NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. — A tattoo artist in Nicholasville is determined to help his community recover from flooding, by offering a deal to his customers.

Derrick Jay has worked as a tattoo artist for 30 years. He said he uses his work to help people be creative, cover wounds, tell stories and even boost self-confidence. 

“They come to me and I’m able to cover that with something beautiful that helps them feel better about themselves,” Jay said. 

Jay is offering a give-back opportunity to help flood victims across the commonwealth.   

Customers can book a one-hour tattoo session for half the price. All proceeds from these sessions will benefit flood recovery in Jessamine and Wilmore counties.

Jay was among those who had to evacuate from the Camp Nelson area to get away from the rising water.

“When I first moved down there, I had to wait a month for them to reopen because they had just had a historic flood. It wasn’t the largest one ever, but it was pretty big. But they said, you know what? Don’t worry about it. This happens once every ten years, and it has happened every year since and twice this year that we’ve had to evacuate,” he said. 

Jay said rising water is common in the area because of its proximity to the Kentucky River.

While Jay could get out in time, he said he knows several families who could not leave.  

“There are people down there that do not have a place to go. They didn’t even have a vehicle to pull their camper. They lived there full time. So other people pulled them to higher ground and then they got stranded by the water literally on an island,” Jay said. 

Jay has not set a time for when he will end this recovery relief deal. He said the tattoos are sentimental for everyone involved.  

“That’s part of my motivation. Why I want to try to use it to make a difference in my community is because I don’t simply want to just be drawing pictures of people. I want to help people somehow,” Jay said.