Permanent Birthday Shenanigans

Athena with her owl -

this will be explained further below.

Just be patient!

As my birthday present to myself this year, I decided to pull the trigger on a thought I'd been having for the past few years - it was time for a new tattoo!  

As some of you might know, I already have a few different tattoos.  I waited until I turned 30 to get my first one, figuring by then, I might have a decent idea of something I'd want on my body forever; my first piece was done by an artist in Casa Grande, Arizona (where we were living at the time), and it's a large osprey (to symbolize my Florida roots - the osprey is the mascot of the University of North Florida, where I earned my degrees, and you find them all over the state) holding a pair of running shoes in one claw and a pink ribbon with Mom's initials in the other (she was fighting breast cancer at the time).

My second tattoo is on my right thigh, and it's the work of an artist in Peoria, Arizona; the main focus of the piece is a rainbow colored gecko/gila monster hybrid, to represent my being a longstanding member of the Parrothead nation.  The background details feature things that represent our time in Arizona to me - some cute little quail and desert landscaping.

While some people get one tattoo and are done forever, it seems to be a bit more common for people to go back again and again, accumulating more over time.  I always knew I'd want at least one more tattoo, and when we settled in Long Beach, it seemed like a great place to fulfill this vision.  See, Long Beach is home to Outer Limits Tattoo, the longest continuously operational tattoo shop in America (it's been open since 1927), and the second in the entire world (the oldest is either in Copenhagen, Denmark or in a back alley in Jerusalem - that's up for debate, apparently).  Not only is the shop historic, but the artists are outstanding, so it seemed like a solid fit.

The outside of Outer Limits Tattoo - 

it was part of the original Pike amusement park/boardwalk

that was built in the 1920s in downtown Long Beach.

I went into the shop in mid-November and met with an artist named Justin, who worked in the style in which I was interested.  I already had a tattoo in a realistic style (the osprey) and one in bright color/pop graphics (the lizard), and I was looking for this tattoo to be more watercolor/painterly in style.  Justin seemed like a cool guy, and we set a date for a few weeks later.

The inside of the shop - 

Justin's station was inside the low wall

to the right of the picture.

When the date arrived, Chris accompanied me to the shop; I wanted the tattoo on my right shoulder, so I packed a crop top (I was already wearing comfy pants and shoes), as well as a book to read and some snacks and water (when we got there, Justin offered snacks and water, too, and when I mentioned that I'd brought my own but would love to check out his snacks to see if I could upgrade, he responded with, "I like your style."  I get that a lot, generally involving food).  Justin already had the drawing ready, so after letting us examine it and gaining my approval, he printed it out on stencil paper and applied it to my shoulder.

Moderate swimmer's tan!

Okay, explanation time - I grew up a big ole nerd fascinated with Greek mythology - I think the idea of all the gods and goddesses feuding up on Mount Olympus and looking down on us mere mortals was cool, and (of course) my favorite has always been Athena, the goddess of wisdom, handicrafts, and warfare.  Athena is often depicted with an owl as her totem, and that association brought forth the idea of owls being wise.  I also think owls are super neato on their own - I remember dissecting owl pellets on a middle school trip to the nature center one year and being totally enthralled.  Add all of these things together, and I thought it would be cool to eventually carry around my own owl on my shoulder.  Since I like my tattoos to represent places I've lived that are important to me, the tattoo would also feature some Long Beach-y items; the left side of the piece has oil pumps (Long Beach has them everywhere), and the right side includes the Queen Mary, which is anchored in Long Beach Harbor (and we've visited several times).

Once the stencil was dry (about 30 minutes, during which Chris and I looked at the books of the various artists who work in the shop and surfed our phones), it was time for the real application to start.  Justin started with the outline, and Chris took some shots before heading to a nearby Islands Bar and Grill to watch the rest of the Army/Navy football game.

Linework/outlining goes in first - 

here, you can see the Queen Mary starting to take shape.

A shot I texted Chris during a break - 

here, the outline is done,

and color application is about to start.

While Justin worked, I read our December selection for non-fiction book club, Dancing Fish and Ammonites, a memoir by Penlope Lively, which helped keep my mind off the constant poking.  Although this wasn't the most painful spot you can get a tattoo, all tattoos hurt to some degree, and I needed to bust out the breathing exercises several times, particularly when Justin was working on the outer side of the piece, closer to my arm.  Eventually, Chris came back, and he listened to a book on Audible while I continued to read and things progressed.

About halfway done with color

Getting close!

Please note the gritted teeth - 

as Kristen says,

"it doesn't feel like it's being licked on by baby unicorns,

that's for sure."

Almost done!

Eventually, after about four hours, we were done!  Justin got me all cleaned up and took some glamour shots with nice lighting before covering everything up with bandages.

Ta da!

Overall, I'm really happy with the piece and the work Justin did.  This was the fastest healing tattoo I've ever had (by far), and that speaks to his skill and expertise.  I would absolutely go back again (not that I have plans for any future work) and would highly recommend the shop, should anyone need its services.

Later!

Amy