Tattoo

So, I met with a tattoo artist i've been wanting to work with since last Christmas today. My first sitting is tomorrow at 2PM for 4 hours, then I have another one the following day for 4 hours! That's a lot of pain and ink! I'm nervous and excited. I have been wanting to do this for awhile, but time, money, and not knowing the 'right' artist was always an issue. Now, I have plenty of time, enough money, and I have met the perfect artist, so now is the time! I told my Dad and i'm planning on telling my Mom tonight. I hope she doesn't cry. I know I don't need their permission, but out of respect I want to give them a heads up. My Mom is very anti-tattoo. C'est la vie. Not everyone is going to support you all the time, so you have to support yourself first and foremost! I'll post pictures of the torture tomorrow.

The Design:

The design will cover my whole back! Peony flower on shoulder blade, leaf at bottom on lower back just above butt.

The idea behind the tattoo is something called "Mono-no-aware," which is the awareness of beauty that leads to a melancholy perception of the transience of human life, which is why it's important to me to have a design that is soft looking and incorporates different stages of life (i.e. the bud versus the blossom). The Peony flower stands for spring, love, female beauty, good fortune, and nobility of spirit. The sparrow stands for freedom, finding true love, staying with your soul mate forever, safe journey, keeping away evil, and finally traveling far distances but always returning home.