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My father committed suicide in 1992, when I was 12. I was very close to him, and losing him so suddenly and tragically was a huge blow to my 12 year old mind. It took me years to be even able to talk about it or mention him without tearing up or getting excessively defensive.

Every August (the anniversary month of his death) I pretty much go mental…lose control of my emotions. August 2004 marked 12yrs with him, 12yrs without him, and I pretty much had a nervous breakdown. After I recovered from such a set back of healing progression, I decided that I would pay tribute to him the following year with a permanent reminder of his love and my love for him.

August 2005 came around and I realised I just couldn’t do it quite yet…it had to be the right time, not just because it marked a date, but rather because it marked a time in my life when I felt more healed. January 2006 I decided I was ready - to start a new year with a new outlook on life.

I had the tattoo placed on my back to remind myself that the past is behind me. That his love is still with me, but I can put the pain behind me forever and just remember the love and good times. It is centered on my back because he was and always will be the center of my heart, and it is at the top because I want to be able to touch it whenever I feel sad and somehow feel a connection to my daddy.

I am planning an addition to the tattoo this fall. Custom work being designed by Gene at Adrenaline (New Jersey, but he guests in Vancouver). It’s going to become a larger piece, the heart being the center of it, and more like a coat of arms style piece, incorporating aspects of my family ancestry/heritage plus images that I hold near and dear to my heart…

-Jaclyn (Jaclyn’s Aztec Tattoo)

Design: JaclynTattoo work/colour/shading: Gene at Adrenaline (Vancouver)

My second tattoo I did while I was on sick leave of absence from work. I was VERY bored just sitting at home, unable to go to work, and I had been doodling for a long time. The new fad at the time were those plastic choker necklaces. Some girls were breaking them and wearing them as anklets. I looked at my chain of heart doodle and just knew that it would look awesome around my right ankle. I also knew that it would piss off my mom (my first one did), and that was a bonus, at the time. She didn’t realize it was a tattoo and not one of those plastic necklaces for a long time, and people still ask me if it’s real or one of those.

Done at the 5150 in Lodi, by Terry

This tattoo had been in the works for years. My idea for it came after years of wanting a graduation gift for myself. I was a film major at UC San Diego. The idea of having a film heart came from feeling an intrinsic connection and need to make films.

Originally the idea was to have a film reel instead of the heart and have a piece of film come off the reel and lead down my arm into a sleeve. I asked my artist to come up with a design for it. She then sent me this heart design and I was in love with it. We decided to add the Chaplin minutes before we started the tattoo.

-Abe

Artist - Susan Kidder
Flesh Skin Grafix