I am one of those people who has always had an appreciation for art, including body art. When I got Ruby all those years ago, I saw many other horse girls get tattoos as a nod to their horse riding passion- usually a flower with their horse's name, or a horse running, or horseshoe. But none of those seemed to fit "me," and I began to brainstorm...what WOULD I want?
First things first: find an artist you like! I saved pins on Pinterest, snooped pages on Facebook, and followed on Instagram- trying to find an artist that had a style that spoke to me.
Enter: Miryam Lumpini "the Witchdoctor."
I stumbled on her page a few years ago while browsing artists on Instagram. First, her name struck me as interesting as I have always loved "occult" type things like Buffy, Charmed, Lost Girl, Practical Magic and other influences which have also led to me support products like Witch Baby Soap and Ghoulish Delights. I mean, why not? Second, her talent is beyond incredible, and she had the color I wanted with the blend of illustration and art nouveau that I was looking for.
I waited.
and waited.
and waited.
After about 3 years of following Miryam, her books opened. Her studio is in LA but she had a guest spot in Atlanta for a weekend. Let me tell you, I have never clicked to respond so fast in my life! I submitted a booking application with what I thought I wanted, where I wanted it, and which day I wanted to come. Miryam is a very much desired artist, so I didn't really think anything would happen. A day later, I received a message from her booking agent.
Can you guess her booking agent's name?
Rubie.
Also, my birthday was only 2 days away.
I explained to Rubie that I wanted my tattoo to have 2 things: 1. a symbol for my Russian ancestry (I chose a snowy owl as I love owls and the snowy is indigenous to Russia and 2. symbols for my horse Ruby. Ruby was sold to me as a Connemara cross. After tons of research on ancient religions, I discovered that the gemstone Ruby was associated with the Celtic goddess of horses, Epona. How perfect is that? Epona was gifted with wreaths of roses, apples and apple blossoms, and pine cones; worshippers left these items at her altar. She carried a staff called a thyrsus (topped with a pine cone), the key to the underworld, and in some writings, ash leaves. Another great tie in- ash is my Celtic zodiac.
So, quite a list of items to fit in one piece of art! Miryam somehow found a way to tie everything together, and topped the staff with a Ruby gem (instead of a pinecone) so it was more obvious that Ruby was the inspiration for the piece. She also added the moon and stars, since I was working on SLS through Boeing/NASA at the time. 18 months later, and I still love my piece <3
It took about 10 hours of active tattooing, but we got it done in one session.
Here is a picture right after it was finished (screenshot from Miryam's IG post)
This post was triggered by my last one with the engagement photos where I saw my tat and realized I had not mentioned it here yet! Here is the photo with a healed tattoo.
Getting a tattoo is a very serious decision and they are not for everyone. I drafted ideas for nearly 10 years and took my time finding an artist I wanted. You get what you pay for, and I knew that I was not going to go with any other artist, or skimp on cost. So glad I waited - I get to show off art from an artist I adore.
Here's to forever, Ruby, and may my body age well and keep this piece in tact (haha).
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