It's finished!

I just finished my side piece (woohoo!)

$830 all together (without tip). Took 10 1/2 hrs all together.

The most recent section:

The complete piece:

I am so happy with it and I am grateful that Scott Lukacs is a wonderful tattoo artist and that he could execute my artistic vision for it! If you ever need a tattoo artist, please go to him! Here is his blog: http://tatzap.blogspot.com/

Many people are like " that's cool, but like, what's going to happen when you get older? or if you're husband doesn't like it? Or when you're pregnant?"

First off,
Am I really going to care what my body is going to look like when I'm older? At that point, I want to just enjoy the rest of however long of life I have!

Second,
I would sure hope my husband likes my tattoos, otherwise, I probably wouldn't be marrying him in the first place.

Third, when I'm pregnant, sure it will stretch, but it will go back down. I'll care less how it looks then. Besides, I'm not going to be preggo for a while. Plus, I totally want to be that cool tattooed mother!

Many ask, "so do you like grapes a lot ? Is that why you got grapes done?"

We need to change this whole "just because I like something I'm going to tattoo it on my body" mindset. I believe tattoos should tell stories. They should have meaning behind every line, every color, every shading. They must share pain and emotion just as much as it took to get it on your body (cause let me tell you, if you've never had one done before, be prepared for the pain).

I've had the idea for the side piece for about 2 years. I had once heard a sermon where the pastor explained the importance of vineyards throughout scripture. He said that when Kings would conquer a land, they would plant a vineyard as a sign of territory. It was victory. I love the idea of victory. Victory in God, Victory from foolish things, Victory in Redemption, Victory!

There are also so many cultural/ spiritual things that have to do with grapes. There is Christ's first miracle of turning water into wine. There is the parable of the old/new grapeskins. As a cultural means, whenever a man wanted to marry a woman, he would sit her down and drink from a glass of wine and pass it to her, if she wanted to commit, she would drink from the same glass of wine. It was their form of engagement.

Then there is also the wine making process from planting and maintaining the vineyard to picking out the grapes and distilling them into fine wines. It is a very long process that involves much patience and care. Fine wines are made with an utmost passion that you can taste the second it hits your palette. It's very similar to our lives in how we (as the vineyard) have a dependence on the caretaker(God). Without him, we aren't made out to be as we should.

That right there is why I have a grapevine tattooed on my side. It's not because I love grapes (which I really do), it's because I feel like there have been many areas in my life I've been able to get over and many more to come. I feel like a new creation, a new vineyard planted for a King, ready to go through the turmoil and long days until it can be ripe enough to harvest. I want to go through that. So this side piece is a daily reminder of what I was and who I shall be one day.

The End.