Seth Mecklenburg | Arts & Life Co-Editor

“Tattoo Tales” is an ongoing series that features Buena Vista University Students/Staff tattoos and the stories behind them.

Senior Digital Media major Demetrius Heard has 14 tattoos and has been in love with the idea of tattoos since he was a little kid. He in fact credits his mom for his fascination with tattoos. She only has two, but Heard says one is a huge rose on her calf. It has always stood out to him and inspired him to get his own.

“I wanted to test out what it would be like, and I would draw on my arm. I’m not an artist, but just the feeling of having something on your arm that people could see was appealing to me. My mom took me to get my first tattoo, and now looking back 14 tattoos later, it’s weird. They are just a part of my body; it’s natural,” Heard said.

Heard got his first tattoo before he was eighteen with the help of his mother and through a friend. Since then, he has been getting them done at Alley Cat Tattoo in Storm Lake, Iowa. However, he didn’t always have full support in his tattoo endeavors.

“My great uncle was someone who said, ‘Don’t get tattoos, they’re bad for you.’ But he just made me realize that they are permanent,” Heard said.

This made Heard think about how he would approach the tattoo process. He realized his tattoos needed to be something he would always cherish.

“I thought if I’m going to get something that is permanent, I have to love it and appreciate it. I love anime, Japanese cartoons, American cartoons, and comic books,” Heard said.

Most of his tattoos are inspired by or taken directly from those stories. Heard finds symbolism through character development and uses that to find what he might want to get.

“My arms are split between good and evil. I like that depiction; we all have our good sides and our bad sides,” Heard said.

Heard then goes online to find a picture of what he wants directly from the show/comic book’s website. Then he discusses that with the artist.

“I show him what I want, he shows me something, I say bigger or smaller and if it works for both of us, I get inked up,” Heard said.

Heard says his tattoos are symbols that are easily recognized by fans, but otherwise they are images that mean a lot to him specifically.

“I’ve always said the tattoos were for me; sometimes people question if I need more. I don’t need more, but I am getting smaller pieces, and it’s not like I’m completely covered. People will say ‘Why don’t you just get a big one?’ I would be mad if I got a huge one. I would have wasted space. I don’t want a few big ones, I want to have a lot of tattoos that mean something to me,” Heard said.

Heard is far from being done with tattoos, and he already has a plan for his next one.

“This year, hopefully, I will get some American comic book [tattoos], like Iron Man or Spider-Man, since Spider-Man is my favorite. I’m either going to get a small scale version of the Amazing Spider-Man’s [from the most recent movie] chest piece, or one of his trackers from the nineties cartoon series. I haven’t fully decided yet because Spider-Man has gone through so many changes and symbols,” Heard said.

He says that the idea of a Spider-Man tattoo is exciting and that he already considers it his favorite, although he doesn’t have it yet. Heard even says he would consider getting tattoos on his arms after he has retired way down the line. He believes he can have tattoos and still be a professional at the same time.

“My body is a canvas, and I have to decorate it,” Heard said.

Photo by Justice Gage