Tattoos.
Well people have a lot of different opinions about this one of course.
But since this is MY blog I just think they are beautiful.
Artistic, symbolic, courageous, and freeing.
I just love that they have become a bit...a tiny bit more accepting.
I have 4. Not alot. Well maybe to some it may be:) It took a good 4 years to decide on what I wanted it to be. I knew I wanted it to be timeless, feminine, and to express how my life had been up to that point.
I had my heart set on a flapper.
Yep you heard right. Those 1920s carefree, short skirt wearing, hair cut chopping, women who listened to Jazz(saxophone player here!). Their sultry dark eyes and rebellious attitudes during that time frame just draws me in. Oh my gosh---Natalie Wood in Splendor in the Grass! She just mesmerized me in that movie!
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I was at this point in my life where I was a stay at home momma at 21, just left home getting adjusted to military life, and I wanted an everyday reminder of how artistic and courageous I was and always will be. It was classic and feminine just like I wanted. Going back and forth with this idea with my husband he said,"Do it." Just like that. Supporting and completely understood how much this piece of art was going to mean to me.
So I got online and began doing research. I fell in love with this adorable girl who just so happen to work at a shop 10 minutes from where I live. I thought that was crazy that there was this amazing artist who worked up in the Mountains where I live. (ok not literally in the mountains, just north of Salt Lake..hehe.) I mean I was expecting to drive into a major city to get good work.
Well as I pull up to the shop for my consultation I noticed a very familiar car in the parking lot. I opened the door and as I meet my artist I blurt out like a fool, "I THINK YOUR MY NEIGHBOR!"
Ok let me back up a bit more.
We had lived on base a good 6 months at this point. They are all duplexes so of course everyone has an attached neighbor. Well being the shy guys we are and meeting some crazy peeps in my husbands tech school the year before(which sort of made us put a guard up in meeting new people) we really hadn't talked or seen our neighbors at all at this point. Isn't that awful?!
Well back to the story...she looked outside in the parking lot and saw my car and said, "yeah you are my neighbor!"
I was just in awe. This super cool girl was a tattoo artist and a military wife AND lived right next to me! I swear it was just this sign confirming that what I was about to do just felt so right.
Well I pretty much just fell in love with her. She's sweet, funny, and she seriously felt like family.
She truly felt like my sister. We both love to thrift, draw, and sew.
Well after catching up and explaining to her my idea she understood completely and drew up my little beauty.
The hat, feather, dreamy eyes, pearls. She nailed it.
The hat, feather, dreamy eyes, pearls. She nailed it.
If you're ever in the area needing some new art just head to Lucky Bamboo.
This is just a smidge of all the amazing work she has done:
She also began selling some awesome prints because she's just that cool. You should check em' out!
She's been my Target, Ikea, thrifting buddy. Got me kinda in love with kareoke. Sewing, crocheting(attemping), crafting partner. She's spent Christmas/Tamale making party time with us. Visited me and baked me my favorite cake in the hospital when I had dolly#2. My family fell in love with her too over a game of Loteria. She sort of saved me when I was in desperate need of that best friend/sister type that I so much longed for.
I know this was supposed to be a post about my tattoo, but this truly is how I met such an amazing girl who just means a lot to me and I'm so lucky to have such a sweet girl like her in my life.
These relationships are very rare. I can count them on one hand. So I'm very grateful to have had the privilege having her artwork and to be able to call her a true amiga:)
Thank you for reading this extremely long story, but that's how these tattoo tales tend to go;)
*hugs*
Georgette
Awww! what a great story!!
ReplyDeleteI also have 4 (small) tattoos!
Thanx Yuri! You should post them sometime:)
DeleteWhat a cool way to meet a great friend for life! I've always wanted a tattoo, but never can decide what to get. Now, I'm starting to feel too old for it anyway? Really, in the blog world, it appears I am a grandma. Maybe one day...
ReplyDeleteyoure never too old to do what you want...but since these are for life i recommend getting them where your least likely to sag ha! that way when you are a grandma you dont scare your grandkids too much :o)
ReplyDelete