Last weekend the Hell City Tattoo festival came to Columbus. Our very good friends Tim and Cathy were nice enough to let me come visit and spend the night, giving me the opportunity to visit the festival both Friday night and Saturday.
This proved to be a good thing, because I was able to secure an appointment with an excellent tattoo artist, Ant from Ascension Tattoo, Friday night for the next day. The full color piece of the Jedi Knight from Star Wars episodes II & III, the Clone Wars animated series and also The Force Unleashed - Shaak Ti - is what he completed.
Please bear in mind the photos above are of the tattoo while it is still in the process of before and after healing (yes, I know, it's been over a week and it's only just now reaching the itching phase it took over 3 weeks to heal fully).
While I was there I also had the great honor of having my photo taken by the lovely Suicide Girls after they were kind enough to sign my copy of their photo book that was rescued out of apartment in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. A big thank you to all of you!
The next piece - which is so far just the outline - is of a valkyrie; I've been meaning to get a valkyrie tattoo for a while now for several reasons. For now I'll say that I've got a bit of a fascination with mythological beings that are involved in death, and not to seem too grim on the subject but there's a part of me that would like to go out of this world like a viking. A small part, but it's there. This piece is going to be the largest one I've acquired yet. Coloring is scheduled in a few weeks from today, partly to give it time to fully heal and partly because my local artist has a busy schedule, and for good reason.
Update - here's how the valkyrie looks now that she's pretty much finished:
Professional Touch Tattoo is in my opinion the best studio in my area, but you better book your appointment in advance. Good artists in the tattoo trade can be hard to find.
So why am I getting all of these tattoos at my age? I've been wanting to for several years now, but there's always been something else that needs my attention. If it wasn't for Brigitte I probably still wouldn't be getting them, but she knows how much I've been wanting to get these permanent pieces of portable art and since she herself has been unable to get her own tattoos since we have been together (she's either been pregnant or breastfeeding pretty much the entire past decade) it only makes sense that I get this work done while we are able to do so.
Tattoos are a great method of self expression. They are no longer just examples of deviant behavior (although it is still very possible to get bad tattoos in this day and age). There are several different styles of tattoo art, ranging from traditional, to semi-realistic, to photo-realistic, and they cover any subject matter you can think of.
If you are thinking of getting a tattoo yourself, the first step is to visualize precisely what it is you want permanently attached to your skin for the rest of your life. If you have never had a tattoo before I strongly recommend waiting at least one full year before getting one, just to be certain that it is in fact what you want to do. It's extremely painful to get a tattoo removed after the fact, and not every tattoo can be covered up - although there are a number of artists out there who are excellent at doing so.
Your next step is to pick an artist. Don't just go with the first person you meet. Look online at their website, go through the pictures in their portfolio. Visit the studio, and make sure it is clean. Ask to see their in-shop portfolios (usually there will be several more pieces that haven't made it to the website yet). It's also a good idea to meet the artist, talk with him/her, and decide whether you would be comfortable letting them stick an ink-laden needle repeatedly into your skin over the course of a few hours.
If any of the above makes you uncomfortable, you would probably be best at holding off until you find a place that does make you comfortable. If there doesn't seem to be a tattoo parlor close by that you would want to get inked at, it might be worth your while to visit a convention - just bear in mind it can be a less comfortable environment than it would be in the artists own studio.
One other point to bring up is that where you get your tattoo could potentially affect your career path. Even though the situation isn't quite the same as it was 20 years ago, people in general still frown on tattoos. Therefore getting your hand, neck, face or other visible body parts tattooed is probably not a good idea, unless you have no intention of ever having a regular day-job where appearance is an important part of the interview process. Some businesses are more open than others, and it may be worth contacting your employer to learn what the company policies are regarding body-art.
