I'd been wanting a new tattoo for a while; I knew what I wanted and where I wanted it, all I needed to do was make an appointment with my tattooist and get it done. But there were two problems – firstly my tattooist is in Aberdare, where I'm from, but I'm in Bath. It doesn't take long to get home (an hour and a half) but trying to work out when I'd have enough time to get home, have the tattoo done and drive back to Bath is a bit of a problem, especially when I'd have to see my family and friends when I got home and I'd been so busy I'd been so busy in Bath. The second problem was money, or the lack of. I'd been out of work since April and while I now have a new job I'm not starting until September. Skint wasn't the word for it – destitute was.
At A Glance Author wolfbane Contact wolfbane@bme.anon IAM wolfbane When A week ago Artist Sean Studio Pleasure or Pain Production Location Aberdare, South Wales Problem one resolved itself – I needed a break from things going on in Bath so I decided to go home for a few days. I drove back and called into Pleasure or Pain, just to see how much it'd cost to get what I wanted. It was £100. I had just enough in my back account so I booked my appointment then and there – Monday the 15th at 2.30. I couldn't wait.
I walked up to the studio planning to get there a bit early. I got there at 2.15 ready for half past, but Sean was just on his way to get some food as he'd been working on someone for 3-4 hours that morning. I sat down to wait for him to get back and finish his lunch, flicked through some of the tattoo magazines that were there, filled out the form saying I was fit to have a tattoo, etc. then looked around the shop. Flash was on the wall, piles of books with different designs were on the table and a few people were looking through them to find what they wanted. 2.30 came and went. I flicked through some more magazines and watched a couple come in with their young daughter. It seemed pretty cool that they were willing to bring her into a tattoo studio when most parents I know frown upon body mods of any sort. Quarter to 3 came round and I found a couple of designs that I want to create a back piece from. I already know what I wanted, just not how I wanted it to look and these designs seemed to fit really well. I made a mental note to remember what magazine they were in. 3 o'clock and Sean came in from the back of the shop. He chatted to a bloke he knew then wandered off again. I was starting to get impatient.
I finally got called in a 3.10 and all annoyance fizzled away. Sean apologised for the wait and sat me down on the stool while he cleaned my back and marked the location of the tattoo. I had a look in the mirror and decided that it looked a bit low; I'd shown Sean where I thought I wanted it, but as I couldn't see where I was pointing that wasn't much good. I told Sean it was a bit low so he remarked it and that time was perfect – just below the nape of my neck directly between my shoulder blades.
As soon as the machine started up I started grinning - there's something about getting tattooed that I love. I don't know whether it's the adrenalin rush getting ready for the pain, the idea that something you've designed is going to be permanently marked on you or what. It's just great. Sean started doing the outline from right to left. It was a pretty strange sensation; I could really feel it when he was near my shoulder blades and spine but it didn't hurt. It was more like a kind of pinching feeling, not painful or uncomfortable, but different. The muscles in my legs clearly didn't agree with me though, as they started twitching almost straight away, and didn't stop for what seemed like the full hour. It was a horrible feeling, and it had the result of making me fidget, which I'm sure annoyed Sean almost as much as it did me! I realised that if I tensed the muscles they wouldn't twitch, so as soon as I felt the needle touch my skin on an area where I knew would cause me to twitch I tensed up my leg muscles. It worked, for the most part, but my legs were extremely sore the next day.
Sean realised what was going on pretty quickly, so kept checking to make sure I was ok. I assured him I was, and to take my mind off it we chatted about what I'm doing in Bath and the back piece that I want. That worked – it completely took my mind off the leg twitching, but meant that I was having to crane my head to hear Sean over the noise of the machine – not really a good idea as I didn't want to wrinkle the skin on my neck whilst the ink was being done.
The outline took about half an hour to do, by which time I was almost wishing that it was over. The filling in didn't cause as much muscle spasming, but enough to get me annoyed some more. A few of Sean's friends came into the studio to watch and talk to him while I was being done; listening to what they and their mates had been up to kept me occupied for a bit, and then it was over.
I stood up, stretched my back, which had been getting really stiff and had a look in the mirror. It was gorgeous - the lettering looked amazing, the location was perfect – I was really pleased! Sean cleaned it up a bit, wrapped it with cling film then gave me the aftercare instruction. I thanked him, told him that I wanted him to do some more work on me next time I'm home (going over some runes that I've got on my left arm - that artist who did them really cocked up so Sean's going to fix it for me) and said that I'd recommended him to a friend of mine who wanted a good artist. He seemed pretty pleased with that.
Then came the time for money to change hands. He asked me what deposit I'd paid (£25) and said 'ok, give me £50'. I was surprised as the tattoo was supposed to be £100, but he was knocking £25 off for me. I double checked, paid him the £50, thanked him again, said bye to him and Gav and walked out of the studio with my dad (who'd known I was getting tattooed so came to meet me – he wasn't too impressed with the tattoo but then it was wrapped and slightly bloody so not the best sight for anyone, much less someone who doesn't like blood).
I washed the tattoo with soap and warm water when I got home; put Savlon on it then a few hours later had a bath and reapplied the Savlon. I've kept that up since I had it, almost a week now, and it feels great - I don't even know it's there! Tell you what; I can't wait for the next one!