Cassie Askew
Photographer : Julia Loglisci
“I have power over myself, and I can have the strength, courage and passion
to be who I truly am.”
T
wenty-two year old Cassie Askew, born and raised in Victoria
B.C, says that the largest tattoo on her body was influenced by
her rough grade twelve year in high school.
“While in high school, I had surgery to remove my gall bladder. After
just over two weeks, I dropped almost forty pounds in weight. As
many girls can understand and would agree, high school can bring a
lot of unwanted stress as it is, let alone having undergone a medical
procedure such as the one I did. Many people hounded me for my
outrageous weight loss that year; mostly accusing me of having an
eating disorder.”
Cassie chose three words to have tattooed on her body. These three
words helped her stay focused and carry on through her graduating
year: strength, courage, and passion.
“These three words got me through everything. They reminded me to
be strong and to not let the impressions of others affect me. I have
power over myself and I can have the strength, courage and passion
to be who I truly am.”
12 | West Coast Ink | Issue 1
It was Ory from Empire Tattoo that created the piece of art for Cassie.
Cassie says she was open to his creativity and asked him to somehow
incorporate calla lilies with the three words. After creating a drawing
for Cassie, Ory made a suggestion to enlarge the tattoo. Initially, she
only wanted the piece to cover her rib cage; however, after seeing
the drawing, which stretched below her hips and onto the side of her
back end, Cassie fell in love.
“I chose to incorporate the calla lily into my tattoo because I am obsessed with the flower. Years ago when my high school grad date
brought me calla lilies, their elegance and beauty overwhelmed me
and I was hooked.”
This was Cassie’s third tattoo and she says it is by far her favorite.
Expecting more tattoos in the future, Cassie says she cannot wait for
her next one!