Harmless inking excursion
leaves lasting impression as
undetectable, permanent art
New needles, free touch-ups
duh Ray as favorite tattooist
9 September 1992
11:34 p.m.
I’m not sure how it happened, Ir-was an
innocuous-sounding question, almost rhe
torical. But I should have known he was
serious before I raised my hand and said 1
‘ would do it.
By 'it,’ I mean get a tattoo — permanent
body art.
Permanent I hat means forever, right?
And now as my chosen fate approaches,
am I having second thoughts? Well, no, not
really. I’m just taking the time to allow the
impact to wash over me.
-I.veryone I've talked to has given me
advice on who to have do my tattoo. The
majority have said I should go to Hay’s
Tattooing.
I le does good work and does free touch
ups, they said.
1 was talking to Danny earlier tonight. I le
has a tattoo of a heart and dagger with the
word "Mom" inscribed on his right bicep.
He was giving me all kinds of advice.
Until then, I hadn’t considered one thing
that should have been obvious: It’s going to
hurt.
"The outline is the worst part," Danny
said.
“And if you start to feel like you’re going
to pass out, tell him to stop. Don’t think it
won’t happen to you. I’ve seen 90-pound
girls and 200-pound men pass out. So if you
start to feel dizzy, stop for a few minutes and
take a drink of water."
Great. I’m not a wimp. 1 think I have a
high-pain threshold. But just how bad is it
going to be?
His other advice included keeping the
tattoo moist with bacitracin or Neosporin for>
a couple of weeks after the deed and not
becoming alarmed when the lailoo peels.
“And make sure he puts the transfer
exactly where you want it," Danny said. ’‘It’s
going to be there forever.”
Forever. That’s one heck of a long lime.
Luckily for me, I already knew what and
where I wanted my tattoo when Mark of
fered me money to get one (in exchange for
writing this and allowing him to use photos
of the event).
The artwork 1 chose is a (Fgyptian, 1
think) symbol that stands for brotherhood.
Well, that sounds noble, doesn’t it?
Hut my other reason for choosing the
symbol is because my favorite band, Dan
Reed Network, has used it on their last two
albums. I love DRN’s music (it really rocks),
and I love the messages in their music. What
better way to pay tribute than to have
something so obviously special to them
emblazoned upon my hip?
I chose the piece of skin directly below
the protrusion of my right pelvic bone
because my parents aren’t going to see it
there. And neither will anyone else unless 1
want them to. Sure, I may be 22 years old, but
I still refuse to face the disapproval of my
conservative parents.
10 September 1992
8:12 p.m.
Michelle and 1 have just arrived at the
home arid studio of Ray Soto, tattoo artist
extraordinaire. 1 le’s just finishing up a seg
ment of a huge piece of unfinished artwork
on the back of Kurt, a multi-tattooed man.
While they are finishing up, I look around
at the menagerie of birds, reptiles and plants
thatringlhebasementroom. I lookatabook
of photos of Ray’s work. I talk to Michelle
and Randec, Ray’s wife.
See TATTOO on 19
Clockwise from far left: Ray Soto fills in
the outline on Shannon's tattoo. Shan
non grimaces as Ray draws the outline.
Ray works on Shannon's tattoo by the
light of a desk lamp. Shannon examines
the final results in a mirror.
Photos by Michelle Paulman
