Ashley Nunez, an environmental activist, had her tattoo done by Craig Prentiss at Visions Tattoo, Medway, MA. Her tattoo is behind her ear. I’ve got to speak plainly about the human ear. It’s just one of those bodily organs that, under a macro lens, can kind of send you if that’s kind of your thing. The photos after the jump are not NSFW but, you know, could be in some way. But please, don’t get too caught-up in the ear (like me). Ashley has provided her own discussion of her tattoo concerning freedom and the written word. Ashley’s writing can be found on her blog on Facebook, Gathering Weeds and her photography can be found on Instagram @gatheringweeds.
Ashley begins: I guess you could say in part it was impulsive- a flight of fancy based on a strong desire for something to change.
The imagery haunted me for a few months: I had been abroad studying at the Findhorn Ecovillage in Scotland releasing old stories that narrated my past and building a present that was not tethered to their rigid plotlines. It started with some stray feathers and grew into a fixation on their form. The flourish, delicacy, and charming grace they brought to creatures that flit from place to place. An idea of freedom I had never experienced but desperately wanted. I sketched in feathers, used them to adorn my hair, and had them painted upon my skin. They opened up the desire to wander and experience a freedom I never let myself know.
And yet, the feather also becomes a tool to those who ply that craft. A quill to be dipped in liquid letters and spilled across a page in a river of phrases; romantic, no? Whether bound and covered or scrawled on untidy scraps, words move and shape me. The quill represents a story to be; potential for stark truths, decadent imagery, wrenching heartache, or epic journeys. A place to escape and a place to find answers.
I keep my stories tucked away just as this ink has been crafted to be hidden but visible; a permanent reminder of my desire to journey forth and find my truths to share with those who wish to know. Want to know some of my secrets? Let’s make a deal: You tell me your story, and I’ll tell you mine.
