Creating a defining unifier between one’s career, family and philosophy is a serious undertaking, but Zoe Schapira has conquered this feat with a tattoo that represents those three aspects of her life, in balance.

Schapira, a junior earth sciences major with a focus in environmental science, got her first tattoo at 18: a small Taurus sign located on the lower left part of her back.

“I truly believe I fit the characteristics,” Schapira said.

Zodiac signs are something she’s believed in since she was a little girl, and thus felt no hesitation in moving forward with her first ink.

As with many of those who’ve felt the rush of a first tattoo, Schapira decided to get another just last spring — a black and white sugar maple tree with delicate, detailed branches reaching out in all directions. It looks as if the tree were beginning to wake up after a long winter.

When she worked in an art gallery in high school, Schapira saw many of her brother-in-law’s pieces circulate the walls. There was one in particular that caught her eye — the sugar maple. After asking him for a copy to hang in her room, she began pondering the idea of making the image more permanent.

Schapira and her older sister, the artist’s wife, decided to each get the tattoo, both perfectly centered on their upper backs.

Denny Long, who owns Against the Grain Body Art in Slippery Rock, Pa., stenciled the artwork and brought the vision together. He even used Schapira’s tattoo as his Facebook cover photo, a sign that the piece is one to be celebrated.

Only taking one break between outlining and shading, the process took roughly three hours. Schapira said the most excruciating parts were the spine, where she said the pain reverberated throughout her body, and the meticulous details on the upper branches.

Visually, the tree ties into Schapira’s desired career path. She said she wants to focus on how the environment can be conserved rather than researching a more fleeting resource like oil.

Even more than this, though, the maple is Schapira’s family tree. She said she will always have her tattoo as a reminder — her tree of life.

“This tattoo represents my family,” she said. “Mine isn’t particularly big, and my siblings are all I have. I don’t have aunts or uncles. I don’t have cousins. It’s important to always remember where our roots are, even once the branches have spread out.”

Published on September 2, 2013 at 10:46 pm

Contact Naomi: ncfalk@syr.edu