For a while now I’ve had the idea of trying to turn my arm into a canvas of birth flowers for my family.
Last summer, August 2009, I went to a somewhat new tattoo artist and had the first three flowers tattooed. He did a damn good job, but it was clear my standards hadn’t been met.
So, I did what any dude did wanting some damn good ink thrown on their body and hit Google to find an artist. And that’s when I found Dawn Grace.
I emailed her, sent a picture or two, and she shot back, “let’s do this!”
It was March when I emailed Dawn. Her next available opening was in September. So I waited. And waited.
Then, the day came. I was nervous as hell. I rolled up, met Dawn in person for the first time and she immediately got what I was after.
The birth flowers:
Wife – Chrysanthemum
Kids – Calendula
Me – Water Lily
And then the final, the sunflower – the constant in the wife and our lives.
Since I’ve known the wife, we’ve always had a sunflower planted in the yard, or a picture placed on the wall, or stood in awe of sunflower fields running miles long. But, sunflowers were never our spoken connection, it just kind of was. So, I chose it.
Then, I wanted it all tied together by long, flat, thick reeds, to me symbolizing the intricate insanities of life surrounding love and family.
And here’s the results. In eight weeks I'll be going back to get it finished with color.
It was an amazing experience. The inside bicep of the arm is definitely a tender area. Although, I know it’s nowhere near as painful as the ribs, upper chest and inside thigh.
But still, it was painful enough to where I felt I “earned” my tattoo.
And I earned it from a kick-ass artist.
