From start to finish – this is the story of my beautiful new cameo tattoo.
I blogged about my inspiration a couple of months ago: Beautiful cameo tattoos. I have always found cameo and vintage jewelery extremely pretty and I used this to inspire me.
I picked Andrea Furci at The Family Business to design it for me, his art is very feminine and soft, with a traditional tattoo feel.
Here is the photo story of my cameo tattoo – from bare wrist to lovely new tattoo.
Bare wrist before the tattoo.Putting on a brave face pre-tattooThe stencilI approved the design and it got stencilled onto my wrist...
Once the tattoo is stencilled onto my wrist, I check the position in a mirror and see if I approve. I approved without hesitation, it felt right as soon as I saw it.
Now of course comes the hard bit…the pain…
The outline (it didn't hurt a bit...honest...)
How it felt
It is very difficult to describe what the tattoo process felt like, I am sure it differs from person to person…but I didn’t think my tattoo hurt – hurt is the wrong word, it just felt uncomfortable. I could feel a burning sensation on my skin, but more than that I was fascinated to see how the tattoo transformed – from stencil to outline to colour. Watching the ink go into my skin and seeing how accurately Andrea Furci could tattoo. So many intricate and delicate little details, yet never straying outside the lines. Such clean lines and vibrant colours.
During the tattoo...The tattoo with shadingno colour yet...
The grand unveiling…the beautiful tattoo with full, vibrant colour – reds, blues and warm yellows.
The final piece - my beautiful cameo tattoo by Andrea FurciPost-tattoo happinessThe tattoo is wrapped in cling film to protect it for the first night.Bandaged and ready for a beer.
Now, I would quite like Andrea to design a man in a cameo frame for my other wrist, maybe with a top hat and pipe, facing into my cameo lady.
Thanks Andrea, I can’t wait to get tattooed by you again in the future.
It has been a while since I have talked about my own ink journey…the last time may have been at the beginning of the year when I talked about strange children and sharpies. At this time I only had one tattoo (which has not yet featured on this blog). Since then I have had two tattoos, a cameo tattoo on my inner wrist and a padlock on my foot. Both are beautiful and I couldn’t be more pleased…
I am now working on some blog posts and that will show the tattoo process from start to finish…drawing, outline, shading, colour, healing and the finished piece…I hope you will find this helpful in your own decisions about what and where to get tattooed. I will also do a feature with all of my own tattoos very soon…
If anyone would like any advice just get in touch.
“For my grandma. She was a huge Elvis fan, loved rings, let me hunt for “treasures” using a magnifying glass, and always had pink roses in her house.
She was a huge believer that having hope could fix any problem. When she died of lung and brain cancer a year ago, up until the day she died she kept telling us that she had hope that she would get better. She lived a year and a half longer than doctors said she would and had minimal pain. Pretty amazing in my book.
I love you, Grandma! I hope you’re rocking out with Elvis in heaven (and eating some fried chicken, too).
Done by Jake Bussie at Alkali Tattoo in Janesville, WI.”
What got you into tattooing?
I have always admired tattoos on other people. I feel tattoos are an extension of personal style and, working in fashion, I think it is very important to express your individuality in the way that you look and dress. My first tattoo was my friend’s lips on my arm (see previous blog post), this represents our friendship and my love of lipstick, I have always loved the interesting and different shape of people’s lips.
Do your tattoos have any meanings?
Some of them, but I do think that people get too caught up in the meaning behind tattoos, you should just go with the flow and if you fancy something just get it done. Obviously, if you’re planning a bigger piece it needs more thought, but tattoos don’t always have to have sentimental value. The words on my arm are from a poem by Emily Brontë that I read at my auntie’s funeral, it is a reminder of her, but I also like the idea that words evoke.
What inspires you?
People, friends, music, life.
Do you have any tattoos in the pipeline?
I think I am ready for a bigger piece on my back, I am toying with the idea of a traditional rose.
Feature girl: Renee Ruin, Melbourne, Australia.
Renee Ruin – beautifully tattooed – publisher by day, blogger by night
Renee Ruin
Ruin by Dean Petty
Girl with skeleton by Jessica Swaffer - Third Eye Tattoo, Melbourne Australia
So Renee, what do you do? I work in book publishing, dealing with international co-editions. So put basically, I get popular children’s books published in other languages for foreign countries like Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia and Japan. After work I spend my time blogging on my site and also other sites I contribute to and catching up on pop culture and playing with my spoilt brat dog, Bowie.
Skulls by Dean PettyAngelique Houtkamp "Geraldine" by Jane Laver - Chapel Tattoo, Melbourne Australia
What got you into tattooing?
I got my first tattoo at 18 to commemorate moving out of home and eight hours away. That was the beginning. Then I started getting tattoos every time something eventful happened in my life, good or bad. I wanted to try and get something tattooed each year around my birthday as a marker. I also lived with a tattooist for four years so that lead to a lot of random tattoo additions.
What inspires you?
Life, love, death, friends, family, art, film and books. All my tattoos are related somehow to one of those things or more than one of those things.
Do your tattoos have meanings?
Definitely personal meaning. A lot of them are reminders of particular times in my life and are a personal reminder of a triumph or tragedy. A few are purely aesthetic, but my large pieces all have some personal meaning or personal event attached to them.
Daddy by Dean Petty
Are you planning more tattoos?
Most definitely. I’m planning an awesome custom piece for my left thigh which is an amalgamation of Angelique’s style, JT Leroy’s book and Asia Argento’s movie The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things. I am also planning this awesome little ode to my dog Bowie, artist Rik Lee is designing it. I definitely want to fill in my right arm with some patchwork traditional pieces and I’d love a beautiful piece to complete my left arm to compliment Micah Caudle‘s beautiful lady, I’d love Rose Hardy to design something a little darker to compliment it.
Feet Roses by Dean PettyCustom girl by Micah Caudle - Flying Panther, San Diego, CA, USA.
How would you describe your style?
My tattoo style is definitely more traditional mixed with a subtle darker edge. I love girls and skeletons. Do you have a favourite tattoo artist?
Far too many to choose just one. My personal fave to get tattooed by is Jane Laver who did both my Angelique pieces. But I love so many different tattooists and their differing styles.
Boy with antlers based on Sculpture by Beci Orpin by Jake RolfeAngelique Houtkamp 'Madeleine" by Jane Laver - Chapel Tattoo, Melbourne AustraliaDie Trying by Zoe Lethbridge (unfinished)
I blogged about my inspiration a couple of months ago: Beautiful cameo tattoos. I have always found cameo and vintage jewelery extremely pretty and I used this to inspire me.
a Think Tank for the Inked Generation. 
