The Ink Link: Knowing your time and place

The Ink Link is an ongoing project at CN&CO that showcases tattoos in the workplace. One of the great things about a tattoo is it goes against the commonly-held viewpoint that “what you see is what you get”. There’s a misguided belief in certain quarters that in order to be a working professional, it is categorically *impossible* to have a tattoo… because how can someone with a tattoo be a professional? We are putting paid to that perception through the stories showcased in the Ink Link. If you or anyone you know would like to be featured, please get in contact with us.

As most of my family and friends know, I love tattoos. I love the the skill, the stories and the changing face of this art form. I admired the tattoos of friends before I got my first one – 2013 I think – and I got my latest (my seventh!) on 4 January this year. I enjoy reading the Ink Link series on the CN&CO blog as it highlights the diversity of tattoos. I revel in the multitude of designs, people and artists who are expressed by ink on flesh. In 2014 and 2015 I wrote two blogs on tattoos at the TED conferences, which further shatter the notion that only “those” people have tattoos.

My latest tattoo – pictured on the left – is a continuation of one I got exactly a year ago. I used a voucher I got for my birthday from a bunch of great mates (who were with me in Club Med Val Thorens on my actual birthday) to go back to Jono at Disciples Ink in the Cape. Jono and his wife Lindie run a superb operation and I love spending time in their shops. They have three and are excellent entrepreneurs.

My latest addition has the lyrics from “I Have a Dream” by ABBA, which as you all know, is the greatest band ever. And the (angel) lyrics were played at my mum’s funeral. Another layer of meaning for me is that of “knowing your time and place” illustrated by the lyrics. Jono started a line or two over my previous tattoo, used elements of the gear/steampunk, the world map (the bigger piece has various longitudes and places in the world that have meaning for me) and I am delighted at the outcome. Tattoos are (obviously) highly personal and the only person who has to like it is the person whose skin it is on 🙂

People often ask – is it sore? My view – it is not without pain to get a tattoo, but if you are with an experienced artist like Jono, the pain is less and the healing quicker. It also depends from person to person. None of my seven tattoos have been very painful and the results have made the pain all worthwhile.

See you at the tattoo parlour!

PS: To see the whole piece (not just the rather red and still recovering part shown here) buy me a drink and let’s chat tattoos, art, life, diversity and the meaning of life 🙂