At 65, She Got Her First Tattoo. Now She Has 17 And Feels 'seen Again' - Beritaja

Sandee Althouse walked into a Silver Lake gift shop dressed successful an almost austere, elemental achromatic dress, her curly achromatic hairsbreadth graying astatine the temples. She carried herself for illustration an older and accomplished, if somewhat serious, female — but pinch a twist. Both of her arms were covered successful freshly-inked tattoos, her near limb still wrapped successful glistening cellophane.

“Excuse me, but I person to ask: Are these your first tattoos?” I said of the colorful images spanning from the tops of her shoulders to her wrists.

“They are,” she said proudly. “I’ve gotten each of them since May.”

It was September.

“I’d emotion to cognize more,” I said, funny about what prompted truthful galore tattoos, successful specified a short play of time, and each inked later successful life.

Sandee Althouse gets her 17th tattoo successful 5 months, mostly of celebrated 20th period paintings aliases historically important neon signs.

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

It turns retired that Althouse, who lives successful the Bay Area, was connected what she calls “a tattoo journey,” successful what she describes arsenic a deliberate enactment of self-care. She told maine her hubby of 35 years, Josh Wallace, had precocious been diagnosed pinch a superior illness and Althouse, successful summation to being heartbroken, had go his caretaker while besides moving full-time arsenic a power announcer astatine KQED successful San Francisco.

Getting tattooed is simply a measurement for Althouse to displacement attraction backmost onto herself, she explained to me, successful bid to stay beardown and resilient — for herself and her family. Sitting successful a tattoo workplace chair and emotion the ongoing prick of the needle for up to 7 hours is simply a repetitive, almost meditative enactment that helps crushed her successful the coming moment, she said. According to Althouse, it helps excise the affectional pain, giving it beingness shape — a merchandise of sorts.

“We’re dealing pinch a terrible diagnosis,” Althouse said of her husband. “It’s a caller portion of life. Something caller has changed him — and maine — and I conscionable consciousness for illustration why not do thing that will return maine someplace new, a caller adventure.”

The enactment of searching for tattoo images online that she wants to emblazon connected her assemblage — mostly of celebrated 20th period paintings and historically important neon signs — and deciding wherever they will spell is simply a imaginative distraction during specified difficult times, she explained.

And talking pinch the different tattoo artists while they activity connected her assemblage has forged friendly individual relationships.

“There’s a sensual quality to it — quality beings rubbing you,” Althouse said. “I don’t deterioration headphones; I for illustration to person conversations. You meet personification caller and they’re putting thing imperishable connected you that will alteration you forever. It’s a very heavy connection.”

The travel truthful acold — 17 tattoos to day — has provided sustenance and moreover inspiration.

Althouse elaborated connected each this during a chilly October afternoon, recently, while sitting successful the chair astatine Ganga Tattoo Studio successful West Hollywood. She often gets tattoos successful the Bay Area, but besides finds L.A. artists connected Instagram that she admires and makes “tattoo excursions” here.

Today, she’s getting a tattoo of Edward Hopper’s 1957 painting, “Western Motel,” which the artist, May Soria, is putting the finishing touches connected erstwhile I arrive. All of Althouse’s tattoos are done successful the detailed, lifelike “micro-realism” style, and the Hopper image is eerily akin to the original activity of art. In the lipid painting, a young female successful a reddish dress sits connected the separator of a motel bed, gripping the footboard tensely. Enormous windows look retired onto a classical car and a vast, unfastened occidental scenery of mountains.

“I conscionable consciousness for illustration this female has a small spot of enigma and strength,” Althouse says, arsenic Soria fine-tunes the woman’s leg. “She allows a batch of room for you to determine what she’s reasoning and going to say.”

So does Althouse, who has a deep, sultry radio-announcer sound and often pauses momentarily to ruminate profoundly earlier answering questions.

“I want to beryllium stronger, and I want to beryllium bolder, and I want to person contented — and I consciousness those things are benignant of represented by this,” she said of her tattoos.

Althouse had ne'er considered getting a tattoo until soon earlier a travel to Italy this May pinch her hubby and 2 sons, Ethan Wallace, 29, and Xander Wallace, 27. Ethan is heavy tattooed and had “hounded” her for years to get one, but she had zero desire. Then, respective weeks earlier the trip, progressive pinch caretaking responsibilities and trip-planning, the thought somehow, suddenly, made sense. She recovered an image of an “old timey” power microphone and “on air” motion and brought it to a tattoo workplace successful Rome she’d admired the activity of online. The creator Giorgia Mastrosanti tattooed it onto the wrong of her correct forearm, a discreet but still noticeable spot.

“Last twelvemonth I sewage into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame, which is simply a beautiful large honor,” Althouse said. “I wanted to archive really I spent a bully information of my life — and that was successful radio.”

Her 2nd tattoo, which she sewage from Mastrosanti the adjacent day, was of the Carlos Club neon motion successful San Carlos connected her correct precocious arm. Several days later she sewage a ‘40s-era Bakelite power image connected the wrong of her near forearm.

In summation to moving successful radio, Althouse is simply a fibre creator presently moving connected needlepoint. “I’m conscionable really connected to art,” she said. “And this [tattoo journey] is simply a existent ongoing creation project.”

In precocious September, Althouse sewage tattoos of 2 different celebrated paintings connected the aforesaid “gallery wall” that is her near arm: Amedeo Modigliani’s 1917 “Jeune femme (Totote de la gaîté)” and Gino Severini’s “Sea = Dancer.” She sewage the tattoos from Levi Elorreaga, an L.A. creator who was doing a residency astatine Black Serum, a workplace successful San Francisco astatine the time.

“You get to mediate property and you’re looked complete much — you’re not noticed,” Althouse says. “And I consciousness for illustration I americium noticed now. I conscionable for illustration being seen again.”

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

“I’ve ne'er been taken by a coating arsenic overmuch arsenic I was pinch [the Severini]. Just the vibrancy, location was truthful overmuch activity to it — it almost sang,” she said.

Althouse’s correct limb now features a smattering of historical neon signs — the Li Po Cocktail Lounge successful San Francisco’s Chinatown and the View Alcatraz sign, among them. She’s drawn to the brightness and vibrant colour of neon signs, adding that they’re “incredible and under-appreciated useful of art.”

The process, itself, of designing the “art walls” connected her arms is besides treatment — it provides joyousness and distraction. Althouse approaches that process arsenic if she were a curator laying retired a depository exhibition. She tapes maquettes — successful this case, insubstantial cut-outs of the paintings — to her arm, good tuning the layout. Then she gives her tattoo creator a integer image of the work.

During my visit, Soria worked disconnected of an enlarged image of the Hopper coating connected her iPad. As portion of the tattoo, Soria designed a Midcentury Modern woody framework for the painting. She placed stencils of the tattoo connected Althouse’s limb earlier they sewage started that morning, tweaking the tattoo size and its placement.

“It really doesn’t wounded that much,” Althouse said, arsenic Soria pokes her limb pinch a needle that was conscionable dipped into a cookware of crimson ink. “Just a small shade pain. You consciousness alive.”

Some group mightiness look astatine her strangely erstwhile she’s successful the tattoo chair — “what’s that aged personification doing?” she said. But turning aging tropes connected their caput is portion of the joyousness of this journey.

“People who get [tattoos] understand,” Althouse said. “And I do deliberation that possibly immoderate people, particularly young people, deliberation ‘she’s kinda badass.’ I for illustration that. That’s OK pinch me.”

Making her measurement done the world, arsenic a female successful midlife, feels otherwise now pinch tattoos.

“You get to mediate property and you’re looked complete much — you’re not noticed,” Althouse said. “And I consciousness for illustration I americium noticed now. I conscionable for illustration being seen again.”

1

2

1. Artist May Soria puts the finishing touches connected Edward Hopper’s “Western Motel” connected Sandee Althouse’s arm. 2. Sandee Althouse displays her first tattoo, an old-timey power microphone and “on air” sign. (Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

Soria said she has respective clients complete 60. Getting tattoos later successful life makes consciousness to her.

“You person much acquisition successful life, truthful person much stories to show [through tattoos],” she says. “You cognize what you want.”

As if connected cue, an older man successful a shot headdress and rainfall overgarment walks by, leaning successful to get a person look astatine Althouse’s tattoo-in-progress.

“Stunning. Just stunning,” said Ames Beals, 70. He’s location to person 1 of his ain tattoos, the image of a harmonica pinch wings, cleaned up. “Can I return a image to show my wife? I want her to get one.”

“See? It’s ne'er excessively precocious to get a tattoo,” Althouse said.

Althouse is now moving retired of disposable “canvas” connected her body, arsenic she chiefly wants tattoos connected her arms and legs. She has room for about 2 aliases 3 more. Next up? a Marcel Duchamp coating and, possibly, a Mark Rothko aliases Ruth Asawa work.

As Althouse heads into hr 5 successful Soria’s chair, the tattoo is about finished. It will extremity up costing $1,500, but is good worthy it, Althouse said. (“That’s the different point about getting them later successful life, you person much money,” she added.)

She looks herself complete successful the mirror, a operation of pridefulness and melancholy connected her face.

“I conscionable request to support propping myself up,” she said. “I request to make myself strong. Because it’s only going to get harder. And this —”

She sweeps her manus complete 1 arm.

“ — this reminds maine to do that.”