I dunno. I would lean toward suggesting  a Liguus or Polymita with lots
of color.

Another neat idea would be to tat a bunch of purplish/bluish (eyes) at
the edge of
the lips and then when you talk you would sort of look like a scallop
"snapping",
this may hurt a bit as lips are pretty sensitive.

Later,

Emilio

Please visit the ATSC shell show in Melbourne FLORIDA
Jan 18th and 19th 2003.

Ellen Bulger wrote:

>I'd lean towards a gastropod myself. Something with a distinctive outline,
>maybe a spider conch? Bear in mind that tats blur over the years, though you
>can always get them touched up. I'd pick the artwork before I got to the
>parlor, instaed of chosing flash or letting the tatoo artist interpret a
>photo or a shell. If you can find a good line drawing of a species you like,
>use that.
>
>It's not a mollusk, but my girlfriend has a totally awesome tat of a
>brittlestar. The artwork is from Gustave Haekels' "Artforms in Nature". (I
>may have misspelled the name, can't seem to lay my hands on the book just
>now. But that dude could draw.) Check out line art in old books and
>reproductions. I'll bet you'll find something way cool.
>