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MSU students embrace the artistry of tattoos at Splash of Color
When sophomore Betsy Wehner decided to get her first tattoo, she knew it would be one of her many impulsive decisions she would have to live with forever. "I knew I wanted one, but I didn't know what design," said Wehner. The pre-nursing student, then just weeks into her freshman year, started drawing until she came up with an idea she liked. She took the sketch to Splash of Color Tattoo and Piercing on E. Grand River in East Lansing and explained what she wanted. "They asked if I was sure, but I told them, 'If you don't do it right now, I'm not coming back, because I'll probably change my mind." They said 'That's not good,' but I had them do it anyway," she said. To the surprise of her friends, she walked back to her dorm that afternoon with a flower tattoo on the back of her neck. Wehner is one of many college students to participate in the rise of tattoo popularity. In recent years, tattoos have become much more integrated into mainstream culture. There are even two reality shows showcasing tattoo parlors, TLC's "Miami Ink" and A&E's "Inked." And even without a TV show, a talented tattoo artist with a good reputation can achieve celebrity status. For something so permanent, tattooing has become quite a trend. "In the past five or six years, there have been dramatic changes in the industry," said Greg Drake, a tattoo artist at Splash of Color, who has been in the "ink" business since 1991. "Studios have been cleaning up. Education is being passed around more easily." Drake said that many more modern tattoo artists have formal training, such as college art degrees, and the quality of ink colors have been improving. This allows clients to have more artistic tattoos that look more like oil paintings. "Not everything has such a hard edge," he said, preparing a detailed dragon sketch of his own on a paper template. In order to keep up with clients' needs, Splash of Color moved to its current location from the south side of Lansing in 2000. "They were coming in cab loads," he said. "We definitely cater to the college kids." But just because they cater to their majority clientele does not mean Splash of Color wants to lose its integrity as a quality place. There is a prominent sign displaying the strict "no drunks" policy right by the door, and Drake says that an artist will often work with a client to make sure their tattoo design is exactly what they want. But there are always the stubborn ones. Drake said that every tattoo artist has had a client talk them into doing a design they thought might be a mistake. "It's hard to please," he said. "You've got to remember you're just a vehicle." While many college students often get tattoos simply to celebrate independence, others use the trend as a way to express something meaningful to them. Marin Jackson, a pre-nursing freshman, and her roommate, Tina Sniegowski, a family community services freshman, stopped by Splash of Color to browse designs after they realized that they both had been considering getting tattoos. Jackson wanted a clover to commemorate her Irish heritage, and Sniegowski contemplated either a cross, a lucky horseshoe or a heart with the word "Dad." Both plan on getting them on their hip, somewhere easily hidden by clothing. Jackson does not feel the need to put it on display. "I'm getting it for me," said Jackson. According to Drake, small, discrete tattoos are not unusual among college women. He said that many want flowers or butterflies, and often on the hip or lower back. "Sparty" designs, Greek letters, and Asian writing are also popular among MSU students, and no longer something just for the punk rock kids. "It's so mainstream," said Wehner. "Everybody has them." Along with the increase of tattoo acceptance and quality comes an increase in regular exposure to tattoo culture. Today, it is not uncommon for businessmen to carefully place their ink in places that are easily covered up by a collared dress shirt. "We've always had a lot of 'nine-to-fivers,'" said Drake. "They'll get really big pieces." Jef Tripp, a 28-year-old accountant, former Birmingham high school math teacher and University of New Mexico math teacher, said he has never experienced any negativity in the workplace in regards to his multiple tattoos, but said the attitudes of the people around him depend largely on the environment. "In high school, it made a dramatic difference," he said. While teaching high school, Tripp's only visible tattoo was a small Greek letter, phi, on the inside of his left wrist. "People wanted to know about it, what it meant, and did I have more," he said. Students considering getting tattoos would often come to him with questions. Though he never believed that his tattoos were an issue with the high school administration, he nevertheless waited to get his visible forearm tattoo, three crosses, until after leaving his high school job. Tripp noticed that the environment was much more conservative than teaching at a university, where students were used to seeing tattoos. "It'' gotten so popular," he said. "You have the alternative kids who are getting their arms sleeved, trying to separate themselves from the people who might just get a barbed wire on their arm." Growing up with many tattooed aunts and uncles, Tripp always saw it as a personal choice, and an option for self expression, not necessarily a "statement of anti-conformity." While some of his designs have a sentimental meaning, Tripp also has designs that he said have "aesthetic meaning." He now wants to add over $2,000 worth of work to his abstract tattoos. Though he knows many people who are embracing the tattooing art form, including businessmen who can just barely cover up their tattoos with a polo shirt for a golf outing, Tripp believes that the popularity of tattoos will not last long. "It will be something old people have," he said. "18-year-olds won't want them because they'll say 'My dad's got tattoos.'" return to SpartanEdge.com home page 
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