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I think there is a certain nuance that gets lost in discussions about cultural appropriation. There's a difference between cultural exchange (e.g. Western people getting Japanese-style tattoos) and cultural appropriation. There's more to it than just, "did this design come from another culture?" That alone isn't offensive. Does this design have specific spiritual / cultural significance that is lost on outsiders (the Maori Tā moko)? Is this tattoo inaccurate in a significant way that shows a lack of respect for the culture (Native American women in a headdress)? Is the subject of the tattoo from a cultural group that is subjected to oppression or violence today in a manner depicted in the tattoo (gypsy head tattoos [beheading], Native American pin-up girls [sexual assault])? From what I understand, dreamcatcher tattoos generally aren't offensive because they don't have a specific spiritual meaning and have been given to outsiders for decades. Whereas a sexualized woman in a headdress is offensive because the headdress had specific cultural meaning and because Native American women are subjected to sexual assault at an incredibly high rate. Deciding what tattoos you're comfortable getting is a very personal choice... I would not judge anyone here or speak badly about anyone's tattoos. I am only critical about what I would get on my own body. Even if I don't fully understand why a tattoo is offensive to members of a culture, I prefer to err on the side of respect (even if it's "over-PC") than offense. Sorry this got so long, and sorry in advance if I offended anyone. This is something I have thought a lot about.

First from Dana's Instagram, second from my own phone. So much coverage from this session. All the fire and the blue. The next few days are going to suck.

Fully healed from Anderson Luna @ Saved tattoo NYC . Will most likely add to it on this years NYC visit ;) Also posted in the lady head thread.

For those who are interested in this sort of thing, the problem with cultural appropriation is not simply borrowing from another culture. The problem comes from an imbalance of power in that relationship. When a dominant group starts appropriating the sacred traditions, symbols, icons, and cultural artefacts of a subject culture, then it is not uncommon for those in the subordinate group to be offended by that use of their heritage. Some will care more than others, and some will care not at all. That said, I think the issue of power relationships between groups has been missing from this discussion. The use of other groups symbols may cause insult or offense, regardless of intentions. Some don't care, others care a great deal, and likely many have never even thought about it. Do whatever you like, and get whatever tattoos you want. I have no horse in this race, and I don't care what anyone gets tattooed or who tattoos them. I have a sugar skull that many would consider appropriative. I'm simply trying to highlight the root of the debate about cultural appropriation.

I have a big nasty keloid scar on my shoulder from surgery. It's an old scar, but still big, ugly and raised. You can still see it, but it's totally covered by the sharks tail. I did make the artist shift the tail to fully cover the scar, so the tattoo does look a little off. This picture is immediately after getting the tattoo. The scar is a little less raised now. I'm happy with it.

I'm gonna get a battle royale of a squaw pinup vs asian pinup vs latina pinup.

This thread is so fucking awesome! Just got a couple hours done with Grime on friday and Saturday on my way home I stopped by State of Grace and ran into @cvportagee mid back piece session with Jill Bonny. Nice to see you bud!

I have old (10+ years) cutting scars that were tattooed over last october and november, there's no knowing how they'll age but they've settled in nicely. I'm not sure I meet your standards (WRT GOOD)but thought I'd post anyway as in some places the tattoo goes right though the scarring, that's not something I was able to find many photos of myself. In both the photos the scars are more visible than in the flesh - the texture difference seems more apparent. Scars tattoos - - - Updated - - - crikey! That second photo is way too big - will try and sort that out! - - - Updated - - - Better like this, I think. My excuses. http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/0e/d0/6b/0ed06b32a0a7dea2833890308a49f5e7.jpg - - - Updated - - - (the stabbed turnip at the top isn't healed yet but doesn't touch any scarring either)

I haven't really wanted to participate in this thread, I don't know, it seems like sometimes we are forcing an issue, even though I wholly understand the idea of power dynamics and cultural appropriation. I just believe some aspects of tattoo imagery are definitely cross cultural, especially when you think of where they came from. Would I get traditional Maori tattooing (something I know nothing about)? No. But I would get something in the vein of Leo Zulueta because of how he transitioned it. The same with the idea of an pretty young lady in a Native American headdress. It is wearable because I a) like pretty women b) like history. But that also comes through the adoption of images that were developed by the classic tattooers. I have a Confederate General tattooed on my leg. I'm not a bigot or sympathizer, nor do I want the South to rise again. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person who has this person tattooed on them either. But, J.E.B. Stuart is a relative of mine, and I grew up in southern Virginia, on a tobacco farm. As stated before, it resonates with me, on some level, plus the dude had the best beard. I don't think there are concrete answers to be found. I just think people should do what they are comfortable with.

Another session down...last session of black and finished up the maple leaves. Mike

.... Is that Buddha pitching a tent?

Since @irezumi posted a shirt I thought I would too....LOL I wore the hell out of this one!!!

I have a surgical scar from a shoulder injury (from a crash with a roadbike). This is a picture the day after surgery The scar didn't heal very nicely (as you can probably imagine from that picture ;-) ) And this picture a couple of minutes ago, you can still see a part of the scar without ink, and you can see the covered part. I also have some road rash on my elbowd, which is now covered by my sleeves.

Man, and what an ugly Buddha tattoo it was. They should have deported her ass.

I just wondered because I am gay and getting a koi on Saturday and was like whaaaaaaat?!

I'm looking for good healed examples of good tattoos by good artists that have been made on imperfect skin. When I say imperfect skin I'm thinking surgical scars, burn scars, cutting scars, road rash scars, acne scars, stretch marks, moles, freckles, birthmarks, and anything similar. I ask because I have a pretty decent sized surgical scar along with some stretch marks on my back and I'm curious to see how skin imperfections look covered by tattoos. I know scars and stretch marks tend to "blow up" immediately after tattooing so healed examples would be better than fresh.

I don't know if this is really "geeky" or not .....It's my "Analog Bunny" tattoo! Television (doesn't look as much like one as it should) with "rabbit ears" and the date that the US went totally digital with television and did away with the old analog system!

@HettyKet your arm is coming along nicely! Congrats. And thanks for sharing. I, too, have cutting scars on my left forearm, which will someday (funds pending) be entirely covered with a COHESIVE ARM TATTOO (yeah!). If I ever tattoo my hands I have a nasty scar on the top of my left hand, so based on everyone else's examples it looks like it should be OK. Was there any differences in sensation while being tattooed over scars? More sensitive? More difficulty healing those areas? Just curious. This thread is great! Thanks everyone.

I posted a pic a while ago (because Jill posted it on her instagram), but I am trying to wait until finished to post it. It is in the perseverance book (page 104 I think if you have it) although in the book it is just Kumonryu without the background.

I do my best to offend as many people as possible with my tattoos......... But in all seriousness.....I am sure I do have some tattoos that would be offensive to a lot of different people or groups! I really never intentionally had myself tattooed to offend anyone but more so because I generally don't care what people think of me or my tattoos! If I thought it was a good idea at the time I did it.......and have no regrets about any of my tattoos!

Started a similar one a while back and didn't gain too much ground, more specifically about native-themed tattoos. http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/tattoo-designs-books-flash/1845-native-american-tattoos-designs.html It's an interesting thing because -- let's take the example of a lady head in a headdress -- most people just throw a bunch of designs together and put a headdress on a sexy-lookin' lady, which is obviously not accurate. But that design, as well as many others, have become part of the tattoo vocabulary and it seems there are plenty of native people who have no problem with it. I've actually been thinking about this lately, too, and would love to talk to someone like John Gloyne over at Hot Stuff in Asheville, who is a great tattooer and also Cherokee.. maybe do a little interview kinda deal. Anyway @cltattooing had the best answer.

Sri Lanka to deport British tourist over Buddha tattoo | World news | theguardian.com

I bought this amazing Rock of Ages print from Colin Baker at State of Grace... I love it!

Coolest thread in a long time

Yeah I think that's fair to say. We did met on school grounds so that connection was made before walking into the shop.

I totally understand what you are talking about @irezumi......lol! Now I want a Chicken Cheese Steak from Crazy John's for dinner......Thanks @NERD RAGE :) - - - Updated - - - And @irezumi.......do you think that your art background and school may have played into Tux's acceptance of you a little more than just some average person walking into the shop? The fact that you had some things in common?

No, wasn't Crazy John's. Had some generic name that I can't recall, this was in '92 or '93. @Bunny Switchblade I'm a little younger but not by leaps and bounds hah. I didn't meet Charlie but I did poke my head in there once to see what it was like. I wasn't as wowed as I was at Tux's; his shop looked like part antique shop part mystical shrine part tat shack so pretty much anything with wood paneling wasn't as interesting.

Thank you @HaydenRose :o Is all down to Willem. I didn't notice any difference in feeling while the scars were being worked over, I don't think (was mostly my first tattoo though) but I gather it was a wee bit of a challenge with the scarred skin being very thin in places and tough in others - he kept doing technical stuff with his machine. But yeah, of the +/- 100 scars that have been tattooed only the one played up a bit during healing and was absolutely fine in the end. - - - Updated - - - I need to know more about this COHESIVE ARM TATTOO© too, please!

Hope this works, and you can see it, but i have a very large (3/4" wide) but flat scar, from a heart surgery 21 years ago. The "r" sits almost entirely on it, in my chest rocker. Looks a little different from the other letters, up close, but not too noticeable from a distance. Felt weird as hell getting tattooed though! If you want I can try and get a better picture when I'm not in my car on lunch break, which is awkward.

This thread is awesome. I need 2015 to get here faster so I can start my back piece before I decide to do something stupid like use the money for a down payment on a house.

I take the point regarding the difference between cultural appropriation versus cross cultural sharing, that's fair. I would be curious to hear someone like Gloyne's take on the issue of things like Indian lady head war bonnet tattoos etc. I've got to admit that when it comes to any kind of pin up, whether it's an Indian, geisha, sexy genie or whatever that I don't think of it as saying that much about the sexual predilections or views of the wearer. I kind of think of them as being tattoo iconography probably removed, at this point, from their original meaning. In the same way as a Rock of Ages might rarely have a Christian undertone for people wearing them these days. If I see, for example, that awesome big Valerie Vargas Indian dancer backpiece I am not thinking of it as a sexualised image in the same way as I would a really realistic black and grey tattoo of a nude. I'm thinking more about the history of traditional tattooing, flash, etc than anything else.

And the person that made it as well.

It's a stock photo, not the actual tattoo. The Guardian web page does a lot of that (using stock photos) which IMO is wrong.

I don't like the Native American pin ups either, they look like stereotypes. I don't judge anyone who has them, but if I was going to get a Native American tattoo I would want something that seems more real.Yeah, now that I think about it, I've known a couple of white guys who decided they want an "Asian girlfriend" without any thought about what the Asian girl is actually like as a human. I've also known genuine interracial relationships though so I try not to judge based on appearance.

We're getting far from tattooing here, but I think the issue is that white men who "prefer" Asian women can risk depersonalizing the actual women they become involved with, even if it's in the guise of a compliment ("they're all so beautiful," etc). Not all, but some. And, not to be glib, that plenty of Asian women find it creepy. The power imbalance issue is what's offensive to me about sexualized Native American imagery. I don't presume to speak for all Native Americans, just saying that I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing it, particularly as someone who descends from folks who had an early hand in said exploitation. - - - Updated - - - Honestly, I probably shouldn't be speaking about tattooing in this thread, but it's hard not to comment because this issue is one that I care about in any other context. I was thinking about this thread earlier, and you could probably argue that I'm appropriating someone else's culture by getting tattooed at all.

My wife gave birth a little over a week ago. The new baby is our first, so it's exciting but a little frightening and very tiring. He's doing well. We're super sleep deprived. I think that sums it up :)

Totoro and I

Sorry, completely off topic but... Then there was this article. Beards and tattoos: Why are modern men trying to look like gay bears? | P.H. Davies I laughed. I cried. I rolled my eyes.

glad this is over with dude knows i heal well so he takes his time and while that's awesome afterwards, it makes for a tough sitting. jaie devore at diablo rojo and sorry the pic is kinda bad, shop light plus i think my phone has some scratches on the lens over the camera so it has a weird haze...

Ladies and Gentleman, we've got (some) color :cool: Tonight we managed to do a 3.5 hour session of mostly greens and red. Unfortunatly we can't continue until the end of may... A six week break after 3 months of bi-weekly sessions... how am I going to survive that?! :p

Danny Way: From The Search for Animal Chin. I love this kind of stuff. I am going to assume that @irezumi does too:

Can't listen at work, but on the way there or back, it's been Led Zep lately.

Thanks for posting those photos @HettyKet and @MadeIndelible, I too have cutting scars that will eventually get covered up, so happy to see it worked out so well for you. Did you notice any difference in healing the over the scars vs. the rest of the tattoo?

Sounds bonkers but I guess if it works... Homer Simpson's "miracle spine o cylinder" always struck me as just being a giant PVC roller.

Went to the bottom of Heartbreak Hill and wandered around a bit. Police everywhere, from everywhere, but I thought they were doing a decent job of keeping the open spirit of the event.

Just picked up this eagle from Josh Brown at James River Tattoo. Picture from James River's IG.

I know you. Hi! Post some sweet tatties and tell us of your boxing prowess.

My wife and I both get tattooed, we give each other money/gift certificates for tattoos as well as saving our on money. I've been there each time she was tattooed but I've been tattooed several times alone. Being and getting tattooed is something I'm glad we share together.

"I'm an oil man, ladies and gentlemen.. I have numerous concerns spread across this state. I have many wells flowing at many thousands of barrels per day. I like to think of myself as an oil man.." That's a solid 'stache @haervaerk

Good topic gouge. If I wasn't married to my beautiful wife I couldn't imagine myself with an untattooed woman, I just couldn't see how someone that showed little or no interest in tattoos could possibly understand a very big part of my life revolving around being tattooed and the culture. I am lucky that my wife loves traveling and getting tattooed as well, although I don't think she will ever have full sleeves she has some pretty cool pieces and ideas. She is also very lucky to be getting a half sleeve from Shige in Japan this coming April.