Kristy

I am so sorry dude. While I have never gotten an infection I did get one messed up tattoo from a professional studio that came highly referred by friends. Pissed me off to no end. Some was due to my inexperience and some was outright deceit on the shop owners end. It happens to a lot of people. Did the Dr do a culture right away? MRSA would be my main concern.

I learn more with each assessment of each artist. Thank you!

I haven't stopped in but just discovered these guys in my backyard. Worth a look? Not into the Traditional Japanese look but the B&W artist appears solid. http://www.katanatattoo.com/ (My previous meeting from the 15th went well. Nothing booked. She said she could rework it but was rather cautious about the outcome.)

Just following up with a couple of threads. I have an initial meeting today with this artist from a friend of a friend referral. Any thoughts? https://m.facebook.com/TattooNouveau.WI/photos/?tab=album&album_id=512470778775277&mt_nav=1&ref=page_internal&__xt__=33.{"logging_data"%3A{"event_type"%3A"tapped_open_page_album"%2C"impression_info"%3A"eyJmIjp7InBhZ2VfaWQiOiI1MTE4NDA1NjIxNzE2MzIiLCJpdGVtX2NvdW50IjoiMCJ9fQ"%2C"surface"%3A"mobile_page_photos_tab"%2C"interacted_story_type"%3A"148947852156832"%2C"session_id"%3A"4338dc1e5d6b7e8b801b3095f5a00611"}}

Yeah...that is what I was seeing hence not having a decision on his offer.

Haven't even gotten to them yet honestly because of distance and time limitations. We have a few more trips up that way before the season ends and I am one who likes to see a place physically first if possible. If this project doesn't work out they will be getting business on something else as I am really really impressed with their work. I have been working in a radius of about 1.5 hours around me right now only because of time limitations for vacation days, shop hours and availability. So much shoddy work to weed through. The more knowledge about good work I gain the more I get the feeling that I won't find anyone unless they are Sacred Tattoo or someone in the Milwaukee, Chicago or Madison area. What is hard is digging through an online portfolio and seeing old work and new mixed together. Sometimes that can show how much the artist has progressed. That is part of what fooled me with the last guy. He was showing his best work from years past unlabeled and didn't have much of what was happening more recently with the quality of his work going down hill. It is the intense shame I am feeling of how much the piece has declined since I posted a month ago that makes me feel more urgency than I should have. Ugh. I am going to see Danzig in a couple of days and am wearing something other than my typical tank top and jeans to cover that thing up I feel so insecure. My own hang up. I know. One guy I have met with I can't decide on is at what is considered to be the best shop with the best artists right in town here. He was super confident, without false bravado or excessive hubris, that he could rework this piece proficiently. He is booked out quite a ways as I would expect. I had set a time to meet him and posted some stuff in the last thread, but we were going over a lot. There are a few pieces that are not great in this, but digging around I have found they were from over 5-7 years ago at this point. I have also figured he is not good at sketch-like design or a natural more realistic animal type design but has been greatly improving on that end. That isn't what this piece is, but is that a bad thing? I have no clue. https://www.facebook.com/pg/SkinnyBuddhaTattoo/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1110580315651511 Opinions or just keep looking? There was one "newer" downright great shop I met with that had an artist willing to take on the project but was less than enthusiastic/confident about how much they could help the piece if at all. I liked their stuff. I didn't schedule with them because of that though. I felt bad seeking them out, them giving me an honest opinion, and me penalizing them for it. I really value those straight forward types of people. Of course, there were the few that were all bravado, hot air and badmouth gossip types with little to back up their confidence. Some, that when I was presented with their shop or work quality, I pretty much bolted from. Several artists have balked at or spooked at this before looking because it is not their work. I figured there would be those. That pretty much covers it. I have met with like 10-12 artists and 4 I was interested in that showed up for the next consult. Then 2 that said they would take it on in that category. One said she could even it out and fix the fade. The other was the one I posted the pics above from that seemed pretty sure he could do it justice.

I do plan to keep looking and have been holding people to the one strike rule now for the most part since I am also taking into account the demeanor I encounter when I set the appointment to begin with and the reason they can't make an appointment. I just needed somewhere to vent since I don't have anyone who has serious ink or intentions for any in my circle. I have been using vacation time since many studios seem a bit dumbfounded if you have a normal 9-5 type job and need to work with that type of schedule. As I said, just whining out of frustration. I was also making sure my expectations weren't out of line.

Just whining here. Sorry. I have been looking for someone to fix up my tattoo since I inquired here in early August. I am getting super upset with artists who cannot keep an appointment. I have met with a few but the ones who I have been most interested in have cancelled on me. It is getting really upsetting. Since this is a rework of something that was halted mid project they want to look first and won't until I do a consult. I can't put money down or make myself a paying customer if you won't meet with me. I scheduled all of these a good month ahead as that is when they had time to consult and still at least a 75% cancellation rate. I get the occasional, "Would you meet with the apprentice (or this other artist switch up)?" and it is so upsetting. Am I doing something wrong? I can deal with waiting for an appointment a 6 months for an awesome artist, but making no progress at all is frustrating and I am honestly ashamed of the piece now so it makes it feel even worse. I can't keep taking time off to get turned away before I even get there. (Reference thread.)

I have have a Danzig/Samhain/Misfits tattoo, (that got royally messed up) once it gets fixed up I will post some pictures here.

That makes a lot of sense.

Thank you guys again for your advice! I really needed the prodding to feel ok about moving on. I had the consult last night which I felt good about and I will trek around to other places recommended on the forums here until I figure out how to make this piece better. Plus I will likely pick up on how to better vet out an artist along the way. I will also be poking around here for fun and learning.

Totally my plan.

So I was able to get a consult with this guy tonight between tattoos. I mentioned that he worked in Miami and in NYC for several years before ending back here in Green Bay. I can see his work is solid and adequate not the best but able to work across styles. He said the stuff here is older but he isn't big on updating his portfolio these days. Thoughts? https://www.facebook.com/pg/SkinnyBuddhaTattoo/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1110580315651511 SStu- Marquette is about 3 hours from us- however I graduated from NMU there and love the area. I am always itching for a reason to get back. I can check them out. The online portfolios are simply awesome! I have some property in the Grand Marais, MI area (2 hours from Marquette) and have several days off up there towards the end of August. Perhaps a road trip is in order.

Thank you as well!

adding- I don't want to change the subject matter if possible.