17 November 2009

Getting a tat - Canberra Freestyle

| johnboy
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[First Published on: Nov 15, 2009]

The all seeing eye has chanced across this little insight into the world of getting tattooed.

It’s by “Kassishappy” and come with this note:

the title pretty much says is all, this is aliyah my best friend getting tattooed by May from Freestyle Canberra, Australia.

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“Motorhead was a heavy metal group in the 1970s”

….and the 80s, and the 90s and the 2000s. Still play live these days and Lemmy has appeared recently with The Foo Fighters and others.

But you’d have to have an actual knowledge of music to know that

UnhappyTattoo3:43 pm 29 Apr 11

Here is my recent feedback from my experience at Freestyle;

Apart from paying tax, nothing else is more permanent than adorning your body with a tattoo – the average person spends months, if not years, thinking about the “right” design, and it’s an extremely emotional and stressful time.

This is where the competent tattoo artist allays the fears, and provides professional guidance and advice to ensure that the resulting piece of art is as good as it can be.

Unfortunately, this is not the service one can expect when they meet with Ross, or any of the crew at Freestyle tattoo.

What they can expect is the following;

1. To have the guys on reception jumping around as if they are on crack, and making inappropriate comments

2. To book in for an initial consultation (2 weeks time), at which point Ross (or whoever you are unfortunate enough to meet), will refuse to look you in the eye, and sigh, roll his eyes, and state how “difficult” the job is. Keeping in mind he is a Japanese tattoo “expert”, and the piece in question was a half sleeve, of Japanese design, but with complete creative control given over to the tattoo artist!.

3. They will then be told to come back in 2 weeks time, at which point the tattoo artist will have, “An amazing design, which you will be stoked with”

4. They will come back in the prescribed 2 weeks time, to have said tattoo artist produce a sketch comprising of the head of a samurai, and then have to endure the following conversation

Ross (Tattoo Artist) “Hmmm. I haven’t really got much of it done.”

Customer “I can see that – what’s the problem?”

Ross “Well, your design doesn’t work. It’s too hard. It’s impossible.”

Customer “I gave you creative control, and you said you would come up with something awesome”

Ross “OK, we can wrap the tattoo around your arm”

Customer “Won’t that look strange and … well … a bit crap?”

Ross “Hmmm. Yeah, it will.”

Customer “This is starting to piss me off. Do you have any suggestions?”

Ross “I just gave you one.”

Customer “And it was rubbish. Surely you, as the artist, can come up with something?”

Ross “Well, you only gave me 2 weeks.”

Customer “Your receptionist booked the times in, and said this is the time that you need to create the tattoo after the consultation”

Ross “Hmm. Well I can do the design tonight, and you can come tomorrow, and if you like it we can do it.”

Customer “But in 2 weeks you haven’t been able to come up with something? How can you do it in 1 night”

Ross “Hmm. Yeah it probably won’t be great.”

Customer “I’ll take my money back now, thank you.”

To say I was disappointed would be an understatement – I’ve watched Miami and LA Ink, and I have friends in the industry over in the states and the UK. I understand what an artist needs – they need some direction, but ultimately to retain creative control so they have ownership over the project, and can invest their heart and soul into the “art”.

What Ross, and the chumps at Freestyle do is something akin to a fast food store mentality – no design, no customer service, no flair, no dedication, no devotion, and ultimately no passion.

Save your heartache and give FreeStyle tattoo a wide berth, you will only be disappointed and frustrated.

seriously maybe all aussie lads should get the union jack tattooed on them or even the star of the commonwealth??? pull your head in when it comes down to it the only thing we have to show we are aussie is the southern cross and if you would rather TONGAN PRIDE or LEB-BEEMER driving around i seriously doubt your love for our country which is being riddled with un-appreciative people i say good on people with southern cross tattoos or stickers its about time we go back to being proud to be who we are.

You know exactly what im talking about..When was the last time you saw a Holden Goonwagon with a southern cross on the back window,and it was’nt trying to run you off the road or had crap “YO I WANNA POP A CAP IN YA” gangsta music,driven by white middle class psychopaths!

Butterflies mean life!

i do agree that a tat should be a personal thing…i hate the thought of some deadshit walking in to a tattoo palour to get a tat that will define them as a person,and decides on “The number 56 up there on the back wall!!”…our mighty southern cross has also lost its meaning,im sure alot of people see it these days as a modern day Swastika??

colourful sydney racing identity10:55 am 19 Nov 09

while we are on the subject, http://ugliesttattoos.com/, some nsfw.

One should never get tattooes on the face or hands, where I worked someone came in with tatts all over his face, it was during the day, he had makeup on his face to cover it up

Jim Jones said :

Is a wrinkly body without tattoos any better or worse than one with them?

Wrinkly bodies are unsightly enough without ink drawing extra attention to them.

where can i find someone to do ‘magic happens’ in the shapes of frangipani leaves on my lower back?

Inappropriate12:40 pm 18 Nov 09

bloodnut said :

now can she work at JB Hifi in the city?

Not enough piercings.

la mente torbida11:27 am 18 Nov 09

Had one done around 20 years ago….meant something to me at the time….now it looks like a truffle….thank god it’s not on my forehead

Who cares about old people with tattoos? Is a wrinkly body without tattoos any better or worse than one with them?

If anything, if I see an old person with tattoos, I take an interest in them because it’s highly likely that they had an interesting life and did some interesting stuff (as opposed to being a naysaying conformist).

Hells_Bells7410:53 am 18 Nov 09

TS – I have two on my back/shoulder blades and they are rose/butterfly and orchid/closed butterfly and I have had them 9 and 5 years and I have never received more compliments about anything in my life. I love butterflies and I want to reincarnate as one.

The butterflies did nothing wrong to you! Leave them be..

I agree with the theory that the more mainstream tatts become, the less cool they become.
If I had my time again i’d probably leave my body a blank canvas.

BTW TS, Motorhead still rock!

Muttsybignuts10:23 am 18 Nov 09

DodgyBoys said :

Personal meanings I can get……the person who got one for their lost child, absolutely. But a tribal band, like all the rest. A sleeve, a dove a heart, a flower, star…….give me strength. In 30 years time we will have a generation of wrinklies with dodgy tatts.

30 years? We have a generation of dodgy wrinkled tats now.Instead of doves, hearts, flowers and stars we have anchors and knives and panthers and scantily clad women.
This may scare you but the generation BEFORE had dodgy tats as well. And the generation before that. Tattoos have been around forever. It is just the current content that you cant handle.

Muttsybignuts10:17 am 18 Nov 09

Trunking symbols said :

if you are getting a tatt make sure it is a classic timeless design which won’t go out of fashion in a few years’ time. I’ll never forget the guy in his 50s or 60s I saw on the beach last summer whose back was completely covered with the Motorhead logo (in case you’re wondering, Motorhead was a heavy metal group in the 1970s).

Nah, doesn’t matter. If it was just the logo then people who know Motorhead ( still around by the way – and still going strong) would know what it was. And the young uns who think that Good Charlotte are “hard as” would just think it was a tough looking dog with a helmut and tusks ( it is a dog isn’t it?).
Now the woman who has goldenpalace.com tattooed on her forehead – that’s a different story.

Trunking symbols9:14 am 18 Nov 09

Damn this tattoo trendiness. Back in the early ’80s when I got mine I did it to intimidate others as very few others had them. It didn’t make me more aggressive but it allowed me to have the benefit of the doubt. The new designs such as the urban tribal sleeve look silly – wussy, even – and don’t get me started on things like butterflies and the lower back ones. And please, if you are getting a tatt make sure it is a classic timeless design which won’t go out of fashion in a few years’ time. I’ll never forget the guy in his 50s or 60s I saw on the beach last summer whose back was completely covered with the Motorhead logo (in case you’re wondering, Motorhead was a heavy metal group in the 1970s).

Personal meanings I can get……the person who got one for their lost child, absolutely. But a tribal band, like all the rest. A sleeve, a dove a heart, a flower, star…….give me strength. In 30 years time we will have a generation of wrinklies with dodgy tatts.

I’m not saying there is anything wrong with it, and I understand the “why” for many of them. In fact, I’m actually rebutting the people who say “idiots trying to be different by getting tattoos like everybody else”.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to fit in and be part of a group. Humans are extremely social and this is perfectly normal. I don’t know why some people look down on it. Maybe it’s because all their friends look down on it too!

If you have to ask “Why” you will never understand..why would anybody buy a $100.000.oo car,its just stuff!,it doen’nt define who you are,what a truly stupid thing to do!!Muppett!

Cletus 2 said :

their friends have them, and they want to be the same.

I dunno. I get what you mean. But that kind of implies that most people getting tattoos are doing it in a way that denies individuality.

By and large, the tattoos that people are getting aren’t all the same – most people who are tattooed, if you ask them about it, have very personal meanings attached to their tattoos. As much as tattooing is about expressing identity (and, yes, often this is identity as part of a group), it’s not like most people are getting tattoos “off the rack”.

All of that said, I know what you’re getting at. The tribal thing (which was all pervasive in the late 90s, and which seems to be mostly over now) probably expressed the worst of the faddish tattoo. And yeah, if people see more tattoos on show, then it will appear to be more of an option for them.

I’m getting work done at freestyle next week!

Very excited about it.

ahappychappy3:43 pm 17 Nov 09

Cletus 2 said :

Jim Jones said :

Cletus 2 said :

Most people getting these tats aren’t doing it to be different, they’re doing it to be the same.

People get tattoos for a myriad of different reasons: “To be the same” isn’t one of them.

According to you. In my opinion, most of them in fact do it to be the same. Especially the recent craze of the generic “tribal” armband/sleeve/etc or southern cross/aussie flag tattoos. But even probably to some extent in the more hardcore tattoo culture. People want to fit in with and get approval from others they respect and admire.

I don’t know whether it can be said people get tattoos to ‘fit in’ or the like, however I will say at the moment the fad/phase/craze whatever is the southerncross/aussie pride tattoo. People DID get these tattoos years ago (watch the Bra Boys documentary, you’ll see it everywhere on older blokes) but the film (and pop culture phase) seems to have caused more people to get them. Whether that’s because they want ‘to be the same’ or caused by the increased exposure of tattoos very similar is the argument. I’d probably put money on it being proportionate to exposure.

People get tattoos for all sorts of reasons as Jim said, so to stereotype is rather silly. No one person will ever have a completely and utterly unique tattoo, similar to music, there will never be a completely and utterly unique melody.

“The same”, of course not literally the same person or the same tattoo etc. I mean that they want to fit in, many do this by wanting to have or do the same kinds of things as the group they are fitting in with.

Tattoos have been around for… quite a long time. They’ve always (until recently, maybe) been an option for people wanting to be “different”. People are getting them in droves now not because they have recently re-discovered them or have had an epiphany that previous generations never had, or are somehow more unique in a way that can only be expressed with a tattoo… but because people on TV have them, their friends have them, and they want to be the same.

Cletus 2 said :

Jim Jones said :

Cletus 2 said :

Most people getting these tats aren’t doing it to be different, they’re doing it to be the same.

People get tattoos for a myriad of different reasons: “To be the same” isn’t one of them.

According to you. In my opinion, most of them in fact do it to be the same. Especially the recent craze of the generic “tribal” armband/sleeve/etc or southern cross/aussie flag tattoos. But even probably to some extent in the more hardcore tattoo culture. People want to fit in with and get approval from others they respect and admire.

It’s part of the human condition. I don’t claim to be above that (although I don’t have a tattoo).

Okay, now I understand what you’re getting at.

Yeah, sure, many people will express some sort of group identification as part of being tattoed. I wouldn’t call that “wanting to be the same”, though.

Do people wear football jerseys because they “want to be the same”?

If most people get tattoos because they “want to be the same”, why is it that most people seem to have very personal stories behind their tattoos?

astrojax said :

pedantically, jb, if the eye is ‘all seeing’, then the element of ‘chance’ is removed, no?

and can anyone elucidate on what makes this tatt so worthy of a vid – of is it just a random canberra thing on the www?

isn’t its worthiness to be on RA is directly linked to the fact that it’s a random canberra thing on the www.

“…or is it just…”

oops, bad form for a pedant! damn sleep-deprived fingers… ; )

Jim Jones said :

Cletus 2 said :

Most people getting these tats aren’t doing it to be different, they’re doing it to be the same.

People get tattoos for a myriad of different reasons: “To be the same” isn’t one of them.

According to you. In my opinion, most of them in fact do it to be the same. Especially the recent craze of the generic “tribal” armband/sleeve/etc or southern cross/aussie flag tattoos. But even probably to some extent in the more hardcore tattoo culture. People want to fit in with and get approval from others they respect and admire.

It’s part of the human condition. I don’t claim to be above that (although I don’t have a tattoo).

pedantically, jb, if the eye is ‘all seeing’, then the element of ‘chance’ is removed, no?

and can anyone elucidate on what makes this tatt so worthy of a vid – of is it just a random canberra thing on the www?

Cletus 2 said :

Most people getting these tats aren’t doing it to be different, they’re doing it to be the same.

People get tattoos for a myriad of different reasons: “To be the same” isn’t one of them.

Most people getting these tats aren’t doing it to be different, they’re doing it to be the same.

you’re right Cleo – if it truely means something to you then it will never be stupid. I have the names of loved ones around my ankle. Everyone just thinks its an anklet – you can’t see its a tat until you look closer. I love it though. It means so much to me and I am so glad I got it.

dodgyBoys Some people get tattoo’s for different reasons, I never liked tatts, but got one because my child passed away, it is very tastful, a butterfly and her name below, the tatt is on my ankle, I am proud of it, most people seem to do this under these circumstances.

Muttsybignuts10:44 pm 16 Nov 09

DodgyBoys said :

A truly stupid thing to do. We are creating a generation of losers who think that a tattoo will make them unique. Along with the 1000’s of others who thought the same thing. Crazy.

Spoken by someone who desperately wants a tattoo but is scared of the pain.

May did my wrist. Was my first tattoo…was ok. She’s cool.
Her husband, Rush, did my sleeve. He’s the sh!t.

Pretty creative family =)

A truly stupid thing to do. We are creating a generation of losers who think that a tattoo will make them unique. Along with the 1000’s of others who thought the same thing. Crazy.

Lugh at Tattoo power in Lyneham – AMAZING skills. Such clear lines! Love him – love my tat!

My husband has a lot of tattoos, done by various artists, and he believes that May is the best by far! She is currently working on a wrist to bicep piece for him and it has stood the test of time. Good lines, no distortion etc. He looked around Canberra and Freestyle was the best in his opinion.

Muttsybignuts said :

May won Best tattooed chick NSW or something like that a couple of months a go. She has great tattoos, but does she do great tattoos? Does anyone have a tattoo by May? Can we see some pics?
I’m getting another tattoo soon in tuggers however am always on the lookout for good artists ( as is everyone getting ink I guess).

Yeah – this probably needs a different post, but I agree links to an image’d be nice to validate potentially biased or tasteless opinion.

here’s the most recent post on Canberra tats. My recommendation remains to go outside Canberra for anything that requires a high degree of artistry, but both Chrises (cashmore and rush) do solid work at their respective studios.

I’ve had a few tattoos done by Lucas at Freestyle and highly recommend him also!

now can she work at JB Hifi in the city?

Lyneham have a great tattooest, forget his name but he was tall red haired guy, I’m very happy with mine.

Muttsybignuts10:25 pm 15 Nov 09

May won Best tattooed chick NSW or something like that a couple of months a go. She has great tattoos, but does she do great tattoos? Does anyone have a tattoo by May? Can we see some pics?
I’m getting another tattoo soon in tuggers however am always on the lookout for good artists ( as is everyone getting ink I guess).

There’s 1 minute and 11 secs of my life I’ll never get back

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