Celtic Tattoo Art

The great majority of the Celtic designs used in modern tattooing come to us through the illuminated manuscript tradition. These books are visual metaphors of faith, and were carried from Ireland, where they were created, throughout Europe after the Dark Ages by traveling Saints and scholars.

Although most people are seeking for "meaning" in their lives and tattoos, it is nevertheless true that the most delightful knotworks, braids, and zoomorphic animal figures are illustrations used to fill up precious vellum page space around texts from the Bible. It is not necessary to know what they might have "meant" to the monks who painstakingly painted them. If the design speaks to you, it can be your tattoo. By wearing it you will learn meanings.

I believe that the best way to look at these artworks is as a meditation and a prayer. They are not strictly representational, they do not attempt to duplicate nature exactly. They are a sinuous line, an intricate interweaving, and a thought that returns to source.

The Celtic cross incorporates the circle of the native celestial religions with the cross of Christianity, a unique blending and coexistance of the two cultures. Many of the designs I use appeared first on high cross gravestones, which I have taken many chalk rubbings from. I am also particularly drawn to the spirals and neolithic petroglyphs found throughout Ireland and the British Isles.

For people of Celtic heritage, be they Irish, Scots, Manx, Welsh or Breton, these designs can be a way of showing pride in their heritage by reaffirming an affinity with a highest expression of an indigenous artistic style.

These are not particularly easy designs to tattoo, and I would strongly advise anyone contemplating getting one to make sure they have seen other Celtic style tattoos done by the artist they are considering. Not every tattoo artist has the eye for detail and exacting line placement, any more than every tattooist can do a portrait. I happen to have specialised in this work for over a decade, and welcome the opportunity in lectures at tattoo conventions to share with other artists the tricks I have discovered.

I am available for consultation by e-mail, and for tattooing by appointment. In my studio I have a very large archive of material to consult for designs, or interested parties may use the bibliography as a guide to purchasing books for searching out patterns or for their own collections. I also encourage you to check out my site in the Yahoo Store system where I sell my original designs