No Pain No Gain, I Guess.
So I got my Darth Vader tattoo finished yesterday. I will post pics when it's fully healed.
Was odd because I had expected it would be around two hours...no longer than three. Instead, he worked on me for nearly six hours. This was a VERY intense experience for both of us. Me because I've never sat under the needle for longer than three and half hours. Him because he'd already been tattooing all day...after working 40 hours within a three day period at the Seattle Tattoo Convention, so he was mega tired.
But he wanted to finish it. So we went there. And I had quite the learning experience of holding out for so long...particularly when the pain increases exponentially. The initial "cat claw" sensation is very tolerable for me the first time round. But then it's raw and a bit sore...and he has to go over parts again with a different color to get the proper blending...and then AGAIN with a third color...and then a fourth color. By the time he was done, my whole shoulder felt like a slab of hamburger sizzling on a hot grill.
So the beginning of the session was really friendly and chatty and casual. But that last hour...OMG! I'm whimpering and trying not to scream and cry, and holding back efforts to say, "Are you almost done?" or " How much longer?" because I look at him and he's really grim and haggard looking, no longer chatting, and I sense that he's getting grumpy.
Not to mention the shop was really hot and even his little fan wasn't helping much.
Having explored the SM scene in my past, I've had 100 clothespins on my body, hot beeswax from a candle dripped all over it, electrocuted, flogged, and even whipped. Out of all of that, the whipping was perhaps the most intense experience. This tattooing was comparable, mainly because, when you're NOT tied down and, for the sake of helping him stay focused and get his work done, the amount of restraint you have to exert makes the pain that much more difficult to take.
I told him in future, I'd like to not do any sessions longer than four hours, and even then, ONLY when he knows he can finish it in that time.
But the real bummer was that I had told him that since I didn't think it would last longer than three hours, I'd only budgeted around $300. He said he'd go with that. Then, when it was time to pay up, the receptionist cheerfully commented that it was only $275 because of the $50 deposit deducted.
Well, that's good for me but lousy for him. Only $275 for nearly six hours of work?...when he was dead dog tired? He normally charges $120 an hour. And I know the shop takes a chunk out of that. So I took out $300 from my credit card and I'm going down there tomorrow to give him a BIG tip. He's a great guy and deserves it. And I want him to have enthusiasm about doing the rest of my arm.
I also realized something else: for all of the interesting variety of friends I have, I think liquordrums is the only other person with any sort of passion for tattoos, like I have. It just strikes me as odd because I guess I figure most tattooed people hang out in clusters, have their own scenes. I have friends with a few tattoos, but I can't think of anyone other than Raven who has an active interest in this art, and plans on getting more.
Mark hangs out with a lot of other tattooists, of course. And that's partially a business decision because, aside from actual tattooing, he also builds tattoo machines. He also knows a lot of queer punks because he tattoos them. He's straight and married, but very gay friendly. He's actually said he'd like to have his own shop, with one female tattooist and one gay tattooist working for him. Some of this is because he's from Ohio and there's apparently a lot of homophobia in the tattoo scene in Ohio, so gay people were often turned away. He had gay friends, and saw no reason not to tattoo a gay person...so ended up with a large gay clientele. I'd like to hang out with him and get to know some of these queer punks.
Was odd because I had expected it would be around two hours...no longer than three. Instead, he worked on me for nearly six hours. This was a VERY intense experience for both of us. Me because I've never sat under the needle for longer than three and half hours. Him because he'd already been tattooing all day...after working 40 hours within a three day period at the Seattle Tattoo Convention, so he was mega tired.
But he wanted to finish it. So we went there. And I had quite the learning experience of holding out for so long...particularly when the pain increases exponentially. The initial "cat claw" sensation is very tolerable for me the first time round. But then it's raw and a bit sore...and he has to go over parts again with a different color to get the proper blending...and then AGAIN with a third color...and then a fourth color. By the time he was done, my whole shoulder felt like a slab of hamburger sizzling on a hot grill.
So the beginning of the session was really friendly and chatty and casual. But that last hour...OMG! I'm whimpering and trying not to scream and cry, and holding back efforts to say, "Are you almost done?" or " How much longer?" because I look at him and he's really grim and haggard looking, no longer chatting, and I sense that he's getting grumpy.
Not to mention the shop was really hot and even his little fan wasn't helping much.
Having explored the SM scene in my past, I've had 100 clothespins on my body, hot beeswax from a candle dripped all over it, electrocuted, flogged, and even whipped. Out of all of that, the whipping was perhaps the most intense experience. This tattooing was comparable, mainly because, when you're NOT tied down and, for the sake of helping him stay focused and get his work done, the amount of restraint you have to exert makes the pain that much more difficult to take.
I told him in future, I'd like to not do any sessions longer than four hours, and even then, ONLY when he knows he can finish it in that time.
But the real bummer was that I had told him that since I didn't think it would last longer than three hours, I'd only budgeted around $300. He said he'd go with that. Then, when it was time to pay up, the receptionist cheerfully commented that it was only $275 because of the $50 deposit deducted.
Well, that's good for me but lousy for him. Only $275 for nearly six hours of work?...when he was dead dog tired? He normally charges $120 an hour. And I know the shop takes a chunk out of that. So I took out $300 from my credit card and I'm going down there tomorrow to give him a BIG tip. He's a great guy and deserves it. And I want him to have enthusiasm about doing the rest of my arm.
I also realized something else: for all of the interesting variety of friends I have, I think liquordrums is the only other person with any sort of passion for tattoos, like I have. It just strikes me as odd because I guess I figure most tattooed people hang out in clusters, have their own scenes. I have friends with a few tattoos, but I can't think of anyone other than Raven who has an active interest in this art, and plans on getting more.
Mark hangs out with a lot of other tattooists, of course. And that's partially a business decision because, aside from actual tattooing, he also builds tattoo machines. He also knows a lot of queer punks because he tattoos them. He's straight and married, but very gay friendly. He's actually said he'd like to have his own shop, with one female tattooist and one gay tattooist working for him. Some of this is because he's from Ohio and there's apparently a lot of homophobia in the tattoo scene in Ohio, so gay people were often turned away. He had gay friends, and saw no reason not to tattoo a gay person...so ended up with a large gay clientele. I'd like to hang out with him and get to know some of these queer punks.