No. These Are NOT Clemson Logos.

For the past few months I've been thinkin' about a little tribute to my orange kids, Snoop & Turk.

 It felt funny to even ask Freak for cat paws because he does some really nice work that's a lot more detailed.  He did my feet that one time.  And we're talking about doing something to fill in some space on my back.

Anyway, while these are mainly for my boys, it occurred to me that the timing was pretty much purrrrrrrrfect (*groan*) since also working on "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof".

And this picture taken just after they were done makes me laugh cuz it looks suicidal.

New Ink for Xmas!!

"Why?", you ask?
Both animals represent creativity and magic.  They're reminders for me to get my creative shit out.
The spider spins beautiful webs despite them being easily destroyed.  The eye in it that I can't hide from and is always keeping watch.
Crows have an incredible sense of ingenuity and remind me to get back into the things that make sense to me.
They're there to kick my own ass into gear.
If you're curious, you can check out one of my favorite nifty books here that goes into animal symbolism/meanings in more detail.

While we're being honest, out of the (lucky number) 13 tattoos I have....these were probably the most painful.  Feels like road rash or a horrible sunburn.  I bit my lip, gritted my teeth, and made the pinched up "ow" face a few times.
And my feet are cold with it being chilly out.
I can't wear socks for a couple days.
But I absolutely love them and what they represent.  They make me smile.
And the guy who did them for me is pretty rad, too.  :)
Check him out here.

And see how cute they look with these shoes!!

New Ink!!

I'd originally wanted an ouroboros as a bracelet around my wrist but I really dug this knotted up one and ended up putting it above my firedancer.
I could go into the whys, but you turds are smart and if you know me well enough, you can figure out the whys without me having to be long winded about it. ;)

Also, check out Trinity.  Awesome shop, nice guys, great art.
YAY FOR SUPPORTING THE LOCAL COMMUNITY!

Sunday Confession - Mermaids

I love mermaids.

NERD!!!

Shut up, I know.

I have that tattoo on my ankle proclaiming said love.

When I was little, during my birthday and the candle blowing out thing....I would always wish to either be a mermaid or be able to fly.

In the pool, me & April would play mermaids and fought over who got to be named "Bubbles"*....for whatever childish reason.

I've always wanted to be able to breathe underwater and last summer contemplated making one of these for myself. But who wants to see a fat mermaid?

Actually...now that I think about it....

I kinda do.

That shit would be funny.

For my birthday coming up, Pannacakes got me these fun mermaid paperdoll-like magnet things:

So you can imagine my excitement over seeing the latest mermaidy Pirates 4 trailer for the movie that came out this weekend.

And then you can also imagine what tomorrow's Movie Monday is gonna be about.

New Ink Day

Added some broken hearts. Pfffft....Its not like I have to worry about them getting back together.

I Have A Tramp Stamp

This morning I logged into facebook and noticed that Ben Templesmith had tweeted something about how "there must be a rule that every girl in San Diego has to have a tramp stamp, they look nude without them?"

I suddenly felt the need to make this confession.

Back in August of 1998, I got my first tattoo.
My friend, Tricia & I went downtown one night to Inkredible Ink on Orange & Central and decided we'd find something there to satisfy our desire to get stuck with needles which would result in a permanent marking. We both knew we wanted to get something, we had absolutely no clue what.
Shut up. We were young.

After we'd flipped through all the plastic framed flash boards, I settled on what was marked as, "Watched Over" written in Sanskrit and I wanted the dude -"artist"- to draw up some angel wings and a halo to go with it.

Here's the story behind why:
In 1997, I was in a car crash.  On my way to work, driving the back roads, on a curve by a sub-division, there was some electricity/cable line work being done along the road. A cable slacked and draped over the road.  An oil truck driver in the on-coming lane didn't think he'd clear the cable and slammed on his breaks. His brakes locked and the truck careened towards the front of my car.  My very first car. A robin's egg blue 1979 Benz 240D.

I wasn't wearing a seat belt when this collision occurred and I remember the truck grill coming toward me in what felt like slow-motion and this wave of calmness washed over me with the internal thought process of, *shrug* "well....here we go....". And then........
Black.
Fuzziness - a man was holding my hand and saying an ambulance would be here shortly.
Black.
Blurry - out of the car and in the back of the ambulance and a paramedic is asking me what day it was and if it was payday and what I had for breakfast that morning. "Orange juice".
Then I was in the hospital wearing a paper towel and waiting for my mom to pick me up.
I had glass cuts on my left arm, bruises on my shins from the dash, and a knot on my head.
The next day I felt like I'd been hit by a truck.  (Heh, sorry...I couldn't resist.)
If the oil truck had been full and if I'd been driving any other car, I more than likely would not be here writing this today.

But I was alive and my young mind was convinced that my ass was being watched over.

Hence, the tattoo placement.
The poorly executed design was basically because I was afraid to "disagree" with the "artist".  He was a giant bald guy, very biker-esque & intimidating looking.
It took a few days before I finally decided that I even liked it.
I stood in the mirror and stared at it numerous times. "Is it even? Those wings could be better... The halo looks crooked. Did I move when he was inking?"
After a while, I finally decided that since I couldn't see it anyway, it didn't matter and ultimately loved that it meant something to me and the fact that I'd done it (and had managed to keep it hidden from my mother for a loooong time afterwards).
A while after that, the term "tramp stamp" was attached to getting a tattoo on this area of the back.

...Fast forward 7 years....
I'm working at Big Corp Co. and on my first trip attending a regional sales conference.
At some point while I bent over a desk or grabbed something off the floor, a couple of our sales engineer guys, *Bhagwan and *Asif saw my tattoo, came over and started asking questions about it.
"What does it mean?"
I told them, "Watched Over."
They shook their heads and were like, "No....that's not what it means." then left to do some research....

Not actual photo of Bhagwan or Asif. I just thought they were pretty.

When they told me that it didn't mean what I thought it meant, I was *not nonplussed.
"HAhaHA dumb white American girl who doesn't know how to read Sanskrit but thinks it looks pretty."
Who knows what I could've been walking around with for 7 years. Above my ass.
Ignorance is bliss.
But knowledge is POWER!!

So, the next morning, Bhagwan sat down next to me and slid over a slip of paper. He said that he'd looked it up.  The paper had scratched on it:

"passion"
"lust"
"temptation"

The most literal of tramp stamps.
Which makes me love it even more.


______________________
*names were not changed.
**best double negative EVER!