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Michael’s Sandman Tattoo

My Sandman tattoo - this piece of art from Neil Gaiman - as I’ve read it the first time about 10 years ago I absorbed it completely. Wikipedia says about it:

“The Sandman’s main character is Dream, who is essentially the god of dreams, but is displayed as being the personification of all sentient beings’ collective ability to dream and tell stories”

The wish to get a tattoo of Dream or Sandman as I like to call him grew over time but I was feeling unsure where to go and I wanted a particular picture of him as a tattoo. The breakthrough came in May 2006 as i met with some of my schoolfellows and one of them had a nice Tribal one his arm. I asked him where he’d got it from and some time later I sent an e-mail to www.gecko-tattoo.de and asked them if they could complete my picture of Sandman so I would get a full picture of Sandman to put on my chest.

We arranged a date and a few days later I went to Gecko Tattoo. It took 2.5 hours for Salva (specialised in Freehand) to complete it and everytime I look at I smile. Everytime I hear “Tear In Your Hand” by Tori Amos that got a reference to Neil Gaiman:

“..if you need me, me and neil’ll be hangin’ out with the DREAM KING.

Neil says hi by the way”

I feel good to have Sandman on my body and in a way in my soul.

Inshallah

Michael

Katie’s Ivy Tattoo

Courtney’s Ivy Tattoo

Courtney, my best friend of 20 years and I recently got matching tattoos. Our friendship is definitely significant enough for and worth of a couple of tattoos. Our parents went to college together and we’ve lived 2 houses away from each other our whole lives so there’s no stopping us now.

There are various meanings for ivy leaves but a few significant ones we found that made us choose it were “long and lasting friendship” and “reliable friend.” We each have the other’s first initial incorporated into the design.

Courtney came up with the original design and the final design was put together by the tattoo artist.

- Katie

Tattoos by “Johnny Truant” AKA Kenny of 4 in the Morning Studios - East Northport, NY

Gaetan’s Phoenix Tattoo

Here is my take on this mythical bird linked with fire, the sun and rebirth. I found this paragraph quite inspirational: “A mythical bird that never dies, the phoenix flies far ahead to the front, always scanning the landscape and distant space. It represents our capacity for vision, for collecting sensory information about our environment and the events unfolding within it. The phoenix, with its great beauty, creates intense excitement and deathless inspiration.” - (The Feng Shui Handbook, feng shui Master Lam Kam Chuen)

After a couple of designs, Gaitan from “Paul and Friendz Tattoo” shop in Belgium crafted this drawing which encompasses nicely the strength, lightness and beauty of the Phoenix. It is my second tattoo. The first one being a snake in the shape of an Ouroboros around my left wrist. After a “snake that bites his own tale”, I chose a bird on fire that flies away without being blinded by the sun…

- Gaetan

Inked by Gaitan - Paul and Friendz Tattoo Shop - Belgium

Well….about my stars tattoo….hmm….I always wanted something with relation to my family, actually only my younger brother and my older sister.

I talked to them and asked them what symbol they most identify themselves with and both, independent from each other, said that they would say it’s a star!

I choose my left chest because I wanted something close to my heart - cuz my brother and my sister are, and always will be, my brother and my sister. And to not forget me I added a star for me! So the 3 big ones are for the 3 of us! The small ones are to make a full picture out of it!

-Boris

Ollin tattoo - Aztec symbol for the Day of Movement

I was born on the day of Ollin*, according to the Aztec calendar. The protector of this day is the god Xolotl (the Double, the Shapeshifter, the Evening Star, the Lord of the West).

I feel that it is a perfect symbol for me to have close to my heart, pretty much centered on my body. I have realised that 26 years have shaped me into the person I am today, and I am still evolving and growing and changing and I like who I am becoming. Adam, at Adrenaline in Vancouver, did a GREAT job, and even though it hurt like hell at times, he was really great about giving me breathing time.

-Jaclyn (Jaclyn’s Daddy Tattoo)
Tattoo by Adam at Adrenaline in Vancouver

*From www.azteccalendar.com:
Ollin is a day of the purified heart, signifying those moments where human beings may perceive what they are becoming. A good day for transmutation, which arrives like an earthquake that leaves in its wake the ruins of rationality, order and the preconceived.