Lesson 4: Self-Defining Tattoo Transfer
Duration of Days: 2
Lesson Objective
Students will use perfume and physical pressure to transfer their design onto their skin, exploring the feeling of "wearing" their identity. construction
How does it feel to see your internal thoughts "on" your body? Does the location you chose for the tattoo change its meaning?
Transfer: To move from one place to another. Solvent: A substance that dissolves another substance (the alcohol in the perfume). Embodiment: To be a tangible or visible form of an idea.
VA:Cn11.1.HS: Describe how knowledge of culture, traditions, and history may influence personal responses to art.
Contextual Analysis: Examining how the meaning of a "text" (the tattoo) changes based on its "setting" (the body part).
Description: Tattoo application. Purpose: Physicalizing identity. DOK Level 4: Extended Thinking (linking self-concept to physical presence).
Temporary vs. Permanent: Discussing how we change over time and the value of "trying on" an identity before committing to it.
"It will last forever." Correction: This is a temporary "trial" of a self-definition. It will fade, just as we evolve.
For students with skin sensitivities: Allow the transfer to be made onto a "fabric patch" or a glove rather than directly onto skin.
Final Reflection: A 3-sentence exit ticket: 1. What is the symbol? 2. Why is it you? 3. How do you feel wearing it?nder construction
Laser-printed designs (Day 3), perfume (with high alcohol content) or rubbing alcohol, water, paper towels.