JBluewind

Thanks! It really healed great. My artist still wants to touch up at 3 months to have it perfect (just how he is), so I'm debating on rather I should upload a pic now or wait until the touch up heals. I'm female and I got to admit that it is making me rock my capri pants a lot. I'm protecting with sunscreen, but it feels too good having it out in the open to hide it under pants. I even bought a dress! Mind you I owned exactly 0 dresses (because I've always been a tomboy and I also have massive hooters that dresses tend to show off and get me unwanted attention), but I found a simple purple cotton dress on clearance (that I stumbled upon while grabbing new pjs on sale) that rocks with my ink. I'm glad you did! This info is awesome. I was looking at surgical steal because I figured it would be less likely to reject since it's literally used in surgery. It's nice to know there are options out there for me :)

That's actually really cool. My town is just weird that way. I know not all Christians are like that and most are good people. My closest friends are a Christian, an Atheist, a Wiccan, and a White Witch and they are all wonderful people who really don't care about someone else's beliefs or what they do to their body as long as someone they care about isn't doing something dangerous. My Mamaw was a gospel singer and my sister is very involved in the church. I know lots of good Christians, but I know lots of bad ones too unfortunately. My town is just weird in that their are a lot of people who call themselves Christians who embody all the bad stereotypes. There are the people I refer to as bible thumpers who are very pushy Christians to the point of being rude. They sometimes just walk up to a complete stranger and start preaching or asking questions about your faith, church, and such in a very dogged way. Sometimes they jump in the middle of conversations they were eavesdropping on (which I have to say is a little weird). Sometimes they talk extensively and excessively about nothing but Christian subjects and steer any conversation to Christianity to the point that other active Christians complain about it. On top of the bible thumpers, there are also bigots who use religion as an excuse for how they act towards others. Sometimes it feels like there are more of the bad Christians here per capita than there are in other cities in my state which gives my area a bit of a reputation. It also has to do with the churches themselves. Speaking from personal experience as well as second hand, I know the opinion some churches around here have about tattoos. We were taught that our bodies were a temple for the Holy Spirit to reside in and tattoos and piercings defaced out temple. As a child in sunday school, I heard things from my various teachers and the preacher like God doesn't answer your prayers if you have a tattoo, the holy spirit cannot reside within people with tattoos, tattoos are a sin against God according to the bible, tattoos cause you to sin, and tattoos are the mark of the devil. I know it's all bs now and that was just their interpretation of the bible, but it was messed up at the time. I know that several churches around here are getting better, but too many still talk about tattoos like that. A lot of the people younger than me are appreciative of tattoos now and a few are getting tattoos of their own. Too many people older than me hate them with a passion. Then again a staggering number of people in my state think marriage should be between a cis man and cis woman only and it took the supreme court to legalize gay marriage here (which a lot of people still are fighting against), so tattoo hate should be no surprise.

I've been brainstorming and I was wondering if a robin feather would work better than a robin for behind my ear. I'm having trouble finding an image of anything but feathers from the wings and tail to get an idea of how it might look. Any thoughts?

That's actually essentially what I'm doing. My asthma has been really bad lately (like scare the crap out of an ER triage bad), so I'm glad I'm currently living with my dad until they can get it back under control (currently on quadruple Symbicort and trying to get an allergy test). Plus dad has been having health problems himself and I've been helping him out. I plan on living here about another year and then moving out. That way I'll have a nice cushion money wise, I'll (hopefully) have been on my allergy shot long enough for it to take effect, I won't be moving/driving in the cold/ice, and I can help dad plant the garden before I go. Currently it's a coin toss between moving to another town and moving to another state to help out my best friend take care of a baby. Her an her fiancé are planning on starting to try for kids as soon as they get married, so it really all depends if they're successful or not. I have a vasoconstrictive condition that makes my left side weak (and sometimes kinda useless), so I'm on disability and could stay home 24/7 taking care of the baby (you would be surprised how much one can do with just one arm). I take care of my nephews all the time so I know I can do it and she wouldn't have to miss as much work or be as tired when she went back. She saved my life several years ago and I think this would be a great way to repay her. :) I don't regret spending the money on my current tattoo. It wasn't a crazy amount and made me feel more confident in who I am and beautiful again after the end of a 7 year toxic relationship. I brush off the negative comments (just like I do the obsessive Christians) and some make me laugh. The only one that bothered me was that of my now former friend. My dad can be rather annoying at times though. I intend on getting one more tiny one behind my ear (a robin for my Mamaw) before I move out. I'm putting off my other larger ones until later (probably 2 years from now). I honestly can't wait to have both my calves finished though. It's gonna take several years to save up all the money I'll need for both of them (limited income), but they are gonna look so awesome! ^_^

Actually, I haven't told anyone I'm an atheist but my dad, one of my nephews, my closest friends, and my tattoo artist (because of my tattoo) and yall (because I needed help and opinions while designing the tattoo). My 3 other nephews, my sister, the rest of my family, my casual friends, and my acquaintances don't know. Anyone who asked about my tattoo just gets told it's a broken infinity to remind me the importance of today (instead of the entire reason). Random people literally come up to you and ask if you know God (I lie and say I do) and if you have a church (I lie and say I worship at home because naming off a random church got me in trouble once when they knew I didn't go there). It defuses most of them, but two to five times a year I run into someone who doesn't think that's enough and who won't drop it even when I'm polite or try to walk away. I've had them follow me to my car! It's the kind of town where it's illegal to sell alcohol and the majority of people are strong Trump supporters (that's not to insult anyone here who does, just to give an idea of the town). 40 minutes away is a slightly larger town (I have doctors there and often go to their larger stores, malls, and movie theater while I'm there) where I have met people with extensive ink or faiths other than Christian (or lack there of). Saying where I'm from leads to them curling their nose and saying "yeah. I've met people from [x]". Then they ask where I'm from originally and then act completely shocked that I was born and raised here because people from here are usually the opposite of open minded. Even my artist (who has tattooed people from my town occasionally) didn't believe it at first and thought I was kidding.

I live in the south too, but in a small town that is extremely religious. It's the kind of town where I get super religious people lecture me for not going to church two to five times a year (and I only leave the house once a week or less!) and somebody says something Christian related to me just about every time I go uptown. They have no clue I'm an atheist; they just know I'm not going to church. One of them lectured me for over an hour! All she knew about me was that I didn't have a church and my dog was in major surgery after having a large thorn pierce her eye (she lost the eye, but they saved her life). I was a captive audience. I asked to be left alone and even changed my seat, but she insisted that she had to help me realize the importance of church for the sake of my eternal soul. I don't encounter tattoo haters every day, but it happens. I was raised to believe that your body was your temple for your soul and God to reside. Tattoos were considered sinful permanent graffiti on God's temple that damaged your relationship with God as He would not want to reside in a defaced temple. Piercings (save for 1 simple earlobe on women only) were treated that way as well. I was raised Southern Baptist (which is very popular here), but we also have a lot of Later Day Saints (mostly Mormons) and Jehovah's Witnesses.

There was so many physical and other changes that I thought would happen when I turned 30, but nothing changed save one big thing. I quit giving a fuck what other people thought ;) Yesterday I had a a fun conversation with a neighbor. She came by to visit and I happen to be wearing capri pants. She said she "disapproved" of people who "mark up their bodies" and that it was "un-christian". I resisted the urge to tell her it was an atheist tattoo and calling me un-christian was kinda a compliment. XD

Daw. So cute!

My existing piece (next to last sketch is my avatar) is actually a broken infinity symbolizing the importance of a finite existence with hidden lowercase g symbolizing taking the power away from God and swirls represents wind symbolizing that even the invisible is not exempt from science and proof. It was my own design to celebrate coming out as an atheist. Everybody here was really awesome helping me tweak it ^_^ Yeah. I think it will look beautiful on the opposite side of my ankle (inner right) from my broken infinity. They have the same feel. I'm so happy I found it! Now if I could only find the other symbols I need so easily and figure out how to arrange them so they have a good flow! *braces self for backlash* I'm not actually a fan of old school. I like tribal, black work, black and gray, neo traditional, some new school, cartoon, some fantasy, and realism, but not old school/traditional. It looks good sometimes on other people, but it's not my style. I also HATE my arms (total bat wings) so the only ink I might ever get on them would be wrists (and maybe behind my shoulder later). I really do want a simple tattoo behind my ear. My friend suggested a simple black line robin with a flash of read on the chest. I'm not sure. I'm still debating. @Dan Wow! Nice line work man. It's clean and has a good flow. How was the pain level? Think you'll get a similar one on the other side?

@bongsau I decided to save the clef heart for my right calf piece since I realized it would go so well with my other piece. It will combine my love of music and my love of Mamaw for it nicely. I like your red robin suggestion for behind the ear, but I've been having a hard time finding anything I like for it. I would like to at least go in with an idea of what I want. I really like black work, but since you can't tell it's a robin with that I was thinking of going neo traditional, new school, or cartoon for this. I want something with good lines so it won't age too terribly. Everything I've found so far has been either realism or sparrows with robin colors. It's really gotten on my nerves to be honest -_- @byzantine This would actually be my second tattoo. My first is an atheist symbol on my ankle I designed myself. The new site won't let me update my bio on mobile so that's why it still says what it does. I know it will probably kill, but it's a small spot so it will be over quick. As far as waiting until I'm in less of an emotional place? I don't think I ever will be. I miss her every day just as badly as when I lost her. It doesn't help that I've recently lost everything thanks to an asshole I was with for 7 years who took my house and kept my furniture and savings when he left me for a 21 year old before my 30th birthday. I have been going to counseling and got on low dose Paxil which has helped. I just want something positive on me to remind me of her and that she will always be a part of me. I think it will really cathartic. @marley mission I like behind the ear because it's not as visible as other face area tattoos. I'm also sincerely thinking of getting black work fake piercing tattoos on my ears later on. @oboogie Because you are a beast that's why! ;) @Devious6 That's story was awesome! Love love love it :D Part of the reason I want this is to help me focus more on the positive rather than the negative. I sincerely think it would beg good for me.

@Graeme I've only seen one in real life that didn't look like crap (which is the norm for most ink around here unfortunately). She had a little tribal style flower on her upper ear and a rose behind (and 5 or 6 others she named off). She said the ear was weird because it moved a lot and needed a touch up and that behind the ear hurt like a SOB. The one on her ear was faded somewhat, but she tans. It still looked nice though. Most others I've seen IRL are either green or blown out to kingdom come or just bad. I found one online that was a simple black flower with a piercing in the center that looked healed and just looked awesome although I have to agree that too many of them were fresh or photo shopped. I meant it when I said I'd looked at hundreds of pics XD I agree. That's why I'm saving up. My left calf is going to be color (with a fairy and background) and about going forward. My right is going to be black work with some black and gray and about who I am and where I came from. I'm researching my genealogy now and intend to design something with symbols of my ancestors (currently Irish, Scottish, Native American, and British Isles), a symbol for my home state (probable a bee on apple blossom), and something for Mamaw (incorporating sowing and music) to go along with my atheist symbol (although I'm still brainstorming on how to tie it all together). @oboogie That's good to know. I know everybody is different, but it makes me happy that it might not be as bad as she said it was. My pain tolerance is pretty good in general though and it's only a temporary moment of discomfort anyway, so I would be doing it even if you said it felt like a jackhammer on fire. ;) I feel pretty stupid for crying. It's closer to 2 years now than 1, but it still hurts. I've just being bombarded with mom references the last few weeks and it's really gotten to me. She was the one person who always supported and loved me no matter what. @bongsau I know you weren't picking on me hun. I'm just unnaturally emotional and tender hearted right now. Between mother's day and my doctor quadrupling my Symbicort (steroid) for the next 6 weeks (my lungs aren't currently working right and I was having constant asthma attacks, one of which even scared the crap out of triage and a nurse at the ER), I have no handle on my emotions. The community has really helped me a lot. It really helps to be able to bounce ideas off people and be taught how to find a good artist and proper aftercare. Thanks for the advice! Between oboogie saying behind the ear didn't hurt that bad and your opinion, I'm more confident in getting it behind me ear. I'm torn between a treble cleft and something like this. I kinda fell in love with this, so I might just get a treble cleft now and get that somewhere later. Thank you for understanding. Your tattoo is beautiful. Having something beautiful to remind you of her is the same reason I have for wanting one. A lot of people don't get it and think I should be over it by now, so I catch crap for still crying over losing her and missing her. Her kids say I was "just a grandkid" (save my dad), but she considered me her youngest daughter and often referred to me as such. My biological mother was abusive, so I stayed with her all the time going home just to see dad after he got off work (her house was walking distance). She helped me study for tests, taught me to read and cook, sang me to sleep, got me ready for school (waking me up singing Red Red Robbin by Doris Day), listened, and was always there for me. When she had stroke, it was me that moved in her home, cared for her day and night, did her therapy, and nursed her back to health when her kids wanted to just stick her in a nursing home. When she sold her car and home and moved into a retirement home ten years later, I visited all the time and took her out whenever she asked (sometime surprising her with a trip to the movies). When she died, her other kids took over and had a funeral that would have made her mad and ignored anything I said (we had discussed what she wanted but again "just a grandkid") and refused to so much as let me put her favorite socks (rainbow fuzzy knee highs she wore on cool nights) in the coffin. Dad was too upset to argue with them and just let them do whatever. Not a day goes by that I don't think of her.

I like behind the ear too although I imagine it's different for females. A good one looks damn sexy with an updo, but can be hidden for work if need be. A well inked friend of mine told me they hurt like a SOB though, but it makes sense they would (skin on bone + lots of nerves = ouch). Each person is their own. I've seen lots of flower designs with a piercing in the center online which look great. Speaking as someone who's weird body has never been cool with piercings but is totally fine with ink, I would love a tasteful tattoo on my earlobe and/or upper ear in place of piercings. They're not anymore edgy or silly than any other tattoo. Not everybody can afford a bodysuit and not everyone wants a big piece. I only have the one piece, but I was torn between behind the ear and on the flat part of my upper ear as my second tattoo to save towards. Behind the ear is the more likely of the two for me because it's less exposed to the sun. If it wasn't for the sun, I would get it on my upper ear so more people would see it. The reason I'm considering one for myself is personal. The woman who was like my mother all my life passed away over a year ago. She was a singer for 50 years, played multiple instruments, and music was a huge part of her life and who she was. This past month has been hard (with mother's day ads going on). I was missing her and her beautiful kind voice, so I want to get something music themed (probably a treble cleft) behind my ear to remind me that she will always be a part of me. I intend to include something else in a larger piece later on, but it's gonna be a while before I can save up for that (I'm sick most of the time an go to the ER more than I'd like so it will take me 2 to 4 years to save for each calf piece), so that's why I chose something small that I can save up for in just a few months. Information on ear area tattoos is sparse so I thought starting a thread would be a good way for information to be shared on them all in one place for other people having trouble finding information, ideas, and pictures on them. I regret posting it now and I'm pissed off at myself that talking about her has me cry like a child. All I wanted was to make a thread for anyone who was searching for information on ear area tattoos and maybe get some help for myself in the process so I could get something elegant in her memory.

Edit: I deleted that part of the OP. The thread is just about ear area tattoos anyway and I was just trying to give examples. It's not about my tattoos (present or future) or anything. This entire forum has no threads on the subject that I found via the search feature and as an area which many have had inked and many will get inked in the future there should be a place to share information and ideas.

After a quick search looking for ideas for an ear tattoo, I quickly realized that there are no threads or mentions in existing threads about the ear area. So I'm fixing that. This is a thread for sharing finished ear area tattoos as well as ear area tattoo ideas, experiences, reactions, healing tips, and tattooing experiences.

I'm 30 and my family loves to remind me that I'm an old lady now, so your comment gave me a giggle. ;)