My new pal, Charley

Like many people, I grew up always wanting a tattoo but was never certain what I would want permanently inked onto my skin. For years, I watched as tattoos became increasingly ubiquitous among those in my “millennial” generation, from ankle dolphins, barbed wired biceps, tribal patterns, Chinese characters, and the tramp stamp.  As an observer, it seemed that many people took less care and thought with these external visual representations on their bodies than with their daily attire. I am glad I waited.

When I saw the art for my tattoo, it was love at first sight. I discovered it in the most unexpected context, in a children’s ABC book at a friend’s house. As soon as I saw the illustration for the letter “S,” I knew that I found what I had been waiting for all this time, two beautiful little snails.

But why a snail? I had recently identified the snail as my “spirit animal,” an animal with which you identify your personality and inner emotions. For me, this wasn’t a selection process as much as a realization, and one day it dawned on me that snails represent facets of my personality that I really value.  Snails move with deliberation and are capable of covering great distances. They are self-reliant, having their home on their back, and may be a little introverted because of that. They create a growing spiral shell; spirals are one of my favorite intersections of math, nature, and art. So, really, a snail makes perfect sense for me.

Before committing to a tattoo, I had to determine a couple of things. First, I wanted to make sure that I loved seeing my art as much in the long term as I did that first day.  I bought myself the ABC book, opened it to the illustration, and sat it on our bookshelf.  I looked at it every day for months, and sometimes I would just zone out and stare at the two snails upon the page. Next, I began to ask myself where I would put a tattoo on my body.  

The question of where to tattoo was a challenging one. I do not have a particular part of my body that I want to highlight with art, so there was no obvious choice. Also, I wanted to be able to see my tattoo, so places like my back or shoulder were not up for consideration. I had decided my first tattoo should definitely be outside of the “employment zone.” I pondered this question over several months that also saw me battling with my bum ankle with even surgery as a consideration.

Then I realized that I could use my tattoo to make a part of my body that I hated lovable.  My right foot causes me so much pain and disappointment, from the pain of my ankle that keeps me from doing many things I love, to the flatness of my foot so I can’t wear cute shoes, to the irritating eczema that makes my toes itch and burn.  This hated foot needed something to love about it, like beautiful artwork.

I began to daydream about having a snail on my foot. I started noticing other foot tattoos and liked them on others. I thought about placing the tattoo on my foot so that it appears the snail is leading the way. I liked the contrast of my bony deformed foot being graced by a gastropod that glides along on its invertebrate “stomach-foot,” traveling without ever taking a step. I had finally made up my mind.

Once I decided on what tattoo to get and where to place it, I felt like it needed to have some significance as a life moment. When I filed the paperwork for my Master’s degree, I didn’t feel excited at all. If anything, it felt like I was only highlighting how much time I needed before I would finally be finished with school. But I will never forget the day I got it. I picked it up from the administrative office on campus and decided to open it up in the lobby. I got tears in my eyes when I saw my name on the parchment. I had come so far to get to that point, with so much help from so many people. It made me miss Mom, who I knew would be extremely happy and proud. So, even though it’s not an end point, receiving my first advanced degree had an unexpected importance for me. I decided this achievement was the perfect occasion to commemorate with my first tattoo.

Picking my tattoo artist was easy. While Memphis has many talented artists, I have been a huge fan of the work of Tony Max from No Regrets who did all the work on my pal, Ben Dickey. I had admired the quality of Ben’s art since I met him, so I knew that’s who I wanted to do my work. I thought I could just breeze in and make an appointment for a couple of days later. I had to schedule almost three months out. An artist in demand is far from a bad thing in my opinion, and I was happy to wait and go with someone I trusted even before I met him.

After nearly a year of pondering and three months of waiting, the day arrived to get my tattoo. I was a little nervous because I had heard that foot tattoos are especially painful. I was also worried that I wouldn’t be able to get work done on my foot because of the eczema (thankfully, this was not an issue). Andrew went with me for moral support, which was appreciated. Tony sat me down and talked with me about sizing and positioning of the line drawing he had prepared. Then he transferred his drawing onto my foot to provide a guide for his work. He asked if I wanted to keep the colors like those in the original art, which I did. Then he squirted out different pigments – black, dark green, red, orange, yellow, white – into little plastic wells, got out two tattoo guns and inserted different sized needles. Finally. It was show time.

While getting the tattoo was obviously not without pain, the end result was definitely worth it. I sat back as Tony began the snail’s outline and was surprised that the pain was not more intense. It was more of a persistent stinging sensation. After the outline, coloring in the snail was a bit more painful, but it was fascinating to watch. As Tony mixed the pigments and laid the ink into my skin, he left behind beauty. After about an hour, he was finished. I was astonished. My skin now bears a work of art. On my hated foot, now there’s a beautiful snail that I absolutely love. My eyes teared up with complete joy and satisfaction. It was really a special moment.

At last, after acquiring my permanent artwork, I felt my snail needed a fitting name. As with most things I do, I took some time to think about this aspect of my new lifelong companion. After a few days, I decided on the only name I had even really considered because I liked it so much.  I named my snail Charley.

I was principally inspired by the name of the artist who drew my snail as an illustration in an ABC children’s book, Charley Harper. Mr. Harper was an interesting artist based in Cincinnati who’s primary subjects were wildlife, which he portrayed in a minimalistic and bold style that captures a whimsical element that completely captivates me.  In addition, my favorite author, John Steinbeck, wrote an autobiographical novel called Travels with Charley, that is among my favorites. In Steinbeck's case, Charley was a poodle. But I like the concept of traveling with my own Charley. Also, there's a great Grateful Dead song, “Cosmic Charley” (how do you do?), that I really love, and I enjoy the cosmic connection. Finally and closest to my heart, my grandfather was called Charlie by his peers, and I like thinking that I am reaching out toward his energy of pioneering and love for his family. In all, I think it's a pretty swell name for my new pal, Charley.

I am so pleased with Charley. I love waking up and seeing a snail on my foot or glancing down at glimpsing Charley peeking out from the hem of my jeans. I love that, when my ankle is aching so bad I can’t sleep or my eczema itching so bad I could scream, I can immediately see something positive about my plagued paw. I love not just being the bearer of art, which feels more profound than I would have ever guessed, but also that the art is actually a part of me, which feels really significant and is something that I hadn’t really considered before Charley.  I love my new friend and look forward to many journeys ahead with him leading the way with beauty and deliberation.

Charley has a sister. The same illustration has another amazing little snail that I hope to get tattooed one day. I think getting my doctorate would be a momentous enough occasion, but I will wait and know that I will recognize the right time when it comes. Until then, I will keep putting one foot in front of the other and appreciate the joy each day brings.

Charley, created 10/29/2102