2008 Woodie Awards
The illustrated women and men of WCC
Jennifer DeMoss
Issue date: 4/9/07 Section: Inside WCC
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But does it work?
"Very much so," was the reply. "I get compliments on it all the time."
Thus began the odyssey of tracking down the illustrated men and women of WCC, which turned out to be less difficult since the sun has shown its face in recent weeks. Body art is peeking out from beneath peeled off layers of winter clothing, and students were happy to show off their pieces.
What's the appeal?
Mike Wedzina got his first tattoo at 15, after visiting his artist cousin for the summer. He recalled the joy of returning home to the awe of other students-he was the first person in his age group with a tattoo.
"I did it for that and to get attention from my father," said Wedzina. He also recalled the numerous times he would inflict pain upon himself through grueling half hour piercing sessions with dull sewing machine needles, which he called ritualistic.
"I would run out and show my parents what I had done and my dad would ask, 'What did you do that for?'" said Wedzina. The attentions of his father were short-lived, and he never received the type of reaction he desired from his body modification.
An enormous, unfinished, abstract piece covers Wedzina's back. It was Wedzina's second tattoos four or five years removed from the first tattoo, which encompasses his belly button. He listed shock value as another one of the many reasons he got tattooed.
"I did it on my back because whoever sees it, I won't ever see [their reaction]-I'm walking away."
Nursing student David Haensler's tattoos seem to serve more as reminders than decorations. For instance, he drew the yellow lily that he later has tattooed on his left arm after an experience abroad.
"I was on the Dominican Republic in October and I got a bunch of things stolen from me," said Haensler. "I was all pissed off."
He turned to his Bible and opened it to a random section that was strikingly appropriate: The Sermon on the Mount from the Gospel of Matthew. He was inspired by the passage, "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin." Haensler got the tattoo as a reminder to not worry about possessions.
Haensler has other Christian themed tattoos. On his left forearm, in bold black letters, is the word Siloam, a reference to a story in which Jesus healed a blind man. Inscribed on his upper left arm is inscribed is the phrase Imago Dei: Image of God.
For fun he has an empty tic-tac-toe board on his left wrist.
No pain, no gain
Although some grow squeamish at the idea of having ink inserted under the skin, others relish the sensation.
"I want more tattoos," said Garvie. "It's like an addiction. It may be an annoying pain, but it's an addictive pain."
Garvie has a pentagram dripping blood on her right forearm and, of course, the infamous blue rose. Of the two, she said that the pentagram proved less painful.
"The rose to about an hour and a half, maybe two hours," she recalled. "It was the longest time of my life and it hurt the worst."
Like an old pro, she said that tattoos closer to the bone hurt worse. "[The rose] was closer to my sternum and I was like, 'oh shit.' The arm is the best place for a tattoo because it hurts less."
Wedzina, who has invested 12 hours in his back piece, agreed that the promise of pain draws him to get tattooed.
"It's good to have self-inflicted pain to let you know that you're alive," said Wedzina. "It's like a journey. Anything that comes easy is not worth having."
Joey Singleton, the tattoo artist at S C Tattooing and Body Piercing in Ann Arbor, agreed that people love the anticipation and adrenalin rush that comes with the sound of a tattoo gun revving up, although in his 10 years of work he has noticed a gender difference in the way that people handle pain.
"Women tend to get more extensive work done because they handle the pain better," said Joey. "And girls will tell you to stop if it gets to be too much, while the guys will take it until they pass out."
Corey Cuc of Lucky Monkey Tattoo Parlor theorized that women might be able to tolerate the pain better than males because they have to be able to withstand childbirth. His partner in art, Corey "Keys" Maxey said, "I actually do more big stuff on woman than on men here."
Gender bender
Not so long ago, tattoos were considered the decoration of choice for bikers and military men; definitely not for professional types or women. But as times have changed, so have tattoo demographics.
"I'd say I get about 80 percent females in here, and 20 percent males," said Joey Singleton. Cuc from the Lucky Monkey estimated that his shop's gender split is probably about half and half. .
Take Edibles employee Karen Sakall, who is both typical and atypical in her tattoo choices. Her husband is in a motorcycle club, which makes her a reasonable tattoo candidate. However, he was the one who urged her to spare her skin from the needle.
"I had wanted a tattoo since I was 25," said Sakall. "One week prior to my fiftieth birthday, unbeknown to [my husband], I went out and got one."
Her husband followed suit, and presently has eight tattoos.
Sakall got a ladybug for good luck, and a dreamcatcher to remind her of her adoration for Native American culture. A tattoo of a butterfly perches in the spot between her left thumb and forefinger. She has what some might call feminine tattoos.
Singleton gave the example of tribal tattoos to explain a difference between tattoo choices that women and men make. For example, a man might have a large tribal piece with thick, bold lines, while a lot of women get thinner, more delicate tribal tattoos.
"Some tattoos are unisex: tribal, wildlife, animals," said Rev. John Schultz, a retired tattoo artist who lives in Ypsilanti. "Guys get reapers, Harley symbols, skulls, and demonic imagery. With women you get a lot more of the effeminate: hearts, flowers, wispy, more delicate designs."
Maxey and Cuc disagreed with the gender stereotypes, citing once again that women's high pain tolerance gives them the edge over men, and makes them just as likely to get big, bold pieces.
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