I've talked about getting a tattoo for about three years, and I finally went through with it. It was graduation weekend and I figured that I owed myself something for all that fucking work. So I got inked.
At A Glance Author coolasfonzy When A week ago Artist Joel Studio Cape Fear Tattoo Location Greenville, NC Over the years I have really debated whether or not to get a tattoo. And while it seems like a negative sometimes, I actually found the permanence part of this expirience the most appealing. This is something that I can carry with me forever and while other people, and my life might change, this won't.
I live in a fairly large college town so the choices of for a tattoo parlor were better than average. One studio is locally based while the other is based in another town down south. I chose Cape Fear Tattoo, which is a sattelite studio from their original Wilmington studio. I chose Cape Fear because I had done some piercings there, and I was comfortable with the staff. Besides, the other place is flashy and all like, "Wow, we're the best studio ever."
I had originally wanted a medium sized star on the inside of right bicep done entirely in white ink, but after researching white ink tattoos on the Internet and discussing it with my tattoo artist, I decided against it. It would more than likely fade and it wouldn't be worth my money or time. I thought that it would have been cool though to have a tattoo that only I could see very well. It would have been like a permanent secret to carry around with me. But, like I said, that idea got shot down.
So, I went with Plan B, a tattoo on my back. The piece I chose was some artwork from the back cover of a Sigur Ros CD. It's a black stencil of a young boy sleepwalking/zombiewalking. It's located on the lower left part of my back and is about five and a half inches tall. I had wanted it in the center of my back, but I have a bunch of freckles and moles there, so we chose a side of my back instead. Besides, the tattoo is atypical in shape so it looks good on an atypical place on my back.
The tattoo symbolizes how I feel about life 90% of the time. It's like, I'm here, I'm breathing, I'm living, but I'm in a dream. My own sureal reality. My youth is still fresh and I hope to keep it around for the long haul, but what the hell, anything could fucking happen, so I'm not counting on too terribly much. Besides all the philosophical bullshit, I think the artwork is fantastic, and it's very much an original piece that probably not many people share. I like the idea of a community of tattooed individuals, but the idividuality of a tattoo is sacred. Why would I want something on me that 4 million other people have tattooed on them as well? That kills me.
Enough philosophizing, back to my story.
When I walked in to get the tattoo, I talked to Joel about what I wanted and we worked out the size and placement of the artwork. He was very laid back and knowledgeable so I was very calm the whole time. Once size had been decided, he prepped up and I got ready.
The whole process of getting the tattoo wasn't what I had expected. The pain wasn't anything I couldn't handle and the vibration of the ink gun wasn't too nerve-racking. It was kind of like having a motorized cat make very small scratches on my back. The only noticable pain difference was the shading. That definatly hurt more than the outlining. Overall, I would rather get a tattoo than skin my knee. The total process took maybe an hour and ten minutes all told. I paid Joel and I was on my way with a hot tattoo.
My only advice to those of you with a new tattoo is: Don't go out and get so drunk you forget to remember that you just got a tattoo and that when people touch it, pain occurs. Other than that, I have no words of advice. Oh wait.... Don't get sunburned either. That definatly blows.
It's now been a week and a half since I got inked and everything has healed fine. I kept Lubriderm lotion on it constantly and I had no problem with scabs. I have to say that this tattoo thing is much easier than healing my piercings and I'm definitly hooked to ink now.
I think my next ink project will be a pubic wings tat and top that off with a new PA. After going through the process of tattooing and piercing, all I can say is that I now see the body as more of a canvas to paint my life's expierences. Oh, the joys of mods!