Deciding to get tattooed in the first place will be the easiest decision you make– from there, the hard part begins. Tattoo shops are on just about every street corner, making it tough to parse through the artists and find someone who is experienced, open to new clients, and whose artwork aligns with your vision. Social media has made it increasingly easier to find a high quality artist because their photos circulate through apps like Facebook and Instagram, and the artwork markets itself– the better the artist, the more likely it is to show up on your newsfeed. These artists are generally world renowned and have multi-year long wait lists, if they are even taking new clients at all.
Growing up, I was surrounded by tattoo culture and I always knew that one day I would embark on a journey to collect the artwork of artists I admired. Names like Jeff Gogue, Shige, Nikko Hurtado, and Kat Von D were always on my radar, but booking an appointment with one of these artists is a bit like winning the lottery, not to mention the high price tag that comes with. I searched for years for my perfect artist and attended tattoo conventions to familiarize myself with the big names in the game. I sent so many contact emails that were never answered or resulted in automated rejection. Sadly, the process cannot be rushed. In 2014 I found the work of Elliott Wells and knew immediately that he was the right artist for my first piece. When I got an email back a year later, I couldn't pass up the opportunity and booked my trip to Sunderland, UK for January of 2017. Elliott specializes in a modified style of traditional Japanese Irezumi, which is my favorite style of artwork. I always say that tattoos don't need a meaning behind them, and simple admiration for the artist’s work is a sufficient reason to get tattooed, but the inspiration to get my sleeve done in this style reflected two reasons. My best friend growing up was of Japanese descent, and when he died in a plane crash many years ago, I wanted to memorialize the impact he had on my life. In addition, my great-grandmother was incredibly well traveled, and decorated her home with this style of art. I was always surrounded with beautiful oriental rugs, jewelry, and sculptures in her home. The combination of these things that shaped my life, and the interest Elliott showed in planning a full sleeve for me, was the perfect storm leading me to embark on a nearly 5-thousand-mile journey. Because I was a traveling client and couldn't take more than a week away from school, I had to fit the entire process into just five sessions. Generally, people take years to complete large pieces that cover an entire area of the body. Outlines are done first in a few sessions depending on the size, and then black and grey shading, followed by color, with enough time (months) to heal each part before starting on the next. I didn't have the luxury to space out my time in the pain cave. Luckily I had never been tattooed and didn't know what to expect. Had I known what I was getting myself into, I likely would have reconsidered. When I walked into the shop on January 9th, the morning of my first session, I was a ball of nerves, half ready to have a panic attack on-site. Once I sat down with Elliott to begin creating my piece, everything clicked. Our visions were aligned and everything was smooth from that point on. He understood what I was looking for and I gave him full artistic freedom to use my skin as his canvas. My entire piece was done freehand in sharpie with the exception of the chrysanthemum in my inner elbow, which was stenciled from a drawing he did specifically for me. We worked in sections starting at my shoulder, and ending at my forearm and completed the line-work, shading, and color for each section before moving on to the next area. The healing process begins the minute the needle leaves your skin, which makes it difficult when your artist is spending many consecutive hours on a piece. Once the tattoo starts to scab and peel, you can’t tattoo back over that spot until the healing is complete, which makes the aspect of planning extremely important. With the size of my piece and given time frame, Elliott had to work fast and plan smart. The first day was a breeze and I was able to tolerate the pain fairly easily. The pain grew increasingly less manageable each day, especially because we worked on more painful areas towards the end of the week. Shading on the cap of your shoulder is a lot more tolerable than line work in your armpit. Over the course of the week I spent close to 30 hours under the needle, roughly six hours per day. I got lucky and was fortunate enough to be in a great environment. Triplesix Studios is an immaculate and beautiful shop, and the staff made me feel like part of the family. Spending that much time with someone who is inflicting an incredible amount of pain onto you creates a prime opportunity for bonding. By the end of the week, I didn’t want to leave Sunderland. The question I get most from everyone is what part hurt the most, but he answer is not so black and white. Tattoos are fairly common, and if it wasn’t bearable, people wouldn’t have them done. I won’t act like it didn’t hurt, but I left that week with a new baseline for what pain actually is. Tattooing is quite literally a group of needles piecing your skin thousands of times a minute, injecting your skin with permanent pigments. Its bloody, gruesome, and nothing short of a traumatic injury. The top layer of your skin that is tattooed is scraped off, and the healing process attempts to rebuild your skin over the new color. Since my entire arm was tattooed in a week, I had to heal one giant wound all at once. Being tattooed is one level of pain, but it doesn’t end when you walk out of the studio. Your body enters a state of shock which feels similar to getting a bad case of the flu. You feel tired, drained, and the site of your tattoo is swollen and immobile. Its tough to sleep comfortably, showering is a nightmare, and the worst part for me was the public transportation returning home. I am working on posting a healing guide with step by step pictures of what I experienced during and after the tattoo process to give people a better idea of what to expect, because I feel like I was extremely underprepared. When it comes to the pain you experience in the chair, imagine getting your skin zipped up in a metal zipper constantly for the duration you're being tattooed. This is the most accurate analogy I could come up with in the hours I spent in the chair. It would hurt a lot more to get your upper inner arm, or elbow zipped into metal zipper teeth than it would on less sensitive skin, and it’s the same with being tattooed. Whether you're going over muscle or bone affects the levels of pain as well. Shoulder, bicep, and forearm were a breeze. Anything on the backline of my arm, elbow, and armpit was essentially surgery without pain killers. I went to England to get tattooed, but my tattoo has become a way to remember my trip. The experience was so incredible and unique that my piece is a way to remember all of the details that happened in the week I was there. I feel like my sleeve is a badge of honor, a symbol of dedication (and pain tolerance) and a unique aspect of who I am. It’s a conversation starter and I am able to inform others on the nuances of the tattoo process who may be interested. Through this journey I have formed relationships with people on the other side of the world and have joined a community of independent thinkers who have proved tattooing to be more than just a rebellion, but an art-form of self expression. I look forward to future endeavors, seeking out my favorite artists, and traveling around the world to acquire art from the best of the best. Currently I have booked touchups on my sleeve with Elliott at the tattoo convention in Montreal in September 2017. Thanks for reading about my journey and I hope I have inspired and informed you in the process! Claudia
1 Comment
Sierra de Grasse
3/22/2017 08:51:42 am
I never knew the meaning behind your tattoo and this struck a cord. With trying to decide on what and where to get my sleeve done it has just shown me I've been to careless and need to take more time to decide on everything. Your piece is beautiful and I hope I can be so lucky as to find the same journey when it comes time for mine.
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AuthorClaudia, 22, Denver ArchivesCategories |