My masterpeice will be finished on April 20th and I am so excited to see the finished product.
I did a little research on tattooing and here is what I learned...
THE NEEDLE(S)"Needles can be made in groups of 3, 5, 7 or more, depending on what the artist is comfortable with and what the design calls for. Occasionally, a single needle can be used for fine lining, but this is not very common. The sharps are soldered to a needle bar, and the bar is placed in the tattoo machine through a tube. Needle groups also come in different shapes such as round (for lining) and flat (for shading). "
THE GUN
"A tattoo gun is composed of a needle, tube for ink, and a motor. The motor is very basic. A tube is attached over the long needle for holding ink. Most have a foot pedal to control the motor as well. When the foot pedal is depressed, the motor starts. The motor makes the needle vibrate up and down.The needle can go in and out of your skin as fast at 190times per second!"
THE INK
"There are two types of ink that can be used for tattoos: organic and acrylic. The difference is that in organic inks, the pigments are suspended in an organic carrier solution and acrylic inks are plastic based. The acrylic inks will have brighter, bolder colors but negative reactions can be unpredictable. Organic inks are usually much safer but can appear faded or washed-out. There is also a "glow in the dark" tattoo ink."
THE SKIN (ouch!)
"There are three layers of skin, the Epidermis, Dermis, and Hypodermis. The needles penetrate the dermis, which is fairly permanent. Since the epidermis is constantly replenishing itself with new skin cells, they have to go deeper."
THE ARTIST
"Training as a tattoo artist often begins through an apprenticeship under a successful professional, and much of the work is done unpaid until a certain skill level is reached. Practice tattooing on live subjects with helpful tips from an experienced tattoo artist in this free video on tattoo techniques." My tattoo artist, Scott Spencer, is an artist first, tattoo artist second, and a damn good one at both!
Here is one of his pieces of art :
THE STUDIO
Scott is meticulous when it comes to setting things up before we start each session. He also uses a germicidal wipe "Cavicide" which is what we use to clean our lab at work (good stuff). His studio has his own personal art painted on the walls, plasma screen TV,with surround sound, great selection of music, and all around good energy.
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| Scott's studio is the last door on the right. |
THE PAIN
I am not going to lie and tell you that it doesnt hurt. It does! I have had 4 sessions so far. Each session has lasted about 3 hours. At 3 hours, I can't tolerate the pain anymore and we stop. Scott is so gentle when he is tattooing me and even though it really hurts in some places, he is always checking on me as we go along to make sure I'm doing o.k. If I need to take a break, we stop. I always bring something to eat and drink since the tension in my muscles from the pain burns calories and can make me feel bonky.
THE FINISHED PRODUCT
I LOVE my tattoo. It makes me feel very calm and peaceful when I look at it. I can't wait to see what it's going to look like in a few weeks when its done!
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Session 1 Dec. 2010
Session 2 Feb. 2011
Session 3 March 2011
Session 4 April 2011 |
