When I was in my early to mid twenties I was working in an animal hospital.As others have mentioned this can be very conducive to various body modification activities.Scalpels, needles, clamps, bandages, sutures,
At A Glance Author Suzanne Contact Suzanne@bme.anon When Ten years ago or more Artist Me Studio Animal Hospital/Embassy Hotel Location Union City/ Joural Sq. everything nice and sterile. Most of the places I had worked were pretty reputable but the last one was a whole different story.
I normally would never have considered working in a place so sketchy but a young vet I was very devoted to was working there while waiting to buy the practice from the retiring vet so I was hanging in and waiting being way too anti-social to actually go out looking for a new job.
Anyway it was a very slow sort of place. The clinic was on the first floor of a hundred year old house with stained glass windows in the twisty stairways. The old vet was this guy Saed. He was nice in his way but kind of cut throat brutal with his patients. He spayed cats hanging upside down. I never even knew a surgical table tipped that ways before. Saed lived on the third flr. and the second floor was a labrynth of mysteriously empty rooms leading to an enclosed green house full of plants. The other side of the first floor where the hospital was , was an abortion clinic run by his crazy bitter soon to be ex-wife. She called us whores for the devil. Saed was the devil I presumed. She wanted the house. It was a tense scene.
But like I said it gave me alot of time at work to be messing around. I had recently done a lot of piercings on myself and my scars would often prompt clients to ask what animal mauled me?I never thought tattoos would be involved though. Then one day this guy Rafael came out of the surgery with an R on his hand that had not been there before. I thought he'd just drawn it with pen but I noticed some blood. He said that Sead had ordered a tattoo gun thinking people would pay to have ID #'s tattoo'd into thier dogs ears. Did'nt happen and the machine got shelved. Rafe was looking for something and ran across it. Then it ran across him. Well what would you do?
I don't know what you would but I ran the needle thru the auto-clave and sat down to think. Not too much though. I went with the one thing building on another principle and took an idea from Rafe. I did my initial on my hand. But I wrote it in this alchemical alphabet I had recently come across and instead of the back of the hand where he put his I did it palm side at the base of the thumb. Smart huh? Wait till you see how little I knew about tattoos.
My vet friend was sitting there watching and disaproving but amused by me as usual. I wanted to do more but was getting the idea that it might be harder than it looked. Maybe somewhere not so constantly visible. Ankles? Under the sock line? On the inside because it was easier to reach.
I sat cross legged sort of lotus like and did a black cross on the inside of each ankle. Next I did some runes. Then I spilled the ink cup and had to take a break. My girlfriend Kathy had a number of piercings but no tattoos she said "Do me" I said no way. I could handle messing myself up but not her. But she said she was going to be tattooed soon and could either work it into her design (she was a graffiti artist) or have it covered it if went bad. I said okay.But she had me tattoo my initial over her hipbone like I had done on my hand instead of her own letter. She sweated it too. Standing the in the exam room clinging to this guy Peter and moaning. It hurt me too as there was something wrong with the gun and it would shoot out electric blue sparks and shock you like a joy buzzer at unexpected times.Kathy was sleeping with Peter too. She was a princess and a whore. I miss her.
I took the gun home with me that night after sterilizing the needle again with the intent of finishing up. I ended up a some friends place instead. When he saw the gun he wanted a turn. He was a graffiti artist also and felt confident to pullit off on himself. I warned him about the electrocution thing. The blue sparks. He did it anyway. And cursed the whole time. He did his ankle on the inside. He did his tag name ECHO in the same swirly writing I had used. He wanted to do his girlfriend with a little heart but she being sensible girl declined. He asked about doing me. His had come out good but I had no way to clean the needle so I could'nt let him.But the next day I added an E for Echo and a K for Kathy in the hollow below the ankle bone. I had no idea that it would be so much harder than the fleshier part up higher. But once you've started you can't just stop. Can you?
So all is well? Not yet. I did'nt know to cover it or put anything on it so...some ink fell out. I had to redo them like 6 times( the hand much more) before a professional piercing/tattoo artist came in to have his pitbulls ears docked. I helped cut and tape the ears and he took over all our piercing needs. He also enlightened me about aftercare. He said A and D you idiot.The ink held. Now soooooo many years later they look almost the same. The ink is slightly blown out right on the bone but not too bad.
When I was 28 I had my first and last baby. I had removed my multiple facial piercings and scars are not as indeliable as one thinks at a young age. But those tattoos...In labor in the emergency room before my docter had arrived was checking me for whatever they check for and saw the tattoos and started pestering me about what they meant. I said Please not now!
In closing I miss my old friends whom I have not seen in over 10 years and wonder about thier tattoos now. I don't regret mine at all. They may not be a major artistic achievement but they are good ID marks.