I have body art, and yes it has been a problem. I keep my tattoo in a discrete place, but I have six piercings in my ears (including some modest 6g lobes) and prefer wearing quality steel jewelry to crap studs. I've literally been taken and shaken by my boss while she said, "NO. MORE. PIERCINGS." I had my tongue done for a while too, but it turned out I wasn't suited for it, so my office doesn't have to worry about that any more.
Think long and hard before you get those ear-to-wrist tats. Maybe start somewhere in between, so that you can expand as you see fit. By the time you get to the extremities that are impossible to hide, you may have changed your mind. Consider staying at 2g or below for the ears. because for anything larger and there's a distinct possibility that they'll never shrink back.
Chili has steel and ink... but it all goes away when I put on a t-shirt. 6 tats, nipple piercings and a barbell in my tongue (I wear a clear spacer around the office, no one has noticed yet). I did, at one point, have as many as 5 piercings in my ear, but those came out long before I got a real job.
I've been a professional piercer for.... six years now. Applying for M.ARCH for September.
In my previous education (industrial design), I took a lot of ribbing from some profs, while others loved it and encouraged it. One of my referees encouraged me to send photos of some of the piercings I've done for people. But that's another story.
I can't say whether it'll hurt you or not. It depends entirely on your situation. I've pierced lawyers, judges, cops, doctors and surgeons, too many nurses and paramedics to count, school principals, real estate agents, professors..... And most come back for more, so I doubt it's a problem for them.
NOW, if you're going to get a bunch of piercings in the middle of your face, you're asking for trouble. But if you keep it tasteful and somewhat discrete, most people wouldn't even notice.
A good tip I tell people in similar circumstances is to get pierced and keep it somewhat (or entirely) hidden for the next month. At that time, you can let the cat out of the box if you wish. If your boss or co-workers complain, then ask them if your job performance has dropped the last month, because that's how long you've had the thing, and until now, nobody was the wiser. They'll probably begrudgingly get the point.
As for me and my hopes of becoming an architect someday.... Well, at one point, I had my earlobe piercings stretched to over 1".... and right now I have a piercing in my upper lip that I think suits me very well. I've taken everything else out, because these things come and go. I don't have any tattoos, but I have extensive branding on my arms and chest, both of which are covered with a long-sleeve shirt. Yes, it sucks in the summer, but that's the price I have to pay.
Good luck.... get your work done and let us know how it goes. I may even be able to recommend a shop in your area.
i have a few places in mind but i'm a stickler for quality and detail.... i know there are some hacks out there so i tend to see the work on other peoples arms .......
the tat from my ears to my hands has more of a reason for myself than just another "cool" tat......
my lobes are at 7/8" (I'm probably going to leap up to 1" soon), and both my labret and septum are 8g. my beard does a number on keeping the labret partially hidden, and i only wear a retainer (not flipped up) in my septum because I'm not a fan of how 3/4 barbells look. I actually see them as a good litmus test for firms: if they can't see past them, are they really the kind of place I want to work for? probably not.
that said, I'm somewhat in academia right now and everyone at the school I'm at has no problems whatever, or at least if anyone has they've never said anything. my tattoos are hidden enough that you can only see them if I'm wearing a t-shirt and/or shorts. I've been thinking about getting some knuckle work done but I'm unsure of the possible professional impact that could have. I really want a throat piece but I'm holding off on that right now.
i have both tattoos and piercings, neither of which have gotten in the way of my professional career. i have work for two starchitects without any problems and i think i was the only one with visible tattoos. i just got a fresh tattoo on my hand - just something to break the ice before the sleeves get brought out.
cryzko- I didn't mean to imply that you didn't have your reasons for it at all. I just think that you can't think too long/hard on something that will be on your body permanantly, esp. when it can't be covered up easily.
I have the normal pierced ears. They used to be stretched a bit, but I forget what size, as it wasn't *that* big and I was never *that* concerned and maintaining 8 piercings per ear was too much effort. My choice in jewelry tends toward the body-referential and unusual, so I don't feel like I need to modify myself further.
Other than that I have one large letter tattooed between my shoulder blades (about 5.5"h x 4"w I think), and one small tattoo on each hand (on the side of each middle finger, where it touches the index finger). The hand tattoos are small dots and dashes, morse code, one word on each hand in various slightly different shades of brown. They look like freckles. I have the kind of skin that is mostly milky-pale but with a few small moles here and there, so these markings are not out of place at all. No one has ever noticed my hands unless I've pointed them out. I wanted something I could look at often, since I can never fully see the one on my back except in photos. So that's why I chose my hands.
I got my large tattoo when I was eighteen years old. I now have no interest in traditional tattooing (I don't mean only the "traditional tattoos" genre within the profession, but "traditional" in the sense of being an obvious design inked into the skin.) I wish I could go back in time. I would get the same thing, but I would stylize it like a port-wine birthmark rather than a celtic stamp. All of my future tattoos, and I do plan more, will be designed to look like incidents of the skin. This is not because I'm worried about the conservativism of future workplaces, but because I feel like - of course I have this thing. It is a part of me, related to something important me, and it is with me now, whether it is actually inked on my body or I'm only thinking of doing it. It should not look like a bumper sticker slapped-on, but like something that really is part of me. It would confer the benefit of ageing well; it won't matter if my skin sags when I'm elderly or if the ink fades and grows spotty and uneven because those things will only add to the effect. Admittedly, I also wanted something that would look utterly different from every other tattooed person's tattoos.
Thankfully I have found an artist, the same one who did my first piece in fact, who has understood what I mean by all this and is receptive to my ideas.
Susan... well put, and I like your ideas. You see, as a piercer, I've had access to as much free tattooing as i could ever want, but I've resisted because I'm not interested in, as you say, 'traditional tattooing.' Perhaps that's why I've ended up with brandings instead... It's somewhat difficult to verbalize (and I'm running on empty right now) but I believe my reasons for the branding and not tattooing relate to the effect on skin. With tattoos, you are simply injecting pigment into something. With scarring, you are permanently altering the very structure of the cells in that area. The healing and procedure are literally transformative.
I know an architect in NYC who's on the verge of retirement (or at least, he's working as a cop last time we talked) who's middle aged, gay, and absolutely covered in old-school tattoos. Quite a character, and I admire him for a lot of the things he's done with his life. He seems very jaded by the architecture profession at this point, and every time we talk, he asks me the same question: "you're not REALLY going to be an architect, are you?"
My two mates and I just opened up a new tattoo shop this week, as a matter of fact! Our real website's not up yet, but you can have a sneak peak of the studio at www.myspace.com/mata_mata_studios
the whole idea behind my was a travelling pth from my brain to my hands..... visions to actual products....... since i'm always building something that i tend to design, i think my "pathway" is legit......what it really comes down to for me is if i decided to utilize some of my sketches as part of the "path" or if i should "design a path".....
i think braille markings would also be an option but only as a branding though.... depending on the size of the dots/etc...
Susan I must say i'm very moved and interested by the way you spoke about your tattoos. Please please, update us on the thoughts, perhaps when you actually get the ink do.
Ronchamp branded all over my body 1:5 scale diagonally over my flesh - yes that's it
I am a huge fan of the 3/4 sleeve tattoo. I am debating having it done. the biggest issue is the subject. Once I feel I have chosen a good direction to lead the art I believe the thought of getting the work will become more real. until then it will be a mere wish.
although,
Inside my mind couldn't find a place to rest,
until I got that starchitect Life tatted on my chest,
Tell me can you feel me?
As an old, old woman weighing on on this topic, I'll say I certainly don't have a problem philosophically with piercings etc., but I just cannot bear to look at ear stretchings because they remind me of childbirth. So I may hire a kid with those big gauge things in his/her ears, but I might not look at him/her too often. It actually causes me pain to see them.
And I also tend to fall in line with Apurimac's thinking - isn't it more interesting these days to not have body art? Though I'm certainly intrigued by Susan's thinking about it - a tattoo of a birth mark, that really IS subversive!
ive only got an eyebrow ring... ironically enough, the car dealership i worked at in olathe ks would make me take it out when i worked there a few summers, while the firm i work for full time now has never mentioned it. i had it in when i sat down for my interview as well.
I feel like piercings emphasize youth in many cases (mine in particular) and that maybe it is detrimental to the perception of me in my office's mind. Though it hasnt contributed significantly as ive done really well since starting here.
I plan on getting tatoos on my wrists, but as i almost always where bracelets or rubber bands i doubt they will be an issue either.
I felt like such a cliche when I went to get my tattoo on my 27th birthday, as I got it in what seems to be the favored spot for females, on my lower back. However, I'd been planning it for a long time and there's no place else I could have gotten it, because I am a Libra and I'm all about balance. It took me forever to decide what I wanted to put there too (try years), but ultimately I decided on a compass with a "spirograph" style rosette in it. It's bilaterally symmetrical, and while I certainly don't advocate designing a building with bilateral symmetry, my life has always been about harmony and direction and it suits me well.
In any case, I love it, and I love the color, and I'm trying to decide now how big I would want the entire composition to be if I went back for more. Which I probably will.
wonder...try beinging a gemini..... and balance..shyt....if 1 finger nail is longer on one hand, i feel un balanced....... what ever i have on one side, i have to have the mirror on the other...
thinking a gemini funky sign on th upper shoulders (top) and then a spiral set of sketches/elements from there to the ears/fingers.....
yeah, I was also loathe to get what is commonly referred to as a "tramp stamp", but the fact is that I wanted it to be hidden in formalwear (I like strapless), and I didn't want it to go in a place where weight fluctuation could damage it. My aunt had a big dragon accross her belly, and when she put on some weight it just ruined it. So I landed on a lower back location as well, but I may get some more work up my spine later on.
cryzko> Libras and Geminis are cosmic buddies, you know. The two of us and Aquariuses (aquarii???)....together we form the "Air Team" of the astrology chart.
I had a lady friend get a tat....back in 1972....she showed it to me the night McGovern lost the presidential election to Richard Nixon.
I have no desire to see what it looks like today. It was located out of visual site...but I'm sure it is dark and nasty by now....for all you want a be's.
I actually did consider getting a tattoo instead of a wedding band - I know I've told this story here before - I screwed up the knuckle on my wedding band finger in a table saw accident and getting a ring to fit over my now-fat knuckle meant it would hang loosely on my skinny finger. So I figured a tattoo band would be a good way to deal with that structural problem. Instead my husband designed a big ring that is counter-weighted on the underside to keep it hanging properly - and they jangle (the wedding/engagment bands) when I move my hand which I love.
Now that mder has suggested the garwondler as a tattoo, however, I might need to think about a 40th birthday tattoo present to myself...show my dedication to the archinect community....hmmmmm.....
body art/piercings/etc
i've been thinking about getting those ear gauge openings in my ear lobs.... and maybe a tat or 2.........
do you think it will hurt my creditbility as a designer/etc..... i figure a tat from my lower ears to my wrist on both arms...... and ear gauges
anyone show there "body art" and do you get any issues in the office with it?...
i figure i'll be self employed for the rest of my life anywyas but still
I have body art, and yes it has been a problem. I keep my tattoo in a discrete place, but I have six piercings in my ears (including some modest 6g lobes) and prefer wearing quality steel jewelry to crap studs. I've literally been taken and shaken by my boss while she said, "NO. MORE. PIERCINGS." I had my tongue done for a while too, but it turned out I wasn't suited for it, so my office doesn't have to worry about that any more.
Think long and hard before you get those ear-to-wrist tats. Maybe start somewhere in between, so that you can expand as you see fit. By the time you get to the extremities that are impossible to hide, you may have changed your mind. Consider staying at 2g or below for the ears. because for anything larger and there's a distinct possibility that they'll never shrink back.
i say go for it!!!!
sometimes I do performance art with my body at the office
cryz
like you I have none with the thoughts...I still dream with Ronchamp inked across my flesh
i might get my eyebrow done before i return to work (they'll think its the head trauma)
you mean besides the nipple rings?
Chili has steel and ink... but it all goes away when I put on a t-shirt. 6 tats, nipple piercings and a barbell in my tongue (I wear a clear spacer around the office, no one has noticed yet). I did, at one point, have as many as 5 piercings in my ear, but those came out long before I got a real job.
i had a pierced ear in 1976!!!
my parents hadn't even met in '76
the prince albert has never steared me wrong
YOu could always get something really cool like Transformers or some elvish script.
I like this topic.....
I've been a professional piercer for.... six years now. Applying for M.ARCH for September.
In my previous education (industrial design), I took a lot of ribbing from some profs, while others loved it and encouraged it. One of my referees encouraged me to send photos of some of the piercings I've done for people. But that's another story.
I can't say whether it'll hurt you or not. It depends entirely on your situation. I've pierced lawyers, judges, cops, doctors and surgeons, too many nurses and paramedics to count, school principals, real estate agents, professors..... And most come back for more, so I doubt it's a problem for them.
NOW, if you're going to get a bunch of piercings in the middle of your face, you're asking for trouble. But if you keep it tasteful and somewhat discrete, most people wouldn't even notice.
A good tip I tell people in similar circumstances is to get pierced and keep it somewhat (or entirely) hidden for the next month. At that time, you can let the cat out of the box if you wish. If your boss or co-workers complain, then ask them if your job performance has dropped the last month, because that's how long you've had the thing, and until now, nobody was the wiser. They'll probably begrudgingly get the point.
As for me and my hopes of becoming an architect someday.... Well, at one point, I had my earlobe piercings stretched to over 1".... and right now I have a piercing in my upper lip that I think suits me very well. I've taken everything else out, because these things come and go. I don't have any tattoos, but I have extensive branding on my arms and chest, both of which are covered with a long-sleeve shirt. Yes, it sucks in the summer, but that's the price I have to pay.
Good luck.... get your work done and let us know how it goes. I may even be able to recommend a shop in your area.
detroit....
i have a few places in mind but i'm a stickler for quality and detail.... i know there are some hacks out there so i tend to see the work on other peoples arms .......
the tat from my ears to my hands has more of a reason for myself than just another "cool" tat......
my lobes are at 7/8" (I'm probably going to leap up to 1" soon), and both my labret and septum are 8g. my beard does a number on keeping the labret partially hidden, and i only wear a retainer (not flipped up) in my septum because I'm not a fan of how 3/4 barbells look. I actually see them as a good litmus test for firms: if they can't see past them, are they really the kind of place I want to work for? probably not.
that said, I'm somewhat in academia right now and everyone at the school I'm at has no problems whatever, or at least if anyone has they've never said anything. my tattoos are hidden enough that you can only see them if I'm wearing a t-shirt and/or shorts. I've been thinking about getting some knuckle work done but I'm unsure of the possible professional impact that could have. I really want a throat piece but I'm holding off on that right now.
I say do it.
i have both tattoos and piercings, neither of which have gotten in the way of my professional career. i have work for two starchitects without any problems and i think i was the only one with visible tattoos. i just got a fresh tattoo on my hand - just something to break the ice before the sleeves get brought out.
cryzko- I didn't mean to imply that you didn't have your reasons for it at all. I just think that you can't think too long/hard on something that will be on your body permanantly, esp. when it can't be covered up easily.
seems the only way to be different anymore is NOT to get pierced or tats. That said I second the Ronchamp tat, it shows just how hardcore you are.
I have the normal pierced ears. They used to be stretched a bit, but I forget what size, as it wasn't *that* big and I was never *that* concerned and maintaining 8 piercings per ear was too much effort. My choice in jewelry tends toward the body-referential and unusual, so I don't feel like I need to modify myself further.
Other than that I have one large letter tattooed between my shoulder blades (about 5.5"h x 4"w I think), and one small tattoo on each hand (on the side of each middle finger, where it touches the index finger). The hand tattoos are small dots and dashes, morse code, one word on each hand in various slightly different shades of brown. They look like freckles. I have the kind of skin that is mostly milky-pale but with a few small moles here and there, so these markings are not out of place at all. No one has ever noticed my hands unless I've pointed them out. I wanted something I could look at often, since I can never fully see the one on my back except in photos. So that's why I chose my hands.
I got my large tattoo when I was eighteen years old. I now have no interest in traditional tattooing (I don't mean only the "traditional tattoos" genre within the profession, but "traditional" in the sense of being an obvious design inked into the skin.) I wish I could go back in time. I would get the same thing, but I would stylize it like a port-wine birthmark rather than a celtic stamp. All of my future tattoos, and I do plan more, will be designed to look like incidents of the skin. This is not because I'm worried about the conservativism of future workplaces, but because I feel like - of course I have this thing. It is a part of me, related to something important me, and it is with me now, whether it is actually inked on my body or I'm only thinking of doing it. It should not look like a bumper sticker slapped-on, but like something that really is part of me. It would confer the benefit of ageing well; it won't matter if my skin sags when I'm elderly or if the ink fades and grows spotty and uneven because those things will only add to the effect. Admittedly, I also wanted something that would look utterly different from every other tattooed person's tattoos.
Thankfully I have found an artist, the same one who did my first piece in fact, who has understood what I mean by all this and is receptive to my ideas.
Susan... well put, and I like your ideas. You see, as a piercer, I've had access to as much free tattooing as i could ever want, but I've resisted because I'm not interested in, as you say, 'traditional tattooing.' Perhaps that's why I've ended up with brandings instead... It's somewhat difficult to verbalize (and I'm running on empty right now) but I believe my reasons for the branding and not tattooing relate to the effect on skin. With tattoos, you are simply injecting pigment into something. With scarring, you are permanently altering the very structure of the cells in that area. The healing and procedure are literally transformative.
I know an architect in NYC who's on the verge of retirement (or at least, he's working as a cop last time we talked) who's middle aged, gay, and absolutely covered in old-school tattoos. Quite a character, and I admire him for a lot of the things he's done with his life. He seems very jaded by the architecture profession at this point, and every time we talk, he asks me the same question: "you're not REALLY going to be an architect, are you?"
My two mates and I just opened up a new tattoo shop this week, as a matter of fact! Our real website's not up yet, but you can have a sneak peak of the studio at www.myspace.com/mata_mata_studios
the whole idea behind my was a travelling pth from my brain to my hands..... visions to actual products....... since i'm always building something that i tend to design, i think my "pathway" is legit......what it really comes down to for me is if i decided to utilize some of my sketches as part of the "path" or if i should "design a path".....
i think braille markings would also be an option but only as a branding though.... depending on the size of the dots/etc...
b
Susan I must say i'm very moved and interested by the way you spoke about your tattoos. Please please, update us on the thoughts, perhaps when you actually get the ink do.
Ronchamp branded all over my body 1:5 scale diagonally over my flesh - yes that's it
I still want a unicorn leaping over a rainbow with a carebear riding atop it on my left buttoc.
I am a huge fan of the 3/4 sleeve tattoo. I am debating having it done. the biggest issue is the subject. Once I feel I have chosen a good direction to lead the art I believe the thought of getting the work will become more real. until then it will be a mere wish.
although,
Inside my mind couldn't find a place to rest,
until I got that starchitect Life tatted on my chest,
Tell me can you feel me?
As an old, old woman weighing on on this topic, I'll say I certainly don't have a problem philosophically with piercings etc., but I just cannot bear to look at ear stretchings because they remind me of childbirth. So I may hire a kid with those big gauge things in his/her ears, but I might not look at him/her too often. It actually causes me pain to see them.
And I also tend to fall in line with Apurimac's thinking - isn't it more interesting these days to not have body art? Though I'm certainly intrigued by Susan's thinking about it - a tattoo of a birth mark, that really IS subversive!
i don't need tats as i have some great surgical scarification one on my right side and one on my throat. gulp...
Plus the crags.
ive only got an eyebrow ring... ironically enough, the car dealership i worked at in olathe ks would make me take it out when i worked there a few summers, while the firm i work for full time now has never mentioned it. i had it in when i sat down for my interview as well.
I feel like piercings emphasize youth in many cases (mine in particular) and that maybe it is detrimental to the perception of me in my office's mind. Though it hasnt contributed significantly as ive done really well since starting here.
I plan on getting tatoos on my wrists, but as i almost always where bracelets or rubber bands i doubt they will be an issue either.
lb... you've just inspired an idea for a jewelry design.
I am going to call it "Crowning" and I will send a set for free to anyone with stretched ears that you hire... :)
Susan Surface - your morse code tattoo sounds rad. Post a pic if you can (or want!)
.
i have this tatoo on my forehead...
just when I thought my jesus tattoo was cool, I see that...
Don't forget the "abandon hope all ye who enter here" tattooed on your lower back, vado dear :P
susan, you CRACK me up!
I felt like such a cliche when I went to get my tattoo on my 27th birthday, as I got it in what seems to be the favored spot for females, on my lower back. However, I'd been planning it for a long time and there's no place else I could have gotten it, because I am a Libra and I'm all about balance. It took me forever to decide what I wanted to put there too (try years), but ultimately I decided on a compass with a "spirograph" style rosette in it. It's bilaterally symmetrical, and while I certainly don't advocate designing a building with bilateral symmetry, my life has always been about harmony and direction and it suits me well.
In any case, I love it, and I love the color, and I'm trying to decide now how big I would want the entire composition to be if I went back for more. Which I probably will.
wonder...try beinging a gemini..... and balance..shyt....if 1 finger nail is longer on one hand, i feel un balanced....... what ever i have on one side, i have to have the mirror on the other...
thinking a gemini funky sign on th upper shoulders (top) and then a spiral set of sketches/elements from there to the ears/fingers.....
yeah, I was also loathe to get what is commonly referred to as a "tramp stamp", but the fact is that I wanted it to be hidden in formalwear (I like strapless), and I didn't want it to go in a place where weight fluctuation could damage it. My aunt had a big dragon accross her belly, and when she put on some weight it just ruined it. So I landed on a lower back location as well, but I may get some more work up my spine later on.
cryzko> Libras and Geminis are cosmic buddies, you know. The two of us and Aquariuses (aquarii???)....together we form the "Air Team" of the astrology chart.
I had a lady friend get a tat....back in 1972....she showed it to me the night McGovern lost the presidential election to Richard Nixon.
I have no desire to see what it looks like today. It was located out of visual site...but I'm sure it is dark and nasty by now....for all you want a be's.
SS love the tattoo and am digging the ring "...big boy" lol
I have many many moles over my hands and feet, and whilst I really dig those I don't think it would work...maybe i should just add the dashes :)
.- .-. -.-. .... .. - . -.-. - ....- .-.. .. ..-. .
susan
have you been hanging out with Vik Muniz again???
first person to get the Garwondler tat wins
with this ring you are now a member of the .....dun da dun....... air team........ (trumpets start playing....)...
and i do tend to double think myself...... and i have learned to listen to my instincts too.......
b
cryz - I was thinking more like the wonder twins
mdler's half way there!!!!
if anything.... the green latern or iceman.......
what about a tat of your shadow on your back?.... or maybe a chalk outline on you forearm....
or a right triangle in the index/thumb webbing of the hand
I actually did consider getting a tattoo instead of a wedding band - I know I've told this story here before - I screwed up the knuckle on my wedding band finger in a table saw accident and getting a ring to fit over my now-fat knuckle meant it would hang loosely on my skinny finger. So I figured a tattoo band would be a good way to deal with that structural problem. Instead my husband designed a big ring that is counter-weighted on the underside to keep it hanging properly - and they jangle (the wedding/engagment bands) when I move my hand which I love.
Now that mder has suggested the garwondler as a tattoo, however, I might need to think about a 40th birthday tattoo present to myself...show my dedication to the archinect community....hmmmmm.....
Don't do it. It will make a difference.
if more people got tattoos rather than wedding rings we would have fewer divorces!
Can I be a member of the air team? I, myslef, am a water barer.
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.