I wanted something cool on my shins, so I sent a rough drawing of a knife with a skin break. At the top, where the knife’s tip would be, I suggested it could be a skull, a goat’s head, or a moth. The artist came up with this design, which is far cooler than I imagined. So, I got it done.
I thought I needed a companion piece. Since I have a goat on one side, I decided to put a lamb on the other. It has some religious connotations, and though I’m not religious, I like the iconography. So, I suggested switching the knife to point upward and adding a lamb’s head. The artist agreed, saying, “Great.”
The cardinal is in dogwoods, representing my mom. She passed away from cancer. We’re native North Carolinians, and one of her Facebook profile pictures was a cardinal in dogwoods. So, I decided to get that as my tattoo.
After my grandmother, my dad’s mom, passed away, I walked out to let my dog out the day after her funeral. On the pitch of our roof was a red hawk. I’ve never seen a hawk on my house before, not once, nor have I seen one since. I’m not a religious or spiritual person, but I thought, “Man, that’s kind of a neat, interesting thing. I’ve never seen that before.” With Memaw gone, I remembered her beautiful hydrangea bush in front of her house. So, I got a tattoo of the hawk in a hydrangea bush for Memaw, alongside the cardinal in dogwoods for my mom. Cool.
The phrase “I’m everywhere, ever, so all the time, everyone, everywhere, everything that is” comes from a mewithoutYou song about forgiveness. It serves as a reminder for me to be more forgiving of others, though it doesn’t always work.
The tattoo “C-A-P-O” is a memorial piece for Capo, one of my pets.
The tattoo of a beetle in a lantern is inspired by mewithoutYou’s song “King Beetle on a Coconut Estate,” which explores themes of flying too close to the fire, much like the Icarus myth. It’s a traditional-style representation of that song’s imagery.
About 20 years ago, I had a friend who was in a car accident and nearly lost sight in one eye. She was close with a tattoo shop, I believe in Clayton or Garner, North Carolina. They held a flash day to raise money for her surgeries and medical expenses. The arrows were one of the flash designs offered that day to support her.
The Hanged Man is a classic tarot card that I got as a tattoo simply because I thought it looked really cool. I’m drawn to religious and occult iconography for its artistic imagery, even though I don’t believe in it. I got the Hanged Man tattooed on me while I was in Asheville one year.
The Dogwood tattoo, with a touch of pink in it, and the woman on the back of my arm are somewhat connected. The Dogwood was part of a breast cancer benefit event, with the pink symbolizing the cause. The tattoo was done as part of a fundraiser where proceeds were donated to a breast cancer research foundation.
My forearm features a vibrant, cohesive tattoo scene inspired by the mewithoutYou song “The Fox, the Crow, and the Cookie,” which draws from a Sufi parable about ego. This parable serves as a warning against the dangers of ego. The design includes a fox, a crow, and a cookie, vividly capturing the parable’s cautionary narrative. To unify the composition, clouds weave through the entire scene, creating a dreamlike effect, as if you’re lying on the ground during an LSD trip, gazing up at a surreal sky.
The scene incorporates my first-ever tattoo, a sugar skull, inked before the mewithoutYou-inspired piece. Nearby, a hand with an eye in it enhances the surreal, otherworldly vibe. Another element is a Foo Dog paired with an Oni mask, blending Japanese and occult iconography. This is complemented by a goldfish, symbolizing good luck, merged with imagery from the Seven of Swords tarot card, which signifies betrayal, creating a fusion of Japanese and tarot symbolism.
There’s an image of a Native American woman, part of a breast cancer fundraiser, with a touch of pink to honor the cause. This ties into the broader theme of meaningful iconography. The clouds flow through all these elements—Mexican, Japanese, Native American, and occult—unifying the sugar skull, the mewithoutYou parable imagery (with its warning against ego), the Foo Dog, the Oni mask, the goldfish, the Seven of Swords, and the Native American woman into a single, cohesive scene. This reflects my love for diverse cultural and symbolic art, despite not being religious or spiritual.
The runes represent prosperity, health, and wellness—small reminders and tokens of good luck.
The number 56 represents our anniversary date, which adds up to 56. My wife and I both have it tattooed on our fingers.
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