So something I swore I’d never do was get a tattoo. (I was actually grilled by some lovely older ladies a few weeks ago when I went to Hawaii about why I did NOT have any LOL) Not that I have anything against them. I don’t. In fact, on so many people they look amazing. (Mmmmm Jason Momoa…. You all know how I feel about him. LOL) I just didn’t think it would be something that would look good on me personally.
Well while I was in Sydney, Australia last week, one of my undergrads that will be working for me in January, showed us his work. It’s a part-time job for him so he really only gets to do small stuff here and there. Nothing big or expensive as he’s still finding himself.
So both me and my BFF Jaq (Short for Jaqueline, yes, feel free to taunt her.) decided we’d let him do some work for us. He asked us if we had any designs in mind.
Actually, we both swore, if we ever got one, we’d honor a friend of ours, someone we were very close to in our early teens who left us, with her mom, far too early. She was the 3rd in our trio of evil. Taken by a chance car accident.
The only trepidation we had was both pieces were large. One would be a half sleeve, the other would be a full shoulder. We didn’t know if he could do it or if we should take the chance with someone just finding their path doing it.
Well, I have to say, Jaq chickened out. I’m not so easy to scare. I mean what’s the worst that could happen right? I figured if it came out horrible, I’d just have the whole thing blacked out in a half-sleeve band around my arm, which in itself would be unusual and kind of cool on its own.
So I consented. Over the course of six days, he did his magic.
I am quite happy with his work. Just still in a little bit of shock that I went through with it. Actually, he did an amazing job. It is something our friend Fallon would have loved. It took about 9 hours total because he was so nervous about messing up and went slow to make sure it was all perfect. I’m glad he did.
The friend who picked me up last night, who has a LOT of them, liked his work. At least he said there was nothing wrong with it or messed up. He later assured me that it was a really good piece. LOL Whew! He told me it was about a 7-hour job for an experienced artist and about $1400 to $2000 for something like that in a lot of places in Seattle and the area. When he found out it was essentially free, I gave him $500.00 U.S. as a tip, he said it was extraordinary work. LOL
It consists of:
Daisys, which is the birth month flower for all of us. All were born in April.
Roses, the traditional symbol of love, and my love for our friend.
Peonies are said to be the embodiment of a people who are full of compassion, friendship, and love, which is our friend perfectly. She was all that and so much more.
And butterflies. In old Japan, there was a belief that the souls of people alive or dead could take the form of a butterfly. I am sure, she has taken this form. She was just that gentle and beautiful. In Ireland, they are said to be souls, waiting to be reborn on earth. I am an atheist, but if this is true, I hope I one day meet the person she has been reborn as. I’m sure they will be just as amazing as she was.
So this is for Fallon.
