Body painting
Except in places where tattoos and tattooing form part of the indigenous culture, I never could understand why some people would want to go through the painful process of having their bodies painted that way — permanently, at that. The Travel & Living Channel now has three shows on tattooing — the original Miami Ink, the spin-off L.A. Ink and, most recently, London Ink, the latest spin-off. I can’t stand watching them.
I think it’s interesting to use the human body as an art medium but the thought of mutilation, no matter how seemingly insignificant, is something else. I have pierced ears, so do my daughters, all of us having been born in a culture that associates earrings with femininity. I wish it weren’t so. If my ears hadn’t been pierced when I was a baby and I had that option as an adult, I don’t think I’d do it. If I had been more discerning when my daughters were born, I probably wouldn’t have subjected them to ear piercing either. If they wanted it when they were older, say today, they can have their ears pierced themselves. But, strange as it is, they have actually allowed the piercings to close and they have this abhorrence for wearing earrings.
But there is no mutilation involved in body painting and I think it’s a marvelous form of self-expression. Alex has this thing about dragons and she wanted a henna tattoo with a dragon design. She had one when we were in Boracay last summer. Too bad I wasn’t there to see the artist at work but Speedy took enough photos to allow me the thrill of some vicarious experience.
A few days ago, Alex gave me a rare treat. She doesn’t like being photographed all that much but she actually asked me to photograph her hand, volunteering that it was perfectly “bloggable.”
She painted the back of her left hand using an ordinary sign pen.
Sam initially thought they looked like tadpoles. On second thought, she said they were sperms swimming. Me? I think they’re marvelous.
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That’s way too cool, the “henna” on her hand! She could make a living out of this! Hahaha.
I share your misgivings po.
If people have to write something on their bodies permanently, they had better make sure it’s going to look really pretty.
And you know, I read that the process of removing tattoos is MORE PAINFUL than the process of tattooing. Imagine that.
your girls are so artistic
knowing you while we were still young..parang di yata sa iyo nag-mana PEACE
Ang galing! And to think Alex used an ordinary sign pen. Hirap nun, a.
Well, I have an agreement with my kids, that if ever they had any part of their bodies permanently tattooed, I would dye my hair violet and have my nose pierced, then romp off with boots, shorts and tube blouse…. hehehe. I guess that’s good enough to discourage them from any form of body distortions.
cocoy, re “parang di yata sa iyo nag-mana”
Eh hindi nga HAHAHAHA Sana pwede ako mag-mana sa kanila, ano? LOL
Rhodora, LOL I love that! What a threat!!! HAHAHAHA
No matter how I nagged as soon as she could my daughter got a tattoo — with my wife’s connivance!!!! And that wasn’t good enough. Now she looks like a cartoon she has so many!!!! I spent 26 years and Navy and still don’t have one. I wish I could be there when her grandchildren ask about her tats hahahaha
I think they’re like the markings on Uchiha Sasuke’s body!
(Sorry, anime fan here.)
Very beautiful. A true art form, it is(yoda).
It does look like the marking on Sasuke’s body. Isn’t Alex a fan of Sasuke?
I remember that Vanity Fair issue, galing nun! Demi Moore really had a lot of interesting covers.
On the subject of tatoos, i wouldn’t mind getting a small one. Though i’ve never really tried going to a shop to inquire. Hwag lang yung ala Yakuza.
Miguk, what’s the design of her tattoo?
Thank you, Nick. I’m sure she’ll be happy to read that.
Yoru and Peterb, she’s crazy over anime and manga: click here and here. A picture is worth a thousand words. Res ipsa loquitur. hehehe
That’s amazing. Kudos to Alex! She must have hated washing the design off …
wow! alex is so artistic, galing!
Same here, i don’t get it why people would want to go through the pain of getting tats, i cringe by the mere thought of it. And what’s worse if you decided to get a tattoo that has your boyfriend’s/girlfriend’s name on it and you break up then you’ll have to undergo a more painful process of removing it!
The painted hands look great… Sam is obviously a talented young woman… I guess it would be ironic if she became a tattoo artist hehehe. I share your revulsion of tattooing and body piercing and other body mutilation.
Nice! I used to do this in highschool. My hands were full of inks and I was always scolded by the nuns in St. Paul. We loved annoying them lol
Kudos to Sam for a job well done!
Trina, Alex did the painting.
She has a butterfly on her foot. A koi fish on her arm. A bracelet tat on her wrist. A big dragon on her back, and something that she refuses to show on her _______!
Ooooh, I thought you were talking about ONE tattoo.
Nice! Arab women paint their hands and feet on special occassions (Eid, weddings, etc.) just like that. She can make big money here.
That’s why I said she is starting to look like a cartoon