GETTING INKED: Once taboo, modern tattooing puts art on human canvas

Story by Lisa Z. Leighton

Considered taboo in the 19th century, tattoos evolved into symbols of courage and patriotism in the mid-20th century. In 2022, tattoos are recognized as an art form and a way to express one’s personality. And, a tattoo is sometimes used to manage a significant or painful life experience. Naturally, these two reasons are sometimes combined. Two Valley residents, 52-year-old Shana Ebright of Middleburg and 46-year old TeaJay Aikey of Mifflinburg, shared their reasons for wearing their art on their bodies. Ebright explained her “sleeve” which stretches from her shoulder to her lower arm. “The birth flowers represent the most important people in my life,” she began. “Then, the lion, the quote — ‘she’s a queen with a little bit of savage,’ followed by a wolf represents the graceful ferocity with which I would protect my children. The lotus flowers depict beautiful things coming from the mud. The mama bird is sitting at the edge of her empty nest. The cross is self-explanatory. Finally, the arrow can only be propelled forward by being pulled back first, so it’s a reminder that even if I am feeling pulled back by life, I can stand firm in the knowledge that I am about to be launched into something great.” The majority of Ebright’s tattoos, and the sleeve her son has begun, were created by Justin Craven of Acacia Tattoo Co., Lewisburg. Ebright had her first tattoo when she was 24 and she says, “You can’t just get one.” She currently has about 20 individual tattoos in addition to her arm sleeve. “For some pieces I could have probably taken a nap while they were doing it, it’s a low vibration kind of thing, then there are other ones where you are white-knuckled until they’re done,” she said smiling. Aikey waited until her early 40s to have her first tattoo

Photo provided by Chris Bucher

Jean Knouse/Inside Pennsylvania

CHRIS BUCHER, OWNER OF BODY MODS IN SUNBURY, WORKS ON FELLOW ARTIST, JEN HAUPT. BUCHER IS AN ACCOMPLISHED ARTIST WHO “PAINTS” TATTOOS. CHRIS AND SEVERAL FRIENDS TRAVEL TO NEW YORK CITY EVERY THREE WEEKS TO WORK WITH OTHER ARTISTS. HE ESPECIALLY ENJOYS THIS BECAUSE IT EXPOSES HIM TO OTHER IDEAS — SOMETIMES OUT OF HIS COMFORT ZONE. SOME OF THE ARTISTS HE HAS MET ALONG THE WAY INCLUDE GUY AITCHISON, A PIONEER IN THE INDUSTRY WHO DEVELOPED THE BIOMECHANICAL/ORGANIC STYLE; ALEX GREY, A WORLD CLASS PAINTER; AND TOMASZ “TOFI” TORFINSKI, A POLISH TATTOOER AND COLLEGE ART PROFESSOR.

RIGHT: THIS INCREDIBLY DETAILED LIKENESS OF “HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED” IS AN EXAMPLE OF A REALISTIC TATTOO BY ARTIST JEN HAUPT. BELOW: THE MOMMA BIRD SITTING ON THE EDGE OF HER EMPTY NEST IS PART OF SHANA EBRIGHT’S SLEEVE. Photos provided

and she regrets waiting so long. “No one could believe I was getting myself a tattoo for my birthday. I had them ‘guess what I was about to do that I had never done’ and they guessed manicures, pedicures, massages. No one guessed ink,” she recalled. Aikey’s tattoo artist was Seth Barnhart at Body Mods in Sunbury. According to Aikey, Seth can skillfully duplicate someone’s handwriting as a tattoo. Her father passed when she was 17 and she was able to have a portion of a letter he wrote to her tattooed on her left forearm as a reminder of his love and confidence in her. “The second was my son’s footprint — true to size on top of my left foot — with the words ‘hardest goodbye’ in the arch.” Her child was stillborn at birth. Her other tattoos include a quote to remind her of her own strength and “the fourth was three phrases I live by: ‘No Fear, Stay Strong, Self Made.’ Then my final one, for now, is on the top of my left hand and it is a heart with a cross in the center to symbolize my finding my faith and getting baptized last year.”

Ned Searles, professor of anthropology at Bucknell University, teaches the class, “Hairdos, Piercings and Tattoos: Body and Identity.” When asked if he could explain today’s changing attitude about tattooing, Searles shared these thoughts. In U.S. society, tattooing used to be practiced primarily

Photo provided IF NO ONE TOLD YOU THAT THIS IS A PHOTOGRAPH OF A TATTOO, YOU WOULD THINK THAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT A PHOTO OF A PAINTING. JEN HAUPT IS THE ARTIST.

Chris Boucher of Body Mods in Sunbury is an experienced, award-winning tattoo artist. He agrees that these are the basic styles of tattoos, but also notes he works mostly with a realistic style. Ten basic tattoo styles: ● Traditional, also called old school or classic, is known for its bold lines and bright colors. ● Realism, or realistic, can include portraits and complex shading, often in black and white. ● Watercolor tattoos mimic the characteristics of a classic watercolor painting. . ● Tribal, or indigenous body art, dates back thousands of years and is characterized by elaborate patterns. ● New School became popular in the 1980s and '90s. It features a highly animated aesthetic. It is often cartoonish and wacky. ● Neo-Traditional is an evolution of the traditional style and features pronounced line work and vibrant colors. These artists are often influenced by Art Deco and Art Nouveau aesthetics. ● Japanese, or Irezumi, often features mythological creatures like dragons and phoenixes, and each tattoo tells a story about Japan’s history. ● Blackwork uses solely black ink, but can span everything from ancient geometry to modern abstract ornamental designs to illustrative pieces. ● Illustrative art is versatile and can include etching and engraving to abstract expressionism and calligraphy. ● Chicano is steeped in the history of the Mexican Revolution, Los Angeles low-riders and Pachuco culture.

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by people living on the margins of society — like sailors and prison inmates. Sailors encountered tattoos in their journeys to nonWestern worlds, where tattooing is a vibrant part of many local cultures. As mainstream American society has become more accepting of cultural, racial and ethnic diversity, more people are beginning to view non-Western practices like tattooing as something to be embraced and emulated. More and more professional — as well as high school and college — athletes are tattooed and these athletes, as well as other celebrities and social influencers, have a tremendous impact on

popular culture. For many of Searles’ students, tattooing is still taboo within their family. One reason is religion — in most branches of Judaism, for example, tattoos are forbidden. However, in a recent research paper, a student shared that some Jewish communities are beginning to embrace tattooing. There also seems to be a social class dimension to the stigma that still sometimes NED SEARLES surrounds tattoos. Searles has heard stories from students who were told that a certain

Fortune 500 company will not hire someone with tattoos.

This is the stereotype — whether or not it is true. With

Jean Knouse/Inside Pennsylvania ACACIA TATTOO CO., 214 MARKET ST., LEWISBURG, OPENED IN DOWNTOWN LEWISBURG IN 2016 BY TATTOO ARTIST JUSTIN CRAVEN.

Surprisingly, tattoo parlors are not subject to state inspections or health code mandates and a license is not needed. According to Justin Craven, of Acacia Tattoo Co. “The only training to become a tattoo artist is doing an apprenticeship. There isn’t schooling per se. To learn the art, it’s an old-school style of working as an apprentice — learning from somebody who does what you want to do.” Craven’s mentor, based in Sunbury, trained Craven for about three years before he was ready to open his own shop. “You need to learn different techniques, pressures, how different skins react to certain things and certain needles to use,” he explained. Acacia prides itself on having universal appeal. “A lot of people are focused on one style, but I didn’t want to do that. A client might want a photorealism tattoo done that has a grungy industrial style with shading and another client might want Sailor Jerry old school.” He says his favorite types of tattoos to do are realistic.

LISA Z. LEIGHTON

each new cohort of students who enroll in his class, tattooing seems to be more and more acceptable. More recently, he has heard from students that one of their cousins had tattoos and got hired by a corporation — perhaps debunking the absolute stereotype that mainstream, upper middle-class Americans don’t approve of tattooing. The first wave of feminists advocated the principle that society has no right to control what one does with one’s body. “If I want to tattoo my body,” some declare, “then it’s my right to do so.” This creates the context that tattooing can feel like an act of resistance to those who think they can decide what people can and can’t do with their bodies — i.e. religious leaders, politicians, judges, etc. For Searles’ students — and likely many others — tattooing is often something very personal. They get a tattoo to remember or commemorate some important moment in their lives — including a tragic moment — or to commemorate a person connected to them personally. They get a tattoo to remember a loved one who died — or a teammate who died, or to celebrate their connection to a living family member. Sometimes they do it with the consent of their parents, sometimes without that consent. But it seems that tattooing is gaining momentum in popularity because it is becoming more acceptable to broader and broader cross-sections of society.

Photo provided THIS TATTOO OF A BULLDOG IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF A REALISTIC TATTOO. JEN HAUPT IS THE ARTIST.