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Tonya's Tattoo Info Page 2 <<Back | Next >>
Early Tattooing Methods
An amazing variety of tattooing methods developed in different cultures.
In North and South America, many Indian tribes routinely tattooed
the body or the face by simple pricking , and some
tribes in California introduced color into scratches .
Many tribes of the Arctic and Subarctic, mostly Inuit, and some people in eastern Siberia, made needle punctures through which a thread coated with pigment (usually soot) was drawn underneath the skin. In Polynesia and Micronesia, pigment was pricked into the skin by tapping on a tool shaped like a small rake.
It is said that the ancient Polynesians were the ones who created tattoos. They pounded sharp sticks tipped with ash and coconut oil repeatedly into their flesh with mallets. "Skin Stories," a documentary of tribal art, shows the patient tied to a tree so that they could not run from the pain.
The Maori
The Maori people of New Zealand, who are world
famous for their tattooing, applied their wood
carving technique to tattooing. In the moko style
of Maori tattooing, shallow, colored grooves in distinctive, complex
designs were produced on the face and buttocks by striking a small bone-cutting
tool (used for shaping wood) into the skin. After the Europeans
arrived in the 1700s, the Maori began using the metal that settlers
brought for a more conventional style of puncture tattooing.
The Maori had a custom of preserving the heads of their tattooed leaders after death as precious family possessions. Over time, they began to trade some of the heads to collectors for firearms and iron tools. This practice, which is why there are some of these heads in European museums, was short-lived because of the fighting and political turmoil it caused.
Japanese Tattoos
Japanese tattoo art has several names - irezumi or horimono in
the Japanese language. Irezumi is the word for the traditional
visible tattoo that covers large parts of the body like the back.
Japanese tattoo art has a very long history.
Since the influence of Confucianism and Buddhism on the Japanese culture, tattoo art has a negative connotation for the majority of the Japanese people. In the eyes of an average Japanese a tattoo is considered a mark of a yakuza - a member of the Japanese mafia - or a macho symbol of members of the lower classes.
Early History of Tattoo Art
Archaeologists believe that the early settlers of Japan, the Ainu people, used facial tattoos. Chinese documents report about the Wa people - the Chinese name for their Japanese neighbors - and their habits of diving into water for fish and shells and decorating the whole body with tattoos. These reports are about 1700 years old.
For the higher developed Chinese culture, tattooing was a barbaric act. When Buddhism was brought from China to Japan and with it a strong influence of the Chinese culture, tattooing got negative connotations. Criminals were marked with tattoos to punish and identify them in society.
Popular japanese tattoos include cherry blossoms, flowers, dragons, symbols (kanji characters) and koi.
Traditional designs may feature geishas or samurai warriors.
Because it is an island nation, waves, water, fish, octopus and sea dragons are common themes.
These tattoo's all reflect traditional japanese tattoo styles.
Modern Tattooing
Today, tattoos are created by injecting ink into the skin. Injection is done by a needle attached to a hand-held tool. The tool moves the needle up and down at a rate of several hundred vibrations per minute and penetrates the skin by about one millimeter.
What you see when you look at a tattoo is the ink that's left in the skin after the tattooing. The ink is not in the epidermis , which is the layer of skin that we see and the skin that gets replaced constantly, but instead intermingles with cells in the dermis and shows through the epidermis.
The Tattoo Machine
The basic idea of the electrically powered tattoo machine is that a needle moves up and down like in a sewing machine, carrying ink into your skin in the process.
Today, a tattoo machine is an electrically powered, vertically vibrating steel instrument that resembles a dentist's drill (and sounds a little like it, too). It is fitted with solid needles that puncture the skin at the rate of 50 to 3,000 times a minute. The sterilized needles are installed in the machine and dipped in ink, which is sucked up through the machine's tube system. Then, powered by a foot switch much like that on a sewing machine, the tattoo machine uses an up-and-down motion to puncture the top layer of the skin and drive insoluble, micrometer-sized particles of ink into the second (dermal) layer of skin, about one-eighth inch deep.
The Pain Issue!
Personally I think
anyone who says it doesnt hurt is either lying
or extremely brave but it really is down to the
person, location of the tattoo etc. Hazel used
to say she felt like she was being licked by
a cat whereas I used to pretty much punctuate
the air with "ouch"
every 5 mins or so until the adrenaline kicked
in. Being snapped by a rubber band, a slight
tickling, a bee sting, a sunburn ,
being pinched, "pins 'n needles" like when your foot's asleep, numb,
pinpricks, tingling, like a drill going into your skin, uncomfortable
-- all of these phrases have been used to describe what it feels like
to get a tattoo.
Your personal tolerance for pain, the size and
type of your tattoo and the skill of the artist
help determine the amount of pain involved. If
you have difficulty with an injection at the doctor's office or if the
sight of blood makes
you queasy, you might want to think twice before visiting the tattoo
parlor. (Try one of the massively popular temporary tattoos or henna tattoos,
also temporary, that Madonna and other stars have made popular. They
offer the "coolness" of a tattoo without the pain, risk and expense.)
Pain also depends on the location of your tattoo.
The lower back and ankle are popular places for tattoos, but it's much
less painful to get one on your chest or upper arm.
Getting a tattoo on your arm or chest is less painful than on an area like the ankle because skin right above your bones tends to be more sensitive to needles, while there's extra body mass in the upper arm or chest to cushion the bones.
It hurts but then the adrenaline kicks in & you settle down.
Your personal statement - your tattoo
Vanishing Tattoo website has some great info about tattoo's around the world. But i also found this quote which I thought was great. I know for me my tattoo's are very personal and signified a touch of rebellion but also freedom.
For everyone it's personal.......... Though the tattoo may be only skin deep, its significance can run as deep as the soul ."
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Mommy has a tattoo
Moomy hood gone mad or personal expression
?
"A blessing on my baby": Kalyn James, pregnant with a child who will be named Zen, cuddles daughter Phoenix. James' stomach is tattooed with a lotus flower and Asian characters that mean wisdom, God and respect. She got the tattoos as a means of reclaiming her body after being a beauty queen.
Body art and parenthood meet in colorful, boisterous juxtaposition and on all kinds of moms. Read the full article here [Click here]. I love this article because I think baby bumps are amazing and I of course love tattoo's. Personally I would worry about stretching but hey Kalyn is georgous anyway so I am sure she is not bothered.
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If you have a great bit of information I can add to this feature or some pictures or a website link please email me at work@tonya.me.uk
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