So, based on a text conversation I was having the other night, I thought I would share my body art. All three pieces were designed by me and carry significant spiritual meaning. The first one is over 20 years old, and the other two were done twenty years ago, this spring. I think they look pretty darn good, considering.
This one is located on the back of my left shoulder and is about the size of my spread hand. BTW, that is a horrible place to put a tattoo, unless you are a man who can run around with their shirt off. It is a Griffin (half cat - half eagle) inside a Triskele. It wasn't until I saw HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban, that I realized it should have been a Hippogriff.
Still my Fav.
Redtail Hawk on my right calf.
From my Vision Quest.
The least favorite of my Tats. The artist who did it completely screwed up the horse. Which was the most important part of the tattoo. Different artists have different strengths and I should have asked some questions before having her do this tat. The horse's face was very refined in the picture, with perfect Arab ears and an intelligent face. I ended up with Gumby.
I would love to get another on my right shoulder, but haven't found the right one. I toyed with putting T's baby footprints there, but that's really something you should do right after having the baby. I don't think that his size 10 man feet would fit now. I've thought about doing something Indian, and have found a great horse with feathers and war paint, but it's so hard to think about spending a month's worth of board for a tattoo. I figure I am done, unless my mom and I get matching tattoos. Which we discussed during our wonderful trip to Santa Barbara.
What about you all? Tats?
I have one small horseshoe tattoo on my foot, but there are several more I'd like to get!
ReplyDeleteYou should check out The Owls Approve, Beka has some amazing tats!
ReplyDeleteTwo currently, three soon. I've had a post in my drafts for MONTHS about my tattoos. However, because my parents are so vehemently against tattoos, and because they read my blog, and because I don't wish to upset them further (mom knows about both, not the upcoming one) I haven't posted yet. It will be password protected when I do though!
ReplyDeleteLike you, I've drawn or taken the photo that modeled each of mine. The first is on the back of my right hip; it is an outline of a leaf and the veins for the leaf are actually a tree in winter - I designed this and the artist replicated it for me. The second is on my left ribcage; it is a compass rose with a trotting Arabian centered and overlayed on the compass - I designed this one, as well. I made certain I had an artist who had horses because I wanted the movement of the big floating trot captured. My artist has had horses forever, does the farrier work on them, hunts off of them with a myriad of weapons, and participates in survivalist pursuits (running into the backcountry with nothing but the clothes on his back and simple tack for days) with his horses. He also has a pack of wolves/wolf hybrids because he has so much land. Whenever the local shelters get those dogs, they send them to him. He told me from the hour we spent together that he'd trust me to have one, so to contact him if I ever felt I did.
The third I'm getting this Sunday when I go to California. It will be modeled after the sunset I experienced from Spruce Knob - my favorite place in WV - this summer when Dom and Mike visited. Saiph sketched it out perfectly, so I'm hoping the artist will replicate that as closely as possible. It will go on my right ribcage.
All my pieces are about the size of my palm. I think I'm going to finally publish the "Artistic Expressions" post when I return from California.
I love tattoos and the stories behind them. I don't have any, but not because I don't want them: it's more because I've been known to do a 180 on my opinions of things. I've always been afraid that I'd get them and then one day I'd end up hating them. If I ever did go ahead and get one or more done, this is what I'd like to do:
ReplyDelete- a Celtic knot winding all the way around my left bicep. I love bicep tats. I'm weird. I've wanted this one since I was in my teens! You'd think I'd have gotten it done. Why not? Too many Celtic knots to choose from.
- a tiny sliver of a waxing moon and the North Star on one shoulder, either the front or back. It's been my personal symbol since I was a teenager. It was my favorite phase of the moon, and then I read about what it means (I'm sure you know this too): http://www.thewhitegoddess.co.uk/moon_phases/waxing_moon.asp
The problem is that around the time I really was going to get it done, the war started. I'm darker skinned with dark hair, enough so that I had relatives that were stopped at US airports for interrogation because they looked Muslim. My symbol of choice happened to be very similar to the Islam crescent moon and star. Except my symbol is reversed from the Islam one, but who would pay attention to that? You can understand why I never went through with it. So aggravating. Stupid war.
- when I graduated from tech school, I wanted to do a trail of cat pawprints going up one shoulder blade. I was VERY set on doing this and then it just never happened, and the desire to have it done has faded with time. Maybe it will end up being tiny bare hoofprints, if I ever get anything done.
In the meantime, I enjoy hearing about everybody else's tats! :)