Raquelle Gonzalez
Student Writer
For the first installment of this year’s Tattoo Tuesdays, I was able to interview one of my best friends Page McKenzie about her amazing tattoos. Her tattoos are bold and beautiful, and truly showcase different essences of her life and personality.
How many tattoos do you currently have and what are they?
Two—one on my back shoulder and one on my ankle. The one on my back shoulder is the Scottish McKenzie family crest; it has a Knight’s helmet, an elk, and my last name. My dad has the same one in the same location, except his is in color and mine is in black and white. The one on my ankle is a peace sign, a heart, a smiley face and an infinity sign and it means “peace, love and happiness forever.” It’s a tribute piece for my aunt who had the same tattoo.
Where did you get your tattoos done?
Artist Joshua Heckert did the piece on my shoulder at Tymeless Tattoo in Baldwinsville, NY, and Landon Lewis did the piece on my ankle at Black Thorn Gallery in Carlisle, PA.
Rate your tattoos on a pain scale of one to ten.
The piece on my back was probably an eight out of ten because of the shading being pretty painful, and the ankle piece being only a three out of ten.
What is one thing you wish people would understand about tattoos in general?
They should mean something personal to people and have a deep meaning because it will be on you for the rest of your life; also, that it’s not unprofessional to have tattoos, especially because of the meaning tied to them.
Which tattoo has the most meaning to you?
Probably my ankle tattoo because it is the same one my aunt had before she passed away, so it’s kind of a tribute piece to her.
Do you want to get more tattoos? If so, what would you like to get and where on your body?
Oh man, this is a long list, but I’d like to get the birth flowers of influential women in my family on my left ribs, (specifically there because they’re close to my heart), a traditional style half-sleeve on my right bicep of the national bird of Cuba, a ladybug on my foot, a moon on my right ankle, a wolf half-sleeve on my left shoulder with a dream catcher and lastly, when I get married, I’d like to get matching tattoos with my husband, probably signifying something for eternal love.
What do you do to alleviate the pain during a tattoo session?
Just try to ignore the pain. I don’t like talking to people when getting it done. I like to bring people, but I would rather internally balance out the pain.
What advice would you give to someone considering getting a tattoo?
Think about it for a while, make sure you can connect a deeper meaning to it if it’s something really important, and avoid flippant choices.
Thanks for checking out this week’s column of #TattooTuesdays! For more information or if you’re interested in having your tattoos featured in #TattooTuesdays, contact Raquelle Gonzalez.