Having had Pat (from Art for life) come hang out in my dorm room for a while, we got to talking about piercings. We discussed some future possible projects (navel, corset piercings, etc) and about finger piercings. I have always thought it would be a lot of fun to get one, but never talked to anyone about it. After a little bit of tugging on the skin about my pinkie, he said he'd be glad to do one for me.
At A Glance Author Melissa Contact Melissa@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Pat Studio Art For Life Location Brattleboro, VT As always, I was very excited about the possibility of a new piercing, and this was made more so because Pat needs some more surface piercings for his portfolio. I am a willing subject, trust me. I told him I would be down to the studio the next day, as my roommate also wanted to come get her nose pierced.
The next day, my roommate decides instead to get stoned and bail on me, leaving me to catch the late van into town, and thereby making Pat keep the shop opened a little longer than he might have otherwise. When I arrived, I dropped my coat onto a couch, signed the paperwork and stepped into his office.
The last time I was in here, it was to have my septum pierced, and (as before) I felt completely at ease with Pat. He set to work trying to find a CBR that would fit around my chubby fingers, and had none. Looked through his Horseshoes--no 14g. Not willing to admit defeat, Pat broke out a barbell and some pliers and bent me a custom horseshoe, checking every so often to make sure the curve was right for my finger. With jewelry selection out of the way, he picked up my hand and began to massage my finger, loosening the skin, making sure there were no veins in the path of the jewelry.
I had changed my mind about the placement just before coming in, deciding that I wanted the piercing on the underside of my finger instead of the top. I knew it would be tighter, and probably reject fairly quickly, but I was curious to see if it could be done. I also thought that it would look cooler, look more like a regular ring until I flipped my hand over to show people that it really was a piercing. As one of my friends said about the decision: "There's something to be said for subtlety." After tugging at the skin for a few moments, Pat decided that it would indeed be possible, and broke out his marker.
Two little dots, about two centimeters apart, on the underside of my pinkie; it was inspected, turned over, inspected again. Was I happy with the placement? Of course. On to the forceps—always my least favorite part. I'm not sure why, but that's the way it is.
It was a tight squeeze--for someone with chubby fingers, I would have thought it would be much easier to pull up a bit of skin and skewer it. The forceps were on, and Pat told me to breathe. Breathe in, breathe out ( I could feel the needle's tip on my skin, waiting to march forward), Breathe in deep---breathe all the way out--- POP. "And it's through." I immediately looked down at the hollow needle clinging tightly to the skin on my finger. Instantly all the adrenaline that had been building up with the anticipation let loose and there was next to no pain in my little finger. Pat pushed the jewelry through and I sat back and admired. There was a little skin blow out on the exit side, and oh boy did the finger tissue look angry! But it was so exciting. My first finger piercing! As he positioned the jewelry, I was amused as always by how gentle Pat is. "Am I hurting you?" over and over again, always very careful to inflict the least pain possible though he just poked a hole i n you. By far the mot fastidious artist I've ever had put needles through my skin.
We took a few pictures for his portfolio (my first job as a hand model!) and wrapped it carefully in gauze. It was with anticipation that I pulled the gauze off a few hours later and showed everyone at the Christmas Party I was at my new addition, my precious. I'm waiting to see what my parents think, and if they'll even notice it as anything other than an interesting ring.
As far as the pain, it throbbed a little while the tissue settled, but on day two, I'm feeling no pain. There is a little pull when I bend my finger too quickly, and I have to be very careful to not hit, bang or catch it on anything. But all is well!
I'm also waiting to see if it rejects, or how long it will take for it to. And, if it does, I might just have to visit Pat again and make a sequel.