Body Modification did not become part of my life until I was in my 20's. I had always seen Body Modification as an aesthetic means to change the look of one self but started to see more of the ritual, rite of passage and symbolical meaning of the practice. The book Modern Primitives had a heavy influence on my understanding of this new part in my life.
At A Glance Author Animus Contact Animus@bme.anon IAM Animus When Two years ago Artist Amy Duncan Studio The Body Art Shop Location adelaide, Australia I had begun stretching my lobes for a year and was enjoying the changes I was going through both mentally and physically. I felt that I had regained control of my body, which made me feel free and independent. I was still without any tattoo work and wanted to get one. I was still unsure on what style and exactly what I would get.
I did not want to force this decision on myself. Over a few months I drew a number of designs of what I roughly wanted. I sketched a number of designs looking at flash and combining elements together. I went from designing very bold and black tribal work and traditional flash. I came up with this idea to combine a human heart, surrounded by a horseshoe, which was then crowned with wings. I added in some traditional style roses underneath simply to balance the symmetry of the design. I knew I wanted this design to sit on my chest from the first moment I held it up and looked in the mirror.
I knew this would be my first tattoo. I also knew I wanted it to cover as much as my chest as possible as the bigger and bolder the better. Especially if seen at a distance. I knew of a skilled local artist with a good reputation. I had also seen her traditional style work on a girl who used to serve me vegan Burritos at the local Burrito bar.
I called Amy at the Body Art Shop and said I could come in that day to discuss the design. I excitedly went to the studio and found Amy to be very nice and professional about her job. After looking at the design she booked me in for 2 sessions a fortnight a part. The only downside is that she was on a six-month waiting list. No problem as this gave me time to save up my money.
I saw Amy a few months later just to drop off the design and make sure we were both happy with it. It was only a matter of 4 weeks now until I would first go under the needle. At the advice of others I was made very comfortable about the whole process. I remained relaxed up to the day and made sure I ate well. I also had a whole day of art school prior to the session so I made sure I had a calm and relaxed day. I bought some salted cashews as I heard these are good to munch on as the session goes on. Keeping your salt levels is apparently good.
Catching the bus from the city out to the studio I remained quite relaxed. Once I got to the Body Art Shop I was still calm. I have always liked the open layout of the studio. It is very open and surrounded with lots of artwork on the walls and good vibes. You do not feel claustrophobic in this place.
I waited as Amy added some finishing touches to my design. She changed the design of the human heart completely and I did love her for it. Her version looked much better than my own sketch. The rest of the design she kept as normal. I waited a little longer whilst she set up and sanitized her work area. She then called me over as we needed to shave my chest down so there were no stray hairs left. Once I was nice and smooth we went about applying the design onto my chest. This took about three attempts of getting the size just right. Amy added some finishing touches where the design did not transfer properly with a marker and it was finally time.
I lied down on a flat cushion bench, which was parallel to the floor. I had a cushion to rest my head under which helped me stay relaxed First we were going to do the outline this session and after that see how much further I could go. I anticipated the feeling of that needle. Amy asked if I were ready and I said yes.
Now first the pain was much more intense than anticipated. We started with the feathers, which consisted of long curved single lines across my chest. It did not take long before I started to get the shakes. Under Amy's advice I consumed some sugar which the store happily supplies in the form of soft drink and lolly pops. The sugar helped a lot and calmed down the nerves. I was then able to get much more comfortable. Some areas hurt more than others. The area over the middle of the chest was quite painful as well as close down to my nipples and the outer pectoral area. Everywhere else felt like bliss in comparison. After three hours we managed to get the entire design outlined as well as shading in all the solid black for the feathers and roses. I had done enough emotionally and physically for that day.
Amy applied some tattoo aftercare as well as giving me some product to use on it for the next few weeks. Over the next few days there was definitely a lot of peeling of the skin almost like sunburn. Once the tattoo was over I felt fine and was in no pain afterwards. Just euphoria in what I had gone through. That tattoo was healed nicely come two weeks later.
Two weeks later I was back at the studio and much more comfortable. We needed however to go back through the black shading again to make it more bold. We got that done and then followed with the rest of the solid black shading on the heart and horseshoe. We then managed to get the rest of the tattoo finished entirely with color. I must say that I prefer the feeling of the shading needles. I quite like the brush like feeling compared to the single needle working down a single line. Despite all the breaks I took and under Amy's advice to just keep on pushing on we got it completed in less than 3 hours.
It looked amazing. Amy went through the aftercare with me and also suggested I come back for free touch ups if any of the color fell out. A few months later I contacted her for my touch ups and she was able to work me in due to a cancellation.
I was very happy with my end result. It is now a part of my body and although I love it, it has now become such a part of who I am that I hardly notice it in the mirror after showering in the morning.
I would love for Amy to add some script to the top of the tattoo design and finish it off once and for all. After that I have plans for a few other Australian artists to work on me more as I have a lot of blank skin to fill. Till then you will have to wait for another of my stories.