The day of tattoo

Several years ago when my grandmother saw my tattoos for the first time she surprised me by asking why I hadn't come to her for a design. My grandmother was an artist with piles of illustrations that would make wonderful tattoos and while the idea had more than crossed my mind I never asked. She didn't like tattoos. She was a very vocal woman with very strong opinions and I was well aware of what she thought of tattoos, so I hid mine from her for several years, not wanting to disappoint her and become one of "those people" in her eyes. It was only the wretched heat of a Long Island Summer that made me bare my arms and expose my secret. I watched as she caught sight of my shoulder, as she took in the bold black ink that was now a permanent resident on her granddaughter's body. She simply said "Why wouldn't you have used one of my drawings?"

A week later a large envelope arrived in the mail. It contained a pile of her drawings and a single sentence: "For your consideration."

My grandmother passed away rather suddenly in July. My family had just moved my grandparents upstate and we had barely had time to get them settled before she was gone. It's been difficult.

A few weeks before her death we were watching The Shining (one of her favorite movies) and I mentioned that I was getting ready to get one of her drawings tattooed. She was thrilled with the prospect and anxious to see what I chose. As always, in times like this, I wish I had chosen sooner.

I chose the little bird from her fountain illustration (above) and added a little color to the belly. I couldn't be happier with my choice. :)

My friend, Daniele, also got a tattoo. She ran her first marathon last year and will run another one this weekend.

26.2
That's how many miles are in a marathon. I don't know how she does it. That girl's got moxy. She's had a difficult year and I couldn't be prouder of her. :)

A very special thank you goes out to James Spiers of Model Citizen Tattoo in Ithaca, NY. James was the very first tattoo artist I ever went to around 8 or 9 years ago. I now have three by him and a future of many more, I am sure. He is working on a large commemorative piece for Daniele so we will be seeing him again soon. I can't wait to see what he creates for her!

It was a great day with a wonderful friend. :)