Faith Mahoney
Professor Lotz
WRT 150-28
Fall 2012
Totally Me! Airbrush Tattoo Kit
Children’s minds’ are blank canvases at birth and as they learn creativity as well gain
experiences in life children’s minds become colorful masterpiece canvases. Though in childhood many
children do not experience abstract art or non- textbook art in school; therefore it is their guardians’
responsibility to open up the art world to their children. The Totally Me! Airbrush Tattoo Kit is more
than a children’s toy, but a creative mind opening experience through their minds and hands. Children
are the future to break stereotypes learned from society and as well their parents this airbrush tattoo kit
will hopefully break the stereotypes of people with tattoos. Art is an individual expression of ones’
thoughts meaning that through the Totally Me! Airbrush Tattoo Kit children will learn the importance of
being who they are. Tattoos are a form of beauty which is different in every child’s eye so it doesn’t
make sense to limit children to make up kits or dress up and not open the window for an airbrush tattoo
kit. Art is never ending; therefore the toy’s guardians put in their children’s’ hands should have never
ending fantasies as well creativity.
The Totally Me! Airbrush Tattoo Kit is a toy under the beauty and fashion category at Toys R Us.
The category of this kit shows how important tattoos are influencing beauty and society which means
opening children up to the idea of individual or personal beauty through tattoos. The Totally Me!
Airbrush Tattoo Kit contains an air sprayer, easel, 24 stencils, and 10 different colors. According to Toy R
Us description of the Totally Me! Airbrush Tattoo Kit it lets children be themselves through this creative
avenue of airbrush tattooing. The 24 stencils in the kit do not limit the tattoos to be airbrushed, but start
a basis for ideas than children can make their own stencils out of paper or thin lightweight cardboard.
The 10 different colors load into the air sprayer and the 10 different colors can be layered or combined
to make limitless color possibilities therefore not limiting how much a child can bend the rainbow. The
Faith Mahoney
Professor Lotz
WRT 150-28
Fall 2012
easel in the kit lets children practice or trace their idea on paper before they may air brush it on their
skin so children learn the idea of marking the skin with the permanency tattoos have. The Totally Me!
Airbrush Tattoo Kit is a beauty kit for children opening the chances for unique beauty, individuality, and
creativity. The tattoo airbrush kit only holds the companies’ instructions how to use what the kit
contains, but with child’s creativity the kit is just the basis for a fantasy of millions of creative ideas.
Children learn stereotypes or certain stigmas at an earlier age from both their guardians and
society. Tattoos in the children’s point of view are different from each child in their own unique way.
Therefore introducing a child through this art avenue the Totally Me! Airbrush Tattoo Kit will hope to
break the common stigmas of people with tattoos. In the article Do the “Savage Origins” of Tattoos Cast
a Prejudicial Shadow on Contemporary Tattooed Individuals? By Mark Burgess and Lousie Clark the
article talks on the subject of how tattoos have evolved in the past centuries from a taboo secluded
group of people to the mainstream young people finding cute or tribal tattoos as a marking of beauty.
Tattooed individuals in history were seen as people with mental disorders though in today’s society we
have found this stereotype is false, since most people around the college age are now thinking of getting
tattoos or actually getting tattoos. (Burgess 747) Teaching children through this tattoo airbrush kit will
show that even if an individual has a tattoo they can have the same academic achievements as any
other peer. This may lead children to the idea that physically everyone is unique so that should not
affect a persons’ perception about another person. Burgess states, “The tattooed figuration has grown
not only in number, but also in the variety of individuals.” (Burgess 747) As tattoos grow in society
children will see the growth of body art. As an increasing number of people get tattoos in society then
acceptance of tattoos will rise, because of seeing tattoos on peers on a regular basis. (Burgess 748)
Burgess talks how socially tattoos will be accepted sooner than later, “traditionally conservative
perceptions of the tattooed may alter.” (Burgess 748) Getting a child used to a toy such as a tattoo kit
Faith Mahoney
Professor Lotz
WRT 150-28
Fall 2012
compared to fake clip on earring will give them a social edge against their peers. People who are
debating over tattoos think the label “intolerable deviance” will be written on their resume therefore
diminishing their value in the job market. (Burgess 750) Children can break these labels in the work force
by understanding tattoos are an art form. In a study by Durkin and Houghton’s in the article by Burgess
it states,” children showed no gender differences in terms of the negative appraisals of tattooed
individuals.” (Burgess 760) As children see more individuals having tattoos in society they will more
curious which giving them the Totally Me! Airbrush Tattoo Kit will give them a channel to open that
curiosity they have of others differences.
Children mainly see tattoos beyond the art and to the appearance that person with tattoo is
trying to portray. When a child sees a tattoo they usually don’t think of teen angst or outcasts, but an
individual. In the newspaper article Kids See Tattoos as Expression, Not Rebellion by Christian James,
Tiffany Eng, and Liza Shapire in The New York Amsterdam News: Children’s Press Line these three
authors talk to two teenagers about how they view their tattoos and how children in general view
tattoos. A sixteen year old, Brittany Durand, age 16 told the authors this about her lucky star tattoo, “It’s
really pretty. It helped me feel better about myself- kind of discovering myself (James 20).” Many
teenagers see their tattoos as something that makes them feel better about themselves and positive.
Brittany Durand also told the three authors, “I don’t regret my tattoo (James 20).” Tattoos to children
may tell a story of how that individual was raised up. The next teenager they interviewed was G.L., a 17
year old, got a tattoo of a Chinese character on her hip. G.L. states, “Whenever I look at it, it reminds me
of the fact that I’m proud of myself and that I should be proud of myself, and the fact that I’m Chinese
(James 20).” For this seventeen year old her tattoo showed her origins and heritage which were special
to her. Children mostly see tattoo on teenagers and adults as their individual expression and not a
rebellion.
Faith Mahoney
Professor Lotz
WRT 150-28
Fall 2012
Individuals make up one whole society were each individual is unique and different though it’s
their decision to follow the mainstream or really open up their mind to creativity as well diversity. In the
article Child Art and the Emergence of Learning Styles author Charles Wieder describes how children
benefit from the individualism of art. The Totally Me! Tattoo Airbrush Kit brings up two ideas that
getting a tattoo can make yourself an individual, but as well that to make a tattoo you have your
individual creativity to explore. Wieder states, “Understanding the nature of this individuality is the
educational key to what inspires and holds personal meaning for our students.” (Wieder 21) This idea
describes how art is an important part of education just like math or science. As well each person has
these own ideas in their head different from everyone else all original and part of their individualism.
Some children learn better in groups or individual so alone at home with the tattoo airbrush kit their
individual creative spirit may explode more than at school surrounded by classmates. “The differences
between individuals are educationally far more significant than comparisons that can be made across
racial, cultural, age, or gender groupings.” (Wieder 22) Educational art is a great basis for all children
though for some it may be limiting their true potential outside of textbook defined art. The tattoo
airbrush kit is a home art exploring adventure not taught at schools. Art gives many individuals an outlet
to relieve their lives and make meaning of who they really are or where made to be. The Totally Me!
Airbrush Tattoo Kit opens up individualism in art that may not be fully opened in a school setting.
As money grows tight in the government sector schools are feeling the tight pinch of removing
or slowly decreasing the number of art programs during school hours. Therefore making it imperative
for guardians to open art into their homes through toys such as the Totally Me! Airbrush Tattoo Kit. In
the article Funding Issues & Teacher Expertise in Elementary Art Teaching: A Dynamic Relationship by
Carol Jeffers and Noreen Fond it addresses the steadily growing problem of not enough government
funding for art programs in schools. According to Jeffers, “For the last two decades, teachers of
Faith Mahoney
Professor Lotz
WRT 150-28
Fall 2012
elementary art in the U.S. consistently have identified funding issues- inadequate budget and other
resources- as factors affecting their practice.” (Jeffers 33) As teachers only can do some much to keep
art programs running it’s up to the guardians to decide if art is an important key in their child’s
development. Therefore the tattoo airbrush kit is a convenient home art tool. In art programs the
wealthier school districts are getting more high skill art programs with unlimited resources, but the poor
school districts are getting not enough money from the government to keep their art programs afloat.
(Jeffers 33) Jeffers finds out that, “When under-funded, however, the art programs saps teachers’ selfconfidence and undermines their perceived professional performance- both of which are tied to their
ability to provide media and materials to their students.” (Jeffers 38) While elementary school programs
are feeling the crunch of government spending on art programs families should be stepping in to
introduce art to their children at home through toys such as the Totally Me! Airbrush Tattoo Kit.
Children look not to themselves, but others in society and around them for the definition of
beauty as a natural habit. Though these habits can lead to stereotypical ideas of what beauty is and
those who are considered ugly obtain to make them this trait. In the article The Child’s Concept of
Beauty: A Study in Concept Formation by Leo Spiegel the author does a study about what children
perceive is beautiful verse ugly. Spiegel states, “Any definition would arise from personal predilection
and would prejudge results.” (Spiegel 12) Every child’s definition of beauty or ugly would arise from
what they have both seen and heard therefore before they already have these small prejudices. In study
one of the young girls says, “…so old she was getting pimples on her face. So she put some rouge on and
she became beautiful.” (Spiegel 14) The Totally Me! Airbrush Tattoo Kit may give children the idea that
everyone is beautiful and ugly is no longer a word in existence. That an individual shouldn’t cover up
whom they are, their beauty marks or their tattoos so society won’t judge them. The study according to
Spiegel most of the children’s thoughts were, “all people appear to be beautiful except a minority of
Faith Mahoney
Professor Lotz
WRT 150-28
Fall 2012
unpleasant people who are ugly.” (Spiegel 21) Children at early ages should not have criteria of what is
ugly verse beautiful, but be accepting of all differences of beauty.
The Totally Me! Airbrush Tattoo Kit opens up the world of creativity/ art to a child, hopes to
break stereotypes, bring individualism to the forefront of children to bring out their talents, gives art to
children who art programs are being cut, and opens children’s eyes to all forms of beauty. A Toys R Us
toy, but so much more of an eye opening toy for guardians to purchase for their children. Guardians
need to open the world of art to their children so they will never limit what that child can become. The
stereotypes of tattoos can be broken through this airbrush tattoo kit giving children understanding of
what a tattoo is an expression of art. The Totally Me! Airbrush Tattoo Kit is a loaded toy of thought and
acceptance of those once taboos of society.
Faith Mahoney
Professor Lotz
WRT 150-28
Fall 2012
Works Cited
Burgess, Mark, and Louise Clark. "Do the “Savage Origins” of Tattoos Cast a Prejudicial Shadow on
Contemporary Tattooed Individuals?" 40.3 (2012): 746-64. Web. 11 Oct. 2012.
James, Christian, Tiffany Eng, and Liza Shapiro. "Kids See Tattoos as Expression, Not Rebellion." The New
York Amsterdam News 20 Nov. 2003: 20. Print.
Jeffers, Carol, and Noreen Fong. "Funding Issues & Teacher Expertise in Elementary Art Teaching: A
Dynamic Relationship." ProQuest Educational Journals 5 Sept. (2000): 33-39. Web. 11 Oct. 2012.
Spiegel, Leo. "The Child's Concept of Beauty: A Study In Concept Formation." Pedagogical Seminary and
Journal of Genetic Psychology 77 (2003): 11-23. Web. 11 Oct. 2012.
Wieder, Charles G. "Child Art and the Emergence of Learning Styles." Visual Arts Research 24.11 Nov.
(1998): 21-27. Web. 11 Oct. 2012.