Jellyfish

I am super excited about how this piece turned out.  I love it so much.  It took about 6 hours in total to complete.  It started out as a pencil drawing.  Next I used watercolor paint to paint the blue background.  I painted around the jellyfish.  I then painted the actual jellyfish. The next day, I realized that the tops of the two bottom jellyfish were just shaped really awkward, so I took out my paint again and made them a bit more rounded.  I then inked the drawing, which took a long time because the ink pens I have don't really like to work on top of paint.  After I inked them, I did some finishing touches with pencil crayon.  I really, really like this piece, and I'm sad now that I don't get to keep it, because it's a birthday gift for someone else. Wah. Oh well. I hope they like it as much as I do.  

Another Book

Today in class I read another book that my mom brought home for me. It's called "Tattoos and Body Piercing" by Leanne K. Currie-McGhee.  I honestly didn't really like it all that much, it was sort of boring.  It was just a lot of information about the history of tattoos and piercings. Stuff about when people started doing them, why they started doing them.  It talked a lot about all the safety stuff associated with getting tattoos and piercings, the risk of infection and getting diseases.  It also had a really long chapter on removing tattoos.  It wasn't a super interesting book, but it also wasn't super boring.  I probably wouldn't recommend it to someone who is wanting to get a tattoo. It's not really good for that.  The other book I read was way better for people who want to get a tattoo than this book. This book sort of had the feel of a textbook and I don't really like that. 

Almost Inked

So today I went down to the shop again for my tattoo consultation.  A consultation is basically where you meet with the artist who is going to be doing your tattoo, and you basically tell them what you want done.  You show them pictures, tell them your ideas and tell them where you want the tattoo on your body. The artist takes notes, draws little sketches, and helps you work out all the details. 
       I'm super excited that my mentor is going to be the one doing my tattoo.  She's just so awesome, and her work is so great.  I gave her some pictures and drawings that I had, talked to her about where I wanted it on my body and how big.  It's going to be a very awesome tattoo. 
       I paid for it up front, (I preferred that, now I don't have to worry about the money part again!) and we booked the date of the tattoo.  She's going to contact me once she has some things drawn up, and then I'll go in again before the actual tattoo date and take a look at them, and we will put a stencil on my body, just so I can see what the tattoo will actually look like on me.

       I'm very excited for this tattoo, and also a little bit nervous.  Even though I've watched 4 tattoos being done, I still haven't experienced it myself.  I'm not really nervous for the pain part, even though the part of my body I want tattooed is said to hurt very much.  I'm just nervous because this piece of art is going to stay on my body for the rest of my life.  That's a long time.  People have told me that I'll regret it because I'm still so young, other people have said that I shouldn't get it because I'll be old one day and it won't look as good.  I really don't think I'm going to regret it, because I feel that once it's on my body, it will always have meaning to me, and it will always be special.  Even when I'm older and it maybe doesn't look that good, it will still represent that time in my life when I got it, who I was when I got it, and the meaning of the tattoo will still be there.

Great Experiances

So, on Friday I had no school, and I went down to the shop where my mentor works and I was able to spend a good chunk of the day with her.
       She is a beautiful individual, inside and out.  I was really nervous about meeting her, but I felt so comfortable talking with her.  She is wonderful.
       I was able to watch and learn a lot of things in the amount of time I was there.  I was able to watch some touch-ups get done on a client she had recently tattooed, and I got to watch her finish the outline of a butterfly tattoo on another client's leg.  While she was setting up for the tattoos, she explained to me what she was doing, she explained the parts of the tattoo machine and showed me the needles and where they go in the gun, and how different needles are used for different things.  She explained about being sanitary, and showed me how much they need to clean things. They clean a lot in tattoo shops. 
       She showed me how the stencils are made, and how they are applied to the clients body. She even let me put on a glove and hold the tattoo gun and step on the pedal and make it work.  She showed me how deep the needles go into the skin, and how you have to adjust it for different people's skin.
       She looked at some of my artwork, and I got to see a lot of hers. She showed me some tattoos she was working on for different clients. She talked a little bit about how her apprenticeship worked out, but not a whole lot. 
       We talked about the tattoo that I'm going to be getting, and I'm going back to the shop probably in the next week for a consult, and then the tattoo is going to be done sometime in December.  I'm super excited because it's going to be done before this project is over, so I can incorporate it into my project, and my mentor is willing to tattoo it for me. 
       The whole day was just a really, really great experience.  I knew before I went to the shop that I wanted to be a Tattoo Artist, but now I am even more positive.  I'm still not exactly sure about how getting an apprenticeship works, but I'm hoping I'll be able to talk to my mentor a little bit more about how that will work, or how I'll even go about finding someone who is willing to apprentice me.  I feel like becoming a Tattoo Artist is sort of difficult, because there is no school you can go to.  You have to find a real, licensed artist who thinks you are talented enough and is willing to take time out of their lives to teach you.  I feel like that's really difficult, but I feel like I can do it. 

Ink

My mom brought me home this book called "Ink - The Not-Just-Skin-Deep Guide to Getting a Tattoo" by Terisa Green.  It didn't have that much to do with my project, but I am planning on getting a tattoo, and she and I thought that this book would be helpful. 
       It was actually a really interesting book.  It was written very well, and very easy to read. The author has a great sense of humor.  Something I found interesting was that the author wasn't a tattoo artist herself, just someone who was super curious about the subject.

       The book has eight great chapters on anything someone would need to know about getting a tattoo. The first chapter is sort of an introduction, and it talks about the main three questions people ask when they see someone with a tattoo, or just tattoos in general. The questions include "Is it real?", "Is it permanent?", and "Did it hurt?".
       The second chapter is all about finding the right design for you. The author includes a little paragraph of just about every "type" of tattoo in this chapter.  Things like Animals, Horror, Insect, Japanese, Lettering, Maritime, New School, Old School, Portrait, Tribal, and Zodiac. There are 40 of them in all.
       The third chapter is all about finding your artist and shop.  The author talks about researching the artist and shop. How you should find many pictures of the artists previous work, and how you should make sure the shop you're going to has a good reputation.  The easiest way to do this is through word-of-mouth.
       The fourth chapter is all about the science of tattooing; how the gun works, how deep the needle goes into the skin, and the healing process.
       Chapter five talks about all the things you can expect from the moment you walk into a tattoo shop until the moment you leave.  It talks about the way your artist should treat you, and the steps that happen leading up to and after you actually getting your tattoo.
       The sixth chapter talks all about how your tattoo will change over time, and what you can do to make sure it stays in the best condition possible.  The first three weeks of having a tattoo are the most critical, because how you take care of your tattoo in those three weeks determines how your tattoo will look for the rest of your life. 
       The seventh chapter talks about ways you can change your tattoo, things like laser removal and cover ups.
        The final chapter is a summery chapter, and discusses you and your tattoo.  It talks about getting a job while you have tattoos, and living the rest of your life having a tattoo.

       Overall, this book was great.  It didn't change my mind about getting a tattoo, but it gave me some really great things to think about, and I actually learned a lot. I found the chapters four and six the most interesting.  I was really interested to learn about how the gun works and how the ink stays in your skin.  The sixth chapter was great too, because I know that a lot of tattoos end up looking gross over the years because of where they have been placed or how the person took care of them. This book prepared me more for getting my tattoo, and I recommend it to anyone who is looking to get a tattoo.

Interviews

I've decided that part of my project will be interviewing people who have tattoos, so I can get a better understanding of what it's like to get a tattoo, to have one, or thoughts someone has throughout the whole process.  After I've gathered all the information from these interviews, I'm going to look at the information, and take my own knowledge to compose my own list of "Tattoo Guidelines". These will be guidelines anyone can look at, whether they are thinking of getting a tattoo or not.

I've made up seven questions to ask:

1. What and where is your tattoo(s)?
2. How old were you when you got it (them)?
3. How long did you think about it/want it before you got it?
4. Why did you get it/what does it symbolize to you?
5. Do you regret it/do you think you'll ever end up regretting getting them or regret where you got   
    them?
6. Did you research the shop or artist before you got the tattoo?
7. What advice would you give to people who want to get a tattoo?

Stoked

Part of this project is to get a mentor.  Someone who has knowledge about the topic that your project is on, and someone who can answer your questions and help you along.  My ideal mentor would be an actual Tattoo Artist.  But what was I going to do? Just walk into a Tattoo Shop and start asking questions?
       Turns out, one of my teachers at school is friends with a Tattoo Artist.  This teacher heard about my project and they talked to their Tattoo Artist friend for me, and then gave me the Artist's contact information and told me that she was interested in meeting me. It was hard to get a hold of her, since I only had the phone number of the shop that she worked at.  She was never there when I called, and the messages didn't seem to be getting to her.  I was sort of discouraged.  I talked to the teacher again, and they told me to take a chance and just Facebook her, so I did. 
       We've been talking over Facebook for about a week, and she is super, super nice, and really funny.  She's invited me to go to the shop on Friday and visit her.  I'm very excited. 
       I feel super blessed, because I get to actually talk to someone who is in the Tattoo Industry and is willing to show me things and talk to me and give me advice.  I'm hoping that this won't be the only time I meet her, but that I'll be able to continue to talk to her even after this visit. 

"Ladybug"

Completed October 28th, 2013

I decided it was time to draw something more realistic. This drawing took me about 3 and a half hours to complete. I didn't think it would take very long, but shading everything to look real actually takes a really long time. This drawing started out as a pencil drawing, and then I coloured it with pencil crayons.  I'm not completely thrilled with it. I think it looks better further away then up close.  I don't like how the shine part on it's wings turned out, but I like the way it's head looks.