This is my favorite tattoo. I got it in memory of my childhood in Miami. I spent a lot of time with my grandmother, whose backyard was littered with squishy mangoes that had fallen from the trees, and these cute little lovebirds with peach-colored faces. My grandmother’s last pair of lovebirds met a dark fate; once the lady lovebird escaped the big wooden cage, Pípo, her boyfriend, died of a broken heart. But they live on in my memory, and now as a permanent fixture on my arm. My grandmother totally hates it, though. —Suzy X.
My tattoo-process is usually pretty simple: I wake up, decide I need to get a tattoo, and then go and get it done. I have a few that have been more thought-out, but this is generally how it works. 2012 was a weird/great year for me—a real game-changer during which I was transitioning from an old life into a new one. Fiona Apple’s record The Idler Wheel… had just come out, and I was obsessed with its last track, “Hot Knife.” On top of that, the quote, “Someone had the dumb idea of trying to relegate us to the kitchen, which is where all the knives are,” which is attributed to Valerie Solanas and widely circulated on Tumblr, kept popping up on my Tumblr feed. One day I woke up and it all clicked: “I’m getting a knife tattoo.” It’s probably one of my favorite tattoos—a reminder that I’m a hot knife and everything else is a bar of butter. —Laia
Back in 2011, I was in an abusive relationship. I knew I had to leave him, because the way he treated me was abysmal, but I was afraid. I wrote a song about how I was terrified, but also how I knew I was making the right decision. “Fearless love” is part of the intro lyric from that song, and I decided to tattoo it above my knees. I did it myself with a sewing needle and ink, and facing me so I could always read it. I got distracted halfway through, though, and because I worked backwards, it said “LESS LOVE” for about a week. Until I finished it, I would cross my legs and tell people it was a My Bloody Valentine tattoo. Every time I see it, I’m reminded how brave I am for having survived something really, really shitty, but also I’m reminded of what I accomplished by loving myself and acting on my own behalf: I can survive and succeed and thrive if I commit to loving myself fearlessly. —Meredith
My tattoo has a lot of different meanings, but it mainly represents my childhood obsession with drawing stars. I’ve always doodled them on notes and in pictures, so it was pretty easy to come up with the idea for my tat. It was important to me that I draw it myself (the artist traced it). I got it done at the end of college. I was coming to a huge turning point that was basically a culmination of all the good—and bad—decisions I’d made until then. I now consider it my own unique star of accomplishment. —Chanel
I was 22 when I got these squares on my wrists. I’d just moved to Chicago and thought the best way to celebrate a new chapter of my life was with some new (albeit poorly-done) ink. I’d actually wanted them for years. They are references to the postmodern horror novel House of Leaves, which blew my world apart when I was first read it. The haunting, experimental nature of the book informed the development of my personal aesthetic in a huge way; suddenly I began to see the world as a place with fewer rules, less constriction. There is a section of the book where these squares appear in the middle of each page amongst a jumble of text. The meaning of the squares is still a source of debate, but I love that this interpretation can be personal to me. —Meagan
My pal Paul Stillen gave me this tat in 2011. I had just broken up with someone, and as it goes…I got a tattoo about it. I figured getting a really tacky one on a whim would make for a good story one day. —Kimberly
I have eight tattoos total, but the phases of the moon on my arm was my first. I think it’s a popular, kinda trendy one these days—but I started it! (Just kidding!) I got it when I was 17, right before I went to college. I let intuition determine what I should get. I flipped through an old encyclopedia till I found something that spoke to me, and this was it. Thus began an ongoing series of spontaneous “YOLO!” moments that are part of my personality to this day. The cat tats are more recent. There’s a black one and a white one, like a cat yin and yang. I got the cats close to the moon because I love the poem, “The Cat and the Moon,” by William Butler Yeats. Also my childhood cat was all black, and my current cat is all white. It’s perfect for me. —Beth
The tattoo on my thigh is a hand-fan made of seven feathers, over waves in the style of the Japanese painter Hokusai. The idea of flying free, the number seven, and the transience of water are important to me. The second, on my calf, is my library—my love! It’s a dedication to all the words, books, and writers that have held me, shaped me, affirmed and guided me into becoming. Since I was 19, I’ve also gradually gotten six tattoos of quotes by my favorite poets, including Audre Lorde and Safia Elhillo. The third addition, on my knee, is a typewriter with an orchid, my favorite flower, to remind me of all of my big writing dreams. —Nova
Out of my 17 tattoos, I’ve only regretted one—my second tattoo [shown left]. It was a shooting star that I sketched in study hall with my best friend Katie’s name written around it…and I have no artistic talent whatsoever. A year after I got it, Katie and I stopped speaking. I HATED that tattoo because I felt like it had cursed us. After we made up two years later, I STILL hated it because it looked SO bad. The letters of her name, which weren’t even arranged in a way that made sense to most people, had blurred. The star was lopsided. I lived with it for 12 years, until I finally told Katie I wanted to cover that total embarrassment up. We decided to get matching tattoos that represent our friendship [pictured right], and mine is over the shooting star. The boot prints and Rancid lyrics (“To the end, to the end, I’ll journey to the end”) honor the long road we’ve been on together. Even if our paths diverge again, the tattoo will still be meaningful. —Stephanie
I got my first tattoo in October. I had wanted a cube tat for a while, because the first thing I doodle on a blank page is usually a cube. I am very bad at math, but I could always get my head around shapes, and I enjoy them aesthetically. I knew if someone I don’t really like asked me, “WHAT DOES IT MEAN,” I could simply reply, “I like cubes.” For the people I do want to tell things about me, I will put the effort into explaining its story: It starts with how much I loved, and continue to love, Carl Sagan—especially when I was very lonely and watching Cosmos when I was younger. Astronomy has the wonderful ability to fuck with my brain and change my perspective on things. This Carl clip about the fourth dimension is where I got the deeper meaning behind my cube. I am stuck inside the third dimension—it’s where I live—but there is SO MUCH MORE I don’t know and can’t ever know. When I looked down on it in the first few days, I thought, “I have a tribute to Carl on my body forever!” But also I felt immense love for myself for doing it—and I can’t fully explain that yet. —Naomi
I got this “C” for my cat, Carl, a pathetic little rescue kitten who helped me through a bad breakup. My friend Max was the artist. He’d just begun tattooing, and he was so nervous his hands shook the entire time. I think it adds character. —Jane Marie
I got my first tattoo—this back piece—when I was about 23. I drew up a rough version of it and stuck it to my bulletin board for a year before I actually got it. I figured if I still wanted it as badly a year later, then I’d get it. I wanted it in a place where it wasn’t visible to others when I was dressed. I had stretch marks on my lower back, too, which I was always self-conscious of. To help me love that part of me again, I wanted to make it pretty with art. Since I got my tattoo, I haven’t given a second thought to the stretch marks. Win! I LOVE my tattoo (it’s now one of six) because it celebrates my spirituality, which is super important to me, AND it marks the beginning of my Conversations With Punx: A Spiritual Dialogue project. Every part of it—its symbolism, color, style, et cetera—has significance to me. My friend Link Bossman tattooed it, so that makes it even more special to me. —Bianca
The pair of scissors on the back of neck is my first and favorite tattoo. It’s a stick-and-poke that was done by a friend. It’s inspired by scissors in an old silhouette portrait I had, and scissors are a pretty great tool. I was drawing these bird characters a lot and wanted to get a professional tattoo of something I doodled, so I got the bird on my lower stomach. The box on my hip was inspired by Mark Rothko’s paintings. I liked the idea of color blocks, except I didn’t want the pain or cost of having the box filled in. The line on my ankle is the beginning of a stick-and-poke I gave myself. It was going to be a cityscape of buildings circling my ankle—I’m glad I stopped with just the line. The gloves are based on an image from an old clipart book. I planned on getting them tattooed, but I spontaneously went to a tattoo parlor with friends and didn’t have the reference with me. I drew them from memory. The tattoo artist offered to “clean up” my sketch, but I wanted it to be just the way I drew it. I love the jaunty positioning of them. —Kelly
This is my third tattoo. I got it in October 2013, just a few days after my grandpa passed away. This tattoo was something I had been planning for a couple years—the idea of getting it really helped me cope during his illness and eventual passing. My grandpa was one of my best friends, and he always told me that I was the “grandest of grandchildren.” We used to thumb wrestle all the time, so I got the word “grand” tattooed on my right wrist, stemming from my right thumb, which always lost to his stronger thumb! I miss him so much, but through my tattoo, I get to take him with me everywhere I go, and I have a permanent reminder to live in the grandest way possible. —Shriya ♦
18 Comments
i love all of these tattoos. my goal is to one day get an icelandic rune that means “love” on the inside of my left wrist and on the inside of the right get “they’ll name a city after us” from “us” by regina spektor in the soviet kitsch font. i also want to get a full moon tattoo, a lipstick imprint on my left buttcheek, cartoon diamonds on the insides of my thighs (after a line in a maya angelou poem), a little tree with venn diagram leaves, maybe some more runes, a “milpool” tattoo on my calf, a snarling mouth, blue “thread” on my finger, probably a whole bunch of others…
btw: if i’m butter if i’m butter/if i’m butter than he’s a hot knife/he makes my heart a cinemascope screen showing a dancing bird of paradise
LOVE!!!! All of these stories are so incredible (Meredith, I really relate to yours!) and the ink is soooooooo beautiful (Nova, OMGGGGG!) and best of all there is such a variety, so many symbols done so many ways for so many perfect reasons!
Wow these are all so beautiful. I’m even more excited to get my first tattoo in the new year! I love the meaning of the Carl Sagan one.
This is such an interesting article; i absolutely LOVE it when People talk about their Tattoos. I have the two Chinese caracters for “freedom” on my right wrist. I got it made in Taiwan, where I spent one halfterm studying (i studied Chinese and East asian art history). My own personal freedom means everything to me and I thought in combination with my studies and me studying abroad, it would be nice to have that inked. I have no regrets about it; everytime i see it on my wrist i have to smile!!!=)
I love this, I always love hearing about peoples tattoos and any stories behind them. Some really beautiful work too <33 I always think it's so brave when people get tattoos of things they've drawn themselves, I'm way too critical of my own artwork! I'm obsessed with Nova's leg tats, the colours and detail and everything is just wow and I love how much meaning is behind everything.
All of these are so pretty.
To Rookies who have tatted themselves- what do you think of your experience? The idea of going to a tattoo parlor makes me really anxious, but the idea of self-tatting is a lot less panic inducing, and I would love a tattoo. Would you recommend it, or should I pull it together and get it done by a pro? (If it matters, I would be getting it done in about two years.)
It depends on what you want! If you want like, a tiny black and white triangle then you can probs do it yourself, although I have to tell you, it is no less painful and if you don’t really like “go for it” on your own, it wont look as nice and it will fade. If you want something really complicated and colorful then you’re gonna have to brave it! I got my first tattoo when I lived in Philadelphia and I chose the place because it was run by women and it was all lady tattoo artists, which i thought would be a lot better. I went by myself and it was a cool experience, i have mostly been tattooed by women since then. All you gotta do is research! Go visit shops and talk to people and get the vibe, and you’ll know it’s right when you feel it :)
Thanks! I do want something a little more colorful, so I’ll do some research. I never thought about trying to find a shop run by women-that’s a really cool idea! Thanks for the advice, Laia.
I’ve been wanting a tattoo of various constellations for a while now, and I’ve been wondering what I could do with them….I’m proud to say I plan to steal the Beth’s moons :D
Meredith your tattoo and story is pretty incredible
NOVA IS A GODDESS *dies*
Love love tattoos and the stories behind them. I’ve always wanted one but I’ve still yet to decide where I want to get it… Also, my best friend just got one and it’s soooo pretty and I have to admit I’m a lil bit jelly haha!
Love Naomi’s tatt! Simple and yet so pretty! xxx
Bianca your tattoo i soOOO PRETTAAYY LOVE ALL THE COLORS. would love to kknow mora about the symbolisms too because it all just go se well together.
Nova, I just wanna say that you’re really really gorgeous.
I love hearing about people’s tattoos! my fave is the cube one :)
Thank you for the lovely words, Rookies! And, I now have new tattoo goals! This stick-and-poke business is something I can’t wait to read more on and try. You all such great, meaningful pieces.
This was so great! As for stick ‘n’ pokes, 10/10 would recommend. I have an exclamation mark on the inside of my right ring finger, and I love how personal it is because I did it myself. Obviously don’t be drunk, make sure everything is clean etc. BUT YAY STICK N POKES
The “GRAND” tattoo is beautiful.
I’ve always loved hearing stories behind things like tattoos, poems, art and such. Reading about all these tattoos makes me feel so happy and sentimental in such a good way.
I’m hoping to get myself inked one day too~