Weekly Ink: Tattoos of the school
November 15, 2017
History teacher Joseph Zeman got his first tattoo in honor of his grandparents.
When did you get the tattoo?
“I was 17.”
Why did you get the tattoo?
“I’ve always liked art. If you look at early civilizations, in the caves they still found ways to create art, so I feel like it’s a part of humanity.”
What is the tattoo of?
“My first (tattoo) is a cross with the dates of my grandparents’ deaths.”
How much did it hurt?
“It did not hurt at all.”
This tattoo is the most recent of social studies teacher Nicholas Caltagirone’s 20 different tattoos.
What is the tattoo of?
“The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, by Bernini in 1652. It is a sculpture in Rome and the tattoo is based on that sculpture.”
When did you get the tattoo?
“It took about 6 months, so only about a year and a half ago. Altogether it took 20 hours, four different sittings, I didn’t get it done in one sitting.”
Why did you get the tattoo?
“Because it is one of my favorite Baroque period sculptures. I made a point when I took students to Rome a number of years ago and even though it wasn’t a part of our tour, I made sure I broke from the tour and took our students to go see that sculpture.”
How much did it hurt?
“Where that particular tattoo is it didn’t hurt as much as others because it is in an easier spot to tattoo, I have had more painful tattoos.”
This piece covers one of history Joseph Zeman’s 12 tattoos.
Q: What is the tattoo of?
“(I got) a quill, a friend of mine was drawing a feather, and I thought she did a really good job so I asked her if she could make it into a quill and I brought that into the tattoo shop and had them tattoo that on my forearm.”
Q: When did you get the tattoo?
“I was 22.”
Q: Why did you get the tattoo?
“I’ve always loved history. I thought it would be cool to have something old like that.”
Q: How much did it hurt?
“I don’t think tattoos hurt. I don’t know, it did not hurt at all for me. I’ve heard some of that has to do with placement, some just has to do with your skin tolerance, so I guess I have a tolerance for tattoos.”
Spanish teacher Anne Marie Salazar has only one tattoo: The national flower of Bolivia.
Q: Why did you get the tattoo?
“For me, being born and raised in Bolivia, that’s my country and that’s where I feel at home. When I moved here, no one believed that I was from Bolivia because obviously, I don’t look like it. So, I decided that I wanted to have something on my body that identified me with what, for me, is my home country.”
Q: When did you get the tattoo?
“I got it when I was a freshman in college. I went back to Bolivia during Christmas break of my freshman year and one of my friends is a tattoo artist (there). He did it for me when I went back.”
Q: How much did it hurt?
“It did hurt, I’m not going to lie. (The foot) actually hurts more because it’s directly on the bone. It’s painful, but I chose it because I wanted it to be visible for people to see it and ask me (about it).”
Q: Do you regret getting it?
“I’ve never regretted it. I think it’s a cool reminder of where I come from. It’s a cool conversation starter because people will ask, ‘What’s that?’ So then I can tell them about my life.”
