Let’s face it: people make mistakes.  The problem is that when people make mistakes with tattoos, there’s often very little sympathy for them.  After all, a tattoo is a decision that one person and one person only can make about their body.  It’s a responsibility and commitment that no one else can share.  In the past few years, there have been a handful of different cases where people who had been tattooed with regretable tattoos were turning around and asking for help in getting them removed.  Everyone from former gang members to neo-Nazis on trial have made this request from an understandably unsympathetic public.

But sometimes the public is listening and sometimes the public does decide that they want to overlook the initial responsibilities of a tattoo and help someone out.  Carl Drewett, a 29-year-old former skinhead from Christchurch, New Zealand is getting a second chance thanks to a handful of concerned citizens.  Drewett was imprisoned at the age of 23 and had the word “Skinhead” tattooed across his forhead.  Today he regrets the tattoo and wishes to turn his life around, having apparently abandoned his former beliefs.

‘Drewett, 28, was trying to raise money to remove his “Skinhead” tattoo so he could start a new life.

His former probation officer had looked into various options, including applying for money through government agencies, to assist Drewett in collecting money for the laser tattoo removal.’

Things didn’t really progress until a local radio DJ decided to get in on the fundraising.  Simon Barnett donated $2,000 to Drewett in order to help him with the cost of tattoo removal.  With his donation, Barnett, who feels that Drewett is a “genuine person”, has helped to amass the majority of the $2500 quote that Drewett received for getting his tattoo removed.

“When I talked about it on air it really bugged a lot of people who didn’t think he should be helped.

“People were saying he’s got himself into this mess he’s got to get himself out of it but sometimes how do you get yourself out of a situation if you don’t have a hand-up,” Barnett said.

“It annoys me that people cast these people aside. Nobody is prepared to give them a chance.

“We all make mistakes. My feeling is that this guy is really trying, from what I can gather, to get his life sorted out.

“He doesn’t subscribe to the belief system he had when he got the tattoo done.

“He’s tried to disassociate himself from his former crowd.

“I feel he is genuine. We’ve got to trust he’s as good as his word. Then the responsibility really is his.’

Whichever way you look at it, it’s a big gesture on the part of Barnett, one that most people wouldn’t even consider.  Hopefully Drewett makes it all worthwhile.

Fundraising and tattoos have gone hand in hand for as long as anyone can remember.  It’s almost just considered a part of the actual tattoo lifestyle by this point.  Again and again in any city or town that has a tattoo studio, more often than not one of those particular studios will have had/will be having some sort of fundraiser involving tattoos.  It’s a great aspect of the tattoo culture, to lend a hand when one is needed.

Typically, it’s the tattooist who’s organising the fundraiser or a group of tattooists representing one studio.  Rarely is it the client who’s the one setting up a charity.  This time however, it is a client, one Rob Hansel from Waterlooville, Hants, England.  Rob decided that for a minimum fee of £20 ($32USD) any of his friends could take a marker, write a message on his back and these words would later become immortalised within a tattoo.  All the proceeds from the charity will be donated to a local hospice in Waterlooville.

I think this is a pretty cool thing.  It’s not really for me, I mean, personally, but if Rob truly gets joy from having his friends signatures and in-jokes tattooed on to his back, then good for him.  Not only that, but he gets to be very happy for the tattooed messages from his friends as well as giving money to an important cause.  That’s being happy over two different things in one day!  Some people don’t even get happy in a month.  So it’s all pretty cool.

You’ve got to love a guy who makes his website address ChrisfuckinJones.com.  Okay, so maybe Chris Jones’ actual website address isn’t ChrisfuckinJones, but if you type it into the address bar, it most certainly will take you to Chris’s website.

So who is Chris Jones, anyway?  Well, Chris is a tattooist whom you really should know about if you don’t already.  Tattooing from Physical Graffiti in Cardif, South Wales, Chris isn’t messing around.  If you weren’t clear on that much after typing out his web address, then let his tattoo work prove it to you.  There’s a definite enjoyment of science fiction and particularly Star Wars in his work.  His portrait work is impressive enough on its own, but Jones likes to take things all over the map, dabbling in Japanese, black and grey, but always returning to superheros and iconic film characters in much of his work.

Aside from the tattoo work, Chris also paints and sketches and sells his art.  I myself have only spent a wee bit of time in Wales, which means that I’m due for a new visit.  One thing is for certain, the next time that I go to Wales, I will stop in to Physical Graffiti and see what’s up.  Maybe Chris Fuckin Jones is finally the tattooist who’ll truly appreciate the task of giving me that Back to the Future tattoo that I’ve always wanted?

One thing that I truly love about tattoos is their ability to be so many different things to so many people.  I don’t mean that everyone’s tattoo has its own particular meaning, I mean that due to a variety of styles, a tattoo can be as shiny and as bold and clean as you want it, but then on the opposite end of the scale, there are things like prison tattoos that are done for entirely different reasons than the average tattoo.  Prison tattoos can mark a person’s lineage or history in this world in a way that no other tattoo can.  It can be violent, it can be dark, it can even be happy, but the thing about prison tattoos is that they are true and rough and they definitely aren’t a fashion statement of any sort.

Looking through Cape Town photographer Araminta de Clarmont’s photo series on South African prison tattoos, I am struck first and foremost by the sheer presence of her subjects.  These are men who have spent years in prison and their tattooed bodies – often nothing more than handwritten scrawlings in faded blue “ink” – are maps of truth and pain, ones which leave as many questions as they answer.  These aren’t beautiful works of art – far from it – but they elicit an impact that any great work of art should.  Surprisingly enough, these amateur and illegal (in the South African prison system) tattoos have a lot of heart even if they are a million miles away from the likes of the professional tattoo work that fills magazines and the internet.

These are well worth a look as well as a bit of a wonder at the lives of the men who wear them.  Araminta de Clarmont’s photo study Life After, can be viewed here.

In my own little geeked out world, I am still waiting for the day that a very good tattooing video game comes to one of the major platforms like xbox or the PS3.  Yes, it’s stupid, but it would be just too much fun to refuse.  Call me what you want, I would definitely play a tattoo video game.  So far, we have not been treated to anything of the sort, but I know that it’s only a matter of time before something comes along.

At present time, anyone who is desperate enough to have some sort of electronic interaction with tattoo can take consolation in the fact that a mobile phone application developer has created an app for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch called Tattoo You.

‘Tattoo You is a unique photo editing utility that allows users to superimpose life-like tattoo designs onto photos of themselves or others with a few simple clicks. Built purely for fun, this free app has a number of useful customization features and sharing options, and offers users access to new unique tattoo designs via inexpensive in-app purchase as well. Tattoo You is currently available for download on the Apple App Store free of charge in the Entertainment category.’

I guess that in a way, Tattoo You can be used by people who are curious to see how a tattoo would look on their bodies.  But I think we all know that this won’t be used for that.  It’s pretty much just a novelty item, with no real practical use.  Still, it only keeps me ever hopeful that someday soon, a quality tattoo video game will be created for a major console.

Come on xbox and PS3 – get a real tattoo video game going, already! 

To be honest, when it comes to tattoos, there’s only one thing that I like more than actually getting tattoos, and that’s writing about tattoos.  Yeah, that may seem strange to many of you, but writing is my passion in the way that a tattooist’s passion is tattooing.  So when the opportunity arises to write about tattoo, I take it.  Aside from writing for the Tattoo Blog, I also write for UK tattoo magazine Skin Deep.  My article on the state of tattoo ink can be found in the current issue of that publication.  That’s my bit of shameless self promotion for the day.

Anyway, as I was saying before I dipped into the realm of shameless self promotion, writing about tattoo is a great thing.  Tattoo is about stories and sharing those stories, so writing just fits in with that formula.  While not all of us are writing about tattoos on a regular basis, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t still great stories worth telling.  That’s why the people at British newspaper The Guardian have put out the call for some tattoo stories from the public.

‘As part of our people’s panel series, we would like to hear readers’ thoughts on getting tattooed. When did you get your first one? What inspired you to do it? What’s your most eccentric or meaningful tattoo? Do you regret doing it? Have you had one removed?’

You know that you have a great story worth telling, so what’s holding you back?  Sit down, write down your story and send it off to the Guardian.  Who knows?  The pleasure of seeing your words in print might even end up giving you a bigger jolt of energy than tattoo!

In the past few years, professional atheletes have really helped to ignite the popularity of tattoo.  Whether you choose to take that as a good thing or a bad thing is entirely up to you, but it seems that no matter what pro sport you decide to focus on, there are tons of atheletes who are tattooed.  One of the most tattooed professional sports out there has got to be soccer (football).  It almost seems that soccer stars like David Beckham have made big news over the past few years with his tattoos than with his actual athleticism.

Now however, it’s not soccer players that are making headlines over tattoos, but rather a team from Germany.  Werder Bremen, a team in Germany’s Bundesliga has just banned their players from being tattooed during the season.  Surprisingly, for once when tattoos have been banned in some capacity, this time it isn’t about a disregard for tattoos or how they look or some sort of ancient outdated stereotype.  No, this time the ban is a result of the team’s officials fearing that players could have negative reactions to the tattoos and end up on the injured list, missing matches.  As miniscule as the odds of this happening are, it has happened recently, to 24-year-old striker Eljero Elia from Werder Bremen’s rival team, Hamburg.

‘Ironically, the ban was sparked by the misfortune of a player for Bremen’s hated local rivals, Hamburg, whose 24-year-old striker Eljero Elia (pictured, left) was sidelined last season after a tattoo went septic.

The Dutch player’s discomfort was so bad that he was unable to train, or even wear a shirt, for a spell last season.

And while such an extreme reaction is relatively rare – and probably not helped by Elia’s full-chest display – players’ tattoos often cause irritation and discomfort while fresh.’

Really, this has nothing to do with the tattoos and more to do with the person themselves.  If a person has an allergy or is susceptible to a negative reaction from a tattoo, it’s just the way it goes.  But from a preemptive stand point, I guess Werder Bremen team officials are probably doing the right thing.

I’m a sucker for colour.  Whenever I see tattoo work that has thick heaps of really vibrant colour, I can’t look away.  Some people aren’t as initially impressed by colour as I am, but I can’t help it.  It just draws me in like nothing else can.  Here’s the thing though: whenever I’ve been drawn in by vibrant, healthy amounts of colour in a tattoo, I’ve never been disappointed by the work upon closer inspection.  It’s almost as if it’s a given that any tattooist who can use colour well is also going to know how to do a whole lot more well.  You never know.  That might not necessarily always be the case, but it definitely is the case with tattooist Jon Mesa.

Jon Mesa, I love your tattoo work.  From the first image in Mesa’s portfolio to the last, I was hooked.  Mesa uses colour without going overboard and he maps out a really nice composition on all of his work.  There really isn’t much else to say.  He’s a talented artist who knows what he’s doing.  Jon works out of Sacred Tattoo in New York City and at the moment his website isn’t quite ready for the public.  That’s okay though (I guess), because you can still visit him at his twitter account.  Or, if you’re really ambitious, you can head to NYC and visit him in the flesh.  Just make sure to book ahead because I can guarantee you that an artist like Jon Mesa doesn’t have a lot of spare time.

Nice work, Jon!

With summer here, as usual the tendency for a lot of people is to get a tattoo.  Summer and tattoos always seem to go hand in hand, like chocolate and beer or cheese and crackers.  Anyway, I know that yet another list of tattoo etiquette do’s and don’t isn’t always the most exciting thing to read, but I like to do my part to make sure that any tattoo virgin who comes and reads this blog and who is boldly considering their first tattoo, might have something to read and consider before charging into the tattoo studio of their choosing and demanding some ink.

Aside from the biggest decision – which is actually whether or not to get a tattoo and what to get done – there are other things to consider and while some of these things may not seem like a big deal, they can make all the difference in the world to a tattooist.  The folks at Richmond.com have made a decent list of tattoo etiquette for anyone considering their first tattoo.  Actually, the list doesn’t have to be just for first timers.  There could be some of you out there who’ve been getting tattooed for years but had no idea that your etiquette was totally off kilter.  So here’s the opportunity to check it all out and see where you stand.

A couple quick things of my own, though.  First off, the list states that tattooists are smokers.  I think that’s a bit of a generalisation to make.  Sure, there are plenty of tattooists who smoke, but there are also plenty who don’t and plenty who are straight edge.  Don’t assume anything.  Also, I would just keep in mind that the person you’re getting a tattoo from is an artist and not a trained monkey there to churn out a cool design on your arm.  Don’t expect them to simply be able to rearrange and cope if you continually change your mind about what you want and how you want it.  And don’t come in with a tight time schedule that you need them to “hurry up and finish by”.  Clear your schedule.

Most importantly, enjoy your new tattoo! Check out the full list of etiquette recommendations here.

In the past few months we’ve seen a steady push toward tattooing codes on to people’s bodies.  Back in May of this year, a blogger got some attention after he had a Nintendo AR code tattooed on to his forearm, which was a platform for a little 3D man when the tattoo was matched up with a Nintendo 3DS game system.  It was interesting, but it still looked pretty glitchy and plain even when the 3D was at its peak.

I expect that as long as animation and 3D graphics continue to become more prevalent in pop culture that these things will also seep into tattoo.  Further evidence of this has now come out of Paris, France where a tattooist by the name of K.A.R.L. has tattooed what he is claiming to be the very first animated tattoo ever.

After getting set up on June 16th from the Mystery Club Tattoo studio in Paris, tattooist K.A.R.L. streamed the four hour tattoo session live on Facebook.  By inking QR code on to his client’s chest (apparently a very difficult process on account of every square of code needing to be done just right), he was able to display a pretty cool achievement: a tattoo that was fully animated and sang a song when an iPhone was place over the QR code.

Obviously this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and yes, it is gimmicky, but none the less, it made me smile.  I definitely think the novelty of something like this would wear off for the dude that got it done, but hey, for now I guess it’s kind of interesting to look at…

Check the video of the whole thing out here.