Like Cher and Madonna, Renton’s Majenta is colorful enough to go by one name.

“I got the name of Majenta back when I was a kid and would go to the Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Roxy here in Renton,” she said.

A fifth-generation Renton resident, Majenta, like her mother and grandmother, graduated from Renton High School. She is recognized as one of the top woman artists working today. She has a dynamically creative style. Her canvass is the human body, and her studio is the bright pink Diamond Tattoo and Body Piercing salon in downtown Renton.

Voted Best of Renton for 2013, the business is filled with displays of creative works for sale by several other local artisans. It’s a fascinating place to visit, to shop and peruse the eye candy – like posters of over-the-top characters like Divine, Elvira, Betty Page, and Dr. Frank-N-Furter. She also has an impressive collection of Marilyn Monroe artifacts.

I went there for a tattoo. Years ago, my friends – a sort of Ya-Ya sisterhood – presented me with a gift certificate to get a tattoo for my 60th birthday. I had been telling them I was going to do it and I guess they took it seriously. Somehow, I lost the certificate and my nerve, but with my 69th birthday looming, I decided it was time to actually do it while still in my sixties.

Since my appointment was for 11 a.m., it was too early for any liquid courage, my daughter Lynda brought her camera and moral support.

Being a cat lady, with my home full of cat figurines and three real ones, I googled and found a stylized cat design that I brought to Majenta.  She welcomed us warmly and showed us around, and reassured me that it wouldn’t hurt – much.

I admired her bright pink hair and her personality was so intriguing that I was mesmerized into relaxing. Her history includes traveling as a singer with rock bands and there are several photos of her with celebrities displayed on the walls.

Majenta worked as a tattoo designer in the Seattle area for 25 years and then opened her own business here in Renton nearly nine years ago.

“I wanted to come home,” she said.

Tattooing as an art form has evolved over the years from being an ultimate taboo, to a tame sort of rebellion, and now, a form of artistic self-expression. Majenta is truly an artist with her vivid use of color and sense of design.

I was also reassured by her sincerity about the cleanliness of her facility and tools of the trade, and her dedication in following the rules and procedures of this art form. The health and well-being of her clients are important to her. She believes it is vitally important for all the artists who work for her to have the proper training and certification.

I wanted the cat to be turquoise, and decided it should be discreetly below my neck in the back. I listened to Majenta’s hilarious stories, sprinkled with her laughs, and it kept me calm during the procedure. Surprisingly, it wasn’t bad at all.

When she was done with my lovely turquoise cat, she pointed to all the empty space of my back and suggested, “You need to have all your other pets now – the dogs here and the gecko there, in various colors next to the cat.”

Maybe for my 80th birthday.

To contact columnist Jaris English, email editor@rentonreporter.com.