Drill Me

I got my first tattoo when I turned 18. It was, and still is, one of the most exciting days of my life. Of course now my wedding is up there too, but there's something about getting your first that you never forget. I've since gotten two more and am working on my next one.

My first tattoo is small, about the size of a quarter, on my lower abdomen. It is a koi that I drew, the inspiration being the cover of my favorite book when I was a child.

Let me preface this post by saying that I believe tattoos to be extremely personal art pieces. And while I may someday get arm or leg tats, my tattoos are for me and no one else. If no one ever sees them, that's fine with me. I'm not trying to prove anything to anyone. And on the flip side, if I'm not "hard" enough because I don't have highly visible ink, that's fine too. I'm not trying to be hard either. So, because my tattoos are so personal, it takes me a long time between them to create my next one. Oftentimes it takes several years of thinking, researching, drawing, re-drawing until I finally have what I want.

In June of 1994 I was 18 years old and had just graduated high school. I had wanted a tattoo since I was 12 or 13, and had been planning and drawing it since then. My friend Darcy's sister Erin was a few years older than us and already had several tattoos. She took me to Midnight Tattoo, which was located behind The Regency Theater, a XXX movie house. (For the record, yes I've been there, that's another story.) Juan was her guy. He was a great artist, very talented tattooist. I showed him my drawing, he said he could do it, he checked my ID and had me go in the back to take off my shorts and wrap myself with a towel.

I came out to his table and laid down in front of him. He was a handsome guy, bald and heavily tattooed. His daughter's name was beautifully scribed across his neck. Juan asked me if I was ready and I nodded that I was. He turned on the radio and "Girls" by the Beastie Boys drowned out the buzzing of the tattoo gun. About half way through he asked me if I was okay because I hadn't moved or made a sound since he started. I was fine, I don't remember it hurting at all. About 30 minutes later I was walking back out into the hot California sun with my new tattoo covered with gauze and instructions on how to keep it clean. I was ecstatic.

Years went by, I moved out of state and went to school. During my time in school I began thinking about my next tattoo. I decided on dragons, Asian influenced dragons. At the time I didn't feel comfortable tackling the task of drawing them. I like to draw but I'm not wonderful at it. And especially something as seemingly complex as dragons I figured I would leave to the professionals. During this time, however, I designed the piece in my head, pretty much down to the last detail.

In 1998 I graduated from college and moved back to California. I ran into Husband but he wasn't my husband then, we knew each other in high school, and we started hanging out again. He played indoor soccer with some other people I knew from high school as well as some people I didn't know. One of these people, Scott, had a friend, Glen, who owned a tattoo shop up in Bellingham, Washington. Glen was going to be making a trip down to California and wanted to line up some work while he was down. This was my opportunity to have the dragons done.

When Glen arrived in town we went over to Scott's and I looked through Glen's book of art. I found dragons similar to the ones I had in my head. I explained what I wanted to Glen and he drew something up that night. The next day Husband, our friend Sean and I went rafting all day. We went straight back to Scott's when we were through. Glen showed my what he'd drawn and it was perfect! Originally I wanted the dragons to be holding Samurai swords but Glen explained that it really wasn't that feminine and he thought it would look better without them. I agreed and have not been sorry that I did.

Glen had a couple of tattoos to do before he got to mine. But when he did, wow, he did great work. His technique was gentle yet fast. Two hours later I had my newest piece on my lower back. Yes, a tramp stamp. Of course, it wasn't called that at the time, and I wouldn't have cared anyway. I have big plans for my back and this was just the beginning. Glen did an excellent job and I relished looking at my dragons in the mirror. Husband got his one and only tattoo to date, a frog sitting on top of the world, that night as well.

Almost immediately I started thinking about my next one. But it would be the scariest, most horrific experience of my life that would ultimately give me the inspiration.

In July of 2002, Husband and I had been married about six months. We took a backpacking trip with six other people to Alaska. We were caught in a freak snow storm and the creeks and rivers rose several feet overnight. I was swept away by the water while we were crossing a river and almost drowned. No exaggeration, no lie, scary, scary shit. When I'd had a chance to process everything the idea came to me in an instant, like a light bulb had turned on. I would get a phoenix, an Asian influenced phoenix.

I began researching and finding pictures I could use as ideas and guides to help me in drawing it. I found the perfect picture, what I had pictured in my head, on an ancient Chinese plate dating to 1500 b.c. I didn't have the plate, but a picture of the plate. I drew the phoenix over and over until I finally had something I liked. I held onto this picture for a few years until Husband and I moved into the house we remodeled.

We spent just over a year flipping a house in the valley. Nearby was a head shop/tattoo parlor. One summer night when we were basically done with all of the work, Husband suggested we take my drawing up to the shop and see what they could do. Crazy Joe was the artist at this particular shop, and he looked every inch his name. He had long gray hair with matching handlebar mustache. He had most likely done some time, probably for a drug related charge I'm guessing. Maybe petty theft. But, he did great work. His portfolio was amazing and he was ready to do the work that night.

The phoenix was to be placed directly above and in between the dragons. I showed him both my drawing and the picture of the plate. To my surprise he said he'd be able to take a copy and draw a stencil directly from the plate. I loved the idea since the picture on the plate was really exactly what I wanted. I sat down in his chair and he began to drill.

Now, I'll tell you the truth. This one was pretty painful. It's about the size of a small desert plate, maybe a saucer, and is in the middle of my back. That's what hurt the worst, when he went over my spine. There's not too much there in the way of padding, not like the lower back. And there were times I was biting on the chair from the pain. But not a peep did I make, I took it like a champ. Four hours later I was gazing upon the most beautiful phoenix. It goes perfectly with the dragons.

So now everything is coming together and it's becoming easier for me to visualize what I want my back to look like. My next piece will be a chrysanthemum with the outer petals turning into flames. It will go beneath my neck and in between my shoulders. My problem is that I don't draw flowers or flames. And because all of my pieces are Asian in nature, I want to keep that same theme. Eventually I would like smoke coming up from below the dragons, following up the curves of my waist and up to the flower. So, if anyone out there is so inclined you can feel free to send me flames, at least to study and attempt to draw. Just think, your art could go on my body. I promise I'll send pictures.