There used to be a time when someone with tattoos was considered dangerous. It was associated with stints in prison, gang culture or both. Recently tattooing has become more accepted into mainstream society, although not completely. More and more people are getting ink. People use the tattoo to express things about themselves, their lives and their ideas. There are, however, people who get tattoos simply for the sake of getting them. A tattoo just so they can say they have one. It means nothing to them, they simply picked it off the wall of the shop. I would claim to be part of the former. Although it may not seem like it (my collection of tattoos is steadily growing) every single piece of tattoo art I have put on my body means something to me. For me a tattoo is an expression of self. I also consider them to be a form of art just as legitimate as paint or sculpture. My tattoos show different parts of who I am and as a result the tattoos themselves become a part of me.
I often get asked about the meanings behind some of my tattoos so I thought I would take the time to explain a few.
The black circular symbol in the center of this design is an old African symbol meaning "creativity": something which I believe is important to my life. Without applying a creative mind to things you can never come up with a new perspective or a new idea. The color surrounding this symbol I designed myself. The idea behind was that it would represent the flow of ideas from a creative mind.
Just underneath are the musical notes. Music is such a big part of my life, whether I'm playing it, writing it or simply listening to it. For something that plays such a significant part in my life, the tattoo is relatively understated but I feel like it fits well with the design above.
This sits just atop my self designed piece. It is Latin, and the literal translation is "Remember to Live" but when used, the context made it more like "There's more to living than only surviving". That phrase is actually a line from a song by The Offspring called 'Staring at the Sun'. Ever since hearing that line for the first time it has stuck with me. I had it put at the top of my arm as a reminder that life is not just a case of how long someone can stay alive, but what they did with their time.
This is the only tattoo I have so far that is not on my left arm. It is on my right leg, and was an 18th birthday present from my Aunt. When choosing this one I decided that I would get something that represented my upbringing. I give all of the credit for the way I was raised to my mother, who loves big cats. I was raised with a respect for independent minded women so this tattoo represents my mother and all other strong women that have influenced me in a positive way. I think I'm secretly a feminist at heart...
This tattoo represents the Straight Edge lifestyle I lead. The X has become a key symbol of Straight Edge so it made sense to get it. I am not a fan of blatantly obvious tattoos, I much prefer ones that are slightly subtle in meaning. This tattoo has actually helped me on the very few occasions when I have been tempted away from that lifestyle. Knowing it is on my skin would make it meaningless if I ever abandoned that way of life so just having it there helps.
This tattoo I am rather proud of as I drew the design for it myself on a scrap of paper, so it is rewarding to now have it on my skin. I was inspired by Ken Kesey's novel 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'. For me, that novel was a critique of the conformity that seemed to be rife in America at the time, and I think it is as relevant today as it was then. The one bird flying in the opposite direction is the symbol of going against a popular opinion or lifestyle by staying true to yourself.
There are two meanings behind this tattoo. One is the main, serious reason and the other is rather silly (there's always room for some silliness). The main reason is the nature of questions. Without questions we would not have advanced so much as a species as new questions lead to new answers. Curiosity is one of the most wonderful things about the mind. That was what led me to choosing a question mark. The design of the question mark itself I took from Batman villain The Riddler (from the 'Batman Forever' movie). The Riddler was always my favorite of Batman's adversaries, due to his use of cerebral tactics as opposed to brute force. He also reinforced the power of questions.
This tattoo actually has three meanings behind it. The first and foremost was that because my aim in life is to live in the United States of America I wanted something that would represent where I came from: England. A St. George flag would be far too obvious and rather thuggish so I decided to pick the flower that is commonly associated with England: the rose. Also, with so many unorthodox and self designed tattoos I also wanted to show an appreciation for more traditional tattoo art. The third reason is known only to me, and shall stay that way.
This tattoo has a rather interesting back story. When I was studying for a semester at Utica College in New York state I made friends with Ting and Ami, two people I still love to death and wish I saw much more of. After they graduated they were planning to move to Boston, MA and encouraged me to visit. After about two days back in England I decided that I had to get back and see them. Luckily, they were more than happy with the arrangement. During my week in Boston, the three of us went on the Freedom Trail. When visiting one of the cemetaries the tour guide pointed out that on some of the puritan headstones were adorned with winged skulls. This was said to represent the soul rising to heaven after death. I figured the idea of a winged skull was a cool tattoo idea but didn't agree with puritan philosophies. When I gave it some more thought I realized that on a basic level, the puritans were Englishmen looking for a better life in the United States. That was something I could definitely relate to, so I got it inked.
Well there you go, the stories behind some of my tattoos. I plan on expanding the ink I already have. The goal is eventually a full left arm sleeve. It's coming along, albeit slowly...
I often get asked about the meanings behind some of my tattoos so I thought I would take the time to explain a few.
The black circular symbol in the center of this design is an old African symbol meaning "creativity": something which I believe is important to my life. Without applying a creative mind to things you can never come up with a new perspective or a new idea. The color surrounding this symbol I designed myself. The idea behind was that it would represent the flow of ideas from a creative mind.Just underneath are the musical notes. Music is such a big part of my life, whether I'm playing it, writing it or simply listening to it. For something that plays such a significant part in my life, the tattoo is relatively understated but I feel like it fits well with the design above.
This sits just atop my self designed piece. It is Latin, and the literal translation is "Remember to Live" but when used, the context made it more like "There's more to living than only surviving". That phrase is actually a line from a song by The Offspring called 'Staring at the Sun'. Ever since hearing that line for the first time it has stuck with me. I had it put at the top of my arm as a reminder that life is not just a case of how long someone can stay alive, but what they did with their time.
This is the only tattoo I have so far that is not on my left arm. It is on my right leg, and was an 18th birthday present from my Aunt. When choosing this one I decided that I would get something that represented my upbringing. I give all of the credit for the way I was raised to my mother, who loves big cats. I was raised with a respect for independent minded women so this tattoo represents my mother and all other strong women that have influenced me in a positive way. I think I'm secretly a feminist at heart...
This tattoo represents the Straight Edge lifestyle I lead. The X has become a key symbol of Straight Edge so it made sense to get it. I am not a fan of blatantly obvious tattoos, I much prefer ones that are slightly subtle in meaning. This tattoo has actually helped me on the very few occasions when I have been tempted away from that lifestyle. Knowing it is on my skin would make it meaningless if I ever abandoned that way of life so just having it there helps.
This tattoo I am rather proud of as I drew the design for it myself on a scrap of paper, so it is rewarding to now have it on my skin. I was inspired by Ken Kesey's novel 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'. For me, that novel was a critique of the conformity that seemed to be rife in America at the time, and I think it is as relevant today as it was then. The one bird flying in the opposite direction is the symbol of going against a popular opinion or lifestyle by staying true to yourself.
There are two meanings behind this tattoo. One is the main, serious reason and the other is rather silly (there's always room for some silliness). The main reason is the nature of questions. Without questions we would not have advanced so much as a species as new questions lead to new answers. Curiosity is one of the most wonderful things about the mind. That was what led me to choosing a question mark. The design of the question mark itself I took from Batman villain The Riddler (from the 'Batman Forever' movie). The Riddler was always my favorite of Batman's adversaries, due to his use of cerebral tactics as opposed to brute force. He also reinforced the power of questions.
This tattoo actually has three meanings behind it. The first and foremost was that because my aim in life is to live in the United States of America I wanted something that would represent where I came from: England. A St. George flag would be far too obvious and rather thuggish so I decided to pick the flower that is commonly associated with England: the rose. Also, with so many unorthodox and self designed tattoos I also wanted to show an appreciation for more traditional tattoo art. The third reason is known only to me, and shall stay that way.
This tattoo has a rather interesting back story. When I was studying for a semester at Utica College in New York state I made friends with Ting and Ami, two people I still love to death and wish I saw much more of. After they graduated they were planning to move to Boston, MA and encouraged me to visit. After about two days back in England I decided that I had to get back and see them. Luckily, they were more than happy with the arrangement. During my week in Boston, the three of us went on the Freedom Trail. When visiting one of the cemetaries the tour guide pointed out that on some of the puritan headstones were adorned with winged skulls. This was said to represent the soul rising to heaven after death. I figured the idea of a winged skull was a cool tattoo idea but didn't agree with puritan philosophies. When I gave it some more thought I realized that on a basic level, the puritans were Englishmen looking for a better life in the United States. That was something I could definitely relate to, so I got it inked.Well there you go, the stories behind some of my tattoos. I plan on expanding the ink I already have. The goal is eventually a full left arm sleeve. It's coming along, albeit slowly...
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