“My only expectation is the smile of the woman I'm going to tattoo”: scars in ink after breast cancer, Anne-Laure Brion's next appointment

Anne-Laure Brion will participate for the first time in the event on October 5th. Midi Libre – LauraVaillant

On October 5th, Millau tattoo artist Anne-Laure Brion, aka Tata Pik, will travel to Bordeaux for the Rose Tattoo event organized by Sœurs d'Encre.

Ink as therapy. To reclaim one's body, scars and history. On Saturday, October 5, the Millau tattoo artist known under the pseudonym Tata Pik will hit the road towards Bordeaux, at the Rose Tattoo.

An event anchored in the guiding principle of October, namely Breast Cancer Screening Awareness Month, Rose Tattoo offers women an artistic reconstruction tattoo after a mastectomy. Tata Pik, whose real name is Anne-Laure Brion, looks back, not without emotion, on her entry into Sœurs d'Encre, the association organizing the event.

Carefully selected tattoo artists

"I have been following the association for a long time. But I was waiting to have a little more experience in my pike before getting started, explains the one who has been decorating skins for seven years. In March/April I contacted Sœurs d’Encre with a book. I met the organizers and they included me in the project. I was very happy, but above all full of gratitude."

The association receives many requests from artists. Only a handful of them are retained. “There is a validation to enter the association, unfolds Laura Kastel, one of the two employees of Sœurs d'Encre, responsible for the tattoo and disability division. There is a minimum of experience that is required. We are very vigilant about the selection of tattoo artists and the quality of their work. Our audience is made up of women who have been quite shaken up. The artistic work must live up to their expectations."

And in terms of artistic touch ? "We approach tattoo artists whose style corresponds to the requests that are around floral or ornamental. It's what best fits scars or the place of the breast, when there is none left."

In a few days, the Norman woman adopted by Millau will tattoo the chest and back of Nathalie, a woman who underwent surgery after breast cancer. "Sœurs d'Encre put us in touch. We talked a lot, especially about her journey which touched me a lot. I am happy to participate in this project, especially since there will be a crazy sisterhood,” unfolds the illustrator and graphic designer by training.

Anne-Laure Brion AnneLaure Brion is located on rue Droite, at the Chardon Tattoo. Midi Libre – Laura Vaillant

A 100% female day

On site, only tattoo artists. “It's by choice, pleads Laura Kastel. Women often have “not very clean” reconstructions. During Rose Tattoo we have many requests from women who have had reconstruction problems, or rejections. So they no longer have reconstruction at the volume that is possible. So, the only reconstruction that will be done is artistic tattooing. For reasons of modesty and out of respect for all these women, we decided not to have a male tattooist."

Trained in artistic and therapeutic tattooing, there will be sixty of them, for three days, pricking the skin of sixty women. "We had training provided by a surgeon from the association, rewinds Anne-Laure Brion. In a two-hour video call, she explained breast surgery, the different types of reconstruction, and everything that can't be tattooed. You can call on her advice at the slightest doubt."

As for finances, women who have had breast cancer with surgery, mastectomy or not, can benefit from an artistic tattoo supported by the association, offered by one of the tattoo artists. For Anne-Laure Brion, "all this makes sense in relation to my job. I like to bring softness. But what I'm most looking forward to is Nathalie's smile when she discovers her tattoo."

After a few discussions and gatherings of information, the design took shape. "The tattoo will be inspired by her wedding bouquet, but also by flowers that have a connection to her personal history." The work took a few hours of work, and Nathalie will discover the result on the big day. "A day for she", smiles Tata Pik.

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