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In the year 2000, I had thoughts that I may want another tattoo (I had two done several years apart, the one previous to this one was done three years prior). Of what exactly, I was not sure at the time, until the image of a tattoo came to me in a dream one night. For several months I dreamed about this image and began searching for a similar image in bookstores and on the internet to to take to an artist with no avail.

The image was of a peacock bird with its feathers trailing down my back. The feathers in the image of my mind were not actually feathers, per se, but an ornate arrangement of flowers and vines intertwined to appear as feathers.

As each month passed by and I spent countless hours searching through books and images on the internet for something remotely close to the image I had in my mind. I could not find anything that would even come close to conveying the idea for an artist to do the work from.

As the months passed by, the detail in my mind of this image was becoming clearer and clearer, and my desire to have the tattoo done was beginning to become overwhelming. At that point I felt the urgency to seek an artist to draw up an image for me that would be exactly what I wanted.

Nearly eight months later I began going to tattoo studios and viewing the portfolios of the artists to see that they were really artists that could create something, and not just ink-slingers looking to make a buck.

When I found the artist that I felt would be best to do the work, I began to seek the bookstores for line art that would best convey the idea since I did not have a physical image of the art that I wanted to have done.

I found a book of Victorian ornamenting that had pages upon pages of line art and ornate artwork. It contained images that would convey to the artist what I was looking for fairly accurately, and I took the book to him and gave him a payment to draw up the artwork for me.

When I returned to view his interpretation I was incredibly overwhelmed. Not only was it surely what I wanted, it was better than the image that I had in my mind. I came home that day and cried. For nearly a year I sought something material to take to an artist and finally I was able to see it come to life in a physical form.

I discussed with the artist, Blake, the cost and the amount of time it would take for me to have the work done. For the size that I wanted the work to be, which would take up about one-third of my back.

The cost to have this done was not important to me. It was just a matter of getting the money to be able to do it. Although it can be said that the amount of money could be spent on other things, this project was a very deep, personal, and spiritual experience for me, and the importance of having it done, outweighed any material things that I could have in its place.

I planned out how I was going to get the money to do it and all of the extra days I would have to work to be able to save to have it done in increments. I was so excited about the image that I told all of my friends about it and I was so occupied by the thought of getting it as soon as possible that I had considered taking on another job to help pay for it right away.

In a discussion with a friend of mine, who's name will not be mentioned, I spoke to him about the very spiritual meaning and representation of what the tattoo would mean to me. He offered to pay for half of the tattoo as a gift of friendship, which meant to me more than words can describe, and still does, to this day. I accepted his gift of $800.00 to get started on the project, and the money would be received at my end via U.S. mail when I was ready to have it done. I also cried that day, for the universe had surely granted that a dream so important to me would come true.

Several days after having viewing the sketch of the artwork, while making the appointment and other arrangements at the studio, I was re-quoted on the time, and the price-per hour. Originally it was thought that the outline of the tattoo would take about five hours to complete. I informed my friend that it would take probably half of the time originally quoted to complete the work. This meant that the total cost would also be cut in half, and my friend was just as pleased as I was to know that the tattoo would be paid for in full at the get-go.

On the night of December 21st, 2001, I spent the day and the evening  preparing for my appointment the next day by hydrating my body with plenty of water and fluids, and meditating on having no, or very little pain.

I got my tattoo done at a studio called Future Tattoo, in Southern California. When I had it done, Blake, the artist, was kind enough to let me bring my camera in to get pictures for my album. A very special thank you to Blake for his talent, his patience, and his skill to create the beautiful artwork that is now my tattoo.  An acquaintance of mine named Phil, stopped by that day to say hi to Blake and I saw him there. My friend Dennis stopped by to drop off some ointment for me that I let him borrow the week before for his tattoo. Phil was nice enough to take some of the pictures for me.

December 22, 2001: After meditating the day before and getting myself well hydrated with water and juice, I went in to the studio to get the work done. The process was not a painful experience for me at all, just as my other two were painless, and Blake worked quickly. The time it took from the beginning to the end was about 2½ hours.

This is Blake, the artist. He's cutting out the tracing thingy that he drew up for me to transfer onto my back. YAY!	This is Blake again. He says hi to everyone.	Here's Blake saying hi again.
This is the pattern he drew that was traced onto my back. This picture does his artwork no justice!	Blake is working on me here. I don't remember what we were talking about. By my expression, it was probably Phil.	Here we are again. WOW!!! Thanks again for the pics Phil!

The tattoo was done in three sessions beginning with a two-and-a-half hour session on the outline work. Two-to-three weeks was necessary for the outline to heal up before beginning the coloring and shading process.

Four Days Later		Two Weeks Later

Three days later, I visited my parents who were able to take pictures of the work in progress. My friend, Bob, took the picture on the right which is of the full length of the tattoo before the coloring process began. Thanks, Bob!

The first coloring session in January also took two-and-a-half hours, and we had to stop because my body had gone into shock and the artist recommended that we continue the coloring in another session, since my body may begin to reject the ink. I had Blake choose where he wanted to put the colors I chose since I couldn't see the tattoo in front of me and he would know how to color it from the perspective of someone viewing it directly from behind. I trusted his judgment and I was correct in doing so. This is a picture of the result of the first coloring and shade work done in January, 2002 before beginning the next session in February.

After the final touches were completed in the last session on February 15th, 2002, there was no more to be done except to make sure that it healed quickly and nicely over the next couple of weeks. The last session didn't take too long. The artist finished in no time! Blake gladly took these two pictures so that I could have a look at the work done while it was healing up since I'm not able to see behind my back. My skin on my back was very swollen from the work that was done. Sore and yet I was feeling really good! It has a very different look from when the outline was done and it was plain. Even the detail and shading of the bird is very different. I was now truly one with my dream!

Photo taken two years later showing the 'om' symbol that was added a few weeks after the original tattoo was healed up.

A close-up of the detail and color in the tattoo. This photo was also taken on the two year anniversary of its completion.

A view of all of the tattoos across the shoulders. The butterfly and dragon were done in 1992 and retouched in 1997.

The pictures shown here don't do the tattoo nearly any justice. The detail and the shading are gorgeous! I am grateful to Blake for his talent, and for being one of the people who brought my dream to life. I love it and the people who have seen it have all expressed their liking for it too!

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