vedauwoo love
anatomical landscape tribute to Vedauwoo on an outstanding client named Sally who is the shining patron of Rolling Tattoo: she is always supporting the Artists and our wanting whims and trusts steadfast through the process. we finished this in two sessions and included a tune up of her earliest tattoo of a star that someone else did. i was pretty excited to provide this particular piece for her because Vedauwoo is so close to my heart and was the first part of wyoming I ever fell in love with. Even before I lived in Ten Sleep and met the Bighorn Mountains, Vedauwoo is who originally lured me in.
back in 2009, on a cross country roadtrip to a music event called Stella Natura with my boyfriend at the time, hauling ass from Kentucky to the Sierra Nevadas, we paused at Vedauwoo to stretch our legs and wander and I remember how playful the land felt. i heard laughter in the wind. sensed attraction to the way the sun set and splayed light across the balancing stones. i remember looking at my partner and telling him that i wanted to live close to this place someday. since unexpectedly, but gratefully, moving to Laramie in May 2024, i have intentionally carved a lot of space to be out there, scoping out special spots and plants and becoming familiar. they remain significant for however long i will root there.
i learned that Vedauwoo is an adaptation of the Arapaho word Bito’o’wu which means ‘earthborn‘ and in whatever way the name is spoken, it should be expressed with such sweeping gusto as to match the epic breadth of the rambling, jovial landscape.
