| At A Glance | |
| Author | .caitlin. |
| Contact | .caitlin.@bme.anon |
| IAM | .caitlin. |
| When | Three months ago |
| Artist | John |
| Studio | Monster Truck Tattoos |
| Location | Napier, New Zealand |
The Design
While star tattoos are seem by some to be a cliche- the new kanji, of you like- many people disagree. Shannon, aka Glider recently wrote an articlehttp://www.bmezine.com/news/pubring/20041010.html in which he interviewed an assorted group of people who have stars tattooed on them. I read this article with interest, as stars have always fascinated me. My personal research has taught me a lot of ways that I can personally associate with stars. For example, a five pointed star is one of the earliest symbols of fertility and growth- cut an apple in half horizontally and the seeds make a rough star shape. A star also incorperates the most
basic symbols of men and women- for men, a phallic triangle which points up, and for women, a triangle which points down and mirrors the shape of a womb. These connotations are found across dozens of cultures. Another association commonly made with stars is their use as a map. Many indiginous cultures used, and still use, stars to guide them by night. The most memorable, and most commonly cited, example of this is the star which the three wise men used to guide them to Bethlehem. The Southern Cross, which was the first constellation I learned to identify, was used by Maori for hundreds of years while crossing the Pacific. I liked the association of
having a guide, a spiritual help which we all need. Ohter reasons I had for choosing a five pointed star were purely selfish. Julius Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March, or the fifteenth, which happens to be my birthday. When Caesar died, his stepson Octavian held an athletic games in his name. During these games, a strange star appeared in the sky. This was proclaimed to be the spirit of Caesar joining the gods in the heavens, and Octavian ordered for all statues of Caesar to have a star added to them. I
liked associating myself with such a historic event, and my personal
interest in ancient history gave this story more meaning. My final reason for choosing a star was very simple. Five points represent the five members of my family. The ambiguous nature of a star, which can be viewed from any angle, demonstrated to me the way my family works, as we are all been treated as equals by each other.
The Placement
I like my feet. I have been told that I have nice feet, as they are little and my toes follow a natural line. I tend to go barefoot a lot, all summer usually, and for these reasons I decided to get the star tattooed on the bottom of my foot. I wanted it to be completely unobtrusive, and visable only on my terms. I chose my left foot for symmetrical reasons, as it would balance my tattoo which is on my right hip. Finally, ever cautious of being a walking cliche, I chose the sole of my foot because no one else I know has one there. I was prepared for a lot of pain, and a difficult healing. I have high arches, so by placing the tattoo there I hoped to avoid some of
the difficulties associated with healing foot tattoos- namely, blow outs and colour leakage. I invested in several pairs of cotton socks, some rubbery jandals and lots of aftercare lotion.
The Procedure
I live about 40 minutes out of town, and so an appointment was a must. I rang John, who fixed my last tattoo for me, and made a booking. However, my mum decided to go into town that afternoon, so I rang back on the off chance that he would have a free spot that day. Luckily, he was able to fit me in. I arrived ten minutes early, with a chocolate bar and coke to keep my sugar levels up- hey, any excuse for sugar! John had already drawn up a star which was the size that I had mentioned while on the phone, and I was perfectly happy with it. My brother was with me, and I made him take one
more 'naked foot' photo.
John got ready, making me lie full length on the chair before applying the stencil and checking the placement. I was happy with it, so we started. Initially my main concern was that I was going to fall off the chair, as my head was below my feet, and that's not a position that I'm in much! The pain was nothing like I was expecting. It was more like an annoying sensation than a stinging one, and I was almost lulled to sleep a couple of times, helped by the 34 degree celcuis weather that day. There were a few points (literally) where my leg would twitch, but John was able to tell when this was going to happen so it didn't affect the image. John went around several times, carefully putting the ink in to optimise chances of healing. He had to charge me more than he quoted because the tattooing was very difficult. I think when I flinched poor John
had to go around the whole thing again so all the lines were of an equal thickness! However, it only took about fifty minutes before he declared it finished. John took a few photos with his camera, which is apparrently quite an honour, and then wrapped it in polyurethane and tape. I limped, expecting it to be painful, but it wasn't at all. My spongy jandals felt great, and it was only the tape coming off which affected my walking. I thanked John, promised to email him photos, and left, happier than I had been for a long time.
Aftercare
When I got home I had a hot shower, using aloe vera body wash to remove the ink from the ball of my heel. I was careful to not get soap in the actual area. I then applied Protat, a recommended product which is lanolin based, and also contains aloe vera. I put on cotton socks and clean slippers, then changed my sheets. I continued to apply Protat about five times a day for the next week. Healing was unlike anything I have heard or read about. The tattoo itself remained dark and thick for about a month, during which time the skin around the tattoo peeled. When this peeling was finished, the skin covering the actual tattoo began to peel, and within about two days the tattoo appeared to be grey rather than black. In a couple of points the ink has completely gone, leaving a star which is still visable but no longer clear or sharp. I will be heading back to John as soon as possible to get more ink put in, but in the meantime I have a grey shadow on the bottom of my foot.
Conclusion
I would not recommend a sole tattoo for anyone who wants detail or sharp colour. This was very difficult to heal, and the results are somewhat upsetting, as I will definitely have to go through the procedure at least one more time. I still love the placement, but I feel that people should think very carefully before deciding to have a tattoo in this area. I was very happy with the way that John worked with me, especially as he gave me warning of the likelihood of a less-than-perfect tattoo. But, in the end, we're all less than perfect, and I like that my foot reflects that.
