Savannah Watson sends us this set of knuckles and the story behind them:
i’ve been an avid, nay, OBSESSED reader since my mother taught me at the age of 4. by the time i was in 3rd grade, i was reading at a high-school level, and by the time i was in 6th grade, i was reading at an undergraduate level. reading is my life, i cant think of anything or anyway i’d rather spend my time. out of all my tattoos, my knuckles are hands down (no pun intended), by far and away, my favorite. i also LOVE the fact that i have yet to meet anyone who doesn’t like them, including people who don’t like tattoos at all.
interesting side note, and i hadn’t even realized this until 2 days after i got them, if i hold my hands the other way, they read “readjust”… and as a stress-filled person, i’m constantly needing to readjust my perspective.
My name is Michael Cole and im from Phoenix Arizona.
Story behind my knuckles tats:
This was way back when i lived in North Carolina. I was sitting on my couch, having a toke with some friends, and we got into a conversation about tattoos. I really wanted to get my knuckles ink’d and I had seen alot of people with the Love and Hate tat’s. Of course as the smokers were we got into how its really just about love man, so that’s where Just Love came from. Also i liked the double meaning so I immediatly went to get the work done down @ a local shop. The tattoo artist gave me a really hard time about doing work on my hands with me being so young. I also got some roman numerals done on the smaller bridge of the fingers to represent divine numerals. I’ve never regretted it.
The story behind my knuckle tattoo is that I have been singing since kindergarten and I still continue to do so, I am now a senior in college. “Just Sing” is sort of a motto of mine to get through life. Singing makes me at ease and relives most of my stresses so when i become utterly stressed out I just sing. Of course it doesn’t make my problems go away but it does make me feel a hell of a lot better. Singing is one of my greatest passions in life, and when I sing, that’s one of the best feelings in the world.
i am a reading addict. i started reading at the age of 5, and have more or less never put the book down since. my personal library contains about 400 books or so. i have yet to meet a single person who doesnt like this tattoo.
These knuckles come to us via Killick H. in Athens, GA. Here is his story:
Font geeks’ll notice the American Typewriter font. The ‘j’ is formed by a rope that spills from my hand. The story behind the word readjust has a few layers. I’m a musician interested in issues of transformation, and being more of the moment. Readjust is a gentle reminder for me to adapt and be flexible, be like water. Broken up, it’s also read and just. The ‘read’ works for me since I’m definitely a word stickler and actually have made a living reading English language proficiency test papers for the state of Georgia. The ‘just’ ties in with my wife’s social justice vocation and my belief in unqualified human rights for all. And, switched around, it’s ‘just read’, never a bad thing.
These knuckles come courtesy of Abe N, an artist hailing from Portland, OR. He is a great example of what is making this project so much fun for me. I’m getting to great people who are dedicated to what they do. People who are living the lives they chose for themselves rather than what society thought they should do. You can see examples of his art at Abe’s Tarot Cards.
This is what he sent with the picture of his knuckles:
I’m an artist, and this is my daily reminder to set aside other things, stay
on track and focus on what I need to get done to make me feel complete and
happy everyday. It’s an outward show of the commitment to my art. I got the inspiration of “just draw” from my Mom, who has a “take no prisoners”
punk-like attitude towards her performance art. She would call me up and
tell me about a show and I’d hang-up afterwards and be like “Thats insane!
How the eff can I top THAT!!”… this was just my no-holds-barred way to
inspire too, not just my Mom but myself and other fellow artists.
It was the one spot that when i was thinking of a spot I said ” Not the
knuckles., Not the knuckles..you can never ‘go back’ if you get a knuckle
tat” the more that my conservitive side said “no” the more I knew they had
to be done…
You know the thing of it is, I KNEW it had to be done there, I just HAD to
let everyone know that I’m not some college kid thats just effin’ around
with his life, this is who I am and this is what I do…dont wait around for
me to change into something more respectible. It’s the one spot I couldnt
hide myself away and everyone inludining me had to deal with who I am no
matter the situation…I guess I just wanted to ‘come-out’ as an artist
permenently…knuckles seemed the most ‘in your face’ way to say it.
I do have other tats, �about five, including a �sleeved leg… the knuckles
are by far my fav (they were my third tattoo).
