Janee's Tattoo Story~

Janee~

I met Janee one summer at Inn on the Beach in Harwich Port on the Cape in Massachusetts. Inn on the Beach is owned by my friends Deb and Joe Curran, who generously invited me to stay for a couple of nights and enjoy the beach. Janee was working as a receptionist. I noticed her tattoos, and she agreed to share the stories behind each one.

Tattoo stories~

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My first tattoo was the heart on the small of my back.  I was roughly 33 or 34 years old.  My sister and I had visited tattoo parlors locally to "look" at potential designs....two complete novices.  We always looked and left, never making an appointment.  It was almost as if the intrigue was met with a visit and then we were able to let the idea go.  For a while.  I forget the actual events that led us to Great Island Tattoo the day that we finally got our "first ink"....it was my sister  (Jen), my best friend (Melissa), and myself.  We grew up together....we were (and are) all very close.  Melissa and I were just off of divorces that were emotionally draining.  It was almost a time to document with a tattoo.  My sister chose the design and the placement.  We all got the same thing in the same spot.  I am a long time needle phobic...so I was pretty nervous.  My sister went first...then me...then Melissa.  I remember the music--screaming heavy metal--as I felt the first scratching of the needle.  It hurt and I recall feeling so flushed and waiting for it to end.  This tattoo means a lot to me because the three of us are forever close and connected and it's a nice reminder of that.

My second tattoo is the butterfly on my foot.  I went in alone...no appointment and they were able to take me straight away.  Someone extremely important to me calls me his butterfly...when we first met I was finding my wings and letting go.  We lost contact for a little while and I got the tattoo during that time. In a very fairy tale way we are together now and are madly in love...and I am still his butterfly.

My third tattoo is the three stars on my right shoulder....they represent myself and my two beautiful children Carlee and JR. They are my stars that make me shine. 

My fourth tattoo is a design on my left shoulder.  I had seen one on a gal I used to work with in that same spot.  I wanted something open and airy ...like a vine.  I find that people love this tattoo.  It's very pretty placement and a lovely design.  

My fifth tattoo I got with my daughter Carlee.  She wanted her first tattoo to be a dream catcher.  We have spent a lot of time in Arizona.  We had recently had a very spiritual visit to Sedona, so it felt fitting.  She got hers done near her 18th birthday... a beautiful dream catcher on her rib cage.  A few days later I had the artist recreate one of the feathers from her dream catcher and had that one feather tattooed on my rib cage.  It is one of my favorites.

My sixth tattoo was done on a whim with my dear friend Paige....we had both had trying years for similar reasons and we decided to get small heart tattoos on our wrists.  She is one of my favorite people...it was a lovely afternoon together.  

As I am partial to odd numbers as opposed to even I intend to get at least one more very soon.

Dina's Tattoo Stories~

Meet Dina:

My name is Dina Ieronimo Miele and I am 46 years old. I work as a medical assistant for Signature Healthcare. I have to wear long sleeves all year because of my tattoos. I have several interests, including music, singing, cars and several others. I am very passionate about animals and making sure they are safe, loved and cared for.

So, back to my tattoos. I have thirteen and they all have some type of meaning to me. Some are for lost loved ones. Some are just because they remind me of myself and how I think of myself.

My husband of four and a half years (we've been together for twenty one), just laughs at me now when I get another tattoo. He never really liked them on females until he saw them more often, that's when I finally got one. I was in my early thirties. I think my next one might be for him. I also have a twenty-eight-year-old son and two step sons and they also have tattoos--but not as many as me.

 

Dina's Tattoos:

My first tattoo, purple flowers on my lower back (which I later found out is called a "tramp stamp"), was done in the summer of about 2005. I was 37-years-old. I waited so late in life because my boyfriend, who is now my husband, didn't really like tattoos, so I didn't get any. Until one night, we were watching TV and I saw a girl with a tattoo on her back and I told him I wanted one, and he said, "Okay." He explained that he had seen them so much lately that he was used to them. So before he could change his mind, I found what I wanted and made an appointment. It took about three hours. While Joe was working on it he had said that if I  continued to stay as still as I was, he would do the outline and the color at the same time. Well, after the pain I was feeling, I had no intention of going back for more, so I didn't move. Not too long after, I got my second tattoo.

My second tattoo, a colorful, permanent bracelet, is on my right wrist. It doesn't really have any meaning. One day I decided I couldn't really see the one on my back, so I decided to get one I could see.

Number three is a fairy sitting in a tulip on my left calf. I love magical, mystical things and I collect fairies, so when I saw this one, I had to have it.

The fourth tattoo I got is the name Josephine with wings and a halo on my right forearm. Josephine was my grandmother--my dad's mom. She was 91 when she passed away. She was the cutest little woman I have ever known in my life. Italian, straight off the boat from Province of Foggia, S. Italy. Still had her accent even though she came to the United States at the age of nine. Typical Italian. Always had a spread on the table when you came in.

 My fifth tattoo began as being for my mom, Bessie, when she passed away April 21, 2008. It is a heart and wings with 'Mom' written between the wings on the back of my neck. When my dad passed away one and a half years later, December 23, 2009, I added 'Dad' between the wings and 'together forever' below the heart.

If I remember correctly, my sixth tattoo was the fairy on my left forearm. When I found the picture of her, she was wearing a pink and purple dress that I thought was really pretty, but when I brought it to Joe [Joe Staska, tattoo artist] he suggested doing it in black and grey to start and if I didn't like it I could always color it. He was right. I love it. I've actually had several people ask if it was supposed to be me. It almost could be. But it's not.

 Number seven is the rose on top of my right foot. It was definitely the most painful one but well worth it. It is a beautiful shade of red, And 'The Rose' by Bette Midler was the last song I was able to sing for my mom. It was also her favorite song.

My eighth tattoo is the Pegasus unicorn on my right thigh. There's not a lot of meaning to that one except, again, I love magical, mystical things and it makes me think of a peaceful place--one that is unfortunately only found in fairy tails. But, hey, I can dream, can't I?I am a dreamer and a lot of my friends have noticed that.

 My Ninth tattoo is the butterfly on top of my left foot. Why I decided to get a tattoo on the top of my left foot after the pain I went through for the one on top of my right, I don't know. But to my surprise it was not as bad as my right foot. I chose a butterfly because there are some days when I wish I was one so I could fly away.

 My tenth tattoo is on my left ribs and definitely was the most annoying one. It is a line from the Bon Jovi song "Thank You for Loving Me." It says, 'Lock the doors, leave the world outside," because some days I wish I could. I heard the song about a year before I got the tattoo. As soon as I heard that line, I knew I had to have it. It was annoying because it was tattooed in script and Joe wasn't happy with it. He touched it up four times until I told him it was fine, and he was done with that one.

Number eleven is on the inside of my left calf. It looks like a little alien guy. He's sitting, holding a guitar in one hand and a cigarette in the other. It has my brother's name under it, Dennis. He taught himself to play guitar and always had a cigarette in his hand even though, since we were young, I always tried to talk him into quitting smoking. Dennis passed away two months after my mom. July 12, 2008. I really miss him. He was always able to make you laugh. Our mom always told me he was known as the class clown. I know he loves the tattoo I had done for him because it is funny, and I swear I could hear him laughing when I was having it done.

My twelfth tattoo is for my cousin Patrick I was a little over one year older than him and we were always together, even when we got older. It is a picture of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer with a rack of pool balls under it and his name between them. I chose this because when we were young I would go to his house with my mom and dad and we would go upstairs together and play pool and sing. One Christmas we sang "Rudolph." At the end Patrick told me I sing the beginning where it is slower better than I sing the rest. I can't remember what I did yesterday but I can remember something silly like that from when I was ten-years-old. Patrick passed on January 5, 2013

And last but not least is number 13 which is not complete yet. It's a kind of troll-like little guy--or girl--depending how you look at it, on my left thigh.I chose this because it kind of reminds me of myself, with a starry look in her eyes like she's dreaming, off in her own little world, like I do on a regular basis. She is holding a long strip of paper, which at the moment is blank because I'm  not sure what to put on it. It might end up being a peacock feather, which also has a reason behind it, but I'm not sure yet.

My tattoos have all been done by Joe Staska at Broad Street Tattoo in Bridgewater. 

 

 

 

Leah's Tattoo Stories~

Leah's story:

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As long as I can remember I’ve been interested in tattoos, but throughout most of my 20s, had yet to stumble upon an image that compelled me enough to pursue. I was a bit wary about the notion of a “permanent marking.” However, I had a change of perspective on this point during a conversation with an acquaintance (and also a tattoo artist) who pointed out that each of his tattoos are a kind of acknowledgement of different phases of his life.  Each piece acts as representation of where he was at that particular moment.  As someone who is somewhat nostalgic, this really appealed to me! I loved the idea of literally marking the past with an image.

About two years ago my friend sent me a screenshot of an image she found on a restaurant menu with the text, “Here is your tattoo.”  I immediately knew she was right! I sat with the image and started checking out portfolios of local artists. It took me quite some time to work up the gumption to call up the artist I wanted to see and make a consult appointment (like two years)! 

The image itself is a half flamenco dancer half octopus.  Both are representative of movement. I danced flamenco in college and what I learned about myself in that classroom has strongly informed how I carry myself in the world today.  

I don’t have a name for my tattoo, but the fabulous Dennis Del Prete, at Providence Tattoo in Providence, RI, did it.  It’s worth mentioning that I really turned over the entire creative process to the artist. I knew that I wanted placement on my torso, but wasn’t sure where exactly it would look best. Since I love Dennis’s work so much, I turned total license over to him and the result was delightful.  I really wasn’t interested in nitpicking the image. He came up with interesting details during the shading process that are really awesome and weren’t necessarily planned.   

The experiencing of actually getting the tattoo was fascinating! The placement for the tattoo was, in the words of another friend, “a pretty dumb spot for a first tattoo.” This was a correct assessment! The first session was a definite out of body experience.  I was so grateful to have many hours of yoga and meditation under my belt, because otherwise I don’t know how I would have dealt with the sensation.  It was just like a yin yoga pose. In yin yoga, you get the body into shape and the mind screams, wails and begs for the moment to be over, but that isn’t an option. Instead, the best course of action was to breath deep into the sensation and examine it and instead of having a tantrum and wanting to run away.  I wouldn’t have lasted very long without this technique! This is especially true in light of the fact that my tattoo took 3 different sessions at about 3 hours each.  My tattoo artist referred to difficult sensations as “spicy,” which I loved and found very apt.  

I think it would be really neat to get the other side of my torso done too! Though I think I’ll be waiting until I forget how painful the process was before then.  I would definitely like another piece, but I think I’ll be picking a more fleshly area of the body for my next one.