I have a large tattoo on my left shoulder.

When my mother saw it for the first time she exclaimed, “Did you have to get it so big?”

Yes, mother. I did.

I originally got my large tattoo a year and a half ago. It holds significant meaning to me. It took me two blog posts to write about it. You can see them HERE and HERE.

Since getting my cherry blossom tatt, I haven’t wanted to get anything new. But I did feel that my blossoms needed to grow. I originally chose cherry blossoms to signify growth and overcoming hardships – one hardship in particular. But why should it stop there?

In 2010 I had two character building experiences.  I decided that for each experience I would add a fallen petal as well as a new growth to symbolize the difficulty as well as to remind me of the growth that comes from all of life’s experiences.

I went to my tattoo artist, Mitch (Mutiny Ink in SLC if you are interested), asking for four minor additions. What I got in return was two days of pain, the additions I asked for, and my entire tattoo touched up.

Before

Taken right after completion the first time.

The drafting phase.

Hand drawing the additions.

Completion.

Directly after completion.

If it looks painful, that's because it was...very painful.

End Result.

Taken on New Years Eve, 1 week post-ink.

Sorry, Mom. My tattoo just got bigger.

Blogfully yours,

Summer

Tattoos

So I did it… After 2 years of talking about it, I actually did it and let me tell you, I forgot how freaking bad getting tattooed hurts! Call me a wuss if you must, but sitting still while someone continuously jams a needle into your back is draining!
I’d like to thank the talented Mitch Anderson of Mutiny Ink for being the one to continuously jam that needle.

I can’t tell you how happy I am with the results! I’m in a shit load of pain right now, but I can’t stop staring at it. ED told me he thinks it looks very sexy and to be honest, it makes me feel sexy too.
Right now the challenge is finding clothes to wear. Because of the size and location it makes wearing a bra all but impossible, but going without one is not exactly an option so I’m going to have to suck it up and find a way to make it work.

Pain is beauty, right?

Blogfully yours,

Summer

PS – While the parents were a little… um… shocked? at Fathers Day dinner, they did not react too bad. My mothers only question, “did you have to get it so big?”.

Posts Grandma won't approve of, Tattoos

In the Spring of 2007 I freed myself of a very toxic relationship. I ended up moving in with my parents for a short time to get back on my feet. One night, my father and I went for a walk along the Jordan Parkway which runs along the Jordan River. As we are walking along the path all of the plant life has not yet woken up from their winter slumber. The river is an ugly brown shade and the dead reeds made the scenery down right depressing. We walked for several miles. It felt very cleansing. Then out of no where one branch of a tree, not more than 4 feet tall shot out of the ground among the uglyness. The branch had green leaves and pink cherry blossom flowers growing all the way up it. I stopped my Father and walked through the mud to it, grabbed out my phone and took a picture. When I got back on the designated walking trail I looked at my Dad and said, “I just found my next tattoo.”

When I got back home I started researching the meaning behind cherry blossoms and found there are different meanings in China and Japan:

Chinese Cherry Blossom

For the Chinese the cherry blossom is a very significant symbol of power. Typically it represent a feminine beauty and sexuality and often holds an idea of power or feminine dominance. Within the language of herbs and herbal lore of the Chinese the cherry blossom is often the symbol of love.

Japanese Cherry Blossom

For the Japanese the cherry blossom holds very different meaning. The cherry blossom is a very delicate flower that blooms for a very short time. For the Japanese this represents the transience of life. This concept ties in very deeply with the fundamental teachings of Buddhism that state all life is suffering and transitory. The Japanese have long held strong to the Buddhist belief of the transitory nature of life and it is very noble to not get too attached to a particular outcome or not become emotional because it will all pass in time.

The fallen cherry blossom is not taken lightly in Japanese symbolism either. It often represents the beauty of snow and there are many connections made in Japanese literature or poetry to a fallen cherry blossom and snow. This also has been extended to the life of a warrior whose life was ended early in battle.

I am taking bits and pieces from both stories. It serves as a reminder of the strength it took to get out, is serves as a symbol of femininity, it serves as a sign of a new beginning and it serves as my belief in finding true love.

I still have the picture I took on my phone that day, although it is save on a disk that I left in my office so I will add it to this post later. But this picture is fairly close to what I will be getting today (4PM MST), but without the Chinese writing.
Wish me luck! Follow up pictures to come!

Blogfully yours,

Summer

UPDATE: I found the original picture I took while on a walk with my Dad.

Story Time, Tattoos