Hez sent me this amazingly awesome tattoo website, (which I believe can be credited back to Court) where all the tattoos are literary based. It gave me the tattoo fever and I am craving a new tattoo.
I have two tattoos. One on my hip that I got in April of 2007:
The other on my wrist, in February of 2008 with my Hezabelle:
Inspired by that website that I was looking at, Hez and I got into this discussion about particular tattoos... which I then carried over to a neighboring IM, to discuss with Sean. Some of those tattoos on that website absolutely inspired me, so I told Sean that I wanted another tattoo - most likely something scripted from one of my favorite pieces of literature.
Sean says he doesn't hate tattoos, but every time we have this conversation - he tries to talk me out of it. He says he admires the artistry and design of tattoos, but thinks that if I like something that much - I should just paint it on a canvas instead of having it permanently branded on my body.
Now, I wouldn't just get any old tattoo - but at the same time - I adore tattoos and what they stand for. They inspire me. I agree that there are absolutely horrid tattoos out there, but I like to think that I have good taste in tattoos. My reasoning behind tattoos is that they have to absolutely mean something to me (I'm also very picky about the placement, but that's just my OCD).
For example, the two tattoos I currently have both have huge meaning behind them to me. They're both inspired by songs (one from a movie), and right now - I still melt every time I hear either of the songs. But at the same time, there's a world of meaning behind each tattoo on why I got it, that goes beyond the songs.
Yes, "Imagine" is a beautiful song by John Lennon - but it was also a testimony to my best friend (we got matching tattoos - same word, different font). There's meaning behind why I got it on my wrist and why I got it on my left wrist, that is personal. But I will always be an imaginative dreamer. The tattoo on my hip stands for the idea of true love and the theory that we each have a "other half" that completes us. It's two half faces that when put together form a full circle. "The Origin of Love" is the song that it comes from, and that song comes from a movie. I could end up hating that movie, or either of those songs - but I will always love what each tattoo stands for to me (love and creativity), and that's not going to change.
Which is why I will only get tattoos that have that sort of meaning to me. I have always wanted to get the Triforce tattooed on me, but I go back and forth on it because while I do love Zelda and have for ten years now - there's not much other meaning behind it than that, haha.
So Sean's questions are, why do I have to get something tattooed? Does it make it any more meaningful to see it on my body every day? Will it inspire me, will it make me sad, will it make me happy (depending on the meaning behind it)?
[Tasteful] tattoos, to me, are inspiring and do make a difference. I can appreciate what Sean says, on painting on a canvas instead to admire on a wall, but I also think there is an entirely different artistic level to using your body as the canvas. So, I for one, will absolutely get more tattoos!
So what do you, oh readers, think on this matter? Do you believe art belongs on the body or the wall? SHARE YOUR TATTOOS!!!
Here's a few tattoos I'm considering:
"What we have here is a dreamer." - The Virgin Suicides, Jeffrey Eugenides (Favorite book)
"Infinite." - The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky (on my right wrist)
"And the ones whose stories are over." - Wicked, Gregory Maguire
"Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt thou the sun doth move.
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt that I love."
- Hamlet
But the one I'm most likely to get next will be a quote from Romeo and Juliet (favorite play), coupled with the heart symbol from Baz Lurhmann's version of the movie (my favorite movie of all time):
Because again - I'm a sap. I'll always believe in true love, even if it is star crossed and ends in double suicide. It's so much better than that fluffy duffy love anyway.
- Fae
