PicoBlog

My newest tattoo is one that I’ve been waiting a while to get, and it was definitely worth the wait. 

When it comes to tattoos, I don’t believe a heartfelt meaning is a requirement by any means, but for my own pieces, I do like to have some connection to or reason for the design I’m choosing. 

Even if the meaning is subtle, I enjoy feeling connected to the art on my body. It’s as simple as that. 

In some cases, that meaning isn’t fully clear to even me until some time after I get the work done. It’s more of a gut feeling that sparks the idea, and some form of intuition that motivates me to follow through with a design. 

For example, one piece on my forearm, a simple geometrical design with a pine tree in the center, didn’t immediately carry any significant meaning besides my love for the outdoors. Though, a few months and one decision to become vegetarian later, the tattoo developed a secondary meaning centred around the simplicity of a more vegetarian lifestyle. 

Seven years later, that secondary meaning is the one that comes to mind when I see my tree. 

Tattoos are a snapshot of the person you were when you decided on your piece, and that’s why, personally, I don’t worry about the possibility of “regretting” a tattoo. If I find myself inspired enough by a design to think, even if just for a period of my life, that I’d enjoy carrying that art around with me indefinitely, the design is worth holding on to. 

And so, I’ve ended up with this collection of about 30 different pieces that all represent different moments, passions, interests, people, and art forms that I now get to keep with me always. 

Though it wasn’t until the session yesterday that someone likened people like me to a kind of tattoo curator, and after hearing that term, I began to think about how I would explain my tattoo philosophy if I were given the chance to put it into words. 

It’s hard not to compare yourself to a sort of living scrapbook or collage when you carry around the art that makes up your skin quite literally everywhere you go. 

I feel like I’m able to represent myself in a way that can’t really be put into words, instead communicating through the art I myself have chosen. 

While it goes without saying that the individual talented enough to tattoo others is an artist through and through, getting to be the curator of the art allowed the unique privilege of having a place to live on your body in itself is an art form.

My newest tattoo has a special meaning, as it’s inspired by a photo that I took myself while bird-watching at a small bog near my childhood home. 

Herons have always stood out to me as meaningful in a way that I’m still not entirely yet sure how to put into words. Yet, now one permanently lives on my outer calf, despite that uncertainty. 

I’m sure that one day my heron will speak to me in a different way that I can’t predict quite yet. 

But for now, I’m just happy to continue to curate. 

I’ll leave you here with a few journaling prompts for those who want to do a bit of guided thinking around this topic:

• Explore the concept of being a "tattoo curator." What does this term mean to you? How do you choose the art that you permanently carry on your body?

• How do you feel about using tattoos as a way to express yourself? Do you agree with the idea that tattoos are a snapshot of the person you were when you got them?

• Explore the idea that tattoos allow individuals to communicate through art. How do the tattoos you see on others reflect their personalities, beliefs, or experiences?

As always, let me know your thoughts in the comments and replies.

For now, have a great rest of the week.

Photos by Lucas Lenzi on Unsplash and myself.

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