A tattoo artist’s 10 years of turning scars into art : NPR
Brian Finn tattooed people who wish to cover the scars of domestic violence, trafficking in human beings, self -harm and more.
Brian Finn
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Brian Finn
Ten years ago, the professional tattoo artist Brian Finn decided to use his talents to help people – by providing free or reduced tattoos on his day off for people with scars caused by trauma trauma
“It just struck me one day that I had the tools to do something to help people. So I ride somehow with that,” said Finn.
NPR spoke for the first time with Finn in 2015 when he started tattooing customers on his day off.
After this interview, he said, the requests began to flock. He has made thousands of tattoos for people who wish to cover the scars of domestic violence, trafficking in human beings, self -control and more. Finn, who has been tattooing for over 30 years, says that tattoos have different meanings for everyone.
“Some people, you know, they want to cover a scar with a tattoo so that they cannot see it. But there are a lot of people too, they came … They wanted to highlight it,” he said. “Everyone is different. And I think the two are big ideas and just a different approach depending on what you want to do.”
Maddie Keating shows her arm before and after her tattoo as Brian Finn who covered his scars.
Brian Finn
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tilting legend
Brian Finn
He says that after our 2015 interview, requests did not just come from potential customers.
It offers advice to tattoo artists who wish to offer similar service. And he found a community of artists sharing the same ideas. “There are people who have stretched out the world, different tattoo stores, different tattoo artists saying:” Hey, I heard that on NPR. I am sort of the costume and I do the same thing. “”
Finn says that work has not always been easy. When he started, he did not plan the emotional assessment.
“Emotionally, it was … There was a lot of pain to hear daily,” he said, saying working with people who have undergone trauma.
“The only thing that has really changed is that I think it’s less overwhelming … Hearing everyone’s story at the same time was more than what I expected.”
Ten years later, Finn says he plans to continue.
“I don’t see any reason to stop,” he said.
“It’s good to help people.”
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