One of my 2015 resolutions was to get the tattoos and piercings I want without hesitation. During my spring break, I finally gained the courage to get the tattoo I had been dreaming about for over a year. My best friend Isabel tagged along with me and also got tattooed. I had an amazing time getting my first tattoo at Two Birds Tattoo in Seattle. Before getting tattooed, I stalked the internet for similar blog posts/Youtube videos about first tattoo stories, with a surprising lack of results, I'm here to share my experience and reveal the personal meaning behind my tattoo.
Isabel and I booked our appointments several weeks before we planned to get tattooed. Two Birds takes walk-in appointments, so we admittedly booked ours unnecessarily far in advance considering the small size of our tattoos. While making our appointments, we brought in drawings/concepts to show the receptionist so she could relay our designs to the tattoo artist. Tattoos of larger scale and complexity generally require a consultation, but this wasn't necessary for ours.
The drawings and ideas we brought in...
(Mine is "memento mori," Isabel's is the American flag)
During the day of our appointment, Isabel and I filled out a waiver and eagerly awaited to meet our artist, Alexis. I wavered back and forth with the placement of my tattoo. I originally wanted the script on the outer side of my foot, but with Alexis' guidance I decided to place it on the inside of my foot below my ankle. Alexis printed my chosen font onto transfer paper, and sized it appropriately. She also re-drew the drawing Isabel brought in (drawn by yours truly) and cleaned it up a bit.
Examining the placement
The stencil/transfer
After determining the position and placement of the stencil, the tattooing process began. I was pretty nervous about the potential pain, so Alexis started small with the little dot of the i. She then moved inward, continuing with the mori and finishing with memento. It definitely hurt, but was still a tolerable pain. It helped that my small tattoo only took about 10 minutes to complete. The middle letters hurt the most because they were the closest to my ankle bone.
During the process
Before I knew it my tattoo was completed! Alexis cleaned the excess ink off and put a clear plastic bandage/seal over it. I kept this plastic on for about 24 hours, then took it off and washed my tattoo with warm water. Tattoo aftercare instructions vary between different shops, instructions should always come from your specific artist. My aftercare entailed gently washing my tattoo with a tattoo wash, and lightly moisturizing it with tattoo cream about three times a day for the first 3 weeks after I was tattooed. After the 3 weeks passed, my tattoo was nicely healed. I still protect it with sunscreen to keep it from fading, but otherwise generally don't moisturize it.
Immediately after
After healing
After care supplies, made by Two Birds
Isabel's tattoo, immediately after
After healing
Meaning
//What does memento mori mean and why does this tattoo "madder" to me?//
This tattoo has three levels of meaning to me. Memento mori translates in Latin to "remember you die" or "remember that you have to die." On a surface level, the saying has a similar meaning to carpe diem or dare I say YOLO. It is a reminder to live each day to the fullest, because this will all come to an end someday.
On a second level, memento mori is a theme in art history. With particular emphasis in Medieval through Renaissance European art, this theme is a reminder of mortality. This is greatly exemplified in Masaccio's famous Holy Trinity fresco. In this fresco we see God the father, Christ, and the Holy Spirit, flanked by Mary and St. John, and framed by donors of the church (Santa Maria Novella, Florence). In addition to these figures, there is also a skeleton laying on the bottom of the composition. A Latin inscription near the skeleton translates, "what you are I once was, what I am, you will be," - which summarizes the concept of memento mori. This inscription warns the viewer of their own mortality. During the time of this fresco's creation (1424), this painting also carried a reminder of hope, and that believers could be free from death through salvation. I have always been more drawn to the message of the skeleton than the religious imagery. I interpret it to show that regardless of the status of the key religious figures: we all end up equal in the end. This relates to a quote I'm fond of, "No matter how big your house, how recent your car, or how big your bank account is, our graves will be the same size." The message and my tattoo are meant to be humbling.
(Masaccio's Holy Trinity was also revolutionary due to its unique one-point perspective and use of foreshortening to create realism - but I'll save that lecture for another post.)
Image credit: Khan Academy
On a third level, I learned about this theme during my first art lecture at UW my freshman year. This lecture was my "ah-ha" moment reaffirming that I want to study art history. Regardless of where my academic and career paths take me, I always want to reflect on that moment and remember my passion for art.
I put a lot of thought into my first tattoo and had a great experience thanks to Two Birds and Isabel. I plan on getting many more in the future, though not all of my tattoos will be as art-history-nerdy as this one.
❁ Cheers friends! ❁
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