Adventure Pants Strike Again!

Generally speaking, I fancy myself as being a very observant person. However, I must have been distracted by the weather and the impending drive to Sligo to realize that Rachael was again wearing her (cleaned) 'adventure pants.' One of the things we had said we wanted to do while on our trip was to get tattoos to remember our time in Ireland by. We both have a number of tattoos, and I like the idea of getting new pieces from different places. This being said, I could not pass up the opportunity to get an authentic Celtic design while here in Ireland.

For those of you who know me, you know that I over research and over analyze all major purchases. (And often times even the not so major ones.) The same went for researching tattoo artists and studios. When I Googled 'tattoo shop Sligo, Ireland' there were exactly 2 results, so I researched both of them. When we got into town we tried to check in to our hotel, but our room was not ready. We walked up to the L'Arche shop and talked with a nice woman there. Following that conversation, we went in search of the shop we had settled on. Unfortunately there was a note in the window saying that they were closed for the week. Next, we headed to the shop that I had decided against, but alas, that artist was also unavailable. The body piercer jumped on his phone and called his buddy who had a shop up the street, but that I had not seen online. He said that he could fit us in if we could wait three hours.

Those three hours were tense for me because this was a big purchase, and I was not able to do my typical research. But, Rachael was wearing her adventure pants, and the coincidences continued to pile up, pointing me to feel more comfortable with this option. After trying to pass the time by visiting stores, we headed back to the tattoo shop. We were immediately put at ease after talking to the artist, and moved forward with working out the design details. Rachael drew her own design, one of her famous sheep. I was in search of something called a triskele (try-skeel), which is also known as a triskelion or a triple spiral.

The triple spiral is a design that I fell in love with, and is loaded with meanings. It is a Celtic and pre-Celtic symbol found on numerous Irish Megalithic and Neolithic sites, perhaps most notably side the Newgrange passage tomb, on the entrance stone, and on some of the curbs tones surrounding the mound. Various religions have used the symbol to represent their beliefs, including many triads such as: father, son, holy ghost; land, sea, sky; past, present, future; birth, life, death; etc. Also, the flow of the design generates the feeling of motion, and can represent growth and forward momentum. I knew that this was not going to be an easy tattoo, but I was not expecting it to take 4 hours. Basically each section was gone over three times; the interior line, the putter line, and the fill. I couldn't be happier with the outcome and the consistency of his line work. So, if you are in Sligo and want to get a tattoo, I would highly encourage you to visit Isaiah at Fat Cat Tattoo located in the Market Yard. You can see his site here: www.fatcattattoosligo.com .

So, without any further adieu:

Posted with Blogsy