Tattoos Part I: Where I Started

As I mentioned recently, I'm getting a new tattoo soon. In fact, tomorrow is the consultation with my artist to discuss what I want for this new piece! I'm so excited I could burst, and I definitely have a ridiculous grin on my face. Since I've obviously had body art on my mind lately, I thought it might be kind of fun to write a mini-series about tattoos. I'll talk about my current tattoos, what it's like to go through a consult for a custom design, the actual act of being tattooed, the aftermath/healing process, and, ultimately, how I feel about the work I have.

So, to begin, today I'm talking about the two tattoos I have now, how I decided what to get, and what I think of them 8 and 6 years later, respectively.

My current tattoos. Don't mind my weird skin colouring on my hands, it's the light.

I don't remember what age I was when I decided I wanted to get tattooed, but I was probably around 12 or 13. As a teenager I totally embraced any way I could to be different, so as a 14-year-old I had my hair cut into a pixie and an eyebrow pierced! At 15 I had my lower lip pierced (a.k.a., labret piercing), and by 16 I felt like I was totally ready to get tattooed. (You can laugh at me now.)

One day not long after my 16th birthday, with my mum's consent, I decided that I just wanted to go for it and get one, and I paid for it myself as a birthday gift. I drew up the design and that afternoon I went and got it tattooed. In hindsight, that was a bad idea, obviously, for a number of reasons. At the time, I believed that tattoos should be meaningful so my very first tattoo is a combination of two symbols, the taurus star sign, and the sign for female/venus. The taurian sign reminded me to be strong and stubborn like a bull, and grounded to the Earth, while the venus sign reminded me of all the wonderful things about being a woman, along with my love of planets.

The taurus/venus tattoo.

Nowadays the tattoo has lost that meaning because I just find the tattoo itself to be laughable. A star sign symbol? Female? What the hell what I thinking?! With more thought and time, a much more amazing tattoo could have been created and still meant the same thing. But no, I was going to get a tattoo and I was going to get it that week, and screw anyone or anything that tried to stop me. This is the tattoo I sort of regret. While I don't particularly wish I hadn't gotten it, I do often toy with the idea of getting it covered up. Then again, it does serve as a reminder of what not to do.

Lessons learned so far:

1. It's probably not a good idea to get a tattoo at the age of 16. It is known that people this age have brains that are not yet fully developed, especially in the areas dealing with reason and consideration of consequences.
2. Tattoos do not have to have meaning. Get what you love and if something happens to be meaningful as well, that is awesome, but by no means is it a prerequisite. Try to be in love with whatever you get because you're going to have it for a long time.
3. While some impulse tattoos are awesome and remain awesome, many do not. If you are getting tattooed for the first time, take some time to mull over designs and preferably find a brilliant tattoo artist to custom design something for you. Leave impulsiveness to veterans!

My second tattoo is the butterfly and I got it back in 2006, not long before my 18th birthday. This one was based on some butterfly flash I found online, which I drew up with alterations. I can't remember how long it was between me finishing the drawing and getting the work done, but I don't think it was very long, maybe a couple of weeks. Although it may not seem like much time, I'm pleased to tell you that I still love this one! It makes me smile and although it had personal meaning at the time, it doesn't really anymore. It's just pretty and I like it.

The butterfly.

The other thing with this one is that it holds so many memories from the months of March/April 2006. Literally two days after I got it done, my mother fell gravely ill with a sepsis infection and nearly lost her life. I remember hours spent in the ICU waiting room staring at this tattoo as it healed and willing my mama to do the same. Hours spent fretting and naughtily picking at the scabbing. By the time my tattoo was fully healed a couple of weeks later, my mama was recovering and no longer in her induced coma. My butterfly is inextricably linked with my mama and her strength and my love for her.

Other lessons learned:

1. Be picky when choosing an artist. Do not ever settle, for any reason, and if the staff make you feel uncomfortable at any point in time, walk away.
2. This is related to the above: "good tattoos aren't cheap, and cheap tattoos aren't good" said by...whoever said it first. Use this as a rule of thumb when looking for a shop and artist. There is probably bound to be an exception, like if you happen to know an artist well and they give you a discount or whatever.
3. Don't pick at healing tattoos, or scratch itchy ones.
4. Obviously, think hard about placement. Both of mine are on my inner wrists which is an obvious and difficult to conceal area. While I love the placement here, I do worry about them being a problem in the work environment.

The thing I would change about both of my tattoos? That I settled for an artist who is not amazing. I went to a guy in Gisborne called Howard, because he was the only one with a shop when I lived there (the shop is called Skin Graphics, by the way). If I could change anything, it would be to wait until I'd found a brilliant artist whose work is truly great and stands up to the test of time.