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First session on this ROA tattoo done by Grez at King's Ave in NYC, still red and swollen. More pics next month after it's finished.

Sorry it's been a while since I've been here. Looking at other people's tattoos makes me want more, and my wallet can't afford it. I recently changed jobs, and to celebrate I got this. This was done by the same tattooer that did my other pieces (Papa Joe in Boise, ID). My back is nearly complete. This is a pic of the fresh tattoo.

Sorry you are going through all this with your Dad. Unfortunately, many people let their own prejudices, likes and dislikes get in the way of meaningful discussions and relationships. What I love about what you write is that you are obviously happy and confident with who you are. Lots of people never get to that point. Never lose that. People who are true friends and who love you won't impose their own beliefs on you - they may not agree with you but they accept that you have the same right to your beliefs as they. As a (as of today) 61 year old, and president of a small college, I get lots of my staff, faculty and students wanting to know if my tattoo is real or not. They want to see it to be convinced. The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive. I was at an event last evening out in the community and I had several people asking, again, if I really did it or if it was fake. Too funny. My wife just rolls her eyes and smiles.

Lol! I actually did this! I didn't actually have a design on my wall or anything though. I decided on a subject matter, style, and placement and gave myself a year. I could tweak the concept, but as long as the core of it stayed the same I would get it. Lots of tweaking happened, but it stayed the same. I made a mistake of choosing a bad artist though (hole in the wall shop but I was dumb and the artist took my deposit and then refused to do a sketch until the week I was coming in so cost wasn't set and he wouldn't give me my deposit back). It took me several years to save up the money to get a good artist to work on me because life kept happening (medical emergencies, emergency vet bill, car problems, my ex running off with my savings...) so I decided to go for a smaller piece on my right leg (9 square inches between ankle and calf). I gave myself a month to really research artists, hammer out a rough design (a broken infinity) to give him an idea of what I wanted for him to refine, get feedback from friends, get aftercare down pat, and save up the last bit of cash I would need for it. My experience was head and shoulders above my last one (thanks in large part to my artist) and I'm more determined than ever to get my full left calf piece of a fairy with butterfly wings and a nature background. Yes there's a lot of symbolism there because that's just who I am, but she's gonna also look awesome. ;) I'm really enjoying having my first tattoo at 30 and already brainstorming how to incorporate it into an interesting right calf piece (Very rough, but I'm thinking either black work or black and gray to contrast the bright colors that will be on my left calf. I'm currently researching my genealogy and was thinking adding symbols and objects that show were my ancestors came from with maybe a couple symbol from different zodiacs in either neo traditional, new school, geometric, tribal, or an interesting black work). A lot of people are supportive, but some... not so much. A friend I've had for a long time is probably not my friend anymore. I told him I was getting a tattoo and was cool with it until he found out it was a broken infinity to mark the year I finally came out as an atheist after hiding it all my life (I'm an agnostic de facto atheist, not an anti-theist by the way). He threw a fit saying stuff like "You know it's permanent right?", "What are you gonna do when you get over this phase and come back to God and are stuck with it?", and "Are you a satanist?". Considering he acted the same when I told him I was an atheist, I'm pretty sure I'm stepping back from the friendship. My dad (who I moved back in with a few months ago after I lost everything) is mad that I wanted a tattoo, that I researched and designed a tattoo, the I went to get a tattoo, that I got the tattoo, that I wanted to show him the tattoo, and that it was "too big for a woman" (3 in x 3 in). He's told me "You had to get the tackiest ugliest thing in the shop didn't you?", "A tattoo that big looks ugly on a woman.", "What are you gonna do when you meet a nice guy and find out he hates tattoos?", "I hope you get an infection and your leg falls off! Would serve you right.", "It was a waste of money and looks like shit.", "You always get obsessed with stupid shit! First it was books, then it was tattoos, and now it's [family history]." (I read all the time, been wanting a tattoo since 13, and found someone who can help me get past where I've been stuck on my genealogy), and "How long do you think it's gonna take for you to regret this?" I went to the hospital yesterday with a massive asthma attack which scared the nurses and got me a stiff lecture from the ER doctor for waiting so long to come in and for driving myself there (40 minutes). I was wearing short pants, so my ink was showing. Still weak, I ended up having to drive myself home. My dad proceeded to give me an earful for having "that ugly ass thing" out in the open, not doing my housework, and smelling like "stinky feet". So after he went to bed, I went in his bathroom, put my foot in his sink, and washed and moisturized my ink. I had to clean my tattoo anyway and I didn't want to get in the shower. Besides, fuck dad and his tattoo hating ass for making me drive to the ER in the middle of an asthma attack (my meds wouldn't stop it, but he thought I was exaggerating even though I've had it all my life). After how my dad and my former friend acted, I kinda welcome the "did it hurt" (it varies, but mine wasn't in a painful spot and felt like a knife scraping across the skin without breaking it), "how much did it cost" (it varies but my guy charges $50 for every 30 minutes), "where did you get it" (Kilted Raven. They're really nice.), "how can you tell if a shop is any good" (clean, new needles, premium ink, willing to show both fresh and healed pieces, reviews and pics online, guarantee work as long as you follow instructions...), "how do you take care of it" (aftercare information) questions with gusto. I also had a decently inked young woman start talking tattoos with me at the library soon after I had mine done. She asked if she could touch my fresh tattoo because it was covered in tegaderm and she wanted to know how it felt (I let her). Then asked how it worked and where she could get some for her upcoming tattoo. I was even nice to the people that think tattoo shops are dirty, dangerous, or just for bikers and military people. One did test my patience when she went on about how "It's better to get your ears pierced at Walmart jewelry with a nice clean gun (...um) than from a dangerous tattoo parlor piercer. Who knows where that stuff has been!?!" which I think is one if the stupidest things I've ever heard in my life! She wouldn't listen to me about autoclaves, inspections, or internships either. Her mind was set. Also, as a random note I seen a post on a Facebook group from people who hate tattoos (I was looking for a way to understand my dad) stating that tattooed parents are something like 800% more likely to spend money on a tattoo than food for their children than untattooed parents. Uh... no shit! Of course people with tattoos are more likely to spend money on tattoos than people without them! It's like saying people with dogs are more likely to buy dog food XD

oh hell yeah got a little ROA action coming in a couple weeks

gonna repost in this thread cause i'm super stoked on my latest n greatest Snake by Scott Rusnak / Lucky Strike Tattoo Edmonton 2016 body wraps onto the inside of the wrist. i'm really happy with the placement which was tricky because I didn't want to lose the dragonfly above. i'm stoked about the negative halo to keep it pop'd. the snake tongue is super legit. Dragonfly (aka Snakedoctor) by Shawn O'Connor / Ink Machine Tattoo Edmonton, AB 2014 considerably lower anxiety during the healing. it's 1 week old now and the snake had it's first shed. the tongue is really scabby but so far everything is holding. hands are a bitch to heal. so now both hands are done and sleeves dropped down all the way to the edge of the wrist. ink is leaking out of my long sleeve shirts yeeehaw

Just finished Jack and i couldn't be happier with it! So excited! Done by Zaed from Radical Ink in Bucharest.

Almost everything that can be said about this case has been said. But when it comes to price I allways either tell the artist my budget, ask for a rough price before we start or agree on a price on forehand. Telling an artist your budget or agreeing on a price isn't and shouldn't be anything to be afraid or ashamed of. It's a business, and you're a customer.

Just got to the hotel from the studio. Planning to add to sleeve out the calf. Looking for ideas. Shane O'Neill at Infamous Tattoo. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

^ I feel the same way. I don't know where the term came from but it doesn't bother me - it's just another label. The more I go to new shops, meet new artists/people, the more exciting it is to repeat that process. I'm a relatively skinny guy, so my real estate is used up pretty fast even when I get a medium-ish size piece.

i think i've gone into collector mode little bit nothing wrong with it love meeting new people checking out new shops having a good time with it all all good imo

Oops. Introduced myself as a tattoo collector in my initiation thread. Ah, well. The phrase doesn't bother me.

You really shouldn't ever take this "coloring book" approach to any tattoo. If you are willing to travel to get tattooed by someone whose work you really love, why have someone else complete the work? It makes no sense and is a disservice to everyone, including yourself. I'm currently getting a sleeve from an artist I've admired for a long, long time. I tried for 3 years just to get an appointment, which wasn't until the end of 2014. I can't go often or for more than one session at a time, but I've had 4 sessions, and there's still work to be done. It's been a long process, but I wouldn't trade any aspect of it because the end result is so, so worth it. If you're gonna commit to traveling for a long-term project, then fucking commit.

What he said, you would regret that big time, just choose the artist and get there as often as you can to finish it - - - Updated - - - What he said, you would regret that big time, just choose the artist and get there as often as you can to finish it

Just go for it, you don't have to be in a hurry to finish maybe try and do 2 days each trip if that's possible, like everybody else has said if you love that artist then itl be worth it, what's 30 hours of flying for a tattoo that lasts a lifetime

best of luck with your treatment. - - - Updated - - - best of luck with your treatment @Mushu Seeing this thread pop up reminded me that my dad excitedly told me one of my tattoos was starting to fade. He kind of had an "I told you so quality" in his voice that both myself and my wife picked up on. Sorry dad, my skin is just a little dry. One quick application of lotion and the tattoo I got last summer in Japan still looks amazing.

Yeah, it was a generalized statement that he suddenly realized was actually shit hitting the fan. I was more focused on keeping her from exploding and kicking his ass (she grew up in South Jersey in a racially mixed neighborhood during the civil rights riots and can still handle herself). The family did what it took to moderate the situation instead of escalate it. Each family has it's fucked up chemistry and mine is no different. Fast forward... I no longer spend much time with them for several similar reasons.

Yikes! - - - Updated - - - I remember talking about tattoos 15 years ago at my Dad's house. He has an old one on his shoulder from the navy, circa 1954. My wife just got a small traditional rose (her deceased mother's name was "Rose") and I already had two. My conservative brother then blurts out, "Only bikers and whores have tattoos." You could hear a pin drop. My wife was about to jump his shit when I jump in and say, "Well, it looks like we'll need to buy you a Harley since you sure aren't a whore." I gave him the stink eye. My sister even came to her rescue saying, "I have eye liner tattooed to my eyelids and I'm no whore." My brother backed down and stayed that way. Dick move was called out.

I really, really don't enjoy being asked to participate in conversations that begin with "so I just bought a tattoo gun online."

Here's an article that might be of interest in terms of defining cultural appropriation: Fashion's Cultural-Appropriation Debate: Pointless - The Atlantic Another one: http://everydayfeminism.com/2013/09/cultural-exchange-and-cultural-appropriation/ (unsure about what exactly "western culture" means in this context though, if there is such a thing as a western culture, so there are some issues w/this article) It's tricky because many people who try to comment on cultural appropriation specifically within tattooing often don't know anything about tattoos (I'll include myself here, trying to do better). Knowledge complicates things. I agree that this isn't a great conversation for the internet, though here we are, and I have learned more by talking to artists in person about religious iconography and stuff like that. I do think cultural appropriation is a real & worthy issue, but a lot of the discussion around it is pretty unfortunate.

I was at a cookout recently with a crowd I wouldn't typically be hanging out with, and one of the guys there saw I had tattoos and started talking to me about them. He actually complimented me on them, but then remarked how some coworkers told him that 80% of people with 3 or more tattoos have done time. Hahaha. I found it pretty funny, but stuff like that doesn't typically bother me. The guy was kind of an ass, but we were ribbing each other all day joking around, so I think it was just his dry sense of humor. You never know with people though. He brought it up again later when the kids were around, and I just responded that I haven't been to prison...yet.

This! I've also had more than a handful of weirdos say "I'll pray for you" or something similar. This always makes me glad I have several devil tattoos and the wanting for several more.

Right on! I got this fun little Geisha that he had pre drawn from some old Hardy flash. I was even representing LST whilst getting it, haha!

I think it's also worth noting that the "labour of love" thing is also often used as a cover to underpay/overwork people, i.e. if you are doing it because it makes your soul sing or whatever, then that is reward enough. Loving what you do does not mean you don't deserve to be properly compensated for it! You get a lot of that shit in academia too.

My friend's girlfriend after my last tattoo session: "So now that you have all these tattoos, how do you *really* feel about them?"

I got this the other day, but the "excuse" was pretty funny. He's older now (>50) and he'd wanted a tattoo as a late teen and came home with a cross on his arm that he'd drawn on with a permanent marker. His father, as expected, assumed it was real and hit the roof. As he described the scene and the layout of the dinner table area where his father discovered the travesty, he was clearly boxed in by the radiator and the wall and the rest of the family. His father then proceeded to grab steel wool and scrubbed it off his arm, along with a layer of skin before he realized he'd been had. The teller of the tale said he didn't want to get a tattoo after that. All-in-all, not a bad excuse and completely forgivable because he told the story with such vigor and humor!

An old man once asked me, back when I had only one on my leg, if it was an Irish transfer. I had no idea what he was talking about. I'm in Canada, no one calls press on tattoos "transfers" and what the hell is an Irish one? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Re: cost. Almost everyone has asked me this question and very few people know I am working on a full back. It makes me uncomfortable, even from friends, and I don't have a pat answer yet. But the other day, without even thinking, I replied, "Yeah, it's more expensive than going to the movies." For some reason, that shut down the question with a little laugh from both of us, but in a way that it was clear I wasn't going to share, conversation was over, without being rude or making them feel like a jerk for asking (my friends, after all). Not sure I can explain that, but it was a positive thing and I think I'll try that one again.

"Tattoos are not an addiction; they are a collection. A tattoo collector is just like a conventional art collector who buys a painting, hangs it on the wall, and then moves on to acquire the next, unique piece. Tattoo collecting is a spiritual pursuit, while addiction is a physiological need. Addicts repeatedly take the same drug over and over without limit. A tattoo collection has variety, and it has an end. Once you collect the whole set, you're done." -Horiyoshi III Side note: I also have a Hello Kitty. It was done by my fiancée, is about an inch and a half wide, and took her about an hour. It's just lines, aside from color in the bow and nose. She was really trying.

I get some random things said to me about my tattoos. One thing that really drives me nuts, more so than the "plainskins" term, and more than a "tattoo gun" ( Im a tattooer so that really urks me), is when someone calls a tattoo a "tat". I usually have a thermal under my T-shirt so my tattoos arent shown very often, but when a little bit poke out of my shirt I get the "wow you have tats?" or " can I see your tats?" that really bugs me. As far as the typical meaning questions, people are shocked with my answers. I tell them most of the tattoos are just because I like it, or one in particular I got it because "Im NOT supposed to like it" I have a hello kitty day of the dead. I am a guy I am straight, but I got it because "Only girls like hello kitty" I dont always go with the grain of life hahahaa

my boyfriend who is somehow not tattooed by now, said this when i told him it would be a few more months until i got my next tattoo and we had to be careful to avoid some part of me "this is ridiculous, you're already 2 to 0 with me, i need to go and get mine done before you get your next one." Also, my grandparents live abroad so they had no idea i had gotten a tat until they came over for dinner on a visit. my immediate family and they were sitting together in the living room and my sister was talking about my dads tattoos, he's covered, and my grandpa said in the politest way possible "I'm glad your father is the only one in the family to have tattoos." this was met with a silent moment of everyone (mom, dad, siblings, and myself) looking at each other and immediately followed by everyone rolling around and laughing. Then we told them i had a tattoo which they complimented after i showed them. Also i think plainskin could be derogatory, but i like it anyways. to me it really expresses the early days of modern tattoos and those who got them when it was way more taboo. I might use it as a derogatory term for someone who was being rude and self righteous or something about my tats, but to say that about someone who is respectful of tattoos and tattooed people sounds wrong. - - - Updated - - - When i read to them my brother and sister love to trace mine, it tickles so much but they love it. In my experience when it comes to appreciating tattoos kids really know how to do it.

After spending the weekend with lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins I have a new "plainskin" comment to share: "What is it?" Are my tattoos really that shitty and unreadable that you can't see a snake/rose, demo head, or a skull??? Does a person need some basic knowledge of tattoo imagery to easily recognize the image? Also I was told the thigh is a very girly place to get a tattoo. And tattoo inks are filled with carcinogenic poisons.

Being Younger I Love the "how would your children feel about you doing that to your body" followed by my response, she says she loves me every night.

At my bar last night, a 40-something woman asks me "How come your tattoos can stay so colorful and the lines stay so sharp? My husbands faded after just a few months!" I asked where he got it and found my answer right away "Oh, his friend does tattoos out of his van. If you ever want more work..." I interrupted her and told her I had to change a keg. Mid shift. Just to avoid her stupidity.

1, other forms of self-harm including incarceration? I mean yeah, incarceration isn't fun but it's not something most people do to themselves on purpose to hurt themselves or others. 2, I'm a christian and I have tattoos, including a grim reaper. I'm not one of the ones who shove it down people's throats and I don't judge anyone for how they believe or don't believe. But just...wow. I'm as offended as anyone else with tattoos would be, maybe more. I can't believe the person said they are little better than comic book drawings. I'm astounded in this day and age that someone could still have such a primitive ideology about tattoos. It's sad that people can still be so prejudiced and close minded about something as mainstream as tattooing.

A lot of trades have secrecy surrounding them. I broke into learning machining and the old timers (mostly from Europe) refused to show you anything, they would even cover up things that were working on if I walked up to them. Once they knew I was okay it changed. Tattoo artists have to protect what they have worked hard to learn. And it keeps the gene pool strong. - - - Updated - - -

I have an ankh and people always ask me if it is: a) a satanic symbol b) a feminist symbol c) a lesbian symbol d) a cross I tell these people it's a stick figure with their legs shut.

I told a co worker of mine that I'm getting a rattlesnake and a skull tattooed on my torso. He said "are you getting a Harley with that tattoo? hurr hurr hurr." From now on when someone at work asks me what I'm getting tattooed, I'm just telling them I'm getting a dead relative tattooed on me.

Good one while tattooing a girl's arm today, from one of her friends. "I mean, I know you have to have a steady hand, but tattooing doesn't look that hard." Told him it was the hardest thing I've ever done, with each day being both easier and harder than the day before, a really quick list of about twenty things you have to think about the whole time, and ended it after 10 seconds of awkward silence with "If tattooing were easy, there wouldn't be so many bad tattoos out there," followed by a laugh to make it obvious I wasn't mad at him or anything. He just didn't know. Still... wow.

Was recently at a party uptown in NY and had trust fund / rich / spoilt girls genuinely ask me how i support myself / live whilst having tattoos. No joke.. When i asked why they hadn't got tattoos themselves they simply said, because ' father would cut me off and not pay my rent' i looked blankly for a second then walked off.... They lived a 20 minute train ride to Brooklyn and had never been, even though they had lived in NY their entire life. Blew my mind for a couple of minutes then just thought how lucky I was to not be them.

Yup. ...and yup. I don't know if I'd call my first tattoo "silly" -- it's just a black & gray ibis about the size of a pad of Post-Its -- but I would like to think that I'm getting better at recognizing really good tattoos when I see them, about paying attention to the artists behind the tattoos instead of just the tattoos, and appreciating different artists's styles, etc. It's gotten more fun now, and I see why an entire culture exists around tattooing. When I was getting my first one, I didn't know any of that stuff, and I didn't think it was "about" that anyway. (It was about me -- duh. ;))

That's a good point, I'm sure that's where the "1 year" idea comes from. People feel that if they follow the right rules, or make their tattoo sentimental enough, they can be certain to avoid regretting their decision. I bet a lot of people who end up getting (what we would consider) silly tattoos as their first probably go on to get awesome work later once they get that mental hurdle out of the way. I think that's part of what makes tattoos so great though... the commitment, the permanence, the trust in your artist. Because of these things, every tattoo is inherently meaningful just for the process itself. Overthinking it or trying too hard to take the risk aspect away from that tattoo would, ironically, somewhat diminish the sentiment of it for me. I'm rambling now, though... :)

A guy at work last night wanted my advice on a design his friend had drawn for him (sigh), because apparently I have the most "bad ass" tattoo of everyone at work. That's not exactly difficult when everyone else has tiny little wrist/ankle scribbles and swirls. The design is apparently "the only thing" he would ever want to have tattooed on him, and he's been holding onto it for months because he's too scared to actually go through with it. It was basically a question mark with an eye. Of course, it had some deep, literal meaning that he had to explain to me (the question mark is because he's always questioning things, the eye is because he's always seeking the truth). The whole thing was just so poorly designed and pretentious that it took all I had to not roll my eyes at him. I basically told him he'd be better off coming up with a vague concept and letting an artist draw something, instead of having someone imitate this design, because it was awful (I didn't say that). Then I got the whole "Well, this is really personal to me and I want to have some say in its design" response. At the mention of another artist changing it, he said he would just go to a friend of the guy who drew it, who, of course, is an "amazing" tattoo artist and would copy it exactly the way he wanted it. Funny how everyone knows someone that's amazing at tattoos. At that point, I just kind of nodded and went back to work, it was a hopeless cause.

One summer's Friday down the pub after work with friends the conversation turned to tattoos as a 'celebrity' had recently posted photos of her tattoos (roses over both butt cheeks) and it had been all over the papers. One girl at the table went off on a massive rant, something along the lines of "How could someone disfigure themselves like that? It's disgusting." I'm sat there with shorts on sporting my brand new calf tattoos so decide to call her up on it. "So you're saying that I've disfigured myself by getting tattoos?" I ask, as nicely as possible. So began the furious back-peddling. "No, your tattoos are different!" and "That's not what I was trying to say at all!" Which I didn't believe for a second. I also had a weird one from my Mum when talking about one of my sessions. Referring to the tattoo parlour, she asks: "But doesn't it get a bit smelly in there?" After inquiring what the hell she was on about, it turned out she thought that part of the tattoo process involved burning the skin!

This happened in Subway about a month ago. Some inebriated guy came up to me as I was ordering: "Woah, look at your tattoos...your sleeves...you look dynamite! Can I lick your arms? I want them on my tongue!" I said maybe another time and he gave me a high five and left! Hahahah

Here is a comment that left me speechless. Not because it was a dumb comment but because it made a lot of sense and it made me think. "Why are you getting a back piece? Wouldn't it make more sense to get a front piece so you can see it easier?" I eventually said I plan on getting a front piece too, but its funny that most people get back pieces before front pieces. Is this because there is a Japanese tradition for the proper sequence to get a body suit? Or is it because getting your torso tattooed is the least fun so everyone waits until the end to get it done?

I'll take one. Also- my wife's mom, upon hearing we planned to get some new tattoos, commented that she would regret it when she was 80. Hell, if I make it to 80 I will be pretty damn happy. People need some new material.

It doesn't matter what you call yourself or what others call you........just get good, solid tattoos....and enjoy yourself while you are doing it!

A few months ago, I approached an artist about doing a re-work to an older existing tattoo. He seemed ok with it at first, but later sent me an email explaining that he knew I was a collector and would be happy to tattoo me, but wanted to do something new and not re-work someone else's work. He explained that since I was a collector he wanted to put his best foot first and do something new and original on me. I didn't take it negatively. I thought it was refreshing honesty and made me even more eager to get work done by him.