Monday, July 12, 2010

All Inked Up

Yesterday while I was doing some grocery shopping a woman stopped me in an aisle and said "Miss, I just want to tell you that your tattoo is so beautiful. The colors & design are just amazing." I thanked her & she asked me a question or two about it and then we parted ways. Later that night while standing on a subway platform with some friends, a stranger approached me to compliment me on the same tattoo and then continued to ask me a laundry list of questions about it - Thank God the train came soon after THAT started.

This has been happening a lot more lately, mainly due to the weather being so warm causing me to wear less layers & more tank tops, dresses etc. I have multiple tattoos but the one on my right arm is most visible & in my opinion (and in what I have been told by others) a very interesting tattoo. (by the way, in case you haven't seen it, you can see a picture of the tattoo here.)
It's eye-catching & it's different - the coloring alone draws people in. I knew getting this piece would mean dealing with instances like the 2 scenarios above and I do not at all regret getting it or having it. Most of the time, I am very much grateful for the compliments & obliged to answer questions. But to be completely honest, there are times I can't be bothered. A friend commented last night that I should get the questions I get asked most often along with the answers tattooed on the other arm so that I wouldn't have to answer them all the time. I thought that was hilarious & genius at the same time (and no, I won't be doing that).

Tattoos have meaning to people - it's art on a person's skin. Explaining a tattoo is much like explaining a piece of art to someone. Even though the artwork/tattoo may have a specific meaning or a concept to convey, everyone sees something just a bit different about or in the artwork/tattoo. Also, you can't make someone understand passion or beauty. They either see it or they don't. Attempting to explain it to someone who might not have a connection to what the artwork/tattoo represents or even had the experience of creating art/creating & getting a tattoo makes it even more difficult.

About a year ago, I wrote a play about tattoos, specifically my tattoos and what I think and believe tattoos/getting tattoos represent to others and what they mean to me. I recently found that first draft and have been revising it here and there but my thoughts on tattoos are still the same since the day I got my first one done 12 years ago. My mom's comment to me once sums it up in one sentence: "It's your body - do what you want".

I haven't decided whether I want to post the play here because I may use it for something else in the future. If it does or doesn't get used, I will eventually post it.

One thing I have decided - I will be getting more tattoos.

1 comment:

  1. Just got around to reading the last two blogs. I've been a mess with the computer lately. I'm not a tattoo guy (whatever that is). Probably because it's the one thing my mother always made me promise I wouldn't do. Getting arrested, crashing cars drunk and come home stabbed was OK, but no tattoos!

    I have no idea the symbolism for your tattoo, nor would i bother you for a detailed description. All I know it it looks great, it's original and in a day where every Dick and Jane have a thown going around their arm and a butterfly on their shoulder, it's a perfect accessory. PS - some guy was talking to a friend of mine and said he's getting "it is what it is" on his back. I almost turned around and punched him!

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