Now that I have committed myself to inking up this summer in Amsterdam (after telling not only my husband and best friends but also 150 teenagers, there is no backing down), I'm busy trying to figure out what I want drawn onto my skin forever.
I know I don't want anything cutesy sweet - that seems just plain silly unless it has a fascinating story behind it and even then I would feel compelled to tell everyone my fascinating story which, eventually, would not sound so fascinating after all.
Words could be cool - I've entertained "Carpe Diem" since it was the subject of my speech to the seniors last year and [most days] I sincerely try to embrace the philosophy. If I go with this, I then have to decide what kind of font would be most awesome FOREVER. Cursive? Too girly. Lower case? Too casual. Calligraphy? Too hard to read (back to the explaining thing). Argh.
I also thought about an Escher drawing - he's Dutch like me, I'll be in Holland, and I love the intricacy of his work. But I don't think I can sit still long enough for this baby.
The woman who does my hair (oh, I told her, too) said the one thing she immediately thought of for me was a book. I like it. Reading has always been a passion - I used to read by passing streetlights in the backseat on road trips; I take or seek out books & magazines everywhere we go (including our honeymoon); I read while brushing my teeth or eating lunch or waiting at traffic lights. But it seems no one else in the history of tattooing has considered such a design. I have entered all of these search terms: book tattoo, book tattoo design, edgy book tattoo, edgy book tatoo design, stack books tattoo, cool book tattoo. To no avail. There are lots of books available showing tattoos, and many people with tattoos of comic book characters & Children of Men book covers.
Really? Am I seriously that geeky? Please feel free to submit your best ideas. They can't possibly be any worse than some of my students' suggestions - A dragon! A pot leaf! Flames would be cool! Apparently I'm teaching Beavis & Butthead's children.
