Honoring Loved Ones with Meaningful Memorial Tattoos

 Welcome to your ink story, Amy. I'm so delighted you're here to share your ink story. How you doing? Oh my gosh, Ande , I'm thrilled to be here. I'm so grateful , to be here with you. Oh, I am thrilled to have you here. Listeners, I met Amy. At a she podcasts event in June and just fell in love with her work in the world and how she vibes and glows in the world.

And I have to tell you, her support of the, your ink story podcast has been profound and abundant. So Amy, I'm so honored to have you in my wise counsel circle, as well as you being here on the show, please let listeners know where you're from and how you glow in the world.  Yes. I live in Brunswick, Maine, and  I work full time and I also have a jam business.

I make and sell jams. What flavors? Oh my gosh. I have so many flavors, too many to mention,  I pick a lot of the berries and like the rhubarb comes from my house.  Some of the grapes come from my house. Some of the lemons come from my house.  So my business is called Amy's garden jam and  I'm going into year four. It's just me. And then I also, I  also had host a, a weekly podcast called grounded in Maine about sustainability.  Grounded in Maine. 

Tell everyone a little bit about what you talk about. On Grounded in Maine. Sure. Grounded in Maine is an open conversation about how we show up for the world. I kind of go off the rails sometimes because it's fun.  Because it's my podcast and there are no rules. But I love personally, I love the stories of how people come to a place from not being sustainable or, or , Making the change, , deciding to do something new and make changes in their lives to make a difference.

And so I love those stories, but I also just love hearing what makes people proud to be doing these things  that are sustainable. I had a lady on who was so thrilled to tell me that she makes her own broth. Which is so cool. I love it. I mean, it doesn't seem like such a big deal, but  you keep , your vegetable scraps in a bag in the freezer and then you just add water.

Like it costs zero. It costs zero. Whereas if you buy it at the store, it's in a carton , that's covered in wax. And so it costs like 5 a carton. And , you can't compost it and you can't recycle it. You have to throw it in the trash.  You're absolutely right. Amy, there's tiny little steps that we can all take  to be sustainable to do our little bit.

 I always love hearing how someone woke up one day or gave it lots of thought over years.  What  inspired you? To wear body art,  I  this is not the most inspiring story, honestly, but I lost my first cat. I  can't remember. I want to say it was 2014, but I can't remember exactly.

My sister 2014 and the week before their wedding. We all got tattoos. We all got cat tattoos.  No kidding. Why did everybody get a cat tattoo? They have lots of tattoos. And they were like, let's get cat tattoos. I'm like, okay, cool. So that was my first tattoo. And so we all did that together.  It was not what I had planned. 

In what way? And tell us  who decided what tattoo studio you were going to use. Ah, so my sister  one of her best friends is Melissa. And I believe you're speaking with Melissa soon. Melissa's fiance, Ryan Fleming has his own tattoo studio in Portland, Maine called Sanctuary Tattoo, and he's amazing.

And he. Fit us in. We all did it at the same day.  Wow. Wow. And how long did it take to have a cat tattoo put on? Was it an outline?  Mine is an outline. It was not supposed to be an outline.  That's how it was different.  What was it supposed to be?  I think in my head it was going to, I think it was going to be an outline, but I was going to have like her name tattooed underneath it and  it hurt too much. 

And I was crying too much and I couldn't stay still because it was on the back of my neck and it was just really, really painful. Oh, ouch, ouch, ouch.  Well, fortunately, and folks, if you've listened to episode 18, you know, the tattoo artist and firefighter and founder I interviewed Jamie Salcedo came out with.

A new product called painless Picasso. So we can have more people getting tattoos by numbing the skin. Yeah. Heck yeah.  I need to be in touch with him.  Because I think I want another one. And then Cece in episode 17 said, I mean, he practically passed out. The tattoo artist had to spray him with water and  maybe put it.

Yeah. He was hot. Yes.  And he just got all flushed and really, really hard. But I'm glad that you did that as a group. Did you guys go one at a time or was it like when you get a group pedicure or manicure? How did that work? . We did one at a time cause he did all of us.

Oh, okay. Sure. We just all sat around and waited. Oh my gosh. We had good company cause Melissa was there.  And what was the name of your kitty cat?  Her name was Bonita. We called her Bonnie. Bonita after the song La Isla Bonita by Madonna.  I  love that. I know, I know.   I just went through a phase  and you had her for  a  long time.

She, not long enough. She was my first cat, all of my own. And I have yet to have a cat longer than 12 years. Wow. I would give my life for my pets and they don't stay around long enough. Oh, they see the vet every year. They get all their meds  and they get, they don't get crap food.  Well, you know, it's our pets.

They have their own life cycles as well. And it's so hard when a beloved pet  crosses over the rainbow bridge.  And listeners,  speaking of cat tattoos,  hop on over to. Tell me your ink story on Instagram. You can look at the feed or you can just follow and I'm always sharing either on , Tatterday, Catterday or on Insta stories. 

These incredible cat tattoos made by these artists that capture just even like the liquid in their eyes. They're so real you want to reach out and pet them. It's hard to believe they're even on skin, right?   And that makes it so personal. ,  I'm so excited for listeners to see Amy's cat tattoo. And when you look at it, you'll probably giggle a little because you're like, Oh yeah, she was just like, that's enough. I'm out of here.  Hop on over to the Instagram feed so you can see the reel that I created for Amy's tattoos.

And so then  you got another tattoo, right, Amy? I know. What happened? Ooh. Well,  so that was 2014 and 2016 we lost my mom. And I'm sorry, that was, well, thank you. That was in January and then on Easter,  it was Easter day in March.  My sister's wife came to visit to check on me.

They were living in  North Carolina, maybe at that time. And she came to visit and make sure I was okay. And we went to see Ryan again and.  We both got tattoos. The  sweetest tattoo. Describe it to listeners. So, it's a little, sort of they're little stick figures, two little girls with curly hair and holding hands and both holding a little balloon that says mom. 

And it's on my chest. It's so precious. Where on your chest is it? It's On 

my left chest. Yeah. You know, listeners, it's so fun because while you're listening to the audio and I'm recording the audio, I'm also with a webcam so I can see my guests and they're always showing me. You see right here.  See, it's right here. And the balloon actually , says mom here. It's really little. That ink actually has my mom's ashes in it. Oh,  oh my gosh.  Fanning self here. That really makes it precious. And listeners, did you know you could get a tattoo with a Beloved's ashes in the ink? Amy, talk a little bit about how that works. 

. , did you provide ashes to Ryan and Ryan mixes it in with a specific ink? I guess so. I guess so. I mean, it was just two months after she passed and  we actually didn't get like ashes in an urn. We got them in a little. Velvet bag. Yeah. So I had it in my purse and I just handed him my purse.

I never even, they're, they're actually still in my purse. Yeah. Seven years later. Mom's with you wherever you glow.  Aw. But he just, he took them out and he did what he did.  Well, Melissa, if you're listening and listeners, Melissa is going to be on in a few more episodes .

And we'll ask her to ask Ryan  how he did that. Cause I'm fascinated by that. And one of our friends who actually one of the co founders of she podcasts, her daughter's ashes are in her tattoo. And I just. I think that's such a wonderful way to bring somebody really with you for the rest of your body's life.

And listeners, let me know if you know anybody who has done this, that has ashes in their ink on the body art that they wear, or if you're thinking about it.  And I may just have to do a special episode on ashes and ink  so we can all learn about it. As a newbie tattoo person,  I bring to the podcast, Amy, this curiosity because I don't know the industry.

And sometimes when someone's from the outside coming in and diving in, there's all these new questions to be asked and learned. And I know. Many of our listeners are new to the tattoo world as well and tattoo life. So they're learning right along with me. And why did you choose that part of your body for that beautiful tattoo for your mom?

And I mean, the hair, the stick figures, it's just so adorable, everyone. I know.  It's very sweet. I just wanted her to be close to me and I honestly, I had not the closest relationship with my mom and I didn't I didn't appreciate her for everything that she was. And so I wanted to just make sure that she was nice and close to me  for the rest of my life. 

Oh, that's so beautiful. You know, relationships with parents can be a little challenging, but I'm sure that this is a wonderful way for you to honor  your whole relationship and your whole experience with her and remind you going forward,  right? What you may want to hold on, not just as her memory, but as what you learned from her.

Yeah. Totally. Hmm. Do you have plans for more tattoos? I know they're painful, but now that you know about painless Picasso,  yes, I have to find some of that for sure. Because I am thinking about another one.  Do you think it'll be around food? Because you talk about sustainability around food or. 

Now, you're just going to keep pondering it. Oh, we're not through.  It might be a dog.  Ooh.  So, Amy, we talk about this a lot  together on the Instagram feed, etc.  What would you like to see change about the perception of tattoos? I think you're old enough to know that for  many generations,  people who had tattoos were not to be trusted, sketchy could be in a gang, could be a biker.

Right. What would you like to see change about how people view folks who have tattoos?  I think that a lot of people have said on the podcast previously just a lot of respect for the art  and and the meaning behind it. You know, it's, it doesn't always mean what you think it means. And I think that  tattoos as one, I'm trying to remember the ladies, she has all the sayings in Russian, I think. Oh, right. That was Irina Jordan, episode nine, I believe.   They have a lot of meaning and , , the touchstones and , it's something that you can, you know, really like physically. 

Right. And episode 15,  the founder Jasmine,  who used it as touchstones just to help her keep going as an entrepreneur.  I was  thinking of that one too. Yes. Yeah.  ,  you're absolutely right. And for me, listeners for decades, I've asked people because that's how I am. I'm a bit of an extrovert, curious extrovert, but I've asked folks. Would you be willing to tell me your ink story? And that's how this podcast came to be because I would see folks eyes light up with the stories, whether it's 20 tattoos or just one tattoo.

A lot of people have the dates of their children or pets. Yeah. Chris on episode four, having the Norse gods and the Egyptian gods reminding him to stay strong and be powerful. And certainly those in recovery, it's very important that a lot of the tattoos to help them remember why they're there.

Plus there's the semicolon, which is the  take a pause for the whole suicide prevention. So  when you see that on someone's body, you can go, okay. There's a story there.  So I just think, it's really important that we start opening our hearts and our minds to tattoos. And instead of judging someone, be curious.

And Oh, I don't know if you saw it. Stephen from episode 14,  folks, he. There's a lot of empathetic leadership workshops for the company he works for, and one of the participants in the group that he led recently  had a tattoo, some obvious tattoos, and he asked the person,  would you be willing to talk about this with the group?

And the person said, I would love to. And he told everybody about each tattoo and why he got them. And Stephen said the group became closer, more connected, and it ignited more conversations among each other. It was wonderful.  So, I mean, just like you're just like the, your podcast says, you know, to make us, to bring us closer to humanity and bring  us closer together.

Well, I live in Boston listeners, so I am waving up the pike. That's what we call it out here. The pike  short for turnpike up the main turnpike to Amy in Brunswick. And I'm sure we'll get to hug in real life soon, but I am truly grateful.  You came on the show and shared your sweet tattoos and your experience.

I'm proud of you given the one on your neck that you went and had one practically over your heart for your mom. You got through that. Okay.  There was a lot of crying.

I may have wrecked the wall with my shoes.  Oh  my gosh.  But they were friends, so.  Right. Yeah, he was a good sport.  That's wonderful. Thank you so much, Amy, for sharing your beautiful ink stories with us. I'm grateful for your inspirational insights into the art of tattoos and the heart behind your tattoos.  I know you started off saying, Oh, my tattoos aren't that inspiring.

They are. I found them very inspiring and I'm so happy you came on the show to share them with us and help us find more ways to connect. More deeply with each other around our humanity through grief, through loss, through celebration, all of that. You've helped us do that. Thank you so much, Amy.  Well, thanks so much, Ande.

I appreciate your curiosity and your  wanting to share the stories. Oh, my pleasure. And wishing you continued success with your wonderful podcast listeners. All the links will be in the show notes. So until next time, I'm wishing everyone an ink spirational day. Everywhere you glow.

Cheers.