Traci Washburn’s tattoos, accumulated over the past six years, document important times in her life, as well as the people who have made those times a reality.

Washburn, the director of annual giving and donor relations of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, completed her graduate work, a Certificate of Advanced Studies degree in Disability Studies, at Syracuse University in 2011.

When she turned 25, she was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition.

“I sat down with my father at Arby’s, and he said, ‘Alright, well we can stay positive and look at the therapies and medicines they do, or you can sit in your bedroom and cry about this,’” Washburn said.

He proposed the idea of getting a tattoo. They designed a heart with a bandage around it. It’s placed next to a blue star, a symbol for the disease and a white star, which represents a bright future.

The second time Washburn was tattooed, she emerged with a petite seahorse on the inside of her left wrist.

“My husband and I are believers that you don’t get someone else’s name tattooed on you,” Washburn said. “I wanted to get something that symbolized him, so I got a seahorse.”

Male seahorses carry their children and care for them. They are “mates for life,” as she describes it, just like she and her husband. She wanted to reflect this sentiment with her tattoo.

During another session,  she got “always and forever” tattooed next to the seahorse.

“It’s something he always says to me,” Washburn said.

To commemorate a cruise she went on with her grandmother, Washburn got her third tattoo, a hummingbird, which is the Jamaican national bird.

She said getting her own tattoos has led her to gain experience with overall tattoo culture.

Said Washburn: “When you meet someone with tattoos and find out what they represent, you hear the most inspiring stories.”

Published on March 25, 2014 at 12:06 am

Contact Naomi: ncfalk@syr.edu