I've posted this photo on my blog before, but it shows two of my pieces really well so I hope you'll forgive me : )
The black floral/tribal piece on my side is another one that I got in my teens. I have to admit that this was a tattoo I saw in a photo on someone else (online) and I just had to have it, so I took it to a tattoo artist and asked them to tweak it a bit to fit my body better. I was new to body modification, so I didn't realize until several years later that the appropriate thing to do would have been to find out who was in the photo and ask if it would be ok to use their design. It was so many years ago, I'm sure I'll never know whose design it was, but I would definitely do this differently nowadays!
The skull on my thigh is an original design that my tattoo artist created for me, and one that I feel much better about in terms of originality. I have also been fascinated by how death and other morbid images can also be beautiful, and this tattoo is my way of exploring/expressing that. The design is partly inspired by sugar skulls from Mexican culture, but I was careful not to make an exact recreation now that I know how harmful cultural appropriation is. This tattoo also incorporates design elements from classic old school tattoos, which have a long history in the Eastern parts of Canada and the US (where I'm from).
The tattoo on my wrist says "I sing the body electric", which is the title of a poem by Walt Whitman. (It's also a song, but that's not the reference I was going for). The Whitman poem is a celebration of human physicality, as it describes different human bodies and the way they are all wondrously made. It also talks about how all human bodies are the same in their wondrousness, whether they belong to a free man or a slave on the auction block. Whitman is one of my favourite poets, and this poem especially really speaks to me. I find both the subject matter and the phrasing beautiful.
