Woman Endures 33 Hours Of Pain, $4,000 For Her Tattoo

[matcom]

<snip>

The tattoo that stretches from the nape of Reeta Schmitt's neck to her left buttock cost eight months of her time and $4,000. Although hardly anyone ever sees the intricate depiction of a lion bursting from a leafy jungle, she tingles with pride when given the chance to explain why she endured 33 hours of searing pain.

"A person gets caught up in being a mother, being a wife, working at a job," Schmitt said. "Suddenly, it's 10 years later and you say, 'Who am I? What happened to Reeta?' That's why I got this tattoo in the first place. I wanted to create something that shows what's inside." She paused and put her hand over her heart, and then to her head. "I wanted to remember what was inside here."

Schmitt, who describes herself as a "free spirit living in a quiet, shy shell," got her first tattoo 22 years ago -- a delicate, colorful bird just under her left collarbone. She also has a tribal-style armband encircling her left arm.

Jerry HoltStar TribuneFor years she thought about getting a big signature tattoo, one that would illustrate her strong spirit, but she waited until after she and her second husband split up.

"He never wanted me to get it," she said. Not long after the tattoo was completed, the two reunited. "Now he jokes that I divorced him just so I could get the tattoo done."

When Schmitt first met with Dan Dittmer of Electric Dragonland Tattoo Studio in Hopkins, she outlined the elements she wanted in her tattoo. She also told him about her tough childhood, her abusive mother, her five children, her two rocky marriages. A couple of weeks later Dittmer had a design to show her.

At first, Schmitt was disturbed by it: "I knew I didn't want any fluffy stuff, but I was frightened by how fierce it was." After some consideration, she decided to accept the tattoo exactly as he had drawn it. "Saying yes was my free spirit coming out," she said.

The pain was part of the process, too.

"I wanted to go through the pain outside to take away the pain that's inside," she said, "to release it and make it disappear forever."

http://www.startribune.com/stories/389/5412450.html

[notadmblnd]

1. ha ha what a crock of....

nt

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. My bro is an illustrated man, but he never mentioned anything about

it being an emotionally cathartic experience. :shrug:

[In_The_Wind]

3. ouch