Piece O Cake Nutrition LLC
  • Home
  • About Diane
  • Eat Globally
  • Pregnant Pause
  • Press
    • Personal Ink (P.ink)

Personal Ink: A healing art

11/3/2014

3 Comments

 
PictureBTW - P.ink is pronounced "pea ink"
The idea to adorn my own mastectomy scar with a tattoo came to me before I'd had any of my surgeries, while reading Geralyn Lucas' Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy. At the end of the breast cancer memoir, Geralyn shares how she opted to not get nipple reconstruction but instead got a small winged heart tattooed near her mastectomy scar. I too had decided not to go with any of the available nipple reconstruction options and the moment I read about Geralyn's tattoo I knew this was something I needed to do.

I heard about Personal Ink last fall. This organization would be providing breast cancer survivors with mastectomy tattoos on "P.ink Day", which would be held in my own hometown of Brooklyn, NY, 3 years to the day since my doctor called to say cancerous cells had been found in the tissue taken during the core biopsy done on my left breast. I told my husband I was getting a free tattoo and he said "um...things you pay for" but tattoos are really expensive (one reason I hadn't yet gotten one), I didn't know the first thing about finding an experienced artist on my own (P.ink would provide artists who have mastectomy tattooing skills) and these people seemed legit (P.ink was founded by the VP, Director of Experience Design at ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky).

As the official t-shirts say: "I got P.ink'd in Brooklyn" ...and it was amazing! Really, from my first communication with P.ink through today, every one of my interactions with the P.ink team has proven that this is a group of individuals who truly care. It is a group powered by love. In fact, it's a family affair! Noel Franus founded Personal Ink after his sister-in-law, Molly Ortwein, decided to tattoo over her own double mastectomy scars.

PictureTattoo by Roxx, 2 Spirit Tattoo
My tattoo was done by Roxx of 2 Spirit Tattoo in San Francisco. I had an abstract idea of what I wanted for my tattoo. I told Roxx that I wanted an image representative of a dove but without the feathers and eyeballs. The morning of P.ink Day 2013, hosted by Saved Tattoo in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Roxx came up with a geometric interpretation of a dove's wing. I had to have it. 


I went into P.ink Day thinking I wanted the tattoo (my first ever!) as a way to capture everything my husband and I had been through, close that chapter and move on. What I learned in the weeks after receiving my tattoo, was that I actually entered into P.ink Day with some serious body image issues resulting from my feelings about my mastectomy scar. But the tattoo allowed me to once again like what I see when I look in the mirror.
 
My husband and I were so impressed by the P.ink team, the CP+B team and our own P.ink Day experience that we immediately volunteered to help in any possible way. This year's P.ink Day would expand on the 1 city, 10 artist-survivor pairs model of last year. #pinktattooday (official hashtag) 2014 would be taking place in 12 cities across the US & Canada, with 38 breast cancer survivors receiving mastectomy tattoos on the same day: 10/10/14. I was asked to lead P.ink Day for New York City.

PictureMy mom and aunt were among our volunteers in NYC
P.ink Day 2014: NYC took place at Gristle Tattoo in Brooklyn, which is owned by the endlessly generous Dina Di Censo. We had 6 artist-survivor pairs. In planning P.ink Day, I was guided by my desire to re-create those feelings of love, support and family that I experienced the previous year. (In fact, my family and close friends made up our 8-member volunteer team.) The happy tears and smiles on the faces of our survivors allow me to believe that my team and I met our goal but I also got so much in return. I've gotten to know our survivors - Christine, Diana, Rose Marie, Shani, Giovanna and Bernadette - over the past few months. These women are strong, smart, funny, resilient and have been an inspiration to me. 


So what's next? Details for P.ink Day 2015 are not yet released but if you or someone you know is interested in getting a mastectomy scar tattoo from Personal Ink, please check out our signup form. In the meanwhile, the Inkspiration app lets you "try on" tattoo designs. If you want to help, check out our donor page or email me to volunteer for or sponsor a future P.ink Day: info@pieceocakenutrition.com.
Picture
The Inkspiration app by P.ink
There are lots more photos from P.ink Day in NYC and across North America! Here's where you can find them:
Personal Ink Pinterest Page
My own Pinterest page
Photographer Lydia Perez DeJesus' Instagram page

The official website of Personal Ink is a resource for information about experienced tattoo artists, design ideas and P.ink updates.

Eat Globally With Me!

* indicates required
3 Comments
Christine link
11/4/2014 05:42:22 am

I got Pink'd in Brooklyn... NYC 2014!!! Diane, you and the entire P.ink team have changed my life! I, too, knew this was something I wanted to do from the beginning of my breast cancer journey. When I look in the mirror since Joy Rumore worked her magic, I no longer see ugly surgical scars. Now I see a beautiful work of art! The transformation, reclamation, is incredible and I feel like a new woman. But the tattoo isn't everything... I also gained a new "family" that I am so very proud and truly honored to be a part of. I love you all... thank you P.ink for making my dream come true!

Reply
Jeanee Bourque link
12/10/2014 08:45:38 pm

Does this event ever come to Columbia, SC or Charlotte, NC? I would love to get a tattoo. I survived stage 3c and this is like the icing on the cake walk of life. Keep up the great work; it means a lot to many of us that have been thru BC!!

Reply
Diane link
12/11/2014 02:33:40 pm

Thank you for your comment Jeanee! Shannon Purvis Barron hosted a P.ink Day event this past October at her studio, Indigo Rose Tattoo in Columbia, SC. She is also one of our alumni artists from 2013! It is too early to say if there will be another P.ink Day event in Columbia, SC or in Charlotte, NC in 2015, but please do sign up if you are interested! The sign-up form will ask if you are willing to travel to receive your tattoo (which some have done). Also, please know that P.ink is working to connect breast cancer survivors with tattooers throughout the year, not just at P.ink Day events. Happy Holidays! http://p-ink.org/signup/

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Eat Globally With Me!

    * indicates required

    Food Tourism

    Foodie Dietitian from NYC living in London, eating her way around the world & writing about it. Come with me as I explore traditional & modern cuisines and global food cultures, search for the best latte, and all the while try to make sensible meal choices! Recommendations are all unsolicited and unpaid. 100% my favorites!
    PLUS: Avoid Travel Wt Gain!
    NEXT: Barcelona,ES Nov '16

    Istria, HR, SI, IT Oct '16
    Dublin, IE Aug '16
    ​
    Basque Country, ES Jul '16
    Antibes, FR Jun '16
    Tel Aviv, IL May '16
    Parma, IT Apr '16
    Geneva, CH Mar '16
    Paris, FR Feb '16
    Munich, DE Jan '16

    Vienna, AT Dec '15
    Marrakech, MA Nov '15
    Edinburgh, SCT Oct '15
    NYC + Nashville, US Sep '15
    Copenhagen, DK Aug '15
    Prague, CZ Jul '15
    Budapest, HU Jun '15
    Picture

    Tweets by @PieceOCakeDJ

    Archives

    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    March 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013

    All Topics

    All
    Antioxidants
    Artificial Sweetener
    Breast Cancer
    Cancer
    Celiac Disease
    Cultural Foods
    Dance
    Dessert
    Diabetes
    Diet Soda
    Ethnic Foods
    Exercise
    Farmers Market
    Fiber
    Fish
    Fitness
    Food Allergy
    Food Label
    Fruit
    Gluten
    Healthy Fats
    Heart Health
    Holistic
    In Season
    Nutrition Label
    Obesity
    Omega-3
    Overweight
    Picnic
    Produce
    Protein
    Recipe
    Road Trip
    Seafood
    Shellfish
    Snack
    Sports
    Sports Drinks
    Stress Relief
    Sugar
    Summer
    Travel
    Vacation
    Vegetarian
    Vitamin C
    Water
    Workout
    Young Survival Coalition
    Zumba

    Disclaimer

    The information offered in this blog does not replace the advice you may receive from your physician. Please consult with your doctor if you have any questions about your specific medical condition, or if you need medical assistance. Product and brand promotions are unsolicited and unpaid.
    View my profile on LinkedIn

Powered by
✕