A needle pierces the skin, lifts up for a millisecond before it is plunged back down, releasing tiny drops of insoluble ink with each stab.
The artist is skillful, precise and careful not to penetrate too deep, which can cause more pain and severe bleeding. His paintbrush of choice is a machine that looks and sounds like a dentist’s drill.
The process can take from one to more than 100 hours to complete, and when it is all said and done, what is left is a permanent picture, word or phrase on the dermis — the second layer of skin — that is made of ink.
Tattoos, coming from the Tahitian word “to mark,” usually are a symbol of a person or something important to them.
As painful as a thousand stabs with a needle might sound, the art of tattooing is becoming increasingly more popular.
The popularity of tattooing does not miss N. C. State either; there are groups on facebook.com dedicated to those who have grown a love for the art form.
Jason Mosley, a body modification artist at Blue Flame tattoo parlor, said people decide to get tattoos for many reasons. Whether it is to become more appealing, to feel more “unique” or a bad decision during inebriation, people are laying their money down to get inked up.
The latter would never be the case at Blue Flame, said Mosley, since it does not offer its service anyone under the influence.
Thomas Harper, a junior in political science and the creator of the facebook.com group “Tattoos Rule,” has two tattoos across his shoulder blades. Harper said he didn’t want to pick out a design from a tattoo parlor, but create a design himself that symbolizes something important to him.
“Both of mine draw back to my experiences with honor and duty as it relates to being a member of the armed services,” Harper said.
For guys, tattoos across the shoulder blades and on the arms are the most common where as most girls get tattoos on their lower back or ankle, Mosley said.
Rex Barnes, another tattoo artist at Blue Flame, said he has left his mark on many students. Barnes believes getting a tattoo is a kind of rebellion.
“It’s a little bit of rebellion,” Barnes said. “A lot of people do it to set themselves apart from everyone else.”
No matter the reason, the popularity of tattoos is undeniable. Anyone can see a variety of pictures, words and symbols printed on the skin of students all across campus, but not everyone finds it so appealing. Many students don’t think ink covered skin is the thing to do.
“I don’t like them because they are a permanent mark on your body — it’s something you can never get rid of without a lot of trouble,” Ryland Pigg, a junior in statistics, said. “Plus, it makes a person look dirty.”
Jeff Langston, a senior in industrial dngineering, agrees with Pigg as far as tattoos go. He doesn’t believe there’s any level of attractiveness in tattoos.
“I think people have insecurities and change their body because they feel their natural bodies do not standout,” Langston said. “They want to be different, and I’m sure no one does it for the fun of it.”
Free expression, confidence or for pure looks, the reasons for marking one’s self are varied and individual, but there is one thing that reaches across the board — safety in picking a tattoo artist.
This is the biggest problem facing people who are getting tattoos — checking the credibility of the tattoo artist. The fact is people do not research their tattoo artists. Barnes said he and other tattoo artists cover up a lot of tattoos that are poor in quality. He stresses the importance of checking on a body artist’s qualifications.
According to Mosley, body artists do not attend any special school — they usually have an apprenticeship or attend conventions — and not checking on the artist’s credibility can cause a big problem for the customer.
“Most of the time we cover bad tattoos,” Barnes said. “People really need to research their tattoo artist thoroughly.”
