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Don’t Tell Mama

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Pretend you are a parent and your kid (not your favorite, but the one you love and all but, you know, can be a pain in the ass, truthfully) is in the market for a tattoo. What are the last things you’d want to think about?

That getting tattooed is considered to be medical procedure in some places.

That the ink is being pushed INTO skin. By a bunch of little pricks. Applied by a big prick. (Just checking to see if you are paying attention.)

That the open wound, which will ultimately be the envy of you friends, can put you at risk for allergic reactions, infections and blood-borne diseases. Yeah, that’s right, mama, there are risks  even at the state-of-the-art St. Pete tattoo shops.

But wait, Ma, there’s hope!

Because your offspring is going to a licensed, inspected, clean, reputable shop. Because you have done your research. Because kids’ your tattoo artist knows the importance of health and safety and will instruct everyone – even people who didn’t ask and may not care – about proper healing and aftercare routines for that ultimately gorgeous, currently sore, itchy-while-it-peels new tattoo.

Your tattoo professional is the one person to listen to and trust when it comes to knowing what to do with your new tattoo form the moment you finish your session to the next time you come in for work. And if listen really hard then forget it all – call him back. Stop by again. Write it down this time.

In the best case, poor aftercare can distort the tattoo’s appearance. In the worst case, failure to take excellent care of your ink can result in expensive, unpleasant follow-ups. You know, at the walk-in clinic or family doctor. And the pharmacy. And the ATM.

So relax, all you Mothers, we got this. And remember, “kid” is a frame of mind, not an age. We don’t work on humans under the age of 18.

Looking to get a new tattoo? Schedule and appointment today at Black Amethyst Tattoo Gallery.

I’m on the Internet Telling You Not to Believe the Internet

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The Internet is just but one of the many resources that provide people with too much information. While it’s pretty much second nature now to find out things for yourself, that should only ever be a starting point. WebMD doesn’t fill prescriptions, in other words, and for good reason.

Your tattoo artist can help you avoid making costly mistakes. The most expensive and painful and crappy being paying to have a bad tattoo removed.

Good artists at the best tattoo shops in St. Pete love building a base of well-informed customers. Everyone wins, because you will learn from the source about:

Good Timing

Your tattooist will help you plan your tattoo experience, including estimated time for the piece(s) you decide to work on.  You might be surprised how wrong novice-tattoo-getters can be when thinking they know how long something is going to take.

Being Yourself (Within Reason)

Tattoo artists have seen it all. So no need to be anything other than who you are – unless you are a foot tapper or a hair flipper or have other habits that might f-up your tattoo. So establish that comfortable one-on one thang, and then let your freak flag fly – or be a wallflower – just don’t fidget or feel the need to dance while being worked on.

Costs

Tattoo artists do not all charge the same price. Do your online research: you may find a range of price points, even in a relatively small place like St. Pete.  Flat rate? Hourly charge? Pre-paid deposit?  Tips? TALK to your guy (or gal) for all the important money info up front.

Positive and Negative Reference

St. Pete has a deserved reputation as an artistic place.  That doesn’t mean you want your artist pulling stuff out of his or her, um out of the blue. Google yourself silly looking through references. Choose things that speak to you, and be ready to engage with your artist to discuss. Search. Research. Even choose a bad example to bring in to share.

 

Looking to get a new tattoo? Schedule and appointment today at Black Amethyst Tattoo Gallery.

Cool Your Jets on These “Hot” Tattoos

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Get Em While They’re Hot

Because we care, it’s time to remind everyone that unlike a trendy haircut, a “hot” tattoo is not “here today, gone tomorrow,” so you may want to re-think the following designs when visiting top St. Pete tattoo parlors:

Tribal Tattoos

These types of tattoos have spikes in their popularity over time. If you are of a certain age from a certain moment in pop culture, your tribal work may be juuuuust fine. But these days, in fact, they are often referred to as frat tats. There is no problem inking your body with these types of tats if you belong to an actual tribe. Avoid this trend if your only reason for inking them on your body is that you’re a young, white college boy out on his own for the first time.

Social Media-Inspired Tattoos

Tattoos that show your appreciation of or addiction to a social media network or meme of the moment should also be avoided. Let’s face it, even if Facebook turns out to be immortal, sites and apps and memes have a short relevancy lifespan. Yik Yak, anyone?

One-Word Statement Tattoos

Any word that you can remember without having to tattoo it on any part of your body is a good candidate for exclusion. You may also include quotes in this category. Also, do you really want people to randomly stop and grab you to read your skin on the streets?  (If the answer is yes, then, by all means…)

 

Looking to get a new tattoo? Schedule and appointment today at Black Amethyst Tattoo Gallery.

BATG Vlog 2-2nd Annual Art&Ink Anniversary Show

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This week’s Vlog will focus on an overview of this months 2nd Annual Art&Ink Anniversary Show.

Batg Vlog 1- shop tour

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Welcome to the new BATG video blog!

Here is a little walk through of the shop- hope you enjoy!

YEAR-END INK KNOWLEDGE FROM YOUR BAD ASS FRIENDS AT BLACK AMETHYST TATTOOS

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Just a Heads Up

Points of View/Points of You

It’s all in how you look at things. For instance, if someone says to you Dayum, that’s a squirrelly, girly, scratchy fugly tattoo, it could be that 1) The lighting is bad. 2) Someone forgot to eat their Wheaties. 3) Some people should keep their opinions to themselves. or 4) You’re sporting a squirrelly, girly, scratchy fugly tattoo.

Your Body, Your Choice…

A 24×8” infinity symbol on your back. Cuz That’s How You Roll. OK.
The serenity prayer. You know, demonically backwards. Down your hip and leg. Cuz you such a rebel. Fine.
Your soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend’s face. Between your boobs. Cuz, you know, he likes it there. Sure.
A mash-up rebel flag, family crest, shamrock and Louis Vuitton logo. On your face. Cuz you are CONFUSED. Right on.

…But: My Shop, My Rules

I’m not gonna write on you. Or F-up your relationship with your Mom. Or stop your career path. Or make you look like an idiot. Or go against my professional judgment. Cuz, you know, it’s my face in the mirror.

Supply & Demand

Supply your ideas, demand perfection. We’ll get along great and your ink will be epic.

Happy New Year

If 2016 sucked for you, 2017 is just around the corner. Grab it by the balls. Fuck with it first. Don’t let it push you around. And for godsake, get a(nother) tattoo. You only live once. Or, if it turns out that’s not true, get a head start looking soopersexy in your next life.

Guest Post: Tats, Stats & Perceptions

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Guest Post: Tats, Stats & Perceptions

From our home base in St. Pete, FL we’ve been asking people around the state and across southeast to tell us what they’re thinkin’ about inkin.’

Today’s Question:
Are more people getting tattoos, or are we just more used to seeing them…?

The Answer, from a guest blogger in Clearwater, FL:
There was a time, not too many years ago if you are older than 20ish, when getting a tattoo here in Clearwater was a classic career-limiting move. People who just didn’t give AF were getting tattoos anyway, and very few people were committing to anything that (a) couldn’t be covered by “normal” clothes and (b) was more interesting than some old-school flash-inspired I Love Mom, Dad or Wifey designs.

Over the last decade or so, as tribal types, bikers, pro wrestlers, indie musicians, porn stars and others who on the fringe moved toward the mainstream (thank you, interwebs, thank you crappy reality TV), people in places like Clearwater saw more tattoos on others and thought more casually about what tattoos are and mean and represent…and those same people started booking consults or putting on their big girl panties & big boy boxers and wandering into shops to see what was going on.

The result? Based on a sampling of about 570 people, around 23% of residents of Clearwater FL have at least one tattoo. That’s 23 out of every hundred people in town. And 4 out of every 10 people you see – 40% if you’re playing along – have at least one person in the fam with at least one tattoo. Like I say, that’s a small-number view of Clearwater, but I’d bet the same trends are regional, probably even nationwide.

Next time you’re imaging someone nekkid at Publix, be sure to add that mental ink. Because it’s fair & accurate (and cool) to answer the original question with yes and yes: more ink is being worn, more people are wearing it and the more time passes not only is skin color not an issue, skin colors aren’t either.

Do you have something to say about art, ink, skulls or guitars? Wanna publish it on StPeteTattoo.org? Send it in.

From the Interwebz: Burn, Scars & Tattoos, part 2

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Burn Scars Into Tattoos

Here’s the next bit from the incredible world of wide web, discussing burns, scars and how tattoo shops in Clearwater, FL – and other places with tattoo shops – address the physicality of tattooing scarred skin and the mental & psychological benefits that proactive body decoration can provide.

“Therapy” can mean different things to different people, but in most instances the hoped-for result is the same: relief. Whether emotional, physical, psychological, spiritual or all of the above, life’s traumas require attention. Change. Growth. You know the drill.

Recently when some tattoo artists gathered in a tattoo shop in Clearwater, FL, someone asked “What’s the most ‘therapeutic’ [tattoo] work you’ve ever done?” The answers were interesting, inspiring and in some cases intimidating:

            “Memorial tatts are always somewhat therapeutic. And I find that the stories clients tells while getting them have as much positive effect as the actual act of getting the ink.”

            “Once a woman came in to see if I’d help her “decorate” what she called her “well-earned scars.” She had survived some rough shit in her personal life, which left physical reminders of some bad times. Her idea was to “dress up” those places on her arms and left leg that some people would have wanted to cover up and forget, so she could claim what happened as part of her past, and move on.”

            “I’ve been asked to work on scars and burns before, and even tho it’s some of the most challenging work I’ve done, it’s also some of the ‘best,’ in that it went beyond just looking good to actually, I’m pretty sure, doing someone good.”

The whole concept of “normal” isn’t something that, historically, tattoo shops in Clearwater, FL and around the country have embraced. After all, aren’t we inked folk somewhat out of the norm, and, admit, somewhat proud of the fact?  So it’s ironic (in a good way, not an overpriced craft beer hipster way, or an intellectually/academically literal way) that our tattoo work can help to normalize how people who have burns and/or scars may feel about themselves. Keep rocking that individuality, and don’t fear becoming “too normal” when addressing what those annoying REALLY normal people might consider a physical flaw.  Real life leaves marks. Live inked.

Burn, Scars & Tattoos, part 1

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Tattoos for Burn Victims

Here’s an article from dubdubdub about tattoos as part of the psychological healing process for burn victims. Altho it was primarily written to talk about tattoo shops in Clearwater, FL, it applies to other locales as well. Give it a read, and say what you think about it…

Car crashes, house fires, hates crimes, terrorist attacks, war injuries, industrial accidents….any of these can lead to scarring, both psychological and physical. Trauma to the mind and spirit may be related to the physical injuries inflicted. Healing is multi-layered.

Assuming physical injuries are tended to and life’s other necessities are back on track, burn victims have options to consider when addressing the physical remnants of a disaster, mishap or accident. Tattoo shops from Clearwater FL to Muddy IL, and from St Petersburg FL to St. Petersburg, Russia have often served as a real resource for people seeking mental relief from burns and scarring.

Not every burn can be “covered” by tattooing, and not every tattooer can work on skin which has been burned. But many times the artful application of ink can do much to relieve the stigma some people feel related to “imperfect” skin. (A recent, very unscientific survey of Clearwater, FL tattoo shops showed a wide range of reactions to the question Would you consider a tattoo to help cover or adorn a burn scar?) 

As all burns are unique, so are the scars they leave behind, and so too tattoo shops differ: One man’s trash is another man’s treasure; one artist’s forte may be another’s downfall; and burn and scar-covering tattoos are each individual in terms of application technique, number of sessions required and the re-healing of scarred, now tattooed skin.

It takes a special touch, a steady hand and a patient attitude to successfully work with burn victims in helping transform a dermal embarrassment into a proud asset. Tattoo shops in Clearwater, FL can help. As can others in your neck of the woods. Don’t be shy to try. Ask around. Google till your knuckles ache. And let the healing – and tattooing – begin.

Stay tuned for part 2 of From the Interwebz: Burn, Scars & Tattoos, which discusses other types of scarring and what tattoo shops in Clearwater FL (and beyond) can do for people who want to cover or even enhance scarred skin.

Tequila on the Beach/Tools of the Trade

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Tattoos on the Beach

So, I’m hanging out at the beach in Clearwater FL, one tequila shot in, looking at the people, thinking about ink. Another day in paradise, as people say when they are only being half sarcastic. Half-castic. Sarc-half-stic, Did I say one shot in? That’s just an estimate.

My brain connects these dots: The beach is prehistoric. Prehistoric people made tools. There are a lot of tattooed people on the beach. Those two guys look like real tools. I can see two tattoo shops from here. I wonder what it would be like to tattoo in a shop in Clearwater FL using ancient tattoo tools. Damn, that’s smooth tequila.

I read somewhere that prehistoric tattoos were done with volcanic glass. Little cutting stabs of natural glass, over and over. Picture, if you can, your caveman tattoo artist, setting up in his shop in Clearwater FL, ordering supplies from the Volcano Brothers Supply or WTF-ever. Caveboy, the apprentice, is grinding up berries for color. The tattoo shop pet dinosaur/mascot is snoozing up front. The Flintstones drive by, courtesy of Fred’s two feet. Brontosaurus burgers for lunch again?

Hang on, shot time. God bless agave and I wonder what prehistoric liquor tasted like.

Where Was I? Oh yeah, Clearwater, the beach, tattoo shops and cavemen. Where there’s a will to get ink, there’s a way to apply it. Whether it’s volcanic glass and berries in my imaginary Clearwater Caveman Tattoo Shop, a Thai needle or bamboo spike and snake-venom ink, Maori shark teeth chisels and caterpillar ink, a Polynesian tortoiseshell rake needle and sooty ink, or the homemade electric tools and ink-pen ink used by our incarcerated brothers and sisters, people who are destined to be inked will discover a way to make it happen. Time, technique tools…and tequila. Paradise, indeed.