Poll: Do you have a tattoo?

[I'mOneToo]

Immediately, your comment made me think of this video:



Tattoos can become shriveled and unrecognizable, but they tell a story. Mine tell many stories. How they came to be on my body, and sometimes stories of the artists themselves. I have several done by some of the biggest names in tattoo artistry of their eras. It wasn't their best work, by any stretch of the imagination. Yes, they are faded. Most of them were done when I was 17, illegally, but that's a whole 'nother story.

Sun worship has faded most of the color and what remains are the outlines. And the memories of a bygone era.

Originally Posted by Vlasta

None and I thought about it in the past a lot . what turned me off an elderly people tattoos at my workplace . Skin all shriveled up and you can't even tell what it is .

[asphaltcowboi]

i have several tats but the one that bugs me the most is a heart that had a ribbon threw it with my first loves initals in it.. it bugged my next g/f so i had it blanked out with a chain designe then had her name put in with in a few months i was back getting it changed again... i now have a heart all wraped in chain!! took me long enough to learn!! but it is a reminder. my other tata are pretty cool a phonix with rainbow wings, a wolf on top a mtn beying in the sunset..then a tribal band with two feathers represting my parents. they are all on my arms above the elboews so i try to work my arms an keep the tats in shape!

[NorCalStud]

I needed some strength and thought of a like a bullfighter's shaped cape of tatts. So on my left upper arm and shoulder pecs ... I have the Lady of Guadalupe with thorns and roses. In clouds beneath her the word "familia"....my highest feeling. On my back is Mary her hand over her heart. On my right side is Bear....My earth medecine. A sweetgrass blade band around with two feathers.....lots and lots of bamboo. On my back is a coconut tree with the sea and a breaching small whale. All black ink.

[Vlasta]

Originally Posted by I'mOneToo

Immediately, your comment made me think of this video:



Tattoos can become shriveled and unrecognizable, but they tell a story. Mine tell many stories. How they came to be on my body, and sometimes stories of the artists themselves. I have several done by some of the biggest names in tattoo artistry of their eras. It wasn't their best work, by any stretch of the imagination. Yes, they are faded. Most of them were done when I was 17, illegally, but that's a whole 'nother story.

Sun worship has faded most of the color and what remains are the outlines. And the memories of a bygone era.

I understand what are you saying and I didn't want to go into too many details . I like tattoos on others , but it's simply not for me . If I have to have a tattoo for every story that has meaning to me Kat Von D would have to speed up with hers to match mine .

[*Anya*]

I do like artistic tats on others. I admire the intricacy of the work and still find tribals on well-toned biceps rather hot.

That said, I never had any interest in getting one for myself and as already mentioned, I have seen them become almost as though they were faded parchment paper on elderly folk.

I guess by the time one is 80 or so, it does mark the history of ones life, regardless.

[tapu]

I have my prisoner number tattoo'd on my neck, but that was not by choice.

[Gemme]

For those that are mentioning the fading and reshaping of tats as we age, you are absolutely right. What looks and feels good on 20 year old skin is not going to look and feel exactly the same at 40 or 60 or beyond.

In this day and age of uncertainty, one very old, very wise and very tattooed woman once mentioned to me that, no matter what happens to her in her life and who she meets, they will always remember her.

Tats help us express ourselves and make us memorable. We wear them like jewelry adorning our bodies and how we 'wear' them often determines how they are perceived. They mark events in our lives and the additions and loss of people and give others fodder for conversation, be it positive or negative.

And, Heaven forbid, help to identify us in a life/death situation.

I may or may not love them just a little.