Tales from the needle: Volume XIII
As told by caj_86:
I started getting tattoos back around the age of 18. I got a tattoo of what I thought was a cool-looking cross, but it ended up looking like the letter “T” to everyone else. After that tattoo, I tried to get it covered or disguised with tribal to have it match. To this day, I honestly dislike both of those pieces. I am a huge believer of faith, regardless of my Southern Baptist/Catholic upbringing. As an adult, I do not claim a specific religion, but I do believe in God, and my tattoos mainly have been able to reflect this.
Moving on to the more important art work, my sleeve. I started it back about 3 years ago. My tattoo artist Frost, who previously worked at Babe’s Tattoo Studio in East Fort Worth, but is independent now, played a big role in this piece. It honestly was supposed to be a few tats here and there, but he told me “Your art work needs to flow together. I’m not going to mess you up. Let it tell a story.” At first, I got pieces reflecting the love of my family. On my upper arm, I have Roman numerals of my immediate family member’s birth dates in ascending order. My mid-arm on the inside, I have Roman numerals reflecting the death dates of my grandparents on both sides of the family. Roman numerals were chosen because they are visually striking, and it’s not the norm of writing an actual number on you.
Cradling the Roman Numerals of the death dates is the Egyptian sign of the God of Anubis “Protector of the Dead.” This sign is comprised of a Jackal & a Sphynx with wings around the back of them. I have a love for Egyptian art and culture, and I felt that this was appropriate in somewhat “holding” those dates in honor of my deceased grandparents.
On my forearm, I have the Serenity Prayer in a slightly 3-D illusion scroll. This was at a point in my life that I surpassed, yet felt extreme sadness and defeat. I always used this scripture as a memento to push through the rough times. Down the length of my tricep, I have the Ankh symbol. I placed this as a reflection not as a belief of an afterlife, but a belief in eternal life. In my own perception, our spirits are to end up elsewhere and this is representation of this in my belief. Closer to my chest and separating my shoulder on the front and the back are coordinates to the address of the neighborhood that I grew up. East Fort Worth has always been where the heart is, and this definitely was an expressive way to lay this out.
Lastly, I have a shoulder piece that flows together with the remainder of my sleeve. There is a dark angel cradling a cross. I wanted to have this style of angel on me, because I have always been in to more drastic and deep imagery with art expression. Among all of these pieces, I have fill-in that blend the pieces together, turning my story in to a visual display of talent. I have to mention my tattoo artist, Front, once again. He is, and will be, my only tattoo artist.
Art Credit: Frost.
Contact info: (817) 368 - 4118
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