The idea all got started after I acquired my IAM account. Searching for other people in my state, Iowa, I came across a piercer who worked at a shop only 20 minutes from my office! After chatting with him a little bit, visiting the website for the studio, Slingin' Ink and seeing online the quality work coming from every artist who works there, I knew I had to get something done at this shop soon. It isn't very often that you come across good quality shops with nice, helpful people around this area.
At A Glance Author JoseyLyn Contact JoseyLyn@bme.anon IAM JoseyLyn When It just happened Artist Darren McKeag Studio Slingin' Ink Location Montezuma, Iowa Knowing that I had limited money to spend on mods at the time, I had given myself the choice of either a piercing or a small tattoo. I had just gotten a new piercing about a month ago which needs special attention to heal and I had no desire for a tattoo that wasn't going to finish my back piece, so I didn't know what to do for awhile. After I halfway gave up on the thought, one day it came to me, I wanted an inner lip tattoo! Research on BME has shown me and told me that inner lip tattoos have a tendency to fade, cannot always have much detail and usually consist of a single word or simple design. This was all fine with me, actually kind of appealing that I can get a tattoo, have it fade and perhaps get something new a few years later!
Now all I had to think of was what word I wanted. I had a few ideas, but in the meantime I needed to make an appointment. My work brought me to the town of Montezuma shortly after, so I seized the opportunity and stopped by after I was done with business. When I got to the shop I told them ("them" ended up being Wiggins and Vance) what I wanted, they were very helpful in getting me in as soon as possible and working with my schedule. Letting them know I didn't have a word picked out yet, I set up my appointment and was on my way. Now the pressure was on to decide on what I wanted. As I mentioned, I had a few ideas running through my head, most of them were fun/joking words. Some were:
Oh Snap! (I love to say it for some reason)
Skeet Skeet (I honestly didn't know it had a "real" meaning, so I decided against it after I found that out)
O RLY? (Just funny)
Cheers! (With a little tiny mug, I drink a lot)
I talked over all these choices with my boyfriend, weighing out the pros and cons; I was way too into it by this point... Then I thought that maybe I wanted something a little more meaningful, as I don't have any tattoos that have any meaning on my body yet. For most of my life I have been a pretty open-minded person, so I tried to look up words like "open-minded", "free thinking", etc. in foreign languages, knowing that I appreciate the beauty of foreign written language, even if I don't understand it, but nothing stuck out. Finally it dawned on me, the most obvious thing, in my life, that has become a commonplace slogan. P.L.U.R.
It means peace love unity respect. Since I have been with my boyfriend, I have discovered a whole new way of life via a musical genre. At first I wasn't into that kind of music, but after he started giving me mixes that he recorded, started taking me to shows and introducing me to people, I realized how wrong I was. P.L.U.R. was an unofficial motto for the people I was meeting, the people who dedicate so much time and effort to make beautiful electronic music. Much like body modification is for some of us, this motto was a way of life for people in the rave scene. Granted raves are outlawed in Iowa these days, but the music and feelings are still there. By putting P.L.U.R. on my body, it will always remind me to remain open-minded and accepting of new things and people. So I drew out the design, with a peace sign by the "R." and a heart by the "P".
It was now the day of the tattoo, Tuesday, May 29th, 2007. I showed up for my appointment half an hour early, since it was scheduled for pretty late in the evening. It turned out that Darren was going to do my tattoo instead of Alex, which was fine with me because I had seen Darren's impressive work online and upon meeting him could tell he was a nice and easygoing individual. It was comforting to be worked on by someone who was on the same wavelength as me as far as calmness.
Darren shrunk down the design I drew, saying he liked the lettering so we would use that exact design. While I was waiting, Josh helped me find a labret retainer that I had needed desperately. Once I was settled on the tattooing chair, Darren explained everything to me and encouraged me to ask questions. After rolling my lip down over a colored pencil and pinning it down on the corners with my fingernails, Darren explained that he would be resting his hands on my fingers during the tattooing, so that inspired me to be as still as possible.
The process of the tattoo wasn't bad at all. The actual tattooing took about 2 or 3 minutes. I had my eyes closed to concentrate on everything more completely, and although a few tears inadvertently slipped out when he was about halfway through, the pain was not bad. It was different than getting a tattoo on a "normal" part of my body, the pain was sharper, as if I could feel exactly where the needle was going, unlike the numbing sensation when getting tattooed on my back. When he was done, he wiped up my ink-stained lips and showed me my new addition! I was very happy with the detail he had managed to include in such a small design. If I had to compare it to a size of font on the computer, I would say it is about a 14pt. or 16pt. The peace sign was perfect.
Before I left I paid for the work and my labret retainer, tipping what I hope was a nice amount for a small tattoo that turned out very well. Darren offered to touch up the tattoo if it needed to be done, but I am sure I will be back soon for something else even if it doesn't need touched up in the near future. Overall I was very happy with the experience and the work that came of it, even if no one will see it besides who I choose to show. Mostly it is just for me, so I will always remember the meaning of P.L.U.R.