I
recently visited the Temple of the Tiger in Thailand, a place full of
history and mystery, located approximately thirty miles west of Bangkok
city.
The monks there, who practise the craft of traditional hand-style tattooing,
they allowed me to participate in their ceremonial tattooing and taught me
some of their tattooing skills and the shamanic history that influences
their tattoo art.
Their approach to Tattoo is very different from ours in the west. They use
only hand-held tools and their methods have remained unchanged for thousands
of years. All the sacred art they tattoo is for the protection and
empowerment of the individual wearer.
The monks who have taken the tattoo training will put the essence of the
tiger-spirit into you with your tattoo, so the tiger will always walk with
you in your life.
I feel privileged to have lived with these monks in the monastery, to have
been allowed to learn about and share their tattooing world and to be able
to bring a little of the essence of that world back to my studio and my
work.
