The Story of the Tattoo
I have one tattoo on my back.
I started working on it in July of 2009, but it’s still unfinished almost two years later. As of right now, I’ve had five appointments, and I have at least two, maybe three, left to go before it’s complete. You see, it’s on my back, and it’s rather large, and complicated.
Image Courtesy: Mishelle Lane Photography
There are two stories I tell about why I chose this complicated piece, depending on my audience. Both are true.
For people who don’t have tattoos, or who don’t “get” tattoos, I feel like I am trying to justify myself, trying to make people understand, trying to dodge the possibility of being judged.
I tell them I’ve always loved the work of Maurice Sendak, and Where the Wild Things Are was my favorite book as a child. I read it to my brothers, to my cousins, to my nephews, to my sons. I know every word and every page by heart. I earned my Masters in Library and Information Science by way of a 30-page research paper on the work of Sendak, and the use of symbolism in his illustrations. I wanted to reclaim ownership of and take pride in my body.
To those who love tattoos, who have tattoos, who don’t really think it’s a big deal to get tattoos, I tell them the story of when I was
16-years-old, and I was taking a history class at my local junior college. A really cute boy had a Where the Wild Things Are half-sleeve tattoo.
I thought to myself, “Damn, those drawings make really good tattoos. Also this guy is ridiculously hot.”
Then later, “If I ever get a tattoo, it’s going to be that one scene from Where the Wild Things Are; the one where they’re swinging from the trees.”
I thought of it for years, telling people if they asked, and thinking about it, refining my opinion on it.
And then, in 2009, I went with my friend Julia to talk to her tattoo artist. We talked about doing it on my back, and then I had an appointment to get the outline done, and here we are today.
These two stories I tell, these two narratives about my body, they are both correct; they are both authentic.
In writing this post, I asked my fellow Curvy Girls for their tattoo stories, and as I read them, I figured something out.
People get tattoos for different reasons. They get them because they are nineteen and want to show their independence, to symbolize something that is deeply meaningful to them, because it just looks really freakin’ cool. Sometimes it’s all of the above, and sometimes it’s none of the above, and I don’t think it matters, as long as you are happy and comfortable with your choices.
I would love to hear your tattoo stories.
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Jenny Grace has been back in school for a year, raising her son for five, and growing up for twenty nine. She’s not quite done yet. Raised amongst goats and chickens on a ranch in the California countryside, she was sent off to high school at a Hindu yoga center, and spent her youth working at her family’s nightclub and bar. No really, Jenny grew up completely normal. Well, normal for a kid raised by hippies that is. Shrugging off her patchouli steeped roots, Jenny went on to get a Bachelor's of Arts in Linguistics and a Master's in Library and Information Science. Now she's working on her Master's in Accountancy. Don’t let degrees fool you though; she wastes most of her time with wine and crosswords. Jenny is a cunning linguist, honest beyond reason, and incapable of keeping her mouth shut. 
I have three tattoos. My first was on my ankle. That one took me YEARS of struggle to finally get. I was over 30 years old. It symbolized me at the time. The second was a whim.. not too much meaning but none the less. My third is still the work in progress. A back piece that has been on hold for quite awhile now. The original artist GOT IT. He got the meaning and the story behind it. But something happened along the way. The last time I went to see him, to add the next piece, it was just a tattoo. He didn’t put his artistic soul into it and it had all become about the $$ and what HE wanted to do. So, I continue to search for a new artist and have yet to find the one that I feel will give it the storyteller feel that it is intended to do.
I’m very curious as to what your back piece is! I hope you find the artist to finish it. Where are you located (I have a good artist in SF, heh).
It is a Wizard of Oz themed tattoo. Ruby Red Slippers in the foreground, yellow brick road leading to the Wicked Witch’s Tower with light beams shining out the windows, a shooting star off on my shoulder. The part I was disappointed in was Glinda and her bubble. Flat.. also wanted flying monkeys and I didn’t like the sketches so I went with the Glinda.
First. LUV your ink. LUV LUV LUV.
Second. I got my first tattoo as soon as I was 18. I was at college and walked to the tattoo parlor for the butterfly on my ankle. My first real independent move. I still love it. I got my second when I split with my first husband who hated tattoos. A chain of flowers an a butterfly on my back. I got my third tattoo – one on my shoulder is a butterfly with my son’s name hidden in it. It is the one I’m least pleased with because I just want it changed a little. It’s a bit bland. Haven’t met an artist I can work with on it yet though. FINALLY…my last (fourth) tattoo is the most important. It is an infinity symbol on my wrist and I got it on the one-year anniversary of losing my Dad. He was a math geek and I got it there to help me finally get rid of his ugly watch I wore after he died.
Those are my stories. Here’s my infinity tattoo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/misszoot/4483068472/
Oh I love it. Did you save the watch?
I am ink free (I just….don’t love anything enough to wear it all the time, if that makes sense) but I love hearing the stories of the art and meaning behind other tattoos.
This is me, too.
I really appreciate the beauty in others’ ink, though. Yours is stunning.
My first tattoo was on my hip. I got it at the ripe old age of 18.3 years old. I wanted something to shock my mom, aggravate my dad and prove to myself that I couldn’t be reined in anymore. It’s a rose and white shasta daisy wrapped around each other.
I got the second one 6 months later. It was drawn to resemble a picture of the Eeyore cartoon character on the watch I’d worn forever. It’s on my right ankle and I hate it.
My third was a spur of the moment “girl’s night” decision. My friend and I went to the tattoo parlor and got matching Kanji symbols for “Friend” to celebrate our 7th friend-versary. We stopped being friends 6 months later.
My fourth was another spur of the moment idea with my Mom. We drove by a tattoo parlor at 6pm on Christmas eve and decided we wanted tattoos. We got matching tattoos on the back of our necks. It’s the initials “G.B.N.” written in my handwriting, The initials stand for “God Bless Nicholas”, my son who passed from SIDS in 2002.
The fifth was my gift to myself for my 30th birthday. Translated it means “No Regrets” but it’s in Greek and I sure hope I got it all right.
“18.3″ made me laugh.
I have one tattoo…it is a purple heart with tribal-like wings…I got it the day I turned 18. It was a symbol of rebellion and meaning all at the same time. Purple has always been my favorite color, and the wings were to help me fly away from all the bad shit that happened to me over my life…totally another story! Now that I am older (33) I really want to cover it up with something more meaningful to me now. I look at it now and think of all the pain that it represents and want something that represents the happiness that I have now. I would like to take my birth flower (chrysanthemum), my husband’s (calendula or cosmos) and our son’s (carnation or snowdragon) and have them shaped like a fleur de lis. And also add some shamrocks to it for our wedding anniversary (St. Patrick’s Day)! So one day, I will get the guts and find a truly talented artist to make something that is meh into something that is phenomenal. I would also like the words “Gra’ anois agus go deo” which is celtic for “Love, now and forever” incorperated in it somehow too.
That sounds like a really stunning idea. I hope you get it done someday.
I have 4 tattoos, one being an almost completed half sleeve. I got my first tattoo on my 18th birthday with my sister. It is of three hot pink small, medium and large stars on my foot standing for my big brother, big sister and myself. I have a phoenix on my back that I got not long after that. I had just gotten out of a very bad relationship and needed to show my “rebirth” so to speak. I have one of my forearm that my sister, mother, and Aunt all got to match after my Grandmother died. It is a pair of footprints in the sand (her favorite poem) and around it, it says “She Walks With Me” (her favorite hymn was “He Walks With Me.” And my half sleeve is dedicated to my boys-my husband and son. The top part is of two swallows holding a banner saying “True Love” is is surrounded by stars. In one of the stars in our anniversary. On the lower part there is the King of Hearts (hubby) and the Jack of Hearts (son) in between three large roses. I got this because “our song” is Rose of my Heart by Johnny Cash. It is also surrounded by stars and vines/leaves. I love my tattoos. I would like to re do my phoenix because it isn’t exactly what I want. And I plan to finish my half sleeve and maybe get one or two more, but after that I’ll probably be done. It takes me a very long time to think/draw out a tattoo…
Yeah it takes me a really long time to process exactly what I want. I think I want one more. Maybe two. Still working out the details of course.
I have ….. 15 tattoos ranging from my first that is a smiley bumble bee done when I was 18 and rebelling – although I had it done on my chest so it could be covered lol to a chain of 6 large pawprints in black up my right leg and 6 small pawprints a chain and collar on my hand and wrist (each of these counts as one btw!) I have a pawprint with angel wings (are toy getting a theme here???) I have an ankle bracelet containing the birthstone colours of all my kids and dogs I have a chakra on my lower back and an Egyptian eye on my neck, I have a heart on a chain down my back and a half sleeve of butterflies and flowers, tinkerbell and the words when you wish upon a star on ny arm and my favourite? Animal from the muppets on the back of ny left leg! All have meanings to me, and that’s all that matters!
Yes! Each counts as one! I’m totally with you there. I think that the important thing is that you like your tattoos, and it sounds like you love them!
Mine is a memorial tat for a dear friend. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cuteellaisbold/4833911137/
It’s his initials with his birthday going up one side and the day he passed away going down the other.
It’s on my upper arm right about where my shoulder bone is and every once in awhile I catch a glimpse of it…just like I still catch a glimpse of him in my life.
I remember the story for this one. Love to you honey.
I love your tattoo and the idea behind it…just lovely!
mo
I got a maple leaf on my ankle while i was living abroad so that I would never forget where i came from. I would get another one, but it’s such a big decision and I easily get sick of things, I’ve been hesitant to get another one.
I have three. First my shark on my shoulder, a wave tramp stamp, and my last – an anchor on the top of my foot. The first two are so I remember the good times with my dad, watching shark week, being out on the ocean. The last, my dad was my anchor, not only to me, but to my whole family. And now, all that responsibility is mine. The anchor symbolizes how I feel tied down to the family, and then at the same time, anchored at a safe harbor among them.
Nice :-)
I have the word ‘ehiwv’ on the inside of my right wrist. it means “his wife” in Muscogee Creek, the language of the Muscogee Creek Indian tribe (my husband is a member of the tribe). Husband has the word ‘ehe’ on his wrist, which means “her husband”. we got them done the week after our wedding in 2006. we plan on getting the words for mother and father done on our left wrists next, now that we’ve got kiddos.
I also have a stupid sun tattooed on my lower back; got it done the first day of college. rebellion, clearly. I plan to cover it or remove it someday.
What would you cover it with?
I have 2, but will soon be adding another one (you’ll see why in a minute).
My first one is a heart with horizontal flames on both side, my “tramp stamp”. While on vacation in FL with 2 of my best friends we all got a tattoo. I have always been classified as a strong lover and a strong fighter. I thought it kinda represented while I have a huge heart and will do anything, my fiery side will prevail no matter what. Plus I’m redheaded and we have somehow become associated with fire. ahem…
My second is a small initial k on the wrist. This is my son’s initial and I wanted a way to symbolize my being a mom and him bringing out the best in me.
I only counted on one child, but since I now find myself in the motherly way again, I guess one more tattoo will be in order.
Aw, congratulations!
My first tattoo is a rose and a scripture verse from the book of Jeremiah. “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.” I got that b/c at the time in my life, after I had survived a traumatic event and had not gone through w/ my Final Exit Plans, I realized that while I might not have any idea why I was still alive, at least there was a God in Heaven who kept me here on the earth for some reason.
Two years later I got my answer when I found out I was pregnant w/ my son. (His father left me @ the 20 wks sonogram) . I know that if I had died back when I was trying my best to escape, this beautiful child wouldn’t have touched the hearts and changed so many minds.
What a magical story.
My first tattoo I was 17 years old and my mom lied to the artist for me saying I was 18 and she could vouch, I just didn’t have my license with me. It is a Japanese symbol for happiness put on my tramp stamp(I’ve been told that it looks like an arrow pointing down-ha!). My next is a four leaf clover on my right ankle. I was dating a female at the time and no matter where we went or what time of year it was, she found a four leaf clover the second we went outside. I was 18 and on my senior trip with my best friend and she was home and I got it as some sort of symbolization of our relationship, which ended 1.5 years later. My next one is of lyrics to my song with my husband. The song is, For Me This is Heaven by Jimmy Eat World. It’s about falling in love not for the first time but for the last time. About a year later I got the italian spelling for the word revolution between my shoulder blades, one of my favorite artists reminds me to lead a personal revolution in my own life daily and she is italian. Lastly I got a native american symbol for friendship with my best friend of 10+ years on the back of my left ankle – hers is on her right ankle. Currently I want to find an artist that will do an all white shilloute of a mama and baby polar bear embracing for my right forearm for my son and I.
My story is about NOT getting a tattoo. I lived in San Francisco in the early 80s – way before the time of tattoo mania. Lyle Tuttle had a shop off Market Street. He was famous for his tattoos (full body suit) and the stars that he’d inked – Janis Joplin, Jerry Garcia, etc.
I picked a tattoo (small kissy lips, like a lipstick impression) about the size of a nickle. I was going to have it done on my bikini line. I went to the shop 3 times to have it done and chickened out every time. I called my brother to get his opinion, secretly hoping that he’d mock me and I’d get it to show him!!
He told me to get a red Sharpie marker and draw it on every few days for a year. Then if I still wanted it, go get it done permanently.
I am sans ink to this day.
Good advice, although I’m such a spectacularly bad artist that I’m not sure this would have worked for me.
First, I LOVE your tattoo. And both narratives.
Ani has this line in a song that goes “tattoos like mile markers map the distance she has come, winning some, losing some.” That’s my tattoo philosophy. My tats are representations of where I was, who I was, when I had each of them done. They aren’t all things I’d choose now, but they all made perfect sense at the time, and who I am is nothing more than the conflation of who I was with who else I was. I love each of them for that reason.
That’s the philosophy I have as well. Everywhere you’ve been makes you who you are.
I don’t have any tattoos yet but I have a few planned. I want to wait until I reach a few goals before I get them (one being weight).
I want to get “Love is my religion” written in Gaelic on the inside of my right wrist because most of my family is very catholic and I’m not but love is definitely something I believe in.
I want to get a phoenix on the outside of my upper left thigh as soon as I reach my goal weight as a way to celebrate it and a way to remind myself to take care of my body.
When I get married I want to get a beamed music note behind my left ear to represent us and when I have kids I am going to add notes for each one.
And the last one I have planned is my dog’s paw print because he has brought me so much joy and I always want to remember him.
I have two tattoos, with definite plans to have many more. I have a Warren Zevon lyric on my wrist ‘I’m tied to you like the buttons on your blouse’ as a symbol of my Dad and I and our relationship. I got it shortly after turning 18, and I couldn’t love it more. I also have a classic anchor on my right foot. It symbolizes my love for my partner and how that love grounds me. I want a classic ship wheel on my other foot, one to ground me, one to guide me. I love tattoos and to me they’re a part of your appearance you can easily control. I can’t change my eye color, or my curves, but I can make my body beautiful to me by choosing what I mark it with.
That is one of my FAVORITE songs.
I have 5 tattoos. My first one is a little yellow rose on my left shoulder blade I got about two months after my grandmother died, since it was her favorite flower. About two weeks later I got a white rose on the back of my right shoulder. On the inside of my right wrist I have a terrible looking one that says, *Big Sis* (my sister has *Lil Sis*). I got this when I was in the process of joining the Army, so me and my sister were always connected. I have ribbons and stars going halfway down my spine. Just got that one because its pretty. My latest one isnt finished, but currently is the outline of 3 roses curving down my calf. After its finished it will have “beauty” above it and “strength” below it. 4 of my 5 have deep meanings
I hate being in that unfinished tattoo stage, but yours sounds great.
So I have this one on my wrist, its kanji for Patience. When I got this one, I was needing a reminder to have some. It is also, coincidentally, the meaning of my name.
And I kinda want another. Sigh. The tattoos, they are so addicting.
They really REALLY are.
I have one tattoo, on my lower back. I lost my Dad to Multiple Myeloma, a blood cancer, 7 years ago. Before he passed away, my brothers and I talked about getting a tattoo to honor him. Being the good Irish American he was, he loved Guinness, so we decided that it should be based on the Guinness harp. My artistic brother drew up a beautiful harp, and made the number of strings for the number of people in my immediate family. About 2 months after my Dad passed away, my brother had an internship in Miami (we live in Boston) and my other brother joined him for a vacation. When they came home, they both showed me that they had gotten the tattoo and informed me I had 2 days to get mine because we wanted to show my Mom together. So I went the next night and got mine and we showed my Mom. She cried and said my Dad would’ve killed us and been so proud at the same time. I love the fact that my brothers and I share something so special. We also had the harp engraved on my Dad’s gravestone.
That sounds like a really beautiful tribute to your father.
Pingback: Through The Looking Glass » Blog Archive » The story of three tattoos, one of them nonexistent
Mine were worth a whole blog post: http://noirbettie.com/blog/?p=9355
I have 2, one on my right calf that the artist took from a magnet that I got when I vacationed in Hawaii. This reminds me daily of the wonderful time I had there. The other is on my left shoulder and is my son’s name with a butterfly on it. The butterfly represents my mother who passed 3 days before he was born. I know she is watching over us!
I have plans to get a polar bear some where because every winter I swim in the ocean for Special Olympics. I want to get paw prints to represent each year I swim. Wonder how long that line of prints will go???
How many would have so far? (Paw prints I mean)
I would have 5. With plans for more!
I don’t have any…yet. I am coming out of an 18 year marriage and am just beginning to figure out who I am and what I want. I really want to get one that has something to do with my 3 daughters. I work on it every once in awhile but I don’t know yet if I’m brave enough to go through with it. I love reading these stories.
Just reading about all of these tttoos makes me want to go out and get more ink – I think I am addicted :)
I have 5 – I’ll start at the oldest and move forward.
My foot – I have a daisy on my right foot that I got while 7 months pregnant with the son I gave up for adoption.
My back – I have a heart with a banner with my daughter’s name on it and a huge vine covering most of my back that I would like to turn into a family tree of sorts.
My calf – I have a small tribal pheonix for my cousin who commited suicide by fire after naming his new born Pheonix. I would actually like to cover this with a can of spray paint (same cousin was an artist), a can of TAB soda for another cousin and a pair of roller skates for a friends daughter. This would turn my calf into a memorial wall/charm bracelet of sorts that I could add to over time.
My ring finger – my husband’s name.
And for all the people I love – I have the word “Pain” tattooed on my neck ;-)
Daisy, I admit I’m short on coffee today and it took me a minute to get the pain one. But then? OH MAN THAT IS FUNNY. I love it.
I blogged about mine. :-)
http://www.lovelifefamilyandthensome.com/2011/02/new-ink-my-dave-matthews-band-fire.html
I love you tattoo so so much, and I even told you so once on twitter. It is breathtaking.
I have 3 tattoos. And plan on getting atleast one more. I got my first one at 17(bday 10.5.92) on christmas eve. It was a christmas gift from a family member. Its Live Laugh Love with a heart going down the side of my right foot. Then about March of that next year I went to go get a piercing, but came out with no piercing and a tattoo. Its 2 dog wood flowers, and a bloom. Symbolizing my 2 childhood dogs, that were part of the family that had passed away. And a puppy that I had, that ended up passing away also. That tattoo is under my left arm(By Far The Most Painful). But its beautiful and I love it. its next to my heart. My third tattoo I got about 2 months ago. And it says family forever with black and white stars, its on my left foot. My aunt and I went and got that done together. Shes one of my best friends, and we are very close, so it was kinda to show that. My next one(possibly the last) will be in memory of my grandpa. This one I have been planning since 2007. But I want it to be absolutly perfect. Lets just say tattoos=addicting! Lol.
My first tattoo was, like so many others, done when I was 18. It’s a heart pierced by a music note on my hip. At the time, I thought that my life’s calling was to study music. I ended up going in a totally different direction, but I love music enough (and it’s hidden enough) that I still kind of like it.
The second one was three stars on my back and has no meaning at all outside of the fact that I like stars and was too chicken to get a similar tattoo that I had designed to go around my wrist. Eventually, when I’m less worried about visibility, I will get the original tattoo.
The most recent acquisition is a mermaid sitting on an anchor. It’s the largest and most detailed to date. I got it because, as the kid of two sailors, I’ve always grown up around the ocean and have always had a thing for mermaid lore. The anchor is a nod to my parents, despite the fact that neither one is really stoked about tattoos.
I have fourteen tattoos. They all have one meaning or another, and I get them mostly because I actually enjoy the process of getting tattoos. I have a rose on my hip surrounded by four shamrocks, I have two dragons on my right ankle that intertwine, I have bar wire wrapped around the same ankle with a butterfly escaping it on the inner ankle, I have the word “Chosen” on my back (yep, a tramp stamp), I have a triquetra on my left ankle and four pink paw prints on my left foot.
What is a triquetra?
It’s a Celtic symbol that signifies the holy trinity. Also called a trinity knot. It looks similar to this: http://www.clann-a-chalmain.org/Triquetra04.gif
Oh! Awesome :-)
i have 5 tattoos… each came at some pivotal point in my life or at a time when i could afford to make a mark about something special.
the most important and my favorite is my anchor that’s on my back on the left side. it symbolizes my husband and our daughter. my anchors. my anchors through all the rough stuff, the reminder through the good that they are there too. the anchors of my life. it came to me after being pulled into this dave matthews song called ‘steady as we go”.. it made me think about my love for my husband, how hard relationships can be, and then adding in my daughter… steady there – my blog title came from that.. and the anchor.. well as part of the ship that i try to keep steady is reminder that its there to hold us fast in the tough times. This is a pic on the day it was done: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pandy/2677569824/ back in 2008.
I decided a long time ago that I wanted a tattoo but I couldn’t figure out WHAT it was that I would care to have on my body for the rest of my life. I toyed with the idea of bracelets around my wrists for a while. Then, a few years ago, when I was reclaiming my independence and all that – getting a divorce and moving into a new apartment that I was decorating all retro-y (the first time I got to decorate any place I lived) – I figured it out. I wanted something that symbolized my retro style and also stood for my son Jack (who inspired me to make some HUGE changes for the better). I got three turquoise jacks on my left wrist. I freaking love it (although it definitely needs touching up – the wrist is a tough spot).
I love your jacks, they’re awesome.
I have one tattoo of a butterfly on my upper right arm. It’s a silly tattoo really. I got it when I was nearly 22, the day after I lost my virginity. Losing my virginity was the most awful thing ever, and I was pissed that it wasn’t how I imagined. So I got in the car, drove to Texas(I live in Oklahoma, and tattoos were illegal at the time), and picked the first thing I saw. I don’t regret getting, but I do wish I had chosen something different.
When I work up the courage(I don’t like pain), my next tattoo will be on my left foot. It’s a quote from Lord of The Rings, and it describes me perfectly: “Not all those who wander are lost.”
I have two. My first is one that I got when I was 18 (how novel, right :) and it was a Christmas gift from my parents: Felix the cat, on my ankle. I’ve always loved Felix and associated him with my mom and grandpa, and the word “felix” in Latin (which I teach) means “happy” or “lucky”, both of which describe me. My second was in memory of my first pet, a Russian tortoise, who passed away when I was 21. It is something I drew myself: a tortoise as seen from the top, with each of the different astrological glyphs in his shell, and they are color-coded (fire signs red, earth signs green, etc.). I finally spent the money on it when I was 23, and it was a congratulatory present for getting into grad school. I’d like the Japanese word “neko” (cat) on my foot and I’d like to do something with the Hindu “om” symbol combined with a more traditionally Christian symbol (I was raised Catholic but have been Hindu for almost a decade now), but I don’t know what. Also, I’m a little scared about the pain of a foot tattoo!!
I love tattoos and the stories that come with them. I have 6. Oldest to newest, I have a kanji symbol meaning naughty on my right shoulder blade, I was only 17. The second is two intertwined moons, one angel and one a devil, on the back of my neck/top of my back area thatmy exhusband and friend got me for my 19th birthday. The same year my exhusband and I got matching kanji symbols meaning love hurts (this is my tramp stamp), has a double meaning 1 because we loved each other and tattoos hurt and when love ends it hurts (boy does it). The next year I got one on the back of my left calf, its huge and ugly and I want it gone. Its a tribal type moon with a shadow of a woman on it with strong woman (love that part), the best part is that the stars are black light reactive. Then I got pain on my right inner ankle 2 weeks after my exhusband left. And lastly I have my sons birth month flower (violet) covering my right foot, from ankle bone around and down to my toes, by far my favorite and prettiest. I plan on getting both my boys’ birthdays and my wedding date (a year from yesterday), of my current marriage in roman numerals next to my collar bone
When I was 20 and my sister was 23 we got the same three stars tattooed on different parts of our back. A few years before our youngest sister passed away suddenly and it didn’t seem like there was enough to do to honor her memory. The stars are in descending order in size, from largest to smallest and represent my oldest sister, myself and my youngest sister. The smallest is lightly shaded to look like a dimming light to represent my dearly departed sister. The only thing I regret about this tattoo is that I can’t see it all the time.
I love my tattoo. I’ve barely had it a year, but it is so special. And not *too* cliche, I hope :) My friend and I got
I got this:
http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l2he1yd0g21qzabkfo1_400.jpg
on my left wrist.
I grew up devouring books and my absolute favorite series is Harry Potter (quite literally grew up with Harry). The stars are on the chapter titles in all of the books.
The stars can have other meanings to me, personally. My dad was an amateur astronomer and they remind me of my dad and reaching for the stars. I miss him :(
I love reading all of your stories and it makes me want more ink, it IS definitely addicting. I’ve been contemplating another for a while now.
Hi, your tattoo is absolutely amazing. I was wondering if you would share the name of the artist/tattoo parlor because I’m looking to get a fairly intricate tattoo in the SF area this summer. It will be a Oaxacan tree of life (very stylized with birds in all of the branches) on my upper back following my spine. I am very intimidated about the process of picking an artist so I’d love suggestions.
George Campise (www.georgecampise.com), he works at Seventh Son, in SF.
Jenny,
I love your tattoo! And I love seeing it come together. And I get the whole telling two stories. I have 3 tattoos and I’m in the middle of having my 4th designed and hopefully having it tattooed this coming September.
The 1st one was done on a whim with 2 best friends and although it carries a lot of meaning since we all share the same tattoo, the design within itself, beyond being an original “sailor Jerry” art piece, was just something we picked out that we all liked and could agree on. My 2nd to date, is the most meaningful, a phrase from my great uncle about how one should lead their life. And my 3rd, a tattoo I share with my cousin, for good luck!
The 4th, will again be a more meaningful, and the biggest of all. A half sleeve dedication piece to my parents and maternal grandparents. Super excited but also preparing myself to forever explain myself.
I have ONE tattoo, a Houston Astros star on my left ankle/calf area. Anyone that knows me knows that I love my hometown baseball team a LOT. A friend and I decided that we would get tattoos if/when the Astros ever made it to the World Series. They did in 2005 and in June of 2006 I got my tattoo. My friend didn’t. I love it and the un-dying love that it shows I have for my team!
ooooh LOVE your ink! i have 7 of my own. 4 are stars on my hips that i got on my 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st b-days. i have a tibetan mantra on my forearm, a tree of life on my back, and a lily flower and hummingbird on my shoulder/chest. each as it’s own story…it’s way too much to tell. :)
i anxiously await the day I get to see your COMPLETED tattoo. I’m still not exactly sure why i got mine other than I wanted a tattoo. I bought a stamp years ago and one day thought “that would be a cute tattoo.” I find I think that about a lot of things. anyway, i thought it over for almost a year and just before my 19th birthday I finally got it. I still like it. I’ve been thinking about 2 others for quite some time now. Not sure why it takes me so long to just DO it
As I sat for 4+ hours in a chair yesterday, I don’t even want to THINK about another tattoo….but I digress….I got my first tattoo when I returned home from Beach Week after graduating from HS. I was 18 (1996) and went with a group of friends, including my BFF. She and I just picked out roses from the wall and got them on the inside of our opposite ankles. My next one was the Chinese symbol for friendship on my right shoulder blade, went with two girlfriends; one I couldn’t tell you where she is now and the other we had a falling out and she was later killed in a car wreck (though I am extremely close with her family and that gives me closure). My next one was a boy’s name on my left hip (don’t ever get names unless they come out of your body! LOL). After that was an Elmo head on my lower left back. Why?? I couldn’t tell you, I just liked him (not anymore!). My next one would be a tribal design to cover up said name on my hip. Those all took place within 18 or so months of each other. Fast forward 13 years and I get my next one (which was last year), my daughter’s name on my left wrist, which took me 8 years to even get (had to decide if I liked her or not!) And now we are at present time, I got Elmo covered up yesterday with a back piece from my bra line to a little below my waist and it’s a Koi with waves, wind bars and japanese cherry blossoms. I love it and so glad I FINALLY had it done. Hurt like hell, but I am sure once it heals, I’ll be on to my next one! I believe my BFF and I are going to get our initials and a small heart around our respective rose tattoos just to add to something we did together nearly 15 years ago!!
Loved reading all the stories and would love to see your piece once completed!!
Wow, so many awesome stories, and it’s cool to hear the full extent of your stories, JG.
I don’t have any tattoos, but I have a LOT of ideas. We’ll see if they happen, I think I’ll try temporary ones first. Apparently there’s printer paper that you can use to make your own temp tattoos, and since my SO and I both don’t have any, there’s not really any impetus to rush toward it…not to mention, we’re in our mid-thirties, obviously any rush to tattoo would have been long ago, right?
We have one friend who waited til age 40, so the colors would have less time to fade, and another friend waited til she was nearly 60, because of her professorship.
I figure, maybe someday…I love looking at them and hearing the stories, in the meantime. ;D
Oh, so, some of my ideas: a portrait of my maternal grandparents as a young married couple on my upper left arm, some of my favorite flowers in rainbow order, on my upper right arm, or right calf or thigh, in a zigzag pattern to evoke the lightning bolt of two of my greatest pop culture loves, Harry Potter and the Grateful Dead. A baby dragon [right] shoulder pet, in photorealistic-fantasy style, in forest green with lime and turquoise accents. Maybe a goat-fish [Capricorn] around my right ankle. ;p One of my original ideas, before I came up with the ‘shoulder pet’, was a huge dragon backpiece…but to show that off, I’d have to wear open-back halter tops, and I can’t stand pressure on my neck. ;p
At age 25, I was divorced with a two-year-old and had moved back in with my mother. We did not get along. That’s an understatement. My son had a major case of the terrible twos. I was depressed. I continually felt like a hippo was sitting on my sternum.
It made me crazy that others decided on everything in my life: when I would sleep and wake up, when and how long I would work, even when I would be able to go to the toilet. I realized that the only thing I had control over was my body, and as a symbol of asserting that control, I got my tattoo.
It’s on my back – to make sure that it’ll age well and not be seen at all times. Even I sometimes forget it exists. But every now and then, twisting and turning in front of the mirror to check my saddle bags and chubby thighs and every other battle scar on this body that I’ve grown to love, that has carried me through life and produced the miracles that are my kids, I see it: the large heart and the evergreen clinging around it, bearing large, luscious purple fruit. The fruit of my love and labour and tears? Too cheesy? You decide.
I don’t think it’s too cheesy :-)
Jenny Grace, I absolutely love your tattoo! The only thing is that I would be upset that I couldn’t see it all the time. It is beautiful.
My sons both have tattoos. My 25 yr old has a Celtic Cross on his arm that is magnificent. My 23 yr old has a Celtic saying down his side that means “Never forget” for a friend who passed away. On the bottom of it in a circle it says OG 10. The friends initials and the year he died. It is also just gorgeous.
Now here’s the kicker. I am 57 years old, and I want one now. I have wished for one for years but never did it. My nephew is the artist so I know his work. My Mom passed away in October 2010, and would love to get something small to honor her. I think all you Gals have given me the push to do it. You’re never too old right?
mo
You’re never too old. Go for it! Or have you already?
WOW!! The detail in your piece is absolutely amazing! What a GREAT artist you have found! I just found this blog post and thought I would comment on the beauty of your tattoo!
I have two tattoos myself. I got the first when I was a month shy of turning 19. It is tribal type butterfly right between my shoulder blades that a friend at the time drew. It really doesn’t have any meaning.
The 2nd has a little more meaning, but it didnt start that way. I have a japanese cherry tree done in sort of a water color look. I got the idea from seeing a cherry tree branch tattoo on someone’s shoulder and thought it really looked cool. Once I started researching them I decided I wanted the whole tree and loved the Japenese symbolism of how it represents how fragile life is and you must cherish what you have while you have it, or it may be gone before you realize it. That’s when I decided to go for the whole tree up the side of my back, wrapping around my side and across my shoulder and down my arm. The tree is blowing in the wind and petals are floating down represneting the people I have lost over the years. It took me a while to get used to it, but I absolutely love it and know that its a one of a kind. The artist even touched up the first tattoo since the tree wraps around it. I posted a picture below, just ignore my ass crack! The picture was taken on the day it was done, so the redness has faded to a pinker color.
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l237/Goodvibes420/jen%20tattoo/DSC00369.jpg
I would like another, but I want to wait until I am done having kids. I want to incorporate my husband, daughter, and future baby (not yet concieved ;-) ) in it somehow.
I can not get over how beautiful your’s is!
I have two. My right wrist reads “No Lies,” and my left reads “Just Love.” I got them when I was barely 16. It had been a rough few months, I lost my father, my best friend and sister in less than 90 days. I fell heavily into drugs and all sorts of bad things and in a moment of clarity I got those four words, lyrics to my favorite song, to remind me of who I was, am and always will be. It didn’t save me, it took me three more years to get clean and I struggle with it every day. That tattoo is mine forever and I would never cover it or trade it for anything.
I have one and a half tattoos (one’s not quite finished yet), and plan for more.
My first is a symbol modeled off of a tsuba, which is the part of a Japanese sword that guards the handle and can sometimes be very elaborately decorated. I designed it to include the characters of one of my earliest Internet handles, and also the name of an original character that meant a great deal to me at the time (and still does). I got it when I was… 19 or 20, I think, and it’s on the small of my back. After I broke up with the person I was with when I first got it, I tried to ignore it for a while and even considered covering it up, but now that I’ve met the person I’m going to be spending the rest of my life with… she loves it, and I’ve come to cherish it again.
The second is another one I designed myself – a black serpent wrapping around my ankle, braiding itself all the way down. It’s a reference to the first dragon legend I can remember reading in fifth grade – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambton_Worm – and whenever I am asked about it, I always enjoy having a chance to play storyteller to someone new. The story sticks with me as a reminder to be responsible for one’s decisions and actions, even when it means consequences or standing up to something terrifying… plus I adore dragon legends. I’ve had it since I was 21, and it needs a little more black to finish filling it in.
I have at least two more planned, and not small ones, either. For me, tattoos are first and foremost about marking stories on your skin – not something that you think you might ever forget, but something that will be important to you for the rest of your life, and about not being afraid to share that story to someone that needs it.
… and sometimes, some of them can look AMAZINGLY cool. I’ve seen quite a few tattoos inspired by Sendak’s work, but yours is definitely one of the largest and most striking! The resemblance to the original artwork is fantastic!
Let me just start by saying that this is, hands down, the most beautiful tattoo I have ever seen in my life. I find that image so moving even though I have actually never read WTWTA, just seen the movie. I wish I had the courage to get a tatt that big (or loved anything that much); I only have one and it’s covered 95% of the time.
Relly though, wow. This is breathtaking. I can’t get over it lol
Your tattoo is absolutely amazing: the detail in the strokes is wonderful, and I am so glad you are taking time with your sessions to get it perfect.
I have just 2 tattoos at the minute, but am planning on getting a helluva lot more. My first is a detailed black and grey rose on the back of my neck/top of my spine. I got it simply because I wanted something beautiful on me because I don’t see myself that way, so now when I see it I think there’s at least one beautiful thing about my body.
My second is so simple, and so beautiful to me. It’s the quote “Everything was beautiful, and nothing hurt.” It’s from Vonnegut’s ‘Slaughterhouse 5′ and in plain typewriter font on my forearm. I wanted this piece for so long as ever since I read it, I thought it encapsulated my naivety, and my search for beauty in everything I encounter. It’s ironic: nobody can go through life without feeling pain, but wouldn’t it be wonderful to look back and see the good outweighed the bad?
I have several ink spots ;-)
First one was like many other people…spur of the moment just because I could. I walked out with a sun on my inner ankle. I love this one becuase it’s been with me for so long but I wish it was something more meaningful. Many years later. I got the beginnings of my “tramp stamp”. I was mentally recovering from a very violent rape and needed a reminder that I was strong even though I didn’t feel it. I got the chinese symbol for strength and then followed that up with the symbols for hope and peace. Then a few months ago, I lost my younger sister to a car accident. My older sister and I got matching roses on our feet.
I love the originality and boldness of your tattoo! I grew up being read that book, so I understand its significance to you.
I only have one tattoo, but plan for at least one more. My tattoo is of a maltese cross on the side of my left foot. It’s not solid black, just an outline, but there are two thin lines outlining it. I got it a month into my 18th year. The church that I grew up in has been, and still is, very important to me. But during my senior year of high school, I became very jaded towards Christians, in general. I got it to remind me that everything will change, people are not reliant, but God is reliant and will never alter.
My next one (I might wait a little while to get it, I’m only 19!) will be a sunflower on my right hip/upper-thigh. It will be a symbol for the women in my family, specifically my maternal grandmother, step-grandmother, mom, and aunts (mother’s sisters). They grew up in South Louisiana and I have always associated this region (where I now live) and these women with sunflowers. They (the women and the flowers) are feminine, but strong and bold. Brave. Not easily shaken. They can go through a lot of struggle and still be beautiful. I have also always admired the stability of their relationships and love for each other. I want the tattoo to be a constant reminder of who raised me and what God wanted me to learn from them. And I want it to be artistically and beautifully done, with great color!
I don’t think I ever want words tattooed, but I love hearing everyone’s stories, words or otherwise! Reading all these comments has made me so anxious to get more ink! :)
My first tattoo is a fleur-de-lis star on my back, centered between the bottom of my shoulder blades. I had wanted the kanji for “perseverance” but couldn’t find it for the longest time and when I did, it was multiple characters. That didn’t fit my vision and would have been way too big. I ended up wandering around the Mall of America the day before my appointment with a friend and stumbled into a crazy little shop that has everything from new & used books to Christmas ornaments year-round to hand-made cards & lights & lamps. I found a snowflake ornament that really spoke to me but was again, too big for my vision. I took it to the appointment, and asked the artist to omit one of the hands of the snowflake so that it would be a 5 handed star instead. For me, it still means that I will persevere. That my head, my hands & my feet can take me anywhere I need to be.
My second tattoo is a treble clef & music notes in purple around my left ankle. I thought I would never stop singing and it would show my love of music. I’ve stopped singing for the most part, but still love all music. Still play the piano and flute, although I gave up the oboe as I never really got beyond it sounding like a dying duck.
My most recent tattoo means the most to me. I have 2 chinchillas as pets. The first I got brought me out of an extremely deep depression. He and I are connected on some level at our souls, corny but true. Chester loves to sit on my left shoulder. He’ll just sit there, or nuzzle me, or lick/nibble on my ear. But it has to be my left shoulder. I have his footprints tattooed on the back of my left shoulder. He’s always, always with me now.
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