Been working on this fern design for a friend to compliment her scars from a recent mastectomy operation. It’s not the first time I’ve worked with scars and from experience over the years have come to appreciate the strength of the niche I work in, for the studio to be that perfect space to assist trauma to release. The emotional body must be validated before the canvas can shine and quite often I see people tattoo straight over scars without addressing the emotional content behind them... in these cases I see tattoos echo pain and regret and the final design look aggressive as it tries to contain what should not have been. Hair dressers and tattooists serve a perfect niche in today’s community to validate an experience and in doing so release trauma prior to making someone look better. COSMETIC comes from the Greek route cosmos or to align with the cosmos... in ancient times people knew that when aligned we shine and would find tweaks to pump up that perception... cleopatra probably got anxious at times too🌱 As a tattooist running a private space I have the time to hear these stories and see them drop away throughout the consultation and then blow wind in the direction that client wants to go. Every tattoo echos. You will remember every detail that went into that moment each time u see it. With a worthy pause each tattoo can really empower the individual, but likewise with a rushed pace each tattoo can become baggage. . . . . . . . . . #mastectomytattoo #mrkingtattoos