Saturday, June 20, 2009

Too Much Tatt




I read an article this morning about an 18 year old girl in Kortrijk Belgium, named kimberley Vlaeminck, who walked into a tattoo parlor wanting 3 small stars put on her forehead, and walked out with a whopping 56 stars covering one whole side of her face! The artist, Rouslan Toumaniantz, who has his own face covered in tattoos and piercings, said the girl agreed to all 56 stars, but complained that it wasn't what she asked for when her dad saw it for the first time. Kimberley claims that she fell asleep during the procedure and woke up in pain when he was tattooing her nose. There are several things that stand out to me in this story... First of all, I have a tattoo myself. It was done a few years ago on my left hip... and I can tell you, there is no way I could have slept through any of it! The pain was so intense I had to ask the artist to keep talking to me so I could get my mind off of the needle jabs, and still had tears for the entire 16 minutes of the procedure. I do think it could be possible for one to pass out due to pain, and it is possible this is what happened to Kimberley. Second thing, I can not help but notice, the artist himself is covered in tattoos, so what he may see as "subtle" is really, NOT SO SUBTLE! I am not wanting to sound judgemental here- his idea of art and beauty is different from mine, but in my opinion, he over-did-it big time, on himself and on this young girl. She obviously regrets the decision to get a tattoo, or at least her pick of tattoo artists. The artist at the office I went to, was very professional, sanitary, and conservative on his own body art. He went over the procedure and my choice of art several times to make sure we were both on the same page, and offered to do a "trial tattoo" with the tattoo that I wanted in a non-permanent form that would wash off within a couple of weeks. He does this so people can get used to the idea, and be sure they want it to be a permanent part of their body. I guess what I am saying here is that tattoos are a big deal, and to be careful, because even with the research and advancement in tattoo removal procedures- it's a big ordeal to go through, and it might not come all the way off. Any person considering getting a tattoo needs to be confident in their choice of tattoo, placement of tattoo, and most definitely, choice of the artist who will be doing the work! I think it is sad that this girl ended up with something she (nor her family) wanted on such a visible place of her body and hope that she will be able to get it removed. If it can't be removed, I hope she will learn to love the stars and make the most out of her new face... because either way, she is precious to God.

1 comment:

Now lets hear from you!