It was an honor to document these tattoos and to shoot Maria twice, celebrating her resilience, determination, strength, love, and the beauty of her body and her soul.
Maria tells these stories of her tattoos:
These Triangles were my first tattoo. It’s a really funny story. When I was 18, I saw a tattoo in a photo of some girl on the internet. It was 3 squares. I told my mom I wanted the same tattoo.
"OK, not a problem," my mom said. "But I’m coming with you because I want to get a tattoo, too."
The next day we were already in the tattoo studio. Mom wanted to go first, so she went in, but when she came out, I was in shock. She had the squares.
"What am I going to do now?” I asked, “Squares was my idea!"
"Triangles," she answered.
“Fine," I went in and asked the tattoo artist what he could do with triangles, and I loved it. When he finished the tattoo, I went out and showed it to my mom.
She said, “You seriously did that? I was just kidding"
OMG, are you serious, mom? Just a joke? Fuuuuck . . .
Energy Symbol
This is one of the most meaningful tattoos I have. It’s a symbol of energy.
I broke my spine and tore the muscles in my right leg during training. For about two years my legs were paralyzed. It was a very difficult period, but it was even harder to learn to walk again and then to return to sports. So, when I completely recovered, I decided to get a tattoo on my right leg to represent all I had gone through. It has deep meaning for me ... Always to be with energy.
Move
I got this tattoo on my back right after the Energy tattoo and it also is deeply meaningful. The rune means, "Move." My back didn’t want to move again, but I made it.
Symbolic Diamonds
This is part of a big tattoo I am still working on🙂
"R" - first letter of my daughter's name Rihanna (Yeah, like the singer 😅)
Second comes the symbol of the Israeli martial art I practice, Krav Maga.
The third is a cat and dog. I love animals😍 very much and have 5 cats and 2 dogs.
Maturing Mandalas
Oooo this is another tattoo I am forming from pieces – it’s still not finished. Initially it was only a tattoo ring and my ex-husband’s name in English. After we divorced, I decided to continue the tattoo and added a bracelet. After a few weeks, I added the mandala. And then the last part (so far) was lotus with mandala.
The finger tattoos on my right hand are also a mandala.... This small piece and what I have on left hand will eventually all be one tattoo.
Luck
I got this tattoo on my birthday two years after my divorce and as I started a new life, found a new job, and a new training routine. I felt that I finally got myself back and decided to celebrate with a new tattoo.
It means: Luck always follows me.
I'm going to close this page with a quote that has meaning not only for the tattoo art described above, but also for the incredible art Maria and I have made in these photographs. Thanks, Maria.
“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” -Pablo Picasso
We love shooting tattoos. If you would like to participate in our tattoo project, let us know.
Let’s talk about you
If you’ve never done something like this before, you’re not alone. This isn’t a booking commitment — just a quiet conversation. Tell us a little about what’s calling to you.