My only tattoo so far is a small black treble clef on the inside of my left wrist. It may be small and simple, but it means a lot to me. The story of how it came about is a long (but somewhat interesting) one...
At A Glance Author anonymous When N/A Studio Planet Ink Location Ottawa Ever since I was 16 or so, I knew I wanted to get a tattoo. And I knew where I wanted my first one to be: on my inner left wrist. Everyone kept telling me that that would be a painful spot, and that the skin is so thin there, but this did not deter me from my desire to get a wrist tattoo as my first. I began to draw designs on my wrist with a black sharpie marker. Originally, I came up with a Celtic knot design that I really loved, but eventually changed my mind and decided in favor of a treble clef, as this actually meant a lot to me. (I'm a composer and musician, so I end up drawing treble clefs a lot as part of my work... I wanted the design to be in my own hand too, not some generic treble clef flash or one that someone else had designed).
I got my first tattoo over the summer when I was 19. A bunch of friends and I were staying in the Okanagan area of B.C. and two of my friends decided they wanted to go get tattooed. I said I'd be in as well, as I felt I was ready to take the plunge and get my treble clef. So, we made an appointment at a local studio for the following day. Well, the next morning rolled around and my other two friends backed out and decided against getting a tattoo, but I wanted mine so much that I wasn't going to back out now! So, I went ahead and showed up for the appointment. One of my friends' friends came along for moral support, (but he says he almost passed out at the sight of the tattoo gun-- he hates needles-- so big help there!)
As I was waiting for my turn, I checked out an album of work by the artist I was going to be tattooed by. It looked pretty decent, at least to my inexperienced eye. My turn came, and I was told to sit down, while the tattoo artist got my design ready. He lit up a cigarette in the studio-- maybe the first bad omen I should've noticed, but he seemed nice enough, his portfolio looked good, his shop sign said he had 20 years' experience...
He placed my design on my wrist. At first it was kind of crooked, so I asked him to place it again because I wanted to be absolutely happy with how it turned out... after all a tattoo is for life! When I was happy with the placement, the tattooing process started and I was surprised to find that it didn't hurt nearly as much as I'd expected. It was over in a matter of 10 minutes or so. I paid the tattoo artist and left. It was cheap as well-- perhaps another warning that you really do get what you pay for. (Mental note: don't ever get tattooed on the last day of a holiday, when you know you won't be going back to that place for a long time... but of course I was naïve and didn't forsee that anything would go wrong)...
I followed the aftercare he gave me to a tee, but my tattoo scabbed up quite badly within the next few days. Having no other tattoo experiences to compare it to, I thought this was normal. I let the scabs heal and fall off, but when they did, I noticed that the final result was about 10 shades paler than the "black" that it had originally been, and there were even some "holes" where the color was missing!! I was so upset! How could such a small and simple tattoo have been screwed up so badly? I was proud of the fact that I had a tattoo, but definitely not pleased with the result.
Now, fast-forward five years (of being a broke and insanely busy student) to earlier this spring, when I was visiting my sister in Ottawa. I decided I was sick of looking at my unattractive little treble clef, and the comments it occasionally generated ("Is that real?") so I decided it was time to get it retouched. After getting opinions from people who had been tattooed at local shops, and checking out the local shops, I decided on going to Planet Ink. I walked in and showed them my tattoo, explaining that I'd like it retouched, and was not able to go back to the place where I'd had it done to get it retouched (nor would I want to after my first experience there!)
The guy at Planet Ink explained that they couldn't retouch it for free if I hadn't had it done there originally, but I was happy to pay just to have the entire thing redone (which is what it needed!) I was told to come back in an hour, and everything would be ready.
I returned to the studio and the artist who did the touch-up agreed with me that the holes in the ink were pretty bad, and he thought that the tattoo had been done in a grayish "shading" color rather than a real "black". In any case, he went over the entire tattoo again, (this time it actually looked black) and just thickened some of the lines and filled it out a bit. The process was all over in about 10 minutes. I looked at my wrist, and it looked awesome--- THIS was the tattoo I'd been hoping/expecting to get five years ago!! I tipped the tattoo artist, thanked him and left.
The tattoo healed nicely this time. The lines look more defined, the color is even, and it is actually black! I'm very happy with the result. I know it's cliché to say that tattoos are addicting, and that you can't just have one, but I had no desire at all to get another, after the experience I had the first time around. However, now that my tattoo has been retouched-- and I love it-- I'm already working on a design for my second!
The lessons I learned from this? Don't get tattooed somewhere if you're leaving town the next day... it's just a bad idea in case you need to go back and get your work touched up. Also, you don't have to go through with anything if the place doesn't seem sterile or something is just "not right". Although I have nothing at all against small-town tattoo shops, perhaps it's best to get inked in a bigger city, where there are usually a lot more options and you can have your pick of some really excellent artists, rather than settling for the only one in town.