Friday, April 30, 2010

Writers Workshop - PIMP My Back!

Mama's Losin' It


30th April 2010


4.) The world is going to come to an end unless you get a tattoo that covers your entire back. Describe the tattoo you’ll get.


Okay! NOW we're talking!

This is a prompt I can definitely sink my teeth into.

Be prepared for me to gush...

I LOVE tattoos. If I was a Super Hero, I would be Tattoo Woman. Seriously. I would LOVE to PIMP my back, and have it return all tricked out, and lookin' fine. .........Mmmm......... (What? Huh? Sorry! I was daydreaming a bit there...)

Now it doesn't matter to me who you are. Male OR Female. Young OR Older. People with tatts are beautiful to me because I see every piece as a story about their life. Each separate design makes up a picture of where they were on their own personal journey at that particular point in time. My Mum (who had several tattoos herself), and I were talking one day with some people who were treating 'we who were inked' differently and looking down on us as if we were lower-class citizens; and she said something that has stuck with me, "The only difference between tattooed people and un-tattooed people, is that tattooed people don't care if you don't have any." Smart woman.

Personally, I happen to think that there is nothing sexier than inked flesh. BUT. I have rules.
  • It must have meaning - No off the shelf pictures for me. Preferably self-designed, but if you are not artsy inclined, work with a tattooist. Tell them what you want. They are VERY talented people and can usually bring your idea to fruition without much trouble. That's why they call them 'Tattoo Artists...'
  • No partner names, unless they have passed away - There's nothing more terrible than having your at-the-time lover's name tattooed on you... Only to find they are not your soul-mate after all...
  • Children's names are okay - Photo's are good too. So are dates of birth, time and birth weight. But no ages, that's just tempting fate!
  • Parent's names are okay - Same as above. Also okay are DOD if they have passed on.
  • Pet's names are semi-okay - But weird...
  • Be 100% certain! - Don't ink on a whim. Carry your finished design around in the viewing window of your wallet for at least three months before you get it done. If you still want it after seeing it several times a day for a few months, you'll love it forever.
(Please, before you all lynch me, bear in mind, the above are MY rules, for myself. If you have your partners name tattooed on your buttocks, more power to you. I just wouldn't do it.)

I have several tatts that I have designed myself. The first is a black panther with wings on my upper right thigh near my hip, that my Mum took me to get on my 18th Birthday. It covers about one-third of my thigh, length-wise. The second and biggest is a tribute to my step-sister who passed away when I was young. It's a picture of her, stylised into a Celtic Goddess and it's on my left shoulder. It takes up little under a quarter of my back. My third tatt came to me in a dream just after Tomika was born. No shit. I just woke up in the middle of the night when she was six and a half weeks old, and started to draw. I didn't stop for about 12 days. Whenever Tomika was asleep, and whenever I had a moment I would hone my design. I ended up spending about 28 hours on it. It's a armband on my left arm, and it sits at just below a t-shirt sleeve. It's also got Celtic influences in the design.


I adore my tattoos. I also have another few to get that are designed and ready to go. They are Tomika, Mum, my 2 nephew's names, plus some other things, my favourite poem (Rudyard Kipling's IF), some literary quotes, along with Celtic and Orchid filler, and extra bits and bobs still to be added. And... (funnily enough regarding this prompt) they all intertwine with my existing tatt on my back to become one single full back piece.

So now you can see why I was so excited to see this weeks topics!

HOWEVER...

If I was to start again, with a blank canvas, so to speak, I would get Michael's tattoo from Prison Break.

*sigh*

Not only is it sexy as hell (and on that back, what tatt wouldn't be! You may have guessed from my rave earlier this Month!), it is just an amazing piece of artwork in its own right. And it has meaning! Amongst that beautiful imagery is a fully formed escape plan, from the map that is integrated into the design, to the size of the Allen Key needed to start it all off. Beautiful.

One can only dream...

9 comments:

  1. Love your tattoo...love your hair, too, incidentally. I already have a lotus on my back, so if I did my whole back it would have to go along with the lotus...interesting thought to ponder...

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's so nice to read a fellow tattoo fan!

    and I absolutely love what your mother said:
    "The only difference between tattooed people and un-tattooed people, is that tattooed people don't care if you don't have any."

    I've got 2 (so far), and would love more.
    I absolutely agree with your rule about being 100% certain. I thought about exactly what I wanted and why I wanted for 2 whole years before finally doing it - and I have not regretted my decision for a moment!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm one of the "no tattoo" people, but I think tattoo's are cool. Two of my close friends have tattoos that I think are beautiful. I'm too chicken to get one myself :)

    Love the one of your sister - beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love your rules AND your tats! Also, thanks for stopping by and saying so many awesome, sweet things. You made me tear up this morning..but in a good way :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi! Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment! :)

    Life With Vivian

    ReplyDelete
  6. Good rules for the tats. I am too chicken to get any. I would probably cry at the first little stick. But yes, they are beautiful and interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Guys!

    Thanks for your comments!

    DF Mom - Thanks, and Thanks! I got my hair cut just before that photo was taken. It WAS sitting just below my bum, and the hairdresser thought I was nuts!

    MLFW - My Mum was a wise woman in some ways, of course she was also psychotic! Lol! The rules are in part hers, part mine, and I live by them.

    Eileen - Hey Sweetie! Thank you, I loved your idea too. Sorry about the long and rambling comment on your post, I kinda loved the book. Glad I made you smile...

    Alice - Thanks for visiting!

    Lourie - Tatts aren't for everyone. I'm a bit of a wuss too believe it or not. But tatt pain is kind of... addictive...?, I suppose, so it's actually easier than you think to keep going back after your first. I'm not masochistic at all, it's just not REAL pain per se... Umm... Hard to describe!

    ReplyDelete
  8. i know you haven't forgotten me :) happy birthday honey i hope god bless you with lots of reasons to smile you are a doll <3 have a great weekend

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love my tatts. I have three and I would love to get more but at the moment I don't know what I want. I wouldn't do names either. My son wants to get the Hyrulian Shield on his whole back. When he is 18 I guess he can do whatever he wants.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to stop by! I absolutely LOVE comments!!!
But please, play nice okay?