The Scars Remain
Noah has a lot of tattoos..below you will find the story of a Tattoo series. I so appreciated having the time to hear Noah’s story about what had happened during that transitional time in his life, and while this story just skims the surface of the actual experience, it was fulfilling to hear how Noah dealt with the pain of that situation. God speed (and more tattoo stories to come from Noah, so never fear).
“When my mom saw this she said, “But it’s going to be that way forever.”
And I said, “Yeah, it is.”
So it’s a human heart with stitches. It’s about what it’s like to be in a relationship and that come apart and why. It’s about my ex-wife and our experience; I got it very shortly after getting divorced. I actually tried to get it while we were still together, but I wasn’t ever able to get the timing right. I would have to cancel, or the tattoo artist would have to cancel. It wouldn’t happen until I was already separated, so clearly it was really about that. But at that point it was such a horrendous experience…without going into great detail…the experience of ending that relationship and getting a divorce really left me feeling like my heart had been chopped up.
Getting this tattoo was about healing, and is about healing. It’s also about the awareness that when you get injured really badly, emotionally or physically, the scars remain, but you will get better. But you will always have that experience be a part of you. As massive as it was, the stitches are there to show that it is healing, but that it will always be there.
So it’s not a bloody heart with knives coming out of it, but it’s also not a healthy heart. Another piece was that anyone I was going to have a relationship would have to see it…it’s kind of a bummer I guess for them. But it was going to be something that was going to come up, and it was never not going to be there.
The secondary response to it, was a tattoo I was planning to get while still married, but didn’t get till several years later, the Back Off Kitty Cat on the back of my neck. 
Again, I was interested in the visibility of tattoos, and so I liked that it was going to poke out of my shirt all of the time, and people would know, “Hey there’s a tattoo under there.”
This black cat with it’s back arched is the typical cat fair of saying, “Stay Away.” Which is something I felt like I had to do that to people for a while afterwards. So it could be cute, but it also had the meaning of, “Hey, I need some space.”
A few years ago…. I got this tattoo, 
and this was my tattoo to say, “It’s getting better.” I had gone through a emotionally turmochulous storm, but there is a shining star that is visible and is saying, “There is hope.” This is one, hopefully of many, that will appear in the night sky after the storm has gone. It’s funny because people don’t think this is real because it is so intentionally faded and soft. But I really like that the star is in the negative space. So that was my beacon of hope tattoo. Maybe there will be more in that series.
For me, tattoos are about recording history. People come and talk to me about getting tattoos and wonder what they are going to like forever. But it’s not about that. When it’s about recording history, you will have always been that person, you will have always remembered that time, and it’s just a reminder to do things differently or do things the same. So if you’re recording history, you’re never going to regret getting a tattoo.
There’s a lot of bad tattoos out there
Arik is an old friend from highschool. We moved to NYC at the same time when we were 18, but he has lived there ever since, and I haven’t. One of my favorite ways of describing Arik is that he is one of those people who always knew what he wanted …and just did it. Arik and I hung out for a bit when he was in town a few weeks ago.
“The one on my left shoulder (on the back) was done in Austin, TX in 1995. I was 21, I designed it. 
I arbitrarily found a tattoo place…figured Austin was a reliable place to get one. I didn’t know anyone at the shop…it’s ok, it’s pretty blurry at this point.
I just wanted a tattoo. I like dragons, and I liked this image enough to get it. I don’t think much about it, since I don’t see it. Most people don’t see it.
My other tattoo doesn’t show very much either. (It’s a dragonfly). I was visiting an old friend in MA, he was a tattoo artist, and I wanted him to give me a tattoo. I drew it up pretty quickly, I played it pretty safe since I knew I hadn’t been considering it for a while. He tattooed me in his house, and 
did a great job. I don’t think much about that one either.
I can’t say that they affect my life very much. Like most tattoos, you think about it more before you get it, than afterwards…because afterwards you’ve already made the decision, and that’s the hard part.
It isn’t something I took lightly even though it sounds like it. My dad is a fan of tattoos, and he always told me to get something I would really like. He thinks that tattooing has become pretty frivolous, and I agree. There’s a lot of bad tattoos out there. I actually wanted to do tattoos for awhile, but I ended up getting really turned off by the culture. I’m very particular about what I like. My tattoos are simple enough that they don’t look over done and don’t try to be more than what they are.
Kiv
It’s fun when a kid likes a dragon, and I can show them the
one on my shoulder, and Kiv likes dragonflies, so it was fun to show him my dragonfly.
Selling Tattooed Skin
Just stumbled upon this on TrendHunter:
“This must be the world’s first transaction of its kind – the selling of a tattoo while still on its owner’s body. Tim Steiner sports an elaborate tattoo of the Virgin Mary on his back which he sold to Zurich gallery owner Jutta Nexdorf for 150,000 Euros or about $218,000. The tattoo was designed by Belgian artist Wim Dalvoye and took 35 hours to create. The new owner plans to exhibit the tattoo three times a year. When Steiner dies, the tattoo would be handed over to its owner. The first exhibitions of the tattoo (and Steiner) will in Singapore and Shanghai next week. The video shows Steiner as a German talk show guest – at the very end, he takes off his shirt to show off the tattoo.”
It’s About Healing
So much has happened in the last week…putting me to the test about how true I stand by my own tattoo that states change is for the better. I stand true!
Meanwhile, let me introduce Mim. She is none other than the mother of Noah (see below). An artist, a free spirit, and joyful person. She told me this story while I was in Richmond, at the salsa party she and Chuck hosted in their backyard. Ahhhhh…I miss those warm summer nights.
“Two years ago, on July 18 at 10:15 p.m., I fell.
I was jogging around the block with my dog. It was dark, of course, and the sidewalk was uneven with tree roots breaking through. I fell, dislocated my jaw and broke my arm.
I ended up with a big, heavy fiberglass cast. It was a helluva summer. I felt damaged, and worried that I wouldn’t be able to play the piano (for real, not a joke).
BUT here’s the crazy thing in all this, a month before I fell, my younger sister in California had fallen and broken her hip, and was on bed rest. I’d been on the phone with her every other day.
AND our cousin in San Francisco had fallen a month before my sister and broken her leg. The three of us formed a club- we talked daily, which we hadn’t before, and our relationships became closer.
When my cast was removed, I was fascinated by my scar. 
The line, not quite straight, with the little white points on either side from the stitches, and the indentation on the side where the long pin had held the bones in place.
I started to think about getting a tattoo around the scar. I looked at a lot of images, thought about what I wanted, but 18 months later, I still had sensitivity in that area of my arm.
While visiting my sister, we both got small purple hearts, me on the arm that had been broken but on the outside. But I still wanted one on the inside of the arm. A few months later, while getting my hair cut, I looked down at my lap, HA! I have TWO arms and thought, ‘do the tattoo on the other arm’.
I am very happy with this newest tattoo. 
It’s about healing, about being happy, being alive, being aware of all I have to be grateful for, about peace and when I open up to people, they can see it. I love that it wraps around my arm so that people can glimpse it but not see it fully until I extend my arms.
