They look awesome!
Giving your body up as a canvas to creativity, invites a whole world of opportunity into your life.
They draw the eye if they’re on show – attracting compliments and conversation. Or they can be personal, intimate pieces that you can smile and ponder over all by yourself. You can adorn your skin with all kinds of wonders: lions, tigers, bears, and landscapes. Mythical birds and beasts; ships, cities, insects, lamps, cameras, crowned lions; skulls, smoke and flames. Sporting legends, family heirlooms, dinosaurs, human hearts, geometric wizardry, and so much more!
Tattooing has advanced tremendously in the last two decades – with machines, needles, inks, and incredible artists allowing the art form to progress and forge forward; creating pieces that go in better and last longer in terms of colour and clarity. Awesomeness that lasts a lifetime! What’s not to love?
They’re expressive
Every tattoo artist aims to bring a bit of their own flavour to a tattoo – but ultimately they are an expression of you.
You are choosing to wear a piece of art that reflects a bit of who you are – your likes, tastes and experiences. The style, size and placement you go for says something about you – bold and brave, delicate, private, fun, colourful, morbid, weird, traditional or off-the-wall.
They are a visual representation of something that’s on your mind – a part of you.
Personal meaning
They can have as much or as little meaning as you want them to – they can be respectful tributes or humorous frivolities.
Tattoos can symbolize loved ones, places, changes in your life, inspiration, events, your passions and interests … a moment.
They can mark your journey through life or your journey across continents. They can signify a belonging, a rebellion, a thought or memory or a concrete love or belief.
Moving on
Whatever the reason – if it’s old or faded, if they’re no longer your favourite band or football team, if you’ve split up, or if that moment you were drunk in Lanzarote just doesn’t seem tattoo worthy anymore – a cover-up tattoo might be just the ticket.
A new tattoo can give you a fresh start and put the past behind you.
Why not?
It’s fair to say, that in the UK and many other parts of the world, tattoos are widely much more accepted than they used to be. It’s estimated that 1 in 5 people in the UK have a tattoo – with 1 in 3 for young adults alone. The last two decades has seen a huge boom in the industry – as tolerance and open mindedness extend in to all reaches of society.
There are still some professions that are a bit touchy though – so it’s still worth checking with your boss or HR department before getting that gnarly hand tattoo!
History into the Future
As a practice tattooing has been going for thousands of years. From stick and poke, to cut bamboo, surgical steel needles, and now even to robots … the technology develops alongside us, but as an art it’s showing no sign of going out of fashion.
There’s no denying it has some murky roots. With prisoners, gangs and slave marking among them. But tattoos have journeyed. From native tribes, travellers, and circus folk, to soldiers, sailors, and 1940’s housewives. Today you can find inked up rock stars, footballers and celebrities, all at the heart of mainstream culture.
Cultural significance
Across the globe there are many different styles and cultural meanings behind tattoos. Some signify a rite of passage – from child to adult, marriage, becoming a parent, a warrior, a protector, a provider. Many recognise and depict everyday actions, while others protect us from the ill wishes of deviant spirits.
Some can be markings of courage, success and kindness, or invocations of good fortune, virility and longevity. They can also denote defeat or shame. There is a symbolism and a sacredness, and sometimes even a secretive nature to tattoos within certain cultures.
Empowering
Deciding to get a tattoo is a big step. You’re taking control of your body, directing your will into the formation of an idea, and trusting someone else with your skin and your idea. Then you are committing to enduring the pain for the duration of the tattoo, which, of course, you’ll then wear for the remainder of your days on this sweet planet.
We salute and thank all our customers for letting us be a part of their decision – for choosing us to go with them through the process. Whether it’s your first or your fiftieth tattoo, we thank you!
Addictive
It’s often said that tattoos are addictive! Once you sit, you can’t quit … and for many of us it’s true.
People often start out getting a small one here and there, then progress on to larger pieces of work – a full sleeve, a big thigh-piece, a back piece.
They say, “I’m only getting one.”…Then before you know it they’ve got the itch, the urge, to add to their collection – which inevitably grows until they’re utterly in love with, and covered in an outstanding array of artwork.
It’s an experience you certainly won’t forget!
If there’s one other thing to add to your bucket-list; getting a tattoo is it. It really is quite something, to have an idea, see it stencilled onto your skin, and then sit through however many minutes of pain, before seeing your idea transformed into your own living breathing body!
EAT. SLEEP. INK.REPEAT
#sharpartstudios
