“Is this gunna hurt?” Steve said while through his teeth clenching his cigarette.
“Let’s just get it over with, its freezing out here!”
He put out his cigarette in the wet grass, and then I followed him inside to the kitchen. He made us some coffee because it was going to be a long night.
“What does it feel like? Who else have you done it to?”
“Several other people, including myself” I replied following him to his room trying not to spill my coffee, he was walking so fast. Steve carefully picked out the image that he wanted on his fore arm, because he would have it for the rest of his life. He wanted something different, and something that he liked and meant a lot to him.
“I’ve got it! It’s perfect. I want a little Kodama guy from the anime movie Princess Mononoke! The Kodamas are Tree Spirits, and they are really unique characters. While growing up I would watch this movie with my family, I’ve always loved it.” He scurried to his computer through all the books and boxes on his floor, and pulled up some pictures and videos on Youtube. The Kodamas he showed me were very simple little characters. They were white with big round heads, two eyes, which were different sizes and a small mouth. I noticed that this was the very same image he used for his graffiti tags. Steve would get a tattoo of a cartoon character, because he’s that kind of guy. He’s a character himself, really goofy, funny and outgoing.
“How should I sit? Should I lie down?” He said excitedly, jumping onto his bed.
“What ever makes you comfortable because you’re going to be in that same position for an hour or two. I’m going to get the stuff ready.” I washed my hands with antibacterial soap and hot water. Steve decided to lay down while I tattooed him, so I set up everything I needed on his night stand. Triple Antibiotic Ointment, water, paper towels, India ink, and a 14 gauge, hallow sterile needle.
I cleaned off the area of his skin on the inside of his fore arm, and made sure there was no hair that would be in the way. I sketched out the Kodama with a non toxic pen. The Kodama came to be about three or four inches in length. I then filled the top of the needle with India ink, “I’m going to start now” I warned him.
“Ok go, I’m ready!”
The first few pokes on anyone are the hardest for me. I need to find out how far, and how hard to push the needle, since everyone has different skin. When tattooing myself it was the easiest, because I could feel how far in it needed to go. I did a few pokes too light on Steve, because it wasn’t deep enough to hold the ink. I applied more pressure and I could feel the skin break with the tip of the needle and the ink seeped in. A few more pokes in that spot and it would be clearly visible that it was a tattoo. It takes hundreds of pokes to make a visible line.
“It doesn’t hurt that bad at all” Steve said relieved after a couple minutes of silence into the tattooing. He kept putting his head up to try and see what it looked like. It’s hard not for people to do that, when they want to make sure everything is going right, but it gets annoying because they move around too much. Sometimes it makes me nervous that they won’t trust me, or they will look at it and say something negative about it. So far, everyone is really happy with their tattoo. I think that people ask me for India ink tattoos because they don’t have the money to get a professional one, or because they feel like since they have access to getting a tattoo, they must have one. I can tell because most people ask me for one, and when I ask what they want a tattoo of they reply, “I don’t know. I just want one! Can you draw me something”. People should never be vague about something that will be permanently on them.
In the end, they usually get the tattoo covered by another one, or think about getting it colored in. I feel like the long strenuous hours I put into tattooing them went to a waste, or like it’s not good enough. That’s why I would really like a tattoo gun, because India ink has very limited things you can do with it. Imagine making a picture by drawing or coloring it in with only dots from the tip of a pen. That’s what it’s like. Pictures look better because straight lines are hard to do, and easily noticed if done wrong. It takes a very long time to color in an area with the tip of a needle. I can’t even offer other colors than black because I have only come across black India ink. After the tattoo heals, it fades into an indigo color, though.
I finished the circle for the Kodama’s head, and I noticed that some spots weren’t as bold as the others, so I had to go back and add to them. This is probably the worst part of India ink tattoos because when you go back to fix up a spot, the skin is already starting to rise from the swelling. From experience, I think that India ink tattoos feel like a cat scratch, when they first dig their nails into you. Although when you get used to it, after a while it feels like velcro being rubbed on your skin over and over in the same spot.
While tattooing, Steve he had to stop for cigarette breaks about three times. I like to get it done with in one sitting so that I don’t lose my tattooing concentration and patience. When I was finally done, we were both very relieved. I cleaned off the extra ink with water and a paper towel, and applied the ointment to his skin. While he examined it I told him how to take care of it until it fully healed. “Absolutely no scratching because the ink could bleed out or wash out in the shower, no scrubbing it, don’t cover it because it needs to breathe, keep putting ointment on it and don’t let your skin get dry because it will peel after its done swelling.” He appreciated it a lot and then hugged me and thanked me tons. It felt good that he really enjoyed it and was so happy and pumped I stole his ink virginity.
So you may ask why people want tattoos any ways. Why would people be willing to modify their natural body to satisfy themselves? Are they actually satisfying themselves or others because they do it from peer pressure or just for show?
Humans have been tattooing themselves for as long as history has been recorded. In history, as well as maybe in some tribes or cultures today, body modifications have been used to frighten off others with their appearance, rituals, magic symbols, tribal affiliation and practices. Today, people still get tattoos for the very same reasons, except for the symbols and pictures have changed. In our culture we have few rites and rituals that will mark or represent transitions in our life. To prove our devotion to certain ideas, groups, signal a life passage, oblige a belief, birthdays, deaths, survivals, celebration like our ancestors did, we might fulfill it by getting body art. By marking this importance to you on your self you are filling a void in your life, and you can always look back to it and remember it. I think of it as something from the past that we want to remember, and can actually physically take with us because we are attached.
There are even some artists who perform ritual body modifications to make your experience more powerful. We use body art for so many different ways and everyone has different opinions on it, so there is not just one answer to why we do the things we do. No one has to have a good reason if they just want to make their body more aesthetically pleasing.
“Modifying your body to what you want it to look like is a very strong statement. You’re asserting control over your own physical being in a society that increasingly regulates what you can and can’t do with it. From the moment you’re born, you’re bombarded with images of what your society wants you to look like.”
“Having marks on your body that you put there on purpose shows the world your rebellious or unconventional nature.” These quotes are from “The Body Art Book” by Jean- Chris miller.
It’s true. It’s a little part of your self, your personality, which you transformed into art. You may like it, and other people may not. There for you have limitations in society, such as getting a job, because people perceive you as that rebellious person. It’s the way our culture is today. So what ever you decide to do with your body, make sure it is a good decision and representation of your self. Not only you are going to be stuck with it for the rest of your life, but so are the people that are around you.
What makes a tattoo artist get into doing what they do, and why? Kat Von D says
“I started tattooing when I was 14 and I’ve been drawing all my life. I was hanging out with a bunch of punk rock kids from around town, and one of the guys had a homemade setup, and he would tattoo all of us. One day he said I should tattoo him. I did a Misfits tattoo on him and I loved it and was hooked.”
That’s what got me into doing India ink tattoos. My friends loved my art so much; they encouraged me to put it on people for a living. At first, I didn’t think I was good enough to do it, but then I thought about how amazing having your artwork on someone’s body for the rest of their life would be. There was no way of me getting a tattoo gun, so I looked for alternative ways and found India ink, where I began practicing on myself two years ago.
It is said that, “Her tattoos can create such memorable moments for clients, that when they leave, the pictures are so akin to their loved ones that they often break down in tears. The passion is evident when she tattoos, as she has a keen sense of tapping into what the clients are looking for in the tattoo.”
I think that tattoo artists have a better sense and knowledge of tattoos that should and shouldn’t be done. Some are inappropriate, some are not aesthetically appealing, and then there are others who get them all for the wrong reason, and end up regretting it. A lot of people think that tattoos are trashy and people get stupid ones because they are under the influence. For example, someone wants to get a tattoo, so they get drunk because they won’t feel or remember it. In reality, tattoo parlors do no tattoo anyone under the influence, and make them sign a contract stating that they are not under the influence before the process begins.
Kat says, “I remember this one girl got really pissed off at me because she wanted to get Incubus on her arm, and it was right after the show and she had a shirt and a hat, and I was like, dude, you don't have any tattoos and you're going to go on your forearm? You're just on a high right now. I didn't feel comfortable doing it. And she went and got it somewhere else, and a few months later came back: "Can you cover it up?" But I love music-oriented tattoos.”
Tattoos are a great way for self expression, and they should always be taken seriously with the precautions in mind. Myself, I am always thinking of so many cool tattoo ideas that I want, but before I get anything, I keep it in my mind for a few months and just think, “Do I want this on my body for the rest of my life? Does it represent me well? Is it appealing?” and I ask for others opinions. I have one body, and I respect it so I choose carefully, and so should others. With the way society is today, we have to be careful with what we do with our bodies. With the growing demand for tattoos, it makes me wonder if they will ever become mainstream. I hope that one day I will be famous like Kat Von D, and my artwork will be on hundreds of people’s bodies, and I will have changed their lives by helping them fill in that void.
The Body Art Book, by Jean – Chris Miller
http://www.thelipster.com/articles/3497445 By Rebecca Nicholson
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/51596/my_interview_with_kat_von_d_of_miami.html?cat=2 By Sarah Sponda
http://www.chrisnieratko.com/katvond.php By Chrris Nieratko
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewTaggedPhoto&friendID=11128462&imageUserID=158814487&imageID=28195072
Steve Turcott with his fresh India ink Kodama tattoo by Shara Wallace
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