Colorful Body Artwork is Bonding Some Families (Tattoos Bring Mom & Daughter Together)

Wisconsin State Journal ^ | January 8, 2007 | Nikki KAtz

[Diana in Wisconsin]

When Lori Nichols of Oregon, WI was in her late 20s, she once asked her mom to baby-sit without revealing where she was going.

"When I got back hours later, I showed her why she was watching the kids," Nichols said, turning to show off the red rose she had tattooed on her shoulder.

"I thought she'd be mad, but she was jealous," Nichols said. "(I didn't know) my mom always wanted a yellow rose . . . She wanted one, but she was stuck with (my dad) for so long."

Ever since her mom died in September 2004, Nichols has wanted to get a yellow rose to accompany the red rose on her shoulder. Or maybe on her right arm, opposite the ram's head on her left arm that she got in honor of her younger brother Chad, who died one day after their mom, and sported a ram tattoo.

Nichols' daughter, Amber Dawson of Stoughton, is on the same page. Not long after her 18th birthday in August, Dawson decided to get a picture of two angels on her left shoulder to represent her maternal grandmother and uncle.

"(Their deaths) affected our family so much, and I just wanted to honor them," Dawson said. "One of my close friends is not very supportive of it. She says there are other ways I could've remembered them, but this is the way I choose to do it . . . I want them to look over my shoulder and protect me."

Madison's 10 tattoo parlors draw young adults and adults alike to invest in body art. Just look around, and you'll see it everywhere, on everyone, from elderly women to teens who don't look quite of-age. Dawson said she's already planning her next tattoo, possibly a Virgo symbol on her foot.

"I guess when they say they're addicting, they're not lying," she said, glancing at her mom.

"I can't say nothing," Lori said, laughing. "I have more than two.

"It's a person's choice, and I truly believe that," she added. "She's 18, and it's her choice to make."

A bonding experience

Seated in the lobby of Ultimate Arts Tattoo, Nichols seems like one of those cool moms even a high schooler would have no problem hanging out with. She and her daughter look alike, both peering out through their eyeliner under their blonde hair. Dawson said she appreciates her mom more now than ever before.

But the two haven't always been so close. Dawson moved out of her mom's Stoughton house just a couple weeks after her 18th birthday. She said they "weren't on good terms."

Dawson attributes their tattoos in part for their new closeness.

"I was afraid she wouldn't come (to my tattoo sessions)," Dawson said. "It means a lot that she did."

When asked if they would ever consider getting matching tattoos, Nichols and Dawson giggled.

"We actually really do have the same taste," Dawson said, shifting her eyes to her mom. Nichols smiled.

How the kids are doing it

Teens less patient than Dawson find ways to get around Wisconsin's law prohibiting minors from getting tattoos.

Mike Spangler, the owner of Ultimate Arts Tattoo, 3236 Commercial Ave., Madison, said minors frequently get tattoos at "tattoo parties," house parties at which low-quality or failed tattoo artists work, often not carrying out the proper cross-contamination procedures. Considering health risks like HIV and hepatitis, Spangler stressed, "Parents need to be scared of this."

Spangler said tattoo parlors that take minors are not much better.

"Someone younger than 18, if they find a studio, it can't be a high-quality place," he said. "They're probably untrained, and with the health issues, it's most likely regrettable."

His advice? "Do not let (minors) get a tattoo. Period."

Spangler said his two stepchildren begged to get underage tattoos, but he didn't crack. When the oldest, now 21, got a tattoo on his 18th birthday, Spangler said it meant a lot more to him after having to wait.

"It's kind of a rite of passage," he said. " Everyone's got to move from childhood to adulthood somehow. It's a step from what you can do as a kid to what you can do as an adult."

Ultimate Arts Tattoo employee Tonia Weber, 26, said teens are more likely to do something they'll regret later.

Weber, who specializes in tattoo removal, has seen quite the range of regretted tattoos in her six years at the parlor. She said the worst were usually adolescent decisions.

"I once did a woman who's now a mother of four, but when she was 16, she got crosses up and down on her arm," Weber said. "She came in and said, 'This is just not me.'

"Another woman had a smiley face on her entire back all done with needle and thread. It was pretty shoddy, and she was pretty adamant about having it gone. Of course, she was 16 when she got it."

Removal is illegal for minors except for laser removal by a physician and a judge's mandate, which usually regards gang tattoos. To remove a tattoo in the shop, Weber has to penetrate cells with a machine to liquefy the solidified tattoo ink. She said it was a "difficult and painful process," not to mention expensive. Removing a small tattoo costs at least $50, and Weber charges $100 per hour for a large one. Laser removal can cost thousands of dollars and often takes seven to 10 sessions.

Considering the consequences, Weber said she thinks getting a tattoo at a party is "really sad."

"I don't think there's any thought put into it," Weber said. "They're drunk, so they do something stupid . . . They're just going to spend more money to get it fixed later."

More mainstream

With 11 tattoos, Weber said she doesn't plan on stopping anytime soon. She has a "sleeve" tattoo down her entire left arm and she's getting her entire right arm done as well. She said she's run into some really negative responses with which she disagrees.

"Someone that says a tattoo is gross...is ignorant," Weber said. "Some people are very accepting. The non-accepting ones are back in the 1960s, thinking they use gross needles."

Weber said her visible chest and arm tattoos have really affected her public life.

"I can't go into a store with a short sleeved shirt without someone coming up to me and grabbing my arm or saying 'that's cool,'" she said. "It's a real lack of private or personal space.

"You might be the only person with a tattoo in a room of a hundred people, and they're going to notice. They'll say, 'Oh my god, this person is weird or different.' We still get labeled a little bit."

But Spangler said that's all changing. With the sleeves of his fleece pushed up and eloquent speech, the only evidence that Spangler might be the "type" to have a tattoo is his long hair and ear piercing. He said a large percentage of his clients are professionals, citing police officers, doctors and professors. He said he thinks that as tattoos are becoming more common, parents of teenagers are becoming more comfortable with them.

"Parents are much more lenient when it comes to tattoos," he said. "It's more mainstream...most of the parents have them."

Body piercer Michael Beale, who's worked at Steve's Tattoo and Body Piercing, 1205 Williamson St., for four years, agreed.

"A lot more families come into the store," Beale said. "Dads and moms bring their kids in on their 18th birthday . . . It's probably because of cleanliness. They'd just rather bring their kid in here than have them get it done in their buddy's garage."

Beale said the shop gets a few calls a year from happy parents, which sometimes take the employees off-guard.

"Just a few weeks ago, this girl's dad called and said, 'Is the manager there?' and I'm thinking 'Oh, no,' " Beale said. "But he said, 'Just tell him so-and-so's dad wanted to call and say thanks.' "

High school tattoos

It seems Stoughton High School has embraced the prevalence of tattoos. The school newspaper annually features a matching game between pictures of tattoos and students' names.

"When you're a senior, you're 18, and (tattoos) are accepted," Dawson said.

As senior class principal of La Follette High School, Kelly Lynaugh said she's seen it all in the hallways - tattoos and piercings "wherever they find to put them."

"Parents feel it's the right of the student to express their feelings," Lynaugh said, pointing out that she thinks parents are still "more OK with" piercings than tattoos.

Like most Madison public high schools, La Follette doesn't have many regulations about either one. The only rule the administration enforces is that body art displaying inappropriate words be covered. One student, Lynaugh said, has to wear long pants everyday because he has a curse word tattoo on his calf. Lynaugh said all types of students have tattoos, from those with discipline or academic problems to those who get straight-As.

"It's across the board," she said.

"I think tattoos have always been attractive to younger people because of the rebellion aspect of them," said Beale, who's getting a "body-suit" tattoo to cover almost his whole body.

Beale said the only tattoo he regrets is the wedding ring tattoo he got six years ago. Now that he's divorced, he's planning to get it lasered off.

"That's the thing," he said. "I would tell teenagers who are going to get a tattoo to choose something they want for life."

[absolootezer0]

"tramp stamps" are fine.. but you like harleys.. that makes ya iffy :P

[HOTTIEBOY]

I am defending tattoos being labeled here.

Stop making me laugh....I am not supposed to laugh at that.

[najida]

I must live a sheltered life, because the first time I heard tramp stamp and coaster was....

here!

[HOTTIEBOY]

Hold up Zer0....

We are preaching to hate the game, not the player.

But if she says HD is somehow better than Jap, I'll turn you loose.

carry on...

[najida]

Wicewocket?

[pandoraou812]

I think so too...... I have seen some really beautiful tattoos. I have seen artists do amazing work covering up a homemade tat also..... Some of the guys I know have had to do tats on children because of facial deformities like children born with harelips etc. They have to make lips the right color and the children look so much better afterward. I know some guys who have done work for women recovering from breast cancer, they create a nipple areola as part of reconstructive breast surgery. Do these mean names apply to these innocent people who have no choice but to use tattoos to look normal?

[HOTTIEBOY]

I hate 'tramp stamp' cause the people that say it seriously believe it.

But 'coaster' is a joke and the knuckledragger in me finds it funny as heck.

[absolootezer0]

hey.. i put my little :P with it. i'm just teasing.

[HOTTIEBOY]

No. They will just come up with a different name to call those people.

Something like, "Well if there parents hadn't had premarital sex, the child wouldn't have a hairlip"

[HOTTIEBOY]

O'rly???

[Xenalyte]

No way! Y'all never heard those terms before?

You realize, of course, that I use them with love . . . almost all my Rennies are decorated. I can think of three (four, if you count me) out of maybe 200 who aren't tattooed.

My closest female friend has so many, I can't count 'em . . . they're starting to blend together!

[Xenalyte]

But 'coaster' is a joke and the knuckledragger in me finds it funny as heck.

That's 'cause it carries its own visual!

[pandoraou812]

Well I can't change that one. I put mine away when my daughter was born but I do ride behind my husband. I like all bikes not just harleys. They break down quite a bit and they aren't as fast as some of the other bikes. I ride horses too though... ~~Pandora~~

[absolootezer0]

like all bikes not just harleys. They break down quite a bit and they aren't as fast as some of the other bikes

good answer! :)

[pandoraou812]

True. Its sad people can be so ignorant. What does it matter to them what is on the outside of you as long as you are a good, decent person on the inside? Like that saying...Don't judge a book by its cover...~~Pandora~~

[pandoraou812]

Well its the truth. I couldn't tell you how many times my 61 panhead broke down. That was another reason its in the garage. Plus the fact its a kickstart and its just too hard for me to kick it over. I love it but I could never ride alone in case it broke down. My sons are eyeing it up but I don't think I want to let it go ... I don't know if I will ride again but I do know it won't be on that bike. I am just too old and its not comfortable at all.

[najida]

Xena, you and I hang out with very similar types. My best friend has a 'sea' theme going on that is pretty cool....and she's the first one I ever saw to have the tribal scroll on her back (which is fabulous!)

If I could come back as anyone else, it would be this woman.
One of the best dancers of any kind on the planet, IMHGLO.

Like most tribal dancers, she has a tat that travels her middle. She's been adding to it since she was in her teens. Someone here said "she'll not have it when she's 40" well, she's been dancing since she was 17 and I think she turns 37 this year. Like Jamila Shalimpour, Carolina Nerrico and others....those tats will go with her to the grave.

It's her mantra...a mark of her discipline, from sutra "And this practice becomes firmly rooted when it is cultivated skillfully and continuously for a long time."

[pandoraou812]

I am dying laughing here. I told my husband to just put his 2 away and buy a jap bike...Theres no way he would. But he does like to go fast. I know many guys now that are sick of repair bills, being uncomfortable and are buying hondas. Less repairs, faster and more comfortable claim the older guys. I don't see why people have this harley only thing going on. I did like your stories on your page.

[pandoraou812]

Thanks , thats a beautiful picture and the tat is really outstanding.

[HOTTIEBOY]

But wouldn't she beat the hell out of herself with all those dangly things while she danced?

And about that 'best dancer on the planet' coment,
Lets see her pop better than Fred 'Rerun' Berry...:D