I got my three little sparrows while on the grade eleven Spanish exchange program. The Spanish students had already stayed with us and it was our turn to go visit and stay in their homes. From what I remember, I wasn’t really serious about getting a tattoo there, but everyone was jumping on the bandwagon and getting really excited about it. Because I hadn’t planned on getting one, I decided to get something really small. I had always wanted a bird tattoo, so I decided to go with the sparrows because I really like them. Sparrows mean to come back home and to return to. I thought that was an interesting element. I’ve always been interested in any kind of black bird.
So there we were in Spain and everyone was really getting into it and that created more excitement. I was one of the last people in the group to have it done. It was fun. Although it was a legit tattoo shop, it did feel a little bit sketchy. But the people we were with said it was the best in town, so we trusted them. The guy doing the tattooing was really nice. You have to be at least sixteen years old. I was seventeen. But it is funny because he didn’t even ask us for ID or our age. It was really easy and took no time what so ever. When he was doing it, I thought the whole time he was just doing the outline of the tattoo and then shading it, and so I thought ok this is starting to take a while and it's starting to kinda hurt now, but really it was only like a few minutes. And then he said, ok done. And I was like you’re done? I asked if he had just drawn the outlines, and he said no he was actually all done the tattoo. I thought that was crazy. I was so relieved and so happy. I really liked it. It was simple.
I thought by getting the three black birds it was a good start to what I ultimately wanted to have. I really like forest creatures a lot. Eventually, I want my tattoo to be a forest with trees and different forest animals like a fox, a raccoon and other different animals. I would like it to be all intertwined together.
So I really loved having my three sparrows and decided I was ready for more and I wanted to keep adding to it. That is when I decided to get the sun and moon tattoo. I wanted it to be intricate and connecting. So you can see that the three sparrows are flying beside the sun and moon. I wanted to make it all flow together and not be weird and disjointed. I like balance a lot. And I like the yin and yang symbols because they really resonate with me. The sun and moon together represent that. Two different elements and yet complete balance. I decided to get it done in black and white so that it would look faded and worn giving that ancient feeling to them. They turned out really well and I think It is a great beginning. ~ Mikayla Kolody, Edmonton, AB.
(commentary: Mikayla was on the same Spanish exchange program as my daughter Symarah. I thought it would be nice to have Mikayla’s post follow Symarahs so that it could expand on their adventure together)
Mikayla’s Shout Out: Mikayla is a university student and does not have a business to shout out to; therefore, she would like to send her shout out to Edmonton's Youth Empowerment & Support Services. By helping to empower our youth we are investing in everyone's future.
