Pulse Editor
Jacquelyn Lewis
jacquelynlewis@dailyemerald.com
Oregon Daily Emerald
On Thursday
Believe what you hear: The
Carolines play Eugene with
Gin Blossom^
A love affair with
tattoos begins with
daydreams and results
in a loving, life-long commitment
Nika Carlson
Pulse Columnist
One of my best friends got married Sunday. She
was the first of my close group of high-school girl
friends “down the tubes,” as her mother so delicately
put it. Mom was obviously handling things very
well.
While the mother of the bride dealt with her
pre-wedding jitters, my own mom was having a sep
arate subtle freak-out about my recent lifetime com
mitment. She kept trying to cover my bare arms, de
spite the tropical temperature—a fruidess attempt
to cover the brighdy colored tattoo that had been
inked into my left arm three days before.
My tattoo was the end result of years of
thought and nerves and desire. I was proud
of it and wanted it to be seen by everyone.
And no, the needles didn’t hurt—that much.
My roommate, who got matching swallows tat
tooed on her chest several months ago, describes
her relationship with her tattoos as a love affair. I
feel the same way about mine. The arc of its devel
opment mimics that of any intimate relationship.
I’ve thought about getting a tattoo for years. Dur
ing high school, I had daydreams about what sort
of design I wanted, the same way most girls ponder
their future first love: kisses, white dresses, cakes
and needles in my arm. Tres romatique.
As I got older, my personality solidified, and so
did my tattoo ideas. I became enamored with clas
sic designs: Picture 1920s-era sailors and side
show circus freaks with hearts inked on their
chests and pin-up girls caressing their forearms. I
liked the bold simplicity of the designs. I also ad
mired the sentiment behind the tattoos. These
were people who were not afraid to express their
individuality in an era when body art was consid
ered crass and risque.
I found my inspiration more than a year ago, while
perusing “1000 Tattoos,” produced by the well
known art book publisher Taschen. In addition to
hundreds of pictures both new and old, it has dozens
of pages of classic tattoo designs. The drawing I found
was a swallow swooping down over a rose, created
by “Tattoo Peter” in the 1950s. It was simple, pretty
and perfect. I had just reached the infatuation stage.
I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It was more
than just physical attraction. I liked what it repre
sented. Sailors got swallow tattoos to help them
navigate and get safely home. I’ve been sailing
since I was eight years old, and I became im
mersed in that culture. I also liked the idea of hav
ing a symbolic connection to home. And the rose?
Well, that’s just Americana eye candy.
The crush lasted for several months. But as
with all new relationships, its once charming
quirks started to wear on me. Fortunately, un
like people, tattoo designs can be changed, at
least before they are inked. I tweaked the design
until it was perfect. Things were getting serious.
We had our ups and downs. I wanted it. I
didn’t. I wanted it again. I just couldn’t make the
commitment.
The final push came just before Christmas. My
roommate got her swallows done. They were gor
geous and I was jealous. I felt like I was staring from
the sidelines in a flouncy, teal taffeta dress: always
the bridesmaid, never the bride. Her tattoo artist,
Julien at Primal Body Piercing on East 13th Avenue,
did a fantastic job. He is also an ordained minister—
how appropriate.
In the days leading up to my appointment, I
suffered from massive anxiety. I couldn’t sleep.
When I did sleep, I dreamt about it. On “The
Day,” however, I felt nothing but excitement.
Julien, his assistant and I worked on the design
for nearly an hour, redrawing it until it was exactly
Turn to Tattoo, page 8
Dreadlocks transcend time as a relaxed hairstyle
The precise history of dreadlocks may
be difficult to outline, but this hairdo^
unique style is timeless
Aaron Shakra
Pulse Reporter
Providing a history of dreadlocks is a dense
endeavor, as tangled and matted as each lock
of the hair itself. Or perhaps it should be
called a lack of hairstyle.
It’s hard to trace the history of dreads back
to any single point of origin. The more infor
mation a seeker uncovers on the quest for a
definitive story, the more complicated and
obscure it becomes. In cases such as these,
the best thing to do is provide information
that reliably correlates across the spectrum
of available sources.
Dreadlocks are a naturally occurring phe
nomenon. Perhaps this is obvious — if a per
son neglects to maintain their hair, dread
locks will begin to form. In this sense, dread
locks have been around since the dawn of hu
mankind, because, clearly, there was a time
when combs had yet to be invented.
A religion intimately associated with dread
locks is Rastafarianism, which officially formed
in 1930 and was influenced by the philosophi
cal doctrines of Marcus Garvey. Rastafarian
ism’s place of origin was originally Jamaica, al
though the religion and its influence transcends
beyond any one place or country.
Harald Hammarstrom, who formerly main
tained a Web site about dreadlocks, recounted
a brief history of the style’s origin.
“There’s solid evidence for at least five genus
es, namely: India (say from 1000 B.G. or fur
ther back), Papua New Guinea (20th century
or further back), Aztec Indians (16th century)
and various tribes in East Africa (since the 19th
century at least) and West Africa (since the
19th century at least),” he wrote in an e-mail.
Hammarstrom also acknowledged biblical
connections with dreads, but said that the
meaning of the word “dreadlock” in the book
is ambiguous.
Because dreadlocks mean many different
things to so many people, they can signify
more than any of these descriptions. Howev
er, people most often wear them in one of two
ways. One involves displaying them in the
sense of setting, or embracing a fashion state
ment. This is a growing trend cross the Pacific
Northwest. The other mode involves a deep
er, more thoughtful and conscious choice. In
this sense, the decision to externally sport
dreadlocks is merely one part of a larger
choice. Of course, in both cases, one’s per
sonal identity is reflected in the decision —
more so than any other hairstyle because
dreadlocks are so obvious and pronounced.
Lane Community College student Alyssa
Turn to Dreadlocks, page 6
Aaron Shakra Emerald
Lane Community College student Alyssa Van Pelt used
patience and a mixture of ingredients to form her dreads.