Tattoo for a Symbolic Year/Accomplishment

[Aggie_Ama]

Last year when I decided to do the marathon race series I told myself I would allow myself a third tattoo if I made it through it with no DNF. I not only made it through the season I won a race, made the podium in two, top five in the ultra length race and to cap it off was crowned Texas State Champion for women 30-39. So it was a major milestone, it also introduced me to a type of racing that I now realize is my favorite.

Throughout the season I often fell back to an expression my mother always used "can't never could". She said she got this from her grandma, a tough woman with a hard head and thick skin. I definitely inherited this hard head! Towards the end of the season my beloved Mammaw (mom's mom) took a turn for the worse in her health and ultimately passed away 3/23/12. She was another iron willed woman who in my mind could do anything she set her sights on. My mother has that same passion and as I am getting older I see a little of that in me, although I never will believe I am as strong as those women.

All the ladies are named Pansy. My great-grandma was Pansy Ellen, my Mammaw Pansy Lorine, my mother Pansy Jean. My mom decided the name was far too dated in 1981 to saddle me with it, thus I am not a Pansy. So here are my ideas for a tattoo to symbolize my accomplishment and those amazing ladies who I feel like by being in my life made me a little tougher. I want a tattoo of a bike chain, it needs to have a pansy in it somehow, it needs purple and I want it to say "can't never could" around it. My thought is to put it on my right wrist, I would like to be able to see it when I am pushing myself for another season and I have a pesky scar there from clipping a tree in a race in the spring of 2011 which reminds me how far I have come (that course was one of my podiums and the final race of marathon in January of this year).

Finally my question, where can I find some ideas or should I just find a good artist to tattoo it? My other two tattoos I picked off the wall, this time I want it more personal and more me! The below chain ring are a couple I have found as a starting point. Although the flower would obviously be a pansy and since my favorite pansies are purple (coincidentally Mammaw loved them too) it will be a purple one. I like yellow too, so right now I am drawn to the one below.

[jessmarimba]

My first two are off the wall as well - I love those chain ring designs! That's such a neat story. Unfortunately I'm no good at design or I'd have my third tattoo already, but I can't wait to see what you pick.

[maillotpois]

You've been to the same site I went to to find mine, I think! Just in case: http://www.blackbirdsf.org/chainwheels/

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showpost.php?p=607700&postcount=21

Mine is more tulips than pansy, but similar idea. The guy who did mine is a cyclist, so that was nice. You might go ask around at studios and see if any artists have other ideas. I do like the 2 you picked out.

Congrats on an amazing year of racing! I really like the idea of getting the tattoo for a reason like that.

[malkin]

Can you put a pansy inside the ring?

[lovelygamer]

This is a great tattoo idea and a fantastic family story. If you find a good artist (there are many) they can draw you a unique design combining the two things your interested in. I have had that done before. If you go to an artist and ask them to draw it and don't like it, usually they work with you to tweak it to your liking.

The purple and yellow will look lovely together. Good Luck!:D

[OakLeaf]

I love your idea and the story behind it. Congratulations, what a great way to commemorate your year.

You said "chain" but posted pictures of chainrings. Is chain what you really want? You could incorporate that into outlines, leaf veins, stems ... ? I would think a tattoo artist could help you with your design.

[gnat23]

1. Do some people watching. When you see someone with a tattoo of the sort of "style" you like, ask where they got it and, if local, who the inker was. By style, I mean: are you looking for something full color and full of detail and shading? or something with solid color and straight lines? Photorealistic? Iconic and feminine?

2. When you've got a few names of people you like, go to their studios and flip through their book. Ignore all the stuff on the walls or posters, go straight to what looks like a photo album. In there should be real people, smiling, with puffy red skin and brand new tattoos.

3. If you like the look of most of what's in the book, schedule some time to meet with the tattooist. See if you like that person's vibe. Talk about the symbols you'd like to incorporate and what they mean to you. Even point out the things on the clip art inspiration that you *don't* like. Give some non-negotiables ("It *has* to be a 53-tooth ring" or whatever). It's also good to have a general idea of where you'd like it to be and how big.

4. Put down a deposit (usually goes towards the cost of the tattoo) and give your artist some time to draw. You should be able to go back in a week or two and he or she should have some mock-ups. Make any final modifications. Sometimes you can even get a ditto of the line art as a test-placement on your skin to see how you like the shape and location.

5. Get your ink like a pro! Congrats on your achievement!!

-- gnat! (Great, now I'm thinking about my next one)

[BodhiTree]

Gnat's post is perfect!

I did pretty much what you are thinking of: went in with some ideas and asked the artist to create it. There was more time spent creating the tattoo than actually applying it to my body. Be ready to pay part of the cost up front, as the artist is working on the drawing.

My artist made a few dittos and took lots of time with me getting the placement just right. Don't be afraid to ask for even the tiniest change.

A tattoo that has meaning is simply delicious. Your tattoo idea sounds wonderful! Have fun!

[indysteel]

Wow, Amanda!! What a great way to celebrate your amazing accomplishments (congrats btw!!!) and honor the wonderful women on your life. It's very touching. I don't have anything to add on the creative front. I imagine there ate some awesome tattoo artists in Austin. Be sure to post pics once the work is done.

[Aggie_Ama]

Oak- I meant chainring.... I really should proof read. :o

Thanks for the suggestions, I have a great starting plan now. My cousin (and Mammaw's grandson) has some very nice work including one in the last year I really like the style as far as the shading, that might be an artist to start with. I have a few friends with some that are good but not what I want, the shading is what I don't like as it isn't how I vision the shading I want. I am not sure if that is the artist or what they wanted.

My idea is the pansy centered in the chain ring and the phrase around the outside. I don't know if my wrist is big enough, if not I will put CNC in it somehow which I will understand. ;)

[Aggie_Ama]

Looks like I am ready to pull the trigger or at least meet with an artist.

How do you ladies stay active and let the tattoo heal? One of my friends put tegaderm over hers and wrapped it with vet wrap when riding. I don't want to stay inactive but want it to heal beautifully.

[Tri Girl]

Yay! Good question!
I would love to see a pic of the drawing the artist comes up with!!
I'm considering one, but plan on doing it in the winter, when I'm inside most of the time anyway and can wear flip-flops or slippers. But mine will be on my foot- so that's a much more difficult area to keep covered up.

[Veronica]

Shawna, my trainer, has lots of tattoos, just got another one a few months ago, and never misses a workout! It seems she does something like the tegaderm or maybe it's just Saran wrap! Hers seem to heal pretty quickly.

Veronica

[Aggie_Ama]

Trigirl- I have another design I am musing over and may put it on my foot, I have the same problem of when to do it that I won't want to ride. I can't imagine you want to be wearing bike shoes! I go forward with it will probably do it right after marathon season when I probably should rest a bit. ;)

Veronica- I asked one of my teammates and she said the same thing. Covered with tegaderm and moisturized with aquaphor, keep riding! :)

I found an artist at a shop that was recommended that I am really drawn to her gallery. My friend uses this shop but not this artist but she does her piercing and tattooing here and said it is very clean, very well run. I have requested a consultation to see if she will do the work and has a personality I want to do something this special. I got a couple other names but nothing in their portfolio spoke to me, it wasn't right at all.

[Aggie_Ama]

Done and love it!!! Ended up going with a different artist because the first one was unresponsive. This artist was great, very relaxed and gave me some great suggestions that I really liked. He encouraged me to not put the writing around it because he thought the location would have too many issues with getting less clear. He said I was welcome to come back to add it but I likely won't. He also encouraged me to make the pansy very realistic and then just make the chainring frame it. I liked what he drew up and went with it. The pansy was the one thing I wasn't going to waver on but I was flexible on the chainring. As you can tell, I changed the pansy I used for it.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y258/AggieAma/582052_362830350457588_2060292400_n.jpg

[OakLeaf]

Love it! Cool design and beautiful work. :)

[lovelygamer]

Amanda, I like it very much. I'm glad you stayed true to what you wanted and found a different artist. it looks great!

[Artista]

Beautiful!

[indysteel]

I love the final result. I'm sure your greatgrandmother, grandmother and mom would all be pleased to be honored like that.

[Catrin]

Beautiful, and a great way to honor the women in your family!

[zoom-zoom]

I love that so much...and pansies are my favorite flower!

[Jo-n-NY]

That is really cool. My dh got a real nice one also having the idea in his head then picking parts of pics here and there to put it together. It also came out really nice. He is waiting for me to get one. I just have not found anything that shouted out to me. I also want a chainring involved then something that has personal meaning as you did.

Yours certainly came out awesome. It is my understanding that you cannot sweat in that area for a week. Mine would be on the side of the lower calf above the ankle. With the challenge I set for myself this year I cannot be off the bike for a week, at least not yet.

[gnat23]

Perfect! Glad you got what you wanted, and now just keep sunscreen on it for LIFE! (Sometimes it helps to have one of those lil' swipe-on sticks in your purse)

-- gnat!

[Aggie_Ama]

Thanks ladies, it turned out exactly what I would draw if I were an artist. I loved the location of the tattoo because I could watch him work. You could just see the wheels turning in his brain as he thought how to do the shading to get the starburst from the darker purple and color right. The first artist I talked to when I arrived couldn't figure out how to get the starburst look, the one I worked with nailed it.

The tattoo artist said no problem to ride, hike, play as I normally do. He said he sees more issues with people covering them too much and the scab loosening up. I will probably still cover it for biking for keeping it clean reasons. He also said his experience is the arms tend to heal pretty fast compared to areas that are covered. I am really fair so sunscreen is never a question for me!

[Veronica]

That is beautiful.

Veronica

[maillotpois]

I love that - great design and it came out just beautifully!

Speaking of tattoos to honor athletic achievement, I found this article about Olympians interesting: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/24/sports/olympics/for-us-swimmers-olympic-rings-tattoo-is-badge-of-honor.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

[Selkie]

It really is a work of art -- beautiful. Enjoy it!

[gnat23]

Now the only thing is when it starts to itch: slap it, don't scratch it!

-- gnat!

[Aggie_Ama]

Now the only thing is when it starts to itch: slap it, don't scratch it!

-- gnat!

Best advice! I am definitely in the itchy stage and it is maddening. It has been 12 years since my last tat so I forgot how annoying the itchy part gets. The worst is I am bad about waking up in a fog so I have to really think about to not scratch! I told my friend I need to put mittens on my hands like you do with babies so they don't scratch themselves with their little nails. :D But it is healing well, I have moved to regular unscented lotion and I am glad, the oily Aquaphor was getting old.

[Catrin]

I don't remember itching, I do remember it feeling like a really bad sunburn....but it does cover 1/3 of my back :)

[Wahine]

That's lovely. :):)

[Aggie_Ama]

I don't remember itching, I do remember it feeling like a really bad sunburn....but it does cover 1/3 of my back :)

You know the first few days it felt like a mild sunburn. And at times pins and needles which was just annoying at times, it seemed like the first few days the skin was really tight when I woke up. I am more aware of this one than the one on my ankle or hip. Not sure if it is this is thin skin or it is more itchy. I remember my ankle barely itching, it is a decent size piece. The hip itched a lot but I think it was because it was covered the whole time and took long time to heal.

[Tri Girl]

It turned out beautifully, Amanda!! I'm SO thrilled you found an artist that did just what you want with it!! LOVE IT! :)