I'm not too sure how many Artists actually submit their experiences, I'm not even sure that's the point of it! But I figured I'd give it a go.... I love my job and talking about it's fun!
At A Glance Author Sam Contact bloodmilkandsky@hotmail.co.uk When A month ago Artist Me.... Sam Jackson Studio Blood, Milk & Sky Location Peterborough, UK Anyway, this one's all about a Piercing I'd been looking forward to doing for about 8 months....
I have a friend called Sarah, we got to know each other whilst I was working in another studio, mainly due to the fact that she had a need to get things Pierced and a keen interest in the Art of Tattooing!
After piercing various parts of her body, I happened to notice she had an Appendectomy scar and, since she'd been trying to think of a new Piercing to get, I suggested we Pierce behind that. She wasn't keen to begin with.... Pain being the biggest reason against it. We discussed it a few times though, I went through the positioning and aftercare with her and assured her it really wouldn't hurt all that much! Finally, a few weeks ago, she decided that yes, she was gonna go for it!
We'd been through the procedure plenty of times so Sarah was pretty familiar with what was about to take place, but sensing her need to buy a little more time, we went through it one more time. We smoked a couple of soothing cigarettes, had a fairly lengthy pep talk, and yet another lecture on aftercare and the risks involved in Surface Piercings, the likelihood of rejection, ways to minimise the risk... It was long-winded but I find the distraction of me babbling at them rather enthusiastically is a great help in calming people down.... we moved through to the Studio area and got things ready.
First, I cleaned the area around the scar, selected some curved barbells I thought would sit most comfortably and then, whilst she was standing, we marked it up. We were originally thinking of doing 3 piercings running down the length of the scar, giving the impression of stitches but looking a great deal prettier! However, Sarah wasn't too sure how she'd get on with 3 so we decided to mark her up for 2 and take it one step at a time.
We both had a good look at the markings, made sure they were parallel and nicely spaced, even checked where the jewellery would be likely to rest when she was sitting. Once we were both happy with the positioning, she took a lay down on the couch.
I had to be careful when clamping each piercing as the scar tissue tended to pucker inwards, making the route the needle would be taking too shallow. Sarah was very patient as I gently pinched her and shifted her skin about but once it was sitting right, I froze it up with a little Ethyl Chloride, checked she was ready and slid the needle through. I can't speak for Sarah but it was a nice, smooth Piercing, fairly effortless and, from the looks of her face, not quite as painful as she'd expected.
I cut the straw of the cannula, threaded the jewellery through, tightened the balls and voila.... all ready for the next one! Once we were all done, I cleaned the excess lubricant from around the area, gave Sarah a couple of minutes to regain her composure, and then helped her up to have a look in the mirror. We spent a little more time going over her aftercare routine and sat chatting for a while until she settled down and decided she could do with some sugar!
The thing I love the most about my Job is seeing the look on peoples' faces when they take a look at their new adornment. Best of all are the ones who were so nervous you weren't sure they'd go through with it. The look of relief mixed with joy and the sense of pride you feel radiating from them when the realisation hits that they've finally done it! It's great! Sarah was one of those... she always threatens to squeal when I pierce her, I've even made her cry (something I still feel guilty about despite the fact that I tried so hard to be gentle!).... this time she never made a peep. And she hasn't stopped showing it off, I guess now her scar is something to be proud of rather than something to hide!
So I'm sure she'll agree that she's more than happy with her new additions. But I know she's worried they won't last as long as she'd like. With a bit of luck, the jewellery we used will minimise the risk of rejection, it's been a couple of weeks and they were looking good so far. Sarah's extremely good with aftercare since she's spent so much time listening to us hammer it into more than a few customers! With a bit of luck, it'll have healed up nicely just in time for the Summer.