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.

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.