Last time, I wrote about trusting the process—whether it’s in healing, tattooing, or life. Today’s work built right on top of that idea, like adding another tattoo that flows into an existing piece. The subject this time: perspective.
For my artist hour, I drew a panther. But instead of filling it all in solid, I left large areas white. In tattooing, negative space is just as important as the ink. It lets the design breathe, and gives the eye a place to rest so the bold lines and details have more impact. What’s left undone is just as intentional as what’s been laid down. That’s perspective.
My Inktober prompt was “weave.” I drew two tattooed arms holding hands, fingers interlaced, with a rope binding their wrists together. At first glance, it could look like restriction, like being tied down. But from another perspective, it can symbolize commitment—two lives intertwined, held together by shared meaning, shared marks, shared trust.
Perspective is what connects these drawings to the bigger story. It’s about how we choose to see things. The same rope can look like a shackle or a bond. The same empty space can look unfinished or intentional. The same process—whether healing with a doctor or sitting through a tattoo session—can feel overwhelming or transformative, depending on the angle we take.
This is where perspective ties back to trust. Trusting the process doesn’t mean giving up control. It means shifting perspective to see the value in each stage—even the uncomfortable ones. Just like a tattoo in progress doesn’t look finished until the last wipe down, sometimes life doesn’t make sense until we step back and see how the pieces connect. I read a story this week about how someone’s first tattoo did not turn out, and they were discouraged. However, several others responded that just like anything else when you see it in the correct perspective, it is not a ruined ending, but rather a work in progress. Where the first artist had failed to render what the customer expected, they could find another artist that could transform the beginnings of this work into a masterpiece. They just needed to have the right perspective and trust in the process.
That’s the story I want Honor and Ink to tell, the process of transforming what can be viewed as mistakes into stories of triumph. (not the bad tattoos. LOL) Not just isolated tattoos, but a body of work that flows together—symbols, memories, and meaning woven into something larger. Each tattoo, like each blog entry, is part of a sleeve we’re building together.
Next time, I’ll share how patience plays into this sleeve—because perspective and trust only take root when we’re willing to give things the time they need.
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