The simple, classy flower that Krishna Kher displays on the back of her left shoulder signifies many things to her. It’s a loving tribute to her grandparents, as well as a symbol of the beginning of her interest in tattoo design.

The junior environmental and interior design major was incredibly close to her grandparents while growing up. She was born prematurely with a plethora of health issues, and her parents had to work odd jobs to keep up with the hospital bills. As a result, Kher lived in India for five years and became close with her grandparents while her parents worked to support her.

Throughout her life, Kher excelled artistically and was particularly drawn to body art — constantly doodling designs and coming up with new tattoo concepts. When her grandparents passed away, she decided that she wanted to commemorate them in a special way. She designed the flower herself and got inked on her sixteenth birthday.

The tattoo reads “grandmother” and “grandfather” faintly below the flower, keeping their love and memory alive.

Kher said she loves her studies, which incorporate both architecture and interior design.

“Everyone’s influenced by design. It’s nice to know that what I do can influence how you feel,” Kher said.

While she loves her major, Kher’s dream is to become a professional tattoo designer. She said seeing her work on other people’s bodies inspires her to continue to strive toward her goal. Her brother has two of her designs on his body — one of which was tattooed by the winner of “Ink Master” season 8, Ryan Ashley.

“I love seeing my designs on other people. It makes me feel like I can actually continue doing what I love despite what anyone says,” said Kher. “It gives me motivation to keep coming up with dope designs and working on becoming a better designer.”

Published on January 23, 2017 at 9:14 pm

Contact Julie: jlmccu01@syr.edu