Blaue

Wow, that's such a difference! Thanks for continuing the thread. I can't wait to see the Joel rework.

Maybe it's just an over easy egg and it's a little brown from the fried butter

At a museum once, saw the alphabet into colored pencil tips. I thought that was pretty cool, but those sculptures are AMAZING!

To me, a tattoo (like any piece of art) can symbolize whatever you feel. It can also symbolize nothing at all, that's up to you. To me, this tattoo looks like it could represent an intimate relationship, or someone's love of cosplay, or their love of tattoos. It could represent their parents who have passed away. It could be characters from a graphic novel that they love. It could simply be an image they really like. If you want your tattoo to mean something, pick something that means something to you. I have mandala that represents my three kids, it was designed specifically to mean this. But when someone else sees it, it can mean whatever a mandala means to them. And I'm OK with that. I like my tattoos to mean something to me. I have another tattoo that looks like an elaborate "4" and it represents a whole 30 years of friendship with someone. YOU get to assign whatever meaning your tattoo has, if any at all. At least that's how I feel about it. :)

I think it looks great! It's beautiful and well positioned. I only have 2 tattoos (so I'm barely past the tattoo virgin phase), and it took me more time to get used to my bigger one, so I think there is something to sometimes needing more time to get used to bigger ones. My vote goes to waiting until you are more used to this one before adding to the sleeve (for me, more change right away would just add more anxiety). I hope you enjoy this tattoo more and more each day, because it's very pretty.

I think it's beautiful and stunning. I love it's placement and that it is only on half of your back (I love asymmetry). I can relate to your tattoo remorse. I am also a mom in my 40s and recently got my first and second tattoos. Both times I had a little freak out, but I grew to love them. For me it definitely took a some time to feel like they were my tattoos and part of me. I hope that you will grow to love it because it really does look amazing, strong & powerful.

Welcome, Steven! I just got my first tattoo. I originally thought I would do a small animal for each of my kids, but I couldn't settle on exactly what. I ended up doing a mandala and each ring represents one of my children. My artist also does astrology so he took each of their birthdays and incorporated elements from their signs into the design. That said, if anyone ever sees it, they will have no idea what it represents, but to me it represents my kids and it is also a design that moves me. So if you think outside the box, you can come up with something. Do you want the dates specifically or anything that pertains to each child? You could incorporate the season they were born? something that is a favorite of theirs (color or animal?)? ?? Good luck deciding!

I am on day 6 and I have super itchy moments. I hope this is shorter lived than when I've had poison ivy.

We watch on Hulu. My husband laughs and knows what we are watching from the other room based on how often the language sensor beeps. I like seeing the tattoos, but wish the critiques had more air time. My neophyte eyes can't always tell what they are criticizing. I will happily admit that I found my tattoo artist from this show. One of the shop's owners was on as a guest judge. I have googled a couple of people on the show, so I googled this guest judge because he is in NYC. Then I fell in love with the work of one of the artists in that shop. And now I am the proud bearer of art from an amazing artist!

I'm blaue_Augen most places online (which means blue eyes) ... but something happened to the _Augen here and now, apparently, I'm just blue.

I liked the video, thanks for sharing. I want to go hug my folks now ... :)

Tomorrow I get my first tattoo at Saved in NYC with John Sultana. I'm nervous and excited! ... eeep! (I feel like I'm bragging, saying from where/whom I'm getting my tattoo, but I'm supposed to share that info, right?)

Hello and welcome and another new forum member. I can't help with your questions, but I wanted to say I like your drawings! Good luck!

Maybe this will sound stupid, but why don't you try drawing on yourself (or have a friend draw it) with markers to see if it bugs you? In my defense, I have little kids and we draw on each other all the time. I do think the octopus sounds cool and I don't think seeing the tentacles near any other tattoos would bother me depending on how close they get. Also, at the moment I'm a tattoo virgin, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. :)

Hi! I just joined the site myself and am also tattooless at the moment. As I read your post, it could have been me writing it ... until you got to the punched in the face part ... that didn't happen to me. I know exactly how you feel about wanting the tattoo to mean something significant. I recently figured out what I want and have even made my appointment. A suggestion for your tattoo ... something that will represent you breaking your behavior that you don't like. A broken chain or a bird flying from a cage or a butterfly representing a metamorphosis from the bad behavior. (sorry for the girly suggestions, but I am a girl.) I do think if I wanted it to be a reminder to stop myself from doing it (as opposed to a reminder that I've already changed my behavior), it would have to be on my hands so I could see it all the time. Good luck and welcome!

How silly of me to read any of this thread. I thought getting the tattoo was the only pain I really had to worry about, and now I see that's probably not the case. I've read just 3 pages and I'm going to stop before I really want to change my mind about getting a tattoo ... I did give my deposit already so there's no backing out now!

We have been watching InkMasters on Hulu ... my daughters and I been binge watching it. I need to sit down with the judges and have them explain to me exactly what's good and bad about some of the tattoos because I can't always see what they are talking about. My 15 year is an artist and thinks it will be fabulous to be someone's tattoo apprentice and that's her current goal. I am OK with whatever makes her happy and financially independent ... just not until she's done with school! I do hope some of the pain is exaggerated on those shows, or at least that I can sit still through it. I will just keep telling myself what Graeme said that if it's THAT bad, no one would have more than one. This is so nice to hear! I knew choosing an excellent artist is important to me, so it's great to hear he has a solid reputation. Also, I'm glad to hear it's a friendly shop. A warm environment will go a long way to making me feel more comfortable. I'm really out of my element if everyone in any kind of shop is a snob. Saved is a little bit of a haul from my home, so it will be nice to make an outing of our trips there. If you have some favorite restaurants, I'd love to hear them!! I'll definitely post a picture when it's done. I'll be so excited to show it off and there are only so many times I can show it to my family members. lol Thanks for the encouragement el twe!

I plan on having my three kids represented in a mandala of sorts from John Sultana in Brooklyn. I have some images to show what I like, but I thought I would leave the exact design up to the artist. If that's a mistake, let me know!! And I was thinking of placing it on my upper arm/shoulder area. I'm really open on placement. I do like the idea of being able to see it myself (at least a little bit of it). Thanks for the encouragement, Graeme!

I've happily and accidentally found The Last Sparrow recently and I wanted to say hey! I have quite a few questions that I'm slowly answering with the search function here. Thanks for all the insightful questions & comments that are already here. I'm a 40 something mom who has wanted a tattoo for 15+ years, but I am a slow decision maker. I feel if I'm going to keep it forever, I really want love it. I have finally settled on the general idea of what I want. I've found and contacted an artist and I will shortly have a consult with him. If all goes well, I should have my tattoo by November. I know that sounds like a long way off, but after 15 years, it's not really that far. Plus, I believe my artist is worth the wait. I am thinking this will be my only tattoo, but I can secretly see myself with a few (don't tell my husband! lol). I am worried about one thing ... what if I'm a wimp? I'm planning on what is reported to be a less painful area, but I don't really know what my tolerance will be. I am hoping my really wanting the tattoo will over shadow any wimpiness that might come out.