tattoos…

I’m on a roll today, and until my ADD riddled mind got sidetracked thinking about how long I have known some of you, I was going to blog about my tattoos.

We all get tattoos for different reasons, and whatever your reason may or may not be, I think they are mighty spiffy.

The world is divided into two kinds of people: those who have tattoos, and those who are afraid of people with tattoos. ~Author Unknown

I got my first tattoo when I was 18 and my friend Kim and I came to Fort Worth for a visit. I got a ladybug, a mighty tiny one, and at the time I thought I was ROCKIN’  it. I also whined through the entire process and made my poor friend hold my hand. (Kim, if you read these, do you remember that???)  Years passed and as time went on, I stopped even admitting to HAVING a tattoo,  because everyone I encountered had REAL BIG AWESOME tattoos and I had a ladybug on my back the size of my thumb. And it looks like a tick. Really.

This was the first one... See? Like a tick.

Now, twelve years and quite a lot more work than that (and lots more to go), I think perhaps this is my favorite one. There are good memories that go along with it– My Mom actually went WITH us to the shop to look around and to be reassured that it was, in fact, a nice, clean facility and that I was not going to contract AIDS along with my new artwork.

pain is weakness leaving the body.

Fast-forward several years and several very poor career and life choices… Just this year, I still only had that little lady-tick on my back and I started realizing that this life is MINE and no one else’s. I started a new job (or two or three) and started really enjoying what I do. Another thing I began to REALLY enjoy was having the freedom to do the things that really SHOULD be important in life- taking advantage of every opportunity and when someone offered up a chance to take an awesome vacation, i jumped on it (thanks, Jilly!!!!) and came back to Texas from the beach with this…..

Isn't this most beachy and pirate-like?

I loved the skull and I loved the entire process of getting tattooed… and I loved that I could make a permanent statement about who I am and what I believe and what I stand for…. But, really, if you just relax, getting a tattoo s a rather enjoyable thing….

It’s right about this time that I decided FOR SURE that sitting in a cubicle at a computer all day is NOT the career path I need to take. I also decided that I wanted to learn the bar business and that I want to be me… Tattoo #3 was a really important one for me, because not only did it speak volumes about who I believe I am, I drew it myself, and I had it placed on my forearm. Look at me go. . . The big mean rebel I am.

YAY Me!!!!

At this point, as you can all probably see, I started REALLY getting into this. I started thinking about what I wanted to do next and after that and so on… And because I wanted them all to mean something, I came up with the idea of somehow working a memorial tattoo with images for my two grandfathers who are no longer with us… PLUS, I have a weird fascination with Sugar Skulls (look up Dia De Los Muertos) so I found something I liked and had the outline put in…

This one hurt a bit, but was the most fun....

Once that healed, I was able to get it colored in… Just two days ago and I am most pleased!!

Isn't that spiffy!?!?!?

So… Work is complete on that one… and I am still deciding what I want to move forward with next, but here’s a challenge, all my artistic friends!! You can draw up my next tattoo!!! Come up with something that just screams KATIE!! and I will think about getting it inked in…. I can be a walking billboard for YOU. And who wouldn’t want that???

Tattooing is about personalizing the body, making it a true home and fit temple for the spirit that dwells inside it. —-MICHELLE DELIO, Tattoo: The Exotic Art of Skin Decoration