I had told Phoenix that the tattoo must reflect me. It must have something that reminded me of the Dark Fire that is the basis of my life. I wanted tribal styling, but did not like the masculinity of most tribals that I had seen, so we added a very feminine and somewhat Victorian element with the fans. Being Pagan, I particularly liked the chalice shape of the main part in the center.

Thirty six painful hours under the needle later, it was done! It had taken 5 days, thousands of miles, thousands of dollars, resolution and inner strength that I had forgotten that I had, and my precious slave at home running the store to make this all possible. I had not taken a 'vacation' in 6 years, and chose to plan one around the artwork that now resides on my back. No time to sightsee, no real physical energy to do anything but make it through the painful day in front of me. There is still a bit more to go on the butterfly coverup, the rose coverup in the front, the armbands, and the naval ring, but the main push was what you see here. The worst part? The tailbone-without question. Done on the last day, it was the worst pain of all, seemed to take the longest to heal and was the thing that made me sit gingerly for over 2 weeks after I returned home. When I returned home I sent photos out to special people. My mom thinks I'm crazy, my Webmistress thinks it looks a bit like my site (no surprise there, that's a compliment to her!!), my boyfriend thinks it is a turn-on, friends have told me anything from "You ROCK" to "Are you NUTS?" And me??? I have changed...

I would like to thank Phoenix for putting up with me for so long, his patience, his magick, his energy and his beautiful art. This was somehow destined when I put that comment on his link so many months ago. I will be seeing him again, and will add to this tattoo photo section each time I see him. I would like to thank him for being such a great artist that he did not even consider picking something off of a wall of designs that all look the same and slapping it on my body, as with the horrid butterfly and rose that I am now aching to cover up. There are a lot of tattoo artists that would have done that-just as there are a lot of folks that would be happy with that. He took the time and energy to make a magickal work of art just for me, that fit with the flow of my body and of the inner person. He got to know me, he took on the daunting challenge of a huge work in one sitting, which I think most people on either side of the needle would not attempt. He believed in my ability to do it, and taught me while it was being done. An artist, a genious, and now, a friend. Please check out his Tattoo Heaven site.