My Wave: It’s not just copy-and-paste with tats!
There's a lot that people do not know about the artistry of tattooing, the artist at Step Up give us some insight.
TATTOOING as an art form has many layers that are more complex than people think.
It’s also easy to differentiate between a good tattoo and a bad one, and it can boil down to the tattooist (or tattoo artist) getting their references wrong, being in a poor environment (outdoors mainly), or misreading the skin of a client. There’s no room for error for the artist.
As a client, it’s vital for you to play your role and not to underestimate the process of looking after your tattoo. When speaking to the tattoo artists Bliancha Eilers and Byron Van Dyk at Step Up in Kloof, they emphasise how vital it is for one to look after their new ‘artistic wounds’.
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Byron added: “I’ve had a client call me, asking what’s wrong with her tattoo and why it has blisters; it turns out she was out partying at a club all night, and a club can be the dirtiest place to go and not obviously not ideal for exposing a new tattoo”.
An important aspect that I learned about the industry when speaking to the artists was that there is a huge difference between a tattoo artist and a tattooist. A tattoo artist goes through meticulous preparation before putting needle-to-skin, whereas the work of a tattooist is more ‘slap and go.’
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“For us it takes hours of drawing, working out where we would put something, how’s its going to flow and how it’s going to look as a end product,” Byron explained.
“You get a tattoo artist and a tattooist, a tattooist can just print a picture and be ready to go while a tattoo artist can sketch something from scratch without any references.”
Kirsty McCready and Bliancha, experienced tattoo artists explained to me how mental health plays a huge part in people going through with getting a tattoo and how people can express their feelings through the artworks they permanently etch on their bodies.
Kirsty explained: “I can sit with someone (a client) for hours doing one tiny tattoo if it means that they walk away feeling better about themselves and if they need someone to talk to.”
The tattoo industry may be stigmatised by the older generation, but the people in the industry care about their clients and the art they are doing.
Being a tattoo artist is a lifetime art passion-project and the artists are there to bring your sketch-book to life.
I spoke to friends with tattoos and asked them why they’ve decided to permanently mark themselves.
Erin’s reasons were: “I was working at a pub and I felt like I wasn’t getting anything out of it, so I wanted to get something that symbolizes happiness and I’ll remember it well when I’m older”.
Lloyd says: “My tattoo was in remembrance of my brother, York, who passed away in 2010. The tattoo was done on what would’ve been his 18th birthday, as I wasn’t able to get him a key to celebrate his birthday, the tattoo was as much for him as it was for me.”
Lisa: “I got it to rebel against my parents, when I ran away from home. It symbolised, ‘It’s my life and I can do whatever I want.”
Quintus “I got my tattoo at the age of 30. It was a spider and it symbolised patience and it was what I needed at that time of my life. The artist I got it from was a special person, who was very genuine and the tattoo serves as a fond memory of him as well.”
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