Bonnie Baker

Hello, barb! I was raised on the beach as well and as much as I love that humid salty air on a warm balmy night, I'm not a huge fan of the salt water itself. I'd rather be on a river or lake, but I don't know what I'd do without the beach view. (I'm very claustrophobic without seeing that never ending ocean!) Anyways, welcome!

Definitely don't let the fear of pain compromise the perfect placement of your tattoo. The pain does suck, but it's temporary and the tattoo is forever. You'll be much happier in the end if you have it exactly where you want it and no regrets.

Personally I would go big or go home. A spartan warrior in action sounds pretty cool and if you're really confident in your artist, I would give them free reign on the preliminary design and see what he/she comes up with. That's what I did and I couldn't be happier. Also I got started on my back piece at 19 and I love it, but make sure you're totally confident about having something on you for the rest of your life! (Sure you hear that plenty, sorry lol!)

Hmm, looks like I will eat a HUGE lunch before my second session this saturday! (I'm almost more nervous for my second session than I was for my first!) Anyone have a meal that they always eat before their sessions? My friend always eats lots and lots of pizza. I'm just a little worried I'll suffer from heartburn during my session if I go too crazy. Also Any suggestions on the best places in Nola for a pre-tattoo lunch?

Hi @treeoflife! Congratulations on getting your back piece done! I'm in the process myself and the itch has been UNBEARABLE. I look like a psychopath when I'm healing because I'm always attempting to slap my own back and just about cry in pain over the itch. My back piece is also my first tattoo. It takes a lot of courage just to jump in like that, and with all that pain, a back piece is definitely something to cherish and show off!

Thank you @SStu !

I know someone mentioned a lotion applicator, but if you don't want to order anything online my artist recommended a really soft cake frosting spatula for applying ointment. I still don't know what do to as far as washing my back by myself though.

Hello! I'm the same way as you, it takes me a long time to make decisions. It took me three years to figure out what I wanted on my back but once my mom mentioned "dragon" I was ready to get a tattoo that week. Hopefully your next idea will just hit that elusive mark and you'll know. It was the same when looking for an artist too. @SeeSea sounds like you might know where your happy place is, haha.

Thanks guys! @SeeSea sugar definitely helped. I drank about half a powerade and the shaking lessened. I don't know about putting extra clothes on, I was hot and sweaty the whole time. My hands did go numb within the first 5 minutes though. @Graeme that makes me feel a lot better! I think I could handle the same pain again, but I don't really want to lol.

Update: Hey, guys. I just wanted to thank you for your advice. Yall's words of encouragement were in my head before I lied down. I don't recall any endorphins kicking in, mostly sucked the whole time, haha. My body shook the entire time and I cried about three times, but he got the outline done in 3 and a half hours and I'm still alive and excited about my next session! Scales and shading in the clouds are next. Hopefully I'll be able to push through it. [/img]

Hey, Vaas! Love the paws because the soft spot for my cats I have. I hope to get a portrait of my Frank within the next few years. Mind you, in high school I was voted "most likely to become crazy cat lady." Very accurate. As far as the hands go, as long as you are totally confident in your career, I say go for it! I don't think it looks bad without your arms done first, but then again I don't see it very often.

Hello! I took the same approach finding an artist. It took me a couple years, but now I can go to my appointment completely confident. Wouldn't have taken so long if I had just started in New Orleans before looking in Mobile, but hopefully worth it! Good luck finding your artist.

@sourpussoctopus nice! I hate to admit that I don't even like being in lab, so I don't know what to do. I hope to go to med school, but if I were to stay in chemistry something medical related or environment related would definitely be my choice! Looks like you've worked really hard, I hope I can make it as far as you (maybe not in chemistry, we'll see lol). Your tattoos are beautiful! This might sound weird but I know a fellow tatted up chemist that would probably fall in love you, haha.

I think the fact that you're sitting for multiple sessions for a piece so large, your toughness/badassness outweighs how ridiculous you look. haha. My mom will be there most likely taking a couple pictures of me which I'm sure will turn out beautiful (face swollen from crying, half naked, probably really unforgiving angles, big guy with a beard leaning over me). The kind of pictures a mother always looks forward to taking of their only daughter, lol.

@deepsleep Awesome advice! It took me a couple of years to find the right artist and I use instagram religiously so hopefully I'm good to go! I really trust the skill of my artist, I just haven't seen his design for me and I'm really hoping he could see my vision after we spoke and I gave him a few pictures with what I specifically liked and didn't like.

Welcome @jen7! Good question about the aftercare, I'm curious about that myself. I'll be starting my back piece next weekend and it will be my first tattoo on top of that. Also to add to your question: does anyone have any recommendations on the best way to bathe while healing a back piece (shower, shallow bath, etc)??

@bongsau I will definitely be bringing a robe and socks. I always get so cold after sweating or working out. Plus a fuzzy hello kitty robe might comfort me a bit. I'm just going to pretend my grandpa (whom I cannot disappoint) is there so I tough it out. "The mortality rate is very low" hahahaha.

Thanks! I will probably have a much more difficult time getting into since I have not been meditating long. For a beginner though, I feel the a huge effect afterwards of alert calmness. Maybe by the time my back piece is complete I'll be much better at it!

@SStu Looks like he did a beautiful job! @Upndown Looks like I have a great excuse to fill up on some cajun food before my appointment. Hopefully I'll just fall into a food coma during the tattoo, haha.

@purplelace do you start your meditation before you begin or once the needle has already started? And if you start meditating before, how long does it take for you to get into it before the tattooing actually starts? I really want to use my back piece as a chance to enhance my meditation and use the meditation to accept the pain and keep me relaxed.

Ah, thank you guys! I think just knowing how worth it it will be will make it easier to tough out. I'm going to get back into meditating this week so that maybe I can use it to keep my breathing steady and it may help me turn the pain into a learning experience. I have never meditated through serious pain so I would definitely like to try. Has anyone else used meditation before or during their long sessions? Oh, and people like you are the reason I joined this site. Makes me feel better that there are people just as crazy out there!

Haha, that does make me feel better.. Sort of! I just love the idea of a complete continuous piece of art encompassing that much space. Luckily my mom supports me, she says go big or go home. I will be getting a dragon. No bright colors, red, pastel pink, olive gree, and a lot of grey. The face of the dragon will not be entirely traditional, because I want it to be a little prettier/feminine. I'm going to Jeremy at eyecandy in New Orleans. My mom is getting her tattoo the night before by the same guy. Any tips to deal with the pain and healing?

Welcome Laura! I'm currently a Chemistry major and that is one thing I love about it. I've had blue hair and piercings and I got a job working in a lab my freshman year despite being in a really conservative area. That's why the decision to maybe change my major is really heart breaking, but I'm currently in organic 2 and it's very discouraging :c :c Congratulations on getting so far into school, I'm quite ready to graduate already, haha. What do you plan on doing with a Ph.d?