Ever wondered what a $350 tattoo would look like?

This was done at the beginning of July. It's much more delicate now that it's healed.




I was going for a fusion of Sumerian and European illumination.

It hurt significantly more than I'd imagined. I was such a wuss that I was in true, clinical shock by the end of the process, which lasted about 3.5 hours. At around hour #2, my teeth were chattering uncontrollably, and my whole body would spasm whenever the array of needles touched my skin. The pain isn't quite so intense during the first hour, since one's skin hasn't had time to thoroughly sensitize; if you're thinking of getting one, I'd keep the tattooing time under an hour. But once the colors are added, in layers, the needles are passing over already-tattooed skin, and it feels like being burned with a plasma cutter. Or like being stitched by an industrial sewing machine. Not that I've experienced either of those things...