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.