Anklebee

[beetiger]

Although those of you who have known me for years may laugh at this, I think I'm finally ready to get my first tattoo. Not the giant thing with the caduceus and the flowering branch with the caught crescent moon that I talk about now and again, not yet, but something smaller and more basic.

I'm ready to put a little bee on my ankle. I'm planning to get this done sometime in the next few weeks probably, by the end of the summer almost definitely. I want to do something in the range somewhere between realistic and stylized/iconic, but not at all cartoony. My big question now, as I start figuring out the details, is whether I'd like to do a honeybee or a bumblebee.

Bumblebee is my namesake, of course, and a personal totem. They're also the native local pollinators in most of the places I've made my home in my life. They live under my porch; they pollinate my apple trees.

But honeybees tie directly in with the Minoan piece of my spirituality, and part of my desire to do this tattoo now is to offer some magical energy toward turning back the decline of the honeybees that is occurring. And frankly, they're much easier to stylize.

Thoughts and comments appreciated. Also, if any of you have a particular tattooist in the New York area that you'd recommend to do this kind of work, please let me know.

Comments

recommendation

[lapis-lazuli.livejournal.com]

hbergeronx and I have both had good experiences at Inkstop in Alphabet City.

[e-phemera.livejournal.com]

Cool. I can't wait to see pics. Personally, I like the ideas behind honeybees as opposed to bumblebees. Do you recall, I've got a bee tattoo myself (in the crook of my right elbow)?

[redbird]

Given that I have a bee on my calf that I quite like, if you're looking for realism: Craig Cooley, in Brooklyn (the shop is called Abstract Tribal Tattoo, but he does quite a bit of other work.

My bee is part of a tattoo that is mostly violets; he had a really nice book of plant drawings to reference, so I didn't have to bring in an image, and the bee was one of the standard pre-drawn images. You might want to go with something a bit more personalized, if the bee is the whole image.

Craig also did my coelacanth; I brought in images for him to work with (mostly off the web, but with a stop at the Museum of Natural History as part of the research).

[beetiger.livejournal.com]

If I go with a bumblebee, it will probably be on an apple blossom. Thanks for the tip!

[shatterstripes.livejournal.com]

I'd offer to do some roughs for it but I'm just too damn busy for the next few weeks!

[beowabbit]

Congratulations and good luck!

[mementomei.livejournal.com]

Just don't tattoo anything in Latin. I'm in these Latin comms where people keep coming out of the woodwork wanting "teh k00leez" Latin phrases for their tattoos. Then 20 people post begging them not to do it! A bee sounds nice.

[beetiger.livejournal.com]

Gods, no, no text, I promise.

[mementomei.livejournal.com]

...and I prefer the honeybee. More practical, less gaudy. That's what I'm all about and you too, from what I gather.

[beetiger.livejournal.com]

I have a strange combination of the profoundly practical and the seriously gaudy in my character, strangely.

[kwaller.livejournal.com]

I think, whichever bee you decide to get, you will not regret the decision.

In fact, as you have two ankles, you could eventually get both.

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

Good luck!

Oh, and if you're into Minoan history and/or culture you should definitely talk to browngirl. Notice that one of her userpics is a Minoan bull-leaper.

[koogrr.livejournal.com]

I've always liked Bumblebees more. I hadn't thought there'd be that much stylistic difference between them. I figured bumblebees are just bigger and fuzzier.

[stellans.livejournal.com]

I love your bee idea, and I like honeybees, myself. Have fun, and post pictures!

[paka.livejournal.com]

Stupid thought;

You could get some sort of design with both, wings fitted together so that they were facing opposite directions. The first thing that comes to mind here is that if the design was really geometrical the two would fit together better and maybe it'd recall honeycomb patterns as well.