Maria’s Finished Tattoo
Posted by Meg
Tattoos play a major role in The Demon Cycle series; the ink holds power when shaped into wards. It may be the most fitting and daring tribute to pay as a fan. So we are super excited to announce that Maria’s tattoo of Arlen and One-Arm (modeled after the beautiful French cover for The Warded Man) is done! Complete with an excellent forgery of Peat’s signature.
Here’s what Maria had to say about her experience choosing Arlen and One-Arm and what the process of getting such a complex tattoo is like:
Why did I choose this motive? I had to think about the right words for that. I had the artist first before I had the motive. When I first saw Benjamin’s work, I knew I had to get my next tattoo from him, and then I thought about the motive. Somehow, I found the L’Homme Rune picture, and I thought: Wow, that’s it; I need to get that. Then I asked Peter if he would mind if I stole that picture, and he said he’d only mind if I didn’t post a picture of it.
Then last year, in June or July, I went to the tattoo studio to fix a date with Benjamin in October. It’s not comfortable to get a tattoo in the summer because it’s so hot and sweating is not good for a new tattoo.
In August, I went to New York, and we met Peter there, and he signed all my books. That was a really cool experience, and I decided to put his autograph on my leg too.
The time went by quickly and October was there, and we had the first session. I was a little afraid of the pain, but it wasn’t that bad … but after 5 hours of getting tattoos it hurts like sh**. The healing process was okay, but the itching is even more annoying than the pain. But seeing how awesome the tattoo looked, I never minded.
Tattoo in Progress
After the First Session
In November, we had the second session, and this time it hurt a bit more. We did another 6 hour session.
After the Second Session
In January, we had the 3rd and last session, another 5 hours. It hurt again, and Peter’s signature hurt the most because we had to use thin needles for it. Now, two weeks later, it is healed and finished, and I love it. It looks so awesome, and I am warded against rock and mind demons now :-)) I’m looking forward to showing it to Peter in person when i’m in NYC again, maybe in September…
Oh and all sessions cost 800 euros together. That’s approx. 1,100 dollars … 🙂
Maria won Third Prize in the last Fan Art Contest for her beautiful tattoo. You can check out the original entry here.
Nice tattoo! Some serious dedication there. Great to see good books inspiring people.
@Mark thanks 🙂
Maria, your tatoo is awsome!