My first masterpiece! ;)

the top half is completed, originally uploaded by seventeenstars.

On Saturday I was caught in a scheduling conflict with Jessica, and had to tattoo my bestest buddy Michelle in the cluttered comfort of my living room. We have still not moved into the new shop yet, since the business that was in it before has been taking it's sweet time moving out (almost two months now). We are getting very stressed and have had to move our openeing date back two weeks- I also have had to rescedule tons of appointments. We are trying not to let this get us down, and trusting in the that "everything happens for a reason" attitude that Jess is so good at and that I am not so good at.
I have never tattooed outside of the shop (except for antarctica), and so it was a tricky thing to do, but since I have been amassing great quantities of supplies and furniture in my studio (for y station in the new shop), I had a massage table and needles and ink, and only needed to bring a few things home.
You know, it was luxury, and Michelle sat for about four hours like a pro, and we may have sipped a small amount of wine, and listened to Devotchka and Patrick Wolf, and A Hawk and a Hacksaw, and other swirly music that makes tattooing a joy.
Michelle is the recipient of my first totally custom piece. ALL I knew was that she wanted a art nouveau peacock, but she didn't say where or how, so I went into my little art trance and thought about all the things I know and love about Michelle and we lived together for quite some time, in a very small apartment, so that was pretty easy. I thought about her incredible style and colors, and asthetic and things she loves, and did this HUGE drawing, a flood of sinuous black and white lines, a elegant and stark and sensual peacock, for MIchelle, and Michelle only. I hung it on the corkbard on the wall in the shop, so look at it a lot and to see if I liked it, and Jessica told me that everybody that came in asked about it. I experienced this too- it resonated with people and they said they had never seen anything like it. They also asked if that was the size I was going to tattoo it. So, yes, it was huge to begin with.
I shrunk it down, and decided to put it on her arm- or rather, to ask her if she wanted it on her arm...haha, and she said yes without a moments hesitation. SO I knew it was right for her. She only has one other tattoo, and it is also all blackwork, and I like that. I like the idea of one person, with one custom tattoo that totally fits with them and defines them. It completes their artistic personality or something.

I am almost done with Michelle's peacock now. I think we have one more 4 hour session to fill in the tail that sweeps across her lower arm. I'll post more pictures when that happens. I feel so in awe of what happened, last Saturday, in my living room. This is what I want to DO. That this is what I actually DO.

Dreams do come true.