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Not sure about anyone else here, but I've had to tattoo over too many long-healed upper thigh scars on girls in my generation to gloss over body image issues so easily. Or heard girls that can't weigh more than 125 pounds talk about how they want to lose weight before they tattoo their ribs or belly. Or been asked about covering stretch marks from when they had kids, despite that being a completely normal and natural thing. Etc., etc., etc. So, rather than think you're entirely the victim and getting attacked here (which I would say has gone a bit overboard, based on misunderstanding of some of your original points due to poor phrasing and explanation), realize that you do have a warped understanding of how deeply body image can affect women who have been conditioned by society to hate their bodies. Also, you should worry far more about poorly done tattoos than tattoos that don't fit the body.

I should know better than to reply to a thread started and then fuelled by a couple of clown-ass trolls, but you all rule and have brought a lot of great discussion to this thread. All I have to add to the discussion is that I think LST's slogan of GET GOOD TATTOOS is a great one and part of taking that seriously means using this forum to empower people, regardless of their body or body image, to seek out and get good tattoos that excite them and make them happy. There's no room here for body-shaming and making people feel that they somehow don't deserve a nice tattoo unless their body fits a pre-established mode of beauty. Go fuck yourself if you disagree.

Women go to extreme measures to force their bodies to fit some...whatever, some stupid image that mostly males have foisted upon us that we are less, we're unworthy, if we don't look like this specific ideal. Anorexia, bulimia, eating cotton balls, exercising for hours, surgeries, heck yeah body image is a big part of our lives. Our every day lives, it's all around us, constantly. Men telling us what we can/can't do to *our* bodies, actually trying to pass LAWS to govern what males feel we should and shouldn't do..you know what after a while it gets to be a little fricking old. We're told and it's pretty much beaten into us, from a young age, little girls in elementary school, how we don't fit in w/other girls, and it never quits. Until you've been a girl, a girl who doesn't have a "perfect" body, perfect clothes, perfect hair, perfect skin, perfect teeth, a girl who has looked in the mirror and wished she was dead b/c of how she looks and how others treat her, until you've had your body completely taken over and warped from having kids and nursing, I think maybe a person should just shut their pie hole about how women should and shouldn't feel and how body image is portrayed.

I think this is the first season that really LACKS a few talented 'ringers'. If I can ask... who do you think is 'good talent' so far? - - - Updated - - - I admit; I'm addicted to it. It gets me SO damned mad but I can't control myself and have to watch it.

Decided to start the process of preparing to apply for grad school. Studying for the GMAT, letters of recommendation, essays, etc. Awesome!.... but not really.

Last session for a while now. Drove on as long as we could before shop closing time. Fire, robe designs, more hair, details on the faces.... lots of little thin lines for fun! Dana Helmuth Read Street Tattoo From his Instagram @danahelmuth

I'm not saying I personally care about your opinions, I'm saying that a lot of other people do and therefore, you should be careful how you say things on the internet. Like I stated in an earlier post that wasn't directed at you per se, it took me a long time to get slightly comfortable with my body. And the fact that you're so nonchalantly passing off body image issues in others, just shows how differently the topic affects men vs. women. I don't know how this isn't obvious and why I have to spell it out since you've clearly pissed off a lot of people. I was really hoping you would respond with even a half-apology, and maybe this could become a more meaningful conversation. It's really difficult for me to not sound bitter and maybe that's the reason you're responding the way you are..

just squid pants. half squid threequarter squid , or the fulll squid .

hold on, more coming #prematurepost - - - Updated - - - ^really thought I got this guy's back but I guess I missed it. It's in the panorama though. - - - Updated - - - somebody post something; a word, anything, just so I can post the other pictures.

I have the Dietzel books 2 from Solid State. I'll also check my recently purchased Lost Love book for other examples. This sounds urgent so I will leave work immediately so this matter can be resolved as soon as possible! Haha

Cool but not cool! Haha I've been working on my "personal statement" for the past... million weeks. Ugh, I hate trying to talk myself up/writing personal essays. I'm hoping whoever reads it has a sense of humor or I'm fucked lol As for me, my now husband has passed the 90 days sober mark (longest stretch of time to date) and it's amazing how much my life has changed as a result of his sobriety. We've been going out more, spending our (his) money on mutual activities and just soaking up (real) life. He's also agreed for us to adopt a dog this summer (the last one didn't work out for a bunch of reasons) so I'm sooo excited for that because I haven't had a dog in years.

@irezumi @Lance @hogg there is a tower/turret in the tail....I can't see it, but I know it's there :p straight from Bill Salmon's mouth!

I don't believe you @beez ;-) a cover up?! Wow! I knew I saw you on Friday! But you were talking to people so I grabbed a beer. When I looked around I didn't see you again. Shame. - - - Updated - - - @Stewart Robson, very true, I didn't think you'd remember. It's a bad habit of mine. On a related note regarding Miyazo, during the book signing, even he remembered me and asked if I was at the SFO convention wandering around around the floors. Next time I will definitely say hello. I guess I'm a more memorable/recognizable guy now with long hair and tattoos. Ha ha! ;-) Thank you for participating in the show. It is obviously quite impressive.

in toronto airport a women who was easily in her 70s sat and stared at me for a while then got up walked over and said she thought they were amazing and they made her want to get one

I learned how to shuck oysters last night. It's actually really fun to do, and oysters are delicious so I see a lot of oysters in my future.

I was waiting at the bus stop and had this fella saw "wow your Tattoos are great they must be outside tattoos". Having never heard the term "Outside Tattoos" before, I naively asked, what does that mean... It was explained to me, to me that when a guy gets tattooed inside Jail or Prison, those are called "Inside Tattoos" lol. So the quality of Tattoo Art on my body bespoke professional enough to merit the term Outside Tattoos. A compliment that I will accept. Anyway, the general quality of Tattoos around Nova Scotia, where I live is so low that it is hard to distinguish between Inside and Outside Tattoos. I am happy my Tattoos stand out as Quality enough to be "Outside Tattoos", lol.

My mother thinks my tattoo is great. My father think my tattoo is better than most tattoos, but he dislikes tattoos in general unless they are really simple and have no color, so that's the best I can get from him. He wasn't happy that I spent so much on it, but I used money I earned myself so it doesn't matter.

The woodblock is by Chris Brand, and during his lecture he talked at length of his ongoing project of interpreting the 108 heroes in a context of combining the Japanese and Chicano approaches to similar concepts in story/folklore. His lecture also comprised of an interesting slide show that went into how the early drawing and paintings of the stories of the Water Margin/108 Heroes were later re-imaginged by Yoshitoshi and Kuniyoshi , how they included detailed figures with tattoos and how some of those were interpreted into bodysuits. So he would have a slide of 3 or 4 pictures side to side of the original print, and then in chronological order backpieces by various tattooers of the same image. I was already quite familiar with the Kuniyoshi & Yoshitoshi prints, but the following sequences of the tattoos was really interesting and informative. He then showed 7 or so backpieces of the aforementioned project of the Japanese/Chicano crossover. He explained his approach by showing side by side slides the similar icons and figures in folklore and meaning, using one example of his comparison of Kannon and Mary of Quadalupe. Really fascinating lecture, make sure to watch it when JANM puts them up for people to watch.

Flew in for the Perseverance show and had a blast even if it was a very compressed trip. I've been to a lot of cities across the US but it was my first visit to LA. I saw some old friends, went to the opening night gig (which is when the video I posted was from) and afterwards me and one of the guys I work with went down to Shamrock to see some of his old friends. He worked there for a while at one point so to him it was like visiting family, and I was introduced to Freddy Negrete and Danny Romo as well as some of the other guys there. Hung out for a while until closing and then Danny gave us a ride back to our hotel. Really super nice crew and solid tattooers. Also had a French dip at Cole's; apparently the OG inventor of such said sandwich.

got this from jeff rassier the other day in sf super stoked. super nice guy. go get tattooed by him. oh yeah thanks to hogg and others for telling me to call the shop back coz would not have gotten it if i didn't

Some progress on my Marius Meyer backpiece last week. He did all the green/scales ..

@Mark Bee It is in the Dietzel volume 2 book page 208 in the background of a photo of amund tattooing @BrianH

Love love love that! Ha ha ha! I'll remember that next SFO Convention. Ha ha!

That's great, @BrianH! The life of a grad student is filled with ups and downs, but I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. I am at the end of the process (will hopefully defend my dissertation in the next 8 months), but it has been an amazing journey. Good luck and keep us posted!

While Carlos is amazing at what he does, it struck me as odd to have him as a judge on a geometry episode. It would've been more suiting to have someone who specializes in that style like Nazareno Tubaro.

Well said @smiling.politely

It annoyed me abit when the referred to Japanese style as Asian on some program , fuck me Asia is a big place ...

Yeah, those are actually nice tattoos. Maybe that makes me a hipster. Fuck.

Driving to Arizona many years ago, was in a bathroom stall at a rest stop and a little girl and her mom were in a stall next to me. A little hand came under the stall and touched Tigger on my ankle. Outside, the mom chased me down b/c her daughter wanted to see it again. The little girl was so excited that someone else loved Tigger too.

I don't see what makes such a broad array of tattoos "hipster" other than that they're apparently all on young, conventionally attractive people with some sort of Instagram filter applied. - - - Updated - - - Though I'm pretty sure the dude with the giant thigh eagle doesn't look like a hipster.

Looks like my tattoo aftercare routine has automatically been upgraded from "lax" to "fastidious" with no additional effort on my part. I will now happily dispense with the evening wash.

Huh, I had heard Philippes had the original French Dip... guess it may be an unsettled argument: CLOSED: L.A.'s Iconic Dish: Cole's French Dip Vs. Philippe's French Dip | L.A.'s Iconic Dish | Food | KCET Glad you had a good time here. LA has a lot to offer.

Oh crap. ::smacks forehead:: I must be a hipster. Some of those are just amazing!

^Thanks, had these left to share. Must've been holding my phone off kilter, sorry. These photos pale in comparison to what they look like in real life. The photographer, Kip Fulbeck, used a $60,ooo camera, so when you get your catalogs you'll see the true colors.

I love this piece by Horimomo. Outline with a machine and shaded by tebori

that was an amazing experience! to see tattoos and actual live tattooing represented at a museum was incredible, along with watching so many body suits displayed at one time. my favorite part was getting the epic catalog signed by the artists, and shige doing a full page autograph! i might be wrong, but i believe my buddies and i were the only ones to get the full pager!! i wish i was able to get a vid but my phone died...

Just a word of advice: if you're going to come here asking for help, it probably isn't advisable to come across as a total knuckle dragger like you did in this thread even before you ask your question.

I emailed Adrian Lee and he said that it'd be great to post anything about the exhibition and that it'll be up for two months. Here's a few photos for your viewing pleasure:

Had my first sitting with kore last Friday and mason wandered in to chat with kore...super nice guy. That whole studio just has a great vibe. Good choice. Also don't follow the directions on mapquest...tells you to get off on an exit that doesn't exist anymore. Eat at melt down the street...it's awesome.

Excellent! I think you could probably take the rest of the week off, too - should your research go long! - - - Updated - - - Update @BrianH I just found the Dietzel books and ordered them. I still kick myself for not going to Great Lakes to see the Dietzel exhibit they ran through January.

When my tattoos started creeping below my skirt, I started getting huffy because I noticed more people (mostly lecherous men) staring...and then my friend made a point - did you get the tattoo expecting no one would look? It gave me pause. Until that point I could cover up my tattoos without any particular consideration given to what I wear, so I hadn't thought about getting ogled more than what you have to deal with by just being female and walking around. There have certainly been more stares, and more comments, and I've taken to wearing pants more than skirts, and that's how I deal with it. (I should add that in Seattle, tattoos aren't really out of place, so less stares, and also I tend to wear long sleeves mostly. To protect my tattoos and 'cause it's chilly here ;p). Put me in a room full of dedicated tattoo enthusiasts and I am more than happy to strip down and get stared at - because then we're all talking tattoo and looking at the art. (but c'mon, buy me dinner first ;))

It was a pleasure to have met you @hogg ! Had a great time chatting, and realized what a small world it is sometimes. I drove by the place later at night, and it was quite amazing to see the closed gate/entrance, with no one standing in front, but with the light from inside beaming out.

I want to start off by saying I absolutely love this forum. It's introduced me to many tattoo enthusiasts like myself, just all around good people. Not only that I got the honor of spending almost a week in San Francisco with @Iwar. I know I haven't been posting much, I'm going through some personal stuff, including a divorce, and I just haven't been at the top of my game lately. Here's why I'm posting, I've recommended this forum to a few people and while they've checked it out and even posted threads, they couldn't get used to the 'clickiness'. Fortunately @MikeL stayed and as a result we got to see his amazing work done by Rodrigo Melo. The guys that have been here a while are well versed in tattoo etiquette and the guys that stick around pick it up pretty quick. That's great, I'm so glad we can serve a purpose and be a place where people can learn about the Do's and Don'ts, they can learn what a good tattoo is and who to get it from in their area. I really want to see this be a place where anyone can get comfortable and learn a thing or 2 without feeling less than. I want to be confident that if I send people here that they're just bummed they didn't find it soonerT. I guess what I'm saying is that there should be no elite bullshit over here. Everyone should have the chance to learn and share the fun we have over here. I just hope this can be considered when some noob says something stupid. Don't ridicule them, do them a favor and PM them to fill them in. The more knowledgable people here the more fun we can have and the more tattoos we can see. I guess what I'm saying is, if someone says something stupid, think about how to reply in a way that they want to continue to post here. I'll do my best to start posting again, I love you guys and I love this forum :D Thanks all, Ian

If other people think my wife and I are ugly due to the amount of or type if tattoos then fuck them. We aren't trying to change the perception of tattoos or be models or have some representation of " the natural beauty of the body" fuck that. Neither of us have ever been though of as beautiful people so why the fuck would we care about that in regards to what tattoos we get. If our tattoos can ruin someone's day even better.

Horitomo Horiken, Horitomo, Bob Roberts Tattooed hipsters watch Shige at work Miyazo tattoos Yebis Shige Back pieces by Shige Yellowblaze Crew Horitomo Shige Smoking teal-haired woman in kimono - - - Updated - - -

If I were in your shoes I'd probably try to go see Adam Duncan at Honor & Glory in Inman...wherever that is.

Also check out Anonymous Tattoo in Savannah, GA.

I guess I will try an even the RHW vs VV count valerie was kind enough to do this tattoo at SOG from a picture of my wife @Eilin that is utterly magnificent!.

Thanks to all of you, I'm extremely grateful for all of the support. This divorce is a bummer but it's about as good as it could get considering. There's been nothing nasty about it, I'm glad how it's playing out. As for my post, I'm glad everyone is so accepting about it. I haven't seen anything negative enough to see someone leave but I did hear from a guy that said he didn't feel he was being accepted and I wanted to address it. Even if everyone is doing a good job welcoming noobs, it never hurts to get a reminder. It reminds me of the saying, nothing ruins talent more than ego... or something like that. Love you guys :D