Go big or go home : taking risks in life, love, and tattooing

With passion and unflinching honesty, renowned tattoo artist and New York Times bestselling author Kat Von D chronicles her journey to develop greater personal strength by taking bigger risks in life, love, and her art in this stunning illustrated book. In Go Big or Go Home, her most intensely personal work yet, Kat Von D raises the expository and tattoo bar as she writes candidly about her greatest desires, fears, successes, and failures, and shares how she has dealt with them–for better or worse. In seven thematic essays, she addresses issues close to her heart–individuality, strength, creativity, independence, presence, wisdom, and altruism–and draws on engaging and inspiring stories from her own life and those of her clients throughout each section. Aligned with this focus on risk taking, making bold moves, and taking responsibility for her actions is Kat's decision to create only large-scale tattoos especially for this book. Each tattoo represents a two-fold commitment: one from Kat as an artist, and the other from the client, for whom the tattoo almost always represents a significant event or a visible manifestation of his or her evolving inner self. Filled with Kat's sketches, handwriting, and specially commissioned photographs of tattoos–both in process and complete–Go Big or Go Home features a range of astounding work on both regular citizens and the many celebrities who seek her out, including songwriter Linda Perry, Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong, actor Ewan McGregor, rapper Game, and comedian Bobcat Goldthwait. Above all, this special book captures the candor, compassion, and enormous talent of an artist beloved by millions worldwide.