I have always been interested in tattoos. When I was little I was mystified when I would see someone with one. I used to save up my allowance and go to the joke shop down the street and buy a bunch of fake tattoos then put them all over my arms, wearing them proudly until my mother would get sick of seeing them and wash them off with a brillo pad. Since middle school I have been designing tattoos, always trying to come up with new ideas and subjects. I hot my first real tattoo on my 18th birthday, one of course that I designed myself, and since then have gotten many more. I have noticed myself falling into the "tattoo sickness" which is if you get one you always want more. Recently I divulged into getting an entire half sleeve of tattoo work, the design was in collaboration with my tattoo artist Gary Collins. Since it took multiple trips and payments to finish, I grew accustomed to being in a tattoo shop every week for a few hours. I talked to many people who came in and out of the shop (Evil Wind on Rantoul) and extensivey with Gary about the business. It was there that I decided that I wanted to do something related to tattoos for a job. Becoming a tattoo artist would be the obvious route, but that doesn't really utilize my design skills too much, so I would need something else as well. That is when I conceived what I would do for my second semester of seminar.

I propose to devise and design a company that sells tattoo flash and memorabilia (i.e., men's and women's clothes, hats, mouse pads, lighters, glasses, etc.). — Tattoo flash is preconceived images that are sold to tattoo shops for them to hang on their walls. Many people come into tattoo shops, pick what they want from the flash that is displayed. If you are the artist that designed that flash, you now have a walking billboard for your work. It is in my mind the greatest form of advertisement for not only the flash artist, but if it's good then the tattoo artist as well. — As well as the physical aspect of this project I will also design a fully functional website for this company so that if by chance someone does find my flash worthwhile, they actually have the option to buy it. What I hope to achieve with this project is to start my own small business doing what I love to do and utilizing my artistic abilities. The company's name will be Requiem Designs which is a name that I have used in the past for my design work and I find very suiting for this project.

Ron Theriault, 11 may 05