Methuselah Tree

I had been pursuing another idea based around my life as a musician, but this image of the Methuselah tree kept coming back to me. The Methuselah tree, at about 5,000 years old, is the oldest continuous living non-clonal organism in the world. (For info on clonal organisms, check here...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clonal_colony). It is a Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) that grows in the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains. I love the toughness of the shape, its gnarled quality, and its textures. It makes me feel young! The four birds are about our family, my wife and twin daughters who have graduated from college and are (sort of) leaving the nest. Ian Healy of Vanguard Tattoo in Nyack, NY did this tattoo. 

Thanks to the Museum People's Tattoo page for the encouragement!

Eric Siegel
New York Hall of Science


Want to share your own story and tattoo?
Email Beth: bredmondjones (at) sdnhm (dot) org  or Paul: info (at) orselli (dot) net.