I don’t consider myself a ‘tattooed person’ and the very
thought of using the hashtag #girlswithtattoos on Instagram makes my skin crawl,
but the fact is that I am a girl… with tattoos. For me, getting a tattoo was
always something I was going to do and ever since school I remember writing
across my knuckles the words LOVE and HATE, and drawing up my arms little
doodles of blue cartoon diamonds. Personally I don’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want a tattoo, but that’s a
story for another blog post. I’ve now got three, all of which were done this
year by the fantastic Aaron Perera at Art & Soul Tattoo Studio in my hometown of
Colchester, Essex. He’s only been tattooing for three years but you wouldn’t
have thought that looking at his work (click on his name, go on). Here are the
three wonderful pieces he’s designed for me, each picture taken the day of its
creation so excuse the angles, swelling, bruising, bloodiness etc.
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| These are all on my left arm, done 2016. Left to right: 4th February (inner upper arm), 5th May (back of upper arm), 1st August (shoulder) |
Now cue the onslaught of eye-rolls, judgement, and downright disgust people try to hide when they ask me the following questions (and how I try to honestly respond):
What made you want
a tattoo?
As I mentioned earlier I’ve always known I’ve wanted
tattoos. Throughout my teenage years Miami
Ink or one of its spin-offs was always on the telly and I loved the idea of
the body as a canvas and the individuality a tattoo can express. Art is
beautiful and so is personal expression, why wouldn’t you want to embody that?
Agreed, there are temporary and changeable ways to do that and I completely
understand why people are put off by the permanence of tattoos. It’s a terrifying
concept and you go through a process with yourself, you doubt your decisions
and ask yourself every possible question to ensure you’re making the right
decision – but then you do it anyway. Because for some reason it’s speaking to
you and the temptation is there to begin with.
What do your
parents think?
I love this question. My mum and dad are both riddled
with tattoos, so they can’t say jack. The only thing they’re conscious of is
that I don’t rush into anything and know
a tattoo is the one, you know? A few years ago my mum actually bought a tattoo
machine from eBay and practised on herself as well as my dad, and if that wasn’t
enough I remember her coming home from a tattoo convention one day with a Koi carp
tattooed on her neck. So yeah, take from that what you will!
Why those tattoos? Do they actually mean
anything to you?
With me, the tattoos I’d been thinking about the longest
were not the ones I got first.
The rose is a variation of an original design Aaron
posted on Facebook late last year. My boyfriend Dan knows him through the VW
scene and having his own tattoo done, so liked to show me his work where he
could. I saw a similar rose in a collection of flash sketches and fell in love with
it – I wanted to call Aaron that very moment and book myself in for the
following week, I was so excited. My mum and Dan told me to hold off though and
honestly, I forgot about it for months. Then it popped up again on Instagram
and that was it. I had a consultation, got it drawn up, and tattooed within
seven days. And that was that.
The pinky promise was a quick decision, honestly. My best
friend Faye and I were both desperate for a new tattoo and before we knew it we
were getting matching concepts in different styles and it was all booked. But
this tattoo is the one I like to tell people about, because to me a pinky
promise is unbreakable and I take them very very
seriously. I will promise someone something, but will not pinky promise them if I cannot
absolutely guarantee I won’t break it. To give you an idea, I cannot pinky
promise Dan that we will last forever because honestly, who knows what might
happen? It’s really serious stuff.
The peonies on my shoulder are the tattoo I’ve been
thinking about for maybe three years. The only thing stopping me getting them
sooner was the placement; the fact that it creeps over my shoulder was for some
reason a big deal right up until the moment the stencil was put on. Then I knew
I’d been imagining it there for years because it was the absolute perfect place
for it – I genuinely felt like there was a piece of me missing until now. I
find the peony as a flower incredible and the colours beautiful. It’s pretty and
makes me happy. That’s it.
How long did you
leave it before you knew?
The rose maybe 6 months? The pinky promise 2 months, and
the peonies around three years.
How did you know who
to go with?
This was always a massive thing for me. I was not going to be one of those people who
walked into my local tattoo shop and pick a generic design from a book or the
internet, to then have a scummy bloke I didn’t know at all stab me with a
needle for hours. Dan knew Aaron and I made sure I met with him before each
tattoo and discussed in detail exactly what I wanted, as well as giving him
pages of references to style, colour, and placement. I stalked his Instagram
and Facebook to understand the way he worked and he’s never let me down. Aaron’s
a great bloke with a wicked sense of humour… bit of a loser if you ask me.
How did you know where
to get it?
I can’t explain this. You just know. Obviously you take
into account job requirements, whether you want it hidden or not, blah blah
blah. But for me, a place just pops into my head, et voila!
How long did it
take?
The rose took 2 hours, the pinky promise 3, and the peonies
4 ½.
Did it hurt?
Yes. Yes, tattoos hurt. I’ve got a high pain tolerance,
but they definitely don’t feel like someone is brushing a feather over your
skin. My first tattoo was probably in the most painful spot but the most recent
pain is the one you remember, so on my shoulder towards the collarbone has been
the worst for me. The pain varies on where you get the tattoo, personal pain
tolerance, time in the chair, detail, type of needle, closeness to the bone,
skin sensitivity, etc. etc. etc. No two tattoos feel exactly the same, on
anyone. If you’re scared it’ll hurt, it will. Just do it anyway.
Aren’t you worried
you’ll regret it?
No. Because it is a conscious decision I have made for
myself in my adult brain and I am well aware exactly what it is. I know it will
last forever, I know I cannot change it, I know I will change as a person. I also
knew myself in each moment, and I wanted to do it. If I look back on it in the
future and decide it was a bad decision then tough, you know? There’s nothing I
can do about it once it’s done. At the very least, it’s the mark of a person I
felt myself to be. And if not, fuck it!
But what will it
look like when you’re old and wrinkly?
Like the rest of my body probably. Wrinkly, faded,
blotchy, blurred. No-one asks what my boobs are going to be like when I’m old
because people just know. Come on, use your initiative. Also, I won’t be alone…
I don’t know if you’ve noticed but a lot
of people have tattoos. My generation is going to look fucking awesome.
Do you want any
more?
I do. Flying around in my head I’ve got plans to fill in
the gaps between the three others on my upper left arm. Might get a butterfly,
or a globe, or a WWII land girl’s head. I also want to get something for each
of my parents on the back of my calves. We’ll just have to wait and see.