A Truth For Tuesday

TATTOOS-DAY

Tattoos are one of those subjects that tend to polarize opinion: you hate 'em or you love 'em. If tattoos are of no interest to you, please skip this post in its entirety. If, however, you love them or are interested in the process, please read on or scroll through the photos.

The word "tattoo" is said to have been derived from the Polynesian word "ta" which means to strike something, and the Tahitian word "tatau" which means to mark something.

The art itself involves the placement of pigments into the layer of skin beneath the epidermis. The most common method of tattooing is the electric tattoo machine which inserts ink into the skin via a group of needles that are soldered onto a bar, attached to an oscillating unit. The unit rapidly and repeatedly drives the needles in and out of the skin, between 80 and 150 times a second. That's fast! Many tattoo artists either make their own tattoo machines or have someone else make them. They don't like it when their machines are referred to as "guns".

Tattoo enthusiasts or collectors refer to tattoos as "ink", "tats", "art", or "work", and to tattooists as "artists". Copyrighted tattoo designs that are mass-produced are known as "flash". Flash sheets are prominently displayed throughout most tattoo parlors, providing inspiration to prospective customers.

In my humble opinion, if you have absolutely no clue what you want to permanently mark on your body, you probably should wait until you do. Forever is a very long time to be looking at something that was a passing fancy or that means absolutely nothing to you.

I happen to LOVE tattoos. I had wanted one since the early 1970's, but was smart enough to wait until I knew what I wanted. I got my first one 17+ years ago, before they were really popular, as an anniversary gift from Chef Stu. I was 34 or 35 years old and still working, so I had it placed discreetly on the back of my left shoulder, where it was invisible to the business world, and could be hidden by a sleeveless shirt. It was a very pretty butterfly.

Finding the entire process both relaxing and addictive, I added more ink to my collection over time. I don't have photos of all of it, but until last June my back looked like this:


Some of you may be thinking, "Where's the butterfly?" Exactly! After about 14 years, I decided that I wanted my ink to be original and I had someone cover up the butterfly (which was "flash") with something that would balance the weight of the Celtic cross on the right. These top two photos are crummy because I shot them myself in the bathroom mirror.

I went to my favorite tattoo parlor, Ancient Art Tattoo on Tenley Court in Lewes, Delaware, and asked Ben Sellman, a young artist whose portfolio impressed me, if he would put a specific quotation on my back, and in doing so, tie everything together somehow. He drew something I liked and, to make a long story short, my back now looks like this:

The quotation is Latin for "Bidden or unbidden, God is present." Needless to say, it speaks to the very depth of who I am, and will serve as a great reminder to the medical examiner who does my autopsy.

Flash forward in time to a few weeks ago. I wanted a tattoo to represent my mother, one of my 'essential people'. I asked an artist whose work I so admire - Lauren Pope, Lavatican.etsy.com - if she would design my tattoo. There's a link to her shop in the right hand column of this blog because she designed my blog banner also. I can't sing enough praises to her name.

Lauren asked me to tell her about my mom and then she came up with two designs: one intended for an arm tattoo, one for a back tattoo. I had been undecided as to which spot I would ultimately choose this time around. I decided on the arm tattoo. Lauren's beautiful work looked like this:

I took her work to Ben Sellman at Ancient Art Tattoo and brought along my friend, Patti, who agreed to keep me company and photograph the process for this blog.

Ben took Lauren's art (which he admired) into the work room, traced the outlines and brought it out to "dry fit" it to my arm. ("Dry fit" is my term for it.)


When we were sure the size was right, he took the traced piece into the work room and made a transfer of it:

Voila!:


This is the selection of tattoo machines Ben used:

These are the thirteen colors of ink he used:

My upper arm and shoulder were shaved and disinfected. When was the last time you shaved your shoulder and upper arm?:

Then my arm was positioned so that the Ben could work and I would be comfortable. It's a little like being at the dentist's office - the chairs and tables all raise and lower, the task lighting is bright, and the machines make unpleasant noise:

Lock and load:

Gloves are always worn and frequently changed. The machines are bagged because - THERE'S BLOOD INVOLVED! Everything is very, verrrrry clean:

There are fun signs everywhere in the shop. My favorite (Patti and I didn't photograph it) said, "You bet it f****** hurts!" Here is something tamer:

Naturally, the outline of the tattoo is the first part drawn. The needles used for the outline are clustered closer together in formation than the needles used for the rest of the tattoo. It's perhaps the most uncomfortable part of the process for people who have a low pain threshold. As I said earlier, I find the whole thing relaxing; however, there was another girl having one done at the same time and she sounded, without exaggeration, like she was giving birth. (Yes, we were all snickering!) Her tattoo artist told us later that it was like riding a horse, having to hold her still and tattoo her at the same time.

The outline:

Beginning to color:

I was having entirely too much fun. The schmutz on my arm is excess ink that Ben continually wiped away, along with excess blood. :)

Here you will notice that the wind/clouds part of the tattoo has a lot of pink in it, That will go away completely once my upper arm is no longer like raw hamburger. ;) In fact, the tattoo colors will all soften a bit, in a week or two.

Here I am admiring Ben's work about midway through the process:

Again, the dark colors will become lighter and the pink tones will vanish. Good shading is one way to tell a quality tattoo. The artists tell me that, the nicer the customer, the more time is usually spent in the tattoo detail. An artist (who doesn't know you) can generally tell from your existing ink, what kind of customer you've been in the past. I can truly appreciate the amount of movement Ben's shading has brought to the wind/clouds:

The red cloth in his left hand below? Yep. It starts out a plain white sheet of Bounty and absorbs - you guessed it - BLOOD!

The finished masterpiece (You can glimpse the cross tattoo behind my ear here):

A little about the price of intricate tattoos. It ranges from expensive to expensive and worth it.

They take a great deal of time, effort and TALENT to create.

A little about the artist: Ben is a 25 year old artist from Maryland, where he did an informal apprenticeship for a couple of years at local tattoo shops. When he moved to Delaware, he brought his portfolio into Ancient Art Tattoo. They liked his work and took him on formally as an apprentice. In fairly short order, he became a full fledged tattoo artist. Currently, in his off time, he is painting a wall mural at a new Lewes restaurant called Cocoa Mango.

Always looking forward, PJ

P.S. No, I have never driven or ridden on a Harley, nor am I a sailor, young, masculine or from "the wrong side of the tracks." I'm just a wife and mother, formerly with IBM marketing, retired to small corner, small town, small state, USA, who loves ink. It happens. :)