When I was 19 three friends and I got Transformer tattoos on ourselves. After some years our friendships had changed and we were no longer the clique we once were and after a few more years I could no longer recall why I wanted a Decepticon on my body. I could make up some stuff but when it came right down to it I made an impulsive decision.

The spine on my arm is a different story. In my last days of college I spent a lot of time with friends at Diesel Dan's coffee shop just off the Massachusetts turnpike western terminus. The spinal pattern was drawn on the back of a paper placemat and I carried it in my wallet for years, not knowing how that story ended. I finally got the piece tattooed on my body, and it has remained unfinished (starting something before I knew the ending was a lesson I had to learn in my writing, too).

Four years ago I met an artist who specialized in tribal, traditional, and neo-tribal tattoo work. Su'a Sulu'ape Freewind owns Black Wave tattoo in Los Angeles on La Brea. He is one of the few people who has apprenticed and trained for years in the traditional art of tatau, the original form of tattoo which uses hand-made tools instead of an oscillating electric machine. In Su'a's portfolio were a few body stripes, a plum line of pattern dropped from the armpit to the ankle. The body stripe is beautiful (when done properly), and it distinctly appealed to my personal theme of imposing straight lines on forms that resist structure. My photo collage work is joined by the straight lines of the subject while fighting the innate curvature of the camera lens. And personally, I rely heavily upon reason and linear thinking to solve hard emotional problems.

I decided that I wanted a body stripe, that Su'a Sulu'ape Freewind was the only one who could do it properly, and I would wait several years to make sure I was confident in my decision.







In March of 2006 I approached Su'a Sulu'ape Freewind to do my tattoo. What followed was approximately 9 months of phone calls gently reminding the shop I was still interested. Su'a Sulu'ape is both in high demand and also lives life on island time. Due to injury, high demand and, his being an artist without a set schedule, I got my consultation in January of 2007. In May I got the call to come in for my first session.

The first two sessions were difficult given the challenge of covering and breaking apart the Decepticon face on my leg while laying down the geometry and themes for the rest of the stripe. At this point Su'a Sulu'ape is just doing outline; not all of it will be filled in. That which will be filled in may contain more tribal patterning and line work. Eventually the face will disappear into the rest of the piece. Up until this point the outline work was done with a machine given the difficulty of the geometry. It's a testament to Su'a Sulu'ape's ability that all of this was done freehand.

Note: the red lines are guides (bloodlines) laid down by tattooing without ink in the machine; they will disappear in a few days leaving only the black.



The new upper segments are done in tatau, the traditional method of tattoo. It was so much better than the machine. Instead of scratching the skin into a pulp, which agitates the skin in order to absorb the ink pigment, tatau is a razor sharp comb, needle, or spike at the end of a stick which is guided and struck by the artist using a petrified rod. The teeth of the comb puncture and impregnate the skin with ink. There are a wide variety of these combs, all made by hand, that Su'a Freewind can use depending on the kind of line and pattern he wants to achieve. The result, for me anyway, was a much more pleasant feeling. Like being pricked over and over by a rose bush. I will take tatau over machine work any day.

The line quality is very different from the machine to the tatau. Not only is it thicker, but some of the hairpin-turn detail is lost. On a mechanical level, the invention of the tattoo gun replaced the need for stretchers - one hand inks while the other hand stretches. But the removal of people from the process also removed the social aspect of the ritual. If getting inked requires several people to lay hands on the person for hours, there is the creation of a community, however brief, focused on a single task. This is much different than going into a parlor and having "Winona Forever" put on your shoulder. You just can't be as impulsive with tatau. Tattoo shops are always full of people hanging out and spitballing. In a sense, the social aspect of a modern tattoo parlor remains an echo of the community that builds around a tatau where everyone is involved in the creation of the art.

The piece is a polymorph of traditions: tribal and technique. This is a tattoo of Polynesian, Maori, Samoan, and Native American patterns done with tools ranging from traditional Polynesia to modern America. (Given a choice, I'll exempt prison made Bic pens and sewing needles from the list.)

The inking will resume when Su'a Sulu'ape returns from surfing in Hawaii. I've got a week of bouncing off the walls - I want the fill to begin and I want to get back to triathlon training! Being freshly inked means I can't pump blood into my legs for several days, and I have to avoid too much sun. At the same time, the superstructure of the tattoo is enough to whet my appetite for what's to come while also underlining that there's still a black Decepticon on my leg. I'm looking forward to seeing it disappear!





Surfing in Hawaii took longer than expected, so a month later and we resumed inking. This is progress after two more sessions - first session machine-filled the lower calf and added an upper segment in tatau. Session two managed three more upper segments in tatau, but required two stretchers given the loose skin around my butt and the tender parts up my abdomen.

The tools included boar tusk and metal combs, and I can say that the ribs were the most sensitive of the bunch. I have a moon shaped pink birthmark on my hip, and the redness on the other lines are just swelling from the recent work. Oh, and the shiny skin is because of the A+D ointment applied after showering every two hours to keep the skin healthy, clean, and supple. Nothing like smelling like a baby for three days.

Sulu'ape is off to Borneo for the tattoo convention and then I'm in the water for two weeks of swim training. Work will resume in another month, assuming Su'a Sulu'ape is not eaten by headhunters.




Tatau resumed on 9/11, the day after I completed my first triathlon. We were on another long hiatus due to my open water swim training. New fill includes some leg work, but clear changes to the stripe pattern.


Leave it to YouTube to have videos of the process.
















Here are some photos of Black Wave's tatau room. First is the room itself, pillows, tools, and fluids bagged for safety and gloves in easy reach.

The second item is a traditional ink well from Borneo.

Third is the ink well used for my tatau.

Fourth is the plastic wrapped bowl holding the tatau tool, or ao.

Fifth is a detail of the hand-made ao.

Sixth is the ao used on me for that session.

Seventh would be me in a lava lava waiting to get inked.

Eight would be Su'a.


The remainder of the tatau is now filled. Leg and shoulder still in progress.
Work as of beginning 2008.
Work as of beginning 2008.