Repost: Jennifer's Seashell, In Memory of Her Father

We're celebrating Occidental alumni this week in honor of homecoming, and I wanted to revisit this post from 2015:

I have known Jennifer for almost thirty years and was intrigued when, earlier this year, she shared a picture of a new tattoo on social media.

Of course, I had to ask what this tattoo was all about:

Jennifer explained that she got this tattoo on March 15, 2015, on the first anniversary of her father's death:

"I got this tattoo for my Dad, who passed away a year ago. It's not my first, but it is my first in a readily visible spot, on the inside of my left ankle. Dad was left handed, but when he was a kid, they didn't teach kids how to write left handed, so he had to work with his right. I thought it fitting for him to be on the left. He loved the beach and the ocean and scuba diving and had an extensive shell collection. With this conch shell, in blue ink, which was his favorite color, I can have a bit of the beach with me wherever I am. We scattered his ashes at sea, per his wishes. The ocean will always make me think of him."

She added, "amongst his things was the poem 'Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep' by Mary Elizabeth Frye:"

Do not stand at my grave and weep.

I am not there. I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry;

I am not there. I did not die.

She got the seashell  in Black Heart Tattoo (@BlackHeartTattoo) in San Francisco from artist Heather Bailey (@CathedralofTears).

Thanks to Jennifer for sharing her lovely and poignant tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2015, 2017 Tattoosday.

If you are seeing this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Jennifer's Seashell, In Memory of Her Father

I have known Jennifer for almost thirty years and was intrigued when, earlier this year, she shared a picture of a new tattoo on social media.

Of course, I had to ask what this tattoo was all about:

When she explained, I knew it would be an appropriate thing to share on Father's Day.

Jennifer explained that she got this tattoo on March 15, on the first anniversary of her father's death:

"I got this tattoo for my Dad, who passed away a year ago. It's not my first, but it is my first in a readily visible spot, on the inside of my left ankle. Dad was left handed, but when he was a kid, they didn't teach kids how to write left handed, so he had to work with his right. I thought it fitting for him to be on the left. He loved the beach and the ocean and scuba diving and had an extensive shell collection. With this conch shell, in blue ink, which was his favorite color, I can have a bit of the beach with me wherever I am. We scattered his ashes at sea, per his wishes. The ocean will always make me think of him."

She added, "amongst his things was the poem 'Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep' by Mary Elizabeth Frye:"

Do not stand at my grave and weep.

I am not there. I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry;

I am not there. I did not die.

She got the seashell  in Black Heart Tattoo in San Francisco from artist Heather Bailey.

Thanks to Jennifer for sharing her lovely and poignant tattoo with us here on Father's Day.

This entry is ©2015 Tattoosday.

If you are seeing this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Sarah's Seashell by the Seashore

Let's face it, after inkspotting in New York City for over four years, things can often get repetitive. That's why I don't share a lot of koi, kanji, skulls and, of late, flowers. The point is, I'm always hoping to find something new and unusual.

That's why, when I spotted Sarah last week, I was excited to talk to her about this, her first tattoo:

When I asked her about it, she explained that it was only two weeks old and it is an "alphabet cone" seashell.

She elaborated on why she got this particular tattoo:

"I got this because I found this exact shell when I was ten in Florida with my mom ... it's [her] favorite shell and so it is my tribute to her .... it even has the crack that the shell has."

Sarah credits Ren Sakurai at Albatross Tattoo in Portland, Oregon, for creating this Conus spurius on her back.

Thanks to Sarah for sharing this cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.