UnkeyMonkey -the art, music, and thoughts of Michael DeMatty

Even though i have been unable to find an apprenticeship, i have decided to go ahead and tattoo myself. *gulp* Practicing on rubber and grapefruit can only do so much. I’m ready to take the plunge and put needle to skin. Mine.

The easy part was deciding where to place the tattoo. My right upper leg, where i can most easily reach, and where it will be the least visible, in case i screw up. The hard part has been deciding what the tattoo will be. After several months of contemplating this while looking at endless photos of tattoos, i finally decided on a skull and snake design. Now, i know to some this might seem a very unlikely and even questionable decision since, to some, a skull is a dark, scary symbol.

In fact, the skull is a very beautiful and captivating image, strongly symbolic in many cultures. It is a symbol of change, a reminder to live life while you can, for acceptance of fate, and remembrance of loved ones. The skull with a guardian snake, to some meaning that knowledge and memory live on, has been a common, proven design in the tattoo world for a very long time. Snakes, themselves, have a multitude of symbolic meanings. For me, the most important is the idea of shedding the past, the old skin, and leaving it behind, the way i left behind a dark part of my life. (The snake also goes well with the Mayan design on my left arm.) For a tattoo artist to get such a traditional image put on their own body is a sign of respect and dedication to the art.

I wanted to design my skull and snake with the feeling and imagery of Tibetan religious art, so i gave the snake the Eye of Buddha found in Nepal, and incorporated the peony and lotus. For me, the fact that the snake is coming out of the skull’s mouth also represents a song or words, and how your song or philosophy or teaching can live on after you die.

I want to know what you think. (Paul doesn’t like the bass clef on the forehead.)

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