The Body Art Dilemma -- How Brides Are Dealing With Tattoos on the Wedding Party

The idea that tattoos are such an issue at weddings seems a bit crazy to me. I would think that choosing members of your bridal party should be more about your friendship than how they will look in your pictures. I couldn’t even imagine how awkward that conversation would be. “I would love for you to be my maid of honor, but I care more about my wedding photos than I do about you so you are going to have to spend hours with a makeup artist covering your tattoos.”

After years of having my tattoos and looking at them every day of my life, I couldn’t imagine seeing myself in current pictures without them. They are a very easy way to tell approximately when the photo was taken. Having them covered would really confuse anyone who knew me and make them think the pictures were taken years ago. Anyone who knows the person with the covered tattoos would immediately know something was missing. The act of explaining the absence of their tattoo in a photo would be far more awkward than having it in the photo to begin with. I just don’t see how you can explain it without sounding extremely shallow.

The Body Art Dilemma -- How Brides Are Dealing With Tattoos on the Wedding Party

Yoga Ink: Top yogis show us their tats

This month the Smithsonian is showing yogic art through the centuries. But then, so is your yoga teacher. From vibrant renderings of Ganesha to Vedic mantras, it’s almost as common to spot yogis adorned in tattoos inspired by their practice as in a pair of Lululemons.

Yoga Ink: Top yogis show us their tats

Tattooed women outnumber men in recent poll

When it comes to getting tattoos it seems woman hold a slight upper edge over men. In the United States 23 percent of the women have tattoos compared with only 19 percent of the men.

This is the first time tattooed woman have outnumbered tattooed men.

Tattooed women outnumber men in recent poll

Women embrace thigh tattoo craze

Women are using their legs and thighs as the place to display their body art in a new tattooing craze that has gripped inner city suburbs.

Women embrace thigh tattoo craze

Tattoo? How To Still Get Hired

“Don’t let your ink hold you back from career success”

Good article on tattoos in the workplace with some good advice for people with tattoos getting ready to interview.

Tattoo? How To Still Get Hired

Soldiers race to get new ink before restrictions on tattoos begin

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Pfc. Thomas Linton walked into the Ink Well tattoo shop on Bragg Boulevard on Friday afternoon with cash in his pocket and a mission on his mind.

Before the ink dries on new Army rules that are expected to ban tattoos below the knee or elbow, Linton plans to get some more ink on himself.

It looks like the new policy is causing more people to run out and get tattoos while they still have the chance.

Soldiers race to get new ink before restrictions on tattoos begin

Filter drummer: Brother’s Bar in Denver barred me due to neck tattoo

DENVER — The drummer of a popular rock band said he was denied entrance into a popular Denver bar and grill because of his tattoos.

I have mixed feelings about this story. On one hand, a private business is allowed to enforce a dress code and tattoos are allowed to be included in their dress criteria. Had this happened to a regular guy walking in off the street (which I’m sure it does on a regular basis) it would not be in the news. It also would not have been news if they turned him away for another dress code violation, like wearing shorts or flip-flops.

The other side of the story is the fact that the band had lunch at this same restaurant earlier in the day and nobody had an issue with the tattoo. I would also imagine that a large number of people visited the restaurant in order to get a chance to meet the band. The very people who were bringing a ton of money into the restaurant that night were then not allowed to enter.

If they owners enforce their policy fairly and consistently, there really isn’t much that can be done.

Filter drummer: Brother’s Bar in Denver barred me due to neck tattoo

Opinion: Who owns that tat?

An interesting look at some of the tattoo related copyright issues that have getting some attention recently.

WHO OWNS a tattoo? The obvious answer is the wearer, who paid for the ink and is now permanently (more or less) attached to it. Yet recent disputes have called into question the easy idea that if you buy a tattoo, you also own it and can display it as you like. Tattoo artists are increasingly claiming that they, like other artists, own the copyright to the images they create. And when those images, attached to living people, appear on the silver screen — or a computer monitor — the artists want to get paid.

Opinion: Who owns that tat?

Billboard, Video Portraying Jesus as Tattoo Artist Sparks Controversy

A billboard in Texas that points members of the public to a website featuring a video portraying Jesus as a tattoo artist that takes the negative markings of mankind upon himself is sparking controversy.

Billboard, Video Portraying Jesus as Tattoo Artist Sparks Controversy

Consumer group Choice sounds warning on tattoo removal industry

With tattoo removal fast becoming a huge industry, it’s about time we started hearing warnings about the lack of training required to operate lasers.

The consumer watchdog Choice has sounded a warning over the lack of regulation in the tattoo removal industry, pointing out that no medical training is required for those using lasers to remove unwanted ink from flesh.

Consumer group Choice sounds warning on tattoo removal industry

Scoot Blog: Tattoos...Yet another excuse to judge people

This is a great read. I’m not sure why all of the comments seem to be about Obama, but don’t let that take away from what the author has ta say.

We are living in a world that has turned judging others into an art form. On the whole, as a nation, we still judge skin color and perceived sexual orientation. Judging a person as ‘liberal’ or ‘conservative’ has been elevated to an actual putdown – rather than an American institution of political freedom. We judge people who make a decision to live in the city or those who choose to live in the suburbs.

It seems that we are actively looking for new excuses to judge others. And, today, the continued judgment of those with visible tattoos serves as yet another reminder that we are quick to make judgments based on outwardly signs, rather than the content of a person’s character.

Scoot Blog: Tattoos...Yet another excuse to judge people

Tattooist fined £300 for leaving hairdresser with botched inking of Marilyn Monroe 'that looked like a blow up doll'

This is why it is so important to carefully look at an artists portfolio before getting any work done by them. I think this is especially true for a portrait tattoo. While the average person might not immediately recognize poor shading or shaky lines on an abstract tattoo, a poorly done portrait is obvious even to people who know very little about the technical aspects of tattooing.

Tattooist fined £300 for leaving hairdresser with botched inking of Marilyn Monroe 'that looked like a blow up doll'

Twilight superfan, 52, spends £8,500 on movie tattoos

Twilight super-fan Cathy Ward has spent almost £8,500 covering her entire top half with tattoos linking to the hugely successful vampire novels.

But not only do the tattoos serve as a striking tribute, they also remind the 52-year-old of her incredible six stone weight loss.

Cathy, who works as a baker at her local Morrisons supermarket in Reading, began to pile on the pounds after the shock death of her mother in 1999.

Twilight superfan, 52, spends £8,500 on movie tattoos

Extinction empathy tattoos commemorate less charismatic species

This is a new theme for tattoos that I have not seen before.

Illustrator Samantha Dempsey wanted to bring attention to the un-charismatic creatures that have gone extinct. She created species empathy tattoos, which are temporary tattoos to honor animals that have disappeared. Her work combines the tradition of memorial tattoos with the exquisite detail one might find in an illustrated field guide.

Extinction empathy tattoos commemorate less charismatic species

Why do people go back for more and more tattoos?

Once a single tattoo was enough. Now a new breed of ink aficionados are returning again and again for multiple markings. What’s behind the rise of the serial tattooee?

Some people say that tattoos are an addiction. While I do get the urge for new ink on occasion, I’m not running to the nearest tattoo shop just to fill that urge. At this point in time I have no definite plans for new ink, but will most likely be getting more at some point in the future.

Why do people go back for more and more tattoos?

The changing face of female tattoos

In past decades, if a woman had a tattoo, it was likely to be discreet or hidden from public view. Multiple, prominent tattoos were more likely to be seen on men.

But now anecdotal evidence suggests the number of women getting large amounts of ink on their bodies is sharply on the rise.

BBC News spoke to artists and visitors at the International Tattoo Convention in London to find out about the latest trends in female body art.

The changing face of female tattoos

Pictures: Thousands at docks to see walking canvasses as tattoo convention hits

Last weekend saw some 20,000 tattoo enthusiasts and artists descend on London’s Docklands to revel in and share the art that has literally become a part of them.

The main attraction? The ninth International London Tattoo Convention, one of the most prestigious annual body art conventions in the world, held at Tobacco Dock, Shadwell, and run by organisers Tattoo Life Magazine.

Pictures: Thousands at docks to see walking canvasses as tattoo convention hits