: "TLC has decided that the current season of 'L.A. Ink' will be its last. "The network is proud of what the series has accomplished in its four seasons, following Kat Von D's journey as an artist from Miami to Los Angeles." Gil Lopez - executive producer for 'L.A. Ink', which premiered in August 2007 - recently explained how the TV cameras had "full access" to the couple's "fairly tale love story". He said: "She's bumming. They were both in love. There was the unfortunate distance that tears things apart but she really tried and gave it all.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, August 28, 2011
Regina tattoo artist irked by imitator
Regina tattoo artist irked by imitator
Video: Regina, Saskachewan -- A Regina tattoo artist is flattered, but angry, that others are copying his designs, Barbara Woolsey reports.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, August 28, 2011
Lea Michele wants more tattoos
Lea Michele wants more tattoos
Lea Michele wants to get more tattoos. The 'Glee' star already has 10 inkings on her body which all have special meanings to her. And the actress thinks she will get more body art as she experiences more significant moments in her life. She said: "I've got 10 little ones now! I have 'I believe' on my wrist, which I was inspired to do after I was in the Broadway show 'Spring Awakening'. I have some musical notes on my back from Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and I talked Jenna (Ushkowitz) and Kevin (McHale) into getting 'imagine' on our left feet. My mom and I also have matching butterflies on our backs. I don't think I'm stopping at 10 though!"
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, August 28, 2011
Empire of Ink: The Rise of Tattoo Artist, Reality Star, & Business Man Ami James
Empire of Ink: The Rise of Tattoo Artist, Reality Star, & Business Man Ami James
"We changed the history of tattooing and opened minds," tattoo artist and rising reality TV star Ami James nimbly explains to me one day earlier this summer. "People would see a bunch of artists, not that whole thug mentality of big biker outlaws, which is now so unrelated to tattooing." Leading me inside his bustling New York City tattoo parlor, Wooster Street Social Club, it's immediately clear that James' onscreen intensity isn't a trick of the camera.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Review - Running the Gauntlet: An Intimate History of the Modern Body Piercing Movement
Review - Running the Gauntlet: An Intimate History of the Modern Body Piercing Movement
In the 2003 MTV documentary The Social History of Piercing, Jim Ward was called "the granddaddy of the modern piercing movement." Today he still upholds that title, and defends it brilliantly in his new book Running the Gauntlet, a defining tome that could be considered both a vivid autobiography and a comprehensive and illuminating history of the body piercing revolution. With a revealing blend of prose and pictures, Ward chronologically details his personal history being raised in the early 1940s in western Oklahoma by strict Presbyterian parents.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Guitarist Dave Navarro To Host 'InkMaster'
Guitarist Dave Navarro To Host 'InkMaster'
Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro has signed on to host Spike TV's "InkMaster", the first-ever tattoo competition series. The eight one-hour episode series, produced by Charlie Corwin's Original Media with Charlie Corwin and Jay Peterson serving as executive producers, will premiere on Spike in January 2012. "Dave Navarro is known worldwide for his musical talents, but he's also well-known within in the tattoo community for his incredible body art," says Sharon Levy, Spike TV's executive vice president, original series and animation. "Dave's ultimate respect for the art and culture of tattooing makes him perfect for this series."
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Daughter's Ear Piercing Becomes Heartfelt Moment
Daughter's Ear Piercing Becomes Heartfelt Moment
Body piercings are all the rage these days among teenagers. They want to be poked, punctured, and bejeweled. People pierce everything above, below, and along the belt line. They can keep their undercover locations to themselves. Any piercing not in plain sight is off limits to my imagination and to our daughter. She has two ears to adorn. She is welcome to line studs up and down her lobes like cloves on a ham. It will have to satisfy her, until she is legally responsible for her own body. As long as her body lives under our roof, we have a say over what stays whole and what she may make holey.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, August 22, 2011
Motherhood With Piercings and Tattoos
Motherhood With Piercings and Tattoos
She’s more than just a lactation consultant and an expert on breastfeeding and military moms. As if that weren't enough, Robyn Roche-Paull has also done a comprehensive study of the safety of body modifications -- specifically piercings and tattoos -- when you’re sharing your body via pregnancy or breastfeeding. I’m so glad I spoke to her about this, because I’ve been planning my first tattoo (I figure I’ve finally, in my 40s, become mature enough to handle it), and I’m still breastfeeding. Duh, I should wait. How come? Read on.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, August 22, 2011
Nick Wooster on Whether You Should Get a Tattoo
Nick Wooster on Whether You Should Get a Tattoo
This week, in lieu of our usual Blogger Showdown, we took to the Internet to talk tattoos — something you'll find all over the streets in Brooklyn, the surf havens of California, and the models (both male and female) in Paris. In our mind, there's no better person to discuss this inky issue than Nick Wooster — tumblr aficionado, style veteran, and owner of the fashion-minded Wooster Consultancy — who's known in stylish circles for his tailored jackets that hide completely tattooed arms. Since many men are opposed to body modification, it didn't seem fair to have him spar with a single blogger. So we'll let his own history stand on it's own. Should you also consider getting inked? His take below.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, August 22, 2011
NYU Professor to Reinstall Webcam in the Back of His Head
NYU Professor to Reinstall Webcam in the Back of His Head
This fall, as he does every semester, NYU photography professor Wafaa Bilal will talk to his students about the deep devotion that's required to succeed as an artist. "I tell my students this a hard profession to be in, a hard profession to succeed in," he says. "You have to be dedicated." If Bilal's words don't convince his students of this, his example surely will. Whenever the professor turns his back to the class, his students will see a camera implanted in the back of his head.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, August 16, 2011
HIV patients get tattoos to show their diagnosis
HIV patients get tattoos to show their diagnosis
Portland, Oregon -- Many people living with HIV are getting tattoos that show they are living with the disease. One of those people is Michael Howard, of Portland. Doctors diagnosed him as HIV positive back in 2005. He has tattoos on his wrist, including one of a biohazard symbol. He and others say that the tattoos help start conversations, reduce stigma and serve as a reminder of how living with HIV has changed their lives. "When I look down at my wrists I see part of my past and part of my future," says Howard.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, August 15, 2011
Two Tattoo-Related Skin Infections May Be Linked to Tap Water
Two Tattoo-Related Skin Infections May Be Linked to Tap Water
New research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers another reminder for tattoo parlor patrons to take precautions against potential risks before getting inked: the CDC finds that two Seattle men developed skin infections in 2009, likely caused by a type of bacteria that has not been previously linked to tattooing. In both men — a 44-year-old and a 35-year-old who visited the same Seattle-area tattoo parlor — the infections were thought to have been caused by Mycobacterium haemophilum, a bacteria that typically affects people with weakened immune systems. But both men who developed infections had perfectly healthy immune systems; their infections did not clear up for several months after they sought treatment. The culprit may have been the municipal water source used by the tattoo parlor...
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, August 14, 2011
Positive Inking
Positive Inking
Front of house staff used to hide their tattoos. Now, even at some of London's most fashionable restaurants, they're not covering up any more. "I think of it as just the colour of my skin, it's just who I am," says Rachel Day, assistant manager at London's Polpetto, discussing the tattoos inked down her arms and across her back. Given her job, there was a time when Rachel might have been asked to cover up at work. While there are plenty of chefs covered in body art, they're hidden away in the kitchen, unable to scare the customers. Now, what was once frowned upon for staff interacting with the paying public is increasingly commonplace. In fact it's positively encouraged, at least in London's more fashionable places.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, August 14, 2011
Gauging ears safely
Gauging ears safely
Most ear piercings that people get done at Claire’s or any other mall store/kiosk (of which there are at least 4 in the Erie, PA mall) using a piercing gun are 18 or 20 gauge. Some girls, later in life, realize they want to wear larger gauge piercings in their ears. These larger piercings, that don’t have pointed backs or back plugs, are more comfortable to wear and harder to lose down the shower drain. If you are looking into gauging your ears safely look no further.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, August 13, 2011
Top 10 Bizarre Body Modifications
Top 10 Bizarre Body Modifications
Many of us have had piercing in the ears and probably quite a number of us have piercing in other less common parts of the body, but there are some people who have outright bizarre piercing and other body modifications. It was certainly not an easy task to find “safe” pictures for this list – but I have done my best! Branding: Human branding is the process in which a mark, usually a symbol or ornamental pattern, is burned into the skin of a living person, with the intention that the resulting scar makes it permanent. This is performed using a hot or cold iron.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, August 13, 2011
Tattooing nipples on breast cancer survivors
Tattooing nipples on breast cancer survivors
When Amy Black propositioned a tattoo artist in Columbus, Ohio for an apprenticeship the tattoo artist refused. There was a simple reason: Amy was a woman. The tattoo artist didn’t want to have women in his shop for the better part of a business day. Although one would like to think that such androcentrism is buried deep in the past (both tattooing’s and otherwise), Amy says that her time in Columbus in the mid-1990’s showed her that tattooing was a “boy’s club–still is.” “There are definitely less women tattooing.” She estimates that 80% of all tattoo artists are men. But she is not cynical about male tattoo artists having it out for their female counterparts.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, August 13, 2011
Electronic 'tattoo' offers new way to monitor patients
Electronic 'tattoo' offers new way to monitor patients
It might look like a temporary tattoo. But an ultrathin skin patch that U.S. researchers revealed Thursday actually contains an array of electronics that can be used for everything from diagnosing illness to connecting with the Internet. Engineering researchers at the University of Illinois have created an almost transparent patch that can be loaded with transistors, wireless antennas and solar cells and have a myriad of medical uses. Like a temporary tattoo, the patch sticks directly onto the skin and can bend, wrinkle and stretch with the skin underneath.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Lethbridge piercing parlour ordered closed
Lethbridge piercing parlour ordered closed
Lethbridge, Alberta -- A body piercing parlour in the Crowsnest Pass has been ordered closed. And health officials are urging its customers to be tested for hepatitis or HIV. Operating under the name of Victor Procter, the unapproved business had rented space in a health-approved tattoo parlour in Coleman. But inspectors say it was not inspected before opening - as required under Alberta law - and did not meet safety code. "The Victor Procter piercing operation did not have proper sterilization processes in place," explains Dr. Vivien Suttorp, medical officer of health for southern Alberta. "Individuals who have received piercings at this operation may have been exposed to viruses such as hepatitis B and C, and HIV," she says.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Rethinking the Ink
Rethinking the Ink
Winnipeg, Manitoba -- Amber admits she wasn't thinking about her future career — or the future at all, for that matter — when she had a pair of flaming dice tattooed on the inside of her forearm. "I needed to prove to the world that I was a rock star," said the Winnipegger. "Basically I was just a rebel without a clue." A decade later, Amber (who asked that her last name not be used) is 30 and a human resources professional who refers to the tattoo as a "stupid, stupid mistake." "I try to cover it with clothing and accessories, but every so often it does show and people comment on it," she said. "I find it embarrassing." So Amber opted to undergo the expensive and often painful process of laser tattoo removal.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Reconstructive Surgery on Tattoos, Piercings and Ear Gauging on the Rise
Reconstructive Surgery on Tattoos, Piercings and Ear Gauging on the Rise
Dallas, Texas -- 18 year old Ethan Yoder is a bit of a free spirited rebel--about two years he decided to 'gauge' his ears--the ancient body art method of placing hoops in earlobes to make them large. Ethan started small and got large--to the tune of 2 inches in diameter--then he decided enough was enough and wanted normal ears. "Tired of getting stared at you know getting weird looks everywhere I go--not getting a job at all," Ethan said. "It was a stupid kid thing to do and I'm ready to grow up and move on." Moving on would require surgery so Ethan turned to Forest Park Medical Center plastic surgeon David Azouz.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, August 07, 2011
Extreme body arts put stress on health inspectors
Extreme body arts put stress on health inspectors
Ottawa, Ontario -- Ottawa Public Health says it needs a bigger budget and more health inspectors to keep tabs on the increasing number of businesses that offer extreme body modification procedures - like tongue splitting and branding. Representatives from public health presented their concerns to the Ottawa Board of Health in June and recommended a $200,000 boost to the budget to hire two additional full-time inspectors. Siobhan Kearns, the city manager in charge of health inspectors, says staff are strained and struggling to keep up with a growing list of invasive procedures offered at local tattoo and piercing studios.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, August 07, 2011
Oregon body piercers, legislators debate role of new state board of body arts
Oregon body piercers, legislators debate role of new state board of body arts
Jon Guac burned a design into his skin with a candle and fork to prove a point during a dinner debate about whether branding was an art form. As a teenager, he carved "Iron Maiden" into his arm "for experimentation." Stories like his, along with graphic photos of extreme body modifications, encouraged the 2011 Oregon Legislature to establish a new Board of Body Art Practitioners. But body piercers worry that Internet photos of untrained hacks slicing bloody skin with scalpels will distract the board from writing rules for what they say is a bigger problem: licenses for common piercings like ears and belly buttons.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, August 05, 2011
On the trail of tattoos
On the trail of tattoos
Prince George, BC -- Why do people get tattoos? To mark one’s body with fairly permanent symbols has to be considered odd behaviour. Tattooing goes back to before recorded history. Often it was associated with religion or spiritual beliefs, or to publicly express that the individual had progressed to a specific age or attainment. The Romans required all their solders to have a tattoo on their hand so deserters could be easily identified. They also tattooed their slaves on the forehead to make escape more difficult. The Latin for tattoos is stigma, giving rise to the modern word stigmatize.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, August 05, 2011
First Ever Tattoo Daily Moisturizer
First Ever Tattoo Daily Moisturizer
INK-EEZE, the pioneering brand behind the INK-EEZE Numbing Cream for tattoo pain relief, launched a full line of tattoo aftercare products, including the first ever Tattoo Daily Moisturizer. Sean Hoy, company founder, says “I wanted to really design a line of products that listened to what the tattoo artists were wanting to have in tattoo care products as, collectively, they’ve learned what works and what doesn’t.” Hoy spent several years working with skin care specialists and different lab formulations to come up with the line. “I wasn’t finished until each tattoo care product was not only acceptable to many of the top tattoo artists that we work with, but it was going to be a product they wanted to use, and that they would want their clients to use.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, August 05, 2011
Registered tattoo parlour warns against untrained inkers
Registered tattoo parlour warns against untrained inkers
AN untrained tattooist who taught himself by practising on pigskin was giving people tattoos with equipment bought over the internet and without correct sterilisation, a court heard. Last night, Darlington’s only licensed parlour warned people against visiting unregistered artists because of health risks and poor workmanship, as it emerged that at least four other investigations are under way.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, August 03, 2011
Miley Cyrus' Tattoos and Their Meanings
Miley Cyrus' Tattoos and Their Meanings
Miley Cyrus has been under serious scrutiny for anything she does with her body. From pole dancing, recent pictures of her smoking a cigarette and near-naked images, the paparazzi know all about the singer/actress. One thing we notice from photographs is the young star's many tattoos. Since Cyrus was 17 years of age, she began getting inked. Her father, Billy Ray, mother, and brother, Trace, all have tattoos as well. Body art seems to be a family tradition and form of expression. Many of her tattoos are devoted to her family and have deep meaning to them. Most famously is the one of an equal sign on her ring finger.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, August 03, 2011
Extreme body modification: A beautiful controversy
Extreme body modification: A beautiful controversy
Imagine 100 years ago, when tattoos were almost nowhere to be seen. Rebels only had to grow their hair long to scare their parents and make a statement. Now it seems everyone has a tattoo or piercing, and those who want to push the boundaries are going to extremes, wanting more of an experience and diverse look. Body modification can range from ancient cultural symbols to new-age shock value. In Asia, women bind their feet to fit in unbelievably small shoes; in Africa, men scar their faces with tribal symbols; and in North America, some Indian tribes used to hang their young men by the skin as a transitional passage into manhood.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, August 03, 2011
Tattoos are everywhere
Tattoos are everywhere
During these tough economic times – especially in the United States – there’s one business that might have a bright future: Tattoo-removal parlours. According to a 2006 report in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 24 per cent of Americans age 18 to 50 have at least one tattoo, and 14 per cent have at least one body piercing. You would have to think those numbers have increased dramatically over the last five years. And you have to wonder how many teenagers will regret those tattoos once they grow up.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, July 28, 2011
Chain mail jewellery isn't just for Lady Gaga
Chain mail jewellery isn't just for Lady Gaga
Remember when your mother told you never to wear a big necklace with dangly earrings? Well the new wave of jewellery designers reckon you should pair a chain mail T-shirt with a headdress. This season, a delicate pendant or tasteful ring just won’t cut it in the style stakes. Whereas once even the hardcore fashion crowd kept jewels low-key and let their clothes do the talking, now the adornment has become the outfit. While jewellers used to be bound by the categories of ring, bracelet, necklace and earrings, at Fannie Schiavoni’s studio you’re more likely to find a hand-wrought steel harness.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Unlike ink tattoos, henna body art only lasts a few weeks
Unlike ink tattoos, henna body art only lasts a few weeks
With a history traceable to the Bronze Age, using a dye produced from henna plants to create tattoos has resurged of late as a popular alternative for self-expression and body décor. In recent years, such marquee entertainers as Madonna and Demi Moore have donned the intricate and floral designs, sometimes adding glitter, which can be drawn on the hands, legs, backs, feet and fingernails or added to the hair. The henna dye — called Mehndi in some Indian languages — is created from henna leaves grounded into a powder then mixed with a mildly acidic liquid [such as lemon juice or strong tea] to create a paste that is applied to the skin or hair...
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Indo-Americans critical of nose piercing ban by Illinois school
Indo-Americans critical of nose piercing ban by Illinois school
Indo-Americans are critical of reported nose piercing banning policy of Evergreen Park Community High School District231 (Illinois), saying it may be unfair to female students of India descent. Indo-American statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada, USA said that nose piercing and nose ornaments had been a tradition of women of India for centuries and the Hindu goddesses had been depicted wearing nose ornaments. Zed, who is chairperson of Indo-American Leadership Confederation, argued that it was denying the right to students of India background to express their religio-cultural identity.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Baby Wants Her Ears Pierced, Right?
Baby Wants Her Ears Pierced, Right?
Think twice before you stick your baby with your decision. Unless you're piercing your baby's ears for significant cultural reasons, why not let her decide when she's old enough? I surveyed ten babies on whether or not they'd like their ears pierced, and not one of them had any comment on the matter. For that reason, parents should consider waiting before committing their children to something they may not want later. Most people like to make their own decisions when it comes to body modification, but babies can't even talk let alone possess the reasoning skills to make a decision on getting pierced. Not giving a person any choice about ear piercing suggests that earrings on a baby are purely for aesthetic value in terms of parental entertainment.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, July 24, 2011
Getting A Better Body Art Second Opinion
Getting A Better Body Art Second Opinion
If you go to any body art web site or forum, you will find a good number of posts where people are considering if they should get pierced or not and asking for a second opinion on their situation. Really, the decision of whether or when to get a body modification is an individual choice that shouldn't depend on what others think, especially when you consider that everyone else is going to either say "yes" or "no." Here are some things to consider that can help you make the right choice for yourself
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, July 23, 2011
It's all about the art at Black Rabbit Tattoo Studio
It's all about the art at Black Rabbit Tattoo Studio
Port Moody, British Columbia -- When Black Rabbit Tattoo Studio (3246 St. Johns Street, Port Moody) owner Christina Christie celebrates the grand opening of her tattoo shop this Saturday (July 23), the 23-year-old will be thinking of a janitor who worked at Maple Ridge Secondary School seven years ago. "I was doing a lot of drawing for the school, and he noticed some of my work," Christie tells the Straight while on the phone from Port Moody. "He said, 'Hey, I could probably get you a job', and so he took my portfolio down to a place called Renaissance [Studio] in Abbotsford, and they looked at my stuff and they really liked it."
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, July 23, 2011
Newfoundland reviewing non-surgical cosmetic procedures
Newfoundland reviewing non-surgical cosmetic procedures
Newfoundland and Labrador's Health and Community Services Department is reviewing the industry, which conducts non-surgical cosmetic procedures such as laser treatments, tattooing and body piercing. The provincial health department is trying to determine which parts of the non-surgical cosmetic industry may require specific regulations, CBC News has learned. Doctors and other medical professionals who do cosmetic treatments are regulated by professional organizations such as the N.L. College of Physicians and Surgeons. But there are no regulations in place for non-medical professionals who do these procedures.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, July 22, 2011
Please Don’t Swat the Bug Tattoo - Tattoo Etiquette
Please Don’t Swat the Bug Tattoo - Tattoo Etiquette
Naked-flesh season is in full swing in New York, with people letting theirs hang out of skimpy bathing suits, half-buttoned shirts and distressed shorts. But a lot of that flesh isn’t as naked as it used to be. These days, it has tattoos on it. And that raises all sorts of etiquette questions, or at least enough to fill up this column. If some conspicuously tattooed stranger plants himself across the aisle from you on the subway, are you supposed to look at him/it/them? If you have a tattoo of, say, a naked woman on your biceps, are you required to cover it up if someone under 17 without accompanying parent or adult guardian passes by?
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, July 22, 2011
2nd Annual "Ink for Heart" Event in Support of Heart and Stroke Foundation
2nd Annual "Ink for Heart" Event in Support of Heart and Stroke Foundation
Toronto, Ontario -- In 2008, Adam Johnson and his business partner Kelly Pain, decided to break away from the outdated shops and employers they worked for to open a new shop that would realize their visions of an evolved tattoo culture and lifestyle. They called it Pleasure and Pain Ink. Sadly, two months before the grand opening, Adam's father suffered a fatal heart attack. Since Adam's father was unable to celebrate his son's new life, Adam decided to create an event that would celebrate his father's. "Ink for Heart" not only commemorates Adam's relationship with his father, it also provides support for research, prevention, and advocacy for heart disease and stroke.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Mod shops need greater scrutiny: Board
Mod shops need greater scrutiny: Board
An increase in “high-risk” body-modification procedures has prompted the Ottawa Board of Health to ask for more money to step up inspections. “Some of the procedures are becoming more invasive over time, such as branding, tongue splitting, implants and subcutaneous piercings,” Coun. Diane Holmes, the board’s chairwoman, said yesterday. “It’s essential that the implements be sterile and the area be clean, and we have not been able to send sufficient numbers of inspectors out.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Cartilage Piercing All You Need to Know
Cartilage Piercing All You Need to Know
At the first mention of cartilage piercing, perhaps the first word to course through the mind is ouch. It is also called a helix piercing when performed on the helix or upper part of the ear cartilage. Either way, it involves the region of the outer ear which doesn’t have much flesh. Perhaps it’s not as painful as there may be less neural sensation in the area. However, some will probably have a different opinion as they recall their ears being wrung in their childhood.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Toronto Public Health warns customers of 2 body-piercing shops
Toronto Public Health warns customers of 2 body-piercing shops
Toronto Public Health is urging customers of two body-piercing shops to get tested after finding the stores were not using proper infection control practices. The shops are NY NY Body Piercing, located at 1700 Wilson Ave., Unit 151, and New York New York (Accessories & Body Piercing), located at 423 Queen St. West. Anyone who received a piercing from the stores between Nov. 6, 2010 and March 1, 2011 should visit a doctor and ask to be tested for hepatitis B and C and for HIV, the public health authority said.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, July 16, 2011
Skipping ‘Tattoo School’
Skipping ‘Tattoo School’
Ryan Gillikin has been in the tattoo industry for more than 20 years. Tattooing is a tradition, he says, and the only proper way to learn the skill - and to learn to administer the body art safely - is to be under the guiding hand of a master tattooist in an apprenticeship. ''My apprenticeship was a year,'' said Gillikin, owner of Almighty Studios Tattoo and Body Piercing in Jamestown. ''And when I apprentice (others), it's a two-year process.'' Now, Gillikin said, a reality show scheduled to be aired on TLC tonight will glamorize a seedy side of the industry that churns out scores of poorly trained and potentially dangerous tattooists every two weeks.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, July 16, 2011
Women 'growing old disgracefully' by getting tattoos
Women 'growing old disgracefully' by getting tattoos
THE news TV presenter Fern Britton has just got her first tattoo at the age of 53 may have raised some eyebrows, but it seems that being ‘inked’ is a growing craze among the fairer sex. While tattoos were once only for men – and usually those in the military – some tattoo studios in Oxford say females now represent the bulk of their customers. Of course women have always had tattoos, although up until quite recently they have usually been of the more discreet variety: angels, flowers or butterflies on a shoulder, perhaps.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, July 14, 2011
Tattoo Purists Are Appalled by TLC’s Tattoo School
Tattoo Purists Are Appalled by TLC’s Tattoo School
TLC's upcoming Tattoo School, which airs Thursday, chronicles a two-week program that trains tattoo artists — which is several years less training than any reputable artist has. So far, Tattoo School is just a one-off and not a whole series, though it's common on TLC for these specials to work as backdoor pilots. Given the widespread consternation about the show within the tattoo community, it seems like a weird fit for an otherwise pro-ink network. TLC is home to Miami Ink, LA Ink, and now New York Ink; the tattoos people get on those shows aren't always particularly interesting (must everything be a "tribute" tattoo?), but they're all impeccably executed, which is pretty much impossible for someone with two weeks of training.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Why You Should Choose Organic Body Jewelry
Why You Should Choose Organic Body Jewelry
Do you know that the word organic is more often used in jewelry than in food and clothing? Organic jewelry is actually one of the most fashionable jewelry types nowadays. Aside from the fact that these jewelries are made of natural materials that are not treated in any way, these are also sourced from sustainable resources with correspondingly reasonable practices. In other words, organic jewelry uses materials that come from natural sources like wood, stone, bone, and horn among others.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, July 12, 2011
City calling for more tattoo, piercing inspectors
City calling for more tattoo, piercing inspectors
Ottawa, Ontario -- The sudden increase of tattoo parlours, piercing studios and spas in Ottawa has the Board of Health looking to raise enough money to hire more inspectors, according to board chair Councillor Diane Holmes. "We don't have enough inspectors to do that work. There have been some problems in other cities; we are realizing that we don't want those problems here, where you see a spike in hepatitis B or C related to any of these processes. So we should be inspecting far more than we are," Holmes said. She said the board will ask city council for $250,000 to hire two more health inspectors.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Should tattoos or piercings keep employees from being promoted?
Should tattoos or piercings keep employees from being promoted?
Visible tattoos, piercings, bad breath and other personal attributes might be hindering your chances of a promotion, according to a new survey by the career website CareerBuilder.com. Thirty-seven per cent of employers surveyed said they might be deterred from extending promotions to workers with piercings, compared with 34 per cent for bad breath and 31 per cent for a visible tattoo. [...]"The bottom line is that professional image is important to many employers," CareerBuilder.com said. "Looking 'put-together' sends a message of competence and, well, professionalism -- especially if you're in a job that requires you to represent the company to clients or the public."
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, July 10, 2011
Artist Creates Cool Animated Tattoo With Help From Facebook Users
Artist Creates Cool Animated Tattoo With Help From Facebook Users
When it comes to creativity, artists are constantly pushing the boundaries of what they can create. Karl Marc, a tattoo artist based in Paris, has created something very cool in this animated tattoo. Marc etched the tattoo on a man named Marco on June 16 as part of the Ballantine’s Scotch Whisky Human API project. The process of tattooing Marco was live streamed on Ballantine’s Facebook Page and viewers were able to make some suggestions about the tattoo — which certainly seems to be real, unlike a previous social media-related tattoo — as Marc was carrying out his work.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, July 10, 2011
Wit & Whimsy — Stats on Tats
Wit & Whimsy — Stats on Tats
Jews are forbidden to have one; likewise Muslims and Mormons. Johnny Depp sports 13 of them. Brad Pitt settled for some squiggly lines that could mean anything. Megan Fox opted for a Shakespearian quotation. Pamela Anderson went for the classic ‘MOMMY’ on her ring finger. (Used to read ‘TOMMY’ three marriages ago). Even the genius Thomas Edison had one — five dots on his right forearm. Tattoos, I’m talking about. The bizarre practice of perforating our pelts with sharp tools and filling the wounds with foreign matter to form designs, slogans or sayings that stay with us until we die.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, July 08, 2011
Sleeve Tattoo Designs for Women
Sleeve Tattoo Designs for Women
Those who want to make a real statement in terms of body art will often contemplate the idea of getting sleeve tattoos. Admired by both men and women, these tattoos require a great amount of thought in order to be created. However, those who decide to go for it are rewarded with a fabulous design that is always noteworthy subject of conversation. Check out a few interesting sleeve tattoo ideas for inspiration. As preconceptions about tattoos are starting to slowly dissolve, more and more people are choosing this very artistic and personal form of self expression to highlight their individuality or to mark certain life experiences that have had a particularly strong impact on their lives.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, July 08, 2011
'NY Ink' 'Think Again'
'NY Ink' 'Think Again'
NY Ink continued with the July 7th episode, "Think Again," at 10PM on TLC, channel 52 in Queens. The drama in the shop continued with Jessica, and Inked came by to do a photo shoot with the artists, picking out one in particular for more. Jessica wanted to eventually be a tattoo artist and get an apprenticeship from Ami. While Megan was tattooing, she stood over her to watch, and Ami was not happy. The pranks were getting out of hand at the shop, instigated by Tommy. In fact, he printed out a photo of Ami and walked around holding it to his face. Robear didn't like the unprofessional behavior, but when he spoke up, that just instigated more joking. When Robear left, Tommy and Chris went looking for him, and he chased them back to the shop when they grabbed his bag.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, July 06, 2011
Corset piercing craze
Corset piercing craze
Forget tattoos, belly button rings and ear lobe stretching - the latest craze in the name of beauty is corset piercing. The weirdest fad of body modification sweeping the North involves sticking metal hoops into the skin by hand – and then threading them with ribbon to create a corset effect. The obscure form of decoration, which can cost hundreds of pounds, can be applied to any area of the body where the skin is loose enough to pinch in order to thread a needle through.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, July 06, 2011
New web series on tattoo artists set for launch
New web series on tattoo artists set for launch
Urban fashion brand New Era and Vice TV have partnered on a new documentary series on the work and life of the world's most famous tattoo artists, launching mid-July. "Tattoo Age" follows the likes of Freddy Corbin, Troy Denning, Dan Santoro, and Grime, and accompanies them in their creative process as well as their family lives. The trailer, which was released on YouTube, gives explanations as to why the featured artists became as iconic as they are today. Corbin, for instance, who has been tattooing for almost 30 years, says: "It'll be five years until you'll be doing even halfway-good tattoos."
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, July 06, 2011
TLC Premieres Tattoo School July 14
TLC Premieres Tattoo School July 14
On Thursday, July 14 at 9pm, TLC will air "Tattoo School". Award-winning Tattoo Artist Lisa Fasulo runs a hands-on and unconventional tattoo school in upstate NY where students from all walks of life learn how to tattoo in just two weeks. These rookie students are seeking to change their lives through tattooing. With just two intense weeks under Lisa's instruction, they will get the experience tattooing on body after body with artwork of varying levels of difficulty.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, July 04, 2011
Many Women Get Tattoos After 50 With No Regrets
Many Women Get Tattoos After 50 With No Regrets
After four years of deliberation, 99-year-old Mimi Rosenthal swapped the support of her Winnie Walker for the comfort of a black leather chair at Requiem Body Art in Spring Hill, Fla. Rosenthal, now 101, did not always like tattoos. Blame it on the generational divide: according to Life magazine, only 6 percent of the population had a tattoo in 1936 -- a number that has more than tripled since. When her granddaughter Meredith got her first tattoo at 17, Rosenthal, then 85, did not approve. As Meredith steadily accumulated more and more ink, however, Rosenthal came around. "Mimi really started toying with the idea of getting a tattoo when she was 95,” said close family friend and, as luck would have it, tattoo artist Michelle Gallo-Kohlas, 39. “I told her, ‘Mimi you aren’t getting any younger, if you want a tattoo, you should probably get it now.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, July 04, 2011
Why get my nose pierced? Why not?
Why get my nose pierced? Why not?
I am not sure when my fascination with a diamond nose stud formed in my fashion sense. But for years, whenever I saw another woman wearing one, I couldn't help but ask questions and admire the sparkle. "Did it hurt?" "Have you had any problems with it?" And "Do you think I'm too old to get one?" They all responded with, "Of course not!" as if shocked I would ask. But I associated the fashion trend with a younger generation, not necessarily mine: I'm 46, a working mother with two kids out of high school and the third not far behind.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, July 02, 2011
Extreme body modification gaining popularity
Extreme body modification gaining popularity
A disturbing craze focusing on a deliberate dysmorphia of the face is gaining popularity in Japan's underground world of extreme body modification. Saline inflation, known as the "bagelhead" trend, is a procedure that involves injecting saline into the forehead to create swelling before moulding it into a bagel shape. But the temporary operation is still "too extreme" for the Australian subculture, according to Sydney body modification artist, Joeltron. "It is definitely an extreme body mod, it’s still incredibly, incredibly rare but I’ve seen it increase in popularity," said the artist, who is trained to perform more 'mainstream' silicone implants such as horns.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, July 02, 2011
Piercing convention in Las Vegas sees upscale trend
Piercing convention in Las Vegas sees upscale trend
Even in a niche of the jewelry industry that thrives on the outlandish, there is such a thing as going too far. Pain Magazine recently angered some of its readers, said co-publisher Ralph Garza, by running an article on how to tattoo the whites of the eyes. "Some others thought it was pretty interesting," he added. But for many of the exhibitors at the annual Association of Professional Piercers conference at Bally's, terms such as "upscale," "mainstream" and even "organic" punctuated the sales pitches more often than "extreme." The conference, with about 900 attendees, focuses many of its seminars on health issues, but also covers business issues. The market for body jewelry has now matured to the point where vendors find a significant demand for $150 hand-carved wooden gauges
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, July 02, 2011
Tattoo, body-piercing bylaw to be reviewed
Tattoo, body-piercing bylaw to be reviewed
Grand Prairie, Alberta -- City council's Protective Services committee recommended a review of Grande Prairie's tattoo and body-piercing bylaws Tuesday. The decision came after two shop owners requested amendments to bylaw C-1064 which they claim has rules that exist nowhere else in the province. "Only in Grande Prairie do these bylaws exist," said James Denny, owner of Inkspot Tattoo. "And it's just a really, really large hurdle for my business because we do have international artists and we have a lot of guest artists coming through. "It's just a hurdle that's unheard of anywhere else." The bylaw, Denny said, forces anyone who wants to tattoo in the city to spend hundreds of dollars on licensing and health and background checks.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, July 01, 2011
Oh Canada!
Oh Canada!
Today’s the day! Happy 144th Birthday, Canada! We hope your day includes bbq, parades, maple leaf temporary tattoos on faces, unabashed flag-waving, fireworks and some sponataneous singing of the Canadian national anthem. Maybe also a chance to see Will & Kate if you’re in the Ottawa area, or to take in a ball game, climb a mountain, or head to one of the best fresh water beaches in the world (my vote goes to Wasaga Beach… no, maybe Sauble. No, wait, Grand Bend!!) However you choose to spend today, we hope that you’ll celebrate Canada with more than just a red t-shirt and a Sleeman beer – take a few minutes to support a Canadian artist! They’ll be out at plenty of events across the country, sharing their work and talents.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, July 01, 2011
Body art: Are you risking your health for self-expression?
Body art: Are you risking your health for self-expression?
York Region, Ontario -- You could argue that the stakes are always high when it comes to personal creative expression. But rarely are the risks as serious and potentially life-changing as when the human body itself serves as the canvas. If you are considering getting a tattoo or body piercing and you want to be safe about it, you’ll have to do your homework first. Sylvia Majdpour is a senior public health inspector with York Region Health Services. She works in the infection prevention and control program, where staff inspect personal service settings, including hair salons, nail spas, tattoo and body piercing establishments. She cautions potential clients against taking services like these lightly and she’s keen to educate the public about risks she says are very real.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, July 01, 2011
Body art at Miss Universe Canada
Body art at Miss Universe Canada
The pageant world hasn’t been this agog since Miss Newfoundland punched her ex-beau’s new gal and posed for Playboy. You gasp: What, Mikey, what? Nude photos? Drug rehab? A muffed speech? Dating a judge? Ha. I should be so lucky. No, this fuss is more obvious. As plain as the nose on your face. Tattoos. I’ve been a Miss Universe Canada judge for four years — and not one speck of body ink did I see. Until... Saskatoon brunette Ashleigh Clark turns her back to Judges Row during the swimsuit event at Thursday’s prelims — and jaws drop. “I wanted to show it off,” Ms Clark, 23, tells me later. “I didn’t want to give a quick look, so you’d say, ‘What the heck was that on her back?’” “That” is a rose garden with blue swallows facing each other from the bra-strap down, which in Ms Clark’s case is a long way. She’s 5-foot-10.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, July 01, 2011
My new tattoo reminds me of the miracle of recovery
My new tattoo reminds me of the miracle of recovery
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia -- Well, I finally got the tattoo I have been nattering on about. My thanks go out to Scott Forbes at Oceanic Art Custom Tattooing in downtown Dartmouth for taking all of my thoughts, fears and words and transforming them into art. You nailed it; I love it. Again, thanks. It is not a particularly big tattoo, consisting of just two small words — A Miracle. Concealed within the small phrase and amongst the four-leaf clovers that surround it (for luck and hope) is the acronym AVM, a word I have, unfortunately, become all too familiar with over the years.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Health inspectors struggle to keep up with body modification
Health inspectors struggle to keep up with body modification
Ottawa, ON -- One of the big challenges for city health inspectors is frantic pace with which people are inventing new ways to modify their bodies, the Ottawa Board of Health was told Monday evening. The duties of the approximately 45 health inspectors employed by the city go beyond checking the cleanliness of restaurant kitchens and school cafeterias. Tattoo and piercing studios must also be examined to make sure they meet standards. But as those establishments branch out into ever more creative, and invasive, procedures, it has become tough for the inspectors to stay current on what's happening and what the standards are supposed to be...
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tattoos 101: Everything You Need To Know If You Want To Get Inked
Tattoos 101: Everything You Need To Know If You Want To Get Inked
Two years ago, I got my fifth tattoo, a large red and black crown on the back of my neck. I went home to visit my parents and was stunned by the lack of commentary. Eventually, I just had to ask. “Mom, did you see my new tattoo?” “Yes. It’s ... big.” Clearly, she’d made an uneasy peace with the idea that her daughter loves ink. But in years past, my mom had actively lamented my choices, saying, “Oh, Sal. What will you do when you’re 90 and living in a nursing home?” And I thought to myself, Blend right in. My peer group is practically soaked in ink, and if tattoos continue to increase in popularity, I have to imagine that when I’m old and infirm, those without tattoos will be the sore thumbs.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, June 29, 2011
The Risks Exist: What you need to know about tattoos and piercings
The Risks Exist: What you need to know about tattoos and piercings
It's everywhere these days: from celebrities to our local communities, body modification is on the rise. These interesting and fashionable markings don't come without a price, though. Body modifications can be expensive, but that's not the only cost that you should be worried about. There are several risky factors you should take into consideration when permanently marking your body.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Reduce Infection Risk After Ear Piercing
Reduce Infection Risk After Ear Piercing
Newly pierced ears can be prime candidates for infection, but proper care can help reduce the risk. The American Academy of Pediatricians offers these suggestions: Make sure an experienced technician, nurse or doctor performs the procedure, and that a disinfectant is applied to the ears before piercing.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, June 20, 2011
New ways to think about ink
New ways to think about ink
Regina, Saskachewan -- As Ryan Townend prepared to step inside Trump International to make his marketing pitch, he had a difficult business decision to make; should he show his tattoos or not? The Harley Davidsondriving entrepreneur knew he was about to take a risk when he chose to bare it all. "When the CEO walks in with a tattoo sleeve, and is still sporting some Versace, and pulling it off - I think they go wow, that guy is really out there." And Trump did think he was out there. Unfortunately Townend's risky business didn't pay dividends in securing a Trump contract. He says it had nothing to do with skull tattoos on his arm.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, June 20, 2011
Thailand To Tattoo Tourists: Think Before You Ink
Thailand To Tattoo Tourists: Think Before You Ink
Many of Thailand's tattoo tourists find their way to Bangkok's Khao San Road, where tattoo parlors are nestled among the Internet cafes, noodle stalls and other backpacker hangouts. A visitor along this road might pick up a tattoo, along with some beads and dreadlocks, and perhaps even a nose ring. The Thais are famously welcoming to visitors. But last month, Thai Culture Minister Nipit Intarasombat called for a ban on foreigners' getting religious tattoos that offend Thai people. The issue came up after an incident in the southern tourist haven of Phuket Island. Exactly whose tattoo offended whom is not clear. Nor is any sort of tattoo illegal under Thai law. But Thais consider the head sacred and the feet profane, and some foreigners get Buddhist tattoos below the waist, which can upset Thais.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, June 20, 2011
New microdermal piercing technique facing scrutiny
New microdermal piercing technique facing scrutiny
Installing a piece of jewelry with microdermal anchors just under the skin involves some pain and a little blood and an increasing level of scrutiny from state officials. Last year, Washington began to regulate piercers and tattoo artists and require that no piercer "implant or embed foreign objects into the human body,” reports the Everett Daily Herald. "We are continually working with the industry on new practices that come along, especially in relation to public safety," said Christine Anthony, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Licensing. "As I understand it, the microdermal piercing is a relatively new practice and one we will be taking a look at."
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, June 16, 2011
Play it safe with tattoos, piercings
Play it safe with tattoos, piercings
Niagra, Ontario -- The Region’s public health department is urging people to understand the health risks associated with getting body piercings and tattoos, and to take precautions against becoming infected with incurable viruses. Peter Jekel, a manager with the Region’s environmental health division, said in a news release on June 7 that some “personal services” outlets in Niagara have advertised that they are ‘health department approved.’ While the public health department does carry out inspections of tattoo shops, it does not provide approval, certification or licensing, he said. Jekel also said it’s important that measures such as only using sterilized equipment be followed. Any time you pierce the skin, the risk of infection with the hepatitis B, C or AIDS viruses exists due to improperly sterilized equipment, he said. There is no cure for those viruses. Jekel said some operations that operate in homes or other locations have never been inspected by the public health department.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, June 16, 2011
Seattle Piercing Enthusiast Suspends Himself from Hot-Air Balloon
Seattle Piercing Enthusiast Suspends Himself from Hot-Air Balloon
People who suspend themselves in the air using massive hooks pierced through their bodies are notoriously hard to impress. Take Seattle's Zane Whitmore. He had to hang himself from a friggin' hot-air balloon in order to get some attention. Actually, the stunt is part of a documentary film called Feet Off the Ground, which bills itself as an "in-depth exploration of the human suspension community." Here's Whitmore taking off from the Long Valley Caldera near Mammoth Lakes, Calif. He's strapped to the balloon using four piercings through his shoulder blades--an experience he later called "peaceful."
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Tattoos, tigers and wolves ... oh my!
Tattoos, tigers and wolves ... oh my!
Mississauga, Ontario -- Ian Greening is good at leaving a lasting impression. The tattoo artist, who recently won the inaugural Creative Community MARTY Award presented by the Mississauga Arts Council, has been part of the Port Credit community since 2001, making permanent marks on Mississauga residents via his Artistic Integrity Tattoo Studio. In 2009, Greening held a series of tattoo demonstrations at the Art Gallery of Mississauga and every year hosts an event at his studio to support causes close to his heart. He's inviting people to his studio on June 21 from noon-8 p.m. as he plays host to lemurs, tigers, wolves, foxes and a lynx from Jungle Cat World in Orono.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Did Taylor Swift Get a Tattoo?
Did Taylor Swift Get a Tattoo?
Taylor Swift is quite the rebel. She had what looked like a new tattoo down her arm the other day! No worries though. According to Popeater.com, the 21-year-old country star uses a Sharpie marker to write different song lyrics on her arm at almost every concert. And they are never her own words. Most recently, she was spotted with Sugarland's "Baby Girl" lyrics at the CMA Music Festival. "Remember me in ribbons and curls, love your baby girl," her arm read.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Simple cycling tattoo not so simple
Simple cycling tattoo not so simple
Vancouver, B.C. -- I want a tattoo of something bike related on my body. But I need help choosing not only exactly of what, but where. I thought my calf; my sister suggested my forehead; a friend suggested another questionable place. I can't decide. The vision I have for the perfect tattoo is a simple stencil of a bicycle; picture the painted image of a bike that you see in bike lines. It's about as straightforward as a tattoo could be. Right? Wrong. I've been warned that tattoos are for life. What I appreciate most about this sort of advice is that it is not obvious. My more insightful friends say that a tattoo should symbolize something that will never lose meaning in your life.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, June 11, 2011
Sideshow performer breaks record for most piercings
Sideshow performer breaks record for most piercings
Sideshow performer Staysha Randall poses outside Inktoxicated Tattoos after breaking the Guinness Book record for “Most Body Piercings in a Single Sitting”, in Las Vegas, Nevada June 7, 2011. The previous record was 3,100 piercings, and Randall attempted 3,600 piercings, but decided it was enough after 3,200 piercings. The record is awaiting verification by Guinness to be official.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, June 11, 2011
Oxfordshire man beaten over piercings
Oxfordshire man beaten over piercings
A 19-year-old man was punched and repeatedly kicked in separate attacks because he had facial piercings. He was with friends outside the HMV store in Castle Quay, Banbury, Oxfordshire, when two men began squirting water at them. When he asked them to stop they set upon him, punching him to the ground and kicking him. They left but returned minutes later and attacked him again. Police have just released details of the attack, which happened on Saturday. During the second attack, members of the public shouted at the attackers, who ran off in the direction of McDonald's.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, June 09, 2011
Tattoo parlour licensing a step closer
Tattoo parlour licensing a step closer
Public health officials are moving closer to licensing tattoo parlours. Toronto health board members on Tuesday directed officials work out a way to license businesses offering tattoos, piercings, electrolysis and other beauty services which carry the risk of infections. The health department is looking at requiring those businesses to post their inspection results publicly. Dr. David McKeown, Toronto’s chief medical officer of health, described the licensing measure as an important step in ensuring public safety. “We know that there are risks associated with services like tattooing, piercing, electrolysis; we do see the transmission of viral infections like hepatitis, as well as bacterial infections,” McKeown said.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, June 09, 2011
Facebook "tattoo" is just really lame body art
Facebook "tattoo" is just really lame body art
Yesterday, the Internet was all a-twitter about some wacky woman who claimed to show her love for Facebook by tattooing no less than 152 so-called "friends" on her arm. The story and accompanying YouTube video swirled through the foggy ether of cyberspace, leapfrogging from site to site, until it ended up on, yes, you guessed it - CNN. Although many, including yours truly, suspected the ugly tat was faked, tattoo artist Dex Moelker waited until today to admit the ink was little more than a bad viral marketing hoax. "It is a try out tattoo, a transfer, that washes off in a couple of days," Moelker, who has a tattoo shop in Rotterdam
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, June 07, 2011
Licences urged for tattoo parlours
Licences urged for tattoo parlours
Toronto, Ontario -- This shouldn’t hurt a bit. The Toronto Public Health board will meet Tuesday to consider a staff recommendation to start licensing tattoo parlours, body piercing and other aesthetic services. Currently in Toronto, only hairdressers or barbershops have to be licensed. For Joey Nixon, co-owner of Adrenaline Tattoos & Body Piercing on Queen St. W., licensing is a great idea that’s long overdue. “I believe that any reputable shop that follows basic standardized protocols has nothing to worry about,” he told the Sun. “If a beauty salon needs a licence, why on God’s green earth do I not need one?”
Nixon — who has shops across Canada and in the U.S. — sets up his infection controls based on U.S. and European standards.
“Any type of rules or mandates that (Toronto) may implement, I already supersede those thresholds,” he says.Dr. Herveen Sachdeva, who is with Toronto Public Health, was one of the key authors of the recommendations. Right now, although public health inspects tattoo parlours and other beauty businesses where there is a risk of infectious disease transmission, it has no list to draw on to find new locations or keep track of who is in business.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, June 07, 2011
What Is a Body Piercing and What Can You Expect?
What Is a Body Piercing and What Can You Expect?
A body piercing is exactly that — a piercing or puncture made in your body by a needle. After that, a piece of jewelry is inserted into the puncture. The most popular pierced body parts seem to be the ears, the nostrils, and the belly button. If the person performing the piercing provides a safe, clean, and professional environment, this is what you should expect from getting a body part pierced...
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, June 06, 2011
Tattoo This
Tattoo This
After vajazzles and vajacials, the beauty industry really should have lost all ability to shock us with the new trends it advertises. This past month though has seen blogs, magazines and even newspapers whipped up into a frenzy over the latest craze (thankfully, this time, not vagina related). Temporary lip tattoos, launched by Violent Lips, are the subject of all this media coverage. They come in the form of your average temporary tattoo, to be applied to your lips by holding a damp cloth over the tattoo for a couple of minutes and there is a variety of patterns to choose from.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, June 06, 2011
Britt Ekland Has A Tattoo Of Her Dog
Britt Ekland Has A Tattoo Of Her Dog
Veteran actress Britt Ekland has shown her love for her pet chihuahua by having a tattoo of the pooch inked on her arm. The former Bond girl, 68, had her first tattoo done eight years ago, and she has now added to her body art collection with an inking of her beloved pup Tequila. She tells Britain's Daily Express, "I've had it done yes, I can see it but no one else can. It took about an hour and (a) half, it wasn't so bad - when you've given birth nothing else compares. I had it done by the most famous tattooist in the world at the Shamrock Social Club on Sunset Strip in L.A."
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, June 06, 2011
The 20 Best Tattoos in Sports
The 20 Best Tattoos in Sports
The right to bare arms is apparently not in the constitution of professional athletics. It seems as if every athlete has some sort of ink on his body, usually displayed somewhere on the arms for all to see. Athletes get bored looking at the blank canvas of their bodies and, as their career progresses, many turn their bodies into a tapestry of artwork. And some get a backwards Pittsburgh Pirates "P" tattooed on their faces. While most tattoos are seen by the general public as foolish, and there are countless lists of the dumbest or worst tattoos in sports, there are some pretty elaborate pieces of art on some athletes' bodies.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, June 03, 2011
Vampire Woman to Lady Gaga: ‘Let’s Not Do Things Half-Assed’
Vampire Woman to Lady Gaga: ‘Let’s Not Do Things Half-Assed’
Body-modification superstar Mariajosé Cristerna enjoyed a surge of popularity recently when photos of the "Vampire Woman of Mexico," as she is better known, went cross-platform viral — popping up on everything from supermarket tabloids to Fox News and The Huffington Post.
Blogger El Zonkey Show tracked down Cristerna at a tattoo convention in Tijuana, where the woman with two sets of titanium horn implants, permanent fangs, and wall-to-wall ink opened up about that prosthetic-using wannabe, Lady Gaga: "Listen, I like her message of changing the world, but let's not do things half-assed. Conviction doesn't sprout because of money or for appearances sake..."
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, June 03, 2011
Flesh Meets Freaky Fantasy in Bizarre’s Body Art
Flesh Meets Freaky Fantasy in Bizarre’s Body Art
Bizarre magazine fires off a graphic shout-out to tattoo and body-modification culture in new paperback compilation Body Art. Recently published by Titan Books and viewable in the gallery above, Body Art merges phantasmagoric and fantastic photography with interviews of tattoo art extroverts and body-mod lifers like Samppa Von Cyborg, LA Ink crossover star Kat Von D and Lucky Diamond Rich, Earth’s most-inked human canvas.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, June 03, 2011
Science answers the age-old question: do body piercings make you sluttier?
Science answers the age-old question: do body piercings make you sluttier?
“This research examined the relation between having a body piercing and having engaged in premarital sexual intercourse. Data were gathered from a convenience sample of 450 college students. 72% were women; 85% were ages 18 to 22 years (M=20.9, SD=4.5), 80% were Euro-American. Women with piercings reported substantively and significantly greater frequency of sexual activity than college students without piercings. There were no significant differences in sexual experience between men with piercings and those without.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, May 30, 2011
Should Mike Tyson's face tattoo be protected by copyright?
Should Mike Tyson's face tattoo be protected by copyright?
Should the tattoo design curving around the left eye socket of Mike Tyson be subject to copyright protection? That's the multimillion-dollar question a judge will be considering in a suit against Warner Bros. for the skin ink that adorns Ed Helms' face in "The Hangover: Part II" -- but not before the movie hits theaters on May 26. S. Victor Whitmill, the tattoo artist who created Tyson’s tattoo in February 2003, filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on April 28, claiming that the similar-looking tribal tattoo sported by Helms' character in the sequel to "The Hangover" (which also includes a return appearance by Tyson himself) amounted to copyright infringement, and sought not only damages but also an injunction against the film's release.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, May 30, 2011
Removing Tattoos and "Heavy Metals"
Removing Tattoos and "Heavy Metals"
Tattooing has been practiced for centuries worldwide and in the past 15 to 20 years, it seems the number of tattoos, especially among younger people has multiplied exponentially. What's also increased recently is the number of people getting their tattoos removed. One valley doctor says a process he uses makes sure any potential toxins in the tattoo ink won't end up poisoning you. "Pretty much immediately after I had the tattoo done, I knew I had made a mistake," said Jessica Juel. She's having a large tattoo removed from the upper part of her leg.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, May 28, 2011
How do I care for my navel piercing?
How do I care for my navel piercing?
You have taken the plunge to get your navel pierced and now it is taking forever to heal. You thought it would be like your ears and in 6 weeks you could be wearing sexy dangles with your new bathing suit. Little did you know it can take up to a year to heal. The reason being is that the navel has more tissue that has been pierced and the body is healing from the outside in. Here are the top 10 things you should do to promote a healthy fully healed piercing.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, May 28, 2011
Totally tattooed Montrealer, a.k.a Rick Genest, finds fame in fashion and a nod from Lady Gaga
Totally tattooed Montrealer, a.k.a Rick Genest, finds fame in fashion and a nod from Lady Gaga
Montreal, Quebec -- Rick Genest, tattooed former squeegee kid, is posing for pictures and video on a patch of gravel by the tracks in Westmount. A young woman gets out of her car and runs over to congratulate him. She tells him she loves and admires what he has done. Genest, also known as Zombie Boy, has become a local and international hero, a muse to fashion’s avant-garde, a role model for Lady Gaga. His claim to fame is his almost totally tattooed body, including a rendering of brains on his skull, the skeletal system on his body.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, May 27, 2011
Charmed By Labret Piercing
Charmed By Labret Piercing
Types of body piercing range from the common ear piercing which used to be solely seen among the female gender, to parts of the body left to the imagination.A Labret piercing is a type of lip piercing whereby the targeted area is around the region between the lower lip and the chin.A Frequently worn is a labret stud through a hole in this region, with the back of the stud through the inner hole on the inside of the mouth.A A vertical variation of this piercing is to put the inner hole at the top of the lower lip, hence allowing both ends of the stud to be visible.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, May 27, 2011
Eat Touch Love: A book of edible body art
Eat Touch Love: A book of edible body art
James Beard award-winning chef Tiberio Simone latest creation takes him outside the kitchen and into the studio. His new book La Figa: Visions of Food and Form, the culmination of a a five year collaboration with photographer Matt Freedman, is an exploration of "natural beauty and fresh flavors." Using the human body as his canvas, and natural fresh ingredients as both his paint and his adhesives, Simone has developed a new art of food and form. The synergy of his ephemeral artwork with Freedman’s photography is magical – producing a series of breathtaking images that will stir your soul, pique your curiosity, and tune you in to your most primal instincts for flavor and pleasure.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Why DIY is a dirty word in tattooing
Why DIY is a dirty word in tattooing
DIY tattooing isn’t such a good idea, so you might want to think twice before permanently inking your skin. Home job tattoos are the most common tattoos people regret, according to Newtown tattoo artist and member of the Professional Tattooing Association Australia, Illana Vandaliza. Besides having a dodgy-looking tattoo if it’s done yourself (and not by a professional), there’s the issue of poor hygiene standards, which is usually forgotten when purchasing tattoo products like needles and inks online.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Justin Bieber debuts Jesus tattoo in Hawaii
Justin Bieber debuts Jesus tattoo in Hawaii
Justin Bieber is making it clear that he isn't just that little tween boy who sang "Baby" anymore. And he has another tattoo and six Billboard Music Awards to prove it. The Canadian-born pop star showed off his new ink while vacationing with lady love Selena Gomez in Hawaii. (He happened to be flaunting her shortly after a nationally televised kiss at the Billboard Music Awards.) The tat is a vertical Hebrew inscription reading "Yeshua," which means Jesus. The 17-year-old inconspicuously displayed the word down his left side, according to The Daily.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, May 24, 2011
It’s kids play for some at Maritime tattoo festival
It’s kids play for some at Maritime tattoo festival
Halifax, Nova Scotia -- It’s kind of like the strangest home show you’ve ever been to meets the best party you were never invited to. Ink aficionados packed into the multi-purpose room at the Halifax Forum yesterday for the final day of the three-day Maritime Tattoo Festival. The festival, now in its fifth year, welcomed more than 2,500 people over three days, according to organizer Amber Thorpe. And those people may not fit most preconceptions about the tattoo community; with almost as many toddlers browsing the displays with their parents as burly, bearded dudes.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, May 24, 2011
‘It’s definitely a form of art’
‘It’s definitely a form of art’
The days of walking into a tattoo shop and picking an image off of a clustered wall filled with cookie cutter images are starting to vanish. By following the latest industry trend, Juan Soltero, owner of Salty’s Ink and True Tattoo, renders his own custom illustration for each client. All 11 of his employees, half of whom used to work for Three Six Tattoo, follow suit and wouldn’t have it any other way. “In this day in age, you have to be an artist in order to be successful,” Soltero says. “We enjoy what we do and have taken (this form of art) to another level.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, May 24, 2011
You Want to Wear What?
You Want to Wear What?
Not too long ago my daughter wanted to add bright blue streaks to her hair. She showed me photos of what she desired her end result to be, but I expressed that I didn’t believe the shade would take on her dark hair. I knew this would be money wasted and I tried to reason with her, but she really wanted to do this. Despite not being a fan of this look at all, I decided this would not be worth the battle. I agreed, under the condition that I do this at home for her because it would be too expensive to have it professionally colored. I also threw in the requirement that she had to keep it until it faded, whether she liked it or not. She had to assume the risk. When it was all said and done, my hands and floors were blue and my daughter was happy that I let her experiment with a new look. I was thrilled it faded quickly- by then she was on a new quest.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, May 19, 2011
5th Annual Maritime Tattoo Festival
5th Annual Maritime Tattoo Festival
Halifax, Nova Scotia -- It’s that time again and for the fifth year running the TBS crew will be making the trek over to Halifax for some crazy ass tattooing. The weekend is always fantastic! Catching up with old friends, clients mixed with a barrage of off the chain tattooing. If you're in the neighbourhood your should drop in and enjoy the frolic! For more info follow this link: http://www.maritimetattoofestival.com
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Modify Me
Modify Me
California is known for a unique assortment of characters, and with the help of body modifiers, the sights are starting to become even more eye catching. Local shops provide many body modifications to their clients, from intricate tattoo designs to unique skin modification such as implants, scarring, suspension, branding, dermals and ear shaping.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Shrine Clothing
Shrine Clothing
Originally designing clothing and jewelry exclusively for their Hollywood store, the design duo of Peter Graham and Rhonda Bordenave started Shrine as a way to create clothing they liked personally. But when others began to take notice of their designs, which blend elements of cyberpunk and industrial, the company quickly grew. "I do a lot of men's stuff because I wear it when I go out and I like to look good, or at least try," jokes Graham. "I still like to go out and see cool new bands and I see the new stuff people are wearing.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, May 16, 2011
Hottest Piercing Looks for Girls
Hottest Piercing Looks for Girls
The origins of body piercings can be traced back to ancient times and their popularity has been rising ever since. If you're a body art lover in search of a cool piercing, check out the following styles and select the ones that suit your personality best! The new body art styles developed look absolutely incredible, so no wonder more and more people are leaning towards body art for self expression. Some styles are incredibly sexy, while others might lean more towards outrageous and scary, this is why before deciding on getting your skin pierced, you should make sure you've pinpointed the right style for yourself. Girls are no strangers to piercings and the hottest piercing looks for girls are the ones that exude femininity.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, May 16, 2011
Tattoo Problems
Tattoo Problems
Up until the last decade or so, just about any facet of tattooing came with a literal stamp of indelibility. Once the mark was there, it was there for life. Although there have been many advances made in regards to adjusting or fixing the appearance of a tattoo, there are still some problems that are so intensive or complicated that they tend to be the sort of things that you would rather not happen in the first place. After all, trying to fix or adjust a tattoo is literally a pain.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, May 16, 2011
Body piercing aftercare soaps and how to use them
Body piercing aftercare soaps and how to use them
The most basic aftercare tip you are given for any body piercing is to use an antibacterial or antimicrobial soap. This helps keep your body piercing clean and fights off the chance of infection. It is advised that you do not use this more than once a day as this can actual dry out the skin and slow the healing process. If an infection or pain should occur then soothing sea salt soaks should be used in conjunction with antibacterial soap. So what soaps should you use? And what should you know about them?
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, May 13, 2011
Tattoo Removal, Piercing Reversal Not So Easy
Tattoo Removal, Piercing Reversal Not So Easy
Extreme piercings and tattoos can be a form of rebellion for some, for others they are just a form of expression. But what happens if a fire-breathing dragon or a gauged ear is not something you want anymore? Doctors and tattoo artists alike say a lot of it depends on the person, the type of work they have had done and how much they are willing to pay. Preston Brower added ink to Corinna Heneley's lower back tattoo in his Pocatello shop, Think Ink. Henely had the work done at another shop and after it was all said and done, was not completely happy with how it looked.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, May 13, 2011
Tattoo Ink Stained By Safety Concerns
Tattoo Ink Stained By Safety Concerns
Tattoo history reaches back thousands of years, to Egyptian mummies and even ancient ice men. Interest has waxed and waned over centuries, but now, it's fair to say, tattoo body art has reached a pinnacle. By some estimates, nearly half of all adults younger than 40 sport at least one tattoo. But federal health officials are concerned that not all inks are safe. And they worry that some tattoo salons are mixing their inks with other, unsafe products. Gone are the days of the simple heart with "Mom" or a girlfriend's name inscribed. Today's tattoos are typically complex, extraordinarily detailed pieces of art.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, May 13, 2011
The one place you should never go to get a tattoo
The one place you should never go to get a tattoo
They're part-time tattooing wannabes called "Scratchers." It's a group of people who have taught themselves the art of "permanent ink." It's growing in popularity and leaving people right here in the Tri-state with more than just a design on their body. From the beginning, Steve Cupp - the owner of Vertigo Tattoo in Oxford - has been outspoken about safe tattooing practices. He's been creating body art since 1997, but what he's seen grow in popularity lately is just plain shocking. "You know they will come in with holes in them, puss and all kinds of stuff and they end up hospitalized," said Cupp. Steve's talking about the aftermath of "scratching."
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Corset piercing is shocking but less painful than getting your ears pierced
Corset piercing is shocking but less painful than getting your ears pierced
some it’s beautiful body artwork; to others it’s simply stomach-turning mutilation. But there’s no doubt that the newest trend in body piercing to hit the headlines makes a graphic visual statement. Corset piercing involves two rows of hoops being laced together, traditionally down the back but also down arms, wrists, sides or calves. It’s not for the squeamish, but according to piercer and tattooist Marc Fleming, it’s actually far less daunting than it looks. “I realise it has the shock factor, but it’s really not painful at all,” says Marc, who co-owns Adrenaline Arts in Bebington. “It could hurt more getting your ears pierced. This is basically a series of surface piercings which only go through a couple of layers of skin.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Angelina Jolie Tattoos Brad Pitt On Her Arm
Angelina Jolie Tattoos Brad Pitt On Her Arm
Hollywood sex symbol Angelina Jolie reveals to People.com that the latest tattoo, a new set of coordinates on her upper left arm is the birth place of husband Brad Pitt. This last month Angelina Jolie appeared in public with her new tattoo, which was a set of geographical coordinates placed right under those of her children. Jolie has made a habit of tattooing the coordinates of each of her children’s birth place. So showing up with a brand new one had press speculating that she might have adopted a new baby. But Angie clear everything out: “Well if they know that it's latitude and longitude they would have figured out quickly that it was Brad's birthplace. It's Shawnee, Oklahoma”.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Toxic Vision Clothing
Toxic Vision Clothing
Toxic Vision has emerged as the forerunner amongst the teaming brands littering the glitter rock forum. Headed by Saskatchewan native, Sharon Toxic, she consistently creates retro delights weekly that seek to re-invoke the days of Twisted Sister and Queen before Seattle grunge took over the music scene. With garments accentuated by black and purple lambskin leather, rainbow-colored leopard print and tons of neon pink and turquoise faux fur, the individual clothing pieces take on a persona all their own devoid of all the obvious and trite fashion influences found in national clothing chains.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Violent Lips are temporary tattoos for lips
Violent Lips are temporary tattoos for lips
Tired of decking out your lips in solid colors? Now you can pimp your pucker in polka dots, leopard and fishnet stocking print. Violent Lips is a temporary tattoo that you apply directly to your lips to create a wild patterned effect. By cutting the paper to fit the shape of your mouth, the user then presses the temporary tattoo against her lips, wets with a sponge and then peels carefully. There are dozens of patterns and styles, from roses to checkers to snake print.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Tattoo formula uses mathematics to forecast ageing of body art
Tattoo formula uses mathematics to forecast ageing of body art
It may be small comfort if you wake up after a heavy night with a hazy memory and some unsuitable words inked in to your body, but it is now possible to predict what a piece of body artwork will look like in years or decades hence. A mathematical model uses the way dye moves over time within skin to predict how a tattoo will blur and fade. The tool may also be some comfort to the handful of celebrities sporting misspelled tattoos in foreign languages. Footballer John Carew can look forward to the day that his "my life, my menstruation" tattoo, which was supposed to read "my life, my rules" in French, will be illegible.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, May 08, 2011
Third annual Oregon Ink Tattoo Convention brings national artists to Eugene
Third annual Oregon Ink Tattoo Convention brings national artists to Eugene
The sound of buzzing needles and excited chatter welcomed visitors to the third annual Oregon Ink Tattoo Convention from May 6-8. More than 150 tattoo artists from all over the country came to the Lane Events Center, ready to ink up anybody willing. With booths covering most of the center and people talking to and browsing the different artists, the convention was quite different from any normal tattoo shop. "At a convention, there’s a different energy, a higher energy. It’s like tattooing in a circus environment,” said Jimmy Bertram, from Black Shamrock Tattoo in Bakersfield, Calif. “At a shop, we’re able to control the environment, so it’s a little easier.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, May 08, 2011
Maoris visit France to retrieve shrunken head
Maoris visit France to retrieve shrunken head
Rouen, France — The tattooed, shrunken head of a Maori warrior starts a long voyage home to New Zealand on Monday when France hands the mystic relic back more than a century after explorers took it away. At the town hall in Rouen, northwest of Paris, Maori elders will perform chants, prayers and other rituals to honour the dead man, a relic of the ancient practice of mummification of Maoris killed in battle. The head, which tribal custom forbids from being photographed or filmed, will be handed over to the Maoris in a box by officials from the town and the Museum of Rouen, which has housed it since 1875, organisers said.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, May 08, 2011
Body piercing trends have changed through the years
Body piercing trends have changed through the years
Body piercing has been around for centuries. It is used by all cultures to call attention to the individual. In most cultures, it is women that are more likely to have piercings than men. The most common form of piercing is the ear pierce. This has been used by cultures throughout the world and through many centuries to accentuate and call attention to a person's face and wealth. Piercing, though, has changed. Now people are piercing not only the ear lobe but many other parts of the ear. This can be dangerous especially if a person pierces the cartilage of the ear. These piercings are usually done by non-doctors and can pose a health problem.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, May 03, 2011
'Memorial' tattoos with cremation ashes more popular
'Memorial' tattoos with cremation ashes more popular
The idea might be morbid to some people but others consider it the ultimate way to honor a lost loved one. Today, more people are taking cremation ashes, known as cremains, and having them put into a permanent memorial tattoo. Travis Green wears a vile around his neck, that contains a small amount of his father's ashes. But Travis decided that he wants his late father closer. In fact, it was something the two talked about even before his father's death. "I brought this up to him once a long time ago, yeah, if you ever die, I will get you tattooed in me, so here I am," Travis says. The practice -- called "commemorative or ritual tattoos" -- isn't new but it is gaining in popularity, says Bob Johnson of Finest Lines in Wickliffe.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, May 03, 2011
Grin and bare it - with a dental tattoo!
Grin and bare it - with a dental tattoo!
Getting your body inked is passe. GenNext is going for dental tattoos, so don't be surprised if the girl next door breaks into a toothy grin to show off an angel or a skull, depending on choice of design. "The trend is fairly popular among urban Indians. In the last two-three years, dental tattoos have gained popularity especially as youth today are more savvy and adventurous than before," Heman Verma, orthodontist and implantologist, Dental Styler in Gurgaon, told reporters.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, May 03, 2011
The fashion of corset piercing
The fashion of corset piercing
You might get your hair coloured or buy a new outfit for a special occasion – but how about getting piercings all the way down your back? Or you could accessorise your look with body piercings down either side of a leg, laced together with ribbon or chain. For most people, getting something pierced is a big decision and, even if it’s not intended to be permanent, the expectation is that it will at least be there for a while. But with the growth of interest in piercing and body modification, more and more people are having temporary corset piercings as part of their outfit for a big event.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, May 01, 2011
Hepatitis, HIV alert at Bowmanville body piercing studio
Hepatitis, HIV alert at Bowmanville body piercing studio
Durham, Ontario -- Durham Region's Health Department is alerting clients of a Bowmanville body piercing studio after determining non-sterile equipment may have been used in procedures over the past year. Non-sterile equipment may have been used in piercings done at Sins and Temptations on King Street West from June of 2010 until the present, the health department said in a news release issued Thursday. Use of non-sterile equipment could lead to transmission of diseases such as hepatitis and HIV, the department said.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, May 01, 2011
Getting and giving tattoos: a serious business
Getting and giving tattoos: a serious business
Edmonton, Alberta -- When Atomic Zombie first opened its doors about four years ago, they were the 28th tattoo shop to call Edmonton home. There are now over 60 shops in the city practicing this art form that’s increasing in popularity. Scott Campbell, co-owner of Atomic Zombie said that tattoos can serve many different purposes for people. “They can be very liberating, they can provide closure for people, they can provide healing, they can be a very powerful thing,” said Campbell. “To be a part of something like that is really, really cool.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, April 30, 2011
Plumber’s Prince William and Kate ‘teeth tattoo’
Plumber’s Prince William and Kate ‘teeth tattoo’
A patriotic plumber has splashed out £1,000 for the Royal Wedding by getting tattoos of the happy couple – on his teeth. Barmy Baz Franks, 29, spent six hours in the dentist’s chair while portraits of William and Kate were painstakingly added to his front teeth. Dr Neil Gerrard, of the Clifton Dental Studio in Bristol, created the temporary designs on paper before painting them on by hand using stencils and ultra-fine brushes. The temporary artwork – known as ‘gnasher tats’ – will last for up to three months and can only be removed by ”several long, hard brushes”.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, April 30, 2011
Canada's getting a new tattoo school!
Canada's getting a new tattoo school!
We are pleased to announce that the International School of Body Art is opening a tattoo and body piercing school in Canada! The school will located in Whitewood, S.K., Canada. Whitewood is a small town off the Trans Canada highway located dead in the center of Canada making it easier for those who need to come from either side of Canada. It is also very close to the U.S.A border will make it easier for some students to attend from the U.S.A. that can not attend the U.S.A location in Wisconsin. The school will be offering 1 and 2 week courses as well as 1 day classes. While the location is good, and the building is huge. Space is limited to students. In order to provide better training their students, the International School of Body Art has decided to limit classes to 6 pupils.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Elf-ear surgery: Trend, sometimes hoax
Elf-ear surgery: Trend, sometimes hoax
Some fans of the movies “Lord of the Rings,” “Star Trek,” “Avatar” and the cable TV show “Bored to Death” are getting their ears surgically modified to look like elf ears. That could qualify as the latest odd trend in plastic surgery, although few people are actually doing it. The staff of the “Good Morning America” TV show decided that it’s a trend after finding and interviewing Steve Haworth, a non-medical “body modification artist” in Arizona who has performed the procedure on some clients. Local cosmetic doctors say it’s a bad idea and not a trend they’ve seen much, if any, evidence of.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Indian tattoos - traces of the divine
Indian tattoos - traces of the divine
Mumbai, India -- Girish Giridhara's arms are tattooed with Hindu gods, goddesses and sacred mantras. The spiritual designs are intricate but also hardly surprising for a man who once trained to be a priest. Shaven-headed, with gold earrings and a red tilak on his forehead, the 36-year-old tattoo artist looks relaxed in a sleeveless t-shirt, knee-length shorts and flip-flops at the Indian Ink tattoo convention. The exhibition in Mumbai this weekend is billed as India's first, with organisers hoping to tap into a growing interest in permanent body art among young Indians. But Girish, an exhibitor at the event, knows that body art in India is not a new trend set by cricketers or movie stars. Tattooing has been an integral part of Indian tribal culture for centuries and no Hindu wedding is complete without the mehndi ceremony, where the bride's hands and feet are elaborately decorated in non-permanent henna.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Tattoo artist helps cure cancer blues
Tattoo artist helps cure cancer blues
Toronto, Ontario -- At age 26, Kyla Gutsche was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. But surgery and chemotherapy treatments were only the beginning of her ordeal. Distressed by her appearance from the side-effects of chemo, she turned to a tattoo artist to replicate her lost eyebrows and simulate lipstick. But a severe allergic reaction to the pigments disfigured her lips and caused lumpy granulomas to form. Gutsche, a professor of art and art history at Oxford University in England at the time, sought out plastic surgeon Dr. Jean-Paul Tiziano, a world leader in micropigmentation, or medical tattooing, who repaired her damaged features.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Schools 'free to decide' on facial piercings
Schools 'free to decide' on facial piercings
New Zealand -- Some students will be able to express themselves freely after their school waived a rule against facial piercings. New Plymouth Girls' High School this week announced it would drop a rule where students were only allowed to have one piercing in each ear. Now students can have up to four body piercings - one in each ear, a nose piercing and a tongue piercing. Acting principal Stella Bond this week said the uniform change came about because too much time was being spent on enforcing the rule. "We think there's much more significant things to be dealing with," she told the Taranaki Daily News.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, April 23, 2011
Glee's Lea Michele Marks Events with Body Art
Glee's Lea Michele Marks Events with Body Art
Lea Michele has ten tattoos and wants even more. The Glee actress admits she has an addiction to getting body art - although she only likes to go for small inkings. One of the tattoos Lea has she shares with her co-stars Kevin McHale (Artie) and Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina) - and she revealed that the trio all happened to get inked at the same time in different cities. "I have ten, but they're tiny," Lea told Marie Claire.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, April 22, 2011
The Truth about Body Modifications
The Truth about Body Modifications
Body modifications are possibly one of the most misunderstood forms of self expression. The term body modification means to deliberately alter ones physical appearance. Body modification is the deliberate alteration of the body for non-medical reasons such as rites of passage, aesthetic reasons, religious reasons, and to show self expression. Although body modifications are gaining more acceptance every day, many forms are still frowned upon. People fear what they do not understand, and many people cannot understand why someone would want to put holes in their bodies or get tattoos that last forever. In the end, it is a decision that is up to oneself.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, April 22, 2011
Is My Belly Button Piercing Infected?
Is My Belly Button Piercing Infected?
Belly button piercing look fabulous but only if cared for properly so find out how to avoid and deal with belly button piercing infections. It seems that the most common piercing requested by women is the belly button piercing or navel piercing as having a piece of jewelry dangling from your belly button seems kind of sexy. Belly button rings are common among teenagers as well as middle aged women as body jewelry is for everyone who is attracted to body at. Because belly button rings involve piercing the skin, the question is my belly button piercing infected? is quite common. Infected belly button piercings can be caused by several factors so one must learn the proper care steps when it comes to piercings.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, April 22, 2011
What you need to know before you say yes to a piercing
What you need to know before you say yes to a piercing
Your daughter is begging you to let her get her ears pierced. She just has to get her ears pierced. Everyone else has her ears pierced. You are skeptical and need more information. Or it may be a tradition in your family to pierce babies' ears, as soon as possible, and you're wondering where to go. Two viable options are available: commercial business, which offers ear piercing services, or pediatricians who pierce ears in the office.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Vancouver artist's creations are skin-deep
Vancouver artist's creations are skin-deep
Adam Sky has inked Angelina Jolie and worked with tattoo queen Kat von D -- It was the late 1990s. A beautiful young woman walked into a Sunset Strip tattoo shop, trailing a handsome husband. She asked for an initial, her grandmother's, to be tattooed on her wrist. The tattoo artist, a young Toronto man who had moved to Vancouver and opened Sacred Heart Tattoo on the west side in 1993 but was in Los Angeles as part of a four-year working tattoo tour, thought he recognized her. Or, as Adam Sky tells it: "I said: 'Hey, did you go to high school in Toronto?' " "No." "But you look familiar." "I get that a lot." They chatted some more and she told him that she was a model and an actor and he asked what she'd been in and she named a bunch of art films and he said he'd never heard of them and finally he realized it was Angelina Jolie, who had come to the shop with thenhusband Johnny Lee Miller.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Longest tattoo session: Robin H.M. and Jeff Garton set world record
Longest tattoo session: Robin H.M. and Jeff Garton set world record
Norwalk, Ohio -- Robin H.M. and Jeff Garton spent 48 hours and 26 minutes in the 546 Tattoo Studio in Norwalk as Robin created a large and complex tattoo design on Jeff's thigh - setting the new world record for the Longest tattoo session by a team. The Guinness world record for the longest tattooing session by a team of two is 48 hours and 16 minutes, set by Jocke Hultman and Martin Hansen in Malmö Sweden.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, April 18, 2011
Ottawa hospital staff told to hide tattoos
Ottawa hospital staff told to hide tattoos
Ottawa, Ontario -- Rob Driskell stepped onto an elevator at the Ottawa Hospital where a female therapist sized him up. "She asked me, 'are you allowed to work like that?'" said Driskell. He had no idea what she was referring to. "'With all that paint on your arms,' (the woman said). She didn't even know what to call it. That was 15 years ago and I haven't heard a peep since." But now, Ottawa Hospital staff members with tattoos and piercings are being told to cover up -- even if they aren't dealing with the public or food. A new dress code policy implemented last month requires all staff to conceal visible tattoos and remove "excessive" body piercings.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, April 18, 2011
Adrenaline Vancity Professional Tattoos and Piercings artists tattoo for Red Cross Japan
Adrenaline Vancity Professional Tattoos and Piercings artists tattoo for Red Cross Japan
Vancouver, British Columbia -- Several artists at Adrenaline Vancity Professional Tattoos and Piercings (1014 Granville Street), a chain of tattoo and piercing shops with two locations in Vancouver (the other is located at 1926 West 4th Avenue), will be tattooing for Japan earthquake and tsunami relief starting Tuesday (April 19). "It's just basically about getting a bunch of tattooers together to donate a whole bunch of time and work, like 100 percent, to a charity of their choice," Stephanie Babiarz, a participating tattoo artist, told the Straight in a phone interview. "We're just kind of hoping to raise at least, well personally on the day that I'm doing it, like $1,000 for the Red Cross of Japan."
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, April 15, 2011
Temporary Tattoos get amazing exposure online
Temporary Tattoos get amazing exposure online
Thanks to his online advertising campaign, Amazing Raymond's tattoos are now used by a well-known hardware chain and his tattoos have been used by Robert De Niro in his coming film The Killer Elite and by the cast of TV show City Homicide. Other high profile clients include Fox Studios and New Zealand's South Pacific Pictures. He also has a longstanding association with Melbourne's Crown casino, for which he produces special tattoos for events such as AFL grand finals, Mother's' Day and New Year's Eve. He also works with many corporate clients, creating tattoos of their logos for company events.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, April 15, 2011
Hepatitis scare as seven tested after ear piercings
Hepatitis scare as seven tested after ear piercings
New Zealand -- Seven people are being tested for hepatitis after developing serious ear infections from having their ears pierced with inadequately sterilised equipment. All seven, most of whom were teenage girls, received the infections after having piercings at Napier store Trendez in February. The infections were so bad abscesses had to be surgically cut open and drained, permanently damaging the cartilage in the ears, and some still needed bandages and dressings 2 months later.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Piercing and tats in a new location
Piercing and tats in a new location
Chilliwack, B.C. -- Kaie Peters, 24, always dreamed of working in a vibrant tattoo shop. But it wasn't always easy to break into the biz. Together with her friend, Krystal Kurosawa, a professional piercer, they opened Radical Distractionz in Chilliwack, an all-female owned and operated body modification business. "Our philosophy is safe and professional piercings and tattoos are the way to go," said Kurosawa. It took a year for them to get going from a tiny storefront space on Princess Avenue. Soon it was hopping with tattoo and piercing clients, but they still felt somehow they'd do even better in another location.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, April 12, 2011
More people looking like Dr. Spock and Zoey
More people looking like Dr. Spock and Zoey
Body modification is a popular art -- nose rings, belly button piercings, tattoos. And, something different, ear sculpting or getting "elfed." That's a procedure to bring the tops of teh ears to an attention-grabbing point, like Zoey in Avatar or Dr. Spock. The procedure's been around for a while, but is said to be gaining in popularity. Steve Haworth, a Valley body modification artist, developed the procedure that involves snipping the cartilage along the upper ear and stitching the top of the lobe into a point.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Body suspension growing in popularity
Body suspension growing in popularity
He kneels in front of his crowd, securing the two stainless steel fish hooks in his back to the pulley rigged to the ceiling. The music starts, loud and vibrant, and he is lifted to a standing position. He runs and kicks his feet off the ground until he is swinging back and forth through the air, suspended only by the flesh of his back as it stretches and bends over the hooks that hold him. To make his point, he picks up a man twice his own 160 lbs. and holds him off the ground in a bear hug, his skin resilient, holding the weight of them both. He swings by himself a few seconds more before he cuts himself loose, dropping to his feet again to the roar of the crowd.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, April 11, 2011
Protecting Your Ink This Spring
Protecting Your Ink This Spring
Spring is here, and it won't be long before summer weather starts to kick in. T-shirts and shorts will start to make their way back into our wardrobe rotation, as will swimming trunks and bathing suits. There's a lot of fun to be had, but we must be mindful of how much we're exposing our skin to the elements. This is good advice for anyone, but those with tattoos and those interested in acquiring new tattoos should be especially vigilant. I spoke with Dave Garner over at Skin Candy Tattoo,and he had some helpful tips on how to treat your body art this spring and summer.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, April 11, 2011
Dermals
Dermals
Recently, a new piercing has become very popular. Microdermals, also known as dermals or “single point piercings”, can be argued that they’re not just a surface piercing. To some people, it is considered an implant. How? Dermals are a single diamond that pierces the skin once, and it is implanted into the skin. On the surface of the skin, there is a hook, which the diamond is attached onto. Many people say that it isn’t painful, and the trend is spreading all over America.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, April 07, 2011
Mexico 'Vampire Woman,' Calls Horns And Piercings 'Sign Of Strength'
Mexico 'Vampire Woman,' Calls Horns And Piercings 'Sign Of Strength'
Maria Jose Cristerna's striking appearance may generate gasps, but the 35-year-old tattoo artist reportedly says a horrific history of domestic violence triggered her decision to re-invent herself as a "vampire." Cristerna recently showed off a new set of titanium "horn" implants -- along with dental "fangs" and multiple facial piercings -- at a Monterrey tattoo exhibition, but insists she lives a normal life. "The horns I have are a symbol of strength and were implanted without anaesthetic," the Catholic-raised mother-of-four tells the Sun proudly. "I had the fangs done because I loved vampires as a little girl and I changed the colour of my eyes so they were how I really wanted them to be.'
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, April 07, 2011
A tattoo to remember...
A tattoo to remember...
Having an elaborate design tattooed on your body is usually a long-considered decision, but what happens when the tattoo goes wrong? Experienced tattoo artist Nigel Barden of Suns & Roses Tattoo and Piercing Studio in St James Road, said a rise in the use of home kits has meant he is seeing increasing numbers of people seeking help from him to sort out badly performed tattoo work. Because Suns & Roses has taken the unusual step - for a tattoo studio - of offering a tattoo removal service, using laser technology. Owner Nigel Barden, who has worked in tattoo studios for 30 years, said: “There is so much bad work these days with people doing it from houses, I though this would help our business.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, April 06, 2011
Tongue Piercing Festival
Tongue Piercing Festival
Bhaktapur, Nepal -- The tongue-piercing festival observed in Madhyapur Thimi on April 15 (Baisakh 2) every year is on the verge of extinction. The peculiar festival (Jatra) is loosing its specialties due to financial crisis and lack of piercers taking part in the festival. Around Rs. 40,000 is required to accomplish the cultural function observed in every New Year. It is in stake when its stakeholders are not showing positive gesture to extend financial assistance for this.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, April 06, 2011
Weird body modifications -- an introduction to the most bizarre in body modding
Weird body modifications -- an introduction to the most bizarre in body modding
Some people get them for cultural reasons or to get closer to god, others just for the sake of doing it, but body modification is a growing trend. Tattoos and piercing are barely regarded as anything out of the ordinary but often they are the gateway to the weird and wonderful world of extreme body modification. Quite the scene has developed around body modification and like anything one upsmanship plays a big role in pushing the boundaries of human modification.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, April 06, 2011
Minors to be barred from nipple, genital piercings
Minors to be barred from nipple, genital piercings
Australia -- INTIMATE body piercings, including those in nipples and genitals, will be banned for all people aged under 18 in new legislation before the South Australian Parliament. SA Attorney-General John Rau said the ban would apply even if a teenager had permission for the piercing from a parent. Minors will also be banned from the more recent fashion of ear stretching, where progressively larger rings are used to open up earlobes, and from other body modification procedures.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, April 02, 2011
Snoop Dogg Gets Tattoo in Honor of Nate Dogg
Snoop Dogg Gets Tattoo in Honor of Nate Dogg
Rapper Snoop Dogg immortalized the legacy of his fallen brother Nate Dogg by tattooing a picture of the deceased singer’s face on his left forearm along with the words “All Doggs go to Heaven.” The new ink by famed tattoo artist Mister Cartoon was done late Friday and serves as a lasting tribute to his lifelong friend. Nate Dogg was laid to rest in his native Long Beach, California over the weekend (Sat. Mar 16). The Nate Dogg Memorial Trust has been set up in his honor with 100% of the proceeds going towards Nate’s family and memorial expenses.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, April 02, 2011
Myanmar's tattooed women lure tourists
Myanmar's tattooed women lure tourists
Panmyaung Village, Myanmar — Ma Htwe recalled the day of agony she suffered, more than five decades ago, when her face was etched with the intricate tattoo that still lines her papery skin like a spider's web. "When they tattooed my eyelids I thought that they would disappear," she said, chewing pensively on betel nut. "I wanted to run away." The 65-year-old was one of the last in her village to undergo the facial inking -- once a rite of passage for young ethnic minority Chin women in the remote northwest of military-dominated Myanmar. With the practice ceasing about two generations ago, Ma Htwe is among a smattering of women left alive who bear the tattoos. When they die, the ancient tradition will die with them. In the meantime, the vanishing custom has turned her sleepy village, nestled on the banks of the Lemro River just outside Chin state, into a tourist attraction.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, March 31, 2011
Beyond the Prince Albert: penis piercing options and risks
Beyond the Prince Albert: penis piercing options and risks
The story goes something like this. Before his marriage to Queen Victoria in 1825, Prince Albert pierced his penis as a way to help hide the unsightly bulge it made in his fashionably tight trousers. His member was then “dressed down” a pant leg and the “dressing ring” was fixed to a hook to hold it in place. Unfortunately, like so much of the information surrounding genital piercing, this story is little better than hearsay. While genital piercings have become increasingly popular with the mainstream appeal of body modification such as tattooing, very little serious medical information exists on the risks, or even benefits, of genital jewelry.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, March 31, 2011
East End body piercer sees industry-related trends and myths come and go
East End body piercer sees industry-related trends and myths come and go
Montreal, Quebec -- This spunky, determined Hochelaga-Maisonneuve (“da best!”) miss first started lusting for body piercing as a 10-year-old growing up on Île d’Orléans but had to wait until she was a grand old dame of 14 before actually getting any piercings of her own done. Recognizing she was born to be a piercer but frustrated by the absence of any Quebec City area “masters” to show her the ropes, a teenage Isabelle made her way down to Montreal to apprentice at a series of local studios before finally, in 2004, with the help of a whopping $2,000 bank loan, getting it together to open her own shop, the East End’s premier piercing/tattoo parlour, Café Exorciste...
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Ink artists make their mark for Japan
Ink artists make their mark for Japan
Toronto, Ontario -- Tattoo artist Dave Allen feels he owes a lot to Japan, which has an ancient tradition of body art. So when the Kincardine native heard of the enormous devastation in the island nation he decided to combine art with aid. The result is Tattooers for Japan an online fundraising-drive to get tattoo studios around the world to raise money for survivors of the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear fallout in Japan. About 30 shops have already signed on to hold one-day events in April and May. One of them is Toronto’s Archive Tattoo Studio, 1528 Dundas St. W., owned by David and Elyse Glantz.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Henna Makes its Mark on Skin
Henna Makes its Mark on Skin
Tattoos climbed higher on the status scale recently when Jean Paul Gautier, Chanel and other high-end designers created limited-edition lines of temporary skin art. Chanel's collection ($75 for 55 designs) was a runway success and included images of birds, chains, and the brand's famous double C logo. But as we know, what's hot on the runway sometimes doesn't even simmer in Rochester, where temporary tattoos are more likely found in places like Aaron's Alley and Parkleigh, geared toward more casual crowds with tribal designs and slogans like "I'm Big in Japan" and "Selfish in Bed."
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Vanessa Hudgens shows off belly button piercing
Vanessa Hudgens shows off belly button piercing
Vanessa is no strangers to planes this week having jetted off to Las Vegas to celebrate the film's release. On her return, she was seen at the LA Lakers, displaying her belly button piercing as she sat alongside her pal Josh Hutcherson and watched the game. And the star couldn't hide her excitement throughout the game as she danced and chatted to her pal Josh. The friends also grabbed a snack together when they got hungry and feasted on pizza slices. Vanessa was first spotted showing off her belly ring in 2009 while on a beach holiday with her former boyfriend of four years Zac Efron.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, March 26, 2011
A new body of art
A new body of art
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island -- Charlottetown tattooist John Dohe has had a hand in a whole new body of art lately. With 14 years of tattooing to his credit, this body artist has focused his attention on an entirely different canvas — not the living, breathing and sometimes squirmy kind, but the more typical stationary hang-on-the-wall type. And now more than 15 of his works are on display at Confederation Centre Art Gallery in Charlottetown — John Dohe: String — as part of the Confederation Centre Art Gallery’s Emerging Artist Series supported by the RBC Foundation. “It’s a weird thing about tattooing in looking back at what it’s done for me, it’s got me across Canada. I’ve met a lot of artists.
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, March 25, 2011
Breaking the skin: A user’s guide to body art
Breaking the skin: A user’s guide to body art
Fifteen years ago, seeing someone with a pierced nose or a neck tattoo was rare. Body modification belonged to the skinny punk kids with safety pins in their ears and the burly bikers with “Mom” tattooed on their biceps. Few members of respectable society had metal in their face or ink on their arms. Today, that’s all changed. Tattoo and piercing artists say they are getting more business from all walks of life, from school teachers to businessmen to mechanical engineers. Hordes of college students are jumping on the bandwagon, too. And what better time than college to test the boundaries of your newfound freedom by getting something ridiculous tattooed on your armpit?
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, March 25, 2011
A Tattoo Master, Off the Street, Into the Gallery
A Tattoo Master, Off the Street, Into the Gallery
When artists come to New York for a show, they often make a trip to Chelsea to check out the competition. But when the Mexican tattoo artist known as Dr. Lakra arrived last month to install his exhibition at the Drawing Center, he headed straight for the New York Public Library on 42nd Street, to sign up for a library card. Then he began researching some of the subjects that fascinate him, like 19th-century medical instruments, witchcraft and anthropology. "When I travel, I always go to public libraries," he said in a recent interview. "I’m always hungry for images."
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, March 24, 2011
Lady Gaga only has tattoos on the left side of her body
Lady Gaga only has tattoos on the left side of her body
She performs on stage covered in blood and thinks horns sprouting from her face are a sensible style choice. She also has a fondness for straight whisky and has admitted to a previous cocaine addiction. So it is more than a little surprising that when it comes to body art, Lady Gaga is a little more conservative - because of her father's wishes. The Born This Way singer has revealed that she has only had one side of her body inked. Speaking to Google staff at the internet company's headquarters, she said: 'My father asked that I remain on one side slightly normal. 'So I only have my tattoos on my left side. He's asked I don't have any more on my right side.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, March 24, 2011
Tragus Piercing
Tragus Piercing
The tragus piercing is a perforation of the ear for the purpose of inserting and wearing a piece of jewelry. The tragus projects immediately in front of the ear canal. The piercing itself is usually made with a small gauge hollow piercing needle, and typical jewelry would be a small diameter captive bead ring or small gauge post style piercing jewelry. A related piercing is known as the Antitragus piercing
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Celebrity tattoo artists - Who do they ink they are?
Celebrity tattoo artists - Who do they ink they are?
Vidal Sassoon. Nicky Clarke. John Frieda. Hairdressers to the stars have become as recognisable as their big-name clients. And the cult of the super-stylist – Rachel Zoe and her TV show, Sex and the City’s Patricia Field – has seen onceunknown wardrobe mistresses become household names. Now, though, a new breed of A-list primpers have joined their ranks – step forward the celebrity tattooist. You may not have heard of Louis Molloy, but you will have seen his work. The tattoo artist is responsible for the majority of David Beckham’s body art. Molloy began his tattooing career in the Seventies, when it was a very different business than it is today.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Victoria tattoo convention draws a crowd
Victoria tattoo convention draws a crowd
Victoria, British Columbia -- Michelle Brannigan winces as the buzzing tattoo gun punctures the skin over her right ribcage. Ron Smith, a tattoo artist from North Vancouver, completes the final ink strokes on two names — Grace Linda and Adain Padraig. Brannigan, 28, says the pain is worth it, now that she knows her two children — a two-year-old daughter and a son who was stillborn at 22 weeks — will be forever a part of her body. The Victoria mom was one of hundreds of people who had tattoos done at this year’s Capital City Tattoo Convention from Friday to Sunday. Dozens of exhibitors from across the country showcased their best tattoo artists and organizers expected thousands of people to watch them in action.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, March 20, 2011
That piercing look
That piercing look
Hi, my name is Shari, and like the schoolgirl who tried to get away with multiple ear piercings this week, I too was once a victim of cruel and unusual school uniform policies. My first day of high school began badly when I was quickly identified as my older sister's younger sister. Deemed to be a troublemaker, I was set upon by a wizened old hag who was apparently to be my form mistress/prison warden for the term of my natural life. The socks I had artfully pulled down to cover my embarrassingly skinny ankles were yanked up to knee-height (oh, the shame) and the gold bangle that I had long coveted and finally received that Christmas was wrenched off my wrist "to be returned at the end of term". Tough luck, I had it coming. Back then, expecting sympathy from anyone in authority when you chose to question it was ridiculous.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, March 20, 2011
Pierce-a-thon aids earthquake victims
Pierce-a-thon aids earthquake victims
Chilliwack, British Columbia -- Thinking of donating to earthquake relief in Japan? What about getting a body piercing? Why not both at the same time? Next month Supreme Tattoos in Chilliwack hosts an all-day piercing fundraiser for Japan earthquake relief. "I seen it on the news what happened there, and I couldn't believe it," said Supreme Tattoos owner Frank Holzapfel of the 9.0-magnitude quake that devastated Japan last week. "I thought I'd try and do something." So on April 17, Holzapfel is throwing open his studio doors and piercing all comers for a minimum $10 donation. "Show up, pick your piercing and I'll take care of the rest," he said.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, March 17, 2011
Caring for Your Brand New Tattoo
Caring for Your Brand New Tattoo
Tattoo aftercare is very important if you want your new tattoo to heal correctly and look gorgeous. Most people believe that once the needlework is done, their tattoo is a lock, but that is far from reality. The facts are that unless you properly care for your new tattoo, it could easily fade, lose color, flake, scar or you could wind up with an infected mess on your body.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, March 17, 2011
Lady Gaga to be awarded with fashion icon award
Lady Gaga to be awarded with fashion icon award
Pop superstar Lady Gaga is to be recognised for her dress sense when she is presented with this year's style icon award from the Council Of Fashion Designers Of America. The Born This Way singer, who is known for her bizarre fashion including a meat dress, will receive the prize on June 6. Gaga, real name Stefani Germanotta, was recently carried on to the Grammy Awards' stage in a giant egg. The 24-year-old's name was announced for the annual industry awards at a reception yesterday.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Belly Button/Navel Piercing Tips
Belly Button/Navel Piercing Tips
Navel piercings are one of the most popular types of body piercing nowadays. Preferred due to its power to make an instant statement and its versatility, given the fact that it can be shown or hidden rapidly without difficulty, navel piercings are among the sexiest piercings for women. If you are contemplating the idea of getting your belly button pierced, make sure to keep some of the following tips in mind.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Young man fulfills a dream for his own piercing studio
Young man fulfills a dream for his own piercing studio
When he was 11, Rob Morris got an ear pierced and came away from the experience with more than just a hole in his ear lobe. He became fascinated with body piercing that day, and after a few dozen more personal piercings over the years, plus tattoos, he decided to open a piercing studio. Morris, 23, of West Ashley opened Mr. E's Body Piercing on Jan. 7. The shop at 2578 Ashley River Road markets body jewelry, tobacco pipes, incense, herbal blends and, of course, body piercings. Morris' wife, Shelby Morris, 19, keeps books and serves as hostess; their infant son, Carter, often relaxes in his swinging chair.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, March 16, 2011
The Dummies Guide To Getting A Tattoo
The Dummies Guide To Getting A Tattoo
Don't booze first or get anyone's name. Do tip your tattooist. Read on for my essential guide to getting inked without getting egg on your face. I think of them as body art, beautiful expressions of my personality marking significant moments in my life and OH MY GOD MOM, IT’S NOT A PHASE WHY DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND ME, I’M GOING TO WRITE ABOUT MY FEELINGS IN MY MOLESKINE. Whatever you think about them they are no longer just the preserve of repeat offenders, sailors and psychopaths called Andy that are really into body building/ throttling women down alleyways. If you pick wisely the needle could be your new best friend. If you pick like this girl you’ll probably end up turning to hypodermic needles.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Ke$Ha Tattooed a Fan
Ke$Ha Tattooed a Fan
Ke$ha posted a video of her tattooing one of her fans backstage at her show with a dollar sign using only a safety pin and a pen. She’s like an auto-tuned MacGyver. This isn’t the first time she’s done it either. In an earlier interview with Paper Magazine, Ke$ha said: “A friend of mine told me you can [create a tattoo] with pen ink and a safety pin and I was like ‘That’s amazing. I could give tattoos at anywhere in the world at any hotel.’ I saw this hot dude recently and I gave him a tattoo sitting in the lobby of the hotel. I was just like ‘Can I borrow a pen and a sewing kit?’ I think I got an admirer out of that one.”
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Posted by: Sarah on Friday, March 11, 2011
Baby, Infant & Child Ear Piercing
Baby, Infant & Child Ear Piercing
It’s a good debatable topic whether the parents should pierce the child’s ear when they are young or should they choose to pierce it when they grow older. Is it really necessary to pierce boy baby’s ears? The debates on these topics have been going on forever and will go on for ever. As supporters of either side have equally strongly reason for their stance. Those who believe the child’s ears should be pierced at a young age believe that it’s less painful when done at a tender age. As the child grows up, they would feel the pain more and more and may not want to do it for fear of the pain.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, March 10, 2011
In Defense of Ink
In Defense of Ink
Toronto, Ontario -- Off come the parkas, out comes the ink. Now that scarf season is on the wane, average Torontonians will start to notice what skin artists have known for years: neck tattoos are not that weird. At Yonge Street Tattoos, a shop at Yonge and Wellesley Sts. that’s been in business since 1998, “a lot more people more people have been coming in and asking for them,” says assistant manager Laurie Sibbert. The trend began about five years ago, she says, “when the rappers started doing it.” Sibbert says most requests for neck tattoos come from men ages 18 to 25.
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Posted by: Sarah on Thursday, March 10, 2011
Piercings, What's the Problem?
Piercings, What's the Problem?
Many parents have strong opinions about their teen's piercings. Parents that are asked by their teens for piercings often respond with something like, “You’re destroying yourself or your face,” or “Who are you trying to be?” In the United States, you must be 14 and have a parent’s consent in order to get any sort of piercing, otherwise you must be 18 or older. In my opinion, I don’t think it should be required to get a parent’s consent even if you are under the age of 18 and want a body piercing. I think by the time you are 13 and you understand the risks and responsibilities of piercings, you should be able to get piercings without a parent’s consent.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Choosing Tattoos Over Job Prospects?
Choosing Tattoos Over Job Prospects?
Sometimes, you gotta wonder: how does a young person cover himself with tattoos and not think about the consequences? Is he just living in the moment? Sure, many artists and idols in popular culture like Lil Wayne and Travis Barker help make the tattooed look appear cool and unique but they also work in an industry where self-expression is not regulated. For many people who don’t have the opportunity to work as a professional artist or for a forward thinking tech firm, uniforms, dress code and professional appearance are still part of the corporate workplace dynamic.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Student faces school choice over piercing
Student faces school choice over piercing
Toronto, Ontario -- A student at one of Toronto's Catholic high schools might have to find another school next year after getting a piercing, which against the dress code. Kortney Knight says she won't sign a dress code contract with Notre Dame High School because it won't permit her to have piercings. Knight got her eyebrow pierced in November, knowing it was against school rules but felt she would be allowed to keep it. "I felt that, like, if no one's getting in trouble for them why can't I have one as well?" she said.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Auto Ink Tattoo Machine could be the next big thing
Auto Ink Tattoo Machine could be the next big thing
Chris Eckert has managed to churn out a CNC tattoo machine that intends to be different from the rest – calling it the Auto Ink, this is actually a three axis numerically controlled sculpture. Whenever the main switch is triggered, the operator will be assigned with a religion as well as it’s corresponding symbol, followed by tattooing that onto the person’s arm. The operator him/herself will not be able to have any control over the assigned symbol, and whatever is tattooed onto your arm will be randomly assigned, so make those who have some pretty strong personal beliefs would do well to think this “lottery” of sorts before continuing.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, March 05, 2011
The Word Made Flesh
The Word Made Flesh
Photographer Ina Saltz talks about misspelled tattoos, the Japanese paradox, and ampersands on skin.Never trust Helvetica, that Swiss troublemaker. She's everywhere. She was on the arm of an interesting-looking young man in New York one day in 2003 when designer and typophile Ina Saltz spotted her in the flesh and couldn't resist. Would you mind if I took a photo of your Helvetica tattoo to show my students? Saltz asked. Two "intellectual" tattoo books later, Saltz is still fascinated by seeing typefaces on skin. Typographic tattoos are sexy, sensual. "Skin is a flexible, translucent medium," she says. "There's something visceral about seeing words on flesh that stops you in your tracks."
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, March 05, 2011
Nine artists who are making Toronto a better place to get inked
Nine artists who are making Toronto a better place to get inked
Toronto, Ontario -- From Parkdale to the Pacific Mall, we profile the pros who trade fantasy for flesh. [...]Sal’s is a rough and tumble environment, but we’re down to earth. We don’t have egos, we just want to make tattoos. There are only two of us tattooing, which makes it more personal. New clients can walk in and see how we treat our customers, the tattoos we do and how we clean up after. Nothing is behind closed doors. Except for the cockfighting pit that we keep behind the closed doors.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, March 05, 2011
Green Q&A: Can tattoos be eco-friendly?
Green Q&A: Can tattoos be eco-friendly?
Q: Last month, I vacationed in Hawaii with my family, including my cousin Gary, who wears his strong eco-convictions on his sleeve ... and all over the rest of the body. This left me wondering if there are environmental drawbacks to tattooing, since Gary's lifestyle choices seem be perfectly "green" in every way. Since I don't have a tattoo, I'll ask you: Is tattooing green?
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, March 01, 2011
Surgery For Stretched and Torn Piercings
Surgery For Stretched and Torn Piercings
In the name of fashion, we will do and wear the most ornate and ridiculous of things - leg warmers with heels, anyone? And while mostly harmless, (unless recorded photographically) some things done in the name of fashion can leave lasting and sometimes detrimental effects on the body. Seemingly innocuous, earrings, especially large and heavy earrings, over a long period of time can cause cause the earlobes to lengthen and piercings to enlarge. As recently seen on The Doctors, a few preventative measures could be implemented to reduce the risk of drooping earlobes with enlarged piercings. First, swap out all heavy metal earrings with those made of lighter materials, such as bamboo, wood or plastic. Second, if you are wearing heavier earrings, put a bit of surgical tape to the back of the earlobe to add extra support.
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Posted by: Sarah on Tuesday, March 01, 2011
Piercings puncture preconceptions
Piercings puncture preconceptions
By day, my name is Russell Anglin. I stand 5 feet, 11 inches tall (6 feet if you believe my driver’s license), I’m not really sure how much I weigh and I have hazel eyes. I pride myself with a professional demeanor and try to be as friendly and helpful towards folks as I can. But by night, I undergo a marked transformation. All of my previous attributes basically remain true, but I go about my business with a ring, paper clip, or maybe even guitar string or twisty tie inserted through my lip. You may have seen me sporting my facial ornamentation around town and thought, “Hey? Who’s that cool guy with the lip ring?” Well you don’t have to wonder anymore. It’s me, and I am pleased to meet you.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, February 27, 2011
Body modification: Fashion statement may be dangerous health risk
Body modification: Fashion statement may be dangerous health risk
If you saw Lady GaGa's recent appearance on the Grammys, you may have been asking yourself what's with the horns and the pointy shoulders? While those body modifications were just part of a costume, a local dermatologist fears some teens are taking the body modification trend too far. And, he says, that could be dangerous. Sixteen-year-old Sashaly Arencibia is talking to Doctor Seth Foreman about a hot teenage trend. "I'm nervous whenever I get there, but I like pain." Doctor Foreman says that might be a good thing because not only can it be painful to have your body modified, it's risky. "Body modification is the use of any type of instrument or ornament you can place on your body and often time it's done "surgically."
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, February 27, 2011
Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain and his wife show off their matching snake tattoos
Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain and his wife show off their matching snake tattoos
It seems that a couple who get tattooed together, stay together. American travel and food show host Anthony Bourdain and Italian wife Ottavia Busia are the latest couple to get matching body art. And instead of going down the route of getting one another's name, like so many couples before them, the duo settled for an identical snake design. The couple got the body art at the infamous Miami Ink tattoo parlour in South Beach, Florida yesterday. The establishment is a favourite of Bourdain, who has already received a skull on his right shoulder from famed artist Chris Garver.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, February 27, 2011
A Love Affair With Ink
A Love Affair With Ink
Tattooing has persisted as an art form across the globe for millennia — evidence of tattoos points to it as a practiced used by various cultures for over 10,000 years. Throughout the history of their use, tattoos have never been stenciled on a human canvas for a singular reason — the ideas that have caused millions of people to permanently ink themselves are multifold and constantly changing. For many, that’s the beauty behind a tattoo: It unites humans as living, breathing canvases, regardless of the diversity of a person’s creed, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual background and passions.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Piercer says province should have regulations for body piercing
Piercer says province should have regulations for body piercing
Corner Brook, Newfoundland -- At least one city piercer believes there should be laws in Newfoundland and Labrador involving tattoos or body piercing. Judy Cove says she wants the province to adopt regulations regarding tattoo artist and piercers, as well as those who want the body art done. “It’s outrageous,” said Cove. “There are no guidelines here.” According to a media report, a Clarke’s Beach parent is calling for further regulations of the tattoo and piercing industry after her 14-year-old son came home with two piercings. Charlene Penney says her son received lip piercings from a man operating out of his home in Conception Bay.
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Posted by: Sarah on Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Tattooing and Skin Diseases
Tattooing and Skin Diseases
Every now and again an email comes through to the Body Art in-box, often starting out with an explanation of how the person sending the email has some sort of skin disorder, but they really want to get a tattoo... and is it going to be okay if they do get one? Interestingly none of these people seem to feel comfortable talking about this with their doctors or dermatologists, even though their medical professional is in the best position to know exactly how chronic or not their condition is, and where on their body it is as well and have awareness of any of their ongoing treatments or medications.
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Posted by: Sarah on Monday, February 21, 2011
Unusual tattoos revealed
Unusual tattoos revealed
In his 27 years as a tattooist, Fraser Sheppard has been asked to ink some pretty outrageous stuff on people. Like the time a young man walked into the South Australian studio where he worked and asked him to tattoo the business logo of his new employer on the upper arm along with the names of his co-workers. A nauseating brown-nosing act, to be sure. But two weeks later the man walked back into the studio and told the veteran tattooist he had been sacked. “I think it was his first real job and he got all excited about it,” Mr Sheppard said yesterday.
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Posted by: Sarah on Sunday, February 20, 2011
Anything Once: Evolution of an art
Anything Once: Evolution of an art
As I pull into the parking lot of Independent Tattoo near Fenwick Island, I'm not sure who should be more nervous: me or the guy I'm going to torture. Although aspiring tattoo artists usually have to endure a two-year apprenticeship before they get to break any skin, Independent's part owner Matthew Amey has given me a free pass. Not only is he going to put a needle in my hand, he's found me a guinea pig. I'm going to tattoo a real person, and that makes my head spin. Normally, Amey wouldn't consider taking on a newcomer who showed up without a lot of patience and a deep portfolio of drawings.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, February 19, 2011
Common Problems With Piercings
Common Problems With Piercings
So long as you get your piercing done by a professional piercer using sterile equipment, serious complications are rare. However, as with any medical procedure, there is no way to make anything 100% risk free. Infections, scarring, and accidents like tearing are always possible, and it's important for you to be aware of these risks, no matter how remote the chances. The single biggest concern after any piercing is the immediate risk of infection. The most important thing to do is make sure the needle the piercer uses is sterile, which any professional piercer will do.
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Posted by: Sarah on Saturday, February 19, 2011
Fashion moves on from temporary to real tattoos
Fashion moves on from temporary to real tattoos
When Lady Gaga and her stylist Nicola Formichetti get excited by something, it usually means that whatever it is will lead the way in fashion a few months later. And currently, that something seems to be: tattoos. While body art already celebrated a hesitant comeback in past seasons with high-fashion labels such as Chanel and mass retailers including Topshop releasing temporary tattoo sets, a new video released by Gaga and Formichetti for fashion designer Thierry Mugler is all about the real thing, with the model even sporting tattoos all over his head.
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