Faerie Wings
Name: Pam
Age: 30
Date: 8/6/09
Date: 8/6/09
Describe the tattoo which you are most proud of (ex. color, shape, style, etc.):
Tribal black-line faerie wings on my entire back.
What does it signify?
I have always loved faeries and fantasy, growing up with stories from Tolkien, Beagle, Gaiman, and the Frouds. Movies that I watched as a child filled with magic and fantasy awed and amazed me; The Dark Crystal, when Kira's tattered wings sprout from her back; Legend, when you discover that Oona is a fairy; Labyrinth, the masked ball and faeries outside the walls of the labyrinth. These all filled me with wonder at the small winged creatures. The freedom and beauty, the mischief and mayhem.
Why did you choose to tattoo?
I had been wanting a tattoo of wings on my back since I was 18 but hadn't found the right style or artist for them. It was a way to express myself in a very personal manner. The tattoo you place on your body becomes a part of you for the rest of your life. It moves when you move, ages as you age, gains more character over time. For me, it is an expression of self, inner beauty, and freedom. My father is partially Indonesian, so it is also a love for my heritage and history. Historically, women were tattooed in Indonesia from a very young age. They believed that a soul can only feel at home if the body is decorated with markings on the skin.
How do you feel as a woman with a tattoos?
When I see a well done tattoo on a woman, it is beautiful, adding a little something extra to the way women shine. It tells a story of who they are, their dreams and wishes. It lets them communicate with the world around them without having to say a word. I love that today women can display tattoos openly without nearly as much ridicule as in earlier times. A tattoo today doesn't mean that you are a whore or slave, as it used to in many cultures. It means she is free enough to have expressed herself through her skin.