World of Permanent Ink

Growing up art was always my escape. No matter what mood I was in I could feed that emotion into my art. As I grew up and my life choices became toxic my art was still a way to keep me grounded. Not having much of an option I made my art my career. Hopign around from shop to shop learning everything I could I was finally at a place where I felt that no matter what walked through the door, I would be able to handle it. Now, 27 years later, I have yet to not be able to produce the art someone wanted.

The best part I would say about being a Tattoo Artist is that vulnerability people have with you. No matter what the design is you are changing this person's life forever. This isn’t something they will just be able to wipe off the next day so helping people understand their connection with the tattoo is really something amazing. - Micheal S.

My ink is who I am; without it I would feel so lost. Growing up I was always kind of out there kid and now my tattoos kind of reflect that side of me. I didn't go to parties or was ever with the it crowd; no i was the kind that hung out with the same few friends playing video games till 3 in the morning. It's because of the way I lived why I have tattoos my Pokemon and a Rubiks cube. For me it's not always about some breathtaking tattoos but more about the way it sparks a memory or catches someone's eye with the bright colors. Feeding off someone else’s reaction is why I will never stop getting tattoos.

The way I like to think of it is if I never would have gotten the tattoos that I have today would I have met the same people? I think the world likes to say tattoos are bad because of the past but something that I experienced was that people are starting to become more accepting with them and realizing that what is on the outside does not always change what is on the inside.- Jordan A.

Growing up, my life was very different from the norm. Having cultural differences and seeing things from a different perspective really drove me to wanting tattoos. However, having the tattoo turn out to my exact liking was never going to be an option. This tattoo means the world to me and not having it where I wanted, how big I wanted, and in the font I wanted really distracts from the overall meaning I had. Now, it was not that artist's fault it was my fathers. Not giving me full control of what happens to my own body, I ended up getting a tattoo that means the world to me be the size of a pinky finger.

The world is constantly changing and for me that just means that someone else is going to always want to bring me down. With that pain and struggle I will push on to the next day and use it to strive towards my goals. A tattoo does not have to be this huge flashy piece; it can literally be a word and that one word could have an impact for a lifetime. I will never let someone control my choice again because in the end it is not up to them it is my life time to live with it.- Hunter S.