To tattoo or not a sly thing?

[zzaapp]

I guess I stand on the other side of this issue.  I choose not to be tattooed. 

I was deeply affected by something that I saw when I was young.  I won't go into details, but it dealt with a museum display of WWII artifacts and a lampshade.

I don't make judgements about people who choose to have tattoos.  Everyone has their own motivations and preferences, and as Vash said so eloquently, you are the only one who lives inside your own skin. 

So, Live and let live...   ...You choose as you wish.  I choose not to... 

[Bolohead]

I say go for it, I'm 53 still in the design stage for when I get back over to Hawai'i

[Southworth14]

Go for it.  Koz and I started at about the same time.  I have two half sleeves and with the sly look they go great together.

[gidbg]

being sly and tattoo goes very well together. My only advice would be to keep it above the t-shirt line on your arms as you well know not everyone likes ink. The fact that u have your on design and not just some random off the wall flash says u have put alot of thought into your tattoo so go for it.

[BaldBear]

Kinda hard to see in this pic, but I have just two tats so far.

[tomgallagher]

I agree with zzzapp. No tats for me but strokes and folks as they say.

[deadohsky]

I'm a fan of the saying, 'to each is own'.  If you want a tattoo and know what you want, go for it.  The only thing i can't stand is when people pick flash off the wall or out of a book, come up with something unique and that suits you, you'll be much happier and have no regrets about the decision later on down the road.

I only have four tattoos at the moment; got my first a few months after i turned 18 and haven't looked back.  I think i look better with the tattoos than without (kind of like shaving my head vs. thinning hair).  Even though i don't have many yet, when i see the bare skin on myself it looks dull and i start thinking of what i could get there.

As of now i only have pictures of two of them, not even pictures i took, my tattoo artist took them when they were finally completed; its hard to get a good angle to take a picture myself.

The one on my leg is in memory of my mother, picture of when she was younger with an older shot on the other side with her favorite flowers comprising much of the rest of the piece. I kind of freaked out when i first saw the picture of it because it looked like one of her eyes was messed up, but i looked at the picture, and she just had a lazy eye, so i'm grateful the artist was very faithful at recreating her image.  The second is a scene from the exorcist, polar opposites i know lol, its just a scene that sent chills down my spine the first time i saw it. 

http://s140.photobucket.com/albums/r10/02cheechSS/?action=view&current=memorialleg.jpg

http://s140.photobucket.com/albums/r10/02cheechSS/?action=view&current=exorcist.jpg

[BaldBear]

WOW the images of your Mother are beautiful!

That guy did some fantastic work.

[deadohsky]

Thanks BaldBear 

[CCS]

On the subject of tattoos, I think a few well thought out and placed ones look better than many of the full sleeves I see today, which has become trendy, for now. I think too much of anything takes away from the whole. I guess the most important thing is to find a greart artist that can execute what you want, rather than race down to the local street shop and end up with subpar work.     

[Southworth14]

I have two half sleeves and have been sly for about 1 1/2 years.  They are visible only if I wear a T-shirt, but a regular short sleeve dres shirt hides them well.  I would stay away from a tribal arm band.  Go to a good artist and get a good custom piece designed.   I have one that is an eagle snake, scorpio and dragon with Jesus looking down on all of them.  The other is a St. Michael from the top with an american eagle flying up rising from the ashes.  I wouldn't trade them for anything else. 

[RyanJP]

I think tattoos are great, I got mine when I was out of boot camp and while I was in the Corps and never thought that it could effect me in the civilian world ten years later but my advice is to keep them hidden, I'm thinking about getting some of mine removed that are shown.

[Rusty Shackleford]

I think tats and SLy do sort of go together.... but I believe that it has a lot to do with the fact that both are sort of working outside the norms of society. If you shave your head, which many paople don't do, I think you're more likely to do other things that most people don't do....... like  get a tattoo.

I got my first tattoo at 47.

How can tattoos be considered outside the norm of society?  Having a tattoo has gone beyond mainstream and become the norm anymore.  Sometimes I feel like the only adult male on earth who neither has one or has any plan on getting one.  At this point the only thing that can make a tattoo "outside the norm" is the choice of site or the image.

This basically answers the question on whether or not a tattoo goes with a bald head.  Since just about every adult male seems to have one they sort of go with bald heads (and any hairstyle) simply by default.

[Mikekoz13]

I think tats and SLy do sort of go together.... but I believe that it has a lot to do with the fact that both are sort of working outside the norms of society. If you shave your head, which many paople don't do, I think you're more likely to do other things that most people don't do....... like  get a tattoo.

I got my first tattoo at 47.

How can tattoos be considered outside the norm of society? 

Well pick any 10 guys on the street and  I guarantee you the majority will not be tattooed. Also, I work in a business where there are a lot of degreed scientists, engineers, etc.....I am the only one out of literally hundres of people that I work with that is tattooed. And yes I ask when people ask me about mine.

Trust me Rusty...they are still outside the norm.... if you live with visible ones it is very obvious this is true. That's not to say thay are not more widely accepted because I believe they are.....but most people still would not get one.
I get the sideway glances all the time and people sometimes swing a wide arc when approaching me....it makes me smile.....

[Sly Red]

Well pick any 10 guys on the street and  I guarantee you the majority will not be tattooed.

Well Mike, I guess it depends on which street you walk down, 'cause around here (metro Chicago) the streets are teeming with young people (the under thirties) who are both visibly tattooed and pierced.  Is that a cross section of American in general?  Probably not, but somewhere between your view and my view lies the true story.  Last night I was in a restaurant in the suburbs and 90% of the male wait staff had pierced ears.  I'd imagine this is not true in your area.

When I go out into large gatherings in Chicago (in the summertime when more skin is exposed) I see that the vast majority are tattooed.

Red