Performing arts professor Carolyn Conover is new to Blackburn this year. Being a theater professor Conover has played many roles: Olivia in Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” Helena in “Midsummer Night’s Dream” and Lady Macbeth from “Macbeth,” just to name a few. Her interest in theater and the performing arts has also led to her getting some cool tattoos. Conover has a tattoo of the Greek comedy and tragedy masks on her left ankle and a flowing flowery design on the top of her right foot.
“The comedy and tragedy mask is pretty obvious,” said Conover. “The week I turned 18 I went and got the masks because I’ve always done theater and I wanted something to symbolize that.” The only thing Conover regrets about this tattoo is its position on her leg. “I wish I would’ve gotten it lower so I could hide it better with socks if I ever needed to. It’s a little high, but you know 18-year-old mistakes.”
Conover’s swirly design was gotten on a whim and not planned like the masks. “I went to an ink festival in Fort Myers over spring break and there were all these tattoo vendors from all over the world. It was really super discounted because it was an event,” explained Conover. “I found an artist that I really liked and he freestyled it on my foot.” Conover thinks that the foot tattoo is very feminine and pretty, but not really indicative of anything. “I will wear sandles until it snows, so I wanted to have something visible on my foot,” said Conover. Sometimes, in order to perform on stage Conover has to hide her tattoos with corrective makeup. “Some directors don’t care but some directors say, ‘The comedy and tragedy is a little too on the nose.’ I’ve gotten really good at corrective makeup so it’s not a problem.”
Professor Carolyn Conover’s swirly design and comedy/tragedy mask.
Conover wasn’t worried about the tattoos affecting her employability. She made a point that she wouldn’t want to work for a company that judges their employees like that and that every tattoo is personal and means something to the wearer. Conover believes this stigma against tattoos is dated and said, “It’s not 1950, you know? I’ve worked with lots of theater artists who use tattoos to represent who they are… It seems stuffy and really judgemental; especially when we have no idea what story that tattoo might be telling. You see those pictures of women who have had mastectomies so they have gotten tattoos or people who have lost children who get tattoos to cope. Who are we to say that doesn’t represent what we want in a workplace?”
Conover plans on getting more tattoos.“They are kinda like potato chips. You can’t stop. The next tattoo I wanna get is gonna go behind my ear. I’m a total nerd so I don’t know what exactly it is going to look like but I know I want the ‘Deathly Hallows’ in it.” The symbol Conover is referring to is representative of the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone and the Invisibility Cloak from “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” These items are some of the strongest items in the wizarding world, and play a large role in the books. It looks like a triangle with a circle inside it being bisected by a straight line.
“There is definitely something rebellious about it that I love. My dad hates [tattoos] which I find really enjoyable,” said Conover with a laugh. “ There is something great about always having your art with you. Everyone has feet, but in a lineup I could point out mine. The uniqueness is what I love the most.”