Springfield Ink

Women and Christian kids replace bikers and convicts as top local tat-getters.

The TLC show Miami Ink has brought the artistry of tattoos into the homes of mainstream America, showing that even a job based on stabbing people with ink-dipped needles has a softer side. But while the show has undoubtedly done a lot for the profession, how closely does it mirror real life? Every tattoo can’t really be based on a life-changing story, can it?

Ethen Jackson sure doesn’t think so. Jackson, the 25-year-old owner of Hearts of Fire Tattoo and Body Piercing, says he’s living proof that sometimes tattoos are art and nothing more. “I’ve got 60 or 70 tattoos, but only four or five have meanings,” he says. So if people don’t need a heartfelt memory as an excuse to ink up, what are the trends that are driving people to scars themselves in the name of art? Sometimes randomness itself is the goal of tattoo-seekers, Jackson says. He wears proof of this on his right forearm, in the form of a blue cupcake tattoo with pink icing. In the center of the tat is the number 11, and crossbones behind the cupcake give it the appearance of a Care Bear version of a Jolly Roger. Jackson and his friends started the tattoos as a bit of a joke, to see how many people would put a random, meaningless tattoo on their arms. Each new participant takes the next number. The number is up to 51 so far, and the trend seems to be spreading, as some of Jackson’s friends in Ohio have picked it up as well.

But what of the people that do want something a little more meaningful than a sinister Little Debbie treat on their skin? Jackson says that religious symbols make up a huge portion of his business. He estimates that maybe as much as 40 percent of business is Christian kids getting Bible verses or Jesus fish somewhere on their bodies. Drake Cox of American Bodyworks Tattoo says he gets a ton of religious tattoo requests today too, but it hasn’t always been that way. He says 25 years ago when he got a cross tattoo, the man who gave it to him said it was the first one he’d ever done.

As a tattoo artist for 28 years, Cox thinks the biggest trend is the number of women getting tattoos today. When he started, most tattoos went to sailors (“To show where they’ve sailed”), bikers (“To show what they were about”) and convicts (To scare people, I guess.”).

Today, more of his customers are women than men. He thinks the trend is a result of women’s advancement in society, but says the reason women are getting more tattoos is similar to the reason anyone of either gender gets a tattoo today; He thinks people feel more and more lost in society. Since a tattoo is easier to remember than a face, it gives people the ability to stand out in a crowd. So while the exact meaning of each tattoo might not have a story behind it, the motivation to get the tattoo does.

Tat Up

Got the urge? Where's where to go.

American Bodyworks
1430 E. Sunshine
417-799-0082
Piercing? Yes, downstairs at Kaleidoscope

Hearts of Fire Tattoo & Body Piercing
734 W. Kearney St.
Springfield, MO 65803
Piercing? Yes

Ink Slingers
1435 E. Kearney St.
417-864-8350
Piercing? Yes   

Little Tattoo
302 Park Central E.
417-865-6672
Piercing? Yes

Little Tattoo II
940 S. National Ave.
417-832-8855
Piercing? Yes

Miller Cotton’s Tattoos
1447 S. Glenstone Ave.
417-889-8287
Piercing? Yes

Next Generation Tattoo and Body Piercing
1231 E. Republic Road
417-889-9130
Piercing? Yes