Worlds Collide...

What are you afraid of? by Darla Jackson, 2005

Some people who know me know that one of my "past lives" (one of the many things I did before getting into sculpture) was as a tattoo apprentice. I was always interested in tattoos and initially thought I wanted to do them as a profession. However, during my apprenticeship, I was offered a job teaching a sculpture class at an art center and decided to take it, leaving the tattoo world for the sculpture world....though periodically the two collide...

Last year (I think) I had gotten an Etsy message from someone who had gotten my sculpture, What are you afraid of? tattooed on their shoulder. Alot of people were questioning whether I was ok with it and honestly, I was flattered. I figure if they liked it enough to wear it on their body for the rest of their lives and they were ok with it, then so was I. And I thought it was an interesting combo of the path I almost took and the path I did take.

I had forgotten about this until today, when I got another photo, this time via my Facebook Page, of the same sculpture tattooed on a forearm. Again, I'm flattered and of all the pieces I've ever made, I'm always so amazed that this is the one that people relate most to... This was the first piece I did that experimented with the dual meaning and really started me down the road of creating the type of work I do. So a big thanks to anyone who loves the image enough to live with it forever...