2008 Woodie Awards
Waiting to get tattoos done can be rewarding
By: U- WIRE
Issue date: 3/26/08 Section: Campus
LINCOLN, Neb. - Geography lecturer Mel Johnson was 56 when he got his first tattoo.
At 61, he is arguably the most tattooed individual at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
His first tattoo was a world map "because I'm a geographer," he said.
The color map extends from one shoulder to the other.
Johnson said he waited 56 years for the first one because he wanted to be sure he wanted a tattoo. Turns out he did and then some.
"It kind of grew from there," he said. "I got my whole back done."
Below the map and covering the rest of his back are two large, intricate angels facing each other. He has a detailed oak tree on one arm, an elegant olive tree on the other, which will soon be joined by a tattoo across his upper chest which is in the works. His underarms are inked. His calves are inked. The only part left undone is his front because that area sags first, he said.
"Each of the tattoos means something significant," he said.
They aren't just thrown together, but custom-designed.
The angels on the back represent his personal manifesto: knowledge leads to understanding, understanding to wisdom, wisdom to non-violence and non-violence to peace.
"The female angel on the left is the angel of peace. The angel on the right is the angel of knowledge," he said.
The trees correspond to angels: an olive tree of peace, an oak tree of knowledge. Euterpe, the Greek muse of lyrics and music, decorates his underarms. Skulls on each thigh are decorated with the four modules of geography and the four divisions of anthropology.
"Getting tattoos is horribly addictive," he said.
The location of his first tattoo made all the difference in his decision to continue getting inked.
"The underarms hurt," he said. "If I had gotten the underside first, I wouldn't have done anything else."
Johnson has his work done at Liquid Courage in Omaha by Dave Koenig, and he said they are good friends.
At 61, he is arguably the most tattooed individual at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
His first tattoo was a world map "because I'm a geographer," he said.
The color map extends from one shoulder to the other.
Johnson said he waited 56 years for the first one because he wanted to be sure he wanted a tattoo. Turns out he did and then some.
"It kind of grew from there," he said. "I got my whole back done."
Below the map and covering the rest of his back are two large, intricate angels facing each other. He has a detailed oak tree on one arm, an elegant olive tree on the other, which will soon be joined by a tattoo across his upper chest which is in the works. His underarms are inked. His calves are inked. The only part left undone is his front because that area sags first, he said.
"Each of the tattoos means something significant," he said.
They aren't just thrown together, but custom-designed.
The angels on the back represent his personal manifesto: knowledge leads to understanding, understanding to wisdom, wisdom to non-violence and non-violence to peace.
"The female angel on the left is the angel of peace. The angel on the right is the angel of knowledge," he said.
The trees correspond to angels: an olive tree of peace, an oak tree of knowledge. Euterpe, the Greek muse of lyrics and music, decorates his underarms. Skulls on each thigh are decorated with the four modules of geography and the four divisions of anthropology.
"Getting tattoos is horribly addictive," he said.
The location of his first tattoo made all the difference in his decision to continue getting inked.
"The underarms hurt," he said. "If I had gotten the underside first, I wouldn't have done anything else."
Johnson has his work done at Liquid Courage in Omaha by Dave Koenig, and he said they are good friends.
Be the first to comment on this story