Showing skin

Young Chang

Tis the season for belly baring, back showing, hot-pants wearing and

T-shirt doffing. Which means that tattoos, body piercings and other

epidermal artwork get their time in the sun.

Area tattoo artists say summer is their busiest season, even in the

ever-balmy land of Newport-Mesa.

“I would guess, basically, that it’s just because they can show them

off,” said Melinda Kepner, owner of Balboa Tattoo.

Meryl Furey, a body piercer at Newport Tattoo, added that the beach

environment here entices people to go for body art, especially the

nonnatives.

“Summer is more popular down here because there are more tourists,”

she said.

Popular tattoos at the moment include tribal designs and Chinese

characters.

“It kinda goes in waves,” Kepner said. “One year something is

popular... but there really isn’t a seasonal popularity thing.”

When it comes to tribal marks, solid black designs with intertwining

lines, as well as thorny-looking things, are popular, she said. The most

commonly-ordered messages in Chinese characters are strength, honor and

love.

In line with the Asian theme is Japanese art, including images of koi,

and pictures of air, fire and water, Furey said.

“And sparrows,” she said. “Among the punk-rock scene, they’re pretty

popular. They seem to have just caught on. The sparrows sort of stem from

Sailor Jerry tattoos, one of the early artists. They just stuck.”

Other, more aged designs that have continued to stick include

butterflies and stars, artists agree.

In Orange County, nautical stars -- the ones used on marine ships and

flags -- are well-liked, Furey said.

But the contest for most popular tattoo is one without many winners,

said Costa Mesa tattoo artist Will Thompson, at Orange County Ink.

It’s like asking what the most popular car is or what a favorite genre

of art would be, he continued.

“People that get tattoos is everyone,” he said. “Religious people to

anti-religious people. It’s so broad, there is no pinpointing.”

Which leads into why people get tattoos.

Furey ventured that customers are looking for a way to set themselves

apart, yet classify themselves with a particular group or field of

interest.

Thompson added that people want to look a certain way. Whether it’s

midlife crisis sufferers wanting a quick and youthful change or a teen

wanting to adhere to the current cool image, the reasons are countless.

“And one way people think of it is as an art form,” Thompson said.

For those who want to mark themselves but aren’t sure about living

with a tattoo forever, there is henna tattooing or mehndi art, as it’s

also called.

Few places in Newport-Mesa offer this nonpermanent art form, but

Justin Brown, a tattoo artist at Balboa Tattoo, provides this service

when customers want it.

Made from a clover plant that dyes the skin, the designs made by henna

last three to four weeks.

“Now it’s getting very popular,” Brown said. “They can test it out and

see if they’re going to like it or not. It also helps because any age

range can get it, anywhere from 4-or-5-years old on up. Tattoos you have

to be 18.”

Tribal designs are also the most popular in henna.

“You could do the silhouette of a shark or something. It’s just

solid,” Brown said.

There is more agreement what the favorite places to put tattoos are.

The arm, shoulder blade, lower back and ankle are common places,

Kepner said.

The neck and hands are commonly avoided, Thompson said.

Body piercings also lend themselves more to trends, as the navel is by

far the most popular spot of late, said Jeff Patch, a piercer at Skin

Works in Newport Beach.

“You start off with the hoop for initial healing and after a few

months girls like to change them with barbells with gems and all kinds of

dangling things,” Patch said.

Furey said piercing-stretching, which means you stretch the holes you

already have, has become and stayed very popular.

“It stems from tribal piercings and original body modification where

they used to do it in Africa or Indonesia,” she said. “It makes your

piercing more interesting and makes it a little more hard-core.”