Issue date: 4/22/08 Section: Aggielife

Media Credit: Fred Lambuth [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Fred Lambuth [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Philip Crowson Charlotte Shropshire, a sophomore early education major, displays a pair of wings tattooed on her right wrist. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Philip Crowson Nicholas Cormier, a sophomore general studies major, shows the cross tattoo he got in the summer of 2006. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Philip Crowson Charlotte Shropshire, sophomore early education major, shows the intricate cross tattooed on her right leg. [Click to enlarge]

As we slowly entered the era in the 1980s known as the "Tattoo Renaissance," we had no idea what it would become. What used to be known as a rebellious biker fad has now become a common form of self-expression.

In professor Rachael Cloud Bible's class, anthropology: peoples and cultures of the World, she discusses the fact that body art is another way that people express their cultural affiliations, family ties or ideological beliefs. When she asked for a show of hands of the students with tattoos, she received wide eyes as she raised her own hand. Believing it to be a form of art, Bible uses herself as an example when discussing the cultural meaning of tattoos and how they are used in society.

Biological anthropology professor Darryl DeRuiter also says that tattoos are a form of art and said that one in seven Americans have a tattoo.

"I think the image has cleaned up a lot in the past few years. It's not so stigmatized, not so scary," DeRuiter said.

As culture changed, tattoos have found a way of becoming a type of body adornment. Tattoos, for the most part, hold a personal meaning.

In the Bryan-College Station area, there are eight tattoo parlors ready to permanently ink bodies. Poking You Tattoo is one of many that accepts sober walk-ins and appointments. All tattoo parlors follow a policy of zero tolerance for alcohol. If there is alcohol in a customer's system, the blood is thinner, which tends to make the tattooed area bleed more.

"When you walk into a tattoo parlor, it's not like walking into the store," said senior political science major and tattoo artist Meghan Knobel. "It's our personal space - our rules."

Artists like Knobel take great pride in their work and the many hours they spend carefully inking up works of art. Tattoo artists have progressed in skill - some are going to school to study the profession, and the bar of creativity is continually raised.

Ink Dreams, located on University Drive, is busy with three to four artists on Friday and Saturday nights. As many as 100 tattoos can be done in one night depending on its size.

Artist Jason Maines said designs in College Station differ from those requested and drawn in Austin.

"There is a lot smaller stuff wanted here, many with religious relations, which is different from Austin, where you will see a lot of darker designs," Maines said.

Ink Dreams echoes the loss of the cultural stigma attached to the tattoo with a marquee sign outside the parlor that reads "Tattoos aren't just for whores and sailors anymore."

Sophomore psychology major Jenni Cooper has three tattoos, each with some sort of religious symbolism. Two of the most common tattoos in College Station are the Jesus fish and some sort of cross.

Tattoos in the form of a memorial are also popular and share a large acceptance in society. With many lives lost in Iraq, it is not uncommon for fellow soldiers to get the "Soldier's Grave" tattoo, which shows a rifle in the ground and boots with dog tags hanging off.

Freshman agricultural leadership and development major Gary Gorrell lost his uncle, who was in the San Antonio Police Department, and now has his badge tattooed on his arm. Gorrell admits that he gets looks for his large displays but feels strongly about them and has a story for each one.

The people who still carry the stereotype are the ones that treat their tattoos more as a billboard on their body, said sophomore general studies major Nick Cormier. While crosses and Bible verses are bold and devout, the odd cartoons and symbols are cause for a longer stare.

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