Jody's Story~

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A father and daughter race team make history at Bonneville.
During the 8th Annual BUB Bonneville Speed Trials Jody Perewitz became the first woman to break the 200 MPH barrier on an American V-Twin in 2012. 

From the day I was born to today, I have been around motorcycles. Some say that it is in my blood. I eat, sleep and breathe two wheels. With that being said, I have also been around tattoos, I suppose they go hand in hand or at least did in the 80s. 

 
My father has always had a lot of tattoos and I always viewed them as artwork. It's art that you carry with you everyday. 

In Jody's Words~

When I was old enough to get a tattoo, the minute I turned 18, my friend and I went to the tattoo parlor. From that moment on I was addicted. They started off small and not so unique--a butterfly, ladybug, lizard, the common things. My artists are in St. Paul Minnesota at Acme Tattoo, Nolan and Gabe. I have known them my whole life and they do artwork for my father as well. Nolan has tattooed all over the world and is very well known in his field. I am honored to say that I have a full sleeve from him. 

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I have very much progressed from the tattoos “off the wall.” My right arm is all uniquely drawn for me. Japanese artwork is one of Nolan's specialties. The Foo Dog is thought of as being a guardian and protector. Why not have a little extra protection? 

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My sleeve started off with the female on my upper arm and eventually progressed to a male and two babies. I have a Foo family! 








I am in the process of having a left sleeve as well. Gabe, who is Nolan's apprentice, is working on the left. I have a beautiful female, an owl for my nana, and my favorite is the name Perewitz on the underside of my arm. I am and always will be a Perewitz! 

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Another tattoo that I love is my hand. It is a sign of commitment. When I got it, my dad said, “Wow Jod, that’s a big commitment.” 

When you have many visible tattoo's you’ll be noticed or recognized. I think that many people know I am who I am because of my tattoos... your weight, hair, or look can all change, but you can't hide tattoos! I am a living moving piece of art and I love it!!

See Jody in an interview.

Gladie's Story~

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Meet Gladie:

I am 85 years young, and was 76 when I got my cat tattoo, my one and only tattoo. I have no plans for any more. 

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I got married at the age of 17 and became a Mom at the age of 19. I have six kids, ten grandkids, and 16 great grandkids.
 

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Besides being a Mom, I also took courses through the years: cake decorating, photography, oil painting, tailoring, out door trainer, survival, black powder shooting, tomahawk throwing (I was a sharpshooter and marksman, on both of these), camping, Red Cross first-aid and CPR, effective speaking, roller skating, hiking and back packing, beauty consultant and nursing. I’m a certified Belly dancer and hula dancer. 

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I am a domestic abuse survivor, speaking at high schools with teenagers and senior centers, talking to the elderly. Yes, I underwent special training for this, and I also was an on call person for rape victims, in the hospital, all as a volunteer.

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About her tattoo: 

Now how did I decide to get a tat at 76?  Well, this lady came into WalMart, where I worked as a greeter, and I spotted her cat tattoo and fell in love with it. She said she would take me to get it done.

I told her,  “No. I don't want a tat.”

Every week she inquired: are you ready yet?

“No. I don't want a tat.”

This went on for almost a year, and finally I decided I had to have that cat tat.

There were teenagers having tattoos done while I was getting mine done, watching me with great anticipation--is she going to yell, cry, scream, what?

Well after giving birth to six babies, getting a tattoo was a piece of cake. 

Almost forgot to tell you, before I had the actual tat done, I had named my future cat tattoo “Forest” after the kitten of a friend of mine. Guess what the artist’s name turned out to be? Forrest.

No one knew about my tattoo for a while--not even my co-workers--till the woman who took me to get it told her father that she took a 65-year-old woman to get her first tat.

When I told her I was 76, she told all her friends, and sent them into WalMart to see  the 76-year-old, with her tat!

The cat was now out of the bag (no pun intended). Co-workers had lots to say, COOL, WOW, YOU ROCK, WHEN DID YOU GET THAT?

Still, my family and friends didn't know. No, it wasn’t a secret; I am just not one to show off. My 12-year-old granddaughter was the first to notice it.  

“Is that a real tattoo, Gram?”

“Yes.”

“WAY COOL! Does MOM know?”

“No.”

“Oh, wait till I tell her.”

No biggie. My grand-kids were more impressed with their cool Gram than their mother was.

 

Rebekah's Story~

Meet Rebekah:

 

 My name is Rebekah Caylor. I am 44 years old. I have been happily married to Jeff Caylor for 25 years, and I'm the mother of three amazing young ladies. I also am a matron for the Bridgewater Police Department and the West Bridgewater Police Department (and two other local police departments since I wrote this). I am the Race Director for the Bridgewater Police 5k and 1mi Kids Fun Run, and a part time student at Bridgewater State Unniversity.

I work with the Guide Dog Foundation and Old Colony Correctional Center to help train and socialize dogs to become service dogs for disabled veterans. See, my brother had Multiple Sclerosis and needed a service dog. Since he lived in Illinois and I couldn’t be there to help him on a day-to-day basis, being in evolved in the Vet Dog Program was my way of showing support for what he had to face. And knowing first hand the difference a service dog can make for someone, I knew it was a program that I HAD to be involved in to help give back. And we are now helping Animal Control by fostering kittens and helping to socialize them until they can be placed in their “fur”ever homes. I enjoying running and am training for both a Spartan Sprint (August 2015) and for my first 1/2 marathon, hopefully in the fall of 2015 as well. 

I met Ruth at the Bridgewater Memorial Day remembrance ceremony in 2015. She noticed my tattoo and approached me about this project. I was and am honored to be a part of it. I currently have five tattoos but will be getting more. 

Rebekah's Ink: 

I remember being in Puerto Rico in 1993 with my husband and a group of friends on vacation and we all, after too much tequila, considered getting tattoos. I chickened out. And actually I think that everyone did on that trip. They’ve always fascinated me and it’s very cool that everyone has a story for each one. They are deeply personal and a great conversation starter.

My first tattoo is a blue morpho butterfly. They are native to Costa Rica. I got this tattoo when I was 30. My husband and I went to Costa Rica for our 10th anniversary, which happened to be the same year that I turned 30. I loved the photo I found of a real one and carried it around for months looking at it daily before I was really ready to put it on my body. A friend was throwing a tattoo party at Inflicting Ink in Rhode Island and I figured that was the perfect time to get it done. 

I love it. I love looking at it, in a mirror, and remembering the time we spent in Costa Rica and how much I love my husband. We just celebrated our 25th anniversary in May 2015.

Happy 25th

Rich, at Inflicting Ink lined the butterfly up so perfectly and meticulously with my spine that when I was giving birth to Callie and had to have an epidural the anesthesiologist used it to help guide the needle. He approached me later and asked if he could take pictures of my back, with a pretend epidural in for an article that he was writing for a medical journal about how tattoos can be helpful for that specific reason. I don’t know if he ever published it, but it’s kinda cool to think that my back might be in some random medical journal somewhere. 

My next 3 tattoos represent the three gifts that God has given us. Our daughters.

Lily (Lillian) is first and oldest. She is named after my grandmother and great-grandmother. See before having Lily, we had an ectopic pregnancy that resulted in the loss of my left tube. The doctor told me that I had maybe a 2 percent chance of ever getting pregnant without medical intervention. Well, I’ve always been stubborn and one to challenge the odds. Meet, Lily and Callie! Our 2 percenters! 

Lily was born in March 2004. I don’t remember the specific date that I got the tattoo, but it was done by Joe Staska at Broad St. Tattoo, right here in Bridgewater. I got calla lilies put on the sides of the blue morpho because I’ve always loved that type of lily and it seemed to fit.

Callie came along not too long after Lily. There is only 16 1/2 months between them. (So much for the doctors being right!) I love turtles. When we went to Costa Rica went went during the rainy season just so we could see the green turtles come up on the beach to lay their eggs. I have a pretty copper dish that we got on a trip to Hawaii, before having children, and it’s got a turtle inlaid with shells. That’s what Joe, again from Broad St. Tattoo, used to make the turtle image that is representative of my Callie girl.

Tattoo #4 is my yellow rose for Ashley. We call her Lil’ A. Her middle name is Rose and she loved yellow. Now she loves Elsa and Frozen so her new “favorite” color is “Elsa Blue”, but I’m not getting the tattoo changed to match her whims. Roses for tattoos seem like a common theme. I know we all have our reasons for the images we choose to put on ourselves. Mine is currently 7 and about to finish 1st grade. Joe designed this tattoo too. 

My 5th tattoo is in memory of my brother. He passed away December 20, 2013 after a long battle with Multiple Sclerosis. This disease ravaged his body for 20 years. Taking away his career, his mobility and his eye sight. But what it gave him was powerful. He leaves behind an amazing story. See my brother never, never wavered in his faith in Christ. His life verse was part of 2 Corinthians 12:9. “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Something that my brother said all the time was, “If God brings you to it, He’ll bring you through it.”  What a wonderful statement of his faith in God. Despite every medical crisis and every challenge that he faced, he never lost faith. He knew that his time on this earth was only temporary and that when he got to heaven he would have a perfect, whole, new body waiting for him. 

We weren’t really close. He lived in Champaign, IL. He leaves behind a wife and two sons. But his life is an example to others and I couldn’t think of a better way to honor his life and his legacy than to remind myself everyday of his faith, and it may sound trite, but to “wear my heart on my sleeve.” I hope that I can be half the example he was. His positive outlook on life, despite his infirmities, is a daily reminder to me that no matter what I am facing, I’ve got it easy. When I look at my shoulder, I am sad that he is gone, but grateful for the life he lived.

Kathy's Story~

Meet Kathy: 

Kathy is an animal lover! I met her in the pet store where she works. She rescues animals of all sorts, trains them, keeps many for pets, and really LOVES them as the unique creatures they are. She and her husband raise chickens and roosters and have the best variety of fresh eggs you can buy. She's creative, fun, and has a variety of interests as you will see from her tattoos.She has many so they appear below in no particular order. I've met up with her several times since our first photo shoot to capture some of the new tats. As she says, she has plenty of "real estate" left on her skin for more. She's also the "cover girl" on my women's tattoo project Facebook page: Ruthiedee Photography.

Kathy's Tattoo Stories~

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"There might still be a chance for me, my sweet Insanity." My life has been a roller coaster ride, and maybe someday it will slow down a bit so that I won't feel so crazy. The lyrics are from Dog Fashion Disco.'s "Sweet Insanity."

The Jungle Queen from the Maxx Comics. I'm a huge comic book fan and this story reminds me a lot of my husband and I. I have a tattooed scene in "Pangea," which is the fantasy/alternate reality, where my husband has the himself with Julie Winters (the jungle queen) in reality on his leg. 

This is a portrait of my first best friend Tara who passed away in a car accident. This was my fave senior picture of her from high school. Her smile and laughter would brighten the darkest of nights.

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Peach Muffin... My fave treat turned into a joke, with my husband making fun of me every time I ate one. He said to me once, making fun of me, "I'm a peach muffin, MMMM, I'm soooo delicious," and to make a long story short, his nickname is now Peach Muffin. This was my most spontaneous tattoo that I got without as much planning as usual. Lol.

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I have four fairy frog tattoos. Amy Brown and Jasmine Beckett are two of my fave fantasy artists and frogs are one of my fave animals to own. I have many frogs right now. The ones that are tattooed are representations of my fave ones that have passed: my "old man frog" which was my oldest pixie frog, my fave bullfrog, poisonous dart frog and green tree frog.

My cat Lu-lu's portrait--I saved a chocolate ragdoll and five Maine coon cats from being euthanized years ago, and had three cats already, so was going to adopt them all out. Fell in love with this "Yoda-eared cat" and my husband knew it. One day I came home thinking that they were all going to be gone to their new homes, but my husband had sneakily kept her for me.
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She unfortunately had a virus that took her life too soon at five. She was an amazing cat that slept across your head and stole chicken out of your mouth, lol. She was pictured here, drawn for me by my best friend Laura, as she used to lay under my covers to sleep.

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A purple cancer ribbon with the words "Never Give Up" Represents my brother Jeff's one-year anniversary of his diagnosis with pancreatic cancer. They gave him three months with is cancer being stage-4. He fought this battle just like he did every battle he was in during his 30 years in the military. He "never gave up" and still worked as fire chief of Colorado Springs, traveled the world, and lived an extra 20 months longer than doctors predicted. He is my hero and someday I will have a larger memorial tattoo of him once I figure out how to honor him properly.

Red string of fate around my finger celebrated 10 years of being best friends with Laura. Someone that we are no longer friends with brought us together. Laura is my sister from another mother,  and the tattoo reminds me daily that she is there for me no matter what.

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My right arm sleeve is a tribute to my grandparents, who had a huge impact on my life, growing up with them. "Where the Wild Things Are" and  “Barbapapas” are both books that they read to me every weekend. "Gravel Gertie" is nose art from my grandfather's B17 fighter plane he flew in WWII, with his name and dates of birth and death. The cardinal figurine is replica that my grandmother gave me out of her prized collection right before she passed, and that is with her name and dates of birth and death.

Genitorturers art... A band and lead singer, Gen was a huge influence for me in my early 20s when I was in a band. She is an amazing entertainer, and very nice person; she meets and greets after every show no matter how big and gets to know all her fans. She had signed my tattoo after seeing it years ago and loved it. I went to try and get her signature tattooed next to it but it was so hot it pretty much sweated off, lol, so I am hoping to get it resigned again and get it done!

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From the Lady Death comic. Her long story hits home. ‘Man's Ruin’ was the name of the comic edition.

Upper calf has Elsa Lancaster as Bride of Frankenstein. BoF is one of my favorite black and white horror movies. Under that on the front of my calf is Bunnicula from a child's book I was obsessed with growing up about a vampire rabbit that sucked blood out of carrots. I was a horror fan at, like, eight- years-old, lol. On the side of that, a Jack-o-lantern that I got at a “Tattoos for Hunger” drive. For that, the tattoo had to be a food tattoo and all proceeds would go to the local food bank.

I am the biggest Halloween fan and Rob Zombie fan, so to represent my husband and I  and how we get dressed up for Halloween every year, I got this magazine cover they were featured on, because we both dressed up like Rob Zombie and Living Dead Girl in his music video. I found that it was drawn by my favorite artists, Eric Pigors and Dienzo... and it looked exactly like us! It was perfect and I am obsessed with the ‘Munsters Dragula, so I wanted him to be in a car like that in one of Eric's calendars. He drew up one that I loved and added all the creepy creatures around it. Still have added background work to do to finish it up. Can't wait!

 

 
The gray cat on my left forearm is Floyd, a three anda half-year-old cat I adopted and had until he was 21. He was over-weight when I got him--33 pounds--and over a few years we got him down to 18. He was a frumpy cat and the best feline friend I could've asked for. He used to sit and stare at walls, very still like a statue, very gargoyle-like so when he passed, I wanted him to have wings and the portrait makes him look like a gargoyle statue which was perfect.

 My pug Mackie's portrait in the Victorian frame on my right thigh is by far right now the tattoo that makes me the happiest. He was adopted at five-months-old with many issues, but with love and care we got him taken care of. He lived a very spoiled life and there wasn't one person on the planet who met him and didn't fall in love with him and his amazing personality. He was my little side kick for almost 12 years. At the end of his life he was diagnosed with lymphoma and we gave him five months of quality of life instead of the three weeks he was given. Many people in his family, friends, and some complete strangers supported him and helped him go through treatments to make him more comfortable. He deserved more, but they are never with us long enough. He gave me more unconditional love then I could ever ask for. He was my comic relief with that goofy tongue hanging out, and his scar on his eye from a scratched cornea made his eye sparkle more when he looked up at me. I think he was portrayed perfectly on my leg and I will cherish his memory always.

  Growing up my mother and Uncle Sonny were very close, and it seemed like we were always together. My uncle moved to New York from Massachusetts, and eventually we only got to see each other when I could take a train up to him when I was older. We used to go to Greenwich Village and see Broadway musicals and walk the streets of N.Y., going to all the music stores, with him showing me all the "stars." Later he got Cancer--melanoma--and I didn't get to do our next tour with him. Later I did go there to tour 8th street with my husband in Sonny's memory, but the greatest will be to finish this tattoo adding James Dean in the middle, and a New York skyline with a musical and art background reminding me of those times. 

My mother still hangs a large Elvis painting that he gave her, as well as Marilyn memorabilia so I know once my mom sees it she will understand why I got it. As for the make-up, that ties in my love of  Día de los Muertos in there. My long-time friend  Lou Gomes from Ten Penny Tattoo will be doing it. He is coming up again from New Mexico in the spring for the second sitting. I have about four hours off work done on this  right now, about two hours each portrait.

Front left thigh piece is stained glass window from the musical, "Love at its Darkest; Nightmare Before Christmas." My husband and I both were married with a love for this Tim Burton movie, and I made our wedding cake topper out of a Jack and Sally figurine in snow and lace. It sat atop of a black and white decorated cake and set the mood for our love that was dark and devoted, one that no one understood but us. The tattoo design is a stencil by an artist named  Mandie Manzano and will look like a bright colored stained glass window when done. It  represents our relationship with a few broken pieces of glass fitting back into place representing our struggles along the way of our almost 20-year relationship! I have done two sittings of about two to three hours each so far, hope to start the color soon. Brian Beckwith from Mass Ink Tattoo is working on this piece. 

This is a tattoo of Blind Mag from Repo: The Genetic Opera. This is one of my favorite horror musicals, I am a huge horror fan, and she has been one of my favorite vocalists for years so the combination is just amazing! I tattooed this piece for about three and a half hours, I believe, at the Rock and Shock convention with SteveD'Asti, the owner of Mass Ink Tattoo back in October 2014. 

Kathy's husband Jay has tattooed a picture of Kathy as his bride on his right calf.

 Kathy has plans for more tattoos...