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Shawn, you are my sweet tat bro, and you rule. From now on, instead of asking Scott if he's "making sweet tats," I'm gonna ask him if he's "squideling," a combo of squid and scribbling.

I can understand this. However -- just to keep stirring the pot here -- I think the next point becomes if a rapport has been established with a tattooer friend and you two trade slang terms back and forth, I think that's ok, since you've got that relationship and it's established. But, say you go to a new shop or get tattooed by another person, you're certainly not going to talk to that person like your buddy and be all, "What's up tat-wizard, tryna get those squid pants!"

[x] SQUID PANTS

A tattoo shop should only and always be referred to as "Ye Olde Tattzappery."

Though we had a brief flirtation with trying to get Fratbros (fratbroz?) to call tattooers "Squids" cause they "fuckin shoot ink, man"... but that never really worked out. Would have loved to send in a bro to one of my friends and have them address him as a Squid. Haha

should we start calling leg "sleeves" slacks then? trousers? pants? tattoo pants? tat pants? ink pants? SQUID PANTS???

I really would like to see a collective effort on LST to start promoting SQUIDS/SQUIDDLING. Anyway, Tats and tat-guns remain the worst in my book.. I don't know what's worse though, getting asked about "my tats" from folks with no visible tattoos or folks who are covered. I almost like LEG SLEEVE simply because it sounds like a euphemism for some kind of weird, cozy, leg love.

Well then what should they be called, stockings?

Found this article today, its a few months old but interesting nonetheless. "What do you think when you see a woman with a tattoo? This is not a question with a right or wrong answer; this is a question of perception. So I guess, the real question is, “How do you perceive a woman with a tattoo in society? Does it affect how you judge her?” Of course it does. As much as a woman’s blond hair or pretty face leads her to be judged. But a tattoo isn’t the result of DNA, it’s a choice, an assertion. But how did tattoos become taboo for women, and most importantly where can we go from here?..." Guest Post: Feminism & Tattoos: A Woman For all the ladies out there, do you feel like you are percieved differently due to your tattoos? Heavily tattooed women, if you didnt notice a difference with your first few pieces, have you noticed something different the more covered you become? I want to hear from the gents as well! What do you think? Do you noticed more women getting slag about their work than men?

The guy who did this tattoo owns a shop. People pay money to him to do tattoos on them. That makes him a professional tattoo artist. If he's more "in the know" in the tattoo world than I am because I don't tattoo... so be it. In the immortal words of one of my snarkier friends... "your team!" :D

i dont even care. im saying this.

i agree with the previous sentiments -- i dont want to be touched, i shouldnt be expected to tolerate you nor should i have to explain my tattoos to you. in that past few years i have just started to reject the advances. however my "no, you cant see my arm." and "please dont touch me" always elicits surprised stares. they seem really caught off guard that I wouldnt want a stranger pulling my arm to his face or that i dont want to hear about what they want to get done in the future. one of the most frustrating things is having a total stranger get rude with me for telling him that i would rather he not touch me. the conversation typically goes as follows: Interrupting my conversation "oh sweet tats, can i see them?" "no. sorry, im having a conversation" "you dont have to be such a bitch." >: ( the other random approach i get disgusts me and that is a guy assuming im some sort of "naughty-girl-gone-wild". that conversation usually also ends with me being called a bitch and begins something like this: "well helllllloooo there, you look like a bad girl." smarmy smirk "...no. please go away" "i bet youre a real handful hunh?" "...no." "oh ho ho someones an evil evil thing hmmmm?" also, my friend who has a chest piece gets "can i see how far down that goes?" at least twice a week. a lot of my friends who do not have tattoos will ask me why i am not really into men who are tattoo free and its because of my experiences with the aforementioned jerks. they seem to think of me as some sort of dominatrix that would be a "good time" rather than an interesting person that they should get to know. it freaks me out a little and makes me question their motives for approaching me.

All those terms are fine by me.... As long as a tattooer is using them. If the person doesn't tattoo and uses them, I wanna smash their head down into their neck. I'm a jerk

It doesn't make me cringe but I don't like the term - leg sleeve

Scott's experiencing something similar right now, someone from Vacaville opening up a shop up the street. I don't get it, I've been to Vacaville and seen the tattoo there, seems like if the guy was any good, he'd make a million bucks fixing all those bad tattoos in Vacaville!

I guess an obvious question is... is it better to be chided for being a woman with visible tattoos, or to be objectified because of them? Neither, I'd s'pose. But I've never heard a female friend complain about boys who pay them attention because of their tattoos. (Unless the dude is funny lookin. Or me. Which may be one and the same. I'm pretty funny lookin)

HA! get on your boots!

Another great collection by the look of things Avery ! Perfect sizing on that Eagle ,i've attached another along the same lines by Bert Krak ,think the solitary Eagle is super strong . So many good Eagles but my favourite piece of Eagle art is Scott Sylvias picture .This is just crying out for a back to adopt it . I love Chad Koeplingers birds too Lochlan especially his talons which often are supersized .

Here is my eagle. It was done by Matt Arriola.

summer of '93. i was 12 or 13 years old, my buddy darren and i used to aimlessly ride our skateboards up and down pch all day long in laguna beach, only to stop by the local punk record store underdog, candy stealing missions at circle k, and we would occasionally try to sneak in the door at laguna tattoo and hide behind all the adults until someone noticed we were snooping around and kicked us out. the second time i ever stopped by, i actually walked in, instead of standing outside with my curious head noodled into the shop. laguna tattoo always got really busy in the summer, it probably still does, so there was a lot of interesting folks and plenty of cool stuff for me to look at. this particular time, darren and i stood in the back of the tiny lil' shop trying not to be noticed and totally dumb-founded by what we were seeing. there was a huge shirtless biker dude in the chair getting his head tattooed and reading a magazine. he didn't move or make a sound. we were completely awestruck! i think this was by far the coolest, toughest, scarriest thing i had ever seen in my life up to that point. it was then that a rather large, ringed hand appeared on my shoulder, as if to say; "you're in trouble kiddo." i looked up to see another shirtless biker-looking dude guiding me out the door. "stay outta here kid." he muttered. he grabbed darren, who at this point was boldly standing up front, hit him over the head with a rolled up magazine and sent him on his way out the door. it wasn't until a couple years later that i found out by hanging out at the record store that the tattooed man was gg allin who was getting the murder junkies logo tattooed on his head! i'm not quite old enough to have any more biker/tattoo stories. but that experience and other stories i heard growing up single handedly changed the way i saw tattoo shops, and it may be the reason still get that sinking feeling in my gut sometimes when i walk into a shop, an unexplained feeling of fear, like someones going to pull out a knife any second and kick me out. i guess i caught the tail end for that age of tattoo shops. i later returned to laguna tattoo 3 days after my eighteenth birthday for my first tattoo done by lindsey carmicheal. 5 years after gg allin, the shop seemed so different to me. it was so obvious, even to me as a youngster who didn't know anything about tattoo culture yet, that there was a huge shift in the demand for tattoos by popular culture. after some looking i discovered this.... enjoy!

The difference between tattooed people and non tattooed people is: tattooed people could care less that you aren't tattooed.

i dont personally think its my job or any other tattooed females to change people's preconceived ideas of tattooed women/people. i dont particularly want to educate them either, these beliefs of theirs tend to be pretty ingrained anyway. its no lost cause but i take each case by case, if they seem genuinely interested, i will take a minute to be polite, they want some freakshow ill tell them where to go.

Props to my wife for starting a really interesting topic! It is interesting to see the response out there. I am not a fan of the "if you have tattoos, then you waive your right to privacy." My own mother said that to me once. No one waives their right to privacy simply because they decide to decorate their body with something they warrant as attractive or has some meaning to them. It follows the rule your parents taught you as a child: It's impolite to stare. I don't have that many tattoos [yet], and the few I do have are hidden on a general basis. That being said I don't have to endure the same stares, comments, and criticisms as those that are heavily tattooed. Especially the ladies out there. But, when people find out I have tattoos, I am generally bombarded with the "what is it; where'd you get it; what does it mean?" questions. I don't have a problem answering but, I have yet to get to the point of people stopping me every twenty feet to ask about them. The notion, I think, the ladies have to deal with is three-fold. First, there is a preconceived notion that women are supposed to be sweet and demure; and tattoos seem to be counter-intuitive to those of this frame of mind. Most of the controlling interest in society is still of the generation, or a strong product of that generation, that women are supposed to behave lady-like. They do not think that a woman can have tattoos and still be lady-like. I know that may sound hyper-conservative, not to mention horribly sexist, but I challenge you to look at it from this point of view. How often, ladies in particular, have you gone on a job interview and accidentally flashed a wrist tattoo? Did you notice if your interviewer changed demeanor once they saw it? If things were going so well, then the tattoo was revealed and you didn't hear back from them; why do you think that happened? Unfortunately, not matter how the culture may be changing, the corporate world is still controlled by those that have an issue with tattoos in the workplace; especially ladies with tattoos. Second, tattoos on a woman are like adding flourish to art work. As an artist, the feminine form is a masterpiece. There is a reason why they are called the fairer sex. Everyone, regardless of gender, enjoys looking at women. We like how they move, and look. It is a subconscious attraction. When we watch the Red Carpet specials we are there to see the ladies in their expensive gowns, and fabulous hair styles; and comment accordingly. We only notice men if they have a strong charisma, charm, or personality; which is what makes them truly attractive. Otherwise men fade into the background. Humanity has admired a woman's beauty since the stone age. Why do you think that there are more works of art about women than men? Look at the Masters and their portfolios. More often than not women are a prominent focus to their work. Add tattoos to that subconscious attraction and you create a monster that will stop at nothing to absorb every curve and detail. That is what creates the people that ogle as a tattooed woman walks past. Finally, the last reason is actually quite horrible; but I think it is truthfully worth mentioning. The final reason is that society thinks that a woman that has tattoos is only in it for the attention. Like I said, it is heartless, as I know most women are not of that mindset when they get tattoos. For some reason there is a preconceived notion, again among the older crowd and their lackies, that women who wear "girly" clothes [i.e.: tank tops, skirts, sleeveless dresses, etc] and reveal their ink are being show-offs. I, in no way, agree with this statement, and I do think that the dynamic is changing, but there are a few hold-outs that feel this way. I want to go on record to say that the above is just guess work on my part. I am not omniscient and do not know what people are really thinking. I am only going on what I have gleaned from conversations with people over the years about the topic; and what I see on a daily basis. Observations and opinions run rampant and, like artistic critique, everyone's interpretation is different. I am part of the culture and, along with my wife, feel that this is a topic that needs to be more openly discussed to break down the perceptions of others; especially the individuals that find something taboo about our artistic expression. It has been said here before: If we can change one person's perception of tattoos, then we have moved a step in the right direction.

what i seem to notice is that the only men with balls big enough to date a heavily tattooed woman are heavily tattooed themselves, but i might be wrong of course, this is just what ive noticed. most tattooed folk will attract a few looks when out and about but people cant help but downright stare when they notice tattooed women, in the summer i dread wearing shorts knowing all i'll get is questions, and i cant stand answering the same shit over and over again. though i'm always left alone when im waking around with stewart (my other half), it might be to do with the fact hes even more heavily tattooed, over 6" tall and is usually frowning at them already haha. i guess when im on my own, people dont seem to be scared of me as they seem of him, if im alone, they will ask more readily expecting a sweet young girl to just be that, sweet, and kindly answer their questions. its that that particularly that annoys me most, do they really think im gonna entertain them? a complete stranger? just cos im a girl? what worries me is what the media is making tattooed women out to be. it has always loved a slutty-tattooed-woman scandal. were all sex/fame/money hungry according to them, when in all honesty, some might be, but really, theres WAY more untattooed women that way inclined. but hey, thats another much more elaborate post i cant put my energy into right now.