Every year, a person quite dear to me asks me to make a tattoo design for them. They left an entire portion of their body empty for years just for me. And every time they ask, I crumple in fear. If you've ever had anyone seriously ask this of you, you would realize the amount of terror and pressure of trying to think of the perfect thing that will be stuck on a person you love forever. Years went by and I never thought of a single thing. They never gave me an idea what they wanted either because they let me know that as long as its from me, thats all that matters to them.

Ultimately what made me try was I realized I would never think of the perfect design, and they knew this. They knew I would be human about it and probably mess up or do something stupid, and they still wanted that. They accepted that I was imperfect and probably just going to be a better artist next year anyways, and they still asked every year. So I tried to think of something.

On the very rare chance I saw them, they would hand me what little material they had and I made them something simple. Purely by coincidence, I realized I had always made bunnies for them. A water color done on the back of a pizza box, a doll made out of old shirts, a drawing on the back of a childrens menu at Bob Evans. And they've been through a lot. They've been beaten and torn apart, but always remained a friendly patchwork lionheart. During all their experience, my pieces got destroyed or lost. They're the kind of person who goes into a Halloween store to shop for clothes and sews broken things together rather than throw them away. They practically live in Halloween, and while terrifying to everyone else, is one of the gentlest people I know.

I decided to make this design for them for their birthday. I'm still unsure, but I know I will never be sure and always doubt my work. Happy birthday Brother.