A woman who has had 98% of her body tattooed says trolls think she’s “desperate for attention” – but there’s a deeper meaning behind her inkings.
Julia Falcon has spent the last 18 years building up her tattoo collection, which she now sees as “one big tattoo”.
The 36-year-old says people “come for her” on her social media with negative comments.
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But there’s a spiritual force behind her whole “suit”.
“My eyelids are the only places on my body that aren’t tattooed… yet,” Julia, a caregiver from California, US, told What’s The Jam.
“The tattoo process is more important to me than the tattoo itself.
“It is very ritualistic, meditative, and can even be spiritual at times.”
Julia’s first inking was going to be a dragon on her arm but after meeting a “brilliant” tattoo artist, they cooked up an idea for something bigger.
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She said: “Instead of a little dragon on my arm, we did a dragon on my back and we slowly added on from there.”
Over time, Julia developed a friendship with the artist and was devastated when, 10 years after their first tattoo, he passed away.
She said: “I decided to finish my bodysuit for him, in his honor so to speak
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“There’s meaning behind my whole suit.“It’s a tribute to one of the best tattooers I ever had the honor of knowing.
“I have a portrait of his cat on my hand, in memory of him.”
Julia is sober and in recovery from addiction and says the process of tattooing is as important as the end result.
She says: “I do the 12 steps everyday, and that requires a lot of self examination.
“The tattoo process is very meditative, so I found myself going for sessions more for the experience than the actual art.
“This is why the tattoo process is so special to me.
“It really pushed me to learn a thing or two about surrendering to something greater than myself, surrendering to pain.
“I feel that the tattoo process has contributed to my personal growth.
“I used to treat the tattoo process like the 11th step of AA, seeking through prayer and meditation to improve conscious contact with power.
“I meditate a lot now so I don’t crave a tattoo session like I used to but still there’s no feeling like getting a good tattoo.
“In those moments with the needle, pain is your higher power and you can either fight it or surrender to it. It’s a transcendent experience.”
Despite the importance of her tattoos, Julia says has faced her fair share of misconceptions online.
She said: “The only negative experiences I have because of my tattoos are usually the ones that I get in my comment sections online.
“If someone doesn’t like me because I have tattoos in the real world, they just ignore me.
“But the internet gives a lot of people the opportunity to safely tell me that they dislike me because of the artwork I have on my body.
“Some people will try to come for me because of my physical appearance.
“People mostly say that I am desperate for attention.”
But she doesn’t let this affect her and has an amazing support system.
She said: “My family and friends have been very supportive.
“They all see right past them, and don’t really notice.
“And it’s just art for goodness sake! Art doesn’t just turn someone into a bad person.
“I love that they are able to see and understand that.”
Next, she plans to re-tattoo her back piece, which she says is 18-years-old and could do with a touch up.
She said: “I think my head tattoo is one of my favourites but really I like all of my tattoos equally.
“The tattoo process has contributed to my personal growth.
“It’s a transcendent experience.”
And to anyone considering getting heavily tattooed, she says to just do it.
She added: “If it’s something that you find you really want and if it will bring you joy, then go for it.
“Not everyone is going to agree with the decisions that you make, and yes there are people out there that will dislike you because you look different.
“But we don’t get tattooed for them, we do it for ourselves.”
