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A picture taken after last sitting, by Matt Shamah

Popped into The Pearl this morning to catch a session with Tim Pausinger before he left for the Xmas holidays. He basically finished my chest piece. In January we'll link the shoulders and arms to it. He is also going to do some spider webbing between the tattoo and the bottom of my pecs. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Morning LST, after a long trip I made it home. As promised here is a pic of my finished (for now) back. Not the best pic but I'll see if I can get a better one ASAP. Completed over 5 sessions by Horinao at The Catclaw Tattoo-z Kyoto... I'm going to go pass out for a bit lol.

Here's my stab at it. Let's start at the top row from left to right: Gobu sleeves (five tenths) with hikae (chest plate), Shichibu sleeves (seven tenths) with hikae, classic munewari with gobu sleeves and thighs or basically a gobu munewari, next is a variation of the munewari with hanzubon (shorts) where the inner thigh is completely filled in with tattoo work, full body suit or donburi soushinbori with nagasode (long sleeves), the back piece diagram is kame no koh (turtle back) then the last suit is a shichibu munewari (seven tenths).

I don't make any special efforts to keep them covered around my parents, no. My parents live on the other side of the country from me and I see them once, sometimes twice, a year, so it's not a huge issue. My in-laws, on the other hand, don't know that me or my wife have tattoos, and they will not react nicely when they find out that we do, and so we both keep them hidden from them at all times. We live in the same city as them and see them often enough so the situation is getting pretty absurd. For example, this summer we were walking back from the store after grocery shopping and my wife spotted my mother-in-law standing at the corner of our street from a half a block away. She'd stopped by to drop off some vegetables from her garden and was waiting around to see if we would show up. I was wearing a short sleeved shirt. So we turned around, went down another street, waited around a corner until we were sure that she had left, and then returned home. Is this better at this point than having a huge fight, dealing with it, and eventually moving on? I kind of don't think so, but it makes for funnier stories.

I made an appointment with Ron Wells for January to extend the masked falcon he did for me into a half-sleeve. First addition is going to be a "sly fox," so stoked. Haven't seen him do a fox yet (just lots of awesome wolves) so I'm really excited to see what he comes up with. Longest six weeks of my life...

Give that man a prize!

Ended up booking in with Frank Carter this coming January at FST. Can't wait to get tattooed there, having heard and read so much about this shop over time. Hopefully just going to pick something out of flash or drawings.

I kept mine covered for so long, it just got to be too much. I got tired of wearing long pants, long sleeves, and keeping my hands in my pockets. Your mom will always look at you and still see the baby she first held at the hospital; it's what moms do. Change is difficult for a parent to accept. I know I look at my kids and can't believe where the time has gone. I went to my parents and had a very upfront talk with them about tattoos. I thanked them for raising me to be the person I am today, accepting and open minded. I explained why I do what I do. I think while they may not have wanted me to wind up heavily tattooed that they now understand it better. But a mom will always be a mom to her kids. My mom still pleads with me, "No more skulls".

My mom's reactions to my tattoos have gotten worse as I've gotten more. She was never crazy about me getting tattooed to begin with but when it was one or two she could pass it off as, I don't know, a passing phase or a temporary moment of bad judgement or something like that. I didn't stop at one or two though. My parents were staying with me and my wife during the most recent Montreal tattoo convention and they'd spent a few days in NYC and got back a couple of hours earlier than expected...just as I'd finished washing a new tattoo on my shin. And yeah it was a day old and still really fresh and my leg was all kinds of swollen and she saw that and nearly burst into tears and tried to make me say that that would be the last one and all that, which I wouldn't do. And at this point I don't even know what difference it would make if I stopped now because unless I tattoo my hands, neck, or face--which I don't plan on doing--I can't really get them in any more visible spots than I already have. My dad isn't crazy about the tattoos either, but he's kept quiet about it and has said that it isn't his body and so it isn't his decision. For better or for worse, I've been fairly open with my parents about my tattoos. I told them that I was getting my forearms done before I did them because I didn't want them to be surprised by it. I called my parents after I got my first one, again because I didn't want to surprise them. I should add that I wouldn't say that this has put stress on our relationship. My parents still love me no matter what, they know that I more or less have my shit together, and probably most importantly, that I'm an adult and I can make my own decisions even if they wouldn't make those decisions themselves (I think it was my cousin who said once that you raise your kids to be independent but then you get hurt when you realise that they actually are), but the tattoos still do really bother and upset my mom. This stuff is hard. Good luck.

i entered the top part last month now i am entering the bottom part. done by jeff gogue. sorry for the blurry pic and this pic was taken the day after so it wasnt "fresh"

I got this from Chad Koeplinger earlier this year. I love it, and I want to share it with you:

Just for reference folks, Tim is my mentor. The highest caliber of friend and tattooer.

Hey, Just Taking a minute to introduce myself. My Name is Timothy Morris. Im a Tattooer at Black Tide Tattoo in Chippewa Falls, WI. As well as a Father To an Awesome little dude! I started watching some of the artist interviews and really enjoyed them. Also enjoy being able to open up another avenue for correspondence with like minded people, Tattooers and collectors. Thanks for the opportunity to be apart of the community!

@hogg @CultExciter I am proud to own that arm! haha The daruma on my hand and some additional maple leaves don't appear in the picture here.

Work in progres, done by Neno from Hidden Dragon Tattoo, Zadar, Croatia. Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk

I do believe that is on our own @Brock Varty

Welcome, Tim! That koi/hannya sleeve is beautiful.

George Archer Always amazing.

Chad Koeplinger made this on my upper arm when he visited Oslo in October. Hard to get a good picture because the tattoo wraps around my arm, but you get the idea :)

This is the only Francis that matters...

Ross Nagle is great with daggers. i got one from him earlier this year while he was guesting in NY

After 15 months of no ink, I'm back in the saddle and strapped in for a long ride. Randy Muller at Eye Candy in New Orleans finally started my back (partial cover-up) this past Tuesday night. We got 90% of the line-work done. Skull and dragon. He's asked for no internet pictures until we're close to finishing - so I've got to respect that. Obviously will be posting a series of photos some time (hopefully) later in 2014.

Those Trevino skull beads are my favourite. I love those. When I was trying to figure out how far down my arms I was comfortable going, and what I would later get to extend the sleeve, something along those lines definitely came to mind. Then I realised that if I was already thinking of extending a 3/4-ish sleeve before I'd even started it that I should just suck up my hesitations and get it all the way to the wrist to begin with. The skull beads still totally rule though.

This is my favourite. Chris Trevino is a machine.

Last night a girl asked me why I had a butterfly tattooed on my hand, I told her "Because when you're an actual tough guy you can get whatever kind of girly tattoos you want."

If you really don't want to talk to them, you could always respond to their questions with a series of clicks and chirps.

How about just say, "It's open to interpretation. It means whatever you want." I think I'll go with that next time and leave it at that. That's art. What they mean or don't mean to you can be personal--you don't have to explain yourself to anyone. The last person who asked me why I got a tiger I just said, "I liked it." There are things that I associate it with but I just didn't feel like saying any more. Isn't that enough? That we get images that we like. Yeah. I think so.

It could be because I'm a long-haired and bearded burly dude with skulls tattooed on my arms, living in a place where I feel I see more tattooed people than non-tattooed people, but I don't really experience people asking me about what my tattoos mean. I think that women on the whole get this a lot more than men. People mostly leave me alone. I was a little bit concerned about getting "what does it mean" questions about my (in-progress) sleeve because there's a specific visual reference there that I don't really want to explain, but thankfully the raven's head there is hidden by a t-shirt so hopefully I'll mostly avoid that question while I figure out a stock bullshit answer. I have nothing against tattoos with meaning (for that matter, I have nothing against tattoos without meaning either) I just think that the way most people go about getting a "meaningful" tattoo is all wrong. From what I've seen on the internet, the "meaning" takes priority over the strength of the image, and that's all backwards. You're going to associate your tattoos with whatever meaning you choose to give them anyway, there's no need to have hidden initials or a representative number of flower petals or whatever there. I spend too much time looking at pictures of tattoos on the internet.

By Valerie Vargas drawn straight onto my arm

Got this from Kyle Crowell at Torch Tattoo in Anaheim back in August.

I think that if you own a flash sheet or collection of sheets you can bring that to an artist as long as they are going to do the design your bringing them justice. Recently i drove from MA to Milwaukee to see the Dietzel exhibit and bought the first volume of the flash collection and when i returned home i went to a local artist, who i knew would be proud to do a Dietzel design and she did a great job. to me that is different than printing the design offline and not knowing the significance of the flash you are getting tattooed on you.

Seconded.

While I was in college I only ever got tattooed by one guy. When I moved home, I only really had one person tattoo me regularly for about seven years. He's now done most of my right arm and a handful of other things on me. I love having a local shop that I can walk into to get quality, and at this point he's become a pretty good friend of mine. He's taught me a lot about artists and places to check out, shown me tons of cool books, and given me plenty of artist suggestions. Because of that (and the fact that I have bit more money!), in the last year or so, I've finally decided to branch out a bit. I've really gotten into getting tattooed by other artists, all of whom have been incredibly nice and great people. I've done some traveling for tattoos and been in some cool shops of all different varieties. It's been awesome, and without my regular artist, that probably never would've happened. Oh yeah, and I've gotten some pretty cool tattoos out of it. Haha.

Impressive :cool:

A couple eagles from the book. Bob Shaw, Oscar Bouchard, Colonel Todd ect. - - - Updated - - - Floyd Samson

Great detail @Duffa and way to hang in for the long multiple sessions!

Welcome! Who are you getting tattooed by?

Thanks man. I will keep searching collecting reference. I'll ask my artist next time I'm at the shop, he knows his stuff when it comes to Japanese and I'm sure he has got some good books too. A few more.

Saw this on FB today.. Kick ass piece and awesome to see it getting recognition!!

Now that the dust has settled and things are getting back to normalcy in mine and my family's life and the lives of the crew at Great Lakes Tattoo I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support of not only myself but the crew and ultimately Great Lakes Tattoo itself. It has been an amazing last few months and the support and acknowledgment of the shop has been overwhelming and very humbling. The shop is something that is a part of all of us who walk through its door everyday. It's shows the dedication of not only myself and crew but the behind the scenes dedication of my wife and family. We invite everyone to come through the shop either to get tattooed or just to see it. We are very proud of it. Thank you. Nick Colella Great Lakes Tattoo

When you really get off the beaten-path in the US, you either see people with bad tattoos or no tattoos. So anyone with good artwork on them stands out. My son went to an upstate NY school for a while. There were 2 tattoo shops in the town and we stopped in. Man... they were turning out some awful work, but they were busy all the time. Rob

Souvenir piece from my trip to Japan last month. Completed by Mutsuo at Three Tides Tattoo.

Go to the doctor.

@hogg @slayer9019 I didn't say anything out of respect for the guys at the shop and because it isn't something that I was ready to advertise. Right now I just work there and do anything that anyone wants me to. I am basically the shop bitch. The understanding with everyone is that if they feel comfortable with me and feel like I have earned being there, they may offer me an apprenticeship. I don't know how far off that is, nor do I care. I do everything I can to help everyone who walks in and everyone who works there. Right now, the opportunity to learn to tattoo is secondary and my responsibility to the guys at the shop and the customers is first. I intend to protect and cherish the tattoo world I have come to love. I believe the way to do that is not to expect handouts or free information. Everything is earned and I want to earn anything I get.

This is how I feel. My tattoos empower me and are an extension of myself/my personality and therefore, have more meaning than if they referred to a meaningful time in my life. The tattoo I go for my grandmother is my least favorite tattoo, not that I regret it, but trying to be so tedious about getting it right lost the meaning behind it somewhere. It probably would have been a better tattoo if she gave me the tattoo as a gift and we came up with ideas together and made a day of it. Bottom of the line, people who ask "what does it mean" or "did it hurt" or "how much did it cost" really don't give a shit about tattoo community or culture. They just think its a "cool" thing to do. To me, its so so much more...

What does it mean? "It means I like tattoos".

Most people I just simply tell them they watch too much TV and I don't want to talk about my tattoos because they bring up a dark part of my life and I paid my debt to society. Either that or that I was really drunk and don't remember why I got them. In the shop talking to customers, I usually use a sports analogy. I explain that tattoos are what I follow, like most would follow a sports team. Can you imagine being able to book a couple hours with your favorite sports star and have a permanent souvenir. The experience holds more meaning than the tattoo,but the tattoo is a reminder of the experience. I usually let the tattooer pick the image, because I want a tattoo that represents their style, so I remember where I got it from. They either get it or just continue to mouth breath, until I start talking about their idea again, but either way it shuts them up. I think the most important thing is having people in real life an on the internet to vent about these things and understand we to some degree go through the same things having tattoos.

Chris Trevino is right in your town.