Inked Out

I am so in love.............. with Tattoos

Lately all this talk about tattoos has gotten me pretty anxious to get another one. I just adore tattoos! I think they're great forms of expression for the tattoo artist and the person getting tattooed. I know its become quite a fad now and its sort of taking away from the spirituality and meaningfulness that tattoos have for people that don't get them solely for the attention or to "look cool" I get tattoos to pay homage to people, or beliefs in my life; to remind me of my strengths & qualities. Basically to better show off who I am.

This first one I got in 2007. This is one is of two pink plumeria flowers that I got done at New Skool Tattoo in San Jose, CA. For me, it was so easy to decide on this one. The actual meaning of a plumeria is beauty, perfection, life, birth, and the coming together of everything good in the world. Its so positive! For myself, I also relate flowers to being female. Flowers are bold, diverse, delicate, yet powerfully captivating. Every flower is special in its own way & that is why I love it. My last name means flower in Spanish also, so I'm paying honor to my family & to the women in my family. This tattoo has since been kind of fading since I got all brown this summer haha. I need to get this one touched up and make the color more vibrant.

ADVICE: Be very careful in the selection of flower that you get, if you decide to get one. I think this is why people regret their tattoos because they don't research the meanings behind their piece. For instance, before I was sure I was going to get an tiger lily tattooed on me. Thank goodness I researched because I found out the tiger lily represents jealousy. 0_o eeek! NO THANK YOU!

My second tattoo is of a gladiolus flower. I just recently got this one. Cousins!, if you guys are reading this, DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT go running your mouth to your family because you know how they all are. Its like were playing telephone! >( NOT GOOD, ILL DISOWN YOU! Okay, anyways, My gorgeous sisters(I'm not lying, they're pretty lol *brownie pts*) and I all have this one in the same location. The coloring of the gladiolus varies between my sisters and I, because we are all different skin colors so our tattoo artist Tanja from Lyle Tuttle in San Francisco,CA advised us that she would tweak the colors accordingly. We got this tattoo all together to seal our sisterhood and unity on our skin =) The gladiolus flower also means strength of character; that of which I feel really represents us. My sisters and I are very strong people and we show it differently. No matter what kind of people we run into in this life of ours, we stay true to ourselves and never let people influence us. My friends all like this one. According to my best friend Jessica, it looks like those temporary lick on tattoos haha!


NEXT PIECES

Everyone thinks I'm crazy for this one, but for my third tattoo I would like to tattoo the inside of my bottom lip. Its gonna be quite an experience that's for sure! At first I was thinking of putting in "Bonafide" but everyone that I've spoken to doesn't approve. Sad =( So what I feel would best represent my personality is the word Hustler"(or maybe I'll spell it "Husalah") I'm not trying to say that I really AM a hustler. Hustler just shows off my sense of humor. If you don't know me personally, you should know that my sense of humor can be very wicked cool and sarcastic. People already assume I'm a "gangsta' girl" because I can come off as intense and hard. So I figure Hustler goes to play on the misconceptions that people have about me. Other reasons for getting this done is just to remind myself to not give a  f^&* about what people want me to do or what anyone thinks of me. Its a reminder to always do what I want and go for it full-heartedly!  Its a reminder to never let others affect my decisions. I'm switching up my tattoo artist again too! I like the work I've gotten done on me but I don't want to just stick to the things I know. I like trying new things, people, etc. My next tattooist will be my friends girlfriend. She's an art student and she is re-starting up her tattooing services. She has some extremely good art pieces that she's shown me. So I have full confidence that she will do exceptional work! Afterall, she's tattooed herself as well! =)

Following my lip tattoo its a little blurry. I have so many styles that I like, but I'm not sure how well they will blend with my flower tattoos. I have always been fascinated and admired the artwork & calligraphy of Asia as well as ancient Egyptian art. My body is a canvas and I want it to be cohesive. I like the idea of having the kanji symbols for strength & beauty.

I also am thinking about getting a geisha girl or the egyptian goddess Ma'at. The geisha woman represent being cultured. I am very open-minded and I love learning about new cultures whenever possible. The geisha represents my love for the world and the want to be a worldly person and to travel the world. Ma'at is goddess of truth, justice, harmony, & balance on earth. Those are qualities in a person that I love and respect. Ma'at is a symbol for what I want in my life, what I always strive to have around me. I will most likely also continue to add onto my flower collection. Tattoo is art and I am an art supporter ;) I could go on and on about tattoos but I'll stop here. Feel free to contact me if you want someone to talk to about tattoos, this subject never ever bores me ;)