317 Project: Indy's Irish Ink, where art meets pain therapy

Binghui Huang, Indianapolis Star
·2 min read
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Hannah McHenry, 27 today, takes a look at a new tattoo done by Kay Robertson at Irish Ink Tattoo and Piercing, in the Perry Meridian neighborhood of Indianapolis, Tuesday, March 7, 2023.
Hannah McHenry, 27 today, takes a look at a new tattoo done by Kay Robertson at Irish Ink Tattoo and Piercing, in the Perry Meridian neighborhood of Indianapolis, Tuesday, March 7, 2023.

Hannah McKenry has a good feeling about turning 27. It's a year for change.

"It's a pandemic thing — I completely lost my mid-20s. It feels like I jumped from my early to my late," she said. "And I feel really ready to change my life."

She decided to mark that milestone with a tattoo, specifically a birthday cake featured on an album by American dream pop duo Beach House.

As it works out, her tattoo artist and friend, Kay Robertson, was free at Irish Ink Tattoo and Piercing in the Perry Meridian neighborhood of Indianapolis' south side. Even as other tattoo shops opened and closed, the tattoo parlor on Meridian Street stuck around.

Kay Robertson, a tattoo artist at Irish Ink Tattoo and Piercing, works on a design for Hannah McHenry, in the Perry Meridian neighborhood of Indianapolis, Tuesday, March 7, 2023.
Kay Robertson, a tattoo artist at Irish Ink Tattoo and Piercing, works on a design for Hannah McHenry, in the Perry Meridian neighborhood of Indianapolis, Tuesday, March 7, 2023.

That's because they tried to appeal to every group — from the heavy metal fans to emerging artists to suburban moms, said shop manager and piercing artist Bret Hileman.

Polaroid pictures covering his workspace allow people to write short notes to tell their stories: "Future Milfs," "Dirty Thirty," "Cried 3x."

What was once a rebellious act is now largely accepted by even the most straitlaced employers, Hileman said.

Robertson wanted to be a tattoo artist for as long as she could remember. To ease her parents into it, she studied painting in college.

"It's art that anybody can have," she said. "I get kind of annoyed that art can be hard to obtain. It's just like decorating yourself."

And more than art, it's a form of therapy for McHenry.

"When I'm depressed, I need to get a tattoo or piercing," she said. "Like, for some reason, it helps somehow. I think it really does, like, release endorphins."

That's not uncommon for Robertson to hear: pain therapy often comes up with her clients. But people get tattoos for all sorts of reasons: they want to remember someone or something; they want control over their body; they have a vision that they want printed on their bodies.

"If you have an idea, it can be on you forever."

Binghui Huang can be reached at 317-385-1595 or Bhuang@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Irish Ink in Indianapolis: where art meets pain therapy