Q + A: tattoo part 1

So here's the first installment of my tattoo posts! To start off I'll tell you a little about me and tattoos. I've always been in love with them. I don't remember exactly when I knew what a tattoo was, but I'd guess it was probably around 8 years old. And I've wanted them ever since then! I've been on a small tattoo hiatus (it's been almost two years since my last one--EEP!!) but I hope to get another one later on this year. I'm thinking about a goat man on my calf : ) Or something to do with sewing. Or both.

I get asked questions about my tattoos every. single. day. People think they are for attention. People think they are supposed to be sexy (I can't tell you how many looks/comments I've gotten about my big thigh piece!). People assume that a tattooed person couldn't possibly know how to be sweet charming Southerner. Which I do. And am. But mostly I've just got tattoos because I like tattoos. For the same reason that my hair will be long for most of my life (because I like long hair on me). They've really helped me grow as a person (you'll have to read on to know how that is : ) ).  Here goes...

This was my third tattoo and it says "Liebe" which means "love" in German. Its located on the inside of my left wrist. At the time I was a German major in college and had just gotten back from a trip overseas. My best friends were German and I absolutely loved everything about the language, people and culture. I was also battling with a tough bout of depression, and there was some self-mutilation going on (I've vowed ever since then to never cut myself again...and have stuck to it!). This tattoo mostly represents my victory over that depressed spell and acts as a daily reminder of the promise I made about being good to myself and treating my body in a better way. The fact that I was so obsessed with the German language is why I got it in German over English. Its a great little reminder that German used to be such a big part of my daily life too.


This is one of my favorite tattoos!! Its a piece inspired by my favorite period in art, Art Nouveau. I went to the artist (she has an illustration degree from RISD) and told her I wanted a tattoo inspired by the Art Nouveau period with a lady in it and then let her come up with the rest. Its a lady with a bear skin rug and a lamp. People ask me all the time if the bear is a dog (whaaat??). This tattoo is located on the outside of my right arm. I really wanted a big tattoo on my arm because I used to HATE the color of the skin on my arms. I've got a good bit of sun damage so they're just kind of permanently pinkish-red, while the rest of my body is extremely pale. I hated the contrast and I thought the red color was so ugly. I was tired of not liking my arms so I put something on them that I could love (you're going to notice a trend with this reason as the tattoos continue..). And its really worked! My skin pigment doesn't really bother me anymore and I love what tattoos have done for me in this way. Its helped my body confidence go way way up!


This little guy was my very first tattoo!! Even though I had been wanting a tattoo for almost 10 years, I still didn't get one right when I turned 18. I was almost 19 when I got it, and its just a little green peace sign on my right foot. At the time I thought I was some kind of neo-hippie. I just loooooved "love" and I was trying to save Darfur and I went vegetarian for awhile and I reinforced my bad hygiene habits and all kinds of other stuff (never played with drugs though...not my thing!). So, anyway. This tattoo was a good way to get my feet wet (oh haha). It was really annoying when I didn't have a lot of tattoos because people thought I just drew it on with a sharpie! I can totally see how it looks like that but I was trying to be taken seriously with my tattoo yall : )

So thats it for this week! Expect installment two in a few days : )