my peonies

Here they are all healed up and finished! I wanted to show you a couple photos of them completed and also share a little about why I got these particular tattoos.

I love tattoos. My father is covered in them and he got most of his work when I was already a teenager so I got to spend some time at tattoo shops, meet amazing tattoo artists, and he would even take my siblings and I to tattoo conventions as little family outings. Because of this I really respect beautiful tattoos and I knew that I didn't want to get just any tattoo when I have seen tattoos that could literally win awards.

There are a few things I am sure of when It comes to tattoos. I am sure that I don't want to be covered in tattoos, even though I think people who are can look amazing! I am sure that I want a tattoo that means something to me on more than one level and I am sure I want only amazing tattoo artists to put them on me. I don't only want them to be super talented but I want to actually like them. Call me silly but I think its important to have a good connection with the person permanently inking something onto your body. 

I have had a few pieces planned for a long time but I have never met an artist that I really felt that comfortable with. Granted, I wasn't looking too hard because tattoos are expensive and I never made it a financial priority. When I decided that I needed to get the peonies before the end of the year I only had one person in mind. Phill Bartell from Rising Tide Tattoo emporium had done a lot of work on my brother and other friends of mine. He is this very gentle and warm guy and that made me feel good about making the appointment because I wasn't sure how I would react to the pain. It took a few months to get in there but it was completely worth the wait.

For the first peony I was sort of disaster. The pain level was shocking and I just could not deal. I think I was so nervous about what to expect that I just made the whole situation way worse than it was. The second time around went a lot better. The same pain level was there but the mind is an amazing thing and if you can figure out a way to relax it, everything is better.

So why did I submit myself to this? Well Dustin and I have lived in a few different homes together and more than not when Spring came peonies would pop up from the yard or in front of the house. I knew that I wanted to have peonies at our wedding last year and when I read that they symbolize a healthy and stable marriage I knew that I wanted to get two peony tattoos, one for him and one for him.

I have only ever thought I would get tattoos on a few spots and the feet were never a spot that I had in mind. But, when I started placing the peonies on my shoulder or under my upper arm (my two favorite spots) it wasn't feeling right. I started looking up images of feet tattoos and I was blown away! When I made the connection that it would be a really grounding spot to place the tattoos, it was decided! Of course this was before I knew that the feet are one of the most painful spots to get work done:)

I definitely wished that I didn't already tell Dustin that one of the peonies would be for him after the first session because I did not want to go back! But, of course I had to, otherwise it would always feel incomplete and my neurosis couldn't live with that.

So now when I look at my feet and see these pretty and simple black line peonies I am reminded that I married a sweet and beautiful man that I love and who loves me. It seems almost silly to need a reminder of this now, but you never know where life will lead you. One day I might really appreciate a reminder that I got these beautiful and permanent designs on my body to mark this life changing time when I decided to spend my life with one person.

I like to think of tattoos as little mementos from the time in your life when you got it and when people ask me how will I know I will still like them in 30 years my answer is always that everything I go through will bring me to where I am and as long as they are well done I think I will still like them.

How do you feel about tattoos? Do you love them, hate them, want them? I would love to hear the stories behind your tattoos. 

besitos,
rebecca

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Comments

[Selvi]

first: i really love your pionies! they are beautiful and suit you very well. i was thinking about a flowery tattoo for myself but i think i might give it another few year, since i don't have the money and i'm a huge chicken. my family is in general against tattoos so i guess they wouldn't approve. but that doesn't concern me much. i love the idea of illustrating your body with dearest memories or something similar.

[Michelle Clement]

Aaaw - I love the story behind them! :) And boy, do feet hurt - you have courage, lady! I have 6 little teeny ones, and have been dying for a big nautical one for years, but have been waiting for the right money moment and to make sure that I want to commit to the same idea/piece. :) I find that I'm usually so excited, my adrenaline kicks in and I feel little to no pain - you gotta psyche yourself up!

[Sarah]

I adore this post! I think we view tattoos in the same light - as mementos of different points in our lives. I currently have a pink peony flower on my left foot in honor of my grandmother, an old English crown on my upper back, and the words 'first light' across my wrists. They all mark certain memories and honor people for me. :)

[Jess]

Absolutely beautiful! I love your location choice and the simplicity of them. Bravo for making it through the pain! xxx, j

[Victoria / Justice Pirate]

well I think this is a lovely romantic reason to go through pain!!! It looks beautiful.

[Amelia]

I love this post so much. My tattoo makes me ecstatic daily. It reminds me I am strong, loved, unique, beautiful, have a creative and brilliant community, love local everything, healthy, connected to the divine and the land, have the best besty ever, and that everything is going to be ok. I think the person who does it is eternally a part of the tattoo! http://www.clawandtalontattoo.com/ Vinny did the best work. He engaged with me and made it a conversation. He brought his art to the table and I liked that. I am happy to hear all of your experiences as well! Lovely :)

[cb]

i love everything about your tattoos. i agree that having a great connection with the person tattooing you. i have a great relationship with my tattoo artist and i love going to see her. it makes the whole thing more exciting and a better experience. i only hope that i can be that when i start tattooing :) the daisies on my shoulders are for tom, he was born in november and the daisy is his birth flower and i love having that reminder.
xo,
cb

[Kristen from Try, Try Again]

They're really beautiful...and the feet are a brutal spot but such an attractive one, it's definitely worth it in the long run. I have a good amount of tattoos and what you said about feeling comfortable with your tattooer definitely rings true for me, I'm not sure I would have as many as I do if one of my best friends wasn't doing them! It makes the whole thing a little sweeter.

[caitlin]

gooogeous lady, primo work! what a lovely little read this was <3

[Nine Photography]

GORGEOUS tats!!!!! They look super cute with those shoes too.

[manu]

I share you thoughts about tattoos. I don't have any, and I'm not really planing on getting any yet, but I know that if I ever do, they will have something as meaninful as yours behind them. And they will most def be works of art made from real artists, since I hate ugly tattoos!

[Amy @ A Girl Called Beloved]

This is one of the most beautiful articles I've ever read! I love the symbolism! One for each of you and stable and grounded! I wish the same things for my marriage.
Your peonies are so very beautiful!

[Karen A.]

I love your tattoos! So gorgeous!

[Laura]

I'm a fan of tattoos. Yours are gorgeous.

I have one myself, but it's a cover-up for a previous tattoo that I got when I was 15, so I have experienced the pain twice. The first was on a spur of the moment, matching tattoo with a man who is no longer in my life.

It took me a while to decide what to cover it up with but I knew I wanted something else. I had in mind a crow since I had a pet crow named Sheryl when I was a kid, but it would have to be big and it didn't feel right. After adopting my black cat Morgan, I was reminded of the Le Chat Noir poster, which I had gotten a print of when I was in Paris France. So I had that cat tattooed over my old tattoo. I love it because it reminds me of that wonderful trip, plus my black kitty is with me always.

I have ideas for more, but I feel that I need to keep that solid idea for a long time, like a year, before committing it to my body.

[Anna D.]

I am a fan of tattoos that are well drawn with special meanings to the person having them done. I find it to be very sentimental. I also enjoy typography tattoos. I don't have any myself, but my boyfriend does - a quote about change he shares with one of his sisters and a huge chest piece [which he tells me getting it done was beyond painful] that represents his beliefs. I'd like to get one sometime in the near future, but I can never decide what I want.

Anyway, I just want to say how beautiful your peonies look! You can never underestimate a simple black + white [or rather skin coloured] design. I especially admire the little backstory of these flowers.

Hope you're having a great thursday!

[Mandy]

I love your tattoos! They are so beautiful and well done, and seem to suite you perfectly.

I love tattoos and I have a few, my two biggest ones are beautiful to me and have great meaning.

I started to type some descriptions of my tattoos and what they mean to me but I decided I will just make a post about them and link it to you in the very near future, how's that sound? :)

xomando
www.mandatorycreations.blogspot.com