Done

The passion project is now finally over. Over the course of this semester, while doing this project, I learned tons. As mentioned earlier, I learned about the history of the tattoo, but more than anything, I learned about how much procrastinating I can accomplish. This project should have been easy and simple but it dragged on longer than it should have. 

In hindsight, I didn't really need a mentor for a project like this. Karas simply came with me when I got my tattoo and made sure that all safety precautions were taken... which I too, saw happen. I witnessed everything being opened newly as much as he did. However, the company and support was really nice. Karas was very enthusiastic about the tattoo and helped me get over any last minute doubts or fears about getting the tattoo. 

As mentioned in my presentation, the design I picked had a lot to do with idolatry discerning. Tattoos can easily become JUST body art and can become too big a part of people's lives. I wanted to avoid that completely, and getting the most basic cross is how I tried to do that. It is not a piece of art, it is a symbol of faith. A sign for others, and a personal reminder at the same time. 

I've wanted to get this tattoo for a long time but I kept putting it off. This project allowed me to dedicate time for this which ultimately led to me finally getting my cross tattoo. I think this was mostly a successful project. It would have been more successful if I had finished it earlier and done more. Oh well... There's always next year! 

Oh wait... 

Healed

The tattoo is now completely healed! I will probably go for a touch up some time next week to fix a few small details, but other than that, I'm very happy with the result. 

Passion Project pt. 2!

Now that the tattoo is done, I need to start something else since there's still a whole month of school left. One of my ideas is to learn to use Final Cut Pro better for the grad video, and another idea is to work on my LA Comp portfolio since I've been using the class time mainly to film clips for the grad video. I'll get started on the LA portfolio and see how that works out! 

One week later

It's been 8 days since I got the tattoo now! It is still peeling and looks sort of wrinkly but I spoke to my mentor and he said this is normal and after its not pealing it'll heal and become nice and smooth. The colour faded a bit, sadly, but that's what I expected. It is more of a very dark blue now. I don't regret getting this tattoo whatsoever and most people that have seen it have really liked it. My priest said it looked nice too, which was a huge relief since I was worried that he might be disappointed that I didn't get a small coptic cross like most get. I'm learning to be patient right now and just give it time to heal without being too concerned about it (even though it gets itchy sometimes!) 

Post-Tattoo

Yesterday (April 30,) my cousin and I finally got our tattoos! It was a long time in the making and it finally happened! I find it kind of funny how after so many designs and trials, we both ended up sticking with a simple cross. Not anything fancy, not anything specific to a church... just the cross in it's simplest form.

Here is a picture of my cross,
one day after getting it done!

We booked an appointment at Rebel Waltz Tattoo on Tuesday for Thursday at 1. I left school at lunch, picked up my uncle, my cousin, Peter, my friend, George, and my mentor, Karas. We arrived a little late for our appointment, and a guy named Bernel came to talk to us. He then went somewhere to come up with a design. Though it was a simple cross, at first he drew it too thick for my liking, then too long, then still a bit too long, then on the fourth try, it was good! He then prepared the area and I sat down on a hair and rested my arm on a little arm rest. I saw him open everything and sanitize everything, so it was al good. He then put a stencil of it on my wrist, prepared the needle and ink then started tattooing! I didn't really know how much pain to expect and it was the first prick that was the scariest, but it was a very manageable pain level. It felt like a continuous stinging pinch but I could see the progress happening, and that was really cool. After he finished and touched it up, he put some kind of paste on it and wrapped it in a bandage. Eight hours later, I removed the bandage and cleaned it according to their instructions and ta-da! My family liked it, although my dad said he'd have gotten it a tad smaller and my brother wanted me to get the one with the circles at the ends of it. Everyone that has seen it so far though has really liked it. Throughout the process, I really didn't talk to my mentor as much as I would have liked, but he is an older friend of mine and he did help in talking through which design I'd choose. He was there while Bernel tattooed me and was making sure that everything was good and clean. I appreciated his help, and loved that he came with me. Him and George both told me not to just accept any design Bernel did to not be rude and pushed me to keep making changes till it was perfect and we all liked it. I'm thankful that they came with me! In the end, it ended up only costing $96, which is a good price.

I think this project was really helpful because had I not put in so much thought, I may have ended up getting some fancy cross that would not have meant the same to me as the cross I got. I may have done the cliché Coptic cross, and while there's nothing wrong with it at all, and I do love it as well, when I look at it, I don't really see Jesus' crucifixion and our salvation.

The cross is the centrepiece of Christian faith. It is a symbol of Christ, a reminder of Salvation, and an emblem of Christian life. In my church. we begin and end every prayer with the sign of the cross. In Coptic history, the cross was used to announce pride in the Christian faith in the midst of persecution. It was also a reminder to the young, and an identifier for the old. Many Copts have the tattoo to show pride in our history as well as a reminder of who we are and a proclamation of belonging to Christ. I am really glad to have this cross. When I look at it, I see my Lord's crucifixion and my salvation and I remember my identity and the reason I exist. While that all my sound really cliché, being a Christian is the biggest part of my identity. I am a Copt, but more than that, I am a Christian, and that's why I decided that this cross suits me best.

The Story of The Coptic Cross

Egypt was a fertile ground for Christianity in the first few centuries after Christ. The Coptic Church was very strong and influential in the time, with some of the early debates of Christianity being held in the city of Alexandria. Monasticism started in Egypt, and altogether, Egypt was a Christian country for a while. However, in the late 630's there occurred Arab invasions of Egypt, and thus a widely Christian majority became a minority in their own land. At first, there was a minority Muslim government in Egypt, but they realized that in order to maintain power and grow, they had to make life more difficult for Christians who refused to convert to Islam. They made Christians pay very high taxes, limited their traditional dress, and expanded the use of the Arabic language, and eventually, the Copts became a persecuted minority.

Originally, tattooing was used as a degrading practice in the Roman Empire to brand slaves. Some Pagan worship adopted this, and would worshippers would tattoo themselves as slaves to a god. The practice was adopted also by some early Coptic monks, marking themselves as "slaves for Christ," but the widespread of the Coptic Cross tattoo arose amidst persecutions.

As years went by, some Muslim authorities would attempt to eradicate Christianity by using very severe tortures and methods. There came a point where Copts were given a choice: either convert to Islam, or pay an extremely high tax, or die. Copts were humiliated, and made to ride donkeys backwards, while wearing a bell around their necks. The 1200's were an especially difficult time for the Coptic church. If the Christians spoke Coptic in public, their tongues would be cut off. It was a time of hardship and tribulation, but it is through tests and trials that the church continues to grow. The Coptic Cross become famous in this time. Parents would tattoo their young with a small cross on their wrist, to remind them of their Christian faith in the case that their parents were killed or if they were kidnapped. Some Copts actually got the tattoo on their foreheads as a way of showing everyone around them their pride in their Christian faith. The cross tattoo became a symbol of belonging to Christ and a method to preserve the youth's faith in the even that parents were no longer with them. The Coptic faith gave Copts a sense of being different, and it is that feeling that has helped preserve the Coptic church through so many years of persecution. Now, the Coptic cross tattoo is carried on by many Copts, not only as a tradition, but as a symbol of the enduring Christian faith, and a sign of dedication to the One who bore the true sufferings and countless scars for our sakes. It is not a sign of teenage rebellion or any sort of fashion statement. It is a symbol of pride in our faith and defiance of the "norms" in Egypt and during persecution.

Rebel Waltz Tattoo

Last week, my cousin and I went around to visit a few different possible places to get our tattoos. We went to Blaze Ink, 13th Hour Tattoo, Soul Survivor Body Art, Osborne Village Ink Tattoo, and Rebel Waltz. Blaze Ink and Rebel Waltz seemed like the friendliest and cleanest places (least likely for our parents to get freaked out and change their opinions.) However, Rebel Waltz gave us a quote of $80 each, while most other places were $120 minimum. My cousin and I both felt comfortable in Rebel Waltz an the lady was very friendly, so we've decided that that'll be the place we go to get our tattoos done. We may be going on April 30th if everything works out!!! Very exciting. Now, I'm just trying to finalize a design. :)

Something interesting happened when we went to Soul Survivor. When we showed our design to one of the artists, she was trying to convince us to get it bigger than we wanted. We said "no, we can't get it too big," and she said "why, who cares? It'll look better." Then, my cousin, Peter, said "our parents care!" She sort of laughed at us and said "oh they won't notice" and tried to convince us to show our parents a smaller design then get a bigger one when we actually go to get the tattoo. That situation bothered me and we both decided we wouldn't be going there to get anything. I was glad that my cousin wasn't shy to say that our parents care about the size and that matters for us, because it does. Part of our Christian faith is to "honour your father and mother," and it would be quite ironic to disobey your parents in the process of getting a cross tattooed on your wrist.

For Fun Trials

Here are a few trials with a black pen I did on my wrist very quickly to get an idea of what it could look like.

Sketches

In these sketches, I tried to combine a regular cross with a coptic cross. It didn't turn out great in my opinion.

After working on these designs for a bit of time, I feel like my heart and my brain both keep going back to just a regular simple cross without anything fancy. I don't know if I'll be able to incorporate the Coptic aspect in it or not, yet. One idea is to incorporate the letter Alpha and Omega in coptic letters. 

Progress Update

This past month I began to design the cross I'll be getting and had some conversations with my parents about it. They are okay with the idea of it and I managed to reassure my dad about the safety precautions that the tattoo parlours take. The only disagreement we have so far is about the size, and we agreed that we'll discuss it after I choose a design. 

The thing with designing it is that it doesn't have to be PERFECTLY precise. You can just come up with the general idea and the artists will make it symmetrical and perfect it. The designs I've made were mainly coptic crosses with a regular cross incorporated in the middle somehow. I'm not sure if I really like that but the idea is to try to get both in one because they are both important to me. The designs I've done so far haven't really fully pleased me so I'll keep working on them. At this point however, it's looking like I might stick with the typical orthodox cross (regular cross but 3 circles at each end.) This way, I get the look and feel of the regular cross but the orthodox aspect is not forgotten. Altogether, I still have some thinking to do about it yet, and I'll talk to my mentor and maybe my priest about what they think.

One obstacle I've been facing is laziness. I keep telling my self that this is something easy and that I'll be able to finish it in no time, but last week, when I was actually designing during my free time, I sort of remembered that I'm a perfectionist and the tiniest errors annoy me. This means I'll have to really work hard and have time set aside for this and not let it slip away till exams are just around the corner.

So far, there hasn't been much for my mentor to do. Designing the cross is more of a personal thing for me and once that's done then I'll really need his help with picking a place and finding quality work at a reasonable price. I know that some tattoo parlours price by the piece so after I'm done designing it I'll visit those places to get a quote and see if it costs less than the other places that price by the hour. 

One more thing is that my cousin has been wanting get the coptic cross tattoo as well and wants to come with me. After we both choose our designs we've decided to call the places again and see if we could both get our tattoos in the same hour to have the price combined for us both since this tattoo will likely only take about 15 minutes or less. I don't really think they'd be willing to do that but there's no harm in asking! 

In my next couple posts, I'll share the rough designs I had so far, and I'll also share the story of how the coptic cross tattoo came to be a 'thing' in the first place. 

Designs

To me, this design above is nice... but way too detailed. I feel that complicating it takes away from the heart of the idea, which I'm trying to avoid.

This design is much more simple, and very typically coptic, and I may end up getting something that looks very similar to this, but the problem with this is that it really doesn't look like the cross that Jesus was crucified of, and that's what I want. When I see it, I want to remember Jesus' crucifixion more than I want to remember that I'm Coptic. While I am proud of that, my identity is Christian more than it is Egyptian, and that is the way it should be.

This one looks a lot more like something I want. It's simple and clearly a cross. However, I'd get it done the other way around, because the cross is for me to look at, not just to show other people. 

These tattoos here are much more what I want. I like the one on the man's hand but I think I'd get it a little smaller, the other way around, and with an outline.

Finding Places

During the past couple weeks, I've managed to get in contact with a lot of tattoo parlours around Winnipeg. For the most part, prices range from $100-200 for the small piece I want. The links to all the places I've contacted are listed in the "tattoo parlours" page.  Some places price it by the hour, some depend on the artist, and some give you a price for the specific piece you want. With regards to safety, I had forgotten to ask most places about their safety measures. However, when I remembered, the lady on the phone seemed so shocked that I asked, as if it was a given, which is encouraging. (As discussed in class, this is a form of verbal communication :P) She said that everything is sterilized and opened new in front of you. This is something I know my dad will have to double check on himself, but once I pick a place, I'll do the check all the precautions and let him know.

I've also began to narrow down the designs I'd want - but I haven't made any myself yet. I'm thinking of something simple, because I want to preserve the idea of the cross without this turning into some fashion piece.

So far I'm learning that even though its a very simple project, you really do have to put in the work to make significant progress. In all honesty, I haven't done that much yet, but I am ready and willing to put in the work and make this happen. When I was on the phone with 13th Hour Tattoo, the lady asked e what sort of piece I was considering. When I told her I wanted a cross, she seemed very interested and encouraging which I found cool, because there's this stereotype that tattoo parlours are very dark places and what not - not to mention that many people view tattoos as being completely against Christianity. I'll discuss this issue in a different post. However, I do see this is an opportunity to show my faith. I will try to stay strong despite what the artists say or if people laugh.

Altogether, I think choosing this to be my passion project was a good idea, and I'm keen on getting going with it and actually making this happen. Since there aren't that many steps to this project, I'll have to fight my issue of procrastination and do this right away.

What it Means

To me this tattoo is not just any tattoo. Personally, I don't see the point of being covered in tattoos and many tattoos I find very strange. I think, do you really want that on you for the rest of your life? This is definitely not to say that I think tattoos are bad or anything like that, I know people have their own stories, their own reasons, and their own motives for their tattoos and it is not up to me to decide whether it's a good idea for them or not... That being said, I do believe that tattoos should carry a lot of significance to a person. I don't think it should be a fashion statement or just "pretty body art." I think a tattoo should really ignite specific feelings or thought in a person. Something that's a significant part of your past, or a true piece of your identity. 

To me, the cross is part of my identity. The cross is a sign of salvation and a symbol of Christianity. Being from an Orthodox Church, the cross is huge. We're constantly making the sign of the cross, every time the Trinity is mentioned, as we walk in and out of the church, and to begin and end every prayer. I was born a Christian and for my whole life I've gone to church on a weekly basis. Perhaps at times it was as part of a routine, but not usually for long. Whenever in trouble, I've found my rest in prayer and comfort in the church. When worried, I've sometimes read a passage of the Bible by chance, and felt God was directly speaking to me and telling me not to worry. Though born into it, it is my choice and out of my free will to remain a Christian, to go to church and to pray. It's often that non-Egyptian friends have heard me answer with "sorry, I have something at church" in response to plans to hangout. Being a Christian has become the main part of my identity, and though I don't always show it, and am often a weak and negative representation of a Christian, I do constantly try to become a better person for the sake of His image in me.

The cross tattoo has a story behind it which I will tell in a later blog post, but to me it would be a mark of my identity, right there on my dominant arm's wrist for me to see and be reminded of all the time. It would be a sign and reminder of who I am and a little guidance when weary or troubled. I've wanted this tattoo for a long time and I'm excited to finally go through with it!! 

"Whenever physical hunger turned cruel against me, I found my gratification in prayer. Whenever the biting cold of winter was unkind to me, I found my warmth in prayer. Whenever people were harsh to me (and their harshness was severe indeed) I found my comfort in prayer. In short, prayer became my food and my drink, my outfit and my armor, whether by night or by day." -Father Matthew the Poor

My Passion Project

This year, my passion project will be to get a tattoo of a coptic cross on my wrist. Sounds simple and everything, but there are many steps involved. Firstly, I need to find the best place possible to do it, including factors like pricing but with a very heavy emphasis on safety. I'd need to see everything being opened in front of me and my dad would definitely need to see that too. Speaking of dad, getting parental approval will also be a big part of this project. I'm also planning on designing the cross myself. I think this may be a long process because I'm a perfectionist and I really need every detail to be exactly how I want it. A tattoo is something that'll stay with me for life so I won't rush to design it. I'll take my time and make it good! 

I've wanted to get this tattoo for a long time, but I've always been a little hesitant about following through. Don't get me wrong, I want this tattoo, but it's just something that's going to stay with me for life and that thought is a little scary at times. I feel like making this my passion project would really force me to truly think about it and know that I want it for sure, then help me get over my laziness and actually follow through, and go through the process. I'm excited to start.