COLLABORATION WITH: Becky, Amy AND Muriel

 

Becky just sent along these photos and her tattoo story. It was a treat to work with her and meditate on the meaning of this word she chose throughout the process. 

There has been a lot of loss in my life the past couple of years. The loss of my last grandparent; of a future with a man I was soon to call my husband; a business and livelihood I poured my heart and soul into; people whom I considered friends; my home; and the most impactful loss on my life, my best fur friend and my first foster pup, Delilah. 

Delilah showed me that love isn't measured by the past, but by living in the present. She loved without prejudice. She loved without remembrance or distrust She loved with everything she had.

Looking back on the last few years the one clear thread that has bound my life together and stitched me into who I am at this very moment, was that of love. It is so easy to water down that word and the very strong meaning it holds. 

I had desired to get a tattoo for quite some time. To me, love, was the perfect word. A reminder on how to live my life. On how to treat others. The word itself, being so simple yet so complex, encompasses who I am as a woman and my desire to live intentionally.
My business name is designedbylove. God designed me and gave me the gifts I have. God is love. 1 Corinthians 13 defines love as God intends. "Patient, kind, never boastful. Not easy to anger. Keeping no record of wrongs. Delighting in the truth. Always protects, trusts, hopes and always perseveres. Love NEVER fails."  
Thank you Mara for taking this {very} dear and special word that I hold close to my heart and making it become a true piece of art that I get to wear for the rest of my life. Thank you Amy for being there with me as my plus one to capture such special moment in my life. Thank you Muriel for taking me on as a client and making my art come to life. There was special care and much thought put into who would be the one to make this mark on me.
Thank you to all, and especially to Becky for sharing these heartfelt words. 

COLLABORATION WITH: LEAH, CODY and MARIANNE

Hello hello. What accounts for the radio silence is that these last couple of weeks we've been packing for our move to Italy. In this spare moment, I wanted to share Leah's story, and my most recent Gratitude Giveaway. Leah works in hospice which, to my mind, is like the work of angels on earth. And so, here is her tattoo story: 

I have been privileged to work in hospice for the last 5 years.  Whenever I mention that people always say “That must be so hard, working with people who are dying.”  In reality, it is an honor to do my imperfect best to help people at this stage in their life.  It seems to me that death is like life, amplified.  It can be sad, graceful, beautiful, messy, transcendental and mundane, all at the same time.  Seeing people in this stage makes me aware of the finite nature of my own life, and that I need to strive to make it the best that I am able.

My hope with this tattoo is to keep several ideas central in my heart.  First, the life I live is foremost under my control; a positive person lives in a positive world.  Second, the more love I give, the more love I get, in my life and at the end of my life.  Third, those things that I dislike most in others are the things I dislike most in myself.  So better to try to acknowledge and change that in myself than focus that negativity toward others.

Thanks to Cody Swigert at Temple Décor and Marianne Wiest Photography in Kalispell, Montana and to Leah for sharing her story and the final product!

As I reminder: I give away one expression of gratitude every month to a client whose story I find especially moving: commemorating a loved one, an act of kindness, a gift, etc. Email me with your story. And all the gallerty of tattoo photos can be found here. 

 

COLLABORATION WITH: Rebecca, Bruce and Manuela


How fun to return from vacation and find these beautiful photos from Rebecca of her tattoo "be still." Rebecca writes that the words are from:

Psalm 46:10 : "Be still and know that I am God"     &
Exodus 14:14: "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still

These two small words are a reminder of God's faithfulness, provision and love in my life, a reassurance that I never have to worry and that I can trust Him with everything. 

..and the photos were taken by Rebecca's husband and collaborator Bruce. The both are from the talented photography studio Love Made Visible in Cape Town, South Africa (and they are too adorable). I cropped in to highlight the exceptionally detailed work of tattoo artist Manuela Gray of Wildfire Tattoos. Manuela, you rocked this. Often all that matters in translating my work from a digital file to the skin is the ability of the tattoo artist to capture and interpret the "thick and thin" strokes of each letter. Manuela couldn't have done a better job. As always, see a couple more snaps in the Portfolio > Tattoos section over here. Thank you Rebecca, Bruce and Manuela!

{Photos by Bruce of Love Made Visible}

COLLABORATION WITH: DARvá

What an honor to share my latest tattoo collaboration. Darvá got in touch a while back and wrote: 

"2010 -11’ has been a blessed but at times a challenging year. The beauty is in the struggle.  Five months ago I kissed and hugged my gorgeous wife Amanda and precious son Josiah and set out from Arizona to Dallas to better support my family and further my career in the hospitality industry with my current company (Fairmont Hotels & Resorts).  Thankfully my father would not let me make the drive alone. We shared great conversation and laughs along the way. His presence was greatly appreciated however, I couldn't help to feel an empty space that started as a tiny pinhole and grew to the size of the Grand Canyon.  I miss the two people that mean the world to me everyday I wake up. Due to job availability and other finical reason they remain in Arizona. 

All we have and know is in Arizona (family, fiends, our first house, Josiah's school).  This distance is only temporally (12 more months at most) and for the greater good.  This phrase "aut viam inveniam aut faciam" means  "I will either find a way or make one." It is something that keeps me pushing forward and to overcome life changing challenges."

The phrase he chose is so poingnant and inspiring. Especially in these times of economic uncertainty when the only way to overcome adversity might be in taking an opportunity far away from loved ones. Thank you to Darva, Viet at Blink Custom Art & Tattoos, and photographer Claire Elyse. 

 

COLLABORATION WITH: JESSICA, MO + ROBERT

I'm so excited to share this tattoo with you. I think it is the most text commissioned by any client. Jessica -- a nurse at a labor and delivery ward -- tells the story best.

Ten summers ago, my now husband Derek and I took our first trip together to see the Dave Matthews Band play at the Gorge. "Heaven's ampitheatre," I like to call it, with immense views of plateaus and sky and Columbia River. It became a tradition for us, three days of music bliss every Labor Day weekend. We now have our son Lennox in tow, who's 2, and I like to say he's been making the trip even before he was born (in my belly the first time around).  He was born into this world with Dave Matthews Band ushering him in like a theme song or dramatic score to the story of our life.  And I'm pretty sure he was conceived to it ;) It's in his blood.

"One Sweet World" is a song that I came across only in the last few years, discovered at one of these shows.  The violin intro to this song is so powerful. It catches my attention and draws me in even on the darkest of days. This tattoo evolved over the course of many years and shows, and over the years I've evolved into this tattoo.

As I became a mom and motherhood became me, a line from this song began to resonate with me on many levels. "So let us sleep outside tonight, lay down in our mother's arms, for here we can rest safely." It connects so many images and ideas of who I am in just a few words. I imagine laying in my mother's arms, as a child, outside in our backyard in the Oregon countryside.  Looking up at the stars on a summer night, and being completely at peace. It's dreamlike.  I imagine me holding my newborn son, barely the length of my forearm, and cradling him so closely all those first months, each time he nursed or needed to be close to me.  I'm now working as a Nurse in Labor and Delivery, and bear witness to women becoming mothers before my eyes, and have the rare opportunity to be a part of that incredible experience every day. There is no stronger bond than a mother to her child, and no safer place to be than in that Mama Bear's arms.  I imagine also one of the more literal meanings of the song, which I think is really about this planet we live upon, holding us close, keeping us grounded, with our feet solidly planted in the soil. She keeps us safe and holds us close, and feeds our soul with sunshine and dirt and water. Each day a mother holds her child, her little piece of the earth. From dust to dust. The experience of motherhood is now imprinted on my arms, where I will continue to hold my babies and the babies of other mothers.

Thank you Mara for translating these ideas to art. It is more beautiful than I could have ever dreamed.

Thank you Monica at Mo Hines Photography for spending an evening with us and for being so creative. And thank you Robert Egbert at Slave to the Needle Tattoo for putting it on my body forever, and for not messing it up.

Thank you, Jessica, for trusting me with (both!) of your inner arms, envisioning such a thoughtful tattoo, and sharing your story with us. Thank you to Robert for inking it so precisely, and to Mo for capturing the final result so well.

{Photos by Mo Hines Photography}

COLLABORATION WITH: JESS + SAM

Jess and Sam (the adorable couple behind Boho Baby Bump) posted their tattoo story today. They went above and beyond and even made a video about the process which you can see above. Jess writes:

"My heart is so happy when I look down at my arm. I get little flutters of romantic artsy-ness. We did this because we're crazy and in love. It's one of my favorite things that we've ever done together and will always be a sweet memory of our friendship and the heart romance I share with this guy named Samuel. ;)"

It was such a treat working with these two radiant and lovely people. Thanks so much for the opportunity (and exceptionally kind words), Jess + Sam!

COLLABORATION WITH: MARCO, ELIZABETH, AMANDA + COSMO

Last year Elizabeth got in touch to discuss a collaboration for her husband, Marco. As an anniversary gift, she gave him a tattoo by the incomparable Amanda Wachob (please check out her work here and a profile over at Design*Sponge here.) Marco chose the Latin phrase "Ut Amen Et Foveam" which means "So that I love and cherish." Elizabeth writes: "It's a memorial to our sweet little chihuahua Cosmo who tragically passed away last March at only 7 years old." (Shrine to Cosmo on the left.) Amanda weilds a tattoo needle like a paintbrush and I love her interpretation of my calligraphy: fluid and, in Elizabeth's words  "masculine, charming and romantic." Thanks so much to Elizabeth, Marco, Amanda, Loris and the late and beloved Cosmo.

{Photo of tattoo by Loris Guzzetta}

SABINE

Here's what happened: Tumblr has been incredibly good to me. Many Tumblrs have kindly posted about my work, very often this tattoo. I am, and remain, grateful. Curious, I crawled out from underneath my rock and clicked about. I was startled. Image after image of really thin girls. Girls from the back, with jutting shoulder-blades. Girls from the side, with emaciated ribs. Girls lounging on yachts, with hip bones taking up most of the frame. Quotes about being skinny, then getting skinnier. Apparently this is called "thinspiration" -- thinspo for short. I can't bring myself to explore this topic any further. I once scrolled through this discussion over at The Sartorialist and vowed never again. It has nothing to do with big or small. Rather, it is how we see and notice and document beauty in the world. There's no reason to defend what we see and notice and document, but what we see and notice and document speaks volumes about who we are.

Overwhelmed, I retreated back under my rock shaking my head, feeling out of touch with this particular audience and what they chose to notice. I love Andrea's story, and the much larger sentiment she so eloquently expressed transcended the immaterial coincidence that she has a slender frame.

So you can imagine my whoop of happiness when Sabine offered to share these photos of her tattoo, and the touching story below. This is what I know from reading lifestyle and fashion blogs over the years: this tattoo may not tumble its way through the internet, it will not be reposted and "liked" and tweeted and integrated into an inspiration board and cooed over in the comments. And I could care less. To me, it is perfect, it is heartfelt, and it possess a quality lacking in those scores of skeletal women. A quality that Andrea identified, that they both embody, and that we can all recognize, intuitively, when we see it: a spark, a soul.

A few years ago my first panic-attack struck me and to make a long story short: I ended up in a psychosomatic clinic to learn how to deal with the panic and how to trust again in my body, in my heart. Learning, that it's not necessary to maniacally observe the own heartbeat. And now, some years later, I can finally deal with that. This year was quite a good year, with loads of challenges and great adventures. I travelled to Latin America and Africa (and to those that know me in person: two years ago that would have been an impossible idea even to think about!!), my job is challenging but good, I feel healthy and strong, I love my life, my husband, my friends and family. It's not that the panic is gone forever, but I am stronger than the panic. and that's why I wanted to get inked again, with a kind of mantra: live&breathe. no fear. That should accompany me, visible for me, on my belly.
 
And then I somehow (via) stumbled upon Mara's blog and the first thing I saw was this lovely and adorable picture. And after that it was clear to me that I want "my" mantra in calligraphy, done by Mara. For me, the first (and also the second and third) sight was breathtaking! I loved to see the words written so beautifully! it took us some drafts and actually I changed some words (the first version has bee too long: live - love - think - breathe. no fear) - but I immediately fell in love with this piece of art!
 
But still: which tattoo artist? And Bastian, my husband, was not so keen on my idea.  At the end, I let fortune decide. In October I had some days off, was cruising in my quarter in Munich and passed Wild at Heart. I showed Anna, the tattoo artist, the draft and asked if she can make it. And she could. Immediately afterwards, I was sure, that I would regret it ("I am 41, a grown-up, why do I need a tattoo?!"; "Oh my god, I got inked on my chubby belly... How will the tattoo look, after having lost weight?" [not so very likely...] etc.). But 2 days later, after the healing began and I could see the beauty, I loved it and I still do! In contrast to my tattoo on my shoulder, I can see this one every day and it reminds me of - and I know that sounds over dramatic - living and breathing! And of the most important: no fear! Thank you so much, Mara!

ESPERAR for December

What better way to start the final month of the year, as we look ahead to 2012, than with this inspiring tattoo story from K. The organization that she now works for is one I've long-admired, too, and it took remarkable courage and optimism to make the leap.

In January 2010, at age 36, I decided that within the year, I would leave the very good and very well-paid job I’d held for six years to do something that felt more personally satisfying. That spring, I received an offer for a position with a non-profit I’d long admired. I had to first figure out if I could actually live on the salary they offered (two-thirds less than my current salary) and if making this move would compromise the career I’d worked hard to build over ten years. I was also in a nine-month-old relationship with a man I loved, hoping that we would move in together and then move our lives forward together. (I was, of course, very aware of my age and wanting to be able to have a child, while trying to give the relationship room to develop at a natural pace.) My boyfriend was not yet ready to move in together and while I knew that he loved me and I had faith in our relationship, it was hard not to worry, given the new professional and financial pressure this job change would bring.

I spent a lot of time worrying -- Was I making the right move professionally? Would I be able to survive on two-thirds of my income? What if my relationship didn’t work out? Was I making myself too dependent on a man who hadn’t yet made a full commitment to me and us? I knew that worrying was not going to help and that I needed to follow my desire to find more personally fulfilling and gratifying work and have faith in my relationship and in my ability to make everything work, regardless of what happened. In trying to calm myself, I often thought of the Spanish word “esperar” which has an amazing (and seemingly contradictory) set of meanings: to wait; to hope; and to expect. I found peace in the idea that, rather than worry, I could instead wait, hope and expect that the things I wanted would happen. I had to be patient, yes, but I could be patient while also hoping and, on some deeper level, knowing that the things that I wanted (a fulfilling job and relationship) would, in time, be mine.

I finally made the leap and accepted the job offer. I had seen and loved Mara’s work and reached out to her. She was able to turn around my request in very short order and on the first Monday of my two week break between jobs, I got the tattoo done by the very talented Bart Bingham at New York Adorned.

It is almost a year from my initial vow that I would leave my old job and I am seven months into a job working for an organization that does amazing things for some of the most desperate among us, and three months in to living with the most loving, generous and kind partner I could have imagined. It was all worth waiting and hoping for and I am glad that I knew enough to expect that all this could be mine. 

Let's re-read that last line, shall we, and make it a motto for December, this very "esperar-y" month.