Inked & Addicted

Forevermore Tattoo:

Glasgow

So I'm in bed with the tv on, bedside lamp on setting a nice warm glow against the snow covering everything within an inch of its life outside and I think to myself, "This actually couldn't get any comfier if it tried.". Then I mindlessly roll onto my side and am struck with a burning pain down my left arm - I was that comfortable I forgot all about my tattoo. Shit. As if the yellow and purple bruising wasn't enough, it had to have a burning sensation whenever it was touched, didn't it?

If any of you are regular followers on my Twitter or Instagram accounts, you'll be well aware that I started work on my sleeve just shortly into the New Year, and have since then had a second sitting (Friday 18th) to finish some shading. I already had five tattoos up until this point which I got done by a family friend in Italia, but since then have dreamt about starting work on a full sleeve design. You could say that I thought about others opinions far too much in the past and hence let that influence my decision, but when 2013 came around, I just thought 'f*** it' and booked a consultation at a tattoo studio in Glasgow called Forevermore Tattoo. You might have heard of them if you're from Glasgow or London, as they have studios in each of these cities, but if not then you do now. Each artist who works for Forevermore either as a permanent artist or guest, have skills that are nothing short of insane. I've seen people with tattoos done by them and knew immediately that I had to get them to do my sleeve. 

For the design I wanted - a Mexican Day of The Dead theme - I chose Alison, purely because she liked to tattoo things that are a little more...'weird and wonderful' if you will. I gave her an image that I liked and she completely made it 100% custom for me, so that I would be guaranteed a design that no one else would have. To get to the stage the sleeve is at now I've had two sittings, each lasting three hours. To be honest, after getting a tattoo on my ribs a couple of years ago, I didn't think my arm would be all that bad but boy was I wrong. Especially after the second sitting, I don't think I've ever felt pain quite like it before - whoever says tattoos don't hurt are either lying or have something wrong with them! I still have one more sitting to finish this first part of the sleeve, then I'm going to start on the bottom half. I honestly can't wait to see the bottom half all done: I think that might be my favourite part.

Seeing as I'm getting my sleeve extended to about 2 inches from my wrist (I have 'Maria' tattoo'd there and would like the design to end just where that is), I've got some other ideas about what I would like on the underside of my arm and forearm. Sugar skulls are obviously a key part in any Day of The Dead theme; however rather than having a typical human skull, I'm opting for the skull of a stag/deer with typical sugar skull decoration and more roses to act as a joining feature. If you're at all into symbolism like I am, then stags are known for very positive things such as happiness and luck, so I thought it would make for a good tattoo. As for the underarm, I'm having another portrait done - this will be the last part of the sleeve to get done however as I know I'm going to end up passing out or dying. Whichever comes first. That area is insanely sensitive and where I seem to be bruising the most, so I'm not looking forward to it if I'm being entirely truthful. I've asked Alison to think of any other little features that she might think would look good in the sleeve, so we'll see what she comes up with. I trust her judgement 100%, so I'm not worried!

If hearing me talking about the pain of a tattoo hasn't quite put you off, then you should definitely check out FMT's website and their artist gallery to see some of the work they produce. I have quite a few other tattoo ideas that I'd like to get and I'm pretty sure I'll end up going back there to get some of them done.

Tattoos are something that I have always been interested in and are now becoming more of me as a person. So with that in mind, you can bet that they'll be featuring here at Vita di Moda alot more now that I've got the confidence in myself to go out and get the kinds of tattoos that I really want.