by REBECCA
S. LINDEMAN
photos by
PHIL BALKO
Across the half-century I’ve
spent on this earth, there’s been a changing trend when it comes to
tattoos. Growing up, it was unheard of –
outside the circus – for a woman to have one.
In fact, tattoos were generally frowned upon, unless the bearer was a
veteran. If you had ink in your skin
without such experience, it was often assumed that you’d spent time in prison.
Before learning about Amy Bluell
and Project Semicolon, I gave very little thought to the meaning of tattoos. Amy lost her father to suicide in 2013 and,
herself, this year. She was a brave
young woman who inspired a lot of ink when she described a semicolon as
representing “a sentence the author could’ve ended, but chose not to. The author is you and the sentence is your
life.” Visit www.projectsemicolon.com to
learn more about her mission and the punctuation that defines it.
With her heartbreaking story in
mind, I began to notice living art and realized that I know far more women than
men who choose to use their bodies as canvas.
So, this month, we borrowed a line from Craig Morgan and asked, “Come
on, girl, show me your tattoo!”
 |
| Ellen
Luchsinger shares her love of tattoos with her husband, Jay |
Ellen Luchsinger is a beautiful
young woman with nine tattoos; each has significance and a story. She and her husband get a new tattoo in each
state they visit together. They have
matching trees on their shoulders, which Jay designed. The branches nearly touch a quill pen beside
a line from Hamlet, “nothing is either good or bad, thinking makes it so.” Scholars of Shakespeare will forgive the
slight deviation of phrase; the tattoo is an exact replica of the handwriting
of her best friend – her late grandmother.
Another quote, this one from the
Grateful Dead, graces her back, “If I knew the way, I would take you
home.” One either side is the Dead’s
signature bear and a triforce from The Legend of Zelda, the only video game
she’s ever played. The game so
enthralled her that she would, at times, fake being sick to stay home from
school and spend the day with her Nintendo 64. On her wrist are two simple words, stacked
together to remind her that, when times are tough, it’s often just mind over
matter.
 |
| the handprints of Cooper Luchsinger |
Though many people get tattoos
to memorialize someone they’ve lost, Ellen chooses to honor her parents, Wayne
and Roberta Lohr, now. Their signatures
are scrawled across her foot exactly as they’ve appeared in every card they’ve
ever given her. While her first tattoo,
received with a dose of trepidation, is hidden inside her lip, her most recent
is the one she displays most proudly: a water color handprint portrait of her
son, Cooper. “He’s the best thing in my
life, my greatest accomplishment, literally my favorite thing on the planet.”
While Ellen and her tattoo habit
are supported by family and friends, Paula Eppley-Newman’s single tattoo caused
unexpected uproar. Paula is an elegant
lady of a certain age, known for independence and a propensity to succeed. Among other pursuits, Paula is a member of
loosely formed group called the Community Connections Team. When asked to describe the group of ladies,
she answered, “We laugh together and we rant together. When one cries, we all cry. When one celebrates, we all celebrate. We lift each other up when the world around
us beats us down. We celebrate babies
and goats. I am honored and humbled to
be in their company. To learn from them
and grow with them. It’s a bond like no
other.”
The emotional strength of these women is a wonder. Therefore, it is no wonder (at least to me) that they
would choose to adorn themselves with the words of Maya Angelou, “still I
rise.” What I do wonder about is why so
many of Paula’s friends were shocked, even abhorred. After an unprecedented number of messages,
she wrote the following:
 |
| Paula
Eppley-Newman received mixed reactions to her tattoo |
“I
never thought choosing to get a tattoo would cause such a sensation among my
family, friends, co-workers, and peers.
The shock, awe, delight, and degradation has me overwhelmed and
amazed. Although I owe no explanation, I
submit one here, for all to read, ponder, digest, and hopefully, accept. If you reach the end and acceptance is beyond
your reach, I suggest you do some internal reflection to understand and, maybe,
even develop your own perceptions on tolerance.
“This
decision was not made lightly and I chose the design for a variety of
reasons. It is about solidarity – with
like-minded women who feel the world slipping backwards instead of moving
forward. These women are my compass
points. They help me find true north
when society wants me to move in other directions.
“It
is about honor – honoring the memory of the most powerful woman I knew, my
mother. She was a woman of faith, love,
and kindness. A strong woman who lost
one child but went on to raise the other four to be strong, compassionate
adults, all while taking care of a sick husband. She maintained her love and respect for him
and never complained. No matter what,
still she rose, and the purple rose is in her honor.
“It is about memory and respect
– for all the women who came before, who struggled and rose beyond where they
were to create the powerful female gene that generations to come will
share. They set the stage for women
everywhere to build their own resistance and find their internal power.
“It is a reminder – of where I
was and where I am now.
“It is about never ending love –
for my daughters by birth, love, and law, whom I watched grow into strong women
who are now raising strong women.
 |
| the words of Maya Angelou |
“It is about injustice – that in
this day and age, women still have to worry about body image, shaming, fitting
a societal mold instead of living the best life they can and breaking that mold
forever.
“So, to the individual who asked
if I was going through a mid-life crisis: thank you for the compliment as I am
way past mid-life. To the one who asked,
‘What are you thinking? You are an intelligent woman!’: thank you for
recognizing my intelligence, if not my choice.”
Phil Balko is
the proprietor of Photography by Balko, a full-service studio specializing in
senior portraits, custom wedding, and lifestyle photography. To see more of his work, visit
http://philipbalko.com. You may contact
Phil at inquiry@philipbalko.com or (814)352-5327.
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