Sarah Bartlett, Tattooed Poet of the Month

As we swelter through July, it's time for another tattooed poet of the month! We are continuing with our Tattooed Poets Project with a monthly taste to get us through to April 2017!

Our july contributor is Sarah Bartlett, who shared this lovely tattoo:

Sarah explains:

"For me, the ouroboros represents the cycle of rebirth and wholeness. I've wanted to get one for awhile, and finally arrived at the right design and placement a few months ago. The magnolia flower at the center offers the same basic idea of regeneration. Outside the first apartment I lived in alone, there was an incredibly beautiful magnolia tree. It bloomed furiously right up against my picture window. So, that particular type of flower is an important character in my life story."

Sarah credited this lovely tattoo to Alena Chun (@alenachun) at Icon Tattoo Studio (@icontattoo) in Portland, Oregon, adding, Alena's "very talented and the studio is fantastic."

Sarah sent us the following poem, from her new book, Sometimes We Walk With Our Nails Out:

All The Little Lights Turn On

I wake up with a forest growing

on my back, and instead of being alarmed,

I open my window and lay

very still so the birds will move in.

Cutting it down was a possibility

early on, but the birds sing to me

all day while they make their nests,

and I use their feathers to plump

my pillows. My friends are concerned,

but I tell them not to touch it.

They sweep up fallen leaves

and bring me high-energy snacks.

They worry about how fast it’s growing,

whether or not they should try and move me

before the room becomes overgrown,

and about the fox tail they see disappearing

into thickets. Paws make me feel

like I’m holding something.

They start sleeping over in tents.

Your body is going to be a killing field,

they warn. But I don’t care

about hypocrisy anymore.

~ ~ ~

Sarah Bartlett lives in Portland, OR. Her debut poetry collection, Sometimes We Walk With Our Nails Is Out, was released in 2016 from Subito Press. She is the author of two chapbooks, My Only Living Relative, published by Phantom Books in 2015, and Freud Blah Blah Blah, published by Rye House Press in 2014.

Thanks to Sarah for sharing her tattoo and poem with us here on Tattoosday's Tattooed Poets Project!

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Brandice's Family Ink

I met Brandice in Penn Station back in August, as she sat on the stairs by the New Jersey transit terminal. She shared her half-sleeve-in-progress on her right arm.

This is the inside of the arm:

Brandice explained that her work is a tribute to her family. The Confederate Flag is a nod to her family from the South, most of whom come from Virginia.

I had to ask if she had any reservations about inking the flag on her arm, since some people see such a symbol in a negative light. She acknowledged that she took this into consideration, but decided that it is part of her family history, and that when she explains this to people, they understand. She does not wear it to make a statement but, rather, to honor where her family is from.

The "Daddy" is a memorial nod to her father who passed away and the phrase "Family Tradition" reinforces the central theme of the tattoo, and further acknowledges her Southern heritage.This is an allusion to Hank Williams, Jr. and his song (and album) "Family Tradition".

On the second part of the tattoo, the design is filled with additional meaning, with her cousin represented by the skull,

and the skull with the bow represents herself. The banner bearing the initials MLC is a nod to her grandmother. She has used symbols to represent the living and names for those who have passed.

The dogwood flowers in the tattoo have religious meaning as well, in addition to being the state flower and state tree of Virgina. The magnolias are also shout-outs to her southern family heritage.

Brandice has about eight hours of this tattoo done so far, all by Dan Paone at White Lotus Tattoo and Art Gallery in Tom's River in New Jersey.

Thanks to Brandice for sharing her tattoo steeped in family traditions with us here at Tattoosday!