Tattoos: poking ink into the dermal layer of your skin into aesthetically pleasing designs in hopes they stay there long-term. Such a strange concept as they do not directly affect our survival, yet still are found as an art form all around the world, past, present, and probably future. Their significance can be as simple as “I like this drawing and want it on me” to having deep religious and cultural meaning. In some places, such as Japan, they have negative connotations, such as tying you to gangs and other nefarious activity. In others, it demonstrates your rank in society, such as in some Polynesian cultures. For myself, personally, I find them a form of self-expression and art. It is not that I simply love every tattoo; I’ve seen some quite hideous ones or even ones in places that lead me to believe one’s life choices may be a bit skewed. Overall, though, I appreciate them and have wanted to both adorn myself with them and do the same for others. I still remember being in the limo on the way to prom and looking up with my friend what it takes to become a tattoo artist, a job I secretly still wish to have. Later, in university, I told myself that if I got into medical school, I’d get a tattoo as a form of celebration. What I’m trying to say is that this is something I’ve considered for a long time, and now that I will be starting graduate school, I decided I’ll actually go through with it.
The first step of the process was to figure out what I wanted. I had a lot of ideas and already know that I want multiple which will complement each other, so I decided to start with a design I’d still like even as a stand-alone, if I weren’t to get another for a while. I chose a lily of the valley flower, done in a somewhat botanical sketch-type style. It is my favorite flower and reminds me of so many good things: the smell of the rain, the feeling of spring, my Lithuanian grandparents, bringing bunches of them to my teachers as child, their aroma filling my room, reading a book on the grass next to them, the cue that winter had finally ended, the days getting brighter, and the sound of the birds. They feel fresh and elegant yet not overused nor pretentious. I also must mention their poison, first because as dainty and beautiful as they are, they pack a punch, and second, their chemical slows the heart, something I’d wish my own would do a bit. I also put a little Amanita mushroom on the side. These mushrooms are very popular imagery in Europe, often poisonous, too, and are somewhat relevant to my life since I’ll be focusing on mycology for grad school, albeit with diseases and on a cellular level instead. I chose to get this on my torso, just underneath the side of my right breast. This way, it would never be a problem with work and would be in a place with good blood flow so it would hopefully heal quickly on my strange body.
The next step was finding an artist. I didn’t want just anyone doing it, so I gave in to the fact that it might take me a while to find someone. How long did it take, you ask? Nearly half a year. I ended up choosing Colin O’Keefe, an artist based out of Chicago. All his work is nicely done and I was impressed by his flower work. After some back and forth contact, I ended up seeing him on November 27th for a consultation. It was definitely a bit intimidating to enter a tattoo studio; my parents expect me to be a very straight edge type of person, so it felt like I was doing something illegal or shady even though it most definitely was not. Colin was very friendly and understanding. He took all of my ideas into account and gave me plenty of options regarding what it may feature.
Come the 11th of December, I left my house and headed into the city early to ensure I didn’t have to rush. Since I had some time to kill, I checked out a nearby bookstore and got a bite to eat before the big event. Once time for the appointment, I headed in and was settled into the process. Everything was nicely explained to me and I was allowed to ask all the stupid questions I had (ex: Do you ever poke veins or arteries? What is that purple stuff? How bad is the pain? Do people ever pass out?). The first few minutes of it stung quite badly, but never was it unbearable. I think the excitement and fear surrounding the whole “getting poked by needles” thing made it worse than it was at first. After a little bit, it barely stung, and by the time he added shading near the end I felt no pain at all.
The final product turned out lovely. The line work is extremely clean and the shading adds nice depth. I was told that in a few weeks the shading will lighten a bit which should allowed the lines to contrast more.
Now it is time to let it heal, which should take about 3 weeks. I’ll be following all of the care instructions so I don’t have any problems arise. Maybe at the end of my first semester of grad school I’ll come back up to Chicago and get the next one I want done, too!
Happy reading,
-Beppa