Growing up, we had two lilac trees in our yard. Every spring I would snip off a blossom to give to my school bus driver, because I was that kid. They remind me of home, of childhood.
The placement of the tattoo also has symbolic meaning to me: my abdomen is the number one area on my body that I am the most insecure about. I have had eating issues that began in my early adolescence and later progressed into the hell that is an eating disorder. To have a complete stranger touch and essentially stab a place that I have always tried to hide, that I have always flinched at in the mirror…to say that it was liberating (terrifying) would be putting it lightly. It was and is a new brand of emotion that I have yet to describe in real words.
For now, I think ‘gah’ will have to suffice.
Artist: Phuc Tran from Tsunami Tattoo in Portland, ME, visiting artist @ Mooncusser Tattoo in Provincetown, MA.
