It’s no secret that I have a thing for nature tattoos.
In high school, I dreamed of the day I turned 18 just so that I could get my first tattoo. Although I will admit that many of my ink ideas back then were pretty bad (One of them included a cross tattoo on my finger so I could “point to the way of God”. Spoiler alert: I am no longer religious), I somehow kept circling back to a tree tattoo.
Let me give you some the backstory of my first tattoo before I tell you about my latest addition. Trees have always meant a lot to my family. I grew up in the same house as my dad which is a rare occurrence that I like to brag about fairly often. My grandparents were well gone before I was born, so living in their house made me feel connected with my family even though I never had a chance to meet them. My hometown of Dickinson is known for its trees. It’s even in the city logo. My backyard was full of 100ft pine trees that have been around for many generations. Because of climate change, hurricanes, and other occurrences, many of those trees have been removed for safety purposes. It always made my dad so sad to see them go; and one day I know that there won’t be any left. So to preserve those memories of seeing the same trees that my dad saw growing up, I decided to permanently put 3 of them on my body. No, my dad was not grateful for my gracious act of service; he hates tattoos. Also, my mom’s nickname is Tree so… that kind of worked out!
Since that first tattoo, I have slowly been drawn to other botanical forms of art. After my “life-changing” Europe trip, I got a bundle of 10 flowers to represent each of the countries I visited plus an extra bluebonnet for Texas. My last piece was done over a year ago with a group of good friends from high school that I still actively keep in touch with. We decided on an olive branch, want to know why? Here’s your hint: unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks. Yeah, I have an Olive Garden tattoo. Yes, we did get free shirts from them after posting it on Twitter.
Besides nature and food, I surprisingly do have other passions that are worth tattooing on my body. Being a nerd is great, and it always has been! Nickelodeon’s hit show Avatar the Last Airbender premiered right at my awkward pre-teen prime and soon became my world. My best friend and I would call each other on our parent’s home phones every week to watch the latest episodes premier. Even to this day, I believe that it is one of the most influential pieces of media that I have ever consumed. That’s a big statement to make, I know.
If you haven’t seen the show, then you probably have no idea what the Lotus Tile or The Order of the White Lotus is. I will skip my lengthy essay to sum it up with this definition. “The Order of the White Lotus is an ancient and formerly secret society that transcends the boundaries of the four nations, seeking philosophy, beauty, and truth. They are devoted to sharing ancient knowledge across national and political divides.” Please, just watch the show. It is AWESOME!
It took me forever to find an artist that I trusted to bring my vision to life. The original tile is circular shaped and personally, I hate circle tattoos. Sorry not sorry. So I dreamt up a not-so-subtle-but-subtle way of showing off the lotus through, you guessed it, more florals.
Lady Cordova (Braeden) at Rose and Crown Tattoo took my idea to the next level and made it the most amazing reality possible! Sadly my white AF skin hated the back action, but by the next day it was already healing great! I LOVED working with Rose and Crown Tattoo. Seriously, who doesn’t love a lady-run shop with an adorable tattoo parlor dog?
https://twitter.com/earthtoast/status/1479134283306573824?s=20
“What’s next?” you may ask. Great question. Right now, I have no idea! One can only guess that it might have something to do with nature again. I just aspire to be a living garden. What a classic fake hippie move.
If you made it this far, tweet me your tattoos and the story behind them @101xMorningX . Feel free to tag me too @earthtoast !
