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Thought I would also upload and share this dope action shot. Plus you can catch a peak at my backpiece that's about 5 months settled in as well as Len's great hair lol ;) Another reminder that it is the tattoo experience as whole - that truly makes the tattoo. that's what matters. Tattooing is a very powerful, deliberate and permanent act and series of events. Last Wednesday was an incredible day. My work in the morning. Popping into the tattoo shop to just to say what's up and casually flipping through Len's book - I have 3 tattoos from Len now and each one was a spontaneous act with permanent results. Going and getting a dope haircut so I didn't get a cheap $25cent razor fade (found a new barber, an older black gentleman, he shared his cool snake tattoo on his dark skin, he got in 1967!). My tai chi practice in the park. An encouraging doctor's appointment. The boys keeping the shop open into the evening to accommodate me (shout out to Champion Tattoo Edmonton). The stencil and re-stencil to get the placement just right. The first 30 seconds when I thought holy shit man, this is brutal have I gone too far? Bishops Green on the stereo. Tattoo talk with the boys. Sweating through the table. Feeling my nose about to get crushed sideways on the table. the post-tattoo newport smoke, the vulnerability and the satisfaction with the end result. The morning after when the shower water hit the back of my raw tattooed skin. Even today walking down the street, walking proud and tall with this new tattoo. Hearing the lady behind me in the crosswalk whispering out loud 'damn that's a nice tattoo' to herself. Seriously, I am really buzzing off how this one turned out. The butterfly symbolism is pretty obvious. But also this: I dreamed I was a butterfly, fluttering about, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly. Soon I awakened, and there I was, myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man. -Master Zhuang I became aware of this taoist quote the morning after receiving my tattoo, and I too had the butterfly dream leading up to this spontaneous tattoo. I found it very fitting, not just in the context of the rest of my tattoos, but in terms of some personal growth I have been making over the last few months. And here comes this profound tattoo experience from a simple design that carries some complex symbolism to me, providing enlightenment when I needed it the most. Thank you LST for providing a medium to share the tattoo experience together !

"Yknow what's awesome about this budd?...you have a whole bodysuit of tattoo and MY tattoo is going to be the one everyone is gonna ask about haha" Keepin' it real w/ King Len, guest spot at Champion Tattoo in Edmonton, AB Deadly placement, deadly evening, deadly tattoo. But holy fack did this one sizzle and rattle.

Here's my latest, courtesy of Karrie Arthurs: https://instagram.com/p/9NAjS4Iwu-/

have an apt. w/ bailey hunter robinson next sat. he's guesting down here at rock of ages in austin... getting one of his trademark buffaloes to start off my right arm. ~2excited~ just need to be sure not to get confused and call him heather bailey (which i've already done in my head a dozen times) :o :cool:

Second session this month. Scales are now all done and every little thing we do is just making the whole thing pop a little bit more. Super happy.

Hi, just joined LST and thought i'd share my latest tattoo. Done by Tony Hundahl at the London convention, great guy who does awesome tattoos.

Hello everyone! I am very excitement to be a part of this community! I have too many tattoos to count. My husband is a tattoo artist and I am a collector! I enjoy sharing ideas and stories regarding tattoos and experiences. :)

We need to wear Last Sparrow pins or something.

@Lance no. i was going to work Carlos' booth but since he isn't coming, i will just be a sad little spectator.

@Faolan, I'm not sure about colors symbolism in general within the Japanese culture, but if you're looking at old school traditional Japanese tattoos the color palette was fairly limited due to the lack of availability of colors to be used. As for seasons really old traditional styles used 1 season from what I've seen. That said there are a lot of rules. Not every tattoo family had the same rules and for that matter a lot of regions varied in rules as well. I'd find an artist knowledgeable about traditional Japanese and discuss what you're looking for with them. These days "traditional" seems to be just a word and as @Cork mentioned some artists work in a traditional manner by hand (tebori) but their graphic style is contemporary while others work completely by machine but their graphic style is akin to old tattoo designs. Then there are others who work by machine, their graphic styles are contemporary, but they adhere to following the stories and pairings, etc. If you're looking for über traditional, think long and hard about what you want and find the right artist. Some subjects do not pair well with others, while some figures or animals or plants pair extremely well with one another. Woops, I read Cork's response yet I pretty much just repeated it. Well I second his logic.

I'm always smiling :) The linework was clench your teeth gnarly, but after that we were having a laugh and i was trying to keep still. Until Len went back to the liner to fill in the yellow dots at the end. lol.

Tony Firstbrook posted this yesterday. Made me think of you, @PinkUnicorn: https://instagram.com/p/9Jq_xwGstZ/

Booked flights and accommodation for the Mondial du tatouage 2016. All-day appointment with Shige the first day of the convention. This will definitely feel like passing a milestone.

@smiling.politely If I can make a suggestion, North Beach Sushi is an awesome sushi spot, which just so happens to be right near Tattoo City.

Had planned a week long vacation for this, my first time to California as well... but life happens and that is no longer an option. But I already had an appointment booked, and couldn't bear to cancel that in addition to all the other fun stuff that already had to go away. So, I'm flying out the morning of Friday the 30th, getting tattooed that night by Stewart, then flying back to Kansas just after midnight. Before the doors open, I'm hoping to check out the Visionary Subversive show, grab some sushi somewhere, spend what money I have left as irresponsibly as possible post tattoo, before scuttling off into the night. Wish I had more time to spend there, but it just means that I have no choice but to go back and properly see the Bay Area as soon as I can!

I think it's safe to say EVERYONE has a different reason for getting tattooed and ALL are absolutely valid. I've come from a different era of tattooing..... one where it was still pretty underground and unknown unless you were in the military or some type of deviant (prison/biker/punk/etc.). Unless you lived in a major population center on the east or west coast, most straight people didn't have a clue about tattoo culture other than the occasional Geraldo Rivera news report about gang violence or bikers. The general population treated tattoos with nervous stares or clutched their children/purses and mostly avoided you. It was rare to get ANY comments from people and if they did muster the courage, it was usually a derogatory remark like "were you in prison?" I don't want to make this a "back in my day" rant but, things are certainly different these days, especially for women with tattoos. That is not to say that everything is A-OK and the general population doesn't still act foolish/rude. I completely understood what @Pete tattoo freak said as I've lived 30 years being heavily tattooed and it has been somewhat of a mantra for me. Everyone who gets into tattoos has their own journey..... Maybe a better, more forum friendly, way to say it would've been: Do what you do - for YOU.... Don't worry about what ANYONE else thinks. If your "thing" makes you happy/confident/proud etc, that's what matters the most. Remember-YOU are the only person that lives in your skin.

The only upside of this being such a common derogatory remark is that now, since I have a handful of tattoos, I get to verbally eviscerate any untattooed idiots that say it when I'm around, and they can't say shit. Never had anybody suggest it about me, personally, but my friends do have excellent survival instincts, as a rule.

this reminds me of the funniest things i remember Garver saying on Miami Ink (i apologize for being a tattoo TV watcher). anyways, he was tattooing a tiger with cherry blossoms on some 18yr old kid and the kid's mom was there the whole time. as he was coloring it, he said he added the surprise of an all pink cherry blossom for the kid's mom. the mom thought it was cute and they were all laughing it off and Garver slips in, "what's wrong with pink?! some of my favorite things in the world are pink." The mom and kid didn't catch it and Garver just had a sly smile. OK.. back to the topic. i was kinda interested to know when koi swim upstream, so i asked lord google and this was the first link: http://jamesthen.com/the-rules-of-the-japanese-tattoo/ there's a lot of information out there online, but as @Cork mentioned, the right tattoo artist will know these answers. One of the right tattooers just so happens to write books. This is a good start for $20... Bushido: Legacies of Japanese Tattoos: Takahiro Kitamura, Katie M. Kitamura: 9780764312014: Amazon.com: Books when i got my dragon koi from Jill Bonny, she let me know that it is actually a Chinese legend, not Japanese. makes sense, since the legend takes place in the Yellow River in China. mine has maple leaves. you can try to find pics of body suit pics from reputable traditional japanese tattooers and see what kind of themes they stick with and what kind of themes they mix. but again... find the right artist and trust 'em.

@Lochli - if you put on enough lotion that you can "blot of the excess with a paper towel" then that's too much lotion and not enough rubbing it on. I've had many little scabs - generally in places where skin folds or is near the belt line. You just need to take great care in not letting them get caught on clothing or cracking from extreme dryness. But sometimes no matter what you do, color can come out - I was pretty much anal about my healing but still had a couple small spots that needed a touch-up. Oh, and welcome, @XileBlue!

Not tattoos but......

I recently finished a short documentary that profiles Norwegian tattooer Morten Transeth. I also added English subtitles to the best of my ability, so remember to switch captions (CC) on if you need 'em :) Go to http://instagram.com/morten_transeth to see more of his work. Thanks for watching!

Definitely my shoulder, mostly just a pleasant vibrating feeling. Strangely, my inner bicep was by far the worst. Funny the DRASTIC difference a couple inches makes (that's what she said, hurr hurr).

I do it for the fame, and the sex.

Everyone's different. And it's got nothing to do with toughness. Where your nerve endings are most sensitive is where you're going to feel it most. Other things to take into account are how you are feeling that day. If your body is putting up with anything else, that is energy it doesn't have to dedicate to putting up with the tattoo process. Things like being hungover, having slept bad the night before, no food in your system, being sick or fighting off a cold, other infections.... These are all things that can make it feel worse. Not to mention how the tattooer tattoos, and weather or not you even feel like getting tattooed that day. People talk about the ribs being crazy painful, but I have this group of tiny college soccer team girls that get rib shit. All big, script, pictures,... You name it. They have no problems at all. Soccer girls and snipers are the best for that shit. People who can accomplish a goal under duress make the best clients. They are able to not even see it as discomfort. BUT I also tattoo big burly dudes who get all stressed and titchy over outer arm tattoos. You can see them just in agony. It's all different. I was told that the inner bicep was hell. That's why everyone in the 90's who was getting tribal armbands would leave that are blank and have it not connect. I waited forever to do that spot. Come to find out it was the easiest shit for me to deal with. Possibly one of the two tattoos I could have fallen asleep getting. My legs on the other hand? FUck. In normal places on my leg where normal ass people get normal ass butterflies and shit... FUCK shit is ridiculous. Hurts my soul. Getting my ankes tattooed makes me feel like a girl broke up with me in 8th grade.