Lori Todd

@Pacem can't wait to see the updates!

Bravo to all of you who have quit! And to those who are still trying, keep at it! You can try again if you slip up :) My mom had a stroke last June due to smoking (she was 54). And helping her get through that was rough. She never really fully recovered (and unfortunately due to other complications, she died in Sept.). Watching her have to relearn how to walk, grasp and talk was brutal. And all the while she was begging me for a cigarette! I guess I'm thankful that her excessive smoking made me sick when I was younger so I never really gave it a try other than once or twice when I was in my teens.

Just saw on Instagram that both Mario Desa and Nick Colella are leaving CTC for what appears to be a new venture in Chicago, possibly together. Not really trying to speculate the whys or what they're up to, as they both said they'd announce more soon. CTC has a solid spot in American tattooing and I know many of you have been tattooed there over the years. Perhaps here you can share your CTC stories :)

Welcome to LST! Where are you from? Tell us about any work you have already!

So good! I remember seeing this on Instagram. I can't wait to see more mermaids and mermen! Bring it on, folks!

Mike Fite is guesting at Howl Gallery/Tattoo in Fort Myers in two weeks so I'm swinging over there to get a variation of one of his broke-back girls/lady heads. Saw Ross Nagle had a few openings left at Handcrafted Miami as of a few days ago but decided to pass since I had just set up the other appointment. Hopefully this will stave off my itch for ink till my appointment in June w/ Heath Nock.

I get raised, patchy areas sometimes months following a new tattoo in the areas where I had thick scabs. I have sensitive skin and know that it just takes time for it to all settle in just right. BUT if your scabbed and bleeding weeks afterward I'd suspect there's something going on. Maybe you're scratching it in your sleep. Hah. Seriously though, go to a doctor.

I would not want to sit for more than five hours anyway! Just let them know what your thinking is (time and budget) and then no one ends up disappointed.

While most of us here are NOT tattooers, so we really don't have any say in this ... But, since you asked, here are my two cents: There are so many shops around and so many not-so-great tattooers ... You'd think that if more of these people paid their dues in the first place, maybe quality control would win out ... As with any popular movement, you're going to get a number of people who jump on board to make money quickly ... And in the long run, their work doesn't hold up. These are the people who cut in line, didn't pay their dues, and screw the casual clients who don't really know much about tattooing. It's sort of like photography today. I trained as a photographer for 7 years, and still would hesitate to call myself a pro. I don't make money on it and its a hobby, but how many people do you know who bought a prosumer dSLR or heck, just started layering on the filters on Instagram, who call themselves photographer today? (I know WAY too many of these people.) the thing is, if you're confident (whether or not you're skilled) and know how to sell yourself, people will believe you -- and pay you for it. I don't think the problem is apprentices. From what I know about apprenticing, the system (when done correctly) acts as a quality control mechanism. If the apprentice can't or won't put in the blood, sweat and tears, they should be told they need to cut their losses. I don't want to say much more since I really only know what I've observed as a collector ... But I think that where you're coming from is understandable, but I wouldn't write off everyone who has the desire to become a tattooer because of others who are screwing it up.

Welcome! Tattoos by Lou is a classic here in Florida. ? and from one lion lady to another, hope you enjoy the forum!

Dusty keeps surprising me! What a great sheet. I'd love one of them babes in my collection.

Welcome! Great pieces. Going to get some Aussie ink in a few months myself when Heath Nock does some work in Miami.

Welcome, Shayne! Where are you from? What's in your collection?

A tattoo is forever and you have every right to want to get exactly what you want. I agree that you should voice your opinion and show examples of the style you are looking for, and if you aren't happy or confident, give the artist a heads up as soon as you can and cancel. Now that you have more ideas of who works in the style you like, it would make sense to pursue those artists.

Damn, I miss living in Austin. So much better than South Florida.

They had a huge memorial gathering last night at a Fort Lauderdale bar. Lots of folks flew in. I didn't go, as I never met Frank, but from what my friends say it was packed. You can check out people's photos and memories of Frank on Instagram. Check out the hashtags #franklee and #ripfranklee.

I love me some geeks on How Stuff Works and Things You Missed in History Class, along with the usuals like The Moth, This American Life, and Bullseye.

Here is the updated new ls article on the passing of Frank Lee, from our reporter: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/fl-fort-lauderdale-fatal-folo-20130223,0,7490576.story Sad day indeed.

I had similar issues but use your name and your FB password and it should work.

Yeah, motorcycle crash here in my hometown. I'm helping out at work (I work at the newspaper), giving them the larger picture of who Frank was and what an impact he had on the larger tattoo community. The police have not yet released his name ... And I'm not sure our reporter was able to reach Franks family yet. I'll post a link here when/if we have a larger article about this. Huge loss.

So, I know there's an Instagram thread around here were we are all sharing our usernames. Being the social media feel that I am, I thought it might be useful for us to start using a hashtag on there so we can easily see one another photos on that network. So, any images you'd want to share with the community, you'd just add #lastsparrow to your image captions (you can add hashtags to your older images by adding them as a comment). Just an idea ... Tagging my tattoo-related photos in a bit. Mods: if y'all want to move those thread somewhere more appropriate, feel free!

One of my local tattooers on South Florida (who is relocating to Berkley, Calif.) is from Montana originally. That doesn't really count, I guess.

LDT on the top right might be "Lucky Devil Tattoo" in Wichita, Kansas (KS abbreviation) ... Am I stretching this too far? This is all google and my insomnia.

I'd guess Wichita based on the ICT (airport code) and K/S, but beyond that ...

Once it's baked in a bit longer, you'll feel more confident about it.