Skin as Canvas: Life beyond Tattoos

by MAECEL JOY PRIOLO

Imprinted for a lifetime with precise lines and contours. Needles as sharp as the eyes of an artist, turning flesh into masterpieces. With every contact of the tip to the skin, tells a portion of the story–a glimpse of a whole new narrative.

Stained with colors of countless stories and buzzing sharp tools that have marked many, tattoo artists are conjurers of a mixture of imagination and truth. Every stroke and glide have contrived not just a combination of lines and shapes, but of life’s unheard tales. They have seen and heard thousands of stories and turned them into showpieces, but have you ever heard their own story?

Defying Misconceptions

Tattoo art has never been always regarded as just self-expression. It has once been a symbol of negativity and rebellion. Although, tattoo art has gained a growing acceptance from the society, there are still subtle contradicting opinions from a few.

Richard Ledesma, 30, from Brgy. Mandalagan, Bacolod City is a tattoo artist for ten years. For a decade that he has been a tattoo artist, it is still a challenge for him and his clients because of the stigma associated with tattoo art.

“It depends on the person who has a tattoo, it does not mean that when he has a tattoo he is already a bad person. Tattoo is an art and being a bad person is within your character and not your physical looks,” Richard shared firmly.

He also shared that the people who criticize tattoo arts should have an open mind to educate themselves.

“Those people who has a lot to say to tattoo art should study more and those who criticize it [tattoo art] lacks understanding of what art really is,” he added.

Tattoo art may be unacceptable to some, but it is not a symbol of defiance nor a symbol of bad character. Tattoo art are display of selfexpression put into aesthetic. It may be an unusual art for many, but tattoo is still an art and are vivified by the same artists who paint on canvas or draw on paper.

Creative Ventures

Stigma circulating around tattoo art is one, but being a tattoo artist who follows where the crowd is another story to tell.

Richard’s business of tattoo art includes a physical store and a pop-up. But more than being inside the walls, he shared that he and his brothers are often seen where festivities are.

“We have been in Zamboanga City, Mindanao. It was a great experience to travel to places not only here in our city but also outside the province,” he shared.

However, Richard shared that as