What, when, why, and most importantly where (body part)?
Me:
Dragon (tribal style). About the size of my palm.
Just about 18 months ago. In Burlington, Vermont on a bike/clear my head trip.
To mark the day of my decision to move out and accept the end of my marriage. By coinsidence it’s the year of my birth - year of the dragon.
Left shoulder blade.
I have 3.
Calvin on my right shoulder for no reason at all. Been there since 95 I think.
Shamrock on my left calf since 96, when my dad died. For the last year, I’ve been trying to figure out how to incorporate an angel for my mom.
My favorite, and the one that seems to get noticed most often, is my son’s footprint on my right calf. The nurses took an extra footprint of him when he was born, and I went and had it tatooed the following week.
I got two. Both on my back. My best friend woke up one morning and decided to get Robert Plant’s symbol done. That summer I had the four Zeppelin signs done. At the time Zeppelin was my favorite band (still pretty much is, but I don’t listen to them as religiosly as I did). A few years later I had a pi sign added to my back. I thought about it for about a year, and then when I saw the movie it cemented the idea in my head. So they can be looked at two ways, I like Zeppelin and I like math or they represent my college years (I loved college and would do it again if I could) both the academic and social aspects of it.
I have two (both pictured here):
#1 is a G-clef on my right ankle. I got it the summer of '94 (just before I turned 23), at a place in the town where I grew up: I’d wanted a tattoo for a while, but hadn’t been able to think of what to get. I’ve been playing the piano since I was 7 and singing for as long as I can remember, so I can’t believe it took me so long to think of getting a G-clef! The lines you can see going through the tattoo were done on purpose: the guy said it would look like the clef was going in and out of the background color. It didn’t work. But it’s been over ten years now, and I’ve never regretted it: I think it looks ok, and music will definitely always be a huge part of who I am.
#2 is the profile of a wolf’s head, howling at the moon, with a bit of tribal work surrounding it. I got it in the fall of '98, at a tattoo convention in Richmond. I did not go to the convention with the intention of getting a tattoo, my friend and I just thought it would be a cool thing to go check out. However, in the course of walking around and looking at all of the flash, I saw this tattoo. I have deeply identified with wolves since high school, and in college I learned that they are my totem animal; it made sense to me to get a wolf tattoo, and I just loved this design when I saw it. I was a bit hesitant to get flash – you know, not wanting the same tattoo that hundreds of other people have – but when I found myself worried that I’d never find a better wolf tattoo I decided to get it. I think the guy did a phenomenal job; I’ve never regretted this one, either.
1992- home done black rose by abusive boyfriend on inner left ankle
1997-1999- multiple laser surgeries to try and remove said rose
1998- black line drawing of circle dragon (uroboros) on my lower back gotten in Vegas on a road trip across country
2000- black rose covered up by a
design that means “I think therefore I am”. I basically realized that no matter how many surgeries I had, or how completely I removed the rose, the experience would always be a part of me and my history. So I decided symbolically it would be better to transform what was left of the rose into something I liked and would be proud of, rather than try and make it go away.
2002- Tired of the dragon, I covered it up with a colorful custom-designed tree of Peredur (a tree half in full foliage and half fire), which symbolizes both the birth-death or creation-destruction cycle and continued growth at the same time.
I want more, though. I’m trying to find a good color drawing of a goldfish to symbolize my son.
I have four.
The first, a ring of ivy around my left ankle, was done in 1995 in Elizabeth NJ. Why? Because I like ivy.
The second, a butterfly on my right hip, was done in 1996 or 97, in Clearwater FL. Why? Because I like butterflies.
The third is a flower and petal on my left shoulder blade. Got it in Ybor City FL in 2001 or 02. Why? Because I like flowers.
The fourth is a round Celtic design on the small of my back. I was visiting my sister in Asheville NC in 2002 and we thought it would be nice and sisterly to get matching tats. Plus the fact we’re both part Irish.
so far, anyways… http://www.oversteer.org/turkish.JPG
it’s an interpretation of some cover art of my fav band, www.bouncingsouls.com
it’s also sort of a 9-11/personal strife motif, what w/ the broken heart and two daggers(that some take to mean the planes, but they are more personal than that)
I will have more, of course, as time and money permit… that took 4 hours and is on my right calf, cost was $120
