I have wanted a tattoo for years. My wife, however, has always had an issue with me permanently modifying my body. So, I waited.
At A Glance Author Little Walter Contact Little [email protected] When It just happened Location Myrtle Beach While on vacation, she told me that she wanted to try some modifications later on. She expressed interest in not only a navel piercing, but a tattoo as well. While strolling through the various shops at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, we kept seeing different shops that offered henna tattoos. We would look through the designs they had available and not see anything that struck a chord with us. Finally, we stumbled upon some designs that were to our liking. The end result was that we both decided to get henna tattoos on vacation and find a local artist in our area to do the permanent work.
We both decided on tattoos on the inner wrist/forearm area. She had a nice image of a woman lounging on a pillow. It was a very simple image, but my wife absolutely loved it. The lines flowed very nicely. She was surprised at how good she felt about her artwork. She made the decision right then to pursue permanent artwork later on. As a lover of music and musician, I opted for the treble clef on one wrist and the bass clef on the other. The shop had a treble clef image, but not a bass clef. I modified the treble clef the way I wanted it and had the artist at the shop draw the bass clef. Because I didn't like her drawing, I modified it to suit my desires. I then had her put both images on me. They are both upside down to me when I look at them. I still haven't decided if that location will work for permanent art on me. They looked great.
We also let our children get henna tattoos in celebration of our vacation. It was a fun process letting our children pick out artwork that they liked. My oldest son chose a wolf in front of the moon. My youngest son chose the Disney character Goofy. My daughter opted for a cross with a heart on it. It was interesting to me to see that their tattoos equally fit their personalities. As a devout christian family whose children attend christian school, we had to get their tattoos in an area that would be covered by their school uniforms (just in case they lasted longer than a week). I'm fully aware that some christians utterly oppose body art. I, however, don't share the same opinion. I prefer being modest over simply ruling something out. The kids were so excited about their artwork that were already asking about when they could get permanent tattoos. The oldest two managed to remain still long enough for their tattoos to dry properly. My youngest lasted about 15 minutes before hitting something that smeared the ink before it dried. What started as a gorgeous image of Goofy ended up being distorted due to youthful exuberance. The tattoos on the other two came out great.
I opted for the two clefs as a show of my love for music. I have played drums, percussion, tuba, and now bass. I can read music. Most of my practice, however, is to recordings as opposed to sheet music. If I had been studying more music as of late, I would have instantly caught on to the fact that the artist had put the two small dots on the wrong side of the bass clef. The fact that they were upside down didn't help either. I was so focused on the shape of the bass clef that I totally neglected those two small dots. To the untrained eye, it looks like a perfect bass clef. To me, it serves as the perfect wakeup call to ensure that all future artwork is exactly what I want to express, no matter how small the error may be. I had read and heard about people who get Japanese tattoos without knowing exactly what they are putting on their skin. I had also been told by an old friend who is Chinese that some of the english words we try to translate to Japanese don't have exact translations. That information helped me decide against a Japanese tattoo. I thought I was safe getting something that I was supposed to be familiar with. I guess I was wrong this time. I have definitely learned my lesson.
I'll find a local artist and check out some of their work. I'm working on my designs for a tattoo now. I will definitely incorporate both clefs into my future tattoo. I may develop a tribal bass clef. I may even incorporate a cross into the final design. This time around, I'm glad it was a henna.