This cross took almost as long to design as it did to install. But now the AirForce ServiceMan who ships out overseas next week will carry with him this gift from his loving family, a completely custom Celtic cross. A gift he is sure never to forget getting, and when he looks at it he will gain strength from remembering his connection to those who gave it to him as a talisman to keep him safe.
Wild One Celtic Cross Tattoo by Pat Fish
Today's client was a complete inspiration. He is an avid bicyclist who was struck by a car and made paraplegic in his teens, spent years in surgeries and rehab, and is now back on the bike. This design represents the sprocket wheel of a bicycle, and the gears are meshing into a Celtic band that encircles his calf with the endless road of life. He wears a brace to be able to ride with this atrophied leg, and with this tattoo he transforms something that is always a source of pain to him into a vehicle for ART. The Aberlemno circle fills the center, symbol of motion and energy and movement, and putting the elements together gives him the precision of blackwork and the dimensionality of shaded knotwork. What a delight to see him after the tattoo and photo get bandaged up and back on his bike, zooming off with a body part he has worked so hard to reclaim, now embellished and a symbol of pride.
Sprocket Motion Tattoo by Pat Fish
Today's client is a warrior, who asked for a custom design incorporating three animals close to his heart. A ram for his Army unit, the Black Sheep; an Irish Wolfhound for loyalty and ethnic pride; and a raven for the Morrigan who guards the battlefields. All surrounding a protection knot, woven together as a single shield to honor his service and his courage. A great pleasure for me to work with a man whose life is a testament to courage and honor.
A menacing big horned ram stares down an Irish Wolfhound, and the hunt comes to a fierce stalemate. A raven hovers above, ready to pounce. The moment of battle is upon us.
It is true, I have a strong fondness for the ethnic traditional art of the Picts, my ancestors. So when a client comes in who wishes work in that style I give it my all. I feel like I am bringing something important back alive when I put historical patterns in skin. Today we combined a V-rod crescent from an ancient Pictish standing stone, La Tene style spirals, and the silhouette of the Uffington white horse earthwork to make this unique ankle cuff. The client came with clear ideas about elements she wanted to include, but it took a lot of collaboration with her, myself, and my clever employee Colin Fraser to bring all the elements together in one cohesive pattern.
The white horse of Uffington is one of the most significant prehistoric earth works in Briton, and this ankle cuff combines that primordial design with the Pictish V-Rod and La Tene style spirals. All the different ancient styles blend together into a seamless design, European tribal art that lives again in skin.
