Author Archives: storiesfromtheskin

Rabbitwrangler is a woman in her 40s from Pittsburgh whose mother died unexpectedly at the age of 58. Her mother always wanted to get a tattoo of small ladybug on her ankle but never got around to getting one. On the anniversary of her mother’s death, she decided to get a ladybug tattoo on herContinue reading “Rabbitwrangler: A gift to grow old, to inhabit this mortal coil”

Prairie Human is a 27-year-old woman from Regina, Saskatchewan. Prairie Human has a memorial tattoo for her grandpa. It includes a tea cup with his handwriting and flowers for each member of her family. The handwriting is from a card he gave her before he died and the tea cup was chosen because they wouldContinue reading “Prairie Human: Tea with papa”

Pam is a woman in her early 50s with a tattoo of a small campfire and the words “we still fit.” She chose the location so that she can see it whenever she is using her right arm or hand. The tattoo is a message from her late husband who died from cancer on JanuaryContinue reading “Pam: My happy place”

Nicole has a tattoo of a pocket watch showing the 11th hour, located on the inside of her ankle. The tattoo memorializes her late father, and the 11th is the day he passed away. The design reminds Nicole of both the old pocket watch from the bunny in Alice in Wonderland, and her father’s punctuality.Continue reading “Nicole: Remember always the value of time”

Meg is a woman in her mid-20s from Newfoundland. She has a tattoo of two interlocking horseshoes and the word “Mom” in her mother’s handwriting on her left collarbone. In November of 2017, Meg’s mother passed away after “a difficult battle with an uncommon form of liver cancer.” Meg says that “devastated would be anContinue reading “Meg: Gone too soon”

Mae is an Indigenous woman in her 20s. Her tattoo is a Mohawk word and concept, “skennen’kó:wa,” with one daisy above and one below the word, located on her upper left arm. “Skennen’kó:wa refers to the Great Law of Peace, and also refers to a concept of great peace found in the harmony of relationsContinue reading “Mae: Skennen’kó:wa”

Lori K. is a woman in her 50s from Brantford, Ontario. Lori K. was a flight attendant for 17 years and grew up in an “airline family.” Her father was a pilot and passed away suddenly three years ago. Her tattoo is of an airplane in flight, with the contrails making a heart and theContinue reading “Lori K.: Alive for travel”

Liliane is a 47-year-old woman from Victoria. She is using her healing tattoo to empower herself, and likes to keep it mostly to herself. She said she decided to use a cystic nevus for the top part of the semi-colon, and that the Roman numeral format makes it more difficult for people to know theContinue reading “Liliane: Perpetual post-it”

JustPeachy is a 28-year-old woman with a large, detailed tattoo on her back. She shares that her tattoo helped her overcome an extremely difficult time. She chose each detail to represent the different times in her life that “changed [her] and shaped [her] into the person [she] is now.” When talking about the significance ofContinue reading “JustPeachy: Growing pains”

June is a woman in her late 50s with a tattoo that is both a memorial and healing. June had always wanted to have biological children. When June met and married her husband, he had two young boys.  While this meant that they had children in their marriage, June says that “they already had aContinue reading “June: Your lives gave wings to my heart”