MY ESCHER TATTOO!!!
Located on my lower back, Click the thumbnails to see a larger version.
Based on a M.C. Escher Design...
I love this tattoo.. even a year after i had it done, I still love it. :) I guess there's kindof a story behind it. I had wanted a tattoo for YEARS.. ever since I was about 14, i knew that i wanted one, but I also knew that I wanted it to be something non-traditional and different, and yet something that had meaning to me. Also important was the tattoo artist - he had to be someone i trusted and had met before the actual inking. So, after years of searching for the perfect design, I came across this Escher design on the web somewhere, and having been a fan of fine art and M.C. Escher, decided that this was the one. As you can see, the original design was trimmed down to just the center diamond of swans.. the tattooist said that the complexity wouldn't show up well on the tattoo and that the intricate lines and whatnot would look great, but after 5 or 10 years would fade together. Plus, the tattoo would have ended up being huge.. So, the center diamond was it. I went to a place in Hackettstown, NJ called First Place Tattoos. A few weeks before I got my tattoo, i went with my friend Azzie to see her get one done. She had gotten 11 other tattoos from the same place and artist, and she trusted him (Mike). I got to watch the process and all - nothing looked that horrendous or painful, so i brought out my design and talked to the tattooist for a while to see what he suggested. I decided on a date and came back a few weeks later. We sat down and finalized the design and chose a size. He transferred the design to my back and i checked it out in the mirror to make sure it was all okay. Wow - i was really finally going to do it.. that was all i could think.. the pain wasn't going to be bothering me much because the end result was something beautiful permanently marked on my skin. That's the neatest part to me - the permanency.. i guess some people are afraid of it - "It'll be there forever".. well yeah i know that and that's the whole idea of it. I sat down in the chair and started the prep for getting inked. Mike was nice enough to run the needle in my back once to let me know how it felt before he went in with the ink.. it wasn't really that bad.. kindof like getting a scratch that tears your skin a little but doesn't bleed. My friends Azzie and Dave sat in the room with me and kept me occupied and talking while Mike worked on my back. At first, my muscles in my back kept tensing up, but once i got over that, Mike said that the process would go faster and to just relax. Yeah, you've got a needle going into my back and you're telling me to relax? Well, he was right, the whole thing only took 45 minutes, and as long as someone was talking to me and keeping my brain occupied and not focused on what was going on behind me, I was fine. I was sent home with tattoo goo and instructions - keep it clean, take the bandage off after an hour, don't scratch it, and keep applying the goo as needed. A few weeks later, I had lost all the scabs and the tattoo was perfect and beautiful - just what i wanted. Of course, now, I want another one. After i was done, they warned me, it's a matter of time before I'll want another one.. all i could think was, right - that hurt, and doesn't feel addictive at all. I'll admit it now, they were right. :) so, that's it really.. if you have any questions or are considering getting a tattoo yourself, don't hesitate to email.. Granted, i'm no expert on the subject, but *shrug* i'll answer any questions i can or point you in the right direction to get the question answered.. alysania@excite.com