tattoos and Their stories
By Laura Harrington
Sheridan Levarre
Do you use tattoos to represent yourself visually?
Yes. The one that I have means a variety of things, like hope for me. Just a rose that can grow sort of means like a person who can do anything.
What was the process behind getting your tattoo? Well I already had a friend who did the tattoo, and so I found a design on the internet that I wanted, printed that off and got it tattooed.
What advice would you give people wanting tattoos?
Make sure it means something to you, if it doesn’t mean something to you you won’t be in love with the design forever.
Do you regret any of your tattoos?
No.
how old were you when you got your tattoo? Eighteen.
Any plans for future tattoos?
Ah yeah, I was thinking of getting a crying angel down on my lower abdomen. Maybe a cross and maybe a name and birth dates that are significant.
Lydia Milburn What do your tattoos represent to you?
The one on my neck pretty much was for young love, for my boyfriend of five years. And then the collarbone one was when I was going through a really hard time.
What was the process behind getting your tattoos?
The one on my collarbone was because I was feeling lonely and that kind of thing. Ijust went to the local tattooist, when I was living in Masterton. I designed both of them myself.
What advice would you give people wanting tattoos?
I guess it’s like if you want it, it’s your own body, so it’s your choice.
Do you regret any of your tattoos?
Kind of. But then it’s like I can’t do much now. Not one hundered percent. It’s kind of like fifty fifty.
how old were you when you got your tattoos?
Ah the neck one I was eighteen, and the other one is a year later, so I was nineteen.
Paul Murphy-Hughes Do you use tattoos to represent yourself visually? I’m not really sure. Not yet.
What’s the story behind getting your tattoos? The ones on the back of my legs I got because I really like Star Wars.
What advice would you give people wanting tattoos?
Ah, try and come up with your own design I guess.
Do you regret any of your tattoos? Nah, not yet.
how old were you when you got your first tattoo? Twenty.
Any plans for future tattoos?
Hell yeah, heaps, I want to get an old Celtic sleeve.
Britt Fisher What do your tattoos represent to you? The tattoos represent an external representation of self. Over the past few years I have had to develop and allow for myself to grow and change as a person. Each tattoo represents either something that has developed within me, or a reminder to keep connecting to the world around me.
Do you use tattoos to represent yourself visually? Yes, I feel that these tattoos act as a voice. This is something that I struggle with on a day to day basis when interacting with peers.
What’s the story behind getting your tattoos?
I was simply on my way to get an ear piercing and decided to get them all - basically got 4 tattoos within 24 hours.
What tattoo has the most meaning to you?
The om tattoo on my wrist - representing 5 states of being.
What advice would you give people wanting tattoos?
That if it means something to you, there’s nothing wrong with it. We often allow other people’s judgements to get in the way of our life decisions. But aslso ask yourself, do I want this on my body or as a t-shirt?
Jayden Thompson What do your tattoos represent to you? They’re pretty self explanatory.
Do you use tattoos to represent yourself visually? Yeah.
What tattoo has the most meaning to you? The one on the inside of my wrist.
What advice would you give people wanting tattoos? Just do it. Get something you really want.
how old were you when you got your tattoos? Eighteen.
Jasmine Boerboom
Do you use tattoos to represent yourself visually?
I kind of do but my tattoos don’t make me the person that I am. The reason I’ve got them in the places that they are is so that they can be hidden, so if someone, say an employer for example doesn’t like them that’s not going to stop me from getting a job. When I first got them I was working in a daycare, so they needed to be hidden.
What was the process behind getting your tattoos? What do your tattoos represent to you?
So I got all three of them done by Shane from Powerhouse, he doesn’t actually work there anymore. The ones on my shoulders I got for myself for my eighteenth birthday, I went in the day I turned eighteen. The ones on my shoulders, cause I’m a Libra, so they’re like my concince and balance and that sorrt of thing. I liked the design cause I know that symbol of the woman is traditionally a stripper symbol, and when I was eighteen I was very edgy and
cool and a little bit emo. The one on my side is not finished yet but I‘ve got the lotus flower because in diffierent cultures it means different things, but mostly it’s honesty, strength that sort of thing. I want to get it made white eventually.
What tattoo has the most meaning to you? Ah definetly the ones on my shoulders.
What advice would you give people wanting tattoos?
The advice I always give is make sure you’re sure that you are getting the one that you want and always have it somewhere that can be hidden, just for what I said before for employers, I mean people shouldn’t discriminate against you because you’ve got tattoos but they do, and do you really want something like this what stops you from getting a job. Otherwise, go nuts, it’s your body.