People come to me all the time and ask me: " I want a tattoo...what should I get??? " Or: " I want a tattoo for my ankle (thigh, shoulder ...whatever!!!), what do people usually get there???"
First of all I believe tattoos are (and should be) a form of personal expression, and should be chosen by the person who is going to wear it for the rest of their lives. Even a tattoo that doesnt mean anything, does mean something because of the choice of design, and the personality and mind-set of the person who chooses it.
One kind of person may pick a butterfly another may pick a dragon ... maybe the third may pick "Marvin the Martian" .
These three people will have vastly different personalities and although every person that picks a dragon for their tattoo design is not necessarily like-minded, the fact that they all chose dragons says something about each of their personalities individually, varying for every person based on the impact or emotions or raw human responses a dragon conjures up in the mind of the individual
Unfortunately some people choose tattoos in order to create a certain kind of image, like somebody changing their style of clothing or hair to fit into a certain group or lifestyle image.
These people make up about 90 percent of the 'cover-up" and/or laser tattoo removal market, as images are just that... images!! ... a front!!
Without substance or a real sense of self and individuality, their need to re-create or tweak the image they present to the world changes with age and attitude. So they end up covering a lot of things they had done when they were younger or removing them completely in order to fit the image they want to project today, or in some cases the REAL person they've become.
Fortunately a lot of people getting tattoos today know exactly what they want, know exactly how they want it done, what it means and what it says about them as a person,their life, their attitude etc.
As with anything that gains poularity quickly, it usually evolves into a fad among certain groups, (generally the weak-minded, highly influenced and of course the insecure)
All these people know is that they want a tattoo, because so many people they know have one and they feel left out, but they don't seem to have enough of a sense of self to express it as any kind of artistic concept or idea.
Granted some people are just not artistically gifted in any way, but really ... (and this is for the benefit of the client and the industry in general .... but mostly me) , all I'm asking is... if you're going to ask us what kind of tattoo you should get, at least give us a little more to go on. Tell us something about yourself, or what you feel defines you as a person. HELL... come in with a three or four paragraph mini-essay about your life and/ or random thoughts that occur to you ...at least with SOMEthing to go on ...(on a good day) we may be able to help a little better.
Otherwise do what everyone else does, Think about it for a while, get some ideas, do any necessary research, then come in and talk to us and we'll be glad to help you get your tattoo!
