Tatt-new: NYCilhouette
I’m not a fellow that aspires to look like this, but I am fond of good artwork indelibly etched into my subcutaneous fat layer. My last tattoo was a self-designed armband that I had inked in Perth, Western Australia back in 1995.
Semi-tribal, semi-runic, 100% my own creation, it wraps my left bicep about 7 inches from the ball of my shoulder. The band has an Earth/Moon/Star motif central to the band with free-form, somewhat anthropomorphic, figures interwoven into the design. The motif represents the triplex of elements that govern my movement through time and space. The crescent moon to the right is waxing and waning, a feeling I carry with me always. The central 8 cardinal pointed star reminds me that home is always in every direction. The flaming Sun to the left represents the life-giving force of that the giant hydrogen/helium reactor in the sky.
The rest of the characters were sketched with less intent towards specific designs and more towards a weaving of disparate elements. Flames, dancing figures, crossed blades and curliforms all make appearances, balancing each other pretty well. Only a couple of elements are less than pleasing, but as with life, we must make do with what we have. Making peace with our mistakes is as important as making them.
Inspired by the the love of many people it is a daily reminder of where I was, where I am and where I need to be going. Aesthetically it may not be an amazing tattoo, but is mine and one I chose to have crafted.
Today I head to my local ink parlor to have new artwork crafted. I’ve lived in NYC for nearly a decade, married a wonderful woman and begun raising an incredible little girl. The City has been a home, a refuge and a challenge, a place I could continue to live in barring the need to head back to Australia for a number of reasons.
To commemorate I’m having Johnny design a silhouette of the New York Skyline. A simple outline, a smattering of grey-shading and enough detail to highlight a City I have fallen for as heavily as I fell for my darling wife(Born in Harlem,raised in Korea, Japan and the US).
Living in Queens, on our little block of heaven in Sunnyside, I have seen the skyline in a myriad of ways. Perth, my home-town, sits on the Swan river and has a great silhouette from the southern bank of the lake-like river. I have always considered myself a south-of-the-river guy and NYC from Queens has that same appeal. Always present it’s shape on the skyline at once removed and grounded, I want to take it with me when we move to Melbourne to start the next stage in our evolving adventure. Good design comes to us from a variety of places, and the decision to get a new tatt has as much to do with saying farewell as it does to saying hello.
So, pick up the needle, there is work to be done.
