Client Stories: Mathias Nilges
With the introduction of social media into the tattoo industry, many people have getting tattoos as a way to simply express their artistic interests and wearing beautiful pieces of work from talented artists. Even as little as 10 years ago this was less common and now it is not only commonplace, but the norm. However, there are still many people who choose their tattoos with thorough contemplation and in the end it not only results in a wonderful piece to look at, but also holds deep meaning for the wearer.
Mathias is one of those people who wears a deep and precious meaning attached to a beautiful piece of artwork. He was kind enough to tell his story about his tree tattoo and we’re excited to share it with you.
Tree tattoo done by Mike Jones
“About a year ago now, my wife said to me: “it’s our 10th wedding anniversary this year—how about we get anniversary tattoos?” I excitedly agreed, since I had been thinking about getting more tattoos for years, and since there could hardly be a better reason for getting one than for the purpose of celebrating our marriage.
I had gotten a few tattoos when I was young, but, as I was surprised to find out when actually counting the years, it had been exactly twenty years since my last one. Not knowing where to start—I had never gotten a tattoo in Canada, and this would be my wife’s first tattoo—we began to chat about design ideas and searched the internet for information on tattoo artists in Nova Scotia. Since my wife and I live happily in the woods and love nature, we knew that we wanted the tattoos to be related to that. Over the years, we’d often been joking that we’re a pair of strange birds who live among trees. So, with a vague idea for a design, we focused our search on black and grey realist tattoo artists—our preferred style that seemed right to us for the project. Luckily, we have lovely friends with many, many tattoos and lots of experience with and knowledge of artists, and they highly recommended Mike to us. As soon as we got in touch with Mike, we knew why he had come so highly recommended. His portfolio includes stunning work, and he patiently and with lots of thoughtful input talked us through the entire process, beginning with the development of the design. From thinking about ideal placement to workshopping our ideas, Mike’s help was invaluable and ensured that we ultimately ended up with tattoos that we absolutely adore.
Mathias and his wife, Maica
I ended up with a large tree on my right arm and shoulder whose branches reach onto my chest, where two birds sit and gaze at each other. My wife has this very segment—the branch and the two birds—tattooed on her right forearm. For us, the matching tattoos connect us in a way that makes visible a little part of how we see ourselves, of how we feel about each other, and of how we think of our lives together in nature. Additionally, Mike designed a tree that also carries personal meaning for me, since it resembles the old, gnarly beech trees among which I played during my childhood in Europe. Moreover, as Mike was designing a gnarly tree that stands on rocky soil like in the woods of my childhood, he unwittingly ended up designing a tree that also resembles one of my all-time favourite trees: Methuselah, a close to 5,000-year old bristlecone pine, the oldest non-clonal tree in the world. So, not only did I end up with a beautiful tattoo that celebrates ten years of being married to the love of my life, but I now also have a tattoo that further connects me to the place where I have always felt happiest: in the forest, among trees.
Finally, given that I am a lit prof whose work and teaching in part focuses on climate and environment, and since I am particularly interested in how deeply-rooted (yeah, yeah, I know) forests are in our cultural imagination, and how complex and often contradictory our ways of vitally depending on and recklessly abusing, of protecting and destroying, of adoring and fearing forests have been and continue to be, I should close with something that Mike and I talk about so often during tattoo appointments (he is currently turning the tattoo that began with the tree into an entire sleeve dedicated to nature and to my wife): books. So, here my reading recommendation for one of the best, most moving, and most illuminating novels about trees, forests, and nature in North America that I’ve read in recent years: Matt Bell’s Appleseed.
So, if you like tattoos and trees, definitely go see Mike and read Appleseed.
We thank Mathias for sharing such a personal and meaningful story with us. As artists we love to listen to the stories behind the ink. So often do we do tattoos where the primary purpose is aesthetic that the ones with meaning now hold something even more special.
If you would like to share your story, send us a message on social media!