Reddish-brown mandala and floral ornament design covering a woman's upper arm and forearm, in a fine linework style.

Henna-style mandala sleeve on arm

Upper arm · Colour · Photo

A woman's upper arm, shoulder and forearm are covered in a large, symmetrical mandala pattern with floral motifs, leaves and dotted borders. The design is drawn in fine, even reddish-brown lines with little shading, and it appears to be henna-style rather than a permanent tattoo. The ink is a single warm brown against pale skin, and the arm is set against a plain white background with a light blue top visible at the side.

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Take it to an artist as a reference. A good artist will make it yours rather than copy someone else's tattoo.

A story inspired by this tattoo · fiction

Sit down, sit down, the canvas won't bite yet. You want to know about the Halloran Brothers' big top, the one that folded in Carlisle the winter the elephant went lame? Then listen, because the best of it is in the ceiling, and nobody ever looks up.

Keep reading

Every tent has a ring at its heart, and ours was a mandala. Old Mrs Pryce sewed it from forty bolts of cotton, and she drew it herself, kneeling on the sawdust with a pot of rust-brown dye and a goose feather for a brush. Petals first, then the little dots round the border, one for every seat in the house. She never once used a ruler. Fine lines, she said, are for people who don't trust their own hands.

When the money went, the brothers wanted the canvas sold for rags. Mrs Pryce would have none of it. She carried her dye and her feather up the rigging ladder in the last week of the season and went over every line again, the leaves and the paisley swirls and all, so that when the lamps were lit the whole roof turned slowly like a sun seen through honey.

The bailiff came on the Monday. He stood in the ring with his hat in his hands and looked up for a long time. Then he said he could not possibly seize a thing like that, and he went away again without a word about the tent.

Mind the step on your way out. The dots are still up there, if you know where to look.

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