Covering the Chattanooga Tattoo Arts Festival — a three-day festival culminating Sunday at the Holiday Inn at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo — I couldn’t help but wonder if I wouldn’t like to get “inked” myself.
Despite Mom’s recommendations and my future employment chances, I took the chance Saturday to ask artists and festivalgoers to weigh the pros and cons.
First, does it hurt?
“The more I get, the more it hurts,” said the festival’s founder, LaLa Hartline, owner of Evermore Galleries on Shallowford Road.
If that’s the answer I get from someone who’s undergone over a hundred hours of tattoo work by her count, then things aren’t looking too good for the rookie reporter.
That said, she noted tattoos require much less recovery time than piercings, usually.
I asked a few grimacing customers about pain, and most of them said it depends on the tattoo, and that the pain occurs only in some spots. So far so good — sort of.
I asked Ms. Hartline how I should go about finding the right tattoo. She said it was about finding the right artist.
“Quality is the number one priority,” she said. She said to look at the artists’ portfolios — all were on display at the convention — and look for picture-perfect quality.
Obviously, finding a licensed parlor is the only way to go.
“If you even have a doubt in your mind, don’t go,” Ms. Hartline said about going for cheaper, but grubbier, locales.
One artist, who gave his name as Wolf E, said tattoo parlors have “drastically” changed in his 25 years in the business. “We’ve gone from dark rooms with beer and pool tables to upscale high-end places.”
Slightly comforted by that news, I decided to learn more about the process.
First, I was concerned about whether tattoos would work on my very fair Irish skin.
“Oh, of course, no doubt,” says Brooklyn, N.Y., artist Jaz Tattoo. “No restrictions — unless you have some sort of skin damage that leaves you without any pores in your skin.”
What about my many freckles? I don’t need a connect-the-dots on my skin.
“You can work through freckles ... I have freckles, too,” noted 10-year tattoo veteran Marshall Bennett, one of the more popular artists at the convention, whose tattoos won a number of awards in the festival’s daily contests.
OK, we’re still a go.
Now, how does the actual inking process work?
Mr. Bennett said first the customer either brings the artist a design or describes an idea for the artist to sketch. The next step is shaving the area of the tattoo and sterilizing equipment. Then the artist prepares a “transfer,” an outline on copy paper that is placed and drawn over with the ink gun. Then the many hours of patient skin-puncturing begin.
Mr. Tattoo, as he gave his name, said the machine uses electricity to move the needle up and down, driving ink into the skin. He said the artist re-inks the needle after about six “sweeps” of the gun. This process can go on for many hours.
Mr. Bennett said the skin can become red with irritation, but that the artists can see through that when working. He said the most uncomfortable areas of the body to ink are areas such as the ribcage, which has little in terms of fatty skin to buffer the pain.
Then comes the after care, which sounds relatively short and simple. Mr. Bennett said moisturizer like H2Ocean and antibacterial ointment should be applied, that I should avoid direct sunlight and chlorine and wash normally. “The more air it can get, the better,” he said.
Seven to ten days later, I should be fine — assuming I don’t change my mind and start looking for tattoo removal. About a quarter of customers might need a touch-up on their tattoo, Mr. Bennett said, which is normal as the skin recovers. He said he keeps up with long-distance customers through the Internet.
What’s popular, I asked?
“It all depends on the region,” Mr. Tattoo said.
In this area, Deano Cook’s marinelife tattoos appeared popular, as did hot rod themes. Mr. Cook’s portfolio showed a number of realistic and sea-themed tattoos, including one radiant blue piece showing sharks, dolphins and fish swimming up a person’s left arm and across toward the center of his chest.
Mr. Tattoo said popular art in New York right now is Japanese work and pieces like “old sailor-type stuff, but done in a traditional way.”
I’m from New York, so I might just have found myself an artist to visit when I return North. But old sailor stuff is not for me.
Still fairly convinced that body ink in general is for me, I asked Mr. Tattoo finally about pricing.
He said most artists will charge around $150 per hour. I asked about just getting a small tattoo spelling out a word, like the polysemic, ironic, and ever-journalistic “why.”
“About a hundred.”
Sigh. Maybe next year.
