NotSoInnocent
03-15-2010, 02:42 AM
Ever since my oldest was born, over 10 years ago, I have been working on a design for a tattoo that would encompass myself and my children. Of course I had to wait until I was fully finished with giving birth, but I started the final design just after I became pregnant with Alex about 3 years ago.
I started with symbols that already existed... in the kanji of the Japanese language. I loved the fluid strokes, the artistry, the way a single symbol could encompass a whole thought.
I researched the various kanji for "mother", "child", "children", "family", "parent"... trying to find one that I could use to enfold the names of my children.
I settled on "mother", a simple kanji that held a balance that I found pleasing to the eye.
I debated translating my children's names into katakana, but found that they didn't translate well. So I began researching the different fonts, trying to find one that would "flow" with the same style as the brush strokes of the kanji.
After three years of research, sketching, planning, and searching for the right tattoo artist... I have finally finished. I have my tattoo. It is the largest tattoo that I have ever had done and took 4 hours to complete (including 15 minutes of break time).
I give you "Mother With Children"...
I started with symbols that already existed... in the kanji of the Japanese language. I loved the fluid strokes, the artistry, the way a single symbol could encompass a whole thought.
I researched the various kanji for "mother", "child", "children", "family", "parent"... trying to find one that I could use to enfold the names of my children.
I settled on "mother", a simple kanji that held a balance that I found pleasing to the eye.
I debated translating my children's names into katakana, but found that they didn't translate well. So I began researching the different fonts, trying to find one that would "flow" with the same style as the brush strokes of the kanji.
After three years of research, sketching, planning, and searching for the right tattoo artist... I have finally finished. I have my tattoo. It is the largest tattoo that I have ever had done and took 4 hours to complete (including 15 minutes of break time).
I give you "Mother With Children"...