The Ink Link – Carel gets tatted again!

The Ink Link is an ongoing project at CN&CO that showcases the diversity of tattoos. One of the great things about a tattoo is that it goes against the commonly-held viewpoint that “what you see is what you get”. There’s a misguided belief in certain quarters that only “some” people get a tattoo. 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. This month’s blog is by Carel.

It is no surprise that I love tattoos. The stories behind them. The diversity of people who choose to get them. The artists who make them. I am inspired every time I read our Ink Link blog – and in re-reading some of the posts from years ago, I was again very moved by the wonderful people in our network.

A few yers ago, I got a gift voucher from Carly and Jack after their wedding to say thanks for being their officiant. It was for a deposit at Fallen Heroes where Lauren works – the artist who has done some of the most amazing Carly tattoos – and also Anna Starcke’s which she got at age 80, or so 🙂

I finally got time a few weeks back to get started on my next tattoo. With this being a bigger tattoo on my left thigh, and Lauren working differently to other tattoo artists I had chosen before, I will be spending another day with her in June and a couple of hours in July to finish. But I thought I’d share a bit of the process for those who may be thinking of getting a tattoo.

Most people ask about the pain – so let’s get that out of the way! I have 10 or so tattoos and none of them have hurt much. Less – a lot less – than a bee sting. In fact, for some of them, I actually fell asleep. Every person is different and all I can say is – millions of people for hundreds of years have been getting tattoos – you’ll be fine!

I think it is good to live with the tattoo design you want to get, and where you want it on your body, for a (long) time before you actually go. That way you are less likely to regret the decision and, in fact, you’ll end up like me – delighted with all your choices.

In using the CarlyJack gift, I had settled on my left thigh – like most of my tattoos, I want to see this one, but I don’t want it always visible. I like my tattoos peaking out, a bit – giving a hint, but not being too in your face. On some people, tattoos which are very visible, including on necks and the like, I love – but for my own, I like to be a tad more subtle.

Lauren’s process is one of co-creation and design and we spent about four hours working out exactly what the tattoo would look like. The process is an iterative one – I say I want trees to feature, as an example. Lauren then asks what kind of trees I like and finds images, which I comment on. For this tattoo we have settled for Kentridge-inspired trees – which makes me very, very happy!

From there we added other elements (birds with meaning for me) and text (1+1=22) as examples. And then Lauren does her (artistic) thing. I consciously chose her as I love her style – and as this will be my biggest tattoo yet, and one with colour other than blacks and greys, we spent a lot of time for me to ensure I was happy with the final design.

Once the tattoo is approved, the artist puts the design on tracing paper and transfers it onto your skin (this sounds quick – but it isn’t!) This enables you to confirm the placement and size.

My next phase was for Lauren, for the rest of the day, to get as much of the outline of the design done – we snuck in just before closing time! Then, wrapping up with cleaning the tattoo with alcohol to ensure no infection occurs – that hurts a lot, for a few seconds! – before applying a special tattoo “glad wrap” for a few days – again to prevent infection and to help healing. After a week, I took off the wrapping, washed with soap (careful not to dry too vigorously) and applied cream for a few weeks. As it heals, the itchiness has been a bit bothersome this time, but that also passed after a few days.