Urban Tattoo Designs

Office Workers Reveal Hidden Tattoo Designs

Well the latest poll is out from the folks at Harris and they are saying something that I think many of us knew all along. The latest news is plenty of folks are getting new tattoo designs. In fact, they found that 20% of all adults in America have a tattoo. That actually sounds kinda low to me, but then so many office workers I know have hidden tattoos that I bet the number is even bigger than that.

Still, when you consider that maybe 20 years ago tattoos were something only sailors, misfits and criminals had, with maybe the occasional biker thrown in, we have come a long way, baby! On top of that, the poll discovered that women now outnumber men when it comes to getting new tattoo designs. That is one statistic I was not prepared for!

Of course, if you talk to the tattoo artists at your local parlor, they will probably tell you that this is a trend they have been seeing come along for a while now. Everyone from the local judge to your high school math teacher has one these days.  All you have to do is look around at any basic office and you will see plenty of tattoo designs peeking out from that nice starched white shirt. Guys tend to be a little more open about it, but I have heard of law offices where the gals proudly show off their latest tattoo designs to the boss.

So I have gathered together a few of the more fun photos I could find of just what kind of tattoo designs may show up in a typical office. I don’t know how many of these are staged versus the real thing, but they certainly do point out that the day of being told to roll down your sleeves to hide your tattoo by your boss are long gone at many offices. It almost makes it worth considering going back to a nine-to-five job since my tats would not be a big deal anymore. But wait- I would probably have to get up before noon then, so no maybe not quite yet!

Musings on the Meanings of Facial Tattoos

You know that I love tattoos. Yup- look at them all day long and really enjoy them. But when I see those galleries of facial tattoos online at some of the blogging sites, I really do have to cringe. Yes, there are a few I have run across that are kinda beautiful and with those I see where that person is coming from. These are truly an extension of the tattoos that this person already has, and are art.

But there are some tattoos that are just expressions of hate and anger. Those are the ones that I find really disturbing, because if tattoos are something that reveals a part of your inner self, that interior life we all hide from everyone, then these guys (and they are mostly men) have some genuinely sad and sick inner lives. Because I can see that those are the tattoos that reveal a tortured individual.

I wonder why it is that facial tattoos in particular seem to express these really dark emotions. Is it the tattoo that came along and then the person felt a need to reflect it or the other way around? I am guessing that they were there already; the tattoo just expressed their own disconnection with the world around them. Which we all tend to have from time to time, but these are tattoos that are screaming out some seriously sad lives.  I also have to wonder at the person who gave them that tattoo, but then many of the really ugly hate-filled facial tattoos look to be done by someone’s left foot. I have to assume they are either gang tattoos or prison tattoos.

But I am not sharing those kinds of facial tattoos with you, you will have to go and look for those tattoos yourself. Life is too short to be indulging in ugly and hate filled facial tattoos. Nope- I found some that are really inspiring, so those I will share here with you , as a bit of inspiration. Personally, there is no way I would ever want to get a facial tattoo, but I can see with a few of these why they got them.

Get Ready for the Ink Life Tour

With the arrival of summer we are going to see a lot more tattoo festivals happening around the country. One of these that tend to stand out from the crowd is the Ink Life Tour, which started its run back in February in Amarillo Texas and will continue to run until the end of August.

This tour hits a different city each month for a three day extravaganza of tattoos, music and so much more. They say that what makes them different is that where other shows tend to focus on some niche in the world of the  tattoo, Ink Life Tour is all about how the tattoo has become part of the mainstream in America, particularly the Southwest where the show tends to tour.

This may be why they have folks like Amy Nicoletta from LA Ink appearing along with tons of great bands, a pole dancing competition and over 150 tattoo artists who will be on hand throughout the festival’s run to create your dream tattoo. Tattoo appointments can be pre-booked directly from many tattoo artists, although they are letting fans know that many of the celebrity tattoo artists are not doing pre-bookings so that everyone has a chance to get a tattoo. For those who are smart enough to get a 3 day pass they can go check out all the tattoo artists on the first day, Friday and book the tattoo they want on the spot.

The Ink Life Tour also has a music completion which is pretty amazing. They have the top local bands at each show compete for prize money and it brings out the best in the bands. And don’t miss out on their strangest act ever – the human suspension show. It really has to been seen to be believed! Ink Life Tour is more than just a traveling tattoo show, it is a celebration of the lifestyle of the tattoo and all if entails.

If you love tattoos this has got to be the show to check out. You can see the schedule and all the details here and make your plans now. The Ink Life Tour – it is as good as inked life gets!

Top Tattoo Books: The Mammoth Book of Tattoo Art

Lush doesn’t even begin to describe the latest book by rock and roll tattoo artist Lal Hardy. As the owner and major tattoo artist of London’s infamous New Wave Tattoo he has probably put ink to just about every famous bit of skin you can name. And name them he does in this amazing book of over 700 pictures. What is even better is that if you have a Kindle Fire, you can now get it in that form as well, though I tend to prefer a physical book for something like this.

The tattoos are from the gold star crew of tattoo artists and range from everyone from Horiyoshi III to Holy Cow and so many more amazing tattoo super stars. It may be true that these days we can just cruise through the web to look for great tattoo designs, but this book is so much more than that. For one thing, the reproduction on this book is astounding, for another you would really have to work hard to put together a collection like this.

No matter if you are looking for a gift for a friend who is wild about tattoos or want a beautiful book to add to your art collection, you just can’t go wrong with a book like this. The book is broken down into chapters by artist, so you get a real feel for each artists work and a bit but not too much text on the artists themselves. Check out the layout of the pages below.

Top Tattoo Design for Work: Chef Tattoos

I guess it should come as no surprise that tattoos on chefs have begun to be the very cool thing on the web and elsewhere. I did see a lot of it in Los Angeles last year, and of course it is not a new thing for the local fry chef down the street to be sporting tattoos. Seems to me that has to have come with the territory for quite some while now.

But the chefs that are sporting these tattoos are celebrity chefs, the new rock gods of the foodie world and fast moving beyond to become celebrities in their own right. Many are young, a lot of guys and gals I don’t think I would want to have an argument with, especially if they have a cleaver in their hand!

But all kidding aside, it is kinda cool to see that tats have become so common that they are now featured on cooking shows. I mean, really, who would have thought denizens of the Julia Child world would ever one day be showing off their tattoos.

But then again, these folks do not bring Julia Child to mind for me. I tried to find a bunch to share since they are so fun to look at. Of course, the cool trend amongst chef’s these days is to have tattoos of things that relate to their work, hence plenty of tats of knives and other cooking implements of destruction. But the best one I have seen yet is this one with beautiful food!

But my favorite if of the chef who has a measuring circle tattooed on her palm of her hand. I keep wondering just how accurate it is, and if it is how exactly she managed that! Enjoy!