Ink.

Photo: 3-19-2008

On March 19, 2008, I began my second tattoo.  On that day, I met with my preferred tattoo artist and had the outlines inked for a tattoo that would take several follow-up sessions of coloring to complete.  I was very happy that night with the results, and couldn't wait for it to heal enough that I could go back and get more work done.

I called back a few days later to schedule an appointment a few weeks ahead for my first coloring session.  The original design for this tattoo was very intricate and would have lots of detail and shading and bold colors.  The healing process went well, and I was on track to color within a month.

Then, as it often does, life got in the way.  Three days before my appointment, I found out that I was pregnant.  Of course, there are several reasons you can't be tattooed while pregnant, so we decided that it would just have to wait.

4-6-2012 — Before

A week ago, I found out that I would have the opportunity to finally go back and have the color added today, after only 4 years of walking around with a half-finished artwork upon my back.  I pulled out the file with the original plans for the tattoo and started thinking about what details to have added this session.  But the more I looked at the plans, the more I realized that my desires had become much simpler since the birth of my little boy.  So, I loaded the file into my photo editing software and set to work reworking the old plans to suit my current desires.

The outlines, obviously, were already set and had healed beautifully.  All that needed to be decided was what would be put into them.  In the original plans, the entire design would be filled with color, inside the lines and also in between the rings.  It was bold and color-heavy and very complicated.  It would take hours upon hours of coloring and shading and blending, and I knew there wasn't much chance I could get it all done today....and I sure didn't want to wait potentially 4 more years to have the chance to have more work done.  Once I had simplified the design, I was much happier and got even more excited.

This afternoon, I met up with my friend Sharra who was going to take pictures to document the trans-formation of the empty lines into the tattoo I'd been im-agining for 4 years.  The tattoo had been begun by James Hunter back when he was at Hula Moon Tattoo.  He had since moved from there, and I have found him again, working now at Black Sheep Tattoo on Beverly Parkway here in Pensacola, FL.  The entire process went much faster than I had expected it would, and I made it all the way through without even a single tear (although I'm sure I was making some pretty funny faces when he hit the more tender spots).  When he was all finished, I was beyond happy with the results.

4-6-2012. Tattoo by James Hunter @ Black Sheep Tattoo.
Photo by Sharra Clark @ Bella Angel Photography Studio.

Adding to the day's excitement was the fact that I had the unexpected chance to get one additional tattoo that I've been wanting for quite some time now.  This one, in simple script text, would be on my left forearm.  The work was done by Jon Hassebrock, a tattooer from Kaoz on W"" Street, also here in Pensacola.  I hadn't seen any of his work before today, but his portfolio showed clean lines on all of his text work, so I was sure he would do a good job on this.  I was right, and I'm very happy with the results of this tattoo as well.

4-6-2012. Tattoo by Jon Hassebrock @ Kaoz Pensacola.
Photo by Sharra Clark @ Bella Angel Photography Studio.

All in all, today was a really great day.  Jon even said that Sharra and I were the most fun clients he'd had all week.  I'm a little sore, as anyone who's had a tattoo will understand.  But, it's no worse than—and very similar to—the feeling of a moderate sunburn, and that's a feeling I've experienced before.  I'll be fine, and I'm already healing well.  I look forward to enjoying these for the rest of my life.