So for a while now (several years) I've been wanting a tattoo, and thinking about getting a tattoo. And after I got my helix pierced twice, this wanting only increased, and I began looking around fairly seriously for a design and an artist I was happy with. The artist was pretty easy - a girl from Streetwise had done both my piercings and been incredibly neat and helpful (Her name was Annie, and I highly recommend her) and I'd looked through Karla's portfolio while waiting one time. I'd also had various friends and workmates recommend her, and Streetwise, for excellent work - plus, I liked that they had private piercing/tattooing rooms, so that anyone walking in wouldn't necessarily be subjected to my (no doubt) amusing facial expressions.
At A Glance Author Nekojin_cat Contact Nekojin_cat@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Karla Studio Streetwise Location Auckland, NZ During the first two months of this year, I'd moved out of my flat with my (now ex-)girlfriend of two years, and back home. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, I was almost entirely free of the depression that had followed me for the last five years. By March, I'd pretty much decided what I wanted to concentrate on study-wise, and was ready to start choosing (again) what university to attend, come the next year. It felt like I was finally landing on my feet.
It so happens, that while I was moving my stuff out, I came across an old birthday card from the previous year, that I'd always thought was astonishingly gorgeous. It showed a black cat walking down the front of the card, turning to the left and sniffing at a small green bug. The detail was amazing, and the whole card was painted, with a lot of gold leaf up the top. And as I was looking at it again, and thinking how beautiful the cat was, it came to me that a cat in that sort of position, all curvy like that, would be the perfect design for me to put on my right shoulder blade.
I've always been a cat fan, and I've always wanted to get cat-themed tattoos (I plan on memorial pawprints for my future dead kitties), but it also made sense to get a more general 'I like cats - all cats' tattoo, as well as the more specific 'In memory of Lolly, first cat' and such. Added to that face-value, getting a tattoo would allow me to go above and beyond society's expectations of what a good 20-year-old girl should do (settle down and have kids, no thank you) and concentrate more fully on what I wanted to do. It would also show me that I could handle pain when desired, and that I could accomplish things - big, lifechanging things - completely by my lonesome. So there I was, with perfect idea and perfect artist, and cash to burn all together at the same time. I went ahead and made the appointment.
Initially, the appointment was for the 18th of March, five days after my birthday, on Black Friday. (I would have loved to do it on my birthday, but alas - I had work) but due to two hours of melodrama with my mother and her partner, plus a phone call in the morning pleading with me to put off the tattoo, plus a late night from stressing over things, I was really in no shape to be tattooed. As luck would have it, Karla was ill anyway, and as such, my cat had to be put off for another three weeks - placing it right before Easter Weekend. This was highly convenient, as it meant that I'd get a few extra days off to rest my shoulder before back to work.
This second time round, I very carefully did not mention the imminent tattooing at all, and was thus in a much better frame of mind when the big moment finally arrived. I had my bevy of morally (un)supportive friends with me, I had my juice and my lollipops, and my camera, and my fifty-other-things-of-little-to-no-practical-use-whatsoever - I was all set. Up we trooped, brief wait to sort a friend's next design, brief wait to fill in requisite 'are-you-drunk,pregnant,high?' forms, and then on to the stenciling.
Being well-prepared, I'd worn a shirt where I could slip off one sleeve and expose my entire shoulder. Karla had to fool around with the stencil a little, due to some irritatingly placed moles on my back, but it wasn't long before it was positioned, exactly where I'd wanted it to be. Next up, it was time to get started...
Karla got me to lie down on a padded bench, with my arm over the edge. There was a conveniently-placed strut at about hand-height to grab at, and I was feeling pretty nervous, but also happy that it was FINALLY getting done - I'd had the appointment for six weeks total, and patience has never been my strong point. I didn't get too much time to think that over, though - all too soon Karla was saying that she'd start off with just a little line - a small, tiny one - okay? Ready?
In all honesty, I've never felt more let down in my life.
It barely hurt at all! Seriously, that first stroke felt like someone lightly - LIGHTLY - scratching me with a fingernail. I've had worse cat scratches. To be fair, it did hurt more after a minute or so, but that first bit was still WAY less painful than I was expecting.
Overall, I would say that the outline hurt at about a 2/10, and the shading hurt at about a 3/10, jumping to 4/10 on the tail-shading, which, I freely admit, hurt like knives. However, it was the only part of the tattoo which hurt that badly, the rest was definitely bearable, and definitely a lot less ouchy than I expected. Say about a third as ouchy.
My tattoo took about an hour to complete, outline and shading, with one short break for a drink of juice. I quite enjoyed the experience, despite the pain, because the pain and the buzzing of the gun and my music, that I was also listening to, all contributed to a very meditative sort of state, where it felt like I could feel each line and circle of the gun, but at the same time, I'd completely lost track of time, and could have fairly happily sat there for another half-hour or so.
Eventually, Karla said she was finished, and I got to have a look at my new tattoo. It was pretty damn perfect, actually. The outline was exact, and the shading has a lot of different grays all blended really nicely together. She got the eye-and-collar colours spot on, and I'm really pleased with it, overall.
After the tattoo was done, Karla taped it up with a bit of clingfilm, told me to leave that on for an hour, then wash it and use Bepanthen to moisturise it 2-3 times a day. So far it's been pretty dry, so I've been moisturising it 3x/day, but - day four today, and all is well. It has started flaking a bit, but that's to be expected.
All in all, it was a very pleasant experience, and I'm glad that I had to make the second appointment. I seriously doubt whether it would have been so nice if I'd been as stressed as I had been on the 18th. Karla was fantastic, and answered all of my questions quickly and professionally. She showed obvious enthusiasm for the tattoo, and did an excellent job, besides. I'll definitely be going back to her for future work, and I would recommend her without hesitation to anyone in the Auckland area looking to get work done.