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My first tebori by Horitoshi 1--just finished and still a bit bloody

Bethenny, if you really want your back done then do it. We all might whinge about how bad a backpiece can be while getting but i promise that all who have finished a backpiece would do it again. I myself am about 1/2 way through mine and although it sucks getting the work and healing it the satisfaction of seeing perhaps the biggest piece of art you can do on your body is awesome. I dont look forward to my fortnightly sessions but once they are done I cannot wait to get home and see the progress. The end result is well and truely worth it. Btw @Cork love the work, great detail and colours. I wish I was that far advanced with mine. - - - Updated - - - This fortnights update. Most of work was done on right side arse cheek and thigh but shows how he merged the original 3/4 sleeve into the backpiece.

Second session today with my buddy Iain Mullen on his collaboration with Rudy Fritsch. Beyond happy with how this is progressing. We did the lines with two machines almost 2 months ago and I had gotten used to seeing it that way. Now with some of the black in I am amazed by seeing it come to new life again.

@Shaggy That's looking amazing. Are you done with the black shading? Second session on my back later today, pictures to follow.

Please try and not let me stunningly beautiful bum distract you from the artwork :) 10 hours in total, so quick quick this time and I am glad! Some of the arse is brutal, specially where the cheek meets the thigh..... Victor said doing bums is awful, the skin is too soft and for him its not a very good place to tattoo but we are happy with the results. We still have a largish gap for the centre of my bum but we will just fill that next year with just a few shaded bits and pieces. We also have the back of that thigh to do next year. Maybe add a devil horn to the devil hound. My arse is red raw and swollen so sorry for the pics. :)

short trip to portland with the lady got this from whthd Instagram

God damn! That is so awesome. I don't know if I've ever seen an oni like that one. How did you like the tebori sound and feel?

What tattoos do you have? Edit: I feel like LST is a great and simple place to find artists and ideas, why does everyone push a nonsense app that is clearly filling a void no one needs.

I actually like some of these, but a lot of them seem like they would need to be your only tattoo, or you'd have to commit to doing your whole body in that one style for it to make visual sense. Way too much of a dilettante for that.

Hey guys, sorry to necro an old thread, but I thought you might all be interested to see that I got my design completed today. I'm more than happy with the result, and must give props to @Joe Shit and @Nest for recommending Gerry Carnelly at Octopus Tattoo in Derby. Speaking of which, here's a picture of the result from his instagram:

I guess he will eventually just be getting an even bigger eagle then one day..... ;)

I will never understand why people say "can I have your opinion" when what they really mean is "can I have your approval". Not my thing either, I do see the charm in some of them though I wouldn't want it on my body.

Alix Ge. Saw this on Tumblr, and thought everyone here would like it.

It almost is like an Oni Tomomori or Tomomorioni. Which should be a type of pasta.

Horrible idea. Tattooing is still very much a face to face industry and it should always stay that way.

oh this isn't going to go well

Three more weeks until I go see Dennis at Providence Tattoo -- very excited! Been waiting for this since January. Also a little nervous. Originally we booked two sessions (he's covering the top of my right thigh), but my travel plans have gotten in the way a bit, so now we just have one day to get it all done. It will likely be the longest I've ever sat in one go -- hoping I make it through!

I'll always be the first and the last to tell you that.

There's no right or wrong answer, but it's tricky given our country's less than hospitable history with its indigenous peoples. In my mind, an Indian girl head isn't so much a Native-American image like a thunderbird as it is American traditional. For some, an overly sexualized image like a nekkid Indian girl pinup could be seen as offensive whereas a beautiful face would not. There's a line to be crossed but it's not always so clear where that line is. For example, I find this: (Cleveland Indians mascot) to be way more offensive than this (Chicago Blackhawks):

Check out government street in Victoria. A few heavy hitters at that shop!

Maybe you should just have two or three different artists work on the back piece.

Jealous! I love running half marathons, and also trail running, but this tattoo has killed my training this year. No races this year. My base is nearly gone and I just get out for trail running whenever I'm able to get a sports bra back on without pain. As soon as this damned back is done, back to training!

Howdy, been a way for a while but my daughter's girlfriend, who lives in a tiny town in eastern Indiana, decided she wanted her first tattoo. I helped her scope out her area and there was no one worthwhile there so I went and gave her a ride so she could see Jereme who did the mushrooms on my leg. I decided I like the mushrooms so much I'm just going to give him that leg so we started talking about what to do next. I said I was thinking of something along the lines of a red winged blackbird perched on a fence post. Both him and the guy that owns the shop started nodding and thinking that would work out well, then the conversation went like this: Jereme: That would be pretty bad ass, but you know what would be better? Me: What? Jereme: A red winged blackbird perched on a skull. Me: Oh fuck yeah, that would be good. Jereme: Yeah Me: And you know what would be even more bad ass than that? Jereme: No, what? Me: A blackbird, perched on a skull, with a fuckin dagger through the whole thing. Jereme: Fuck yeah, now you're takin'. So there ya go, the next tat. Now I just have to gather up some cash.

Hi. My current location is Las Vegas, NV. I've been lurking around the site for a while and finally decided to register and have some fun. I have several tattoos - Some I love, some I don't. But I love tattoos, the fun ones, the serious ones, the what the hell were you thinking ones - All of them. I like seeing the expressions we choose to decorate ourselves. The stories behind them or lack thereof. Oh and the skill of the art fascinates me. Thanks for all the great laughs, cringes, and information so far. I'm happy to now be a bonafide member. See you in the forums.

Nice. What are you thinking about front? I can't recall the exact names for each, but are you thinking about full front or open shirt? And from Rodrigo? I've been following his Instagram for a while now and his stuff is so good. Also, a hilarious aside. Dana is a true professional. As I was admiring my butt in the mirror this morning, curiosity got the better of me and I was thinking "How far did he really get in my butt?" So I spread my cheeks, and I notice that the flame ends were pretty deep, but that they were scalloped. Dana took the time to scallop the edges in my butt crack. What a guy.

Cool man. I like it. [emoji106] Those tunes would go down well here! http://www.mitchellcreekrocknbluesfest.com.au/phone/index.html I'm riding up with some brothers, camp out for a couple days, sink a few beers and enjoy some sweet blues in the Hinterland. Life definitely is sweet. Thanks for sharing your link.

"Pre-offended" -- that's a good one. Phony internet outrage is our new national pastime. (Sorry, baseball.)

Thanks Mark, reading it now.. So far it looks like I'm going to be a culturally insensitive jerk since I'm considering a sugar skull too. - - - Updated - - - I suppose it would give me some encouragement to hear from others like me who chose the design despite not being Native American as well.

Why am I not surprised? What was the shop?

@DJDeepFried I hate to kick a dying dog, but man, the tattooers at the shop she brought up, woof. Horrid.

I agree that this artist does solid work, just not in a style that I would ever get. What I think bothers me most is that some of the designs would be better (imo) if they were smaller. Like the skele-dog and flower on the girl's back. So much great space there and it's all empty. Let's all just take a moment and imagine that the dog was actually a tiger and the flower was a giant snake. And they were fighting.

I don't know what you guys are all complaining about. I look at all the "tattoo pain" pictures on the internet and they all show the butt as one of the spots on the body where the pain is lower. I think you guys are all just looking for attention and the opportunity to show off your backsides and using this forum as a way to publicly admire butts and your S&M tendencies without the shunning of society.

After about a year of injuries and a slow return to running, I started my 14 week plan for the Philadelphia Half Marathon today. I haven't hit the track in quite a while, so it felt good to get out there and knock out some 600s. It's a pretty conservative plan so I probably won't come too close to my PR from two years ago, but I'll just be happy to get through it and to the starting line healthy.

I'll just leave this here: Pallbearer: Foundations of Burden | Advance | Pitchfork Their first album rules if you haven't heard it: Pallbearer

Having had my backpiece for a few months now, I gotta to say that I keep loving it more and more. I wanted to get one for years, and I'm so glad that I finally said "fuck it" and went ahead. The only downside is that I have to keep looking at photos of myself to get a proper view of it. Can't wait to start filling up areas that I can actually see myself. Here is a recent photo from my holiday in Ibiza.

Got this dagger from Steve Byrne this past Friday at the Pagoda convention. Super stoked on how it came out and the convention was great! It was very cool to see such great tattoo artists and people all in one place. If I didn't leave when I did I probably would of walked out of the convention broke and with a few more tattoos.

Horitoshi 1 (foto from his instagram accnt) lines and shading done now. Color next week! (Please delete if it's weird to post in progress work here)

tony hundahl drew this reaper on my thigh tonight @ pagoda. he asked what i wanted to do so i just showed him a spot and let him do whatever he wanted.

Here's a healed picture of my back piece by Valerie Vargas at Frithstreet tattoo :)

@SeeSea. I probably wouldn't say upper thigh is a harder slog to get through. I mean, fkn smashing ribs and sternum had it's moments where I was thinking ...faaark! Just expected the thighs to be a walk in the park and it was not quite what I expected. As mentioned, sucky rather than faaarkin 'ell. :) But @Mark Bee. Your right man. When I started banging torso, my mindset was fuck this shit. Smash this fucker hard, smash it solid and we don't stop til the fucker is done. You bet.

Here's a Giger-inspired piece from Chad Chesko, if this helps: Instagram

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 got this gnarly thing from Jason Kelly here in Atlanta. I love it.

@davelang Great post, man. I came across something really interesting when reading up about Bill Reid and formline drawing, which is that a lot of what we see in terms of carvings, jewellery, and paintings originated from Reid's study of traditional Haida tattoos: So, in a sense, tattooing these designs is really taking it full-circle. There are a few really cool things online about Haida tattoos as well, like this: Haida Tattoo - The Bill Reid Centre - Simon Fraser University I grew up on the West Coast of Canada, and I love this style of art, but as a whitey I have a hard time getting it as-is on me so I've been trying to find ways to take some of what I find powerful about Haida art, as well as myth and legend, and interpret it in a way that doesn't feel so appropriative. My (in-progress) sleeve is an interpretation of the Raven myths, and because it's being done by Thomas Hooper it's interpreted through a sort of hermetic lens with some sacred geometry, Ernst Hackel references, and so on. The eye of the raven is referenced directly from Bill Reid's drawing on the cover of the book The Raven Steals the Light. I'm thrilled with it. I've been also thinking of one day getting a gagiid mask, maybe done sort of in the style of a hannya. I'm still figuring that one out though. - - - Updated - - - And just because I love to geek out on this stuff, here's a picture of a print I bought last summer by an artist named Jonathan Erickson. From what I understand, he's mostly working in jewellery right now, but the guy at the gallery said that he's also done tattoo designs...kind of figures that I'd be drawn to art done by a guy who also designs tattoos. Anyway, I think it's super cool. I need to get it properly framed still.

Seems to me (and this was kind of the original issue I wanted to pose) that it's actually the opposite and can be disrespectful because it's an outsider's two-second take on an entire culture that we just decided is "neat." Less a love of it, more a stereotyping of it. ..like Peter Pan. The lady head thing is kind of the worst offender, because it makes no sense -- but I still love those tattoos! I'm guessing it was never the point to be correct, just to draw a great design. And it certainly worked! I'm glad there seems to be a generally positive response, especially what @Shmitty pointed out with the drawings at his station. And that PENDLETON PANTHER is pretty great! And Stitch, there are usually at least a few good books on the day-to-day of certain tribes from "back in the day" as well as their mythologies and adventure stories, which are awesome. Reading is an easy first step.

Yeah, the weird ambivalence I feel with this kind of thing makes me think immediately of Pendleton blankets (and, more specifically their new Portland collection that just came out and caused a huge ruckus... my wife is into clothes.. a lot.. so I hear about things..) As far as designs go, this is actually what Pendleton did from the beginning; creating non-specific native-looking designs that appealed to both white folks and tribal people -- and were hugely successful for both -- and for many tribal people the blankets became important (and still are) for certain milestones, even though they weren't tribal specific. Also, I have a buffalo head and skull with feathers tattoo, planning to add a couple other things to it and still want a native lady head tattoo. I just wondered if anyone had discussed these types of tattoos or if it's simply a non-issue at this point.

I feel like I'm a clash of different styles. I speak a few different languages, have more than a few interests, and have done a lot of different things in my life. My tattoos are a reflection of that, and as much as I admire people with one full suit from a single artist, I know that it's not for me.