During a trip to Washington DC nearly ten years ago, Christin York attended the annual Cherry Blossom Festival and witnessed hundreds of flowering trees in full bloom. “Just seeing those tiny pink and white petals snowing down, it was just all around you. It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen,” she says. This experience deepened her already strong appreciation for the fleeting beauty of nature, and served as a reminder to acknowledge the good in every day. “I think it speaks to the shortness of life and the beauty of life,” she explains. The colorful full-back piece was started in Singapore at the renowned Johnny Two Thumbs Tattoo Studio during Christin’s time in the Navy. It was later completed by local artist Becky Morton, owner of Unique Ink in Marion. She is proud to display this beautiful piece of art on her body, and believes that people should decorate themselves with things they love. Today, the piece continues to be a testament to Christin’s appreciation for both the shortness and beauty of life.
The image tattooed on the inside of Madilyn Hoock's right ankle is her permanent reminder of strength and kindness. The ink commemorates her childhood dog, Mocha, who passed away shortly after Hoock's 17th birthday. Mocha served as her unofficial emotional support dog, helping her through PTSD and panic attacks during a time in her life when she needed support. After getting the tattoo, Madilyn would often reach down to touch it, to remind herself that her cherished friend was still with her. Surrounding the paw print are four flowers--a rose, carnation, iris, and daffodil--one for each of her grandmothers and great grandmothers. To Madilyn, these women represent the strength, generosity, kindness, and perseverance that she wishes to portray in her own life. The ankle placement is also significant, as it is a common point of injury for her. She feels that in placing such a meaningful tattoo there, "I'm putting strength where I'm weak."
Carbondale tattoo artist Amber Thornberry’s grandad served in a K-9 unit in the Vietnam War, and gave her the original inspiration for the image on her upper arm. “He used to go to these reunions every year,” she says. “I think it was like three years in a row he told me he was gonna get a German Shepherd tattoo, but he kept chickening out.” Year four came around and Amber decided to do what her grandfather wouldn’t, but with her own twist. The portrait on her arm depicts a dog in a big red hat. The hat was for her grandmother, a member of the Red Hat Society, a national sisterhood of high-spirited women with a taste for outlandish fashion. She knew that this would annoy her grandad and says that after calling them to show off the new ink, she never got both of her grandparents on a skype call at the same time again. “I think they were afraid I was gonna do something else stupid.” Amber has lost both of her grandparents since getting the tattoo, and it now serves as a funny reminder of her close-knit banter-filled relationships with them.
