I might get a foot tattoo and…?

it will be my first. I'm really bad with pain but my heart is set on having it there. The tattoo is of a rose because it was my late grandmother's favorite.

Do you think if i brought my mom and a friend i would do better with the pain?

Top Tattoo Designs Of All Time

Contrary to the time when it used to be exclusively connected with hoodlums, prisoners, and the mafia, tattoo art is all the rage these days. Tattoo enthusiasts can be practically anyone — hardcore bikers, musicians, athletes, celebrities, and even the everyday folk you pass by on the street. Highly popular in any part of the globe and with all age groups, tattoos are one of the top search items on the Internet today. According to a 2006 survey, 36 percent of people from 18 to 25 years old and 40 percent of those ranging from 26 to 40 years old have at least one tattoo.

Perhaps the main reason why tattoos are so in demand today is because people feel the need to better distinguish themselves among the ballooning six billion population of the world. Tattoos are artistic manifestations of our identity. Inked on skin, they allow others to see how we perceive ourselves and what we value in our lives without having to explain at all. Consequently, looking for the right tattoo design all boils down to the meaning and symbolism it offers to the holder. All things considered, isn’t it interesting to find out how tattoo bearers view themselves and what tattoo designs and symbolisms that appeal the most to them?

The following are the most sought after tattoo designs of all time and their brief general meanings:

Birds: Eagles are the most popular tattoo designs, symbolizing patriotism, might, and freedom. Hummingbirds and doves are also in demand, standing for love charm and peace, respectively.

Dragons: Arguably the most popular mythical figures of all time, dragon tattoos are general statements of strength and power. However, their specialized meanings will differ depending on whether you choose an Eastern or Western dragon design.

Skulls: Skulls have long been a symbol of pirates and stood for rebellion. Though mostly perceived as bad omens and symbols of death, skulls also represent change.

Hearts: They usually stand for togetherness and love, but their meanings vary depending on representation and the sentiments of the bearer.

Butterflies: These winged insects are sought after by mostly women. Fragile and beautiful, butterflies are symbols of freedom and rebirth.

Tribal Symbols: They actually mean something. But just as with Asian symbols, exactly what they mean can be a bit tricky. Tradit
1000
ional and primitive, these forms come from all sorts of different tribes and it’s hard to tell just by looking at them. These obscure but striking looks are not recommended for those who may become annoyed by constant questions about the meaning behind the body art.

Asian symbols: Chinese and Japanese characters are massive favorites among American tattoo buffs. However, translation can be more than a little difficult at times, so you have to extra careful.

Flowers: Singled out by women, flower tattoos symbolize different things, depending on the flower used. Roses stand for love; daisies denote innocence; buttercups represent riches, while sunflowers symbolize enchantment.

Religious Symbols: Though some think it’s blasphemous, tattoo art used to be part of religious ceremonies in certain ancient cultures. That’s why it comes as no surprise that religious symbols are second on the list.

Words: They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but tattoo lettering is still the most popularly-requested design around the world. Names of loved ones, significant phrases of meaningful quotes as tattoo designs are also a big trend.

By: Romeo Rodriguez

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Romeo Rodriguez is a tattoo enthusiast and blogger. His website, Tattoo Lettering can be found at www.tattooletteringblog.com/

Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Arts & Entertainment Articles Via RSS!
Additional Articles From - Home | Arts & Entertainment

Online Bingo vs. Bingo Hall Games
lehenga choli
Learning to Dance With Louis van Amstel
Robert Gillow and Lancashire Buck the North South Antiques Divide
Ways to download audio books legally
Karaoke Machine For Kids - How To Choose The Right One
Common Themes in African Art
Pilot Season Acting Tips
Elvis Presley Biography - Elvis Girlfriends
Christmas Craft Ideas from Royalty Free Images

I thought it might be fun to rummage around the history books and take a look at some of the intrepid women who were instrumental in introducing and legitimizing the art of tattoos to the American and European public. Up until the 1960s, most of these women found circus sideshows, carnivals and dime museums as a way not only to display their body art but also earn a paycheck while doing so.

Although this list is not totally comprehensive…I have chosen to include those women I feel contributed the most and are the most famous.

Nora Hildebrandt

Nora Hildebrandt (often misspelled as “Hilderbrandt”) was the first tattooed lady to make the scene in the United States. She made her debut at Bunnell’s Museum in New York City in 1882.

Nora was tattooed by her father Martin Hildebrandt and told a tale onstage similar to those used by tattooed men like Constantine. Nora claimed that her father tattooed her while they were held captive by Sitting Bull, at the chief’s command. Within weeks of her debut, another tattooed lady by the name of Irene Woodward stole the limelight. Woodward quickly overshadowed Hildebrandt.

La Belle Irene

Irene Woodward used the stage name “La Belle Irene” and was often refereed to as “The Original Tattooed Ladyԅthough there is some doubt to her claim of being the actual first female tattoo attraction. But as early as 1882 the The New York Clipper, also known as The Clipper, a weekly entertainment newspaper published in New York City from 1853 to 1924 mentioned her working with G.B. Biennell. (a dime museum operator).

Some of the tattooed side show attractions of that era concocted elaborate tales as to why they got inked. In her onstage presentation she used a variation of Nora Hildebrandt’s story, claiming to have been tattooed as protection against the Indian “savages” in Texas.

It is rumored La Belle Irene’s tattoo work was done by Samuel O’Reilly and Charlie Wagner of New York City.

Emma de Burgh

Emma and Frank de Burgh were one of the most popular turn of the century husband and wife attractions. Tattooed by Samuel O’Reilly during the late 1800s in New York City, the de Burghs were among the many American attractions to work with much acclaim in Europe. First appearing in Berlin, Germany circa 1891, they took the side show world by storm. They were inked primarily with religious designs, the Last Supper and The Calvary were among fan favorites.

Lady Viola

Lady Viola was another circus sideshow attraction. The Bowery/Coney Island/Brooklyn tattoo artist Frank Graf inked her in the 1920s.

During an interview in 1989, Bob Shaw recalls the first time he saw Lady Viola in St. Louis, MO. (Bob Shaw tattooed for over 50 years before leaving for a better place. Bob helped pass & set the standards on Tattooing & the Technique on sterilization back in the 60’s. Bob was also the President of the Worlds Largest Tattoo Association - National Tattoo Association when he passed away on Mar. 17, 1993)

“The fellow who did Lady Viola’s work was way ahead of his time. If you ever can get one of those photos and blow it up, you’ll see all those little flower designs have heads in ‘em, that’s the popular people of the time, like Charlie Chaplin and Tom Mix. He was the first person I saw really do portraits; he did presidents Wilson, Washington and Lincoln across her chest. You looked at them and immediately knew who it was.”

Lady Viola did have a very special suit of tattoos, often being billed as “The Most Beautiful Tattooed Woman in the World.” Along with popular tattoo figures of the time, she had the United States Capitol on her back and the Statue of Liberty and Rock of Ages on her legs. During the outdoor season she worked with the likes of the Ringling Bros. Circus (1932) and the winter months found her in dime museums like Gorman’s in Philadelphia (1930s). Lady Viola spent decades in the show business world and was still working with the Thomas Joyland Show at the age of 73!

Although Lady Viola made her name as a tattoo attraction, she like many other female attractions (including Betty Broadbent) also did some tattooing.

Artoria Gibbons

Artoria was a tattoo attraction that worked for 35 years in circus and carnival sideshows, including the Ringling, Barnum & Bailey Brothers Circus (from 1921 to 1923), the Hagenbeck-Wallace in 1924 and others. Artoria was the stage name for Mrs. C. W. (Red) Gibbons.

Artoria was born on a farm in upper Wisconsin. Her parents were poor and by the age of 14 she decided to leave home. While hanging around a local carnival sideshow she met Red Gibbons. Red told her that he was a tattoo artist and if Artoria agreed to let him tattoo her, she could join the show and see the world. And that’s exactly what she did. She and Red married a short time later.

In the 1950s Artoria came out of retirement and worked with the Dell-Travers ten-in-one show:

Artoria’s tattoos were magnificent: reproductions of paintings by the masters like Raphael and Michelangelo plus a few patriotic designs, but main inspiration are Italian masterpieces. “My husband done everyone of them,” she said proudly. “They’re all masterpieces. He was crazy ’bout eye-talian painters.”

May Vandermark

May Vandermark was born in Pennsylvania and came to New York City in 1924 to work as a stenographer. Tattoo legend tells us that one day while swimming at Coney Island, she saw a butterfly tattoo on someone’s shoulder and just had to have one.

May found a boardwalk tattooist and got a butterfly tattooed on each shoulder. As fate would have it, May met Victoria James who was also known as Miss Pictoria. Miss Pictoria convinced May to become a professional tattooed lady and off they went to see Charlie Wagner. Wagner tattooed May and she started playing Coney Island shows. She took the stage name Miss Artorio and eventually graduated to working with the Ringling show in the late 1920s.

Betty Broadbent

Betty Broadbent was famous for her long career with Ringling Bros, Barnum & Bailey Circus. Born in 1909, she began her tattoo career around 1927. Betty’s tattooed body suit was done by New York tattooist Charlie Wagner, one of the few tattooers at the time working with one of the “newfangled” electric tattoo machines. Her body was covered almost to entire solidity with approximately 350 tattoos. She was exhibited for many months as part of an attraction at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, appearing as part of the “John Hix Strange As It Seems” sideshow. Along with her circus career, Broadbent also became a tattoo artist herself and supplemented studio work with performing. Betty retired to Florida in 1967, and passed away in 1983.

Elizabeth Weinzirl

Elizabeth was known in the tattoo world as “The Tattooed Grandma” or “The World’s Number One Tattoo Fan”. Elizabeth was first tattooed in the 1940s by the world famous Bert Grimm. Through the years Elizabeth had corresponded with tattoo artists and fans around the world.

Cindy Ray

Cindy Ray was a famous tattooed girl in the 1960s. Born Bev Robinson, the Cindy Ray persona was her image attached to a marketing campaign by a photographer named Harry Bartram. He offered to get Ray tattooed and market a whole line of books, tattoo products and more. She was a young single mother, working in a factory in 1959 Sydney, Australia, and was looking for some way of earning extra money. She did become a tattoo celebrity and traveled the world, but the bulk of the benefit and profit from her images and products went to Bartram and not her. She eventually became a tattoo artist herself and settled down to run a shop in her native Australia.

Krystyne Kolorful

Canadian exotic dancer Krystyne Kolorful made a name for herself in both the exotic dance world and the tattoo world with her full body suit tattoos. She spent ten years and an estimated $15,000 getting her entire body covered in an elaborate pattern of floral based designs. Currently she is tied with American Julia Gnuse for the Guinness title of Most Tattooed Woman. Both women are calculated to have 95% of their body surfaces covered in tattooing.

Julia Gnuse

Commonly known by the nickname The Illustrated Lady, Julia holds the Guinness Record for being the most tattooed woman in the world, having coverage of 95% of her body (including her face). Gnuse was born with porphyria, a condition in which sunlight results in blistering of the skin. As the blisters often result in scarring, she began getting tattoos as a way to cover up the scars…however, the tattoos do not prevent the skin from blistering as they are purely aesthetic.

She currently resides in Foothill Ranch, California.

About The Author

For the finest selection of high quality tattoo designs and flash, tattoo supplies, machines and machine parts…needles & grips and all things ink…come see us at http://www.all-things-ink.com

Technorati Tags: tattoo

Ok so you might find the next few links interesting. These are from around the web, just random snippets that I’ve picked up in my reading, but I found some very cool information in them. You might too. Here goes…

Teen Kimberly Vlaminck with 56 star tattoos on her face admits she …

Yes, I think they are creepy and I can't look at someone if they have a tattoo on their face. No, it's cool and doesn't bother me at all. …  Read More…

Chinese characters tattoos popular in Universiade

BELGRADE, July 10 (Xinhuanet) — For swimmers at the 2009 Universiade, tattoos may beautify their body but Chinese character tattoos …  Read More…

Calif. principal withholds school magazine over tattoo, article

A student magazine at a California high school was recently prohibited from circulating for featuring a picture of a man with a tattooed …  Read More…
That’s all the news for today guys, so until next time, thanks for stopping by.

I have decided to get a large tattoo, approx 15 inches long and 5 inches wide, that will stretch all down my back, starting at my neck and reach down to the middle of my back. Well my question is this: I am very much overweight and I am currently going through the process of the lap band procedure to lose my weight and I'm having the surgery in 4 months from now and it will take me one full year to lose my weight. If I get this tattoo done on my back, will it change after I lose all my weight? Everyone is telling me I should wait until I reach my goal weight, but I don't have a lot of fat on my back so I don't know how much my tattoo is going to change on my back. My fat is normally around my waist and legs.

FAQ About Tattoos
 by: Aurel Radulescu

Q: Will it hurt when I get a tattoo?

A: Simply put, yes. There is some degree of pain involved and the amount really depends on your level of tolerance. If you are scared or have a fear of needles, it’s fair to say that some of the pain will come from your fear of the process.

Q: Can the tattoo artist use any type of cream that will numb my skin?

A: Generally speaking, these products are not recommended. You can ask your tattoo artist for specific reasons.

Q: Are tattoos expensive?

A: If it is quality work, yes. Anyone can offer you a deal on a cheap tattoo, but this is going to be a permanent part of your body and you want the work to be something that you are proud of. In a nutshell, you will get what you pay for. When it comes to tattoos, don’t cut any corners when it comes to cost and never ask the artist to lower his/her price.

Q: When should I get a tattoo?

A: Many do not realize this, but the sunny months of summer can reek havoc on a tattoo. Therefore, it is often recommended that individuals get tattooed during the winter months when the sun’s rays are not as powerful and, therefore, not as damaging to the work itself.

Q: If I am sick, is it still OK for me to get a tattoo?

A: If your immune system is not 100%, getting a tattoo is probably not a good idea. You will need the full strength of your immune system to help with the healing process of your skin, so avoid the process if you are under the weather. Instead, call to reschedule your appointment for a later date when you will be feeling better.

Q: If I have tattoos, is it still OK to get a natural suntan or visit the tanning bed?

A: Even though everyone desires the perfect sunkissed tan, especially in the summer, exposing your tattoo to UV rays/light is not a good idea. This can cause the color in your tattoo, or the artwork itself, to fade. When you are outside in the sun, you can wear sunblock to help protect your tattoo from the sun’s damaging rays.

Q: If I have recently gotten a tattoo on my leg, when can I shave again?

A: Because each individual’s healing process is unique, there is no universal answer to this question. Your tattoo is a wound and, like all wounds, it needs to heal before you can safely resume shaving. Otherwise, you will continually aggravate the scab or any raised areas that are present on almost every tattoo. Some can resume shaving within 5-10 days, which is often when the new protective layer of skin has surfaced after the final peeling stage. It is best to ask the tattoo artist about the exact stages of the healing process and what to watch for as an indicator of when you can begin shaving again.

Q: I have a friend who recently purchased a tattoo kit and they promised me a really good deal. Is this safe?

A: Absolutely not. Your friend could very well be endangering your health by ‘practicing’ their skill on you. In order to become a professional tattoo artist, an individual needs to get the proper apprenticeship through a tattoo studio, observe the process and begin practicing on material objects before tattooing people. The apprenticeship usually takes 3-5 years, so there is no way that this type of knowledge can be learned in a kit.

Q: Can I remove the bandage after I get a tattoo so that I can show my friends?

A: This is not a good idea. The bandage is there because the tattoo artist realized the potential for infection if the wound were to be exposed to open air. Leave the bandage on according to the instructions from the tattoo artist.

DISCLAIMER: This article is to be used for informational purposes only. The information contained herein is not intended to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice. Before deciding on getting a tattoo or having one removed, the patient must consult a licensed medical doctor for medical advice and/or to determine the best course of action for his/her individual healthcare needs.

About The Author

Aurel Radulescu