Lucy Smith’s tattoos showcase their personality. Photos by Claire Runkel.
GIANNA CASSIN | STAFF REPORTER | gcassin@butler.edu
“Tattoo Tales” is a series in which The Butler Collegian speaks with a Butler community member about their tattoos and the stories behind them.
Lucy Smith, a sophomore race, gender and sexuality studies and anthropology double major, has been getting tattoos for a little under two years. Each tattoo has a special memory attached to them. Out of their nine tattoos, many of them are related to important family members and music artists.
THE BUTLER COLLEGIAN: Can you talk about what inspired you to start getting tattoos in the first place?
LUCY SMITH: My brother probably. He got a few before I got my first one. He actually went with me to get my first one, and it’s a matching one with him. So it’s special, but I just always liked how they look.
TBC: How many tattoos do you have?
LS: Nine.
TBC: What was your first one?
LS: I got two on the same day. I got my “We’ll be alright” for Harry Styles and my matching [with my brother] Mac Miller from the K.I.D.S album.
TBC: Would you say the people in your life were generally supportive of your tattoos?
LS: I’d say yes. My mom still gives me the, “Are you sure you’re gonna want that on your body in 40 years?” but you know, I enjoy it in the moment. It has meaning in the moment. It has good memories attached to it. So I’m never gonna look back on any of the tattoos and be like, “Oh, that’s absolutely foul.”
TBC: Can you list all the tattoos you have?
LS: I have “Divine Feminine” on the top of my back [and the] bottom of my neck. On my right arm, I have a postage stamp with poppies and strawberries and an eight on it for August, which is my birthday month. Then, I have “You are loving” in my dad’s handwriting from a note that he wrote me before I went off to college. I have two koi fish which represent perseverance, and they’re in the shape of the eating disorder recovery logo. On my left arm, I have my “We’ll be alright.”
Then, my Mac Miller [tattoo], matching with my brother. On my stomach, I have 333, my angel numbers. Then these weird looking sun and moon people. [They] have feminine bodies, but then the head of a moon and the head of the sun. [On] my thigh [I have] another Mac Miller one for the song “Surf.” It’s a body with flowers growing out of it and a watering can. The lyrics are “There’s water in the flowers, let’s grow.”
TBC: Do you have a most painful tattoo?
LS: Probably my 333 because they’re filled in. [It was painful] especially when it was getting closer to the ribs.
TBC: Would you say you have a favorite tattoo?
LS: I’d probably say my favorite is still my “K.I.D.S” one. It’s matching with my brother, it’s really sentimental and it was done really well.
TBC: What is your most recent tattoo?
LS: I [recently] got the “Divine Feminine” on the back of my neck and my postage stamp on my right arm.
TBC: Do you have a specific tattoo artist that you love to go to?
LS: I have one in Illinois. I don’t have one here at school. They’re called Blacksoul Ink. It’s Sneaky and Jessie. It’s an uncle-[and]-niece run-business. They’re both incredible; they’ve done over half my tattoos.
TBC: Do you have any current plans for future tattoos?
LS: I really want to get one for my dog Mabel, but I’m not sure what yet. I don’t want it to be cheesy, but I want it to be sentimental.
TBC: Do you have anything else you want to say about tattoos?
LS: I love tattoos. I’m also so glad that the workforce specifically is becoming a lot more lenient because it’s just another way to express yourself and art on a different canvas.
