It's not about PAIN

The other day I did a blog about dreadlocks.. today, after reading my exact thoughts put into words by Dan Brown.. I thought I might write about tattooing..

My back has a large tattoo on it.. I love it.. I had the idea for the design and my artist designed it.. I traded a lot of massage to get it.. yet .. I have another idea for adding to it.. go figure..

I have several astrological signs ( of loved ones) traveling up and down my left leg.. I have my mythological totem ( phoenix) on my right shoulder, the signature of a guitar god looming over it...

I love my tattoos.. I do.. people see them and say " Wow you must really be into pain"... people's favorite questions have been " how long did that take?" to which the answer is- about 17 hours.. not all at the same time.. and my all time favorite " didn't that hurt?".. to which I give the stock answer " no.. I had it licked on by kittens" ( thanks to Amy for that clever comeback)..

The only thing I can think of when people say " Wow you must really be into pain"... is "wow you must not have a single tattoo"... because those of us in the tribe, know it's not about the pain.. we don't like to hurt any more than anyone else does. I have always told people that pain is transformative.. it's temporary, but transformative.. it's like having a baby..( or for you guys, maybe passing a gallstone) .. you suffer, then it's' over.. and you have something wonderful to show for it.. and your vessel.. your person.. will never be the same.. I'm not sure exactly what you gain from passing a gallstone, but it's the only high level pain thing I could think of for you fellas!!! lol ( maybe you simply gain an appreciation for the pain that women endure!)

Once the needle/s have deposited that ink under you skin, you will never EVER be the same person again..not even if you were to have them removed.. that area of skin will never be what it was before the tat. It's about change. Not Pain.

The bible says that it's wrong.. well.. I call bullshit as usual.. the bible was written by man.. not God.. sorry. Frankly I look at it as a way of celebrating our vessel and it's creator. The skin is now covered in regalia.. permanently. the tattoo was around long before the bible and Christianity. The decoration of the skin was a privilege and often a right of passage in some tribes. One that I wanted was the Maori chin tat of the 'mother'.. it's a rite of passage for older adult females .. the wise ones.. not a gnarly full face tattoo.. but obvious none the less.. I settled for a NW native tradition of piercing the area under my lower lip ( the labret)..same meaning, different tribe!

does it hurt? duh of Course it hurts.. After about 3 hours of steady work, I start to bleed.. if I don't stop shortly after that I tend to get a little shocky... so I have my artist stop.. a good artist will of course, know WHEN to stop.

The Inked People look at each other knowingly.. we share a bond of pain, our tribe.. we understand the transformation that has occurred with body modification ( not just tats but piercings, scarifications, dermal grafts, branding etc.. ) and we recognize and salute each other with glances and nods... even the home tats and prison tats are recognizable members of our not so small, elite tribe.

I am intensely proud of my work and have ideas for much much more.. and I can't wait.. both of my children have tattoos and piercings.. my beautiful daughter has the Kanji words for 'metal horse' ( her Chinese astrological sign) on her neck and my son has work on both arms and the back of one shoulder. Even the husbear has plans for some tats.. ( he's currently a virgin and non tribe member- although he does have several piercings!)

So when I picked up this book and read that Dan Brown character Mal'akh has tattoo'd his own flesh.. all but one little circular area on the top of his head.. and Brown writes:

"The goal of tattooing was never beauty. The goal was Change... From the scarified Nubian priests of 2000BC to the tattooed acolytes of the Cybele cult of ancient Rome, to the Moko scars of the modern Maori, humans have tattooed themselves as a way of offering up their bodies in partial sacrifice, enduring the physical pain of embellishment and emerging changed beings.

Despite the ominous admonitions of Leviticus 19:28, which forbade the marking of one's flesh, tattoos had become a rite of passage shared by millions of people in the modern age.. everyone from clean cut teenagers to hard core drug users to suburban housewives.

The act of tattooing one's skin was a transformative declaration of power, an announcement to the world: I am in control of my own flesh. The intoxicating feeling of control derived from physical transformation had addicted millions to flesh-altering practices... cosmetic surgery, body piercing, bodybuilding, and steroids... even bulimia and transgendering.. The human spirit craves mastery over its carnal shell. "

So we could argue, that having mastery over our carnal shell, is a very HUMAN thing to do .. and not at all spiritual.. not at all the sacrifice described earlier.. so what is it when there is no spiritual component ( just because MINE have such a component, doesn't mean OTHER's tattoos do right?) What if they just like the art for ARTs sake? I think that is ok too. Skin is a wonderful canvas.. I've seen some amazing art done on people's skin..stuff I would be proud to wear.. then there is the silliness that I can't believe people pay for... but what ever.

I like this particular declaration of power.. I also like Art for Arts sake.. I also like that people have the freedom to have the worst artist EVER do the worst pos tattoo front and center on their forehead if they like.

I've seen women who had beautiful vines and flower's tattooed over mastectomy scars.. I've seen people make light of the loss of toes ( dear mom, went to the market.. be back soon.. signed piggy) and shark bites ( bloody flesh with shark teeth embedded in it).. amputations of the lower arm tattooed to look like one giant finger..

I've also seen a lot of people tattoo cartoon characters on themselves at 19 , regret them at 30 and have to save to have them removed. I've seen women restore their lost feelings of sexuality by having nipples tattooed on their recently reconstructed breasts after cancer surgery.. I've seen women tattoo their eyebrows, and watched that color fade to an ugly grey ew...

I have met young men who tat'd "I love" followed by his girlfriend's name, only to have a thick LINE tattooed through that name and a NEW name tattooed in underneath it.. and then one under that and so on..

I've seen mothers and fathers who have tattoo's their deceased infant's only picture onto their chests and I've seen countless 'in memory of' tattoos.. you know the ones.. they are hurting so badly they had to poke ink under their skin to help them cope.

I can also dig the sentiment of NOT tattooing.. I realize that it isn't for everyone.. I realize that some people feel that their body is a temple and just fine as it is.. and you know what? it is.. it's just fine.

I feel though.. that there is divine in the ink.. our artistic inspirations are divine.. and sometimes just silly.. but there is divine in the silly too.

So here lies the question.. to INK or Not to INK?.. the choice is yours.. just remember.. you will NEVER EVER be the same person you were before.. you might find that the small change in your appearance will suit you..

it's about free will, it's about self expression, it's about art, it's about sacrifice and it's about change..

I'm all about the change... so It won't take much to find me if you're looking.. I'm that amazon girl with dreadlocks having her back piece worked on.. just follow the sound of buzzing..