The first cut ain't the deepest (not with us, anyway)

EK:

I love virgins. (At this point, will all my friends on Facebook kindly refrain from cheeky comments... thank you! LOL)

Without sounding too jaded, depraved or downright creepy, let me clarify the previous statement. I love tattoo virgins.  You know, the kind of individuals who have always wanted to get a tattoo, or are preparing to get their first piece of ink and have absolutely no inkling (aha!) of what the experience entails.

Walking ya'l through the process. First, the sketches, drafts and linework on my messy desk

Randy and I have always concurred on the notion that a person's first tattoo experience often colours his or her future pieces of ink.  If you got chewed up and scarred in your first tattoo, or if the artist was a heavy-handed mofo that had a sadistic streak, or if you felt that you were working with someone you disliked or at the very least were not very comfortable with, it doesn't make you very inclined to get more ink in the future.

Of course, every ink enthusiast was a virgin once -- and while most of us attest to the incredible addictiveness of needing to have your next tattoo, a few of us successfully resist the saying 'this one's going to be my first and last one' -- every single one of us remembers getting our first tattoo.  Randy got piece no. 1 and no. 2 within the space of 24 hours (come by and ask him to tell you that particular story some time), which was proof positive of a happy experience in someone's tattoo chair. 

I waited about seven or eight years between my first and second. My first was gotten when I was still a university student, and was pretty ignorant about properly preparing to get tattooed.

After a shave,  a stencil

First, to drum up the money, I worked the tables at an Italian `godfathers' catering service. Now, by 'my Italian godfather', I meant that I received this familial connection in a roundabout manner -- his daughter was my classmate and a good friend, and the family adopted me as one of their own that they regularly fed, hugged, loved on and spoiled, not that I became a member of La Cosa Nostra.

Then, I drummed up the research by roping in the (willing help of) my aunt on a Sunday afternoon where we did a survey of almost all the tattoo shops in the city. There weren't many at the time, so it was a short trip. The thing I remembered most clearly about it was knocking on someone's apartment door, and when the door opened, I took one look, turned green and exited the premises -- perhaps a propituous experience as any self-respecting professional does NOT work of their apartment but a licensed shop -- at least, in the United States -- especially when they were starting out and didn't know anything about asceptic technique, hygiene and sterilisation.

Finally, to drum up courage -- and here's where I made my two big mistakes, folks -- I waited until I finished exams... and then proceeded to drink three gin and tonics in rapid succession on an empty stomach. Revved up with Dutch courage, and a mad determination to "do something that I get to hide from my parents", I picked out a tribal ankh and asked the artist, Jay Primeau (then of Primal Art studio) to plant it on my lumbar area.

Midway through the lining... sorry, picture senget...

Speaking of first times, we've noticed that tribal tattoos tend to be a popular choice for a first tattoo, on both sides of the Pacific. Come to think of it, both Randy's and my first piece was either tribal or had tribal elements in it. Frankly, you just can't go wrong with classic black and black always looks fantastic, no matter what colour your skin is.

A majority of tattoo artists, by seeming habit, have an aversion -- how strong or mild it is depends on the individual -- to doing tribal.  This is because it's done in one colour, and after running our machines, dipping into the same cap of black ink, and doing it over and over and over... it gets kind of, well, mindless. To date, I will never forget how I suckered myself (when I thought I was being pretty slick) into a 3.5 hour horror of an experience pumping tribal black ink into a large, no, gigantic Epsilon sign for a guy who wanted his fraternity symbol to span half his back.

That story comes another day -- in fact, Randy loves telling that story while I cringe in mild mortification, In actuality, most artists also have a specific strategy when it comes to dealing with tribal...they combat the monotony of the movement with minor mental strategies to while the time away. For me, I time it every five minutes or so, to see how much more is left before all the areas are covered black.

Aylwin, 28, visited US Skin Grafx about 10 days ago, for a consultation for his first piece, on his leg.  He wanted a tribal piece, incorporating his first name in way that suggested something more abstract yet retained a sense of clarity. We regularly try to move away from the norm, and reviewed some of the different options available to him.

Randy brought out different versions of how to dress up traditional tribal and pretty soon, we were circling the concept of turning tribal lines into cracked stone or carved stoned with a marbled texture. Aylwin dropped a deposit and we were set to work on the design.  Between the two of us, we drew two different versions.  It wasn't long before the concept began taking a life of its own and the process of designing and creating naturally evolved into something new, and the end result -- intertwining layers, and different textures came about.

While Aylwin started out wanting a direct all-black tribal piece, the design moved into layering and overlapping different parts to show the differences between traditional tribal, cracked stone in greyscale and his own initial in colour. Regarding the sensation of the tattoo needles themselves, Aylwin had a tiny bit of trepidation as to how they would feel, but after a bloodline test (where the tattoo needle is dipped into water, not ink thereby not leaving  a scar), all that flew out of the window.

At 'press time', he is still sitting for his tattoo, and the all-black areas have been worked on, leaving the stonework and the colour, and it's off for a quick cigarette before finishing up. Breaks are welcome to both clients and artists, because it allows opportunity for both parties to take a breather and relax.

All done. White highlights obscured under the redness, so we're waiting to see it when it's all healed  :)

As for Aylwin himself, he was interested when he first came for the consultation. He was both thoughtful and excited after viewing his design and during the entire process itself was really relaxed.  In fact, at the time of typing this (and waiting for the eventual results to be photographed), he is currently staring into space and sprawled on the shop's tattoo bed. The endorphins are probably flowing good and  well at this point, because he's got a semi-dreamy grin on his face...but let that be our little secret until he discovers this blog post and reads it.

Maybe I should just take a side bet with the hubby to see when he calls to discuss his next piece :)