My Body as my Canvas

The next piece of my artwork is almost done.  I have my wild and crazy hair.  I've still got all of my piercings.  Now my tattoo is almost done!  According to the artist, we've got about another hour and it will be complete.  Of course, it probably could have been finished last night if it hadn't been for a slight misunderstanding.  Apparently I was supposed to call to confirm our appointment.  I'm used to things being the other way around.  The client never calls to confirm.  That's how I run my business too.  As a result we got started really late and just when it felt like we were finally getting somewhere it was time to stop to be picked up again next time.  That brings it's own whole set of frustrations, which I'm going to let go.  As much as venting about it can help, I don't feel it's worth the energy.  It's the sad thing about artists that more often than not, they're pretty flighty.  I can admit that one myself!

My tattoo is almost done!  I'm so excited!  It's just one more format of using my body as my canvas!  I'm trying to ignore all the conflicting information I hear from everyone about tattoos, healing, fading, and everything else.  I know tattoos will fade.  Paler colors will become much harder to see in time.  Dark colors become just as muted, so I don't really understand why people say light colors will be the first to fade.  In my research, it's all about how you care for it, and how well you keep the skin.  The more care you take, the less fading that will happen.

The whole thing is bright, vibrant, and so incredibly me.  The work suits me.  The image suits me.  The art suits me.  The wonderful thing about body art like this is the way it matures.  It changes over time and fading is just part of the process.  It truly develops its own personality.  The art takes on it's own character beyond the obvious point of the particular styling used with it.  What fades and what doesn't is an aspect.  Sometimes it needs touching up.  Sometimes it needs to be added to.  Whatever the case may be, it's a part of what it is.  The art takes on it's own life.  That life is impacted by the person in how they care for it and how their body reacts to the experience, how their body holds or rejects the ink.  It's also impacted by the way the art was placed on the body as some lines and shading will be heavier than others.  There are so many factors, it's almost like the art becomes it's own living thing, and the better the artist, the better the end result is tailored to the person wearing it.

I can't wait for this journey to be over, but I think though this piece of the road will be over, the journey has just begun.  I'm not going to call myself an addict or anything.  As much as the art is beautiful and does invoke and adrenaline rush as does any pain, it's not an experience I found terribly therapeutic or in any way something that I'll ever have a burning need for.  My problem is that even when this one piece is finished, it won't truly be done.  The piece deliberately has left itself open for continuation.  The artist had a further vision, but I've kind of put my own spin on that.  Either way it means that the art isn't finished yet, and won't be finished by this one piece.  It will look just fine the way it is, but I won't be happy until it's done!