Tattoo Improvement Project

As I explained, my grandmother used to take me to the Metropolitan Museum where I'd spend hours staring at the Egyptian artifacts. So when I found myself sober on my 21st birthday, and decided to get a tattoo instead of getting drunk, I chose an Ankh. I drew it on a piece of paper and the tattoo artist* reproduced it.

I like bats and spooks and gothic ornamentation, hence the adornments. Now, I want to do something with it. I'm open to anything. 

Because of the size, shape and color of the tattoo, enhancing or redoing it is a real puzzle. I hope a tattoo artist will be interested in this challenge. I'm giving him or her free creative rights. Meanwhile, here are some scraps of things I pulled together just for background.

The Art of Voodoo

It's cartoony and morbid and it mixes together religious iconography from different traditions. Maybe some of the ornamentation, or the mosaic texture of those handmade banners, would fit. The first one is my favorite. It reminds me of a Tim Burton illustration.

Cartoony

Tim Burton is my favorite illustrator. His stuff looks like the inside of my head when I was growing up.

I love the patterns in this second one. Could some tattered loops of cloth and deathly squiggles surround my original, crude design?

Adding a background

I've always loved the pattern behind this traditional Virgin of Guadalupe.

Like voodoo, in fact, this particular legend superimposes Mary over some traditional pagan beliefs. I believe the spirit is supposed to have appeared on what turns out to be an ancient, Pre-Christian ritual ground. Check this out, too. More voodoo:

Make it a band?

Adding wings, or a band, or something to bring the image around my arm was an idea. I don't necessarily like these particular images, but I was looking for ideas.

FYI,

This dude has a similar tattoo. It looks like his is filled in with some kind of pattern. Too bad I didn't think of that.

(Also, another piece of background, I am studying to be an acupuncturist and I'm generally very into anything Chinese or Buddhist. I didn't include any related pictures above).

...Ideas? My birthday is next week. E has promised me a new tattoo every year for life.

*This was back on Long Island where I grew up. I was nervous, so I talked a lot, and the artist didn't say anything back. Finally he apologized and told me his, "best friend got killed in a motorcycle accident last night, and [he was] really pissed off about it," he said, as he pressed a hot bloody needle into my tender skin.