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MAN'S RUIN TATTOO - Man’s Ruin is a classic and very popular tattoo design with a great deal of tradition behind it. It typically includes four main elements: a scantily clad or nude woman, who is reclining in a stemmed glass (champagne in this case, martini in others), with some type of alcohol nearby, and some symbol related to gambling (dice, cards, money or all three). These, then, are the paths that can, individually and together, lead to a man’s ruin. Ah, but what a way to go. |
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NIHO MANO TATTOO - The niho mano is a pattern of triangles used in traditional Hawaiian tattooing. Sometimes arranged in a row, in opposing rows, or stacked in a pyramid, the niho mano is very likely a representation of shark teeth. Read More About Tribal Tattooing. |
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OWL TATTOO - The owl, like many other animals that inhabited the Pacific Northwest, was used as a crest figure in many types of design. In some Northwestern cultures, perhaps because it appears at night with silent flight and an eerie call, it is associated with death and the souls of the departed, particularly the souls of ancestors. In the typically abstract and highly stylized designs of this region, the owl has large, round eyes and a sharp, short beak. |
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PANTHER TATTOO - The panther is a member of either the leopard or puma families and is a predatory animal found throughout the Near East and in parts of North Africa. They are known for their savage cunning and in China the black panther is considered especially dangerous. Because of their characteristics in the animal kingdom, they have become associated with superior courage, strength, and fighting ability in the tattoo world. It is ironic that the crawling form, such as in this example, may have been adapted from a 1934 children’s book on mythology by old time Milwaukee tattoo artist Amund Dietzel. It was an extremely popular design in its day and is currently enjoying a nice bit of resurgence in popularity. |
Tattoo design excerpts from the Tattoo Encyclopedia: A Guide to Choosing Your Tattoo
by Terisa Green and Greg James
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