Saturday, August 23, 2008

Books on the Body

I'm a big fan of tattoos. I personally have three, each with highly personal meanings to me that signify times in my life. My left shoulder blade has a piece of artwork drawn by Sarah McLachlan, my favorite singer/songwriter of all time. I stole it from the program of the very first Lilith Fair, which also marked one of the best days I ever spent with my deceased best friend, Ben. Next came the Art Deco/ treble clef tat on my lower back which marked a very uncertain time in my life where music & friends were my only constant. Most recently is the large center back piece I have that is another Sarah McLachlan work known as The Tree of Life. After having two kids, the concept of life as a tree that continues to branch out really appealed to me. Snuck into the center of the design is a hidden 13, my favorite number.

But it's time for a new one. It's been two years since my last inking, and I'm starting to fiend. I've been devoting quite a bit of time and thought into what I am once again willing to put on my body for a lifetime. Although I'm normally not attracted to very literal tats (i.e. roses, crosses, etc.), I've been thinking of getting words of some sort. I plan on eventually getting No Day But Today underneath my tree, but I'm not sure that's what I want to get right at this time. I've been thinking of getting something literary. Something that expresses my love of all things wordy. Here are a couple sites that I've ran across that I thought my fellow bookwhores might enjoy.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Literary-Tattoos-for-People-who-Love-Books

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/07/15/batattoos116.xml

http://www.yuppiepunk.org/2008/04/a-not-so-complete-history-of-literary-tattoos.html

Let me know what you think. Do you have tats? If so, what do they mean to you? And if you were getting a literary tat, what would you get? I can't wait to hear your answers!!

6 comments:

Jessican said...

oooh...two of my favorite things - books and tattoos!

I really loved your tree tattoo that you got. It was beautiful.

I have three tattoos (each that have very specific and important meanings to me) and I am also thinking about another one. I had been considering getting the ISBN number of a specific edition of Orwell's "1984" tattooed on my ankle. That is about as literary as I had considered. Well, except for the fact that I do have 1Timothy 6:12 on my forearm, but it's hard to categorize the Bible as literary.

Now that I think about it, I think I want to get the LC call number of the book instead. This would emphasize my love of the book itself, but also my nerdiness cred in libraries.

Now you have me thinking about new tattoos....I might comment again later.

Jessica said...

Oh.... love the idea of getting the LC call number!! That's great!
Perfect for you:)

stargurrl13 said...

I'm ready for my next tattoo as well!!!!

You already know about my tats (since you were with me when I got both of them) so I'll tell you what I have planned for my next two inkings.

I'm going to get a tat with some traditional design elements that will pay tribute to my parents and grandparents. For my parents, I'm leaning towards a heart with two banners flowing across it, each held up by a sparrow (maybe one per banner on opposite sides of the heart). One will read "Daddy's Girl" and the other "Lovey Mom".
I'm still trying to decide what I'll do for the granparent tattoo....

I'll be interested to see my mom's reaction since she really didn't approve of the huge "Lucky for Life" tat.

I need to plan another tattoo party!

Jessica said...

Starla, I also think it would be fascinating to see your mom's reaction to your next piece of art:) Her face will be priceless!!!

That being said, I like both of your concepts. I have also toyed with the idea of getting a tribute to my mom (maybe her initials CAK somewhere), but once I wrote that out, I realized it almost spells cake, LOL, which might look strange:) I've also toyed with getting something mother oriented that would tie together my mother and my role as a mother, but haven't figured that out either. I wonder what the word mother is in Gaelic. That appeals to me. Or maybe Carol in Gaelic. I sense some research underway:)

And yes! Tat party is much needed!!

Jessica said...

Ok... so mother in Gaelic is Mathair ( which I think is beautiful). This is definitely a concept to work with!!!

2 kids...3 martinis said...

Got a tat on Spring Break '94. I'd just gotten my BSN in nursing in '93 so I got an "RN" on either side of a cadaceous below my right hip bone. Got a nice, big stretch mark through in '97 (my little guy was born that year). So much for that one...

I've been thinking of a new one too. I'd like to do something with my kids' first initials (both "N")but don't have a clue as to what design or where I'd put it. Have been thinking foot or ankle.

Have you thought of your mom's initials in a monogram pattern? Like "cKa"? Just a thought. I'm sure with your research, you'll find something way cool. Good luck!