Tattoorism 101: Alli's Ink

Here's another installment of Tattoorism. Alli sent me these photos at the beginning of October, so I appreciate her patience while I've taken the time to post these. I'll let Alli speak for herself:

Hey there,

I'm an avid Tattoosday reader. I, like many others, enjoy the stories that connect us all through one mutual love: tattoos.

I have three tattoos, my first inking done at 16 in Durham, North Carolina. I don't exactly remember the name of the shop, it was really underground and kind of shady. It's the old flag saying "don't tread on me," inspired by a respect for my veteran father and love for American war history. It's on my left foot:


My second tattoo was done at Glenn's Tattoo Service Inc. in Carrboro, North Carolina by the artist Paulie Andrew. A few weeks after my 18th birthday, I went in with a friend and saw this design on the wall. I immediately asked about it, and he told me everyone always compliments it, but no one had gotten it tattooed yet. I sat on it, went back the next day, and got it tattooed on my upper back in dedication of the bond shared between my father, my sister Carly, and myself:


Through our lives, the changes in characters have been so many, but we always stuck together. Elephants are a sign of good luck, too, which is always a plus. :)


[That's the tattoo at the top of the post, as well.]

My last tattoo was inked in Athens, Ohio. Can't remember the name of the parlor right now, but it was my second day of college. Inspired by the possibility of my dreams of becoming a writer coming true, the start of real life, I got one of my favorite quotes tattooed on my right underarm:


"So it goes" is from the works [first introduced in Slaughterhouse-Five] of Kurt Vonnegut, one of my favorite authors of all time. Reading Vonnegut is one of the reasons I came to this school to pursue writing as a career, and it's also how I like to handle what life throws at me. This tattoo was also prompted by the New Buffalo song "Cheer Me Up Thank You," which I think is absolutely amazing. [Here's the video:]




Sorry about the poor focus of the pictures. If it makes the cut for the site, feel free to crop. My camera is under repair right now, so it was just randoms I found!

Thanks so much.

Alli

Thanks, Alli, for sharing your ink here with us at Tattoosday! And thank you for waiting so patiently for me to process your post!