Putting Ink to (Fake) Skin with No Prep

I don’t have any tattoos. I’m not against them or anything, I just don’t have any. I’ve always toyed with the idea of getting at least one, but I’ve never pulled the trigger. I do, however, think that tattoo artists are extremely talented, and I was pretty excited to try my hand at being a tattoo artist. 

First off, let me say, I was never bitten by the art bug. In fact, the art bug doesn’t even know I exist. Drawing, of any kind, definitely isn’t my strong suit, so tattooing would probably prove difficult. 

Brooke Ayers, the owner of Salvation Tattoo Studio on River Watch Parkway, was kind enough to let me come in and see just how bad, or possibly good, I might be at being a tattoo artist. I mean, look, I’d never done it before, maybe I’d be a natural. 

But probably not. 

After I got there, Brooke began prepping my station. She got out the tattoo needle and ink and was making everything very sanitary, making sure I was going to have a very nice little work area.  

Let’s start with the obvious question - who in their right mind would let me tattoo them? The answer is nobody. I was going to do my art on fake skin. It’s a real thing, made for practicing doing tattoos. And it’s available on Amazon, surprisingly enough. 

So here is the scene. My workstation was ready, I got my fake skin out (still sounds weird) and I was ready to go - almost. I had to figure out what I was going to tattoo.  

Brooke showed me a variety of potential stencils. Stencils are what you put on the skin before you tattoo. They give you an outline to work from - like tracing in school. Just like that, in fact - except a little more painful… and a lot more permanent. 

As I looked through the stencils, I saw a simple ice cream cone. Everyone loves ice cream, so that is what I went with. 

So, to recap - I’ve got my workstation, my fake skin, and my ice cream cone. It’s time to get tattooing. 

I was nervous, but also excited. I was curious as to whether this might be something I was good at. Perhaps, I thought, I had some hidden talent I didn’t know about.  

Brooke helped transfer the stencil to the fake skin, moved out of the way, and turned me loose. Actually, before I did anything, I had to put on gloves. Keeping things sanitary is a priority – even with fake skin. 

I had never held a tattoo needle before, so just doing that made me feel a little tougher. I put the needle in the ink and got to work on the ice cream tattoo. Another weird statement, but let’s move on. 

I traced the ice cream with what I felt was surgical precision. At the same time, Brooke kept a careful eye on me, telling me when to wipe excess ink away or go a little deeper with the needle. The staff at Salvation said they were impressed by how much I actually looked like I knew what I was doing. I like to think that’s half the battle - just look like you belong. 

After I got my ice cream outlined, it was time to do some shading and add a little detail. So, I changed out needles, dipped it into a different ink and got to work.  

Once the shading was done, Brooke handed me some baby oil, I wiped away the excess ink, and we took a look at the finished product. I’ll be honest, it didn’t look that bad. Would I want it on me or someone that I know or love?  

No.  

But it didn’t look that bad, especially considering I’d never held a tattoo needle before. 

With that, I peeled off my gloves and took my fake skin home. Still weird. 

Will I be doing tattoos again anytime soon? The chances are very slim, but I can now say that I’ve tried it. 

Thanks again to Brooke and the team over at Salvation Tattoo Studio for helping me out because, like always, I had No Prep.