| At A Glance | |
| Author | Phoenix |
| Contact | Phoenix@bme.anon |
| IAM | phoenixtx |
| When | Three months ago |
| Artist | Anne |
| Studio | Adorn Body Art |
| Location | Portland, OR |
It was finally February 14th, Valentine's day - and tattoo day. I was in an extremely good mood, as not only was it time for my session session on my ribs, but my boyfriend had recently proposed. So, all in all, a good day.
I was feeling pretty cocky when I got into Adorn Body Art, as the outlining session had not hurt nearly as much as I had thought it would. So, I thought it would be about the same this time around.
Oh, how stupid I was.
Anne found me and dragged me back into the tattoo room fairly quickly. We chatted for a moment as I stripped off my shirt and camisole (no bras on rib tattoo days!) and I laid down 'in the position.' I was confident that I would be fine.
We had decided to just work on the green today, which was pretty much just the stems and leaves, and a tiny little bit of the flowers. To me, that didn't seem like much, but I didn't realize that four different colors of green were used. I had not thought that to get the effect I wanted, Anne couldn't just use one shade of green; it simply wouldn't work.
I soon found out that while the outlining was easy, the coloring in hell, pure and simple. I was not prepared for this intense pain, and neither had Anne warned me (probably assuming that I knew what kind of pain I was getting myself into). Tears were springing to my eyes, and I was holding my breath from the pain, which is really not something you want to be doing.
"Breathe, baby, breathe."
I would be breathing okay for a few minutes, occasionally taking a sharp intake of breath, thinking "Why, oh why, did I decide on a rib tattoo? Couldn't I have chosen a different spot? How about my arms? That seems like a good spot..." Then I would get distracted by the pain again, and hold my breath.
"Breathe, baby, breathe."
This went on for the entire session, which I am not proud to admit. After only about half an hour or so, I begged for a break. I couldn't take it.
I ate my granola bar, still topless, and drank some warm Capri Sun that Anne had dug up for me, while a couple people came and went into the room. Other people seeing my breasts? Not a big deal. They were professionals.
After delaying for as long as I could, I laid back down on the chair and tried to prepare myself for the pain again. I didn't do so well. I was shaking from the pain, partly in shock. Whenever Anne started to work on the part near my breast and armpit, it was like a wave of ice and razorblades washed over me. Really, really not something I would enjoy doing more than once every, say, 10 years.
She was working in a circle, starting near where my ribcage began, then moving to my armpit, then back down to where the tattoo just barely touched my back, down to my hips, and then the circle started anew with a different shade of green.
I had to take another break.
After my second - and final - break, Anne asked me if I was sure that I could handle all of the green work today. Through gritted teeth, I assured her that I could. She laughed, and told me that while I was swearing at her and saying all kinds of awful things, she wouldn't take it personally.
To my credit, I never once swore at her.
I did, however, lie. Well, not intentionally. After only a couple more minutes, I told Anne that I didn't think I could finish the green today. She said that was fine, and that she would finish the shade she was working on (the third one) and then I'd be good to go. Of course, at that time, she had just started the third shade, so I had to deal with an almost complete circle still. I gritted my teeth, closed my eyes, and kept telling myself the beauty would be worth the pain.
"Breathe, baby, breathe."
By the time she hit near my armpits, the pain was almost overwhelming. I felt like I was going to pass out. Just about when I was about to tell her we need to stop for today, right now, she moved onto the part that touches my back. Relief. Compared to my armpit area, that was nothing. I could breathe again.
She finished, wrapped me up, and I staggered out front to pay Austin and set up the next appointment. Luckily I didn't have to walk home this time, as my fiance came to pick me up. I probably would have collapsed on the way home.
And, the photo (sorry for the less than perfect quality):
