My favorite book growing up was From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg. What story possesses more intrigue, more suspense, more mystery, or more magic than the coming-of-age tale of Claudia and Jamie Kincaid, siblings who escape the doldrums of their suburban childhood to live within the walls of New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art? They forage for coins from the fountain so they can eat meals at a neighboring automat; they sleep in the antique beds of French royalty; they uncover the truth about an original Michelangelo statue. Most of all, they learn deep truths about themselves.
Twenty-odd years later I rediscovered my love for this book. I found it on a bookshelf in my childhood home in 2007, just after taking a job at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. I read it and re-read it (and re-read it again).
I fell deeply in love with my museum work and knew I wanted to have a From the Mixed-Up Files tattoo. I sketched it out and had it done at Th-Ink Tank Tattoo in Denver. The final version on my skin is very close to the sketch I drew, though done by a master's hand. The intricacy and precision of the lines absolutely astounds me.
I love the story of my tattoo and the story of Claudia and Jamie. Thanks for the opportunity to share it with my museum friends and colleagues here.
Kate Tinworth
www.exposeyourmuseum.com
Want to share your own story and tattoo?
Email Beth: beth (at) redmond-jones (dot) com or Paul: info (at) orselli (dot) net.
What a wonderfully quirky literary trail, leading me to a book I've never heard of before but will now track down and read. Makes me want to grab people on the street and demand the back story of their tattoos.
ReplyDeleteThis is amazing! This book is also my favorite and I've been toying with a tattoo -- wow!!!
ReplyDelete