Who Did Your Ink?: Cheryl Yu shows off her love for Vancouver

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      Who Did Your Ink? is the Straight’s weekly feature, where we ask badass Vancouverites about the talented artists, indelible stories, and, at times, questionable antics behind their most treasured tattoos.

      Whats your name? Cheryl Yu.

      Who did your ink? Mackenzie Evanjeline, also known as Evanjeline Art.

      Why did you choose this artist to do your tattoo? I was browsing through Instagram for local tattoo artists and liked a lot of the stuff she’s done for other clients. She also seemed very versatile and has done different tattoo styles, which I think is always a bonus because that means whatever you want, she can most likely do it! For someone who's only been tattooing for two years, I think she's really skilled as well. 

      Is there any meaning behind it? Although at first it might seem as if I'm just some proud Vancouverite because I have Vancouver’s skyline in my tattoo, there is indeed a story behind it. Twelve years ago, my parents decided to move our family to Vancouver. (We’re originally from Singapore.) Since then, many things have happened that have shaped and matured me into who I am today, including meeting some incredible people who put their faith in me, encourage me, and motivate me to continuously better myself.

      Without these events and people, I probably would have turned out really differently and I can't really imagine that because I quite enjoy being myself right now. This is one of the main reasons why Vancity feels more like home to me and I wanted to commemorate it.

      I have been planning this arm band for quite a while and after getting in contact with Mackenzie, we started designing the actual look of the band. I know I wanted the band to represent not just Vancouver, but also B.C. in general because I feel so blessed to be living in this beautiful province with such picturesque nature pretty much right at our doorstep. We may be "Raincouver" 90 percent of the time, but I believe that makes us appreciate and cherish our sunny days much more.

      Mackenzie was so patient working with me to craft different iterations of the tattoo, even though I was so picky! We even postponed our appointment because she wanted to make sure I was fully satisfied with the design and not rushing through it. We started with a design that had everything I wanted to be included: the Vancity skyline (she even added the cute little Lions Gate Bridge!); mountains; and her beautiful illustration of ocean waves, which is what caught my eye while browsing through her Instagram in the first place.

      The arm band was originally thicker at 0.75 inches to fit all the details—and I really loved that design—but because my forearms are rather small, I insisted on sticking with 0.5 inches and keeping it delicate. Mackenzie did warn me about the potential blurring of details in the future, which I was well aware of since this isn't my first tattoo.

      However, we tried to make sure details weren't too congested so that when it does fade and blur out, the important details wouldn’t be lost. Mackenzie was able to transition the mountains to the waves so that it seems like it’s morphing from one to another, which is actually my favourite part of the whole tattoo. We then included some Pacific Dogwood in the background to add a little more dimension and diversity to the band.

      What’s next on your ink list? The next piece I am planning is one on the back of my neck in one of the other styles that Mackenzie does, just because I like it. We are in the process of designing it right now. I'd also love to have something done representing my hometown of Singapore in the future as well. 

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