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Colorful Body Artwork is Bonding Some Families (Tattoos Bring Mom & Daughter Together)
Wisconsin State Journal ^ | January 8, 2007 | Nikki KAtz

Posted on 01/08/2007 2:12:54 PM PST by 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."


TOPICS: Arts/Photography; Society
KEYWORDS: culturewar; frbigots; parentsnotfriends; skankitude; strippermommy; trailertrashtats; trampstamp
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To: justche
just don't get a tat huh??

Get as many as you want. If you don't care what you look like, why the hell should I?

141 posted on 01/09/2007 5:25:44 PM PST by ShadowDancer (Life is not tried, it is merely survived if you're standing outside the fire.)
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To: bannie

Thanks....I really hope I didn't offend you, I feel really bad about it. I don't judge people by weight or looks. Its what is in the inside that counts to me, not the outside. ~~Pandora~~


142 posted on 01/09/2007 5:28:18 PM PST by pandoraou812 ( zero tolerance and dilligaf?)
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To: pandoraou812

I'm ok. I'm very comfortable with myself. Don't feel bad!


143 posted on 01/09/2007 5:31:27 PM PST by bannie
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To: pandoraou812
I do wonder how many men might not see a tattoo , fall in love and find out the woman of their dreams had one, would they drop her?

Pandora, I wasn't offended. My response that I wasn't gay was only meant to be funny. :)

I think the majority of men would not mind at all if they found out that the woman they cared about had a tattoo that she concealed. I think with most people it's not the tattoo, but the way in which the person with the tattoo publicly displays the tattoo. I don't think a woman is a skank for getting a tattoo above her butt crack, but many people, myself included, do not enjoy being forced to see the public display of her tattoo when she wears low rider jeans with her butt crack or nasty thong strap peaking out.

This will be the only impression most of us ever have of her and she might as well just wear a sign that says skank because she is obviously using the tattoo to sexually attract any Tom, Dick, or...gay Harriet on the street.

144 posted on 01/09/2007 5:31:58 PM PST by Elyse (I refuse to feed the crocodile.)
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To: Jaysun

That is why it is called a "Tramp Stamp" son.


145 posted on 01/09/2007 5:44:14 PM PST by Chickensoup (If you don't go to the holy war, the holy war will come to you.)
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To: Doctor Raoul

One point if she smokes, one point for each tatto, one point for each piercing. Anything that adds up to four or more, she's easy.

Nooo...I would say with that criteria it would place her as having at least one STD.


146 posted on 01/09/2007 5:45:52 PM PST by Chickensoup (If you don't go to the holy war, the holy war will come to you.)
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To: Doomonyou

That is face paint isn't it?


147 posted on 01/09/2007 5:46:49 PM PST by Chickensoup (If you don't go to the holy war, the holy war will come to you.)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

Nothing like having a skull on your arm ... or two insipid angels. Gak!


148 posted on 01/09/2007 5:47:42 PM PST by BunnySlippers (SAY YES TO RUDY !!!)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

Classy....


149 posted on 01/09/2007 5:47:44 PM PST by Volunteer (Just so you know, I am ashamed the Dixie Chicks make records in Nashville.)
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To: Chickensoup
That is why it is called a "Tramp Stamp" son.

Others have pointed that out to me. It's a good description. Thanks.
150 posted on 01/09/2007 6:01:42 PM PST by Jaysun (I've never paid for sex in my life. And that's really pissed off a lot of prostitutes.)
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To: ShadowDancer

*yawn* welcome to the party gram(p)s


151 posted on 01/09/2007 6:15:47 PM PST by justche (When moderators aren't anonymous, I'll consider donating again.)
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To: justche

Sweetheart, I'm a woman and in my 30's and not even remotely 'stuffy'. Don't blame me because you enjoy looking like the end of the Saran Wrap but more colorful.


152 posted on 01/09/2007 6:21:00 PM PST by ShadowDancer (Life is not tried, it is merely survived if you're standing outside the fire.)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

My parents felt the same way about pierced ears. They associated them with people who "just got off the boat"!! (their words) Of course, I got self piercers (remember those?) and they just thought they were regular earrings. oooo was my dad mad. He used to say "you may as well pierce your nose too while your at it!" Little did he know that nose piercings would become popular. A tattoo would have put me in a foster home!


153 posted on 01/09/2007 6:25:12 PM PST by bonfire
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To: Elyse
Your post was very well said ....I think the name calling and labeling and just the ingorance bothered me about this thread the most. I never try to hurt anyone's feelings on here unless they hurt mine or attack me. I do have my days. What you said about 1st impressions was right on. It is true. I was sitting her with my son's fiancee and she was reading along with me.
She said this about tattoos....All my friends have them and I don't want to be like everyone else so I am not going to get one. Nor will I pierce my body, its just not me. Plus she is going to be a teacher and wants to be a role model. Poor girl then said omg have I offended you? I said of course not.

I totally agree with you about not having to see anyone's crack, man or women. I think most of the clothes young girls wear are just too ho like. Look at the role models they look up to Paris Hilton , Spears, etc. And some of the girls that my son's have brought home I have been shocked, and I am by no means a prude...I do however have a 7 yr old daughter and I don't want those kind of girls around her. I am careful about the clothes I buy for her, and some of the clothes that are in stores I would never dress my child in. Its disgusting. Tee shirts that say Cherry Farm on them....not on my baby. I can't believe some of the slogans them.... Omg....Maybe I am a prude or maybe I am getting old. I am sick of people making children into little sex objects or mini me's. Mothers having their little girls hair dyed or streaked to match theirs. Its sickening and crazy. .....I do worry about these tattoo parties, teens don't think they can get infections and hep C. Or the ones who ink themselves up...Thank God my children never did that. The older ones have tats. My adopted son was a tattoo artist until he got married and his wife said no way get a different job..... I just wish people would really think long and hard before getting ink on their bodies because what you like at 18 usually won't be what you like at 40. ~~Pandora~~
154 posted on 01/09/2007 6:57:15 PM PST by pandoraou812 ( zero tolerance and dilligaf?)
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To: ShadowDancer

Don't blame me because you enjoy looking like the end of the Saran Wrap but more colorful.

_________________________

I have no idea what you are talking about or the insult your attempting to give, but I'll acknowledge you sure gave it an effort dear!


155 posted on 01/10/2007 12:23:13 AM PST by justche (When moderators aren't anonymous, I'll consider donating again.)
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To: bonfire

"A tattoo would have put me in a foster home!"

LOL! Yep. Me, too. ;)


156 posted on 01/10/2007 6:21:20 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (Save The Earth. It's The Only Planet With Chocolate.)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin
I hid the 1st one I got for years. I thought my dad would flip and he did. Took me to a dermatologist and wanted it removed. The doctor told him the scar would be worse then the tat...I would try not to let him see it but as I got a few more of them and wore a bathing suit he would just look at me and do his big frown thing.
157 posted on 01/10/2007 7:05:16 AM PST by pandoraou812 ( zero tolerance and dilligaf?)
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To: justche

What does the end of Saran Wrap look like?? I use Gladware, :D


158 posted on 01/10/2007 8:58:48 AM PST by Shimmer128 (My beloved is mine and I am his. Song of Solomon 2:16)
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To: Shimmer128

I was wondering the same thing, but wow, what a great slam huh??


159 posted on 01/10/2007 9:46:34 AM PST by justche (When moderators aren't anonymous, I'll consider donating again.)
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To: justche

Just posting to get the new tagline posted. :D


160 posted on 01/10/2007 9:51:36 AM PST by Shimmer128 (When moderators aren't anonymous bullies, I'll consider donating again)
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