Its a honeydew tattoo!
A Flatbush Avenue watering hole is giving wanna-be tattoo artists the opportunity to learn the tricks of the trade on a melon — and grab a shot — during its weekly “Ink and Drink” events held every Thursday night and Saturday afternoon.
For the $35 price of admission, patrons are given a tattoo gun, five stencils, and a stiff drink, along with a melon to practice on and a little advice to get them started, according to one tattoo artist.
“We usually tell them, ‘Don’t take it too seriously — it’s just a melon,’” said Ricardo Rivera, who owns the Forever Ink tattoo parlor and bar in partnership with his brother Roberto.
The Rivera brothers started serving libations above their basement tattoo parlor in 2016, and created their weekly Ink and Drink events as a spin off of drink and draw parties found at more common establishments, Rivera said.
For canvases, the bar gives its newbie tattoo artists honeydew melons, which “heal” in a way that mimics human flesh, whereby the tattooed lines develop over the course of about a day, according to Rivera.
“It makes it very practical,” he explained. “When you get tattoos, you can see the next day how bad or how good you did.”
The five stencils handed out are always based on a theme, such as “Star Wars” and “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and whoever does the best is given “a silly prize,” according to Rivera, who noted past awards included a free hug, a sticker book, and themed cocktails such as the “Tramp Stamp,” or “Ink-redible Skull.”
And if you do end up tattooing a melon, don’t feel bad if the end result is no work of art — they rarely are, Rivera explained.
“About five to 10-percent do really well,” he said. “Other people come just to have a good time.”
Have a drink and tattoo a melon at Forever Ink Tattoo Bar [1051 Flatbush Ave. between Duryea Place and Beverly Road in Ditmas Park, (718) 284–4029, www.tatto
