Tattoo Addiction

Working on my sleeve!

I've been getting tattoos for nearly ten years. I got my first one on my wrist when I was nineteen, before it was normal for girls to get tattoos. My parents were against it because they thought they were men and criminals. These days they've given up trying to persuade me not to get anymore.

I've been planning my sleeve for a long time but I wasn't ever brave enough to go and get it done. I was worried about how I would get jobs and how it would effect my (struggling / non existent) acting career. I've worked jobs where I've been told to cover them because they're dirty and I've had people approach me and ask why I would do this to myself.That was before I even had that many tattoos. Has anyone else noticed that strangers feel that it's acceptable to physically grab you so they can see your tattoo better? Actually take your body part and twist it so they can get a better look?  

Then last year I gave up worrying about other peoples judgement, Ruby Rose and Angelina Jolie are out there rocking their tattoos in the acting world and they are successful and fabulous. 

I went and had my first sitting for my sleeve June 2017. I already had artwork on my right arm but I wanted to get the rest filled in and made into one coherent piece. I'm just going to throw it in here that none of my tattoos are offensive, I have animals, text and now mandalas and a hamsa. Nothing aggressive or particularly masculine. 

Yesterday I was having my third session on my sleeve and it was the one to finish the lower half of my arm. I have a mandala on my shoulder so I've only got my bicep and the section above my elbow left to do. All the new work on my sleeve is dot work, the older stuff is some text and a graffiti style hamsa hand. I was sat there chilling whilst my tattooist was working away, I won't lie, tattoos hurt and some hurt more than others. On the sliding scale of pain the forearm isn't too bad. It still hurts but it's definitely tolerable, my ribs were the worst, I nearly called quits on those. The reason I mention that is I was able to think of things other than the pain whilst I was sat there. I watched people coming in and asking about tattoos, I thought about how I've grown and what I've learnt when it comes to getting my own ink.

My first tattoo was an open book with vine leaves that wrapped around my wrist on my left side. I have since had the vine leaves covered up but I lived with them for a few years. They were free handed and they looked bad. I look back on it and I wish I had changed a few things about that tattoo. I had no idea about artist styles and the difference between colour and black and grey tattoos. I'd watched T.V shows like Miami Ink and thought they were really cool, that was it.  I was getting it done for my birthday, my dad was taking me and paying for it. This is probably why I ignored the red flags, I was worried that if I didn't go for it then and there my dad would change his mind. My first mistake was the way I picked my artist / tattoo shop. I asked my one friend with a tattoo where she had got hers done, it wasn't even done particularly well. I am now a tattoo snob, I can appreciate good ink. She told me the place and that's were I went. I didn't research the artists that worked there, I literally walked in one day with an A4 page of book images and said that was what I wanted. I was still shy at that point so I just told them what I wanted and they booked me in for a weeks time. No consultation or a talk about how I wanted it to look. My next mistake was when we returned after those two weeks, I walked in and I was informed that I hadn't been booked in at all. I said it was OK and they booked me in for the week after. Mistake number 3 was when I went back the next week and they had double booked my appointment slot and couldn't fit me in again. At this point I should have just told them to forget it and found a more professional shop. Now I think about it the shop wasn't overly clean, not like I would expect to experience now when I go and get a tattoo done. I went back though, I'm stubborn and I was determined to get it done. I went back for the third attempt and would you believe it, the tattooist had had a last minute touch up come in and couldn't tattoo me. The stencil was drawn up though and the guy asked me if I minded if someone else did it. At the time I figured they were all much of a muchness and said it was fine. Looking back I'm pretty sure the guy that ended up doing my tattoo was an apprentice. I understand that apprentices need to practice to learn but you should definitely tell the client so they can choose if they're happy to have an apprentice tattoo them. I wasn't given this choice and now with a fair amount of tattoos to my name I can see the differences. The apprentice hacked at my arm. It took him 5 hours to finish it and I've had bigger pieces that are more complicated that took less time. I know everyone is different in how quick they tattoo but it took him ages and the end result, in my opinion, isn't good enough for the amount of time it took. That evening my wrist was literally the size of a tennis ball. I didn't know better, and now I've learnt. This isn't a bashing post, I'm just hoping that others can learn from my mistakes because tattoos are expensive and permanent... so worth it though when they're done right.

These days I research my art, I take my time looking for the reference art I like and I take the time to find a tattooist who does the style I like and does it well. I've got the confidence to say no when I don't like something, it's permanent and on my body after all. I have more than one tattoo where I got the tattoo even though it wasn't exactly what I wanted because I didn't want to upset the artist. I've got spontaneous tattoos which I've thought about changing, I've gone to heavy handed artists that felt like they were tattooing the bone and ones that barely hurt at all. Most importantly I've learnt that there is no shame in taking care of yourself when getting tattoos. Make sure you eat before and take your boiled sweets and fizzy drink if you need to. Listen to your body and stop if it can't take anymore. I know how my body reacts to tattoos now, I've worked out the aftercare that works best for me and gets me the best results and a healthy tattoo. FYI dot work heals much faster than regular shaded tattoos.

My tastes have changed, I don't dislike my tattoos they all have their own place in my timeline but I don't get colour tattoos anymore. My sleeve is nearly all black and grey, there is a splash of colour to blend the older stuff with the newer stuff. I'm evolving my own style and working out what is really me. There's no rush anymore to get something done either, I take my time and make sure it's done exactly as I want. I have attained tattoo independence. I've found an amazing tattooist now and her style is beautiful. I've also reached a point where other tattooists recognise the styles of other artists I have tattoos from and we can talk about it. It's cool.

My tastes have matured but I still love tattoos as much as I did when I got my first one, if not more. It's a culture I'm proud to be a part of. They are so addictive though, I have a list (I love a good list) of places I want to get a tattoo and art I want to get tattooed. I'm finishing my sleeve first though and I'm excited to see how it looks when it's done!

This was a bit of a garbled brain dump post but I have so much to say about tattoos that this is all over the place. I hope you can kind of work out what I was getting at haha!

Lxx

P.s as always you can find me on Twitter @LaurenAilie0 or on Instagram @chonker-plonker for more of Kelly and I as we get try and get in better shape.