One of my guilty pleasures is watching Miami Ink on Discovery Travel and Living every late Sunday evenings. I don’t know why I’m so drawn to watching this show, maybe it’s because of the amazement of watching these talented tattoo artists create their masterpieces on a human canvass. Proof of my addiction is how I’ve memorized all the names of the tattoo artists. There’s Ami James, Chris Garver, Chris Nunez, Darren Brass, Yoji Harada, their assistant and Kat Von D, the only girl in the shop. -Sadly in the current season of the show, she and Ami had a falling out so she’s no longer part of the pack.- Each artist has his own artistic style, there’s Asian art, portraits, freestyle, colored and black and grey. No matter what subject these artists are working on, their clients always have a smile of satisfaction and approval upon seeing the end product. That’s how good they all are.
Another thing which may have me hooked to this show is listening to the stories of the people getting a tattoo. Each art piece has a different story to tell. There were touching motivations like in memory of a loved one who passed on, having a permanent remembrance of a special person who made a difference in their lives, there were different objects/creatures which symbolized a deeper meaning, while there were others which don’t really evoke a serious significance, just a marking of what may just seem to be an interesting conversation piece.
One unforgettable episode I saw was when a blind man got himself a tattoo. He said that despite of his condition, that did not hinder him from getting a permanent marking on his body of what he considers an important part of his life, which is his job as an actor. He, by the way had a laughing and a crying mask (universal symbol for acting/movies) tattooed on his shoulder blade. Despite not being able to see his tattoo, he just considers the people around him as the channel to convey to him how amazing his tattoo looked. Wow, that’s something! Another unforgettable episode was when a Filipino guy got himself a tattoo which showed how proud he is of his roots.
Having watched countless episodes of the show, it has definitely changed the way I view people with tattoos. A tattooed person in our society would connote an ex-convict, a drug addict, an out-of-school youth, a jaded rock star, a tambay from Tondo, etc. But the essence of getting tattooed is more than just having a blotch of ink on a part of one’s body; it’s a painful –literally painful- decision to have a permanent remembrance of something/someone important in his life. I now view people with tattoos with respect and admiration.
The show also influenced me into contemplating on getting inked, myself. If given the chance to fly to Miami, it would be a delight to have any of the guys from the show to do the honor of painting a butterfly on my ankle. Now that would definitely be a dream come true for me. Miami, here I come!
happy birthday, peachy pie!
hat full of messages
with friends
sarap ng spaghetti
with aldrich
with chevy
with alvin
with gino
happy birthday, sol!
picture muna while waiting for the birthday girl
blow out your candle
whoah!
yummy krispy kreme donuts
o wag kayo mag-agawan dyan!
ismayl!
sol with friends
with arnel, juk and sir hen
peep hole
with mother sol and baby peachy
picture picture
with NSD's sir allan and sir patrick
after all the fun, work work work na ulit
