Tattoo You

On my recent trip home, I decided to take advantage of the expert artistry of my favorite tattoo artist, Doug Moss, the owner of Sacred Art Tattoo & Piercing. I've been wanting to get my third tattoo for a while now, but couldn't settle on what I wanted for the longest time.


I decided to pay tribute to my grandfather, who passed last April, by getting a verse from the hymn sung at his funeral tattooed on my shoulder. The hymn is This is My Father's World, a favorite of my mother's. Grandpa was such a huge part of my life, and his death impacted me very deeply. I'm sure he wouldn't approve of a tattoo (I kept the other two hidden from him!) but this was my way of saying "I love you, Grandpa, and I miss you."

This is the stencil of the tattoo-- Doug adjusted it a couple of times to make sure it was perfectly straight. And we repeatedly checked for spelling errors. Here I examine it in the mirror. I chose the "Black Adder" font and we fooled around with the layout for a while before settling on this stacked pyramid of sorts.

Doug at work-- when the flash went off for this photo he jokingly said "Ahhh! I'm blind!" Not something you want to hear from your tattoo artist. Or your surgeon, for that matter. Or your hairstylist. But I digress...

We're halfway through! For those of you who don't have tattoos or don't watch Miami Ink, it's pretty common for that mixture of ink and blood to get all over the area of skin being adorned. (That's why you always wear an old shirt-- and sleep on old sheets. Found that last part out too late this time. Sorry baby.) So the tattoo artist will tattoo for a few minutes, and then wipe off the ink and blood. Tattoo, wipe. Tattoo, wipe. You get the picture.

Here's the finished product! Looks pretty irritated, right? Well, lemme tell you how much getting ink on your shoulder blade hurts. I thought I'd experienced pain when I got my lower back tattoo and the needle hit my spine, but that didn't even come close to the shoulder blade pain. Of course, what I am really talking about? It was a good pain. And I survived. And I love, love, LOVE the tattoo.

This is Doug Moss, the artist who gave me all three of my tattoos! (And now I want a 4th...) He actually lives right down the road from my parents and, of course, knows my dad. As I was leaving he said to me: "Say hi to your dad for me! And tell him I didn't do that tattoo." Too late for that, Doug. Thankfully my parents have come to a sort of peace with my ink. Maybe not a like, but a peace.

After the tattoo was done, Joseph and I grabbed some lunch at Doug's Fish Fry (it was a Doug-themed day, apparently) and I hit the road for Philly. The tattoo is mostly healed now-- still a little scabby, but it looks more amazing every day. I'm super happy with it! Now I have a daily reminder of my Grandpa-- a tribute to the life of a wonderful, funny, kind man who I miss so very much. Thanks to Doug, for another incredibly tattoo, and to Joseph, for documenting every step.