(Say Cheese!) My Journey Through Ink [Picture Edition]

This week's Sunday Scribbling prompt is: Cheese. A couple weeks ago, Sunday Scribblings offered the prompt "tattoo". My entry can be found here, if you would like more context to this story, and a rough draft sketch of my overall vision for a much larger piece. I have been thinking a lot about getting my first tattoo and finally joined the club! Jeremy, a talented artist and designer, is helping me with sketches for the final piece. Check out his talented digital art and follow him!

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And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
~Anais Nin

Maybe this sounds cheesy, but that quote changed my life. No, really. It did. First, I love Anais Nin. She's my literary erotica novelist "hero", if I ever did have one. Frida Kahlo, among others. But, that's beside the point. What I love about Anais is that she digs deep into her heart to question, to ponder Love, and to believe in it. She peels the layers of her soul and displays Love in all it's wretched, glorious, and complex stages. She gets it. She gets the pain, the elation, the addiction; like a drug. She gets human suffering and imperfection and the basic human desire to be loved. The basic human desire for happiness, and Truth.

When I first stumbled upon this quote, the time and place was at just the right moment to cause an epiphany in me. And just like that, I awakened. I was ready. I snapped out of my self-made rut and decided to take the steps to change. First, I finally called it quits on my relationship after two months of what I like to call "relationship purgatory" hell. I experienced love, in all it's wretched, glorious forms. I felt painfully alive, awake, and breathing. And I learned, slowly but surely, how to let go.

This rose blossom tattoo represents the sentiments expressed in the quote. It represents my journey to emotional maturity and self-love, where I continue to slowly find my way. It embodies a bigger meaning as I continue to add-on to this tattoo in my travels. I'm not just stopping at the rose. One of my biggest worries is having a cheesy, generic tattoo that girls get. So many get roses. How is mine any different?

This rose will blossom into something more, something greater than itself. I have a rather complex tattoo idea with layers and layers of meaning all themed with journey/travel. It might be cheesy, but each section of the tattoo will have meaning, placement will have meaning, and even the order in which I get each additional installment will have meaning. Having them done in sections, in different destinations, further solidifies the meaning of journey/travel.

1. The Rose - This is placed on the center of my body, on my hips/waist. The journey to "center" myself and find balance. The rose references the quote that started it all. My epiphany. The tattoo was done where I currently live, in Central Oregon (the "center"), and prior to taking my volunteer trip to India. The Rose represents "West". The western world, and the west coast region of the United States.
   
2. The Compass - Imagine a compass wrapped around the rose, with the rose being "center". The leaves on the rose make up the "East" and "West" points of the compass while north and south will be added on. The style of the design will be flowy and open, with lots of spirals. This section will be completed in the "East", or the Eastern world of Asia when I move to the Philippines next year. Again, the compass symbolizes journey/travel and will solidify the entire piece.
3. The Pheonix - In Greek mythology, the Pheonix myth symbolizes "rising up" from the ashes. A death and rebirth. Destruction and construction. Renewal. The first time I learned about this myth was during childhood, when I was watching one of those Big Bird movies. There's Big Bird In China, Big Bird In Japan, and some others. I've seen them all but I can't recall which movie had the pheonix. Either way, it had an impact on me. I thought it was the most beautiful concept. From struggle comes fiery strength! Resilience! (I hope that I have that.) This section will connect with the "North" end of the compass and wrap around the side of my back. It will be completed in 2011 when I move back to the U.S. The piece will be done in Portland, "North" of Central Oregon.
4. "Courage", Smoke, and Fractals - Courage has become an important mantra for me. I try to live cognizant of my fears and challenge myself to confront them. Without courage, you would have no direction in life. You need courage to possess the inner intuition (an inner compass, if you will) and strength that it takes to "rise up" from tough situations. To realize you can always pick yourself up after a fall. The word "Courage" will blend in a nice script font with a flowy, smoke design (symbolizing the ashes of the pheonix, and the natural, organic flow of nature). It will connect with the "South" end of the compass and wrap around the front of my thigh. Eventually, the smoke will blend in with patterns of fractals; beautiful, natural mathematical forms that spiral out. This section will be completed last, and may be the most involved and complicated installment. For this, I will research and trust an amazingly talented tattoo artist somewhere in California, "South" of Oregon.
   

Throughout the piece, spirals and organic "flow" will connect one section to the next and provide continuity. Each section is meant to stand strong on its own, but together as a whole, become a cohesive One. Like people, we are all individual, but interconnected and part of a greater whole. The piece winds to my lower/mid back with the pheonix, the front of my thighs with the courage/smoke/fractals, and the connecting "compass" in the middle, side section of my waist, to symbolize the "winding path", as opposed to the straight and narrow. My intuition is important in my life journey, and I rely on it as much as I can. I believe staying true to yourself is all it takes to guide you in living a life you want. This is how I regard my life philosophy. Life isn't about getting from point A to point B, it is about the twists and turns in between.