A Tattoo on the Shoulder

As of today, I have become a girl with a sun tattoo. The idea came to me suddenly when my colleagues asked whether there was a special wish for something I'd like to receive as a birthday gift. Without a moment's hesitation I answered - a gift card for a tattoo studio. Then, for two weeks before receiving the gift on the 8th of April, I nursed the idea in my mind and gradually got used to the thought that a stylised little sun would be sitting on my right shoulder.

I had a clear sense of the sun image very quickly, but spent a long time searching online before I found the right one. It wasn't a drawing but a photograph of a tattoo, which I carefully traced with a black marker pen onto white paper, adding shadows to give it a touch of individuality.

I also read every possible interpretation of the sun symbol. In all cultures, a sun tattoo signifies that its owner is a person of bright thoughts who brings positive energy into the world. The sun symbol in a tattoo serves as a kind of talisman protecting against the forces of darkness, and also lends additional energy and success to all new beginnings.

Stepping into the "Vadim Tattoo" studio on Kr. Barona Street, I was greeted by a young man with whom I had agreed on an arrival time by phone. He immediately asked whether I had brought the drawing with me. Then the tattoo artist came out from the next room - a man in his prime, with slightly greying hair and black-framed glasses. He took the drawing, asked me to wait, and within a couple of minutes had made a transfer from it. Then he invited me to come over, fully bare my arm, transferred the drawing to my shoulder, and asked me to assess it in the mirror. When I had approved it, he got to work.

I sat in a large chair with an armrest at the artist's table. He took out a new long needle and put it into the tattooing device. I stopped looking after that, as it wasn't particularly comfortable to watch - and in truth I was also afraid it would hurt a great deal when the ink was worked into the skin by means of the needle. Essentially what I feared most was the first touch of the needle, which would give me an idea of how painful the entire drawing process would be going forward.

A moment later I breathed with relief - the sensation was quite bearable and I didn't need to think about pain, but could instead observe the walls decorated with tattoo drawings, an icon of some saint on the windowsill, clients' reviews left on the opposite wall, and so on. Then the young lad came into the room with a teenager who wanted to get a piercing. We caught each other's eyes and smiled at one another, as if we were old acquaintances.

If I were to describe the pain range - new high heels that have rubbed your heels raw but you still have to walk another three or four blocks to the nearest transport: that is considerably more painful.

All in all, the tattooing took only 20 minutes, which surprised me. The artist worked truly very quickly and skilfully. The teenager gave the finished tattoo an appreciative verdict - beautiful! Beautiful! - I agreed. Then my arm around the shoulder was wrapped in clear cling film and I was told not to consume fermented drinks during the healing period - beer, champagne, wine, kvass - and that I must not take baths, go to a sauna, or use a tanning bed. Otherwise no special precautions are needed. Oh yes - the tattooed area should be applied with BEPANTHEN PLUS cream 2–3 times a day (at the nearest pharmacy it cost just over 5 EUR).

The tattoo itself (black and white, approximately 8 cm in diameter) cost me exactly 50 EUR - my colleagues had hit the bullseye with the card. After two weeks I need to come back to the studio to check that everything has healed well.