Life without a lenscap

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My friend pointed out that I had not yet taken an actual good picture of the camera aperture tattoo I got this fall, so I took one. Walked home in beautiful weather, ate dinner with the roommates on the porch and then went to dodgeball. I have the strong strong feeling that I am going to really appreciate this porch this summer.

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March is apparently question month. To ask me a question, post a comment here: toddpage.livejournal.com/370916.html [comments are screened]

All questions: Here

Question 10:What is your tattoo of and what is it's signifigance? Do you plan on getting more?

My tattoo is of a fox. Technically it's a fox's head over a fox's pawprint. The design was made by viech.



The basic and simple explanation is my name. Todd, in olde english [the e is for aesthetic appeal, please pronounce it.] means fox. That's right. My name, means fox. The best part of this is that this means, by extension, that my name, in Spanish... is Zorro. Hells yes.

But thats not all.

I hold a lot in animal symbolism, especially that of the native americans, along the lines of the totem. And I want my tattoos to not only describe parts of me, but to reflect things I want to form in myself. To the native americans, beside it's symbol of wit and cunning, which we'll ignore the negative aspects of, thanks, it's a sign of using your presence to fully understand what is occuring around you and trying to grasp everything. It is also a symbol of self-transformation... in mythical circles, the fox is considered a shape-shifter. In Japan it describes longevity and protection from harm.

I have a few designs enqueue. Besides a band I want to get around my upper right arm, of 35mm film, there are a few designs. One which was designed with a basic concept from me by my friend Juli, uses a symbol I made out of binary for 365, and fills one of the zero's with a fox pawprint, and the other with a bear pawprint. I am still deciding what to fill the middle zero with, and can always fill that in later.



Additionally, there is a potential bears head over a bear pawprint, almost exactly along the lines of my fox tattoo.

Interesting factoid that will surprise almost everyone, I think... the bear tattoos and symbols got nothing to do with the bear community. I knew I'd be getting this before I knew what that was, really. I mean, there is an additional, fun, tie-in now... but it honestly has nothing to do with that. The bear is a symbol of healing and personal bravery, in addition to personal strength. I strive to reflect these things in my actions, personal strength and bravery especially, though being an agent of healing, and indeed healing for myself are important to me as well. To the sioux it is a symbol of wisdom: something I have none of, but which I hope to achieve through life. It is also, to the Sioux, a sign of grounding and interrelationship between a person and their environment, connecting them to all of creation, and the truth that runs throughout all of it. It is supposed to help you know when to stand up for your rights, and when to walk away from a battle. This is a struggle I face often, on both sides, being overzealous, and underzealous. Lastly, to the chippewa it is a sign of introspection and personal discovery, as well as a maternal, protective nature. I don't know if I'm maternal... but I'm definetly protective.

Another animal symbol I feel very connected to is the Otter, for a bunch of reasons that will just make this longer, and that I'm probably the only one interested in. That will probably end up being the filler of the third circle.

[self-portrait]