BY JOHN CHICK Special to the VOICE
Tanya Bigwood has accumulated some experiences in her 20 years in the body piercing and tattoo scene, and now she and four co-workers have brought their expertise to Pelham.
Hail Mary Tattoo opened its doors in June inside the former medical office space at 2 Pancake Lane, in Fonthill. The building’s tranquil setting under mature trees appealed to Bigwood. A 10 ft. oak church pew, formerly of the historic Lyons Creek United Church, in Niagara Falls, rested ready in the waiting room (“Best Kijiji deal ever,” she said.) A mix of ‘70s and Heavy Metal tunes played on the sound system. Faint fragrances of fresh paint and new flooring were just detectable.
While Bigwood herself specializes in piercings, she’s got some cool tattoo stories. Chief among them is the time she ended up a brief media sensation over her “Live with Regis and Kelly” ink. When Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa came to Niagara Falls to broadcast their TV show in the 2000s, Bigwood went on air and had the co-hosts autograph her tribute tattoo.
“It kind of exploded for a little while,” she said. “They autographed the tattoo on the show and then Jay Leno thought was so ridiculous he made fun of it one night in his monologue.”
That led to celebrity TV program “Access Hollywood” coming to Bigwood’s then-Welland studio to record her ink tribute to another New York-based TV personality.
“They came down and filmed me getting an Anderson Cooper tattoo,” she said with a laugh.
The artist who did those tattoos is Bob Paulin, whom Bigwood has worked with for most of his 30 years in the Niagara tattoo business. He’s one of the four other artists to join Bigwood at Hail Mary, alongside inksters Katie Hollow and Linsay Vajean, and makeup artist Jenica Paulin.
When asked what the most unusual tattoo any of them ever did was, Bigwood hesitated.
“The weirdest one is probably a little too taboo to mention,” she said. “But Bob did a really neat one of the Spice Girls in a car-chase anime. That was fun.”
The group is well-known in ink culture, winning awards and appearing in industry publications. It’s one of the reasons they’re booked up well in advance, by appointment only.
Why “Hail Mary”?
“There were dozens [of options],” said Bigwood, “but ‘Hail Mary’ just popped into my head. Jesus and Mary are popular tattoos. It’s not offensive, but catchy.”
She smiled.
“It was almost ‘Fat Lady Tattoo,’ but I got out-voted.”
For Bigwood’s speciality of piercings, no advanced booking is usually necessary, and she encourages walk-in business for those 18 and over. She will do earlobes for youth under 18, by guardian appointment only.
How many piercings does she personally have?
“I’m wearing probably 16, but I’ve retired many more,” the 45-year-old said.
While body art such as ink and piercings have clearly become more commonplace among Generation X and Millennials, Bigwood said it’s not unusual nowadays to see older folks show up for ink or piercings. She used “ink” and “art” interchangeably to refer to tattoos, with clients “collecting pieces.”
“We’ve had people come in their late 60s,” she said. “Sometimes it’s memorial [tattoos], sometimes it’s defiance, sometimes its reaching back to their youth. It used to be more of a taboo, the bikers and outlaws. But now you wouldn’t be surprised to see your doctor or a police officer doing it.”
One notable shift in recent years is that rather than collect individual pieces, those acquiring tattoos plan a complete canvas-worth of art—an arm, or an entire back—adding to the design bit by bit. Rates start at $125 per hour, with larger projects discounted. Piercings start at $30.
With two additional rooms available, Bigwood is looking to add two more tattoo artists.
Hail Mary is open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 8 PM. Doors will open on Sunday, Sept. 29, however, for a grand opening and open house. No tats or piercings will be done that day, but visitors may tour the facility and donate a non-perishable or toiletry item to Pelham Cares for a chance to win gift certificates and prizes.
