| Feb '09 Skin&Ink Doll |
Stephanie
 I think as a kid is when I decided I wanted to be heavily tattooed. Although being from a small Texas town where tattoos where looked upon as trashy, growing up in a pretty strict family and attending Catholic School for many years, this was my little secret. A few weeks after my eighteenth birthday, I moved to Austin and got my first tattoo. This is where I met the ridiculously talented Mike Adair (now at Hold Fast tattoo in Dallas TX) who did my first tattoo, amongst many others throughout the years. After becoming friends with Mike, I became pretty close with everyone at True Blue Tattoo and many other awesome artists in Austin. Rachel Kolar, Jose Palacios, Jon Reed, Jeremy Rasmussen and Scott Ellis (Triple Crown Tattoo Austin, TX) are other Texas artists who have worked on me. So if you’re ever in Austin and want some work done, hit these guys up….they’re the best! Thanks to these guys, I have full sleeves, a chest and back piece, one side of my ribs, and others here and there. By this time I was completely shunned from family and needless to say I also got the “psst look at that girl” looks from everyone and their dog whenever I went home to visit. It took a little while (and when I say little while, I mean about 2 years) for my family to accept me and realize it’s not just a phase and this is who I am. Now going into 8 years of being and still getting tattooed, I’m completely able to feel comfortable being who I am. The majority of my tattoos have some sort of meaning to them; Whether it be something that has happened in my life or someone that has meant a lot to me, everyone of them has a reason for being on my body. I moved to San Diego a few years ago and have continued with my goal of being heavily tattooed. After living in Texas most of my life and now in California, it’s funny how some people are the same wherever you go. I say this because a lot of people look at me and see the typical stereotype of a tattooed person. In reality I’m actually the girliest of girls. I’m an avid Barbie collector and the tattooed version of Betty Crocker/Suzie Homemaker. So it just goes to show, looks can be deceiving!! (In my case, a good way). While living in San Diego, I’ve met some fantastic artists. Tim Creed (Chronic Tattoo) and Clark Kent aka Pud, have done quite a bit of work on me, and I plan on getting much more from them. Tony and Johannes Skindeeplove from Chronic Tattoo have also done a few for me. Currently Dan Pryor at Seven Seas is drawing up a piece for my leg, which I am really looking forward to. I’ve always been a person who does and says what they feel and never regrets it and I admire people who are the same. I live for today; because I don’t want to be 50 wishing I would have done what I really wanted to do, but didn’t because I was scared of what other people might think. This is who I am, and I’m not afraid if people think badly of me for it; because in actuality tattooed people are some of the most down to earth, nicest people you will ever meet. Stephanie |
