Adriene Crimson

I visited my sister Heather up in Arcata a while back. I wanted to get out of SF for a bit, take the my cousin Morris the doggers to the trees and make use of my uncle’s car.
Morris and I stopped at about hour 5, on a road called Avenue of the Giants, and ran around in the rain moistened woods. The trees were tall, loving, soft, grand and wonderful. The air was cold and humid due to the rain being persistent and making its way thru the canopy to the ground and it smelled of decaying forest – one of the best scents available to humans on Earth.

“redwood tree. 15 inches. left side of spine. have it done while you’re here.”

“Really?” I thought in response to this sudden burst of information. “Okay, why not…”

Long story short – on the day I headed back to SF, I stopped by a tattoo shop, approved the drawing made the day previous, and subjected myself to 45 minutes of having what felt like a hot needle being dragged across my skin.

The trunk was the most painful aspect of the piece – it makes sense since that is the way in which those magnificent trees connect with our beloved Gaia.

Soon, I will have the work updated – either the outline cleaned up or the whole thing filled in. Those who have seen it are divided – some say “don’t touch it, the outline is fabulous” and others who can’t wait to see the fill. It started as an outline for a piece that would be filled with variegated greens and redwood and I feel that I should finish what I started.

Especially since I’ve come up with more ideas for additional work – one thing at a time girl, one step at a time.