…That it’s time for another tattoo?
Every picture tells a story, don’t it?
About a year ago I saw something that announced applications to be on national reality show that highlights the “goings on” at a Los Angeles tattoo parlor that just so happens to be right up the street from where I live. I figured I had nothing to lose so I decided I’d give myself a plug with a story and a tattoo idea. The idea centered around my celebrating a milestone birthday with a new design on my leg.
One year later I heard from the show. Tomorrow afternoon I will “audition” in front of a camera and see if I am someone that see fitting into the scheme of their reality show. If I am I will make my television series reality debut on “LA Ink”.
If I do not, however, it will be nothing more than the spark that I might have needed anyway to get myself back in a parlor and tell another story with art on my canvas. Each piece of incredible work that has been done previously (by the amazing Kevin Quinn here in Los Angeles) has a meaning to me. There is the story of who I am (The Earth Dog in Chinese astrology represented by earth tones and a Chinese Foo dog), the representation of my sobriety and rebirth (the Phoenix rising from the flames), a story of loss in an eternal Japanese flame, a symbol of Pisces (my birth sign), the Chinese lettering for my name, The chinese symbol for the word YES, and a gorgeous grouping of roses as a representation of my last name.
Where do we go from here? There are two distinct ideas that I am toying with… three if you count something that I cannot truly find the right representation of. First and foremost is the idea of a tree of wisdom. Not just any tree, however. This tree should be different and tell the story of what maturity and some years under the belt could represent… but also speak to the temptations that the original tree represented. The other idea revolves around the calming Yin/yang symbol and the demons (or dangers) that we mere mortals can face as a symbol of ‘threat’ to our inner peace and spirituality.
I’ll know when I get there tomorrow which direction I am going in. But whatever it is I am sure it will be a solid and clear decision based on the moment and the culmination of some careful thought and the knowledge that I am wise enough to remember that this is art that will be on my body palate for the rest of my living years in this shell.
It is exciting to revisit this part of my life. Whatever the day and its result I am very pleased to be in this frame of mind.
Be Happy. Be Well. Be.