Jane's Story
Finally, I am back on here. I cannot even begin to describe how crazy this week has been with schoolwork, assignments for my internship and outside distractions that have left me speechless and really considering what is important in life. And all through this past week, I have thought about the two tattoos that I am going to tell you about, because they are inspirational, impacting the way I look at life in this world.

First off, let me reintroduce you to my friend, Jane, who was the second person that I ever posted about on this blog. She is now up to 14 tattoos (I believe), and I just can’t get over the beauty and the importance that each tattoo holds.

But her two latest tattoos are probably some of my favorite, the one because it is inspiring with its boldness (in look and in message) and the other because of the humility it represents.

One of the tattoos Jane added is a branch of steel magnolias, which stands out with crazy detail (including some hints of white ink). Then to accompany the flowers, Jane added the text “Live boldly and bloom.” She said that, at first, when she was conceptualizing her tattoo, she was hesitant to add text because she already has a lot of script (so some people were joking that she could become a walking quote). But Jane loves texts (as do I), so she finally decided on “Live boldly and bloom,” which she sees as embodying who she is.

She said this aspect of the tattoo representing who she is as a whole sets her new tattoo apart from others, which have been inspired by other people or particular points in Jane’s life. However, the idea for having steel magnolias be a part of the tattoo came about from Jane reading the book “Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild” by Mary Kassian. While reading through this book with our friend, Amy, Jane was struck by a quote about steel magnolias. Kassian wrote: “The steel magnolia melds beauty with perseverance, softness with backbone, delicacy with durability, sweetness with stamina.” What a great representation of the women God calls His “daughters” to be!

The other tattoo, that so perfectly represents appropriate meekness, is a “greater than” symbol on Jane’s wrist, with the open end by her palm. Underneath the symbol are the Bible references for John 3:30 and Philippians 2:3. To paraphrase, these verses say “Christ must increase and I must decrease” and “consider others greater than yourself,” respectively.

Jane said that these passages are such great reminders in her life because she is studying to go into social work. With that, she will help many people that are considered to be in low places in general society’s eyes. Nonetheless, Jane knows that as a believer in the redemptive work of Christ her Lord and Savior, she is to consider those people better than herself and show them the love of Christ, if not explicitly then implicitly in her love for them. And with that, in order to have the sensitivity and wisdom to love people appropriately, Jesus Christ and all the qualities He embodies must grow in Jane’s life and any selfish desires or misconceptions of people must fade away.

Now for the story behind her tattoo experience itself:

Over the summer, before coming back to school, Jane made an appointment to get these two tattoos. She went to a shop she had not been to before, one that was recommended to her when she commented on the tattoo of someone she ran into at her workplace (and she said that it is rare for her to comment on someone else’s tattoo!...I bet she’s glad she did on this occasion, though). When she initially called the shop, she learned that the tattoo artist she had been referred to was booked up for the month; but this artist had an apprentice who was available. What struck Jane (and me…and others, I’m sure): this apprentice is a girl!

Jane said that she went in and looked at numerous portfolios of the apprentice, Laci, and decided to go ahead with it. This experience was different because with Laci being an apprentice, Jane had to sign off on paperwork, saying that she was aware Laci was an apprentice, which Jane said was kind of nerve-wrecking.

Jane said that Laci did really well, but she took a little longer than a more experienced tattoo artist. However, Jane said that in comparison with other tattoo artists she has had, Laci had a more gentle touch. (And at the bottom of the post I put a link to an article I found about female tattoo artists and how their typically gentle touch could be an advantage to them in the field!) Also, Jane said how she appreciated how talkative Laci was. Along with having a female artist for the first time, Jane experienced another first: getting color (white). Lastly, Jane said that pricewise this tattoo experience was “phenomenal,” because tattoo apprentices cannot charge full price for tattoos. There are some things to consider if you ever plan on getting a tattoo!

I hope you all appreciated these tattoos and stories as much as I did, and let me know what you think about Jane’s tattoos or female tattoo artists. If things don’t get too crazy around here, I hope to be back blogging next week. Thank you all for reading. Have a great week!

[Here is the link to the article I mentioned: http://columbianewsservice.com/2010/04/as-tattoo-artists-do-women-have-the-upper-hand/ ]

Stephanie's Story


I am so excited to share this story behind the ink with you, because it revolves around two of the people I am closest to — my sister, Stephanie, and her daughter, Addison.

As I’ve shared before, my sister, two of our friends and I all grew up drawing temporary tattoos on each other, and that time in our life must have been influential because now we all have tattoos.

Stephanie (or Steph, as a lot of people call her) was the last in this group to get a tattoo; she got hers this past weekend for her birthday, and I was happy to be home on Labor Day break so I could share the experience with her.

She says that she first knew she wanted to get a tattoo when she was 13, but it was only about a year and a half ago that she started laying the framework for what she really wanted; she knew she wanted it to pertain to love, because, at that time, she was expecting my beautiful niece Addison (or Addi).

What Steph finally decided on getting was an infinity symbol with the word “love” written in the bottom right quadrant of it, which I think has a pretty self-explanatory meaning. Then she personalized the tattoo by adding Addison’s name and birthday above the left side of the symbol.

Because the story of Steph’s tattoo basically tells itself, I would like to tell you all about her tattoo experience (which I got to experience right beside her).

The one thing that stood out about Steph’s experience in both of our minds was the fact that she had a female tattoo artist. Steph’s tattoo artist pointed out that though the industry has been notoriously dominated by men, girls today may have more opportunities than she initially did because women have earned their ranks in the business. This is seen in one of the most famous female tattoo artists (in America, anyway), Kat Von D, being seen on the reality television shows Miami Ink and, more recently, LA Ink. (If you are interested in checking out her highly acclaimed work, here is the link to her site: http://www.katvond.net/ …and I would definitely recommend reading her bio; it’s super interesting!)

A picture of Steph's tattoo artist hard at work.

Aside from being able to relate with her tattoo artist on the level of being a woman as well as a mom, Steph had an overall good experience. She says the first prick of the needle was less painful than she had expected, but as the needle moved more toward her stomach (and other little spots that are more sensitive) it got pretty painful, but she handled it like a champ. In fact, it oddly enough made me think back to her 34-hour long labor that she handled with grace just a little over a year ago.

And with that in mind, Steph says that her favorite part of her tattoo experience was being able to show the tattoo to the little expressive, loving bundle of joy it is for — Addi. Addi is such a smart baby that I don’t think it will take her long to learn that the tattoo is going to be there forever.

Side note: little kids blow my mind with the things they can pick up on both cognitively and socially. I know that may sound really random to some of you, but for those of you who don’t know me personally you have to understand that I absolutely love children, and I have especially loved watching how both of my nieces and my nephew have interacted with my tattoos...that and I'm taking a course in Child and Adolescent Development right now and we talked about the incredible capabilities of newborns in class today. It all just makes me so excited for the day when I will have kids of my own to get inked for!

Anyway, I hope you all have enjoyed this story behind the ink and will join me next week as I talk about my friend, Jane, who recently added to her impressive “resume” of tattoos, with what I believe are her 13th and 14th tattoos. Thanks for reading; I’d love to know what you think, so feel free to leave a comment below!