Alex, please take the beam out of your own eye before you tell your brother about the speck in his eye. Life is not a beauty contest, and neither is magic. that's a very narrow minded opinion you have, and flat outright wrong.

To the orginal poster, don't worry about it. Tattoo's are very much socially acceptable these days, with people's grandmothers even sporting them.

You are never ever going to get "everyone" to like you - chances are, if someone says they don't like your tattoo, it's just a cop-out because they don't have the guts to tell you what it is they really don't like about you. They arn't worth wasting your time on, move on to bigger and better things.

Man, this Alex character is hilarious. The sad thing is, there's millions of others like him running around sharing their ignorant opinion.

Anyhow, does anyone suggest any good Tattoo effects that can be done with a temporary tattoo?

That's way I don't like tattoos, cause you cant change those, like you change your clothes, hair style etc.

I got one of a card(jack of spades cause its the best card in the universe) and I do a little trick with it for laughs and giggles I for** a card then rub it on my shirt then lift up ooooo its on my skin

and no I don't think their bad
and no I don't think it doesn't make you look any less professional look at some of the best magicians got them

I saw a guy preforming at the South Sea Port I NYC and he had a ton of tats 3 I think. An arm band of cards (All Aces) A Rabbit Coming Out Of A Hat And THe Ace OF Spades on his back! It looked cool and fit the act. So I guess tats work either way!!


BT

I'm quite proud of my tat on my right upper arm. It is of a funky queen of hearts and I have sometimes done the obvious thing and forced the QH etc... It is so far up my arm even when I wear a short sleeved shirt it still remains covered, quite handy as I'm a dental surgeon.

I have a nice Ace of Spades on the back of the neck. Its a nice place where the ladies wouldn't expect it

The Black Knight

Roy`s initial question is legitimate, though.
A tattoo on your arm always has a bad touch to a lot of people. Some might think you learned your sleights in jail.

If I cover mine up (on left wrist)with a flesh covered band-aid people think I've hidden any thing i,ve vanished there.

There's a guy in my local who has an Ace of spades tattooed up his sleeve. I sometimes force the card on someone then point to my friend and say it went up his sleeve.

Good one

I have a jungle / waterfall / panther thing that covers my right arm. I sometimes draw a card into the tattoo and do a lost and found type routine... the card is gone from the deck, then it's in my wallet, vanishes from there and reappears in the deck, vanishes again... not in my wallet... not in the deck, but here it is, in the jungle. Usually does well for me.

Mike

I am covered in Tattoos. And sometimes during my mentalism show, my shirt comes off to perform a bed of nails / revelation routine.

I've worked hundreds of shows for repeat Corporate clients such as Bell Canada, BMO Banks, TD Canada trust, and at fiercely high end establishments for law firms etc... The truth is, the clients LOVE the tattoos, it's part of the entertainment. I even show them off at childrens Parties, and have more repeat bookings and references then I ever expected.

Perception of something like a tat is a quickly fading thing of the past.

I also have a huge scar on my abdomen that I attribute to a seperated siamese brother, much to the delight of the audience!!!!!

Off topic. I was one of the top ranking student chefs in culinary school years ago- Funny, going in, other students bet I'd be one of the first to drop out because I had a two foot mowawk hairstyle and wore bondage trousers on class days. However I was the one usually assisting other students during difficult labs and scored top marks in college maths and science. We as magicians all know, looks can be deceiving!!!!

These days tattoos are more the norm than the exception.

Be a radical non-conformist - don't get a tattoo! It's getting so the cops ask "any identifying marks?" and the reply is becoming, "yes, no tattoos" and they look at you like you are something from another planet.

That's according to my younger brother who has friends in low places.....

Lee Darrow, C.H.

Lee,

I agree with you! And I was in the US Navy! It's a lot easier to live without tattoos than with them.

It time warps people into a period of history that is difficult to escape. People grow and change. How would you like to be seen with PacMan tats today? It would make you very 90s. Elvis tats would make you very 50s and 60s. At what stage do you want people to see that your development stopped?

We don't even tattoo our registered horses anymore. (We mark them with electronic chips implanted out of sight. We did one today!) Frankly, the horses are too valuable to us to risk the hazards of a tattoo. What are you worth?

My wife is a physician. She would give you other reasons to look for another way to do your thing. Changing your mind doesn't provide the technology to make you "good as new". There will be a scar when a tattoo is removed. But there is nothing healthy about the whole process anyway.

What about art? I didn't mention that she is also an artist, model, and ballet dancer. She has no tattoos. She does have scars from rehearsing, practicing, and performing. But those are earned and not decorations. They are her labels, not someone elses.

In 1964 (during the Worlds Fair) I was a young professional musician working in New City when I saw my first tattoo on a woman. She was a pretty young lady of about twenty-one or two and came into the club alone. She had a thunderbird tattooed on her face. Now she would be about sixty-two. What would your opinion be if you saw her now? Personnally, I doubt that she ever left the village alive or made it throught the 60s. By the end of that summer, she looked like she was starving. However, I have often wondered about her. Without the tattoo she could have been anything. I think she was a college student at Columbia.

I've seen lots of tats since. But I've never seen one improve someone. Some are actually a pretty work of art on a decaying medium. That doesn't say much for the artists. Mostly, I've seen them used as Lee said. They helped identify a body under bad circumstances. I do know that ad agencies frequently reject talent applications on the basis of body markings. Ad agencies hope to produce timeless images. Tattoos stop the clock. It's about money. If you are a professional entertainer, you represent a sponsor somewhere. How long will you be of any value to them with time identifying marks? How long will they pay for the identification? Do you think that the tattoos on the Marlboro Man were real?

I know times change. Markings do too. Use your head. Opportunities are about options not limitations. Why permanently limit your options? The people who hire you are not required to see things your way. They keep their options open. They plan to succeed for a long time. They don't build unnecessary barriers.

Bob
Magic By Sander

Great posts,
I like tattoos, and have quite a few, but I sympathize with the problem posted in the original post because it is a touchy area regardless of the year. Having a tattoo on the forearm detracts when you are wearing a tux and roll up your sleeves.

Me personally I have a skull with cross rifles and usmc emblazoned below it. Would I get rid of it? Never, those who have served probably understand a little better than others, not to say that those who haven't won't but there is a different mindset. Will somebody be able to identify me in an accident? most likely (i have my dog tags tatooed on my ribs).

one of the cool things about being a guy with a lot of tattoos is that I don't act like a guy with a lot of tattoos, I display them when I want to. And when the one on my forearm flashes as it usually does before the day is done, I explain what it is, and describe how I was once a machinegunner. this in itself leads to other conversations of course and people seem to dig it.

the moral of my story: like them if you want, hate them if you want, I don't care and most people don't either - I believe it was Bob's first post that conveyed this idea very elegantly (the second.. eh, all good though).

oliver

You can never have too many tattoo's

Opinions are plentiful about tattooed people and the risk of failure by being tattooed. As we have witnessed some peoples opinions are laughable some are quite convinced their opinion is the final word.
Risk are minimal in these times if you choose to get a tattoo by a professional, I'd even go so far as to say you have a better chance of coming out of a hospital or doctors office with an infection than you do coming out of a tattoo artist studio with an infection.
People have always got tattoos for whatever reasons they choose and some people are very private about their tattoos. On the other hand there are those that flaunt the tattoos they have because they want you to see them and really don't care what you might think.
Tattoos are earned and they are not for everybody, nobody can get a tattoo without a certain amount of commitment to the art. Whether you wear them as badges of honor or just fond memories that you wish to share, they are art.
I am a tattoo artist and have been one for over 25 years, I have tattooed many people that you would never guess had a tattoo including District Attorneys, Judges, Lawyers, Presidents of Banks, University Deans, and people from just about every walk of life imaginable.
The last celebrity I tattooed came in for his 65th birthday to get a tattoo he had wanted since he was 16. He has performed at four U.S. State Dinners by command performance for four Presidents of the United States. He has also performed for Pope John Paul II at the New Orleans Papal Mass and 59 times on Johnny Carson's "The Tonight Show."
His name is Pete Fountain a wonderful man, brilliant musician and a tattooed guy.
As recommended before Dermablend is about the easiest temporary solution for covering tattoos if you don't want certain people to see them.
Laser is probably the best way to get rid of an unwanted tattoo.
Covering up tattoos with other tattoos is a viable option for tattoos that you might think are offensive and probably the cheapest permanent solution.
I am not too sure what kind of elite corporate professionals you might be performing for but I could hardly believe any of them are more elite than the following list of people who have tattoos. As you can see by the list of names its not just a new fad, it's been going on for centuries.

CHURCHILL, Winston Anchor on arm
CONNERY, SIR Sean "Scotland Forever" and "Mum & Dad" on forearm
EDISON, Thomas Alva Five dots on left forearm in dice like design
FDR Former US President had a family crest in unknown location
GOLDWATER, Barry Crescent with four dots in shape of a snake bite
JFK, Jr. Shamrock on left foot, dagger on right arm
PRINCESS STEPHANIE Many tattoos, flowers, dolphins, chain, A DANIEL POUR LA VIE...
PRINCE of WALES Jerusalem Cross
QUEEN OLGA (Greece) Tattooed in unknown location
QUEEN VICTORIA Tattooed in unknown location
RICHARD THE LION HEARTED King of England (1189-99 AD) had Jerusalem Cross tattoo to signify his participation in the Crusades

http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/celebrity_tattoos.htm

Your body is a temple and I am here to paint your walls....

Ron you got those tats for a reason you do magic for a reason be proud of your reasons and don't be afraid to sport them.

While Tattoos are not my cup of tea, I say if you are self concious of it, then you can look into makeup as a temporary cover up, use good theatre stuff thst will set up and not smear.
On the other hand, one must learn to make the lemonade so I suggest, since you say it has a name and date on it, why not incorporate it into your act in some way, what if the name or date, or both changed, either to a different name, or some such. There are several ways to accomplich this I would think, considering my prior line, and others I can think of as well. Depending ont he design the name and date is in, one could come up with a tale (granted I think of the bizarre ones) regarding ancient curses, or blessings, and strange happenings, as the arm is covered with some object, or unusual fabric, to be removed and reveal the tat.
Work with it!

Well, my Dad did not have a tattoo, and he was rather proud as well as a little embarrassed by his scar from being "blood pinned" as a paratrooper back in WWII. That's where they pinned your jump wings onto your chest without the benefit of a uniform blouse. That practice has since been outlawed.

I have my five jumps in (civilian, I admit, but I got my 5 done, including one chute failure and one messed up drop that crashed me into a small building in a field), but if anyone ever had tried to blood pin me, they would have had a serious fight on their hands.

As Mad Magazine's classic charity parody on National Charleyhorse Day stated, "Pain hurts!"

Not for me, but others make their own way and the decision is theirs.

Lee Darrow, C.H.