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Sarah placed the tattoo on my right shoulder much higher that I originally wanted it. I'm so glad she did! Sent from my Le Pan TC802A using Tapatalk

I've asked to have stencils moved before. I did not, with my second tattoo, and the placement of it is not exactly what I wanted. All of the tattoos that followed on my left leg are shifted off to the left a bit because of the placement of that one tattoo. Lesson learned! That's the only time you get to move it if you don't like it.

@tertia Unless you have a very specific idea of where it should be I think you should always trust your artist. That is, as long as you have a rapport and trust him/her generally, then they should know best. For me, because I get traditional Japanese, I literally said, I'd like a Jikokuten backpiece, or, I'd like a minogame with momiji and waves. My artist had like three very general questions, and that was that. You give yourself over to the artist. So, considering your question, I'd say again, as long as you trust them, it's their call.

Next appointment with Scott Sylvia isn't until October sixth to continue my Fudo/Dragon sleeve. However, Scott does have a walk in day once a month and I'm pretty sure I'll be going in and getting a design of the wall the first weekend of August.

@scottyg Thanks man! I've been really enjoying Horimomo's work recently! But you also reminded me that I still haven't posted a healed photo. This one was taken about a month after finishing it, and some of the blue still needs a bit of settling time to get uniform. Maybe not a readable as some other backpieces, but I love how dynamic the huge wave over my shoulder is and the lighting. It moves very well on my body. I'm very glad we decided to go to the knee with this one, Scott's reasoning being "you're so damn skinny it's like trying to paint a skateboard."

Well, Takashi beat the shit out of me for 3 hours yesterday; was able to do the mikiri/background shading on my left shoulder. But this was with tebori, for the first time on my backpiece, and although I have another tebori piece this was on a whole other level of pain. Especially behind the armpits... and the back ribs. Everyone says how your ribs kill, but no one talks about how your ribs extend to your back! But it's weird because I totally could have taken a nap were it not for the pain... by which I mean, there really is a rhythm to tebori that's different than machine, and while it's a different kind of pain altogether, that rhythm is relaxing. Anyway, Takashi rules, and persistence is the name of the game!

Around the 12-hour mark and I'm liking the way my Japanese-American-Japanese backpiece is coming together. I seem to have fallen into a steady-ish rhythm re: the sessions. Beforehand: A bowl of ramen and gyoza beneath Tokyo Station and then the ride to InkRat, Koenji. The studio's kickarse blues tunes to get through the session. (Work has been so hectic recently that I've actually grown to look forward to these sessions and the lack of need to do anything for a solid three hours.) A can of IPA on the train home, undress the wrap, a hot-then-cold shower and air-dry with a glass of Penderyn. Finally some after-care cream and to bed in a shirt stained multi-coloured from past tattoos. Will post an update as the colours come in... tj

Aaron peter he works at bugaboo in Merrillville Indiana I added a link to his page guy is phenomenal http://instagram.com/aaronpeterstattoo

Roses on my forearm the numbers where my soccer numbers that I had for all 14 years. Artist name in johnny at ASG ink in valpo IN wouldn't recommend him, he did good on this one but screwed my other up pretty bad.

Desert rose. William Kasper when he was still in MO.

Some blackwork roses in a shoulder cap by Jacob Kearney at Metamorph in Chicago :)