my life leaf

this is my new tattoo. 

(2/16/2011)

its a semi-abstract drawing i did of a maple leaf.

i went with my left foot for this one, balancing out the pre-existing tattoo i have on my right.

after my first ("don't let your eyes refuse to see. 

don't let your ears refuse to hear..."), 

i decided that if i were to ever get another tat, that it would be something i drew.

As the maple leaf has 5 points, there are also 5 members in my family. i hid each persons first initial in each of the five points on the leaf, (minus my own), as they are each close to my heart and make up my "life leaf", if you will.

fun free facts:

apparently, in china, the maple leaf is an emblem of lovers.  
just one leaf? singular? 
hmmmmmmm...

it's also the national flag of canada, of this I am aware.

as much as i love justin beiber, neither the beebs nor canada, NOR this ridiculous website (you must see this) 


http://lesbianswholooklikejustinbieber.tumblr.com/


are the driving inspiration behind this recent decision. 
for reals.
only this... 

i have this deep fascination with trees and leaves and the cyclical,
beautiful life they lead.

i admire the slow and elegant growth of trees, 

the birth of its leaves and the dependency of the leaves upon the the tree. 

I admire the changing of the leaves 
with the coming of the fall,  
the gorgeous array of colors, 
the death of the leaves and the fall from their procreator to the ground.

 all the while possessing this unmatched beauty

which we refuse to receive as a display of mortality. 

SURELY this kind of beauty can only be found in something that is so alive. 

The intricate details found in a leaf's veins, so exposed, yet so beautiful, the unwaivering strength and story of a tree's roots,  the shelter of its branches- 

I think it's incredible.

i see the beauty of life and death here;

 the beauty of change over time, 
the beauty of growth and dependence.