KATHRYN CATES MOORE / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Sunday, July 10, 2005 7:00 pm
The young man walked into the tattoo shop without hesitation, not even a side glance at the posters of decorated flesh on the wall. He pulled his money from the pocket of his sagging jeans and laid it on the counter.
"I want a tattoo," he said, straightforward and sure of his desire to get some skin art. No cajoling is necessary for today's tattoo client.
Stereotypes about people who have tattoos are as last year as Dennis Rodman. Sailors on shore leave who wake up from a night on the town with a naked woman imprinted on their upper arm are a thing of the past.
Tattoos are de rigueur among today's twentysomethings.
Beneath his suit and tie, your accountant may have his true colors permanently seared into the small of his back. And the young mother pushing her toddler in the stroller may have a butterfly fluttering across her abdomen.
Indeed, tattoos are more mainstream than ever. A 2003 Harris poll found that 16 percent of all adults have at least one tattoo, and 64 percent of those are on people ages 25 to 39.
These are not your father's tattoos (think Grateful Dead) or your grandfather's (maybe a flying bald eagle).
"It's really personal," said Tyson Schaffert, tattoo artist at Iron Brush Tattoo.
Clients usually arrive at his shop after researching artists' styles and images. Their reasons for permanently dying their skin are as varied as the tattoos they select from Tinkerbell-like fairies to tribal symbols.
Sometimes they are "capturing a moment in time," Schaffert said. "They want to remember this is what I am today."
Others are looking for a permanent visualization of how they perceive themselves. "They have thought about this and want something meaningful," Schaffert said.
Smart, like a wolf. Delicate, like a flower. Irish, with a Celtic symbol to match.
According to the poll, 34 percent of those Americans with tattoos said having one has made them feel sexier. Twenty-nine percent said it made them feel more rebellious (even if no one could see it), and 26 percent said they feel more attractive.
Yes, they are young. The demographic selection in the Harris poll might be slightly older than tattoo seekers in Lincoln, a college town.
Gary Mayo, owner of Guns 2 Roses tattoo shop, puts most of his customers in the 18 to 25 age group. Last month, he tattooed two people in their 50s, but that is the exception, he said.
"We cater to what I like to call the intelligent college student,'" he said. If it is their first tattoo experience, Mayo tries to steer them away from inking skin that will be on display 24/7. Faces and the backs of hands, for example, are best left unmarked, he believes, at least until you are sure of the permanency of your decision.
Because, like a good marriage, a tattoo is forever. Something that gets under your skin and stays there for the rest of your life.
Girls are most likely to start their lifelong experience with a tattoo on their foot or ankle, he said. Guys go for the shoulders or the back.
Mayo, who has been in the business five years, is a fanatic about the sterility of his instruments, and his is the only shop in the state to use equipment that is driven by air and can be totally sterilized in an autoclave. There's no chance for hepatitis, which star Pamela Anderson contends she contracted by receiving a tattoo.
All reputable shops value sterilization procedures and use disposable needles, too. Many also use autoclaves for some of their equipment.
Tattoo artists must be licensed by the state, which mandates that no one under the age of 18 can be tattooed.
Mayo believes the up and down of the air-driven needle produces a more consistent and precise image than regular tattoo machines. "I think it hurts less," he said.
Today's tattoo procedures are a far cry from the original Egyptian practice, which held that characters tattooed on women's legs protected them during childbirth. The Japanese, in about 400 B.C., had tattoos for ornamental and narrative purposes. And European explorers found Polynesian men and women tattooed to identify their tribal affiliation.
In this techno age, there is more than one way to create the "flash," or tattoo art, that will go on your skin.
Clients search the Web for designs they like. In 2002, the word "tattoo" was the third most popular search term for Lycos, an Internet search engine.
It's just one step from the Internet to the scanner. Mayo likes the symmetry and preciseness that comes with digital imaging. Letters are centered, evenly spaced and the same size when he puts them up on his computer screen. He can size them up or down and then print the design so clients know exactly what it is going to look like on their skin.
"I'm not big on freehand," he said. "When they go out the door, they are wearing my art" and he wants it exactly right.
Schaffert, on the other hand, thinks the ability to draw is what makes tattoo art individual. Most of the work at his shop is hand done. "I try to stay true to the art of tattooing," he said. Schaffert signs his work with a stamp of black ink.
"We're getting back to traditional, badge style'" tattoos," he said. They are about the size of the palm of your hand, with bold lines, good color and beautiful images, he said. "I classify these as folk art."
Roses are the most popular flower, and crosses, of all sizes and styles, also are very popular. Tribal symbols, Chinese characters and the always popular butterfly are still trendy. Battleships and the word "Mom" in a banner are not.
Although some shops operate on a "cash only" basis, most businesses take plastic. But quality, not price, should be the main consideration, artists say. A small tattoo will probably cost you at least $50, depending on the details, and the cost goes up with the intricacy and time involved.
No longer strictly a symbol of rebellion or gangs or drunken courage, today's tattoos have come of age.
Reach Kathryn Cates Moore at 473-7214 or kmoore@journalstar.com.
It's a family affair
Jennifer McKinney, daughter (and sister)
Jaacki McKinney, daughter (and sister)
Lisa Valencia-McKinney, mother
Ages: 18, almost 20 and 41
Occupations: Jennifer and Jaacki are students, Lisa works as a dispatch controller in Omaha
Ink spots: Jaacki and Jennifer have Chinese characters on the small of their backs that read "Big Sister" and "Little Sister," respectively. Lisa has a "dancing chili pepper" above her ankle.
To the point: Before heading off to college, Jaacki wanted to get a tattoo and so did her sister, Jennifer, who was then only 16 years old. Lisa resisted giving permission for months, but finally gave in when they came to her with the idea of the "sisters" tattoo. "The timing was right," she said, "Because Jaacki was going to college."
"At first we wanted matching iguanas," Jaacki said. "Then we saw this and found the little' and big' symbols on the Internet."
The three had to go to several shops before finding someone who would tattoo Jennifer, even with her mother present.
Needles and pins: Jaacki went first and was "scared" but now attributes her queasy stomach to the fact that she hadn't eaten that morning.
Lisa, sitting in the waiting room, heard screaming and panicked, but it turned out not to be her daughter.
By the time Jennifer got in the chair, she was nervous, but not afraid.
When it was over, both agreed, it didn't hurt, except when it hit the spine area.
Family and friends: Lisa laughs and says, "We are the tattoo family." She got her dancing chili pepper about five years ago with her sister, who got a stars and moon design on her ankle. Her brothers got theirs at about the same time. And the girls' dad has the Husker defense symbol, with the words "Bad to the Bone."
"We didn't tell Grandma until after it was over," Jaacki said. "Papa laughed and shook his head when he saw it.
"When I got to college, my roommates liked it and wanted to get their own."
Spell it out
Vanessa Humaran
Age: 22
Occupation: Domestic violence outreach and education coordinator.
Ink spots : Vanessa's first tattoo, "Chica" in the middle of her back, is her least favorite and has faded slightly. Her second, "LITBIT," stands for "Life is Tough, But I'm Tougher." Recently, she had her last name printed at the base of her neck in script.
To the point: At 17, while stationed with the Air Force in New Mexico, she had "Chica" tattooed, even though she was not of legal age. "He told me if I was old enough to die for my country, I was old enough for a tattoo," she said about the tattoo artist.
After serving in Operation: Enduring Freedom, Humaran came home and got a second tattoo to remind her of her experience. The letters on her left upper arm stand for "Life is Tough, But I'm Tougher."
"That's how I felt when I got back," she said.
Her most recent tattoo is a remembrance and tribute to her father, she said. "My father passed away when I was younger," she said. "This represents him. His name. My name."
Needles and pins: Pain is not an issue for Humaran. She prefers the contrast of dark and light in her tattoos no bright colors.
Family and friends: Humaran hid the first one from her mom. "She is very conservative, originally from Mexico," Humaran explained.
After the second one, her mother said, "Keep them where you can hide them."
When she got the most recent one, she told her mom, "It was a gift from my boyfriend."
"She still doesn't really like them," Humaran said.
Back to back
Philip Tesch
Dustin Lottman
Ages: Both 20
Occupation: Students with part-time jobs
Ink spots: Lottman designed and drew the cross design, then had it sized down. His is about 13 inches long and 4 inches wide. Tesch's cross is similar, but smaller and filled in with ink.
To the point: Lottman has always wanted a tattoo and decided in February 2004 the cross was the perfect symbol for him. "I'm a strong Christian," said the member of the Berean Church.
Tesch, a high school friend who has played on various baseball teams with Lottman over the years, is also a Christian, but looks at the cross tattoo more as a connection with his best friend. "Even when we get old, we'll always share the tattoo," he said.
Needles and pins: Lottman had his done first, sitting on the chair with his back hunched over. "It only took about 45 minutes, but it seemed like an eternity," he said. "It hurt a little on my spine."
Tesch went about a week later and said, "It felt like a pinch."
Family and friends: Lottman's family was "surprised, but not mad," he said.
Tesch told his mom, but not his dad, who lives out of town. "My grandma just found out," he said. "I was showing her my sunburn and forgot it was there. She called me a hippie.'"
Tesch works with elementary kids who like his tattoo, but he feels one or two tattoos would be the limit if he becomes a teacher.