In a vibrant display of state pride, Austin residents are embracing bluebonnet tattoos following the recent midterm elections. Among them is Air Force veteran Sandra O’Hara, who found herself in the tattoo chair at Neon Knights Tattoo Club, eagerly awaiting her new ink.
O’Hara, who boasts over 50 tattoos, describes this one as particularly significant. The bluebonnet, Texas’ native flower, symbolizes a transformative moment for the state, reflecting its political shift from red to blue. “I like what it stands for,” she shares. “It’s Texas’ native flower, and we’re going back to our roots.”
In a historic turn, Democrats in Texas broke a long-standing losing streak, securing a U.S. Senate seat, the governorship, and all statewide races on the ballot. This pivotal election outcome has inspired many Texans, like O’Hara, to commemorate the change with bluebonnet tattoos.
“I went from wanting to leave Texas because I was embarrassed to be a Texan to feeling like I was going back home,” O’Hara reflects, highlighting the emotional weight of the election results.
Sara Vodak, co-owner of Neon Knights Tattoo Club, was the artist behind O’Hara’s tattoo. Since the elections, Vodak has completed 16 bluebonnet tattoos and has 60 more appointments scheduled through early December. She created a flash sheet of bluebonnet designs in anticipation of the election’s outcome, promising to offer them regardless of the results.
<p“It went over a lot better than I thought it would,” she admits, noting the unexpected popularity of the tattoos.
Vodak, alongside her husband Joe Tricomi, has priced the bluebonnet tattoos affordably as a gesture of community support. Tricomi has enjoyed the mixed reactions online, saying, “It’s really making a lot of people mad online… which I kind of think is hilarious because it’s a flower. Get over yourselves.”
Reflecting on the wave of bluebonnet tattoos, Vodak expresses her appreciation for the connection it fosters within the community. “I think it’s meaningful because I feel like a lot of us who have been voting blue this whole time felt really lonely,” she says. “We were just lost in the Red Sea. But I think people are finally kind of taking pride in Texas again, because we finally have something to be proud of.”
