Statement
My tattoo was done in order to celebrate the way too short life of my brother Tracy. He took his own life when I was twelve, and he was seventeen . The wings are Phoenix wings. I am no Angel! They represent the rise from the ashes of the survivors of suicide. Survivors have no choice but to rise from the ashes of their loss and live their lives without the one who chose a permanent solution to a temporary problem. The outline of my Phoenix wings took FOUR hours. The coloration/shading took SEVEN hours. It HURT! The symbol in between my wings represents the dawn of the great Eastern sun, which, in turn, represents the eternal quest for Enlightenment. The paw print is from Pookie (the sweetest little cat who ever lived)… My dear friend Mouse is the Artist. She has owned the longest-running tattoo shop in the Memphis area every since 1985, and has done almost all my tattoos.
