21 : Cherry Blossom Tattoo - Something New

Great Friday 13th!

I had a very productive Friday 13th, I finished my first psychology exam and got a new tattoo!  I had been wanting to incorporate cherry blossoms in a tattoo for a long time but wasn't settled on how or where.  I had decided I wanted a bracelet look so I could enjoy seeing a coloured tattoo every day, rather than have it hidden away where I didn't get to enjoy it. I had searched through pictures of existing tattoos and looked at natural cherry blossoms and discussed my ideas with the same tattoo artist that designed my kids names and angel on my leg, we eventually settled on the above tattoo. The thing I love about this artist is his work is original and hand drawn, he incorporates your ideas with his vision of how the finished product will look.  It's amazing how a simple line drawing can transform to life through carefully applied layers of shading and colour with dimension, form and beauty.

I absolutely love it. It is exactly what I had wanted but had trouble expressing and visualising, the final product is much better than I had anticipated. I am pretty done with tattoo's for a while I think, this one hurt A LOT and now I'm feeling content and complete. After my last zen inspired tattoo's I couldn't wait to get another and had attempted to pace myself.  I certainly don't want an entire body or even a limb covered in tattoo's, I simply wanted the carefully chosen few that are enriched in personal meaning and beauty. I love the way my existing enso circle and 11:11 tattoo have been incorporated as if as one.

I have appreciated cherry blossoms since I was a child and every time I see them I am reminded how much I love them and how I enjoy their beauty. It's as if a small branch of a cherry blossom tree reached out and wrapped itself around my wrist; a permanent representation of what it means to blossom new life. New buds ready to burst into bloom and eventually break free from the branch and be carried away with the wind making way for new growth and change.  The circle of life continues, a reminder of fragility and beauty; that life is both precious and precarious and to be present in the moment before it so quickly passes.

Hopefully I had equal success with my first psychology exam, I guess I will just have to wait and see ....