How I did it: I'd had it in my mind for a while that I wanted a tattoo of this design, because I am a Christian and I am also gay, so the rainbow is a powerful symbol for me.  In time, the phrase "God has promised" came to me and seemed very right because it has links to both the Biblical, historical meaning of the rainbow and also to my journey in regards to my sexuality.

I was due to go to California for the annual conference of the Gay Christian Network, and a couple of days before I was due to fly out I suddenly thought "I really want to get it done out there!"  This was partly because of the meaning of the tattoo itself, so I thought getting it done while I was at a gay Christian conference would be meaninful, but also because I love Miami Ink/LA Ink :)

So the Gay Christian Network has forums on its website, and I posted a message asking if anyone knew of a good tattooing place near to where the conference was taking place.  Some people who were local to the area replied, all recommending the same place - Kari Barba's Outer Limits.  I called them on Skype and spoke to Yvonne, who was mega-helpful despite Skype cutting off halfway through, and even gave me a quote over the phone. 

When I got to California, I called Outer Limits again and they said to come down to choose an artist and make an appointment.  My friend gave me a ride down there, where I met Yvonne.  I was on a tight schedule 'cause of the conference and I was only in California for 4 days, so after trying to fit me in the next day she offered to do it there and then!  My stomach turned 'cause I wasn't at all prepared but I agreed and we got to work!

Yvonne spent the first two hours designing and re-designing the tattoo until it was just perfect.  Then she got to work.  The tattoo itself took about 90 minutes to an hour and really didn't hurt as much as I thought it was going to.  Yvonne was really friendly, helpful beyond necessity, and as it turned out, a lesbian who likes chicks with accents, so me being a Brit worked to my advantage! ;)

Lessons & tips:

1. Don't be afraid to get the artist to rework the design until you're completely overjoyed with it.  It's going to be on you forever so it's worth taking the time!  Yvonne tried lots of different computer fonts for the writing but I wasn't happy with any of them; in the end, she tried her own handwriting and I loved it.
2. Get personal recommendations about where to get it if you can.  Not only is it the sensible thing to do, but you're less likely to be sitting there thinking "Have I done the right thing" if you know other people who have been tattooed there and are happy with the final product.
3. Look after it well.  I'm the most impatient person in the world but I've had to deal with it!  I had to have it bandaged overnight, and when I got back to the conference my friend had told people I was having it done.  I really wanted to show them but I had to tell them to wait until the next day!  Don't pick it, scratch it or otherwise annoy it :)
4. The initial pain wasn't as bad as I'd expected at all.  For those who have got piercings, they hurt more in my opinion.  The difference is that they're over in a second whereas tattoos are much longer.  But the actual pain isn't that bad, it's just when the skin is already sore and then being tattooed onto that it starts getting painful, so the longer the tattoo goes on I guess it hurts more.  Afterwards it feels like sunburn for a few days.

Resources:

1. The Gay Christian Network
2. Kari Barba's Outer Limits

---

Jan 14, 2009, 01:17PM PST | 0 comments | 2 cheers