i've waited so long for this next tat. i can't believe i've finally done it. and in terms of signage, i saw a falcon fly over me as i was driving to the tattoo parlor. out in texas the falcon was a more common sight. here, not so much. but there it was, and i was grateful to see it.
located on my lower back just above my panty line, i hadn't realized it would hurt so much. call me naive. the last one i got didn't hurt at all, i just felt woozy from not breathing enough. this time, i breathed in and out the whole time. focusing on that.
i tried to read walden, but it couldn't rival the pain. so i put it down and let my mind wander. they had the simpsons blaring and that was mindless enough, so i just listened to the chatter and focused on my breathing.
am i supposed to be sweating?
do you feel lightheaded?bobby asked.
no, just sweating, like i'm actually doing something.
do you need a cup of water?jimmy asked.
that would be nice.
jimmy brought me the coolest cup of water i've ever drunk. it was perfect. and i calmed down. i don't think bobby stopped scraping my epidermis the entire time. bastard. (he is an excellent painter, and has been doing tats for over ten years, since i didn't know him from adam, i was rather pleased to be his canvas.)
something about having a needle scrape the top layer of your skin away and rub ink into the spot that is not so much a pin prick pain as a sort of drawn out (ha!), lingering pain.
but it is gorgeous. (my daughter begrudgingly obliged me and shot the photos of my tats just now. thank you daughter!).
i was looking around at all the crap people have drawn on their bodies, some really god awful artwork. these tattoo artists are talented folk. they can draw anything you want them to. but it helps to have some parameters, some guidelines.
i went in to a place called the domain of pain some five years ago. after a fight with my husband (the retalitory tattoo--never a good idea), and sat down with an artist. then i wanted a shark on the nape of my neck. he drew me a shark, but i went in without a picture, i wanted a great white. very distinct. the knucklehead drew me a shark with a whale tail. i'm so glad i didn't get that one. i would have had that angry ignorant tattoo on my body forever. not this chump, not this day i said. and lit on outta there. it has been some five years since i've found the artist and image i want.
everyone i asked out here said one place. modern age tattoo in nanuet. so that is where i went.
i came in with an emblem, which was very intricate. (i tend to do that, make tats from actual objects as opposed to drawn things, very unique. my first was an actual arrowhead i brought in to the shop with me. i think i've since lost the actual piece, but i love my first tat.) while standing there trying to decide what to do, the guy wanted me to get it the size of a salad plate on my back. i balked at this because i was not there for that. i wanted something the size of a silver dollar or sand dollar. not a salad plate.
can we go tribal?
sure.
because he was genuinely trying to make the intricate detail of the design work but it was too tough. in the end (ha!) i am glad we went the way we did. it is more me than the other would have been. i'm less frilly and fussy than that. i needed to go tribal.
since i'd snuck off without telling my husband i was going to get a tat, i had to decide how to play it when i got home. i waited till the man was ready to pass out, and got his help removing the bandage and cleaning it, dressing the wound (or not so much dressing as lubricating).
i love to display the things i love, and i didn't want to have to worry about my tat showing. so i told him. of course he hated it.
do you like it?i asked as he peeled the bandage off.
no. you know i hate these things.
but he cleaned it gently. he muttered something about it being disgusting and looking tacky (but hey, it's my body, and i love it. my enthusiasm is not diminished by a square).
i'm not a big fan of pain, but i all ready know what my third tat is going to be (and where!).
now i'm contemplating the belly piercing and nose piercing. hmm. wonder how much that hurts.
2 comments:
Nose piercing hurts. You'll have an involuntary tear drip out of your eye. But it doesn't last long. The first few months are kind of weird, but you get used to it and then it's really cool and fun.
so you have or had a nosering mare? did you get it done with a needle? i can't imagine they could do it with a gun.
i've been told the merits of the needle versus gun. but i'm looking for others who can fill me in.
yeah, the huge rock o' jewelry in the nose is not what i'm after, i saw one that was a tiny delicate fleck, that is my style indeed.
peace.
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