All of my tattoos are reminders of a specific event in my life.  I love them all equally but if I must choose only one of them, I would pick my chest piece.  I got it when I survived my ex.  My ex used to be a psychopath, the most violent person I’ve ever known and my first love.  He almost killed me at one point so when it was over I decided to get that chest piece.  The guns are the more important element.  They represent an end.  Nobody can do what they want with my body anymore…I take charge.  Its a warning.  It has a non-violent meaning to me…I just chose to use guns to express this warning.  I added roses to it to represent a ever-blooming me kind of way, like I grew and learned through that experience.T  he banner has my pinup name on it.  I chose my pinup name since its something I’m proud to have achieved since my ex was thinking of me as a fat,ugly person.  I proved him wrong and the swallows are beautiful birds that can fly away from any further danger.  I love my tattoo and what it represents.


http://www.behindtheink.com/AubeThePlusSizePinup

 


I got my first after my middle name which was after my great-grandmother who was Native American and then the last, for her daughter (my grandmother) when she passed on 3 yrs ago. My grandmother was my rock and the Hummer and Tiger lily are the beggining of a back piece in their honor and in honor of my Native heratige. I am very proud of them and the legacy they left me with my name. I am still designing the back piece and hope to start it later this summer. It will take a lot of chair time and funds to complete though, so may take a while to finish.


http://www.behindtheink.com/InkedWitch


 

My sea horse tattoo! Well I got this tattoo because a friend and I got the same one. Her’s is different colors and does not have the waves, and hers has VK onthere. My has TQ just under it. We are no longer in contact but I wish we were…I miss her! She was my best friend. Our picture is on my profile. We had fun at our job too! BARTENDERS (Pepper and Johnni)


http://www.behindtheink.com/meandmybaby

 


This tattoo is a memorial tattoo I got for my mother.  She passed away on april 14 of this year.  On the day of her visitation, I was sitting outside, having a cigarette and listening to johnny cash, without which I don’t think I could have made it through all of that week.  I’m by no stretch of the imagination a religious person, but at that moment I asked God for some sort of sign that my Mom was where she needed to be. Then out of nowhere, this cardinal comes swooping up on the porch and landed on a light.  It sat there for a moment, looking at me.  Then it chirped and flew away.  And all I could think to say was thank you.  So, that weekend I called Mark of Cain tattoos in Champaign, IL, and set up an appointment for the following Monday and had the cardinal done. 


http://www.behindtheink.com/Tattooed_and_Bitter

 


My most significant tattoo is my first, and currently my only.  It’s a medium sized blue and green gecko on the inside of my left ankle. I got it because of what it means in my religion.  Geckos stand for over coming strife and obstacles. In the past, I was extremely depressed and had a hard time dealing with the world around me.  My parents had divorced, my father remarried, my mother went through a mental break down and I ended up raising myself from age eight to age sixteen.  I began to be picked on at school and my grades slipped.  Family life became hell and I turned inward.  When I was nine years old I began to cut myself.  My first suicide attempt was at age thirteen, and I was even blamed for other girls in my school cutting themselves, when I didn’t even know who they were. Over the years through hard work, and a lot of love from my friends, I began to climb out of my depressions.  I still fight every day to maintain a healthy relationship with those around me and I have to work not to slip back intoold habits.  The gecko helps me to realize that no matter what, I can over come the strife in the world with help, and determination.  


http://www.behindtheink.com/madhattermery

Is that the coolest buffalo-on-a-bike tattoo you’ve ever seen, or what?!?

My new tattoo based on my buffalo-on-a-bike design, which is also uploaded a few pictures back. Why a buffalo on a bike? Do you really have to ask?

I’ve had this design idea in my head for at least a year. I had a guy I know draw a slightly different version of it a while ago, but this version I made myself by combining a buffalo silouhette that I found on the interweb with the bike symbol from a bike path sign. I had to stretch the buffalo’s legs a bit to fit them onto the pedals (buffalo aren’t exactly easy to anthropomorphise), and I angled the buffalo’s tail back with the wind, and then angled the front legs to rest them on the handlebars. It was fun. And now it’s permanently tattooed on my left shoulder.

I got it done at Shamus McInky’s Tattoo Shop in

Thomas’ Bike Blog