Face tattoos: I'm a grown ass man.

So this was a walk-in the other day. A man came in, showed me this T symbol looking thing that he wanted slightly modified and then tattooed on him. When I asked him where he wanted to put it he said with the straightest face, "On my face." I had to double take and ask him again. Same answer, "My face". He said it was a tattoo he'd wanted for 12 years and now he's finally doing it. 

Now a face tattoo is no light matter in the tattoo world. Some Tattooers stay strongly on the side of not doing this to people. Mainly because of how it can dramatically change the way your life kind of... flows along afterward. Employment comes to mind. Some Tattooers think its an earned bit of Real-Estate and others mostly dont give a fuck. I fall toward the later group. Now, if your an 18 year old girl getting her first tattoo I'm 99.9% going to tell you no and maybe lecture you on how a brand new accessory permanently carved into your face is going to disrupt your "life flow". But this was different. 

As I continued to interview the walk-in I asked him if he'd consulted with any family or friends about getting a face tattoo and his response was what sold me on doing it. He said, "No. If I had they'd try to reason with me and I didn't want to be talked out of this. Its not offensive, non-violent, non-sexual and im not hurting anyone. So let me be." Bam. Thats it. It's pretty fucking simple! He basically said he was a grown ass man and that I could shut up and tattoo his skull already and for the most part thats what I feel on the matter.

We're all adults eventually and are all given opportunities to make whatever decisions we want. we do, however, have to live with them; sometimes longer than others. I am just a tattooer. I am not your life coach. I am not your Mother or Father. I have a responsibility to give you professional opinions but in the end the decision is yours and I am the facilitator. This guy was a retired Vet/professional with nearly retired children. He gets free rides on the senior bus. One day he thought rockin' a fucking face tatter was all his routine lacked! pew pew! not anymore. 

-Tyson

 the symbol  is "The Hunters" or "Warriors" mark from Alien vs. Predator... ya. tiiiigggghhht  

A tattoo machine by any other name: Why you can't say tattoo gun.

        Your sitting in a tattoo chair getting some work done by an artist you may or may not admire. Your having a great conversation talking about all kinds of life shit. You feel like you have a good rapport with the artist and start talking about tattooing, go figure. You get on ok but then out of nowhere, you say it. you slipped up and said the worst thing you could have to a respected professional tattoo guy... " So what kind of gun is that?" NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! Get ready, your about to get the biggest tattoo lecture about nothing. "ITS NOT A GUN MANN!! GUNS KIIIIILLLL PEEEOPLEE!!! ITS A MACHINE MAAAAAAN!! BLAAAH BLAAAH PURIST BLLAAH BLAH PRECISE TOOL BLAH EXTENSION OF A HAND BLAAAAAA".

 Honestly. . .  who gives a fuck? Ive heard tattooers bitch at clients and other tattooers many a time over this. Every time it happens I've heard the self righteous dudes go on about how it's not a gun and how it needs to be called one thing or another. How It's disrespectful to the craft and culture etc. In the end it just doesn't matter does it? Its the thing that makes the needle go up and down really fast. call it a skin raper for all I care.  

 Now I get it, hand made machines are beautiful. There are talented machine builders in the industry. It also makes sense to know all about the machines that  are your lively hood.  I get that. But to assume everybody should be up to par with the lingo of a culture that you take special interest in is dumb and exclusivist. It doesn't give anybody the right to belittle someone ESPECIALLY people paying you to put fucking artwork, YOUR artwork on them for life. And it doesn't make you look cooler either.  

All im saying is, its small time shit. Twitch your eye and move the fuck on. It doesn't matter what you call the Goddamn thing, it still works its magic when used the right way. What Bobby called your precious is irrelevent. And also I love you. 

-Tyson