The one where I got a tattoo

Hello everybody, long time no see! I've just been so busy these past few weeks in terms of work, sorting stuff out for university and just generally living! As of today my place at Coventry has been confirmed so I am officially going to university in September, i've also reached the 300 day clean mark regarding my battle with self harm and I couldn't be more proud of myself!

Now onto what this post is about, my first tattoo!

I always knew I wanted tattoos, and I was booked in to get one on my 18th birthday. But I never got it, and in a way i'm glad I didn't. I told the tattoo artist what font I wanted and he did it in a completely different one to what I said, and I gave him a sketch I wanted doing too, and he changed that. You live and learn and I knew what I wanted and so I didn't get what he designed for me. Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago and I was still desperate for a tattoo. I knew I wanted something meaningful but I couldn't decide. 'Should I get a quote?' 'Should I get a picture?' Should I get something totally random?' were all thoughts that went through my head.

Then one day I was listening to my music on Spotify, and it's no secret that my all time favourite artist is Paloma Faith. For years i've idolized her, listened to her music, gone to her concerts etc, and so it seemed only right I get a tattoo relating to her. But what? Lyrics from my favourite song? A quote of hers? Significant dates that are to do with her? And then it hit me 'fall to grace.' And I knew THAT was what I wanted to have on my body forever. Her second album is titled Fall to Grace, and it's the album with so much meaning to me. It's the album that made me fall in love with her. The album that she toured when I saw her in concert for the first time. The album with the majority of my favourite songs, there isn't a single song on there that I don't like, and each one means something to me. It's the album that was the light that got me through dark times, and still does. Even now, I still find myself choosing to listen to Fall to Grace despite Paloma releasing two more albums since it came out. When I listen to it, I get a sense of pride, as if the album defines me. Fall to Grace also represents letting go of hard times to fall into something better.

Then it came down to deciding what font I wanted, I wasn't too fond of the font it's written in on the album and I wanted something a bit more script like. I have an app called phonto, however none of the cursive fonts on there took my fancy. So I google script handwritten fonts and came across the font named 'antro vectra.' I downloaded it onto phonto and typed 'fall to grace' and there I had it. My first tattoo. But who would do it?

I knew I didn't want to go back to the other studio I was booked in at for my original first tattoo. So I looked at other local studios around my area, read reviews, looked at artists work. Up came the studio Project Zero, based in Lichfield, i'd been there before for piercings and jewelry so I already knew I was a decent place. It was on Instagram that I saw they have an artist called Lauren, I looked through her work and some of it was already familiar because i'd seen it on the explore page. I hate to say it but it felt like it was meant to be, everything happens for a reason, I was supposed to choose this tattoo artist. So, we emailed, I sent her what I wanted and she booked me in for a week later! As soon as I went in for tattoo I automatically felt comfortable, I was so excited, a little nervous, but mainly excited. I wanted the tattoo on my inner right forearm and I'd already put emla cream on because I didn't want to feel any discomfort during my session, the worst thing of the whole experience was when my arm was numb but I could still feel the pressure of the pen she used on me to mark where to place the stencil. The rest of the process went so well and the only bit of 'pain' I felt was when she went over certain parts, but other than that, my tattoo appointment was amazing. I couldn't recommend Lauren from Project Zero enough, I felt at ease with her straight away and she made the experience enjoyable. I am definitely going back to her for me!

My tattoo is healing nicely and looks amazing, and i'm so happy with the finished result! Here's to more tattoos!

See you soon,

Jen Clarkson xo