Create Something Beautiful
December 13, 2011
A quick sketch of an image in my head at 2am.
Just spent 3 hours since midnight skimming through what seemed like an endless stream of blog posts of people with tattoos. Some designs were pretty, others silly (like…what the fuck were they thinking?!), but a lot of them were inspired and carried a story. Which I find a good thing, because something that’s etched on your skin for a long time (or permanently) should at least be something you can back up.
Advice for the uninitiated: Never drink then holler for an ink. I’ve heard enough of horror stories to have that point ingrained in my head. “Tattoo tayo!” Reply, “Game, tara!” C’mon, I would never ever do that on a whim. But I find that, sometimes, courage rides on the adrenaline rush of impulse.
I’ve always wanted to have a tattoo, but couldn’t bring myself to actually having it done. Because I don’t know what I want on my skin. My younger sister has her tattoo on her left forearm, a Hebrew saying on one of the many names of God. I used to like the Hebrew saying I once picked for myself, although I’ve outgrown it now.
My friend and fellow Aquarian, Gela, kept persuading me every year since our late 20s, that we both get inked on our birthdays. A few weeks ago, she tried to convince me once again about seriously getting a tattoo when we turn 31 next year. Woah, we’re turning 3-1. Need to try on new adventures – and several of them abound waiting for me to claim those tickets. Oh man, I’m so excited! 
Anyway, back to our subject of tattoos. As I was looking around for some inspiration, I couldn’t really find something that I felt was meant for me. I thought I gravitated to the image of the sacred heart, but it carried a meaning of suffering or martyrdom for me. There is this sad burning that makes it too heavy for me.
Then there was the illustration of a wise woman / Persephone and pomegranate fruit that I found in my sketchbooks, but I think I needed to shake off a bit of that darkness. I embrace the necessary darkness that occupies our existence, but I needed to soak myself in sunshine. I’m a sunflower-loving kind of girl who loves to make people smile. I needed a marriage of these ideas; a dance of illumination and enigma.
In the meantime, let this be the design proposal for myself. A few months ago, I wrote a draft of a short story about an air-spirit and a water-spirit that upon a chance meeting, and followed by mutual curiosity, needed to seek each other. Every encounter bore new experiences and a tangible evidence of connection. I read it out loud to Dan one evening in his apartment, and he loved it.
Until I finally finish that story, this is my visual interpretation of it: a bird that flies to limitless heights, and a fish that swims to limitless depths. A reminder is wrapped around the mythical creature, Create Beauty or Create Something Beautiful. I added the sun, heart and moon icons to the folds of the ribbon. The imagination knows no bounderies, so is our capacity to truly love the world and offer our gifts as co-creators.
According to Anais Nin, “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” The tattoo design can wait until the heart lays claim on it. The siren song of adventure beckons once more and I’ll continue to be moved by it.
