Photo Project

Day 82

What are you thinking about?

I am thinking about the people who inspire me on a daily basis: my awesome friends, my loving family, my incredible teammates and my bravely heros.


When I moved to Australia, I started a private blog for my close friends and family, so they could see what I was up to. It was a nice way to keep in touch with everyone back in the States. Now, I rarely use it because I am so focused on my 365 project.


Sometimes, people ask me how I got started in all of this, and my answer comes down to one of the people who inspire me the most, Kat von D.


On April 21, 2011, I wrote an entry of how she inspires me. Below is the text, word for word: 

"Sometimes it's hard to remember that there are two sides to every coin." Kat Von D

Call her weird.

Call her bizarre.

Call her dreadful.

Call her eccentric.

Call her kooky.

Call her an oddball.

Call her ominous.

Call her mysterious.

Call her quirky.

Call her abnormal.

Call her odd.

Call her mental.

Call her strange.

Call her freaky.

Call her deviant.

Call her anomalistic. 

Call her strange.

Call her wild.

Call her peculiar.

Call her off the wall.

Call her unusual.

Call her what you wish.

I call her inspiring.

Growing up, I always had a fascination with tattoos, but never imagined getting one. Once TLC released "Miami Ink" in 2005, my interest in tattoos grew. Not because it was becoming a popular TV show, it was because I started to see tattooing as an art and not just markings that gang members or pirates had.

As the Miami Ink customers were being tattooed, they always told stories of the meaning(s) behind their tattoo(s). Some were being tattooed to remember a loved one, some to remember the past, some to have hope for the future. Whatever their reasoning may have been, each story was inspiring and heartfelt.

The person who I really paid attention to is pictured above alone. Kat Von D.

After a couple seasons of being "picked on" (in my eyes) by the guys in the tattoo shop, Kat von D moved back to L.A. and opened her own shop. TLC followed Kat through her TV show "L.A. Ink." Maybe because we're the same gender, I took to Kat more than the guys. But I highly doubt it. While I really enjoyed watching other members of "Miami Ink," the episodes where Kat was featured a lot, were always my favorites. Needless to say, in 2007 I was ecstatic to hear that she would be starring in her show based out of L.A.

I had high expectations for her show, and they were definitely exceeded. It was great to get an insight into Kat's brilliant mind and tattoo parlor. With every person that she tattoos, she puts the outline of the tattoo into a book and writes a little something about them and their story. She published a book that followed a year of her doing so, and I have yet to have it in my possession. She also has a book of sketches and tattoos that I'd like to have as well http://www.hvtmerch.com/products/89-high-voltage-tattoo-book-by-kat-von-d.aspx

I've been following Kat on Twitter ever since I had one. She always tweets the most inspirational quotes and posts beautiful artwork. The picture above is from her "Sketch A Day" project.

Yes, she is eccentric, but I cannot imagine her any other way. As I'm writing this, I find it hard for me to explain how much of an inspiration she is to me on a daily basis. Much harder than anticipated. I had all the thoughts organized in my mind, but that's the beauty of it…it's all organized in my mind and makes perfect sense up there. It doesn't have to make sense to you (the reader) because she may not be as influential to you as she is to me. And that's perfectly fine. Everyone has something/someone that inspires them.

Kat von D is mine.

Until next time,

Kimmik

Shortly after that post, I was half-awake when I an @reply on my twitter. It was Kat von D! I instantly woke up and could not believe it. I had to sit up straight and re-read the two-word tweet about 10 times before I convinced myself I was not dreaming.

So here I am, on day 82 of my 365 photography project, still going strong. I have Kat von D to thank for being a continuing source of inspiration.

I hope to be able to get the chance to meet my hero one day and be lucky enough to get a tattoo done by her. What an exciting day that will be!

Always inspired,

Kimmik