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just leave that shit alone and let it heal

Got a call from a recruiter a couple of weeks ago, didn't really think anything would come of it. Now, two phone interviews later they are flying me out to New Hampshire next week for a F2F and likely an offer. Would anyone in their right mind move from Dallas to New Hampshire at the beginning of winter? Oh my, I'm going to have a decision to make soon. Crazy times.

Hi, I just recently joined! I currently only have two tattoos, with my first coming up on its 4 year anniversary and my second one only a day and a half old. 1st one (Day one and Healed) 2nd one (day and a half):

yup, ....succinct and to the point.

Clear fluid, also known as lymph, is released during tattoo healing when the interstitial fluid (the fluid which lies in the interstices of all body tissues) is released when healing, it normally contacts then air and crystalizes and creates what we call scabs. Scabs are our bodies natural defence to protect us from infection and to allow our skin to heal itself. When a scab gets pulled off prematurely from an area, it often looks pitted, like yours. Tattoos go through several phases and looks when healing, before finally settling on healed,which is at least a month, so do not sweat it until then, at that time re-evaluate (it cannot be changed by a tattooer, by tattooing in the mean time anyway). The default answer is ask your tattooer... they are in a position to know your specific circumstances directly and they were there at the time of the application (hopefully) and may have insight as to why, where, how, et cetera, and can help you correct your conduct, when you need it. A tattooers aftercare is part and parcel, with the procedure they tattoo, according to believing you will take care of the tattoo according to their aftercare advice, if they knew you were going to do something else, they would probably tattoo differently, to accommodate for your special circumstance. your tattooer will know if that spot required more attention than anywhere else because maybe someone jumped and a correction was needed or.... something else happened. The damage also might have happened downstream, as in you bumped into something, or it super dried out in your sleep or scratched it in your sleep...life happens between application and final healing. A tattoo is like a dance between the tattooer the tattooee, if you both do your part the dance ends well, but if either trips, you both look bad. considering the above, wait a month then re-evaluate...

Thanks @Charles.M and @mtlsam. Great suggestion. It strikes me that ladies have an advantage over men in this regard as they can wear skirts which would provide a lot of flexibility in coverage and access. And I love the statement "A dude with his junk in a sock is completely harmless looking (not tough at all... lol)."

Im driving up to Deventer (2,5 hour drive from where I live) for a consult with Pawel Jankowzki to start my second (right) sleeve. Even though I'm not getting any new ink tomorrow, just excited to start the whole process again :D I printed out the pictures and stuff 3 weeks ago, lol

I did a search but didn't see anything more than "getting/just got my first tattoo" type threads. Wondered about everyone's first ever tattoos. Do you still have it? Do you still like it? Do you feel attached to it? Etc. I got my first two days after I turned 18, on Halloween, 1992. My best friend and I got matching tattoos-a rose off the wall. Hers is teal, mine is purple. We were the only tattooed students in high school, and were considered huge bad asses. People remarked about how large it was and I thought, really? It didn't seem large to me, but, yanno, then party dots became like the "cool thing" to do, so if you put my rose next to a party dot it looked like I had a full bodysuit to those people I guess. As I've gone along in my tattoo adventures, I had one of mine covered, which ended up turning into this big Japanese wind/water deal, and now I'm looking at my first few from my 18-21 year old self and wondering if I want to keep them like they are, rework them, incorporating them into something new either way..or remove/cover them w/something else that fits me now.

common initiation ritual and coincidentally the name of the collection of short stories I'm writing about pooping in foreign countries.

Thanks. I've been there before and it is a spectacular place. And you have morels in the springtime which is another plus over Texas.

i will say my smallest is my favourite haha! zing

I suggest, that you not misinterpret sharing negative life experiences and expressing those experiences, as hate on for something. Getting small tattoos then regretting them and covering them seems to be part of the tattoo growth process, but if I can help another evolve faster than I did and not make my mistakes then I want to help. the wisdom of hindsight may come across harshly or heavy handed but I believe it is with good intention. that is where I am coming from. Humour helps sometimes. to each his own, but each has to live with it...there for a while and all that

check where you are - its right on the home page: Welcome to Last Sparrow Tattoo The mission of this website is to help preserve the craft of GOOD tattooing and to serve as an educational resource for those who want to learn the difference between good and bad tattoos. There are more bad than good tattoo artists out there, so it is more important than ever to do your research before getting tattooed.

Background scenery behind cherry tree (mountains) and put a close up foreground object at base of tree, maybe a bunny or fox, with some atmosphere elements (cherry blossom petals) to tie in any between spaces.

Getting a movie char portrait done today in a few hours by Radu Rusu, can't wait! And it's at a convention, too :D

+1 for fairytail tattoo ^^

my wife and myself look at it this way,it's silly stupid entertainment,a break from news and politics. and we have learned more about tattoo art and tattoos along the way,by seeing all the mistakes made. neither of us would surely never be a "canvas" on that show.

Welcome! You definitely followed the go large or go home mantra on your first! Gorgeous!

Oliver is awesome. That is a cool thing about living in Dallas for the last year is running into him at punk rock shows and stuff. Now I'm realizing I've been in Dallas for a year and haven't gotten a tattoo from him and it looks like I'm about to be offered a job out east.

this is such an important story to be told,thank you so much for posting it here,simply amazing !

K

we like it too,we watch every episode, it's kind of fun for us since we got tattoos from Oliver in feb this year at fresno,and we have 6 hours of appointments with him in SF on 10/22 at http://bayareatattooconvention.com/ he's a kick to talk to.

As much as I enjoy tattoos, I honestly admit to watching this show religiously. I am happy to see artists I am familiar with on here this season too. now you can start making fun of me.

welcome thekamelien, nice side piece, sit and stay a while. :)

I agree with mtlsam Get a new white sock and put your junk in there just before you start your session (in the bathroom), that way when you have to drop your drawers, you are covered where people will be concerned about modesty. I think people will give you a pass on a not tight but. A dude with his junk in a sock is completely harmless looking (not tough at all... lol). This technique is more common than you think, I did it when getting work on my full back... it works.

Somewhere in this mega thread, or the other mega backpiece thread there is talk of a "fudoshi" basically a long strip of fabric cleverly wrapped around the waist and legs to cover up Japanese style. Search for it and you'll find it. Otherwise I saw a fellow getting his whole back and cheeks done at the Montreal convention this year, as public a space as can be. He had a sock and a paper towel draped over the area. Was good enough for him. People at the shop will laugh it off or at worst be scandelized and have a great story to tell with their new infinity symbols tattoo.

What's the difference between a large pizza and an avid tattoo collector? The pizza can feed a family!

my wife got this trumpet flower/HB piece lastnight from Alycia Harr @ Classic Tattoo > Grass Valley,CA here is a crappy pic of a great looking tattoo. .

From 19:th of september, by TomasTomas at Into You. That was a beautiful and special day. Maybe 2 hours of tattooing and in total 8 hours with all the talking, planning design, preparing, listening to music, watching videos, sharing stories and experience. Tomas is fantastic.

I received this one today from the photographer my college hired to shoot pictures of the Sporting Clays Tournament - he asked me to pose for this one (shotgun was not loaded).

Ok so I caved and took a photo - crappy cell phone because I tried to get a close up and with an iPhone 6S Plus it's huge and hard to steady in my hand. But, you get the idea. Even though it's still healing I am so psyched at how it turned out.

It's a waste of good real estate.

Finally ! I have a reason to post haha ! So stoked about this ! I mean........SO stoked ! Bandage and endorphins still on lol And the freakin' pics will likely be side ways ;) I finally got my crawling panther, like everybody should ;) By Franz Stefanik at Okey Doke in Toronto, ON. Awesome personable guy, awesome chat, awesome tunes. Just a cool chilled out hang and I got to go home with a wicked tattoo at the end haha. ..................................................................................................................... Wow ! Upside right ! Who knew haha !

the heart with the key and banner was my first tattoo,I got it in 1985,(I was 26)it was for an ex-wife with her name in the banner.it was flash off the wall,that's the way it was back then. and a couple other stupid choices from a while ago. .but now it's all nicely covered up ! :)

I just got my first tattoo yesterday (23rd of September 2016) and I am really proud of it.

You are truly supporting inter-Service cooperation. I don't think all, or even most,tattoos have to have some special meaning. If you like a design, go for it!

I got my first tattoo about 5 years ago when my wife decided it was time for her to get a new tattoo after a long break. We decided to get matching tattoos of a terrible drawing I had done on a Mother's Day card of the two of us and our daughter all holding hands. Think of those stickers people put on their mini vans except drawn by someone who can't even print his own name legible most of the time. It is by far my worst tattoo and one of my favorites. I never thought that it would lead to all these other tattoos.

This is a cover up of my first tattoo, which was shit. (I got in 1996 when I was in college with little to no thought, and I was half in the bag.), so it is really my second tattoo. It was covered up in 2011, and I haven't stopped since. Now I've lost count.

Tell me someone is watching Stranger Things!!!!