My Tattoos

The Tribal Fairy

I have always known I wanted a tattoo.  My ex-husband and I had a collection of tattoo magazines, he had already gotten his first and I knew I would get one, it was just a matter of time.  I was fine with decorating my temple but I didn't want to do anything in haste.  I didn't know what I would want to have for the rest of my life and I wasn't sure where it should go.

I read every issue of  Skin Art, Tattoo & International Tattoo Art.  I visited lots of tattoo shops.  Learning... looking... waiting... knowing the right artist, the right design and the right location would strike me.  And it did.

• My interest in fae folk had grown deep and I knew I'd have a fairy - of some kind - somewhere on my body.
• Being a woman of typical weight fluctuations, I had to be sure any location would be able to withstand up to a 30 pound swing in weight.  Though things are under control today, who knows about tomorrow and I'd hate to discover my sprite suddenly appeared too chunky to get off the ground!

At one point, I saw a b/w tattoo of a fairy straddling an anklebone, as though the ankle were a big rock.  It was simple - beautiful.   [Maybe someday I'll find the image again so I can add it here - it really was so cute but not the same as what I wound up with.] That was my location - now I just needed an image and the right person to do it. 

Then I saw the May 1994 issue of Skin & Ink magazine and that month's "skinterview" was with the internationally known artist Pat Sinatra of Pat's Tats in Woodstock, NY.  Reading about her involvement with the Alliance of Professional Tattooists, and her experience as a woman in the male dominated business of tattooing... I was impressed.  And when I saw a layout of her paintings... I was excited.  Then when I noticed what she calls, "her dancing women" in the lower right hand corner of  page 11, I was ready.

I live on Long Island and Woodstock is about a 3 and a half hour trip.  I made the appointment by phone and booked a room in a nearby Ramada - a friend joined me for support and away we went.

Pat and I sat down and I described what I wanted..		She used a clear barreled Bic pen to sketch out what we were going to do and when we both liked what we saw...
...she inked in the back lined "dancing woman"...		... and then we added color!

The Book Faery

The Book Faery came to me in 2002.

I had known I wanted her - a blend of two paintings by Amy Brown - taken mostly from "The Book Faery" with pieces added from another of her paintings, "Teasing Humans" (image unavailable - I borrowed the "swirly" wing tips, the bottom book & the joke). Michelle helped me create the blend on her computer. The bottom book, titled Teasing Humans, has its title appear in reverse so that *I* see the correct image in the mirror!  For close to a year I carried around a printout of this image, trying to find the right artist to recreate the image on my skin.
This past January - while I was preparing to go to the American Library Association's Mid-Winter Conference in New Orleans, LA - I discovered an artist  by the name of Henri Montegut.  When I saw his work posted on his website, I knew I had to visit the shop and meet him. I did and he was nicer than I expected.  His book was filled with incredible stuff and as I explained what I wanted, he appeared to grow more interested.  I think he actually smiled when I explained that the title had to be in reverse so I saw the "true" image in the mirror. About three hours under the needle & it was complete! I couldn't be happier with it!

If you like what you see... and even if you don't...e-mail me!

This page received some attention on 01/07/11 at about 10:36 PM