Octocoral Tattoo

3.10.6 So a month ago was the 10 yr anniversary of when my family got its first fish aquarium which begat an immediate obsession with fish, aquatic plants and corals. A couple years ago I started to think about what I might do to commemorate the 10 yr mark. Since the timing was close to my graduation I figured that I could reward myself with a high quality tattoo. Tattooing is still not legal in South Carolina so after a little research of tattoo parlors in neighbouring states I decided that I would get my tattoo from All or Nothing Tattoo in Smyrna GA.

I initially wanted to get a Fungia tattoo but since I was more confident about the octocoral design I wanted, I decided that I would keep working on the Fungia design and get that one later, maybe when I get my Masters degree or at the 15 yr anniversary of my passion. Since the design I wanted involved a lot of very fine lines and intricate shading, the staff at All or Nothing assigned me to Ted Wallen. I really like the designs that Ted has tattooed and I pretty much handed him this picture and let him draw a couple renditions until I was satisfied with the design.


So on the morning of February the 11th, my awesome girlfriend Kelly drove me to Smyrna. I was a little anxious since this was my first tattoo and it didnt help that we had breakfast at an awful restaurant next to the shop called Vittles. The name shoulda tipped me off but it was essentially an evangelical gift shop/restaurant nightmare. Anyway, once that was over, the inking began. The pain wasnt bad but it was much more than I had anticipated for the inside of my arm, which is a very sensitive area no matter what anyone tells you. The work took 2 hours with a 5 minute break in the middle. The most painful part was in the end when Ted had to keep wiping away the blood and ink to see what he was doing. In a way I found it was easier to concentrate on the pain, essentially containing it mentally so people passing by thought I was sleeping.


In the end the tat ended up looking much more colorful than what I had imagined for so many months but overall, I think this is one of the nicest tattoos I have ever seen. I'm biased because it's a coral, and it's on my arm and I paid a respectable sum for it so I better like it. So anyway, I hope ya'll think it's cool too, I hope that my grand scheme goes as planned and that in the future I can report on my next tattoo adventure.