tattoo

[rm]

I am planning a new tattoo, that I will probably get in the fall or winter. It's going to be an old-fashioned compass sort of thing, and the idea is that its true north points towards my heart. The symbolism is rooted in the union of a myriad of my seemingly unrelated (but apparently not so) obsessions, and it is, I think, important to me that I be able to touch the thing. For reasons of balance (2 of my 3 current tattoos are on my left side) and symbolism and the fact that when I reach, I reach with my left hand, I want it on the right side of my body. The size will be somewhat dependent on location. The wrist would be very small. If I do get it on my forearm, it'll probably be a bit bigger. Obviously, I'm not going decide where I'm putting a tattoo based on what you all think, but the strength of my reactions to the opinions of others usually helps me clarify what was already in my own mind, hence this exercise. This will be my first new tattoo in about 8 years, and I'm so excited. Among othe things, it encapsulates things I've been looking for a way to encapsulate in a personally coded fashion for years. My other tattoos are largely about "things that have happened to me" which is a very jejune sort of self-marking that I don't regret, but also doesn't conform to the way I choose to exist now, while this one is largely about who I am and the internal whys and wherefores of the things I've dedicated myself to.

P.S. If you choose "somewhere else" please leave a comment as to where.

[Poll #778197]

Comments

[melebeth]

If you're thinking of a very detailed compass/compass rose the wrist may be too small to get really good shading done. The advantage of doing it somewhere on your arm (although I agree about it initially seeming like an odd location for the specified purpose) is that (if you so choose) you could _not_ angle it and it would still point towards your heart because a) your arm moves all around (also a disadvantage) and b) blood flows back along your veins to your center.

I need to find the last bit of stuff (norse runes/symbols for thought and memory/Hugin and Munin) I need to design my next tattoo, even if I won't be able to get it until I'm off the blood thinners sometime in the indeterminate future. I've been really wanting more art lately.

[rm.livejournal.com]

I haven't actually decided if it will have any color or shading. All my other tattoos are just flat, solid black. This may be the one that deviates, but I'm very torn on that right now too.