In My Skin
April 13, 2012 
Ian Robert McKown is a tattooist and fine artist in Denver.The sensual awakening that is Spring - the welcome warmth, the air around the neighborhood dripping with the impertinently bold scent of lilac, the riot of color - reacquaints me with my skin after the long bundling-up of winter. No longer are wool or Gor-tex my safeguards against the elements. Now this tender, permeable barrier is where I meet the world. Protection. Container. Palette. Shield.
I don't mind that I can never really know what's under someone else's skin. I don't mind that at the end of the day I am just as impenetrable to everyone around me. But I am growing ever more committed to a vision of a life where that which surfaces, which emerges from me into visibility, is just completely... true.
Reader Comments (2)
...at last we know ourselves under way. And though we may sweat and weep as much as before, we know that the make-believe is over. We know that we labor upon the true vine that grows in us and that will one day bear its fruit. And as we labor together in this unfathomable vineyard, how fraternally we may cheer each other on in the common task...
M.C.Richards, "Centering"
Mindblowingly good Corinna. I really admire your bravery with portraits and wish I had an ounce of courage to explore this area of photography. You rocked this image.