Compromise and Experience

There comes a time in every artists' life that they begin to understand just how asymmetrical nature is. In our particular field, it's usually when trying balance out a pair

of earlobe piercings or attempting lay a stencil perfectly centered on a client. Straight lines do not happen on the human body! In direct opposition, piercings and tattoos

demand a certain amount of symmetry. This is where visual balance comes to play.

Experienced artists will be able to find balance between asymmetrical features, will be able to find a happy medium that creates the illusion of symmetry . There is a compromise required between the client and the artist. Balance often does not follow a mathematical sense of symmetry and therefore can feel unbalanced should you take each piercing or design out of context with the rest of your face or body. Visual balance is all about the bigger picture!

When talking about the bigger picture, we also should broach the subject of longevity and aging. Tattoos and piercings are created to age with you, to grow and shrink with your body. Often clients come with very specific references and those images often come with the caveat that they are frozen in time. Tattoos fade! Piercings shift! Just like our bodies! That's what make's this art alive and wonderful. Things can be touched up, can be healed and repierced; but ultimately they are made beautiful because of your individual uniqueness!

All this to say: take a step away from Pinterest, remove the filter from that selfie. Come back to your body and look at the other real living bodies around you. We are all imperfect forms and that's what makes us beautiful!