Godless Mom in the Bible Belt

Monday, July 11, 2005

Body Art

I have a tattoo. It is my own fun little secret, most people would never know it is there. I have it hidden away on a part of my body that isn't readily seen by the general public. Now, I can show someone this tattoo without compromising my dignity but I usually choose to keep it a secret.

I didn't get this little piece of body art when I was drunk in Mexico or after the nasty breakup of a fiery romance. I have no tales of impulsivity which later led to regret. I was 28 when I decided to take the plunge and I did so after years of thought and consideration.

Tattoos are kind of addictive. You know those people who walk around covered in art? I can totally understand how that could happen. One little picture leads to ideas of others. The pictures become your personal friends, each one tells the world a little bit about the you. I have decided to go the "less is more" route and keep my one little tattoo but I frequently give thought to how I might embellish it! (grin)

What cracks me up though is when you see someone covered in tattoos that seem to be stock pictures out of the sample books, the type of tattoos that walk around on the arms and backs of hundreds of other people. You know the ones, the tribal symbols at the base of a woman's back or the Chinese symbol for tranquility on a man's tricep, whatever happens to be in vogue at the time the wearer walks into the tattoo parlor. I often wonder how much thought went into such an adornment choice. It seems to me that if someone is going to cover a section of their own body with a permanent piece of art, it ought to reflect something very unique and personal about that individual. It should mean something to the person who wears it, you know?

So, here is mine. I know there have to be others out there with their own personal little pictures so if you're comfortable with the thought, maybe you'd like to show your's off too?



(The photo is actually much larger than the real thing!)
posted by GodlessMom, 5:36 AM

17 Comments:

Blogger Saur♥Kraut said:

I have never got a tat. I am way too chicken. Needles don't do it for me. But, I have been seriously considering getting my face tatooed with 'permanent makeup'. However, the idea of the pain involved leaves me cold. Do you know anything about that?
Posted at 6:55 AM  

Blogger GodlessMom said:

I don't know much about it, I've seen women who have had permanent makeup done but I don't think I'd have the guts to do it. Needles that close to my eyes? Ewwwww!
Posted at 7:28 AM  

Blogger BarbaraFromCalifornia said:

No tatooes here, but I wear lots of makeup (need to hide those wrinkles.)

I like your tatoo. It makes a statement. Yesterday, my daughter bought one of those temporary 25 cent ones and put it on at dinner, more because she wanted a reaction from me, I suppose.
Posted at 8:38 AM  

Blogger TLP said:

Cool tattoo. Well, ladies, I have permanent make-up, otherwise known as tattooed eyebrows.

No one ever guesses. I think that they are VERY well done. After I got mine done, my sister Doris got her eyebrows and eye-liner done.

Does it hurt? Not much really, but it's not ONCE and done. To be done right, it takes three trips. You don't want it to look like a tattoo. I won't go for the eye-liner however. I'm vain, but I'm also chicken. I had the brows done about 8 years ago I guess.
Posted at 9:16 AM  

Blogger Fred said:

Like you, I was not in an alcohol induced haze, but a 28-year old sober corporate weenie. I got another at 40, then another at 43. They're all on my shoulders.

My favorite is my right shoulder, which is an original drawing of a house in Hawaii overlooking the water. It's really cool. Very serene and colorful.

Yes, they are addicting. I'm thinking there's extra room in the middle of my back - maybe it's time to fill it with ink!
Posted at 10:44 AM  

Blogger Saur♥Kraut said:

Tan Lucy,

OK, I heard that if it's done RIGHT and they put enough pigment in, that you won't have to get it done repeatedly. HOWEVER, that could be a line of b.s. from these folks so that I won't go running and screaming out their front doors to begin with.

What about lining your eyes, or doing your lips? I hear the lips are excruciating, and they say to keep a bag of frozen peas on hand to slap on your lips the meoment they're done. THAT doesn't sound promising. They say it's equivalent to a bee sting. I've been stung by a WASP before, and it wasn't much fun.
Posted at 11:15 AM  

Blogger The Lazy Iguana said:

Wow. It even looks like a drunken adventure in Mexico! All swirly and multi colored.

That must hve been some excellent tequila (I pronounce it te-KILL-ya)

And if I were to get a tat, it would have to be something funny. You know, for the people that dig up my body 1,000 years after I croak. Maybe a message that says "if you can read this, you are digging too close to my grave" or "Archeologists do it with garden tools".
Posted at 12:16 PM  

Blogger Watson Woodworth said:

I have been waffling over the last few months over wheather to get the Black Flag tattoo (four black bars representing a waving flag)on my left arm.
On the one hand it's kind of mental to get a band tat when your not in that band, but for me the symbol represents American independent music as a whole.
But since I have commitment issues, my skin is blank save for freckles and acres of red hair.
Posted at 3:43 PM  

Blogger Lila said:

Great post! Yeah, I have one tattoo, and I can totally see it becoming addictive too. I'm constantly thinking about tattoo #2... Here's a link to a post I did on this in December (with pictures):

http://aralecho.blogspot.com/2004/12/tattoo-you.html#comments
Posted at 5:46 PM  

Blogger dAAve said:

No tatoos or peircings on moi.

However, I think they are sexy on others. My ex had 7 peircings and they were great. (I won't mention the locations)

LOL
Posted at 7:24 PM  

Blogger Valerie said:

I have tribal art at the small of my back, but I put a lot of thought into it and it is very symbolic to me. I looked all over the place before I picked a design (and studio) that I liked and that represented the time in my life. It is circular so it has no end, and it has elements of three. These things were important to me. I don't have a picture though!

You are right about them being addictive. I got mine about 8 years ago and I swear I've been thinking about getting another one ever since!
Posted at 8:46 PM  

Blogger Saur♥Kraut said:

P.S. I see you linked to me, and I've returned the favor.

BTW, a funny tatoo story:

We're at a funeral with our little girl, and a good friend of ours is there. He's a tatoo junkie. Tats and piercings everywhere. So, our little girl taps my Other Half on the arm and whispers, "why does that guy have a roach on his arm?"

We look, and by god, it does look like a roach.

So, we tell her go up and ask him! He's kewl, he'll think it's funny.

So she goes up and taps on his arm and asks him (in front of his new girlfriend) "Why do you have a roach tatooed on your arm?" It really lightened up the whole feel in the room. When he stopped laughing, he explained that he had another tat under it that he was covering it up with. Then he looked at it again, and admitted that it did look like a stylized roach.
Posted at 9:43 PM  

Blogger A Little Bar of Soap said:

Hello GodlessMom (it pains me to type your name!):

I have a tattoo too! I just blogged about it.
Posted at 10:02 PM  

Blogger Urban Chick said:

wow - where will this end? first we see a pic of you'n'liz (clothed and at baseball game), then a close-up of a body part...

;-)
Posted at 5:04 AM  

Blogger S said:

I agree with your post about how if you are going to get a tat it should be personally meaningful. I've been thinking for years about getting one. My current idea is to get a Gryphon holding a piece of Sage with a pile of or maybe just one, piece of Ruby and maybe a wheat sheaf or something, to symbolize my kids.. Gryphon Sage and Ruby Harvest...course this means if I have anymore children thier names will have to be tattoo appropriate, no "bob" or "Katie"!!!
Posted at 9:10 AM  

Blogger Glasgow Detail said:

I like that a lot godlessmom!
....It`s a turtle..with the ancient symbol of a spiral on its back...is it the universe on the back of the turtle?
Lovely colours, a lot fresher than a lot of tatoos I`ve seen. Nice tatoo!
No tatoos here...birth mark on iside thigh...fading away the older I get!
Posted at 4:20 PM  

Blogger Niobium said:

I have one tattoo and waiting for the time when I have the ca$h get two more, which I have picked out, each will go on my arm. They are quite addicting--Wolf has six and wants more.

On a related note, I have my tongue and belly button pierced and seven holes in my ears.
Posted at 2:45 PM  

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