Sunday, January 30, 2011

Water sleeve

My first piece on my tattoo journey will be what I have been calling my "water sleeve".  I decided that I wanted to use the traditional style of Irezumi, but also incorporate some personal elements.  My water sleeve is also serving as a memorial tattoo.

I had a very unexpected miscarriage in July of 2010, and I have reason to believe I was carrying twins.  It was a pretty devastating experience and I found solace in a very interesting place.  At the time I was working at a pet store that had pretty well stocked aquatic department.  When I returned to work, I found myself calmed by watching the butterfly koi we had there. (I used to get anxiety attacks pretty easily in the weeks after the miscarriage.)  Because of their calming affect and their beauty I decided to incorporate butterfly koi into my water sleeve and let them serve as a memorial to the events in July.

Butterfly or longfin koi

Koi are traditionally used in Japanese Tattoo/Irezumi because they represent perseverance in adversity and the ability to overcome obstacles.  There is a Japanese legend stating that if a koi was able to swim up the Yellow River to a point called The Dragon Gate, the koi would then be transformed into a dragon.  This is one of the reasons koi are typically tattooed swimming up the body versus down.

Another aspect of my water sleeve will be the incorporation of peonies.  They are my absolute favorite flower and I had a bouquet of them for my wedding.


My bouquet of peonies.

Traditionally the peony represents wealth, prosperity, and good fortune in both Japan and China.  In tattoo, it is usually paired with lions, to help balance the ferocity of the lion with its delicate nature.  In Japanese tattoo specifically, it represents a "devil-may-care" attitude towards life.  It is also a reminder of our fleeting and fragile existence.  I chose the peony for my tattoo because of the personal link it has in my life and also its delicate timeless beauty.


I am also incorporating the traditional wave depicted in Irezumi, but I have found some non-traditional sources for my ideas.  I have done a ton of research and found various pieces of old artwork to use as inspiration.  I think this is one of the reasons my artist Mark is so excited to work on my sleeve.  Instead of using other tattoos as reference, a lot of my material is actual art work.  Here are a couple of the "wave" pieces I love.




I will be posting more as the tattooing day approaches.  I can hardly wait!


Friday, January 28, 2011

Officially official

I will be starting my next tattoo journey on February 3rd!


I will be working with Mark Corliss at Spilt Milk Tattoo for the beginning of my three quarter sleeve or schichibu ("seven tenths" of the sleeve to the forearm).  I was originally going to be getting a full sleeve or nagasode ("long sleeve") but due to my existing wrist pieces, Mark and I decided a three quarter sleeve would look best.

My existing pieces

My first tattoo, located on my lower back:


My second tattoo, on the back of my neck.  It reads "ookami" which is wolf is Japanese.


And my latest tattoo's, a matching set to my husband Tim's. A red heart, because I always wear my heart on my sleeve, and a black key to Tim's heart.



This next piece will be the beginning of some pretty extensive tattoo work I have planned.  I am very excited but also a little nervous.  I will be three quarter sleeves on both arms, and a full back piece which will be covering my existing moon piece.  I may also be getting two side pieces, but those are not finalized yet.

I have always been fascinated by tattoo, and once I started learning about Irezumi (traditional Japanese tattoo) I knew I had found my style.  It would be a dream to travel to Japan and be inked by one of the masters of Irezumi, Horiyoshi III but happily I have found an amazing artist closer to home to help me on my quest.

One of the reasons I am so nervous is my husband has a half sleeve, a beautiful flame piece that he did in one sitting (5 hours total).  The next day his arm was so swollen he looked like Popeye!  Now, I am only going for a 3 hour session this time, and part of it will be dedicated to the art/stencil and mostly the outline, but I am fairly sensitive and tend to bruise easily!  As someone once put it, I have "delicate alabaster skin".  Oh well, this is something I've wanted for several years, we will just have to wait and see how it goes.

This is Tim's half sleeve, right after he got home:



Tim's piece currently:




I will be posting in the next couple days what my first sleeve, my water sleeve will consist of, and the aftermath once I get the work done.  It will be a painful but exciting journey, and I hope you will join me during the process.  Until then, this is me as I am now, next week I will be somewhat different.

Photo Copyright Cary Klein Photography

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