tattoo two...not the little guy either!

I already had the Chinese kanji�it is for �poetry� , and it�s above the new additional tattoo�this is the outline stage. I will be going back to get it filled in.

The Chinese tat is a man making smoke signals which represents the process of writing poetry�.



There are flowers on each side�.

A close up of the center�.


The flowers are going to have color within and fading and the outline portions will be filled in with black. In my mind they represent daisies�..daisies make me happy inside. I love hearts. I love heart shaped jewelry, housewares, candles, etc. When I see the heart shape I fondly recall being a kid and cutting out dozens and dozens of paper hearts.

My tattoo artist, Ace, was great. The center design was a separate flash than the side flash. The side flowers were intended to be one tattoo on it�s own. He cut and pasted and redrew and eliminated portions to come up with this. I�m happy with his work. Originally I said I wanted the heart to encompass the kanji and he said, �my advice is to go with the natural curve of your back and hips and place this below it. Later if you think it�s non-cohesive I can design something to make it more so.� I think this experience getting a tattoo was much more of a spiritual feeling because the place wasn�t full of onlookers and spectators and other customers and noise. It was one artist painting� Or something like that. Not to get all weirded out here� and NOPE I�m not attracted to Ace. I just think the experience of getting a tattoo can be bad or good so when it�s good and you trust your artist�.then it�s really good.

I spoke to him at great length throughout the process and when I go back to get it all filled in I�m taking my son who is artistic beyond belief. I want my son to see that there are options out there. If he grew up to be a tattoo artist or a flash artist�well some of those people really earn a lot of money. Ace told me that he had no direction and spent hours drawing and trying to make money by painting his girlfriends friends fingernails with an airbrush. He didn�t really put art and tattooing together for years. I want my son to see the process now and get to talk to Ace who was raised by a single mother and once refused to give a 15 year old girl a tattoo (even though her mother signed the consent form) because the mother had restrictions and so he advised the girl, �I think you should bless yourself with a few more years of waiting time and then when you turn 18 you can get exactly what you want and will love for years.� Ahhh�.a tattoo artist with a heart. He once advised a woman not to get her husbands name tattooed on her body at the husband�s request. She and the husband argued for an hour and she insisted she wanted Ace to put it on her hip. He did it. Two days later she came back and said she went home after work one day to find her husband doing her sister and could Ace please cover over that jackhole�s name and fast. Hmmm�.

It�s a little itchy and only gets agitated when I go outside in the extreme current heat and my lower back gets sweaty.

I don�t look forward to the hours of getting it filled in and colored but then again maybe I do. Does getting a tattoo hurt. Somewhat but it�s not the kind of pain that makes you want to die or explode from within. It�s the kind of pain that makes you connect with your body, your soul, your inner being. I handle pain by turning within and that process of turning within really feels good.

(photography credit: the man��reason #756,231,111,003 x b = ? reason I pick Rick!!!)