A guide to what my tattoos “mean”

I have two tattoos, and in the words of my friend Kimmy “sometimes I wish they could hold a conversation themselves”. There is a misconception that people get tattoos because they want you to ask about them. In most cases this simply isn’t true.

My first and smallest tattoo was done by an acquaintance who was just starting out. I actually really like the uneven lines and smudges. They give it character, make it funny. It does have a lot of “deeper meaning” but frankly that’s not the business of passers by.

Some of my friends who do know the meaning think it’s pathetic. So they gave me a tattoo voucher for my birthday in the hope I’d cover it up. Instead I booked an appointment with Rose Hardy on valentines day 08 and got the thing on my ankle.

Knowing I would get plenty of questions I decided to get the meaning tattooed in a banner “annunciation” so people wouldn’t have to ask. I didn’t think it through very well, apparently not everyone has studied art history so I end up with even more questions.  The picture depicts Mary and Gabriel, but is actually based of one of my favourite paintings, “Lamia” by John W. Waterhouse which is owned by the Auckland Art Gallery.

My boyfriend hopes that one day I’ll get them removed, and maybe I will when I’m old and rich. I don’t understand why you’d get a tattoo on your back or somewhere else you’ll never see it. I can admire mine and yet with a pair of stocking and a wristwatch I can cover them up. Fortunately in my line of work ink is usually alright, they add to the “creative” image.

Ps. Someone who used to do marketing for Bendon told me the DimitySO girls all had blogs, so I looked up Drea Morsby, and turns out she wrote a similar post >