Tattoo!

So, as you may or may not have worked out I love tattoos.

No, not because they're so 'in' right now or becoming so popular and more accepted (More accepted is a good thing, though!), or anything along those lines. I have just always loved them.

Growing up, Dad had tattoos. When I was little I'd sit in bed with Mum & Dad  in the morning while they drank their coffee and I would constantly be playing with the tattoos Dad has on his stomach, that go around to his back. He has 'Space', or some sort of solar system, Stars & Planets and lights of all different colours swirling around his torso. I used to run my fingers over them and look at them whenever I got the chance, they were just so fascinating to me. Permanent art on a human body, it doesn't come out, it's permanent. It stays there forever, it's a part of you. It tells your stories, makes you who you are. I love art, in any form, and having your own personal piece of art etched into your skin has always been an amazing concept to me.

Now, I'm also an extremely indecisive person. When it comes to anything. What I'm going to eat, drink, do, wear, you get the drift. So when it comes to tattoo ideas, I'm constantly changing my mind. I've had all sorts of ideas over he last few years (Some I am very glad I did not act upon!) but always wanted to wait until I was older and ready. Okay, so I'm 18, which isn't 'old' but I'm certainly a little more aware of what I want and who I am than I was when I was say, 14-16.

Over the past few months I have been probably more obsessed with tattoos than ever. My obsession with them is sort of crazy. So was my mission to find something 'perfect' or 'super meaningful'. I've looked at countless, countless amounts of tattoos, types, photos, trawled through tattoo blogs, read numerous magazines, spoken to several people and still, always left feeling like nothing was quite 'right'.

& In the matter of about half an hour last night, I had a sort of brainwave.
I was looking too hard, I was looking for something 'me' that wasn't going to be out there, because no-one else is me. So I thought, not too hard, about what I like. About the ideas that have been niggling in my mind for a few weeks. I pushed away all the cliché ideas that are constantly suggested to me when I'm talking about wanting a tattoo, like Dream-catchers, Feathers, Inspirational quotes and sayings, which are pretty, but are sickly popular these days and are become the next overdone cliché tattoo ideas sitting up high near Southern Cross tattoos and the like. Not saying they're in the same category, dream catchers and quotes can be pretty, but they're EVERYWHERE these days. I want something different. & that is difficult, considering so many people have tattoos in this day and age and having similar tattoos to at least several other people in the world is inevitable.

So last night, I just came up with my own idea. No-one else will have my tattoo, because I'm drawing it. I don't know where exactly the idea came from, my brain just vomited out of my fingers and I've started creating something I actually really, really like. All down to the shape and contents. Of course I'm going to have to sketch it out several times before it's perfect, and I won't be getting it for a while considering it'll probably cost a fair amount, but I love it. It's mine, it's me. I'm not going to describe it in extreme detail, just give you a general gist of the idea. I picked Tiger Lily flowers, Roses, Leaves, Swirls, Three Bees, encasing (not in a circle, in an odd shape) a bluebird, sitting on a small branch. Birds & Flowers are very popular tattoos, yes. But this is different, has approval of my uncle who's getting into tattooing and is very anti-cliché everything. I chose the bluebird because they represent things like happiness, joy, and embracing the happiness within you, (and several other said things), I chose Lilies and Roses because they're two of my favourite types of flowers when it comes to appearance, Lilies are said symbolise things such as purity, beauty, spirituality & unions, and Roses are about beauty and love. Not only that, my two little cousins are Lily and Ruby Rose. I read somewhere that Bees represent family, so the three bees are for Mum, Dad, and my Brother. But apart from all the somewhat corny meanings within the tattoo I have designed, I just love flowers, I love bluebirds, I love bees, I love pretty things, I love art, I love tattoos, and I love the way my idea has come out on paper. So I think this is it. HAZAAR!