Well, it’s actually between the size of a dime and a nickle. Obviously I will discuss it with the artist and have it done an appropriate size. Not the size of a grapefruit, preferably, but I could comfortably go loony sized for sure. My brother has a Canadian Flag about the size of a nickle on his shoulder that he got when he was in the military (20 years ago). It still has an appropriate amount of detail -the flag has a multi-pointed maple leaf on it and is every bit as detailed as the art that I’m contemplating.
If I get it on the back of my hand, it won’t be hidden. If I get it on the inside of my wrist or ankle, it will be moreso. However, I’m really not getting it because I want people to see it - I’m getting it for myself. I mean, there are tattoos, and there are tattoos. I think an eagle with it’s wings spread that spans your entire back is one thing (a friend of mine had this - it was impressive - he could flex his shoulders and make the wings flap). A smallish paisley-esque stylized version of the evil eye is something else entirely (well, as far as I’m concerned).
I was thinking about getting a tattoo that was an Arabic word. I wanted it really small, like postage stamp sized. The tattoo artist I went to, known to be the best one in this area, told me no way would she make one that small, for exactly the reasons you said-- it loses definition, and won’t be as sharp or clear. We’re talking about essentially a squiggly line here, nothing complicated or colored, but the advice was the same-- don’t get a tattoo that small, it doesn’t come out right. I didn’t think I could deal with having a tattoo much bigger than that, so I didn’t do it. I still think about it.
The best reason I can think of for not getting a tattoo is one that Penn Jillete said once. I’d be afraid that some celebrity I hated would get the tattoo, then everyone would think I was aping said celebrity. Imagine if Britney Spears at some future point gets a tattoo that looks just like yours. Then you’d have to either cover it up with another tattoo, or else have people believe you were some sort of Britney wannabe.
I think this is a supremely perfect reason in favor. If you’ve spent two decades with this project in mind then get on with it and get decorated.
By the way, I think the ankle is a wretched spot for a tattoo, the inside of the wrist is a lovely spot, and so is the inner forearm, below the bend of the elbow.
Good luck. I’m multiple years and a couple thousand dollars into tattoo work that will eventually cover a significant portion of my hide under my clothing. I think if your design means something to you, you’ve spent a decade or more thinking about it and you still want it, then it’s not something you’re going to regret a couple years down the road.
I’d be cautious about using mythological symbols unless you’re deeply versed in the symbolism because for the rest of your life people will always come along to grill you about the symbolism of your piece and snicker at what a poser you are when they have a different interpretation, right or wrong. I, too, think pretty judgmentally about symbolic tattoo work when the wearer knows little or nothing about the culture or history behind it. I don’t know much about Egyptian mythology, but I hope you do.
Tattooing has been going on as long as identifiable human history, as far as we can tell. A good tattoo artist is every bit as much of an educated professional as any other professional I’d allow to perform work on my body. You’re right that some are yahoos, just like some doctors are yahoos, some lawyers are yahoos, and some teachers are yahoos. My tattoo artist has been working as an tattooist for 25 years, practices sterile technique better than many of the MDs and DVMs I’ve worked with in my life, and better than any techs of the associated fields, all of whom are “educated professionals” and licensed to one degree or another. She’s also an unbelievable artist who creates gorgeous permanent original art on a living canvas.
Becoming a successful tattoo artist takes an extensive apprenticeship which sometimes lasts decades before one chooses to work on their own. You may dislike the practice, but the above statement is offensive and incorrect.
I like the Eye of Horace idea the best. Very Gary Larson.
I’ve got a reason you probably haven’t thought of - my husband, Jim, doesn’t think it’s a good idea, and he’s the one I run my ideas by. He says, “They’re lame and they make you unique in the same way that everyone else is.” I don’t think I will ever get a tattoo, but I love the idea of getting temporary, well-done ones and changing them every six months or so. Until the fad is over, anyway.
“A tattoo is a permanent solution to a temporary fad.” - me.
What is this fad status that everyone is talking about? Tattoo’s have existed for ages, and have existed in America since before the 1930s. They have been part of popular American culture since the 60s. And the tramp stamp/tribal/asian tattoos have been popular since about 1994. How is this a fad?
My brothers and I actually went to a tattoo parlour, each of us willing to do it. One bro actually did. Why didn’t I? In talking with a much-tattooed fellow in the waiting room I learned that sometimes some of the ink enters the circulatory system (lymph system?) and appears elsewhere on your body, usually in the armpits - forming an unintentional tattoo of a sort. This may be untrue, but the very thought squicked me out of it.
“To gild refined gold, to paint the lily,
To throw a perfume on the violet,
To smooth the ice, or add another hue
Unto the rainbow, or with taper-light
To seek the beauteous eye of heaven to garnish,
Is wasteful and ridiculous excess”
Well, I wasn’t planning on making a bunch of cheesy pop albums, getting hitched to a wanna-be, pumping out two babies in as many years, losing my blob, flashing my pooter while hanging out with Paris, shaving my head, developing some sort of substance abuse problem and checking in and out of rehab 3 times in 2 days, so thanks for the tip, but I think I’ll be ok, tattoo or no tattoo.
I have a tattoo - got it on April Fool’s Day, 2004, but only because it was a Friday - so I feel like I can comment.
A tattoo is just another part of your appearance. Either it serves to make an impression on others - which is what non-utilitarian clothing is for - or it has some practical function to you. From your thread so far - I don’t think we’ve ever mutually responded before - I can tell that you are an iconoclast and enjoy it, so it’s not for the first reason.
If it’s the second reason, think harder. My tattoo is a religious image, so that whenever I look at it I can be reminded of my principles - a sort of WWJD bracelet that I can never take off, but that suits me fine because I’m a person who needs that kind of reinforcement. It’s also on my upper arm, so I can conceal it, but that’s an unrelated point.
Assuming you get that tattoo, and you look at it, what is it supposed to remind you of? What practical information or moral reassurance is encoded in that design? If it’s actually designed for you - which is to say that you would get it if nobody else could see it - then what is it going to do for you? When you see your own product, is it going to remind you of your own creative potential? Is that really what you’re going for?
And if you “just like the way it looks,” then by all means, try it with a dry-erase marker for a few weeks, because you can always get it done properly later.
