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We hope you find our site both informative and enjoyable. Our studio is family run and offers both a relaxed, friendly and professional atmosphere.
At the Maxx tattoo studio we offer thousands of tattoo designs to choose from and our award winning tattoo artists specialise in custom freehand work, unique one off pieces and cover ups. If you prefer to bring in more personal designs our artists are more than pleased to use your art work. Browse through our online tattoo gallery of designs to appreciate the quality and diversity of tattoo designs produced at the Maxx tattoo studio by our talented artists.
On the body piercing side of the studio, we are able to offer both male and female piercers which has been well received, especially for that more personal body piercing. Both the ranges of piercings and jewellery for them are extensive, and custom body piercing pieces can be ordered through our shop.
Other stock items within the shop include, smoking parafinalia, bongs, scales, papers, poppers etc etc!
We also have available wood carvings from around the world, gothic items, posters, teeshirts, caps, bags, swords, and a wonderful selection of adult toys.
For a better idea of what's available pop in and look around.
We look forward to working with you and seeing you at The Maxx tattoo and body piercing studio soon...
Source : http://www.themaxxtattoostudio.com/
Throughout the history of tattoos, there have been a number of types that have become renewed. However, to fully understand the regenerated genre of tattooing, it is imperative to any tattoo artist to fully understand the roots of his/her career.
Biker tattoos have been often thought of prison, gangs, and the “big bad” biker mentality. Though in reality only one percent of bikers are in “biker gangs”. Many wives tales about the nomadic bikers who have represented the negative side of bikers.
Bikers have been known to get bad press, the one percent you hear about and their turf wars, conflicts with the law and criminal activity. However, most are simply biker enthusiast, and are generally the people you see riding around on the streets these days. Most biker lifestyles are about the freedom of the open road.
Everyone will look on bikers in a different manner, however the general perception is often the wrong one. Biker tattoos are usually a depiction of the biker gangs. Skulls, dice, Norse gods, and mythical creatures are often times one of the more popular for bikers. Though, many like the old school sailor tattoos, pin ups are a frequent sighting.
Much like Biker tattoos, military tattoos have long been a tradition in our history. Millions of men and women who have served in the armed forces done tattoos as a constant reminder that they belonged to a particular unit. Tattoos not only are a badge of their loyalty to their unit, but to their country. Some even get tattoos to honor close friends lost in combat.
Tattoos are most common in the navy, and the army in close second. The marines and the air force are also commemorated through tattoos, however not quite as often. The most common tattoos in the military range from Unit patches, military awards, eagles, US flag, dog tags, pilot wings, fighter planes, war veteran tattoos, anchors, pin ups, and sailor Jerry tattoos.
Although common, the military has since placed more stringent rules and regulations on tattoos. So, most men and women of the military must wait until the completion of their service to get their new ink.
Maori tattoos are among the most distinctive tattoos in the world and have their own identity amongst the Polynesian tattoos. Tattooing is a sacred art among the Maori people of New Zealand, and probably came to them from the islands of East Polynesia.
Maori tattoo art is very beautiful, consisting of curved shapes and spirals in intricate patterns. Distinctive for Maori tattoo designs is the fact that they are based on the spiral and that they are curvilinear. The most prevalent place for a Maori tattoo was the face, probably a result of the cool New Zealand climate.
Ta Moko
Traditional Maori tattoos are known in the Maori language as ta moko:
The Maori tattoo consists of bold spiral designs covering the face, the buttocks and the legs of the Maori men.
Maori women were usually tattooed on the lips and chin and in some cases on the neck and the back.
Tattooing has a sacred significance – the Maori tattoo design itself, and the long and painful process of acquiring the tattoo (Maori tribe tattooing was done with bone chisels).
Maori Tattoos: The LegendThe precise history of the Maori tattoo is rather vague, but we do know the legendary source. According to legend, ta moko came from the underworld:
Te Puni Maori Chief
When Mataora, a young warrior, fell in love with Niwareka, the princess of the underworld, she agreed to come aboveground to marry him. When he mistreated her, however, Niwareka went back to her father’s kingdom.
Eventually, sick with guilt and with his face paint smudged, Mataora made his way down to the underworld to try to win her back. He succeeded, and Niwareka’s father taught him the art of Maori tribe tattooing as well! Mataora brought ta moko – Maori tattoos - as well as other skills he had picked up in the underworld, back with him, and the ideas caught on.
Maori Tattoo Equipment
Instead of needles, the Maori people used knives and chisels (uhi), either smooth or serrated, and the ink was applied by means of incisions. The uhi was made from an albatross bone.
Two kinds of tattoo ink were used:
By the end of the 19th century, other tattoo equipment like tattoo needles began to set in.
Maori Tattooing: The RitualMaori tattooing would usually start at adolescence, and was used to celebrate important events throughout life. The first tattoo marks the transition from childhood to adulthood and was done during a series of rites and rituals. Tattoo art was an important part of the Maori culture – in fact, people without tattoos were considered to be without status or worth.
Needless to say, tattooing by making incisions with a chisel was a painful process, but traditional Maori tattoos were meant to be more than decorative – they were a show of strength, courage and status. Both men and women were tattooed, though women substantially less (maybe because there was less of a need for them to show courage) and on other places (usually the lips and chin).
The process of Maori tattooing was a ritual, with music, chant and fasting – in fact, fasting was more or less a necessity, because the face would swell up from the wounds caused by the tattooing process!
The tattoo specialists in the Maori culture were usually men, although there are some women who also were tohunga ta moko (moko specialists).
Maori Tattoos TodayThe Maori traditions such a tattooing lost much of its significance after the coming of European settlers. Ta moko for men stopped being popular somewhere in the middle of the 19th century. Moko for women continued throughout the 20th century.
Since the 1990s the Maori culture and traditions are having a revival and the traditional Maori tribe tattooing is all but extinct, Maori tattoos have made a comeback and are popular again, including the old tattoo equipment like chisels.
In the west, Maori-inspired tattoos are in vogue as well. Many of us appreciate the bold statement that Maori tattoo designs make, and this style of tribal tattooing is growing in popularity.
Modern Maori tattoos are usually found on the body rather than the face, and usually (but not always) modern tattoo equipment and ink are used – but the traditional ta moko inspired designs have a universal and timeless appeal.
Maori Tattoos and Non-Maoris
By using a moko pattern for your own tattoo design, you may be insulting the Maori people. It is never ok for a non-maori to wear a Maori tattoo pattern, even if it is done with respect.
Maori tattoo patterns and symbols are a way of personal identification for the Maori people. By copying their designs you steal a part of their identity, what the Maori see as an insult.
If you want a tattoo design in the Maori style, find a tattoo artist that has experience with Maori tattoos and knows about these issues. He can design a tattoo for you that has the looks of a moko without the Maori symbolic ties.
Celebrities With A Maori TattooHere's a list of celebrities with Maori tattoos:
Discover more about the meaning of Tribal Tattoo Designs
Source : http://www.freetattoodesigns.org/maori-tattoos.html
There has been a huge revival of traditional Maori tattoos, ta moko and other Maori cultural traditions. Since the cultural revival ta moko tattoo designs are becoming more and more what can be considered mainstream. A lot of non-Maori people are getting moko designs tattooed on their faces as well as other parts of their body, many of which have improper significance. Robbie Williams and Mike tyson have gotten Maori tattoos much to the annoyance of many Maoris.
Maori tattoos have been practiced for over a thousand years, and have not only withstood time and but also colonization by Europeans. Maoris are the original inhabitants of New Zealand, known to them as Aotearoa or the land of the long white cloud. Ta moko (literally meaning to strike or tap) was used as a form of identification, rank, genealogy, tribal history, eligibility to marry, and marks of beauty or ferocity.
Ta moko weren't merely tattooed upon their wearers; they were finely chiseled into the skin. The art preceded wood carvings, so accordingly the first of these wood carvings copied moko designs. Ta moko are most recognizably done on the face, although other parts of the body are also tattooed.
Women were traditionally only allowed to be tattooed on their lips, around the chin, and sometimes the nostrils. A woman with full blue lips was seen as the "epitome of Maori female beauty." Men, on the other hand, were allowed to have a full facial moko. Those of higher rank, like chiefs and warriors, were usually the only ones who could afford it, but at the same time were the only ones who held a position that made them worthy of getting a moko in the first place.
The choosing of the design was not, however, an easy process. Unlike getting a mundane tattoo now, Maori tattoos took months of approval and planning on the part of the elders and other family members. First the elders decided whether one was worthy of receiving a moko. One of the questions they need answered with an unwavering yes was: "are they committed to wearing their tribal identity on their body for the rest of their life?" Then the design process would begin by taking into account the tribal history, which was the most important component of the moko.
However, the majority of people who are using Moko inspired designs didn’t take the time to learn anything about its origins or significance. It is understandable why some Maori are offended by the use of bits and pieces of their culture. Wouldn't you be upset too if someone copied something uniquely yours without your permission, didn’t know anything about its origin, and didn’t use it in the appropriate manner?
Hopefully, the Maori people will continue their efforts to keep this beautiful and interesting cultural art alive, the rest of the world can come to respect this sacred cultural ritual, and the two can come to an agreement about its use in today’s society.