Carisa's Point of View
 

Carisa at her Star Bucks job.

Are tattoos really creative?

 

Creativity has always been important in my life because my parents thought it was a value that should be embraced. 

My parents encouraged me to do activities that would bring out my creative spirit.  I was in gymnastics and many different types of dance at a young age.  I was encouraged to make art  even if it was not masterpieces I was producing.  My parents supported me in whatever type of expression I wanted to discover and they would never let me just be happy with sitting around the house or watching television.  My parents also incorporated art and music into my everyday life. We made many trips to museums and to see the orchestra.  In the car I was subjected to all the music of their time, which I came to love and respect.  
 
I think my parents wanted me to see how the world could use creativity in so many different ways.  I was determined to live my live creatively always looking for new challenges and never giving up on what I wanted.  I think creativity is not only how you live your life, or what you dress like, but mainly how you think.  If you don't allow yourself to think outside all the boundaries that society gives you, then you will never fully understand what can be done with creativity.
 
Now I have become very judgmental of creativity just as many people have.  When I was in art classes in high school I can remember thinking some other students did good work, but it was not any more creative than other artists.  I chose to do abstract art to be different and have no rules.  My art teacher was not excited with my many thumbnails and would always want to change my desired goal.  I think that many times creativity is looked at in a negative nature and I am guilty of doing it everyday.  I think it is important that if your are a teacher or overseeing someone's creativity you must be very careful how you criticize their work because it may hinder their creativity.
 
As a very critical person I have never liked tattoos.  I really never thought they were creative and did not ever understand the reason for getting them.  I know part of the reason I dislike tattoos is my conservative background, my parents would always tell me that I could never get a good job if I had a tattoo.  I think this is only a small part of my attitude though.  I dont think tattoos are creative because to me tattoos are such a trend and don't really challenge your brain in any way.  The person getting the tattoo, in most cases, did not draw it on their skin themselves and in most cases probably didn't design their own tattoo.  I also think that too many people place the role of creativity on appearance when it lies within an individual.  I am not saying that people with tattoos are not creative, but only that getting a tattoo is not an expression of creativity.  
 
After interviewing many of my friends and fellow employees I realize there are more reasons for getting a tattoo.  With my friend Steve, tattoos were part of his family life and seems to me like a tattoo was a natural thing to have.  And other people attribute reasons of accomplishment to their tattoos.  To me tattoos are not creative yet they are very interesting if you talk to the people who have them and listen to the many stories.  Getting a tattoo is adventure for some of these people that they sometimes think about for long periods of time.  I will never understand the fascination of putting ink into your skin permanently and I am sure I will never allow it to happen to me.  I think people have gone way overboard with tattoos and sometimes just want tattoos because other people have them or it is the popular thing to do.  Creativity in my opinion has to include effort and desire.  You must strive to be different and do something different than other people to drive your creativity. 

 


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Carisa and her roommate creatively support UT.