Intomyskin

Maybe I shouldn't post here since I am still in the planning/saving stage for my back piece and otherwise have only one tiny hidden tattoo. So I don't know how I will react to stares. But I admit that I have been guilty of "staring" sometimes, because when I see a great tattoo, I want to really soak it up. (Maybe "stare" is too strong of a word. I keep a respectful distance, and my eyes don't bug out of my head, and I keep my mouth closed). But I think my experience as one who has "stared" will inform my future reaction to people who stare. I'm probably going to keep covered most of the time, but sometimes I'd like to be able to show my half sleeves, and I suppose some will stare. My current theory is that they can stare all they want, as long as they don't say something obnoxious or disrespectful within earshot. If they ask me a respectful question, I will gladly talk, because I have greatly appreciated it when I have politely commented on people's tattoos, and they engaged me in conversation about them. It is amazing what a polite and respectful, "Excuse me, I want to tell you that I think that is a really nice tattoo," will do. I have had people react with their faces lighting up, thanking me, and then without being asked rolling up their sleeve and showing the rest of their piece, and talking animatedly about it. I want to be that person.

When my wife and I met in the late 1960s, we had no interest in tattoos. We were still dating a few years later, when articles about tattooing started to pop up in magazines and newspapers, and I was becoming interested. I struck up a conversation with her about it, and she jumped in, suggesting that we get matching tattoos. I had started to think that tattoos on women were rather attractive, so I thought it was quite cool that she wanted one. But I was also quite shocked, because (I’m embarrassed to confess here that I thought this) I didn’t think she “was the type of girl would would get a tattoo!” Today, she has four tattoos, I stayed at one + some background added a few years later, until I recently started planning a back piece. Today I look at those first tattoos on me, and on her and I smile. Its hard to explain. They are still there over 40 years later, after everything we have gone through, a constant. It really means something. And I’m glad she was “the type of girl who would get a tattoo,” because I still do find them quite attractive on women, and it has been sort of “icing on the cake” for us. Looking back, I realize it was amazingly serendipitous that I connected with a woman at that time, when tattoos were pretty rare, who would want to have tattoos, even though tattooing was not on the radar for either of us when we met. I feel kind of lucky. It is hard to imagine not being with her. But if something were to happen to her and I had to form a new relationship with someone, I’m tempted to say that she would have to be tattooed, partly because I find that attractive, but also to understand me, and why I want a back piece. But at my age, there are not a lot of tattooed sixty-something ladies out there, and relationships are so much complex than that, that I’m not sure it is realistic to put that kind of limitation on choice of partner. Comments here reinforce that plainskins and tattooed folks can have great relationships. ... and @Gingerninja - Like Viagra? Yup...

Great Topic! Very few people around me had tattoos when I grew up. But my first conscious recollection of seeing one is still quite vivid. In the early 1960s, I was probably 8 or 9, my great uncle visited from Arizona. He had a fuzzy blue-black panther on his left forearm. My guess was that he was in his 80s. I must have asked him about it, because he explained that it involved needles, and ink, and was very painful, and it would never come off. When he explained about the needles he sort of gripped his arm in a way that made me think that the tattoo was applied with some sort of clamping device. So for several years after that I thought that a tattoo was applied with something like a waffle iron! I'm not going to say that I knew that I wanted one from that moment, because I didn't. I knew they were not for "good boys" like me. Besides the tattoo image was not appealing, and the process sounded ghastly. But I do remember being absolutely totally fascinated with the fact that it was permanent, that it would be be there forever. That stayed in my subconscious until the early 70s when Janis Joplin suddenly made tattoos cool, I learned that there were no waffle irons involved, and got my first tattoo.

@DJDeepFried and @sighthound: I was half joking when I said I was embarrassed that my attraction to Japanese tattooing was aesthetic. However articles and TV have sort of conditioned us to think that every tattoo has a beautiful and deeply personal story, and really hasn’t left room for those of us who just like tattoos and their aesthetics. In a way, they have made it seem shallow to get tattooed simply because you think that tattoos are beautiful. Don’t get me wrong, I have been sincerely and deeply touched by the stories and meanings behind some tattoos, Memorializing a departed loved one, covering scars of surgery, celebrating a victory over disease — wow! Those are powerful reasons to get a tattoo, and that is part of the power of tattooing, that it is perhaps the ultimate way to mark these kinds of experiences. I sometimes wish that my planned tattoo had some meaning, but it doesn’t. But I’m not really embarrassed about it. Tattooing serves a lot of purposes. It is enough meaning for me to say that I want a beautiful piece of art to be a part of my body forever. For me, that is pretty powerful.

@GlaryMilberg - I'm in the planning phase, so up to his point this thread has just made me excited seeing the great work that people are getting and that I'm someday going to be joining the people here sharing my tattoo progress. It also makes me excited and anxious to get started. However I'm sure once I get started, like you, I will better appreciate the trials and tribulations of the journey that people speak of here, but that I cannot yet really know. Kudos to all of you!

63 here. Similar to you, @SLRich-KY, I'm planning a Japanese backspace and half sleeves after about a 35 year break after my last tattoo. @Devious6 - Congrats on your new tattoo. Hey is that a typo on your age?

@sighthound - Cindy said the same thing about starting with the back if I was going to piecemeal it. But I'm in my 60s, and after waiting for so long, I wanted something in front that I could see ASAP! I figured it would take me a couple of years to finish a back piece, and I still wouldn't be able to see it LOL! So that's why I initially was going to start with sleeves. But the current plan is to outline the whole thing first, and then maybe complete a sleeve and chest so I have something to see. I ams sort of embarassed to admit that my primary attraction to the Japanese style is purely the aesthetics of the style. I'm really woefully ignorant about the traditions and the stories and symbolism of certain images and combinations of images. Cindy has been kind enough to educate me on that to some extent in our email exchanges, and I am trying to learn more.

Thanks @Graeme! You experiences are helpful. Overthinking things is one of my special skills LOL! I'm an architect so I spend my days planning things out in advance, trying to anticipate what will happen on a project. I can't help myself!

Stumbled on this thread. Since I'm a male, I can't add anything directly to the specific question. But I've read the responses which generally agree that a bra strap will not damage your tattoo. However, I've seen elbow tattoos that look very worn. Why would a tattoo on an elbow wear from constant contact, while a shoulder tattoo under a bra strap won't? Just curious. Maybe the skin on elbows is somehow "different?"

I’m planning a back piece and am trying to get a grip on the realities of the process. One consideration is that I’m I am going to be traveling (flying) four hours for my back piece sessions, which I expect will be two day sessions. Because of limitations on vacation time, I can’t really schedule an extra day after my sessions to “recover” before flying home. So my questions: Anybody with any experience flying the day immediately after a back piece session, and any suggestions? What about working the second day after a back session? I have a job where I sit 95% of the time, and I generally work 9 to 10 hour days (NOTE: My back piece will include butt and upper thighs). Can I realistically expect to be useful at work the second day after a two-day back session? And after care at the office - I don’t think it is going to be feasible for me to do anything there. Can I just do the routine in the morning, and then immediately when I get home in the evening?

Several here say that they find piercings to be high-maintenance or a pain to deal with during healing. I sort of enjoyed the healing process. Yes, It was annoying to have to make time for the soaking/cleaning routine twice a day, and my healing took about twice as long as expected, but on the other hand it made me pay attention to that part of my body, which I had previously taken for granted, which was cool.

@DJDeepFried - At this point I've been communicating with Cindy Maxwell in Seattle.

@a_beukeveld - very cool piece by Henning! It actually sort of gives me chills to think of going from nothing to such a major transformation of the body with one piece like that. I'm close to that, but I do have that one small piece, but It won't interfere. I admire the commitment. That is another thing I like about large scale Japanese work. It represents a HUGE life commitment to change your body so radically and permanently. I find the idea very compelling.

I’m in the planning/money-saving phase of a back piece with either quarter or “almost half” sleeves, with chest panels. It will extend onto mu butt, and possibly a bit onto the backs of my thighs. The thing that first attracted me to Japanese style tattooing was the concept of a single cohesive piece covering a large part of the body. But when I finally made the decision to get a large piece, I was planning to gradually tiptoe into it: First a sleeve, then the other sleeve, then the back, and then the chest. But my artist said that it is hard to develop a flow and continuity doing the piecemeal approach, and encouraged me to outline the whole thing first. I understood her point because the continuity is the thing that I initially liked, but was inadvertently defeating by going piecemeal. So I like the idea of one piece planned as a whole. Having said that, I realize that not everyone can do that because they have may accumulated several tattoos before they decide to go big. You have to do the best you can to tie it together into a whole with tattoos of different styles and different ages and less than ideal placement. Some artists do a great job on this - I think it takes a really good artist with great imagination. In a way I was lucky because, for better or for worse, I waited. I got one small tattoo early, slightly expanded it several years later, and stayed at one for decades. So now that I’ve decided to go big, I pretty much have a clean canvas for a cohesive piece that I’ve always dreamed about.

Any forum, even those that are "must be a member to post," is going to have people who are going to make negative comments. And some people are going to be blunt in their honest responses, and maybe sometimes a little too blunt. For example, there are two ways to tell a newbie that traditional tattoos hold up well over the long term: "That watercolor s**t is going to look like dog puke smeared on the carpet in ten years, so if you decide to get something stupid like that, don't come back here whining about it and asking how to fix it. Get a REAL tattoo instead of some trendy impressionistic crap that you saw in some fancy magazine." or... "Tattoos without outlines often don't hold up well over time. The ink fades and the images might become indistinct, expecialliy if you spend time in the sun. Take some time and look at some tattoos that are 20 or 30 years old and see what happens to the colors vs. the line work, and then make a decision." I think the second is a more helpful response. But you are probably going to get some responses like the first one, so you have to have a filter. I have certainly seen some mean spirited responses to sincere questions. For the most part, I think LST is good and supportive environment.

@polliwog - I love going to conventions for the same reason that I like LST: Even though there may be some who are there just to gawk, by and large people there (or here) “get it.” When I went to my first convention, it helped me realize that it’s ok to be tattooed. Even though I had seen pictures of heavily tattooed people before, I had never seen a person with a sleeve or back piece live and in the flesh. It may sound stupid and (I’m sorry) was exactly the kind of stereotyping that we fight here, but even though I was fascinated with the idea of having extensive tattoo coverage, I imagined that heavily tattooed people were some weird subculture leading bizarre isolated lives. At my first convention I talked to heavily tattooed people for the first time and saw that they were just people, like me. Duh… They were nice, helpful and encouraged me to go for it. That really helped me turn the corner on my tattoo interests, and not feel so weird about wanting to be heavily tattooed. Yeah. Tattooing is outside most people's range of understanding. I keep imagining a conversation that I might have with some of my friends: (excitedly) "I'm starting my back piece next week!" "Back piece?" "It's a tattoo" "You're getting a tattoo?????" "Uh, Yes." "Where on your back? Like on your shoulder blade?" "Well, it will cover my whole back." "A tattoo covering your whole back????? Seriously????" And the conversation spirals into the abyss from there.

One of the things that I like about LST is that the regulars are like-minded and share a genuine enthusiasm for tattoos. I know some people are uncomfortable with the notion of a tattoo “community.” However, in a sense I think that this is a “community” in that it is a group with common interests and experiences, and information to share, without judgement. Whether we like it or not, we have an interest in a practice that a many of people find pretty weird. So, there is something to be said for having a group of people available to you who do not find tattooing weird, and in fact find it quite wonderful. Even if we have people around us who don’t judge or criticize, there is still a gap between tattooed and untattooed people that you can’t bridge. You really can’t talk to them about tattooing and expect a response that is enthusiastic, supportive and understanding that you would get from another tattooed person. And you certainly can’t discuss the technical aspects or ask for advice. It is probably no different than, say, being interested in restoring old cars. People may accept your hobby, be curious about it, enjoy seeing your restored ’35 Chevy. But but the depth of conversation is limited, and at some point you wish you could talk to other car restorers so you can get into the intricacies of 1930s Chevy carburetors. It is fun to be able to “talk shop” with insiders in your field of interest, and it is fun to be one of the insiders. Speaking for myself, I’m planning a back piece and sleeves, but have almost no tattooed people around me. So LST is sort of an oasis, where I can “hang out with” tattooed people, where it is ok to be tattooed, to like being tattooed, to be heavily tattooed, and to be excited about your next tattoo. You can just talk about tattoos as much as you want. I like to read the discussions, hear how people feel about tattooing, gather information, ask questions, and chime in, knowing that I am welcome. It is the only place where I can do that. On the other hand, maybe some are happily tattooed and don’t feel any need to have like minded people to interact with. So how do you feel about LST as a community, or about the concept of a “tattoo community” in general, and does it play a role for you in you tattooed life?

Oh, Man! very nice! Love seeing your progress!

I got my nipples pierced as a 50th birthday present to myself (I’m a guy). It was actually related to my tattoo experience in an odd way. I was trying to decide if I wanted to get heavily tattooed, and part of that debate was wondering what it would be like living with a tattoo, changing my body, having something unusual on it that was covered, but where there was still the possibility of having it noticed. Piercing intrigued me similar to tattoos because it involved changing the body permanently (well, semi permanently). So I got the idea that getting my nipples pierced could be a “test run” for getting a large tattoo. I figured that if I was uncomfortable living with the piercings, then I probably was going to be uncomfortable living with a huge tattoo. And I could take the piercings out, with no harm done, and get on with life. So I did it, and it actually helped me finally decide to get a back piece and sleeves. I liked knowing the piercings were there, that I had a special secret, and that I had stepped out of the box. It was also like crossing a threshold into the world of changing my body. Once I got the piercings, it seemed like it was a smaller and easier step to decide to get a big tattoo. I sort of felt like I had started on a path that I had to follow.

@Devious6: The "I'm not getting any younger" philosophy is driving me too. I've just got to get past this obstacle of telling my best friend. rationally, I can't imagine that he would totally dismiss me from his life if I get tattooed. He is like a brother to me. But it is a big, HUGE step for me, and perhaps I'm still having reservations and they are playing out through my friend. I hope you do become a trendsetter for college presidents! I really like it when I meet or see somebody with a tattoo who I would never expect to have one (like a college president). It makes me think, "Now there is an interesting person."

Just stumbled on this thread. My roadblock is mental. I’ve spent literally decades (I’m in my 60s) debating whether to get a back piece and half sleeves, and finally decided to do it. I’ve selected placement so it could be covered in work and social situations, so very few people would ever see it. The only people who would ever see it would be my wife, and my best friend who I have known since childhood, and with whom I take occasional road trips, and we share a room. My wife needed to be on board for obvious reasons, but I felt that I needed to tell my friend so he wouldn’t have a heart attack when he sees me without a shirt in a hotel room. My wife was rather shocked about the size, but she is fine with it. But I can’t bring myself to tell my best friend. I’m afraid of his reaction. I have occasionally heard him say critical things about tattoos, and I don’t want hime to think badly of me. I know this is totally irrational. He has known me for life, and has supported me through thick and thin, but I just can’t bring myself to tell him. So that is my roadblock.

I’ve not started on my back piece yet but I’ve been communicating with my artist about my plans. She strongly advised me to consider doing butt cheeks as part of the back piece. She said that most of her clients who get a back piece without the butt eventually come back and want their cheeks done, and it is difficult to extend a finished back piece onto the butt without it looking like an awkward “add on.” She also advised that including the butt allows better use of the body as a canvas because it allows the image to have more “flow” over a larger surface to create a cohesive design that compliments the body. It does seem that visually, the butt is sort of a continuation of the surface of the back. The crease at the bottom of the butt is sort of a strong termination line, and a natural place to stop, whereas the waist is pretty undefined. So stopping a design at the waist is sort of arbitrary. It makes sense to use the butt as part of the back, rather than a separate body part. Since I am doing a Japanese style back, it would have one large image or theme, rather than several individual pieces, so it does make sense to include the butt.

Interesting question! When my wife and I got tattooed in the early 1970s, I think we just thought that "a tattoo is a tattoo." Like "ketchup" - generic. Similarly, I guess we thought that you go to a tattoo artist and get a tattoo, and it never occurred to us at that time that there might be good tattoos and bad tattoos. Granted, the situation was much different at that time. Most tattoo shops were in really bad parts of town, and were really scary places inhabited by really scary people. Honestly, we picked our tattooer because we knew someone who had gotten a tattoo from him, and his shop was the least scary place we could find. When it came right down to it, we just wanted to get tattoos. Quality never crossed our minds. Today, there are so many artists, and so much information about tattooing. Every general interest article about "things to consider when you get a tattoo" advises people thinking to check out the artists portfolio, so there is really no excuse for getting a bad tattoo. But I wonder if some people still look at it like my wife and I did: They just want a tattoo, and the desire sort of blinds them. So they just find a shop, go in, and get a tattoo. I also wonder if after people get a bad tattoo, perhaps they realize it, but don't want to admit that they made a mistake in artist selection.

@bongsau said: I feel the same way about the term "sleeve." I see on Instagram where people post a pic and say "My new sleeve" and you see a big tattoo on the inside of their forearm. It doesn't even wrap around. Yes, it's big, and it's a beautiful tattoo, but to me, its not a sleeve. I feel that a sleeve has to wrap. I think some people just want to be able to say that they have a sleeve. That's my $0.02!

My wife and I got small matching tattoos in the early 1970s (and we are still together! ), and I added to mine few years later, but it was still tiny. I wanted more, but wasn't quite ready, so got nothing. Eventually I discovered Japanese style tattooing, and although I knew that getting a body suit was out of the question, I still wanted a Japanese style piece. But still I didn't get anything. I finally realized that what I really wanted was a body suit. It took me until I was in my early sixties to make the decision, and I'm soon starting on a back piece, butt/upper thighs, partial sleeves, chest panels. Related question, sort of trivial I suppose. When does a large tattoo big enough to be called a body suit? When I describe my plans, I use the awkward "back piece, butt/upper thighs, partial sleeves, chest panels" description. It would be easier to just say "I'm getting a body suit" or "partial body suit." But my forearms, legs, and most of my chest (except for pectoral areas) won't be covered. I respect the people who have gone for full neck to ankles coverage - true body suits, and I don't want to falsely represent my self compared to these awesome people.