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We moved. We moved from a narrow, carpeted, shoe-boxy apartment with blue and purple walls where the landlords (who were nice enough) lived downstairs, to a bright, open, tiled-kitchen and new wood floors apartment with a shared backyard that is pet friendly where our friends live below us and a super nice couple below them and where it doesn't feel like mom and dad/landlords live. I painted. We hired movers. From here on out I will always paint and hire movers. I'm turning this little alcove into a walk-in closet. We have a big ass rug coming soon. We're a block away from a nice park and in July after vacationy stuff we'll most likely foster and adopt a dog. I like our new hood more than I thought, too. DAMN IT FEELS GOOD TO BE A GANGSTER.

Adopting a dog was one of the best things I have done in my life.

Today, for the first time since early December, I shaved my legs FEARLESSLY - without caution, just waved that razor around all willy-nilly! ;) Finally, everything is healed!! (Guess it must be time to get something new booked right?!?!)

We have had our second rescue/adoptee dog coming up 10 days now , he's a five month Staff x .

Here's the beginning of a nice piece. This is my brother-n-law, he received his first tattoo at GoldRush last June. He and I participated in walk-in saturday! He's been hooked ever since. He lives up in Salt Lake City and this tattoo was done by our very own @missStark who works at Anchor Ink in Salt Lake City.

I've still got one piece of jailhouse, but the rest I covered. I have been going through my pix, and I have some picked out I may post, but I'm going to have to do a lot of cropping and blacking-out. Now, none of these are pix of the tattoos, they are, mostly, pictures of brothers representing, some in prison, some on the street, and you can see tattoos. Some clearly, some not so clearly. If that would be of interest, I'll get some up, but if you really want to see the tattooing plainly, most of them won't interest you. I tattooed a purple daisy on the lower calf of a fairly notorious sniper/killer from back in the early seventies...

they don't. everyone in norway is totally criminal so they can survive. you see senior citizens mugging tourists during summer and such. ooor maybe they make enough money so the prices doesn't bother them as much as us others visiting.

So tonight I went to a mixer at this place in the middle of the downtown area of my city... an area that has a alot of violence and well, is dying. But, this place opened up as an office building for young professionals, and they hold events for that type of arty, young college educated crowd. I had a great time. Then went out for Japanese food, which was great. In all, just had a great night.

This thing followed me home today and I kept it. (Actually, My friend drove it home, I followed to make sure it made it there.) '74 VW Beetle. Bought it off a college kid for $2k. It's completely street legal, starts first time every time. Everything on it works. Basic transportation for me and a ton of fun to drive. Plenty of potential to do stuff with it. I got it bought, titled, registration, tags, and insured all before time to go pick up the missus from work today. "Twas a good day!" Besides, It has a tractor muffler with a flapper for exhaust. You just cant beat that.

One thing I love about still being in school is the ability to request pretty much any book through the library, thanks to this thread my school will be buying Bodies of Subversion and checking it out to me in a week or so, and because I'm a graduate student I can keep them for months at a time.

I just want you all to know that I love you very much.

I'm not the best Photoshop guy, but lemme work on some of them, see what I can get up here.

If your artist is unsure about what's causing it, then go to a doctor. If I were you, I wouldn't put anything on it until you know what the issue is.

Just for fun-- I have one more Ive noticed as of late, please stop bringing in your pizza, burritos, hamburger, fries... etc Eat before coming into the shop. I don't want to smell your onions or pick up after you or collect your garbage. Is it just me, or does anyone else find this to be really strange behavior? I don't bring pancakes into the salon when I go to get my hair done. COME ON PEOPLE.

As promised, here are a couple of pics taken the day following my session with Nick Colella during his visit to The Pearl Harbor Gift Shop. I admit my photographic skill are weak at best. Nick is a helluva a guy and does killer work. Excepting the part that hurt like *^$, the experience was awesome, and since I'll be in Chicago over the summer, I hope to get at least one more done by Nick. So the inner bicep is tender - who knew?

Just your luck, because I managed to find an hour free wifi at a gasstation somewhere near Austria and I'll be writing another fancy story now

I started on here about a year and a half ago, I would not like to see this site crumble. It seems to me that lately, less and less knowledgable people are commenting,posting etc. It also seems that thier are more lurkers with "I know some shit" attitudes. those that fit this profile should understand that you are ruining this site. This site was started in hope of an intelligent place where some could learn about the nuances of this craft. Stating amateur attitudes on here does not help.Having gotten three tattoos does not make you an authority.

@Dan S I'd be interested in seeing, literally, anything from your life.

Ive got several homemade handpokes, they were all done by 'real' artists though, some in my house, some not haha

Not swollen glands specifically, but something kind of like it! In the two days after sitting for larger tattoos I feel a little more susceptible to weakness and bugs than usual. I figure your body is under stress and then later deals with healing, so it makes sense that your natural defenses are a little low. If you are super concerned about it, I would ask your tattooist and then see a doctor. Good luck!

I'm good :P Thanks for the greetings and yes, i'm from Quebec, which is the city with the same name as the province in Canada. Montreal is a metropole, so still a big city and don't worry about the barrier language because many people there only speak english. Would still be great if you could learn french there is kind of a linguistic "war" here. (Long story about the colonial French and the Britain but we sre still fighting to keep our language which is more and more difficult with each new generation, anyway...) I can't really answer about the tattoo market in Montreal or Canada in general, I know some artist in the metropole are recognize like Olivier Glamort ([/url] ) and maybe Eric de L'Étoile with his dark style ( https://www.facebook.com/eric.deletoile.9/photos ) don't hesitate to go visit their shop. I can still say that people are more and more interested in tattoos every day. Canada is like any other occidental culture based country :P Same sh*t different places i guess. (Major difference is that it's cold like hell in winter). I don't know about your educational system in america in regards of learning french, but in my opinion French is French. There is differant accents like in France, Marseille, or even here from some place around the province. There is "joual" which is like the slang you have in america i guess. This is probably what some of your teacher are referring to. And don't worry i won't judge, my english isn't perfect either but I appreciate the efforts you do :)

Sorry to hear that Dan. Can't remember, did you have any done or was it all in shops? This is a world I have zero familiarity with and like @JAllen mentioned, would definitely be into seeing some stuff. In the meantime, here's a link to photographer Araminta de Clermont's LIFE AFTER series on South African prison gangs. Araminta de Clermont - work - Life After

@ggilman try layering a thick, (water based) unscented cream on top of organic extra virgin coconut oil after you shower. Do this for at least two weeks after every shower. I think it will help! I used to use cetaphil moisturizing cream pretty regularly, haven't checked the ingredients since going all hippy though, so make sure it's made well! As @Hogrider suggested, Vitamin E oil is a good one to add to the mix, as well. Always finish with the cream to really seal the moisture in! I believe the water based creams and lotions allow your skin to breathe, so make sure H2O is the first (or close to the first) ingredient in whatever you choose to use. I have also read that EVCO allows your skin to breathe, as opposed to other (petroleum based?) oils, but I can't find a good enough source at the moment to say that with utmost confidence. But I think so? Anyone want to weigh in on that? I was hit with a really bad eczema outbreak this past fall and found this really awesome calendula lotion by the super salve company at my local hippy store, where I can buy it in bulk. The EVCO + Lotion layering system worked really well for my torn up skin and helped to ameliorate the eczema. As an added bonus, I discovered that this same combination works VERY WELL for prepping your skin for tattoos, and now it is routine for me to hit the areas I'm planning on being tattooed with this combo for about two weeks before the tattoo - much improved healing with the skin soft and taken care of pre-tattoo. During the eczema outbreak I had to change to super sensitive skin soaps, and now tend only to heavily soap my pits and privates on the regular, hitting any other dirty spots as needed (sorry if TMI) (I am a very clean person, I promise!). You may be having a reaction to a soap or something? Have you started using any new products lately? My $.02.

@asradin unstoppable! SIX tattoos?! Also, really glad that demon head is on an LSTer.. always warms the heart when that connection is made..

Bumpin' it.. @thesandmanisme anything to add? I just got Vol. II of the Russian Prison Tattoos book (finally) -- shit is lewd and crude as they come.

I have found tattoo shop music tends to be far superior to hair salon music.

one more session to go on this, for color. Super raw and bloody

Salut et bienvenue! Qui va faire ton tatouage?

Thats how im gonna roll here in a bit... just drop them fuckers and hop on.

I've got myself an appointment with Dana Helmuth on May 7th to get started on mine. I am very excited. *And that wasn't even an April fools joke!

I was a finalist in two tattoo comps, won best female arm.. was a happy camper lol

Well, Sunday rolled around again. Two extremely hectic weeks at work have reduced my online time, but I did manage to slide into The Pearl Harbor Gift Shop again. This time Glennie did a great little butterfly on my forearm. - - - Updated - - - That is an amazing tattoo. Stunning!

Awesome, man. Working nights is so rough...for the past couple of years I worked five months out of the year on night shifts (the last year was a 7pm-7am shift) and it wasn't until I quit that job and am now on a normal person schedule that I realised how utterly miserable I was and how much of my pessimism came from that job. Not that I'm in a dream job now or anything like that, but being able to go home and have dinner every night with my wife, being able to see friends and do things really makes so much of a difference.

I didn't realize this was the thread you posted when you quit your job. I stepped down from being the manager of my department at my night job. They brought me in the office to offer me a promotion, and somehow my reaction was to tell them I was done being in a leadership role. I have managed to rearrange my schedule so I can eat dinner with the family 4 nights a week and didn't take a pay cut. Also I have more flexibility to go to the shop when I am needed on my days off from there.

I have a list somewhere around the house with close to 40-50 names of ladies that tattooed from the 20's thru the 70's! There were a lot more women tattooing than I think most know about! Names like Dee Brown and Bernice Steinhart from Portland, OR......(60's & 70's) I think @Joe Shit added Debbie Lenz from Youngstown, OH to this list....I'll be finally adding something from her this Summer hopefully! Not really sure if they are legendary though....... My mentor (who is female) opened her shop here in Maryland in the 1970's and has been tattooing 30+ years!

Prison tattoos! Yes indeed. I have many. I have built the machines, made the ink, and sat in the cell for many, many, hours and days, doin tat work. I have seen some tattoos that look like, well, whoever did that work probably got a good asswhoopin'. And on the other hand, I have seen some prison tattoos that are mind boggling. Single needle, which is a guitar string bent into a pencil eraser off-center. the eraser is pushed onto the driveshaft of a cassette walkman moter. This is all assembled on a toothbrush that has been cut down heated up and bent 90 degrees at the top to support the motor that is fastened with whatever kind of tape is available. We would remove the 'ball', from the bic ball point pen, and there you have it. If you build the machine correctly, they will work like a champ. The best 'ink' was lamp black. Soot from a candle. All this and a lot of TIME, and in the right hand, will produce some very impressive work.

Just ordered a copy of Bodies of Subversion...could only afford the paperback at the prices it's bringing, and that wasn't cheap!

Bodies of Subversion is probably my favorite book that I've read about tattoos. It's really a fantastic and informative read. I need to get my hands on the new edition. Loooove this thread.

Maud Stevens Wagner Rusty Skuse I'm reading "Bodies of Subversion: A Secret History of Women and Tattoo" by Margot Mifflin right now. She just released a 3rd edition with a number of awesome updates and photos. Highly recommended! Both women were tattooists in their own right as well as being heavily tattooed!

Kari Barba is not only an amazing tattooer, Richard's always, ALWAYS (old party days in NOLA during conventions) spoken highly of her, and I have been to the old Pike Shop before the place was reopened... It's inspiring to see such drive to do good, not only tattoos, but the preservation of history as well...

Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast... Not for breakfast. (Incidentally, the forum software wouldn't let me post this without making the post at least 60 characters ... ?)

Actually I think PRISON could be unsafe! :-)

Ya don't say.

I use arches cold press and I love it. I've also recently started using Waverly liquid acrylics (previously I used FW exclusively) and I really enjoy them. I've been doing a ton of marker stuff lately but this thread is making me itch to get back to my liquid acrylics. When I transfer the image to the arches, I use a super fine nibbed pen, and after doing all the shading and color I go over all of the lines with a brush, and that's honestly my favorite part of the whole process. I'm not perfect at it but it's a fulfilling challenge I suppose. Here are a couple I did earlier in the year with Waverly liquid acrylics. Sorry if the images are huge >.<