Phoenix Rising

Circa January 2013, I overestimated my badassness and decided to embark on a full back tattoo. Holy shit, what a journey. Now that it is complete, I am beyond thrilled with my end result, but during was brutal. Getting jabbed for hours on end was no cake walk. I constantly had to remind myself that pain was temporary. That it would be worth it once I was done. That I was a badass...kinda. 

After 10 sessions, ~50 hours, and lots of deep breaths, my back piece was complete. My tattoo artist, Craig Beasley, did a beautiful job, and happy as I was to see it finished. 

I still remember the first session clearly. I was not prepared for what I was getting myself into. I only lasted 3 hours. It was the worst pain I had ever experienced. What the fuck was I thinking? Could I actually finish this? Had I ruined my back? I kept moving and twitching, yet I could not get away from the pain. It was so present. With every sudden movement, I could feel Craig's frustration growing. Between the pain and disappointment, I cried towards the end. I wanted him to stop and take it away. Days passed and so did the soreness. And then I went back for more. I was going to finish this. 

During my final session back in April, I sat for 8 hours. It took all my strength mentally to get through it, but I did. It was an extremely liberating experience for me. To overcome a great deal of pain I didn't think I could handle. To quiet my mind in the midst of constant tattooing. 

All the pain is a distant memory now, and all that's left is a beautiful masterpiece.