I love body art

Ah... tattoos. They can be so ugly or so beautiful, but in most cases (unless you're just made of money and really fucked up) very very permanent. I put a deposit down on a new tattoo this afternoon. The artist is taking some time to study my reference images and create a custom piece for me, so I'm not actually getting it done till probably Wednesday. I'm going back to the same studio that did my last tattoo (still gotta get that shit fixed...), and although it won't be the same artist doing my tattoo this time as last time, I've seen some of his work and am confident he'll do a good job. I'm soooo excited. I love tattoos. I want like, a billion of them.

So what's my new tattoo going to be? Well, I'm getting it on my left shoulder, and it's going to be a phoenix escaping a wrought iron cage. The way I feel about it, a tattoo should mean something to you. My first one was a butterfly out of a book... I was 20 and stupid. It means nothing to me... it's just there. I don't dislike it or regret it, but I don't have too many feelings one way or another about it. The second meant something to me. I got two red roses (my theme flower from the wedding) with a gold band around the stem of each. I wanted to show the world my commitment to my marriage without getting his name or anything. I'm not saying it was a bad idea, but it means something different to me now that my marriage is down the toilet. When I get it fixed, the wedding bands will be bands of fire. Fire symbolizes something ephemeral to me... something that, without being constantly fed and nurtured, will burn out into nothing. How appropriate for my marriage.

The new tattoo will have a totally different meaning to me. A phoenix bursts into flame to be reborn. I am constantly being reborn, finding new meaning and new purpose. As for the cage, I want a reminder that I'm not trapped in any situation. I have the power to break free. No one can cage me (Aha! No more relationship tattoos!) or hold me back. I was REALLY hoping to get that tattoo today, but I'm more than happy to give the artist time to make a really cool design so it'll be something I actually want to permanently display on my body. SO EXCITED!