Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Memorial Tattoos

People will get tattoos for a lot of different reasons.  Some have deep meaning behind them, and some are spur of the moment “I want to get a tattoo” pieces.  I would like to spend some time on one of my favorite reasons for getting tattoos, the memorial or commemorative tattoos.

These are probably the most meaningful and personal tattoos a person can get.  I have already written about my memorial tattoo, so I wanted to write about a couple of friends pieces.

My friend Chandra and her mother have matching tattoos.  They were actually Chandra's Mother’s Day gift to her mom.  They did not get flowers or butterflies, but matching Autism Awareness ribbons.  These serve as a dual purpose, to raise Autism Awareness but also in honor of Chandra’s brother who is autistic.

Chandra and her mom's matching tattoos
One of my favorite memorial tattoos I have been privileged to see is my friend’s mother, Vanessa’s piece.  It is in honor of her son Correy who passed away very unexpectedly in August of 2009.  Not only is this a fitting tribute to honor Correy, but I think it is incredibly special because this is Vanessa’s one and only tattoo.  And 
it is stunning for a first piece.


Vanessa tells us about her piece for Correy, "What the tattoo is.  Correy's favorite sea creature is a Corynactis, which is also know as a Strawberry Aneome (yeah now you know the connection of Correy and the Strawberry), so this is for his love of the ocean.  The wold is something Correy always loved.  Jarred's friend Josh did this version for me of him cuddling with his front paws tucked under his chin."

Stencil

Full outline

Adding the detail and color

Vanessa's completed tattoo for Correy.
Correy's brothers, Preston and Jarred worked together on the design for their memorial tattoo together and decided to get matching tattoo's.  Preston's is placed on his chest, and Jarred's is on his upper arm.

Preston describes their memorial for Correy, “A tribal wolf moving through the ocean, tail becoming the waves, with a kanji reading “little brother”.

Outlining

Outlining

Completed!

Preston's completed tattoo for Correy.
Here is Jarred getting his memorial piece done:


Checking the stencil.

Starting the outline.

Completed!

Jarred's completed tattoo for Correy.






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