John Beale, Post-Gazette Brian Corley, owner of Eye Candy Tattoo Parlor in Oakland, tattoos a rose on Elizabeth Marcellino of Highland Park. Click photo for larger image.

Two years ago, when Brittney Banks asked for a tattoo, her mother flatly refused.

Brittney was just 15 at the time, too young, reasoned Sharon Flake, a children's book author who lives in Stanton Heights. What's more, Flake wasn't crazy about the idea of her only child getting tattooed.

Last week, though, it was Flake at Brittney's side, gently holding her hand at Eye Candy tattoo parlor in Oakland and keeping a watchful eye on artist/owner Brian Corley as he inked a butterfly on the young woman's left shoulder.

With her new tattoo, Brittney joins legions of people around the country who have sparked an explosion in the tattoo industry over the past five years.

A 2003 poll by Harris Interactive found that 16 percent of all adults have at least one tattoo, with the incidence higher among younger people. According to Harris, 36 percent of Americans ages 25 to 29 have them, as do 28 percent of those ages 30 to 39.

		Tattoo tips The best way to avoid making a tattoo mistake is to think about what you're doing. Legitimate tattoo artists want customers to be happy and spread the word about their work. A good artist will work with you in the design process so that you can select a tattoo with confidence. No matter how persuasive your friends can be on a Friday night, don't make a rash decision about getting a tattoo. Take a day or longer to think about what you're doing. As a general rule, don't tattoo a lover's name on yourself. If all you can afford is fast and cheap, don't do it. Instead save your money so you can get a good-quality tattoo with defined colors and detail in a size that lets the artist do his best work. If you want a tattoo removed, your best option is laser surgery, which can be painful and pricey. Lasers use concentrated light to break up ink into tiny fragments. It's then cleared away by your immune system. Laser removal may require several treatments, and costs per treatment can range from $250 to nearly $1,000. Another option besides having a tattoo removed is having it changed. Top-notch artists will be able to look at your existing tattoo and create a new design around it. -- Johnna A. Pro

The Vanishing Tattoo, a Web site launched by Canadian filmmaker and tattoo historian Vince Hemingson, and named after his documentary of the same title, is registering 40 million to 50 million hits a month. In the United States, two tattoo-related TV shows premiered in recent weeks: A&E's "Inked," a reality-based show set in a Las Vegas tattoo parlor, and The Learning Channel's "Miami Ink," which looks at the art of tattooing and why people get them.

"I'm a believer that the trend drives the show," said Matt Gould, executive producer of "Miami Ink." "I'm a believer that we hold a mirror up to society. If people are not interested, they don't watch."

Since the dawn of mankind, cultures around the world have used tattoos for religious, social and spiritual reasons, such as warding off evil forces. And history shows that any number of kings, emperors and czars sported tattoos, as did several American presidents. For men, in particular, tattoos were a rite of passage, symbolic of a boy's transition to manhood.

"In tattooing in the West, a person goes in and says, 'This is what I want tattooed on my body,'" Hemingson said. "But in a traditional setting, you don't get to choose. It's a rite of passage. It's always easy to know when a girl becomes a woman. For males, it's much more problematic."

The once bloody and painful process of getting a tattoo -- before the Industrial Revolution, tools were little more than bone needles tied to a stick and artists tapped ink into the skin ---- was vital in some cultures. Curiously, as tattoos rise in popularity in the Western culture, traditional tattooing practices are rapidly fading in places such as Borneo, where Hemingson and his partner, famed Canadian tattoo artist Thomas Lockhart, did their research.

"Great tattooing really tells the story of someone's life, if people take the time to think it out," said Hemingson, who believes tattoos should have personal significance related to one's life experiences. "The Tasmanian devil is a great cartoon, but why are you carrying it around on your [rear end]? By the same token, is a black velvet Elvis art? Probably not. But in every culture there is a place for kitsch."

In the 20th century, tattoos were popular among British World War I sailors, in part to create an esprit de corps, in part to identify bodies. The tradition quickly spread to other seamen. Thus, tattoos became associated with the military, particularly the Navy.

Tattoos also became popular with people who hang out at seaports, often unsavory characters such as criminals and prostitutes.

"The last thing the middle class wants to be associated with is the lower classes," Hemingson said. "The idea was born in the '30s and '40s that good boys and girls don't get tattoos. That lasts through the '50s."

	John Beale, Post-Gazette A client shows off a leg tattoo at Eye Candy. Click photo for larger image.

The taboos associated with tattooing were, in part, an outgrowth of the secrecy practiced by those in the business, such as Hank Savini, 79, of McKees Rocks, a retiree who still does the occasional tattoo or fixes one done badly by someone else.

For decades, Savini and his counterparts around the country kept a close eye on the business, refusing to allow any equipment to be sold on the open market. Instead they bought up the machines and related equipment, thus ensuring a monopoly. That meant that any city might have only one or two tattoo artists. Today there some 15,000 tattoo parlors in the country.

Old-timers also were selective about whom they trained. A wannabe tattoo artist might spend several years as a shop apprentice doing grunt work and practicing outlines and tattoos before his mentor deemed him skilled enough. Only then would he be able to buy the equipment needed to start his own business.

"At one time, you couldn't buy a tattoo machine anywhere," Savini said. "We kept that exclusive. We didn't want butchers out there ruining the trade. I used to have guys come from Greensburg, Ohio, Erie [for tattoos]. I even had one guy come from New Jersey."

Changing times

The cultural revolution of the 1960s sparked the first renaissance for the tattoo industry, with rock musicians demonstrating their rebelliousness with long hair, jeans and, of course, tattoos.

There have been peaks and valley for the past 40 years, but with each resurgence, tattoos gained more respectability. These days, American aristocracy, that is to say the Hollywood elite, proudly display tattoos. Tattoo images abound in movies, television and advertising. "There is no longer a social stigma to having a tattoo," Hemingson said.

The drawback, though, is that popularity has given rise to mediocrity in many cases, with people so anxious to get tattoos, they don't give enough thought to the artistry. The Internet's impact, too, has been profound, leaving the industry open to anyone regardless of skill or talent.

	John Beale, Post-Gazette Aaron Elliott checks out a tattoo of a Cadillac he's having done at Eye Candy tattoo parlor. Click photo for larger image.

"Most tattoo artists will tell you they become fully comfortable with the form after 10 years," Hemingson said. "Unfortunately, with the advent of the Internet and the ability of people to buy starter kits and equipment, anybody can open a tattoo shop."

The best tattoos are done when artist and client work together to find a design that has meaning and that is placed in a location of the body that shows it to its best advantage.

"Good tattooing is a celebration of self and a celebration of the human body," Hemingson said. "Jack London in 1883 said, 'Show me a man with a tattoo and I'll show you a man with an interesting past.'"

Pittsburgh native Chris Garver, whose work is featured on "Miami Ink," is widely considered one of the best tattoo artists in the country.

Garver, 34, owner of True Tattoo in Los Angeles, grew up on the East End and graduated from the city's High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and later trained as a tattoo artist under mentors in New York, Los Angeles and Japan, spiritual mecca for tattoo artists.

"I got a tattoo my senior year of high school," said Garver, who now has 30 tattoos. "From that point on, I was so interested. It was a magical experience.

In the 16 years since he's entered the business, the subject matter has become as diverse as those who seek him out for his artistry and skill.

"When I started, people picked a design or a standard image I'd draw for them," Garver said. "Unicorns. Pegasus. Fairies. Roses on the breast. I haven't done one of those in 10 years. That's completely disappeared."

Coming of age

Brittney's 2-by-3-inch tattoo -- which cost $80 -- was a coming-of-age present for the teen, now a 17-year-old honors graduate from Schenley High School who is off to Howard University on Saturday.

"I wanted her to get it when I could go with her," Flake said.

"I'm still scared."

Although Flake agreed to the tattoo, she set limits.

Brittney first had to search the Internet and find out for herself and her mother all she could about tattoos; what to look for in a tattoo parlor and artist; and the proper questions to ask about the process.

Mother and daughter then sat down to negotiate the tattoo's location. Brittney initially wanted it on her lower back, but Blake persuaded her daughter that would be too risque. Ultimately they decided on the right shoulder, a location that shows off the tattoo when Brittney wears her youthful tanks and T's, but will be unobtrusive later when she enters the workforce.

Finally, they headed out together on a recent Saturday to visit several tattoo parlors and interview artists on the South Side and East Liberty before settling on Eye Candy, Corley's business on North Craig Street.

Brittney liked his work. Her mother was impressed by the cleanliness of the shop. She appreciated Corley's willingness to ease her parental fears by showing her each piece of equipment and explain how it's cleaned.

"One store was dirty," Flake said. "There were muddy footprints on the floor. Brittney didn't notice, but I did. At one shop, they wouldn't let us in the back to see the sterilizing equipment. I ruled them out."

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Correction/Clarification: (Published Aug.26, 2005) Tattoo artist Hank Savini, who has been tattooing for 59 years, works out of a shop at 1215 Highland Ave., Coraopolis. The number to call is 412-264-6757. An incorrect location was given in the version of this story published Aug. 15 2005.