Tattoo You (and Me)

On Monday, I had the big thrill of accompanying Arianna  to get her second tattoo. It was a “thrill” because I got to experience all of the excitement and anticipation, but none of the anxiety and indecision that goes into choosing something that will be on your body, visible to everyone, for.ev.er. She was confident in her choice of some of her favorite lyrics and the design of the tattoo, but there’s always that last twinge of  ”Is this right?!”

The end result is a very cool line of typewriter font that is perfectly akilter that also has special meaning to her. Big props to Mike at Squid and Whale Tattoo on the East End in Portland, Maine for this happy customer!

The whole process made me think about my own tattoo and possible future tattoos. I don’t happen to roll with a heavily tattooed crew, but I find a lot of inspiration from the tattoos my friends have, whether in placement, meaning or imagery.

I love Mary’s tattoo on her inner wrist of the Maine state motto, “Dirigo”, which is Latin for “I lead.” How’s that for a positive reminder?

Liz has always (as in way before the movie hype) loved Max from “Where the Wild Things Are” in the midst of his rumpus, which just today may have become somewhat of a tribute to the late Maurice Sendak.

My tattoo is of my dad’s lobster boat, Potato. It’s a line drawing, and it’s faded a lot since this photo was taken, which I actually like. Many of my happiest memories are of days and foggy nights on this boat, and the hard work he did on this boat helped to pay my way through college, for which I am forever grateful. When I got this done, I was living far away from the Maine coast and this seemed to act as a symbol for the connection I will always have to the ocean.

I don’t have any actual plans for another tattoo, but I have daydreamed about these beautiful painterly tattoos by Amanda Wachob. She has an incredible talent for creating what look like watercolor paintings on a canvas of skin, even beyond these abstract brush strokes shown here. They reminds me of that old pair of jeans that just happens to be covered in paint because of how much painting you do in your old jeans. If I were a painter, I think this could be my next step.

Anyone have any badass tattoos? Does your ink tell a story? Tell me about it.