I grew up without a father and the next best thing i had was my grandfather. I was closer to him than anyone else in my family.

In spring of 2003 when i was 13 and in the 6th grade he was rushed to the hospital with pneumonia, he was in the hospital for three weeks before he passed away. I didn’t know what to do or how to feel. I never cried and i felt like i was in an episode of the Twilight Zone. Later that spring our backyard was full of hummingbirds i don’t know why, we didn’t have any flowers that attracted them we only had one little hummingbird feeder that hadn’t gotten any birds at all that spring.

Earlier that day my Grandmother was watching The Montel Williams show with famous psychic Sylvia Browne, Sylvia had said that those who have passed often send signs to loved ones. So my grandma, feeling sure of herself said “O.k. Don, if you are around keeping an eye on us send some hummingbirds to our feeder.” Just as soon as she was done saying that we had 3 birds at our feeder.

Now whenever i see a hummingbird i am reminded that my grandpa is with me and watching over me, and because of my tattoo i will always be reminded of it.

- Molly

Tattoo Artist: Aaron
Tattoo Studio: Arron is currently working at Scuttlebutt Tattoo.

More Bird Tattoos
More Shoulder Tattoos
More Type Tattoos

I wanted to get something to represent my parents and everything they’ve done for me over the last 20 years; for all their love and support. I have always liked the look of ‘old school’ tattoos, so I decided on the two hearts, one for Mum and one for Dad.

As for placement, I knew that getting my feet tattooed would hurt (and it did!!!) but I figured that my parents got me on my feet, so now I have them on my feet

Cheesy, but it works

- Terri

Tattoo Artist: Sean Jackson
Tattoo Studio: Tattoo Magic, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia

More Foot Tattoos
More Heart Tattoos
More Mom Tattoos

Les's Wild Geese Poem Tattoo

Yesterday, I went to the Body Art Expo at the Cow Palace, with the art in hand for a new tattoo.

The quote is taken from a poem called Wild Geese by Mary Oliver, which I first heard during a massage sometime in the mid-1990s, from a massage therapist I worked with regularly from 1993 to 2002. It spoke to me of the “I need to listen to myself” and to be present in my body.

I chose a Bernoulli spiral, because to me it represents growth, change, movement, cycles, and changing perspectives. The font is penshurst, which I like because of the curliques on the h, m, n, v and y. lj user=the_ogre helped me translate my concept into a design.

The original design, as shown here is slightly smaller.

Click for a picture of the final product, as well as more information about the tattooing process.

-Les

This tattoo is a memorial tattoo. It is two doves holding a banner with the word “kid” on it. On December 7th, 2006 a great person left this place. My girlfriend’s 15 year old sister passed away. She was an awesome kid much wiser than her years. We were real close. Because of her sickness she couldn’t go to school so my girlfriend would bring her along when we would run our errands. I still think I am a kid at heart so I get along with kids I know how to joke around so we got along great.

As if having her wasn’t great enough she has a twin sister just as beautiful and just as amazing. Anyways, after she passed away I went to my tattoo artist and gave him an idea of what I wanted, trusting him I let him do whatever he wanted with the idea and he did. He freehanded the banner and the word. Kid is what I called her so I wanted to get Kid instead of her name because I wanted it to be more personal. Anyways I hope you enjoy it. R.I.P. Kid Love You.

-Israel

Also check out Israel’s Virgen De Guadalupe tattoo.

I got this tattoo in Casa Grande, Arizona. It is a tattoo of a prayer called “The Serenity Prayer.” The prayer reads as follows.. God grant me the serenity to accept the things i cannot change, the courage to change the things i can, and the wisdom to know the difference between the two. The name of the Shop is called Aces and Eights.

The motivation for me to get this tattoo was that i have had a problem with
drug addiction since i was about 16 yrs old. I pretty much was using cocaine about 4-5 times a week thru all 4 years of college. I managed to graduate from college (took me an extra year, so i graduated in 5 years)and all while being on a full athletic scholarship. My senior year with about 2 weeks left before winter break i got busted by campus security(luckily not police) and i od’ed and got kicked off campus and almost lost everything but i managed to work out a deal where if i could complete 60 days in a treatment center and then pass random drug tests and do outpatient 3 hours a week for rest of my senior year i would be able to stay in school and continue to play on the athletic team i was on.

Every day in treatment at least 3-4 times a day we had to recite that prayer and it just started to stick with me. I got the tattoo a week after i graduated and have been drug free since the day i got it. The tattoo stands for my sobriety and the commitment i have to myself and everyone that cares about me to stay that way.

- Elliot