Body Arts Gallery

I was one who loved not wisely but too well

Sabine Jacobs

My First Piece Of Ink ^_^ Already planning more, After I get this one shaded.

by Mathew Hozdecky

“I got this tattoo on March 22nd from Sage, at Sage-Ink. We met through a spiritual community to which we both belong, though I do not entirely commit myself to being one of the ?Radical Faeries? (a part of the group).

This tattoo is of the god Ganesha, who is one of the Hindi deities. In the broadest of terms, Ganesha represents overcoming obstacles. This deity has been very meaningful for me in the last period of time. One reason I am interested in Ganesha, is that he is often portrayed as partially feminine and partially masculine. In my life, I am seeking a balance with respect to gender.

For a long time, I lived exclusively with men, and then I lived exclusively with women. I feel as if I am finally finding a balance in my living situation with a mix of people who concentrated less on the specificities of gender and have more interest in their personhood.

Another issue that this tattoo addresses is that I have had a very hard time in my life with commitment. Commitment to friends, work, relationships? I see getting a tattoo as a very concrete way of making a commitment. This is an image that I will have forever. I chose white because I like that organic feel of black and white and brown images on the skin. I also feel as if it gives the image subtly, however permanent the image may be. I am overcoming my obstacles.”

I’ve been reading comics since I was a kid, and Spiderman has always been my favorite. This tattoo is the symbol for an anti-hero, named Venom that came out in the 90’s.

Venom has always been one of my favorites. He’s not good, but he’s not totally bad either. I drew up this tattoo myself and took it in to an artist. The artist modified the legs slightly so they would not wrap all the way around my arm.

I like drawing, and me and a friend of mine drew up a comic book once, but that was a while ago. Now, rather than drawing, my main artistic outlet is music. I’m a rapper with a group called The NightWalkers. Come check us out at www.myspace.com/thenightwalkers. One of our songs is actually about Venom.

I plan on getting the actual image of Venom on my leg, and a Spiderman on my back. I still read Spiderman; it’s a really great comic.: