It may be flu season, but flu shots are not the only needles people in Ottawa are asking for. Tattooing is increasing in popularity regardless of age, background or belief. This phenomen is visible by the steady stream of customers lining up to get inked at Centretown tattoo shops.
The Ink Spot at 429 Bank St. specializes in custom tattoos and piercings and has done so for more than 16 years.
The owner, Shawn Carrier, has been involved with tattooing for more than 25 years. The older brother of his best friend first introduced him to the art form at the age of 14.
“He was tattooing out of his kitchen,” Carrier says. “Which is a big no-no these days.”
But without the easy access to information about safe tattooing procedures available today, Carrier also got involved with home tattooing. He created tattoo machines, practicing on his friends until coverage and illustrations of tattoos enlightened him.
“As I got more involved, magazines started coming out and I realized that how I was doing it was wrong,” he says.
Exposed to more avenues than his homegrown approach, Carrier devoted his time into studying the proper methods of the practice.
He is now a very experienced tattoo artist with a passion for what he does.
“Every day I’m tattooing but every day I’m tattooing something different,” he says. “That’s a wonderful freedom.”
A 2013 National Post article noted that 21 per cent of Canadians have at least one tattoo but that percentage rises each day. Carrier attributes this rise in tattoo culture to the representation of tattoos in the media.
“It’s everywhere. It’s all over the Internet and it’s anywhere you look,” he says. “People are getting tattoos left, right and center.”
Carrier adds that tattoo culture is now more widely accepted by the public and as the taboo fades, the diversity of his clientel increases.
Kevin Nguyen, an engineering student at Carleton University, got his first tattoo earlier this year.
He has noticed the rising popularity of tattoos and says his inspiration for getting one was mostly from mainstream media, but also from his favourite music.
“I’m influenced by the music I listen to and the culture that surrounds me involves tattoos. I want to be a part of that,” he says.
His tattoo is of the Eye of Providence or the “all-seeing eye,” an image of an eye at the top of a triangle. The symbol is often interpreted as the eye of God watching over the Earth. On Nguyen’s tattoo the eye is closed. He says this is because he currently does not believe in a higher power.
Nguyen noted that perceptions of tattoos have evolved since his parents were growing up.
“Tattoos were kind of associated with bad people and gang violence and stuff like that,” he says. “Nowadays it’s becoming more of an artistic expression.”
The increased popularity of tattooing lends to the rise of conventions like the Ottawa-Gatineau Tattoo Expo, taking place on Nov. 13-15 at the Hilton Lac-Leamy.
Much like an art gallery exhibition, the expo will showcase the works of tattoo artists from across the country and will give tattoo enthusiasts a place where they can gather and share their passion for tattoos, perhaps even getting a piece done by their favourite artists from around the world.
Regardless of possible innovations in the tattooing world, the feelings surrounding the process will remain the same.
Nguyen says: “You’re writing down a story you know will be there forever. ”