Klara Dixon-Grant has always wanted to honour her family with ta moko, a traditional Maori tattoo.
So when the Dunedin resident heard travelling ta moko artist Julie Paama-Pengelly was coming to town, she jumped at the chance.
''I love the fact that I'm getting it done by a woman,'' Miss Dixon-Grant said.
''I hold strong Maori women very high, so to me getting moko by a woman with traditional instruments is a big honour.''
Ta moko was more traditionally performed by a male tattooist on a marae.
But this was different.
Miss Dixon-Grant sat in the public foyer of the Toitu Otago Settlers Museum while Ms Paama-Pengelly inked her upper back.
Breathing deeply in pain and gripping the hands of her 10-year-old son, Miss Dixon-Grant said ''[it] tickles a wee bit'' when asked by grimacing onlookers if she was ''a bit sore''.
Ta moko tell a story, representing milestones and commemorating special relationships.
Miss Dixon-Grant (38) emailed her whakapapa to Tauranga-based Ms Paama-Pengelly to provide a background for the artwork, but will not see the design until it is finished.
''I wanted to incorporate mine and my man's life, and my three babies, as well as remembrance for my two brothers who've passed.''
Ms Paama-Pengelly drew the ta moko outline while Miss Dixon-Grant described her family, as her 19-year-old daughter, Atea Moseley, looked on.
''That's the beauty of ta moko, it's never planned, just drawn straight on to the body,'' Miss Moseley said.
Traditionally, ta moko was done with a chisel that cut deep groves into the skin. Using this traditional ''hand poke'' method, Ms Paama-Pengelly worked with a wooden paintbrush handle fitted with a tattooing needle instead of bristles.
Ms Paama-Pengelly said she was a full-time traditional Maori tattooist, and had historic links to Dunedin.
Having tattooed publicly in the 1990s in New Zealand's national museum, Te Papa, Ms Paama-Pengelly said bringing the practice into the public created a ''living art''.
Ms Paama-Pengelly is in Dunedin as part of the week-long Puaka Matariki Festival.
