The power of tattoo – personal blog
When I decided to become a tattoo artist, I was motivated first and foremost by the idea that I could make drawings – on the skin of my future customers – every day. I had little interest in the ‘canvas’ at the time, but as I progressed through the process of becoming a tattooist, I realised that it wasn’t just the artwork that could be emotionally fulfilling, but also the great people I could spend time with.
One September memory is particularly dear to my heart, when I had the pleasure of spending a fantastic day with two of my guests. I met Iza during the summer, when she travelled from Slovenia to Budapest because of her job and came to get a tattoo with her colleagues. We immediately found a common voice and despite the fact that she had chosen a painful area for her upcoming tattoo, we had a lot of fun. After a few days she and her friend returned for another tattoo, and she said that we would see each other soon.
At the end of the summer I received a message from her. She asked if I could give her an appointment in September, as she and her mum were planning to make a short trip to Budapest. She told me that her mother was 64 years old and she wanted to get her first tattoo at Creation Tattoo Shop. I said yes to both of them and was looking forward to their arrival.
The appointment was on Friday but they arrived in Hungary on Thursday and came to say hi at the studio on that day. It was very nice to see Iza again, and was a pleasure meeting her mother, Meta. They melted my heart, as they arrived with a large bag of home-grown herbs as a gift for me. But they managed to make it even better! When I asked them if they would have time to see all the sights they wanted to see in Budapest, they said that they had actually travelled all the way from Slovenia because Iza wanted to get a tattoo from me. It was amazing to hear that.
On Friday we started with Meta’s tattoo. She chose a delicate cross and we placed it between her shoulder blades. Of course, at first she was a bit nervous but everything went well. While I was doing her tattoo we were listening to pleasant music and Iza was proudly holding her mum’s hand, a very intimate atmosphere was created. As we were nearing the end of the tattooing process, my colleague, Zoli started to film my work in progress. Meta asked him to show it to her, and when she saw the footage of her back, she was moved to tears, kissed me and whispered kind words in my ear. A few minutes later the tattoo was done, and she was really happy about it.
While I was tattooing Iza, Meta took a walk around the neighbourhood. When she returned to Creation Tattoo Shop, she was amazed by the graphite drawing Zoli was making. After a while, I noticed that Zoli was giving her that drawing, which made her very greatful again. A few hours later Iza also gazed happily into the mirror, and all of us left the studio with a smile on our faces.