Tattoo? Piercing? Part II

Now that the ink has dried and skin has healed, I think it's safe to share the story of how my close friend and college roommate, Meredith, got a tattoo last month.  Since getting inked on her wrist in 2009, she has daydreamed about this tree - problem is, she didn't know where to place it and she needed an artist to design the tree.  A few months ago she walked into Iron Age Studios in St. Louis and met internationally renowned artist Trevor Collis (who also has a Tumblr here).  The two have been emailing back and forth for a while about her design.  It's a tree, designed after a hymn, under her right arm that stretches from underarm to hip.

I am not including a final photograph of the tat just in case her parents find this blog.  You never know. Trees are pretty popular, but it is the classy one in the December 2011 archives on Trevor's Tumblr.

Since I was there for tat #1, I insisted on being the official hand-holder for #2.  To me, the three and a half hours went by really quickly because I was so engrossed by the process.  To Mer, I'm sure it was 3.5 hours of agonizing toe-curling and jaw-clenching.  She was a good sport, though, and made it through the evening without incident.

I talked to Trevor about my own desire to permanently ink my body.  The more we talked about coloring, cost, and care over time, the more I did not want to put the effort into it.  The more Mer squeezed my hand, the less exciting the process seemed.  Then the realization really hit home: the only time I think about getting a tatto is when I see one on another person.  I need to think about it unprovoked before getting one myself.  So until that happens, I'll give it a rest.