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.