is what I'll be

[Jehan Chumomisto]

Timestamp: The fiftth brightening of Aperitus in the Season of Summer, Era II of the Celestine Mandate, Era XIV Post Fractum, the Second Era of the Regency of Milo L'Evienne.

Jehan sat outside; this brightening was much hotter than the previous one. Summer was in full tilt there was no doubt about it and Jehan couldn’t be happier. The summer meant that they didn’t have to travel through harsher temperatures and anywhere they went they would be warm and free to relax outside under the sky. He lay in the grass stretched out looking into the brilliant blue sky. Life was wonderful when you could do such things as look into the sky and make shapes of the clouds.

That was what Jehan was doing this brightening as he lay there. Some may consider this childish at his age but he didn’t care, he wanted to stretch out hi imagination. Something that he felt helped his profession as a tattooist. He had to be able to see things, depict them out of nowhere. As he looked into the sky thinking about designs of clouds, he remembered his training again.

Flashback

It had been a while after Jehan had last met with his mentor, Anagaja, to help her tattoo her granddaughter. He had been practicing everything, drawing and bandaging anything and anyone that he could. Her artwork was beautiful, authentic in appearance it made Jehan’s look like stick figures. She had captured emotion in that tattoo like nothing he had ever seen in an image and did it masterfully.

But this particular brightening he was growing anxious to learn more, and it seemed as though his wish had been granted as he seen the old lady come to her vardo door. She was prepared to step out when the young Jehan made it to her doorstep to help her. She was old and frail, he feared that she would be joining the stars soon. Traveling threw them for the rest of eternity with all of the ones before her.

“Here, let me help you” he offered in his hand to her but she laughed.

“No need to, I was coming to find you. I have seen that you were practicing. I think that it is time we move on with the lessons if you are still interested” she said as she turned around. She knew the answer as much as Jehan did and led him into her vardo where they each sat down in the same spots they always did. Jehan found the chair comfortable.

“I have been looking forward to it” he confessed with a smile as he sat down looking at the wrinkled face of the old woman. She had seen many eras come and go, she had been rumored to be a mean one and mostly gaje among the children but he seen now that she wasn’t. He seen the kindness that was in her which just goes to prove that the unknown is scary to people.

“Good, I am going to start off by telling you something that you may have noticed the last time that we had a meeting” she said looking at the chair that her granddaughter had sat in. “Apala did not bleed very much during her tattoo session and there is a reason for that. It is not in her blood that she didn’t bleed but because I had added a curette powder to the ink. This will stop most bleeding quickly which is very good in tattooing, especially for a persons first time. There are other plants that can be used but I confess that you should see somebody with expertise in plants before adding anything to your ink” she informed him.

“That is very interesting” Jehan started “It seems that to be a tattooist means being a little of everything else as well no?”

The old woman laugh “many thing can be tied in young manus, many things”

[Jehan Chumomisto]

“I will now teach you how to make a tattooing needle. It is not hard young Jehan, it is much like sharpening the end of a stick but instead we will use bones. Not just any bones but those that are from a bird” he informed her student getting right onto the lesson plan for the brightening. “You will also learn how to create your own inks. It is a delicate art, it will take time to master but once you do you will be happy. Is there any questions that you have since our last lessons?”

Jehan thought for a second “none really…I was just curious how your granddaughter was after her tattoo?” he asked curiously. It had been the first real person he ever helped besides the old woman herself. Jehan knew that she knew how to take care of her tattoo and likely ensured that her granddaughter did the same.

“She is doing very well young manus” Anagaja smiled kindly. “Now, let us start” she suggested as she handed Jehan a small bone as well as a small carving knife. “Be careful. bird bones break much easier than sticks even of the same thickness do. You want to make it as sharp as possible. We will start off with a fine tipped one as you will not be doing any coloring yet. That will come later.” She instructed as she began to make something to drink.

Jehan got to work straight away, carving layer after layer of the bone making it sharp at one end. It took him some time, he was careful he didn’t want to have to start all over again. He was a patient boy anyway, this tedious work didn’t bother him. With each layer of bone that came off he turned it making it as even as he could. When he was done he offered it to Anagaja for inspection. She nodded in approval.

“It is a little off center but not to much. What you need to do now is make a little notch near the tip so that the ink has a place to rest.” She instructed and demonstrated on one of her own. Jehan nodded and carefully cut a small groove into the needle and showed the woman again who nodded. “Very good. The more that you practise the better you will get. When you have become very good you will be able to run your needle lightly across paper and it should rip with no extra force.”

She demonstrated with her own needle then with Jehan’s that needed a little more force. “Do not worry yet though, you are still new to the craft.”

[Jehan Chumomisto]

Jehan nodded as he took the needle he created back examining it. He noticed it now though he hadn’t at first. It was only slightly off center he couldn’t help but wonder if it would really matter all that much. He assumed that it must have if he was being told about the flaw but he needed to know why. “What will happen if it is off center like this?” he asked slowly not sure I the was question time.

The old woman smiled “You will still be able to do great works of art however you will just have to watch the tip more carefully. Having a straight bone is more or less a comfort thing, a luxury as it were. These are your tools young Jehan, you should want the best” he answered looking at him. He nodded looking a little ashamed of the question. “It was a good question to ask though small manus so do not fear asking more. These are things that you must know, for you never know when you may be teaching someone else no?”

He nodded his head. “Very good, if there are no more questions we can continue?” she paused a few seconds before continuing. “Very well then, we will move on to creating inks. This is something that is very much a secret from non-tattooists and therefore is a sign of trust to those that are chosen to learn. It is essential in becoming a tattooist that you are not wasting resources and time trying to acquire inks. It is also good to be able to modify your ink for the person that you are tattooing. It is not unheard of for herbs or other things to be slipped into the ink for the benefit of the receiver. It is always best however to check with an expert before doing so.

Ink is created using pigments such as soot, for black, which is the most common one as well as a carrier, The carrier may be a single substance or a mixture, either way it is used to keep the pigment evenly distributed and to inhibit the growth of pathogens, to prevent clumping of pigment, and to aid in application to the skin. The most common, and safest ones are; Strong Liquor that must be clear spirit or higher, Purified Water or Witch Hazel.” She informed Jehan has she pulled out a jar of black pigment as well as a bottle of Clear Spirit and placed them on the table.

“It will take time and practice before you can make a good ink. I will let you experiment as much as you want to and comment with suggestions.” She told Jehan as she put a few empty bottles, a funnel, and a mixing bowel on the table as well. “Just make small quantities for now eh?”

[Jehan Chumomisto]

She showed Jehan the basics first, roughly how much of the pigment to put in against how much of the spirit to put in. It was a delicate art and was full of experimentation. There was always a little change in the color depending on how much pigment VS carrier. It took Jehan nearly half a candle mark before he thought that he had a good color. It was a dark black that looked near perfect. “I think this is done” he said showing her the jar.

Anagaja nodded her head not looking to closely at the jar. “You should test it then no?” he asked as she pulled out an animal skin. Jehan couldn’t help but wonder where she was continually getting these skins but it seemed trivial to ask. But he nodded and took the skin and prepared it. He shaved it and washed it then held the needle over a candle flame for a few moments then took it down and let it cool a little. When it was cooled he dipped the end into the jar but was stopped from doing anything else. “It is wise that you put some of the ink into a smaller jar young Jehan. You do not wish to waste all of that ink on one tattoo eh? You don’t want to mix one persons blood with another. So it is wise to put some in a smaller or even just a separate jar. Only a little now, you will just be putting a line on the skin to see how it goes” she instructed.

Jehan nodded and started to turn red in the cheeks. He was being foolish, he should have known these things, he didn’t know why he should he just felt that he should. He poured some of the ink into a smaller jar that had been set out for him. If he had been trained he would have seen that it was far to thick and clumpy. The ratio for Pigment to Carrier was far to much. Anagaja seen this but she said nothing and went back to her sewing of garments.

The young gypsy dipped his needle into the ink and carefully began his line. It was a short line so he only needed to dip back into the ink a few times. Once the line was done Jehan waited a few moments and seen the error of his mistake. The ink didn’t set in evenly and was starting to clump in certain spots. He made a face and turned back to the ink not saying anything. The old woman smiled as he added more spirit to the larger jar, he poured some into another smaller jar and tested it.

He ended up doing this three more times before it went in evenly and turned out to be looking good. The second to last one was good but to light for Jehan’s liking. The old woman examined the ink and smiled. “Very good Jehan. The finest shall be used when on live things, your second finest shall be used for practice of drawing on animal skin. You can even use the worst ones too since it is only practice. That shall end our lessons today, we shall see each other tomorrow eh?”

Jehan nodded and left the vardo after cleaning up and saying farewell.

[Jehan Chumomisto]

The next brightening Jehan awoke and did a few small things around the vardo before going to see Anagaja for his continued lesson. When he arrived she was waiting for him sitting in a chair answering “Come in” to the knock at the door. Jehan entered to see that there was nothing ser out on the table besides jars of hard pigments of different colors. He sat down in the chair that he was used to sitting in with a curious look in his eye at the old woman. “We shall start the brightening with some information you Jehan. But first I will leave the floor open to any questions you may have about anything.”

She paused for a moment and Jehan shook his head “I don’t have any questions yet” he said being honest. He couldn’t think of anything at the moment and couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps he was slow in getting them. The smile and the clap of the old womans hands reassured him that that wasn’t the case at all.

“Then I must be a better teacher than I though eh?” she laughed and she too looked at the jars. “These are the pigments that are used for tattooing, I am going to give you a basic rundown on them all and if we have time maybe let you have a hand and mixing some of them, sounds good no?” She asked as Jehan nodded. “Black comes from Carbon, usually soot as I have already told you. Brown comes from Ochre, which is naturally yellow in color however when it is dehydrated by heating it turns to a brownish color. Red is a potentially dangerous one as it is made of rust and can potentially make some users sick” Allergies is what she was talking about though she did not say the word. “This is why you always test the ink in a small spot on a person before doing the tattoo.

“Orange comes from Ochres as well however orange colored one which are submerged in water and then condensated before being collected. Yellow come from plain ochres as well as ginger plants. Blue is usually made from cooper salts as it is the safest way to do so. To achieve green you must mix pigments together usually rust and copper salt. Violet is Manganese Violet or Various aluminum salts. Which can be any of the following: Lead White, Titanium dioxide, Barium Sulfate, Zinc Oxide and can be used either on it’s own or to lighten the colors of ink.”

She thought for a moment before continuing. “It is easy to mix pigments if you want to alter a color or create a new one if you don’t have the pigments for another. Much the same way as painting. You will spend most of your time experimenting with colors from now on until you have become really good. Is there anything I left out? Any questions now?”

Jehan shook his head again “No, not yet…It is pretty straight forward.”

“We shall see” she smiled a rather toothless smile.

[Jehan Chumomisto]

“I assume that you have brought your needle back with you?” she asked looking at Jehan who nodded. “Very good, you may dis guard it. will be creating another one this brightening as part of practise. It is very important that you are able to master these things before you are to become one of the great tattooists. Anyone who can draw is able to pick up a needle and try a tattoo, but to be a true tattooist you must be able to make what you need.” She put down a few bird bones and Jehan picked one up and started carving one the same way that he did before with a nod.

He understood perfectly why he needed to do this as so he worked at it being careful, checking it after carving a few slivers away to ensure that it was even. When he was done, or at least he thought that he was he looked it over again then shook his head.

He carved into the tip a ridge where the ink goes once it is dipped into the ink and keeps it there. He examines the needle again and passes it to his mentor who examines it again. “Very good Jehan, it is much better than your previous one though still slightly off center. Don’t worry though, you are at a good level for how long you have been doing this. It will take time to master all of these techniques like it does in every aspect of life.

We will be cutting this one short for I want you to practise as much as you can this brightening. At the start of the brightening I would like you to bring me the best two that you have done. If for some reason you are unable to get any bones I will supply you with some. Now go Jehan, enjoy your brightening but work hard” she told him with a smile.

“I will, thank you” he said with a nod. He felt as though he was gaining something from the short lesson. He was learning more and more, practicing which would make him better in the long run. He wanted to be the best, to be able to make masterpieces on flesh opposed to just makings and drawing. He spent most of the brightening carving needles, stopping only to eat and to tell people stories when the suns had fallen behind the hills.

[Jehan Chumomisto]

The next brightening Jehan went to see Anagaja first thing in the morning. She was awake and let him in asking him “eager this morning eh?” to which he nodded. Eager wasn’t the word for it, he was excited that he was learning how to create his own ink now, he wouldn’t have to worry about borrowing or buying some. He understood what he was told yester-brightening about taking pride in being able to create your own materials and that anyone with a steady hand could put a tattoo on a person. He wasn’t just anyone though, he was learning how it worked.

“We will start off the same way we did the brightening before, with you creating a new needle. We only need one, but I expect it to be of high quality young Jehan” he said to him plainly. He needed his head and got to work peeling layer off of layer of the chicken bone with his knife. He had been working on it so much he found he was getting faster and better at it. It was sharp at the end and the point was in the center. He carved a groove up the side that was meant to hold the ink. This time however he examined it before handing it to the old woman for inspection. “It looks much better, much better” she repeated herself.

“Thank you” Jehan replied with a smile of pride.

“But this is not the only needle that you much know how to create. Remember I told you that the finer ones were made for outlining, where the thicker once were made for shading?” she asked rhetorically as she continued “This brightening we are going to create a thicker needle made for shading, and I am going to get you to try shading in a tattoo that you will create. Now, you try one and let me see”

Jehan nodded “Okay” he said and then got to work. He found it much harder to carve the thicker needle, though it was easy to keep it centered he was having a hard time keeping the area around the point even. It took him some time, but finally he had a finished product. He looked it over before giving it over to the old lady and made some minor adjustments as well as remembering to put the groove in. It was thicker but it wasn’t ungodly thick, nor could it have been.

“It is well crafted manus young. You will make fine needles indeed if you continue to practise. Now, let us move on to shading?” she asked.

“If you wouldn’t mind…I would like to create another shading needle…I don’t like the way that one turned out. It seems rough on the sides…” Jehan said sheepishly to which the woman smiled and nodded. He is getting it she thought to herself as he got to work recreating the needle.

[Jehan Chumomisto]

Jehan worked quickly but making sure that he was doing everything correct. It still took him some time but in the end he had carved away a much better needle than the first one. It was smooth, and sharp and remained the same thickness. “There, I think that will do” he said as he passed the needle over to his mentor who examined it and nodded.

“Ah see, it was worth doing over again. You had a good eye Jehan and were able to correct your mistake rather than work with a tool that wasn’t your best. Always remember, you are only as good as your worth piece of artwork. No matter how many good ones you do a bad one will make people second guess coming to you. It is always better to take longer and have it right than to do it wrong. Once there is a mistake there is no going back from it.” Anagaja informed her student as she handed him back the needle.

“Now usually when you are shading the color is less dark than that of the outline. In most cases it is easiest to add white pigment to your darker ones though it is no unheard of for there to be extra carrier applied as well. As you seen however that is a delicate procedure to do as it could ruin your ink. Once the ink in decided however it is applied the same way that the outline is however because it is shading it is fine to have the ink spread out more the fainter it gets. It will take time to master the art of shading, it can be very difficult and hard to tell when you are doing to much

Now, I would like you to do an outline and shade it in on this skin” Jehan was told and passed a skin. “Make it simple, it does not have to be fancy, that is not what we are testing”

Jehan nodded and began to tattoo the skin using the second best ink that he had created the brightening before after preparing the area by washing it and shaving it. He began his simple design, poking the needle so that it only pierced two layers of skin and started going. He ended up with a circle and that was it. She had said simple and that is what he did.

“That will work nicely Jehan” she told him as she took the skin and the thicker needle in his hand. She lay the skin down so that Jehan could see what she was about to do next.

[Jehan Chumomisto]

The old woman then added some white pigment into the ink and mixed it causing it to go a lighter color.

“Now I will start off the shading for you on this design. The first thing that must be determined obviously is where to shade, for this image we will assume it is a sphere and that the light comes diagonally on it.” She started as she dipped the larger needle into the smaller ink jar and began poking it into the animal skin. She followed the line of the circle and made it pretty solid but the further away she went the more spaced out the dots became.

She only did a small area but it was done quickly even with her slowing down her pace. She then turned the image and handed it to Jehan who first examine it. “My turn?” he asked the old woman who nodded at him.

He dipped the needle into the ink and slowly began the task of shading in the area. Each dot the came further away from the outline the further away he placed them from one another. As an effect the dots seemed lighter in color than the ones that came before them. It took the young gypsy some time to get it right and even when he had finished it was still obvious where Anagaja had done her shading and what he had done.

She examined the shading and nodded “You seem to have some natural talent at this, though I make only one suggestion. When you are shading try to make it more gradual. There is no need to hurry it along to faded. The person who is getting the tattoo may not appreciate it much as you are doing it but in the end they will be happy that you did it right. This like everything else you learn in tattooing needs to be practiced as often as you can so that you continue to be the best. Do assume that you want to be one of the best and not just some shmuck that can put ink on the end of a needle and in plant it into someone skin eh?”

“You are right” Jehan started “I do want to be the best. I am no gaje I have patience, I am determined and will pick up tips and tricks everywhere I go.”

Anagaja though a moment “You must remember that your daj once went with the gaje, though she seen her way and came back that does not change the fact that there is an appeal to them. What it is I do not know. What I am really trying to tell you manus young, is these saying may hurt your daj’s feeling if you speak them to her eh?”

Jehan nodded and lowered his head red cheeked.. Anagaja smiled and laughed “Though you are right, no gaje has gypsy knowledge. Now run along. Practice what you have learned over the past cycle and see me in two brightening.”