The tattoo across senior communication major McKenzie Peterson's stomach honors two of her friends who died after being diagnosed with cystic fibrosis.
While dating her now ex-boyfriend, she became close with his sisters, Melanie and Rose Albright, and wanted to honor them with a tattoo. Peterson said she was so close with the sisters that breaking up with her boyfriend didn't change the meaning behind her tattoo.
"She was the first person who passed away who I was super close with," Peterson said. "She was my age, and her passing just hit me really hard."
To cope with their death, Peterson decided to get three roses and purple ribbons that say "paint the walls of heaven" tattooed on her stomach.
"Roses are the flower of cystic fibrosis and purple is the representative color, so that was the basis of my tattoo," she said. "'Paint the walls of heaven' is really close to my heart because his older sister was a spay painter, so I told her to spray paint the walls of heaven."
While Peterson had her tattoo done in Plainfield, Indiana, Daniel Stewart, owner of the Lucky Rabbit in Muncie, said Peterson's story is similar to those of many who come to the Lucky Rabbit for a tattoo.
"I think that culture and ideas about what tattoos are has changed over the last 10 to 20 years," Stewart said. "It has become much more acceptable and encouraging for people to get tattoos in today's society. I think 80 percent of clients come to me to get tattoos because of a deeper meaning."
Atom Godwin, a tattoo artist at the Lucky Rabbit, said he has noticed the increase in popularity and acceptance of tattoos, which a Huffington Post article attributes to social media and tattoo shows like "Miami Ink."
"People are seeing that it's not just rugged bikers or hardened criminals anymore," Godwin said.
Each client that comes to the Lucky Rabbit schedules a meeting with their tattoo artist before getting a tattoo.
"Most artists want to sit down with their client to connect with them and give them their absolute best," Godwin said. "We don't just care about the art, we care about the client as well."
Godwin said his purpose is to help people, and he enjoys forming a connection with his clients.
"As an artist, we want to provide the best tattoo we can, and through a [consultation] we get to see if the person is making the decision from a good place or not," he said. "More times than not, someone just really needs someone else to listen, and that's the stuff I live for.
"Not only do I get to share this time with them, but through the discussion, I become inspired and get to draw something from the heart that will provide the client some healing."
Not every tattoo, however, begins with a clear idea. Sometimes, there is a subconscious meaning that presents itself later.
At first, junior construction major Kathy Berryhill simply wanted a tattoo of a basic airplane. She has always appreciated the "magic," or physics, that makes it possible for "giant metal things that don't seem like they should be able to fly" fly, but after getting the tattoo she realized what it symbolizes.
"I am a black woman from a single income family, first generation college student," Berryhill said. "That's a lot of factors stacked together that slow down success, but like the airplane, I'm hoping that magic will take me to really cool places."
Berryhill sometimes forgets her tattoo is on her arm, but it brings her comfort when she needs it most.
"My tattoo reminds me that I'm allowed to be a little different or rebellious because that's how tattoos are viewed," she said. "Things have been going well for me, so for now it's the reminder that I keep in the back of my mind for when times are tough."
There are currently 18 tattoo parlors around Muncie, including the Lucky Rabbit, that want to help people express themselves through art. While both Berryhill and Peterson were nervous when entering a tattoo parlor for the first time, the artist they worked with and the clean, sterile environment helped calm them down.
"Tattooing is an awesome avenue to provide not only awesome artwork, but an ear and occasionally some insight into their situation," Godwin said. "A lot of times, it's the client that helps me. It's this incredible exchange of ideas and feelings that gets to happen. I'm incredibly thankful for the position I'm in."
Contact Tier Morrow with comments at tkmorrow@bsu.edu.
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