I met Zoe a couple weeks ago when I spotted an incredible bird tattoo creeping up over her shoulder:


What's especially mesmerizing about this tattoo is where it begins:


Starting in the middle of her back, this flock of birds lifts up off of her flesh, and flies over her shoulder.

So from where did the inspiration for this tattoo come? Zoe explains:
"I stole the color combination and the silhouetted birds from my favorite album [Deja Entendu by Brand New].


I went in [to Name Brand Tattoo in Ann Arbor, Michigan] and gave [tattoo artist Dawn Cooke] the music and said this is why ... it helped me get through a really bad point in my life. I told her what I wanted and she figured out the placement on my body. I originally wanted it straight across my back, but she worked with my body to get it on there ... after three hours of tattooing, I asked her if she put coloring in and she did. It's all free-hand."

The tattoo took four hours in all to complete, and Zoe had nothing but praise for the artist and the shop. Name Brand, she said, "is great, super-relaxed ... they weren't judgmental [and] tend to have people with art degrees, which is really interesting." Artist Dawn Cook has moved, however, and now tattoos out of Depot Town Tattoo, in Traverse City, Michigan.
 
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