Saturday, May 8, 2010

tattoo weather

When the weather gets sunny here in Portland, it's time for Stephen to comment about the kooky Oregonians going crazy with shorts and flip flops even though it's in the sixties, and it's time for me to do some happy tattoo watching. What have I seen today? A semi-crude skull and cross bones at the back of a guy's neck. A bar code on the back of someone's arm. Some really intricate sleeves including imagery like water and anemones (sea. i didn't realize for a long time that an anemone is also a land flower). A two-toned five-pointed star on the back of a guy's neck (is that something in particular? i've seen that same tattoo before. same spot). Some really nice black and white work on a guy's legs--an eagle, maybe and... I can't remember. I remember the images were scattered across his legs like they'd been tossed and just left where they landed. I was saying the other day that I tend to be distracted by placement. That good tattoos can be diminished by a poor choice of where you put them. Stephen wasn't as finicky as I about that. He likes that passport stamp aspect of tattoos. How each one tells a little story of a place in your life.

2 comments:

  1. Actually, good placement is just as important to me. It's just that the interrelation of theme, etc., isn't so important; I believe you were espousing a more coordinated scheme.

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  2. Ah, we're of like minds. Actually, I was just thinking visually. I appreciate thematic but I like, like you, that idea of tattoos as sign posts, as charm bracelet, as collection. I'd probably get another one if I had another limb or something.

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