Tattoo's...

The first time I thought about getting a tattoo I was 17 years old and I had convinced myself that it was necessary for me to find the PERFECT tattoo. I need to find one that would be so unique and different but that would also be a complete expression of who I was as a person and of my creativity. That is a lot to ask from a tattoo. I searched online, in magazines, in books, anywhere that had an image that could possibly be utilized as inspiration I was looking at. I searched and searched and after a few months I had given up hope of finding "the one".

About a year and a half later I was with my best friend at an old music store in town, whose name for the life of me I can not remember. They sold a number of items in conjunction with music. Books, movies, posters, and t-shirts were just a few of the items that you might find on the shelves of the store. We often stopped at the shop to see what new Doors merchandise they may have that we could add to our collections. On this particular visit my search for the perfect tattoo would come to a glorious end.

There, sitting in the pockets of spinning merchandise rack were window decals for vehicles. I glanced at the rack as I walked towards the counter and there it was. Everything I had wanted in my very first tattoo. It was creative, colorful, unique and a exactly the type of self-expression I was looking for and it came in the form of a car decal.

It was a circular half sun/half moon design with 24 prongs coming off of the circle. Half of the prongs were straight and half were wavy. Inside the straight prongs were the phases of the moon and inside the wavy ones were the 12 symbols of the Zodiac. There was a lot of detail and it was a truly beautiful design, but it was a little more complex than what I was wanting. I immediately purchased the decal and couldn't wait to call and make that long over-due appointment.

The day arrived and my best friend came with me for moral support. Upon arrival the artist asked what I was looking to get. I showed him the decal and explained the changes that I was hoping could be made to create my vision of the perfect tattoo. The guy looked at the decal and listened to my changes and said "no problem". He took about 20 minutes to draw something up and the result was exactly what I wanted. Half sun/Half moon with 8 straight prongs and my Zodiac sign located in the very top prong.

"It's perfect" I said trying to contain my excitement and seem sort of cool, but inside I was as giddy as a kid on Christmas morning. We went back to the station, discussed where I wanted the tattoo on my body, which I decided to go with a little lower in the middle of my back but not too far down because I didn't want it to be labeled as a "tramp stamp". He placed the tattoo outline where I wanted it and started working.

Overall the process took almost 2 hours and I only needed him to stop one time to take a break. The pain was not as nearly as bad as I had envisioned it would be but I was thankful when it was over. I left the tattoo shop with container of balm to help the healing process, some information about things to avoid that will make the tattoo look dull and a sudden desire to do it all over again. A friend told me before I got the tattoo to be careful because they are addictive and I thought they were crazy.

Turns out they were spot on. From that one tattoo four more have made their way on to my body. A Chinese Fighting Fish on the top of my foot, a star on the inside of my wrist, an Ichthys (Christian Fish symbol) with a Ankh in the centre on the back of my neck and an ankle band with a circle and a random design in the middle on, well, my ankle. All of these tattoos were picked on the spot without a lot of thought put into them. Oddly enough, the tattoos that I really didn't think about are my favorite ones.

After I got the tattoo on my ankle I took a break and decided that five tattoos was enough. Lately though, that desire for some new self-expression has returned. I've still got a lot of open real estate that could use a bit of color.