Black and grey geometric mandala tattoo with petal and scroll details on a shoulder, in a casual close photo of a person in an off-shoulder top.

Mandala tattoo on a shoulder

Geometric · Shoulder · Black and grey · Photo

A black and grey mandala tattoo sits on the upper shoulder, built from radiating petals, scrolled curls and a central rosette. The linework looks fine and even, with small stippled shading filling some of the petal sections. The casual close shot shows the upper body against a pale wall and bedding, with the tattoo as the clear focus.

Geometric Shoulder Mandala Flower Petal Rosette Scroll

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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

Dear Ruth, the pattern came out of the biscuit tin again last night, the one Mother drew on the back of a calendar in 1938, and I have spent three evenings trying to make the petals sit the way she drew them. Nobody else in Market Harwell would bother with it, but the vicar's wife has asked for something for the harvest cloth, and I said yes before I thought.

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Eight petals go out from the middle like the spokes of a cart wheel, each one with a curl at its tip that turns back on itself. Between the petals I have to put the little dots Mother called sugar, and I've been counting them out with a darning needle because my eyes are no good after dark. Mr Pollard at the post office asked whether I was making a tablecloth or a cathedral window.

The middle is the hard part, a rosette of five rings, each one smaller than the last. I keep leaving it for the end. Mother always said you start from the outside and work in, so the centre is the last thing you are allowed to decide.

Frank's ship docks at Southampton on Thursday. I have not told anyone but you, and I have not told Frank that I've left the middle bare. I think I'll keep it open until he's home and can tell me what goes there. Your loving sister, Margaret.