Tick

my whole shop will be there again this year. It's a really good show, with a stellar line up of non-ego driven tattooers doin' rad tattoos. - - - Updated - - - my whole shop will be there again this year. It's a really good show, with a stellar line up of non-ego driven tattooers doin' rad tattoos.

This is the dog faced St Christopher. I'm actually tattooing a client with his likeness right now. His family patron. He was apparently a cannibal, and that is why he is shown with the head of a dog..... kind of rad.

It really sounded like somebody was writing an essay for school or something. It was a pretty rudimentary outline for a research-type essay, and was pretty poorly written. Maybe high school, or crap, even college. They probably chose the topic of Racism and Tattoo for their class, and then took shots in the dark at supporting the argument they had already proposed to the teacher. Personally, I didn't finish reading it, and didn't check out the mentioned blog, though. Either way, it was retarded.

we actually had/have (I don't pay attention much to the other shops in town) a shop called POISON INK.... I always thought that was one of the most horrible names I had ever heard. I actually tattooed a guy that had gotten a tattoo there, and had gotten an infection. Now, I make no claims that anything they did caused the infection, I just thought it was ironic as shit!

myself and a co-worker walked in and got tattooed by Santoro in June 2010. We called first, but had no problem being walk-ins. Awesome shop!

wow, I think most injuries are by pure stupidity. I'm kind of clumsy. Hit my head on a bunch of stuff, and just today I sliced my finger open catching a falling frame which the glass broke on.... Also had a frame once fall off the wall and hit me hard in the back (as we were attempting to secure a table top into the wall...... Took a nice scoop out of a finger sweeping my floor once...... the worst two were: Fracturing my skull during my drunken car surfing phase. I lost about 3 or 4 hours of my life. My friend thought I was dead when he found me, and I apparently was seizuring while I was passed out. I refused EMT care twice, and just "got over it" myself. It felt like I was drunk for 2 weeks straight. I had slurred speech and was walking into walls. Car surfing phases never end well. Tore my rotator Cusf jumping off a highway overpass running from the cops (which we didn't really need to be doing. But we were drunk, so it seemed like the thing to do at the time). My buddy broke his foot during that one. Awww... memories.

@cu-bu there are a couple pics of henning working on my back in frisco here: http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/tattoo-101/1513-pix-sfo-convention.html he also has one from one of our sessions up on his instagram. not much of an exhibitionist myself, so, not really into posting or taking pics of myself.... @hogg thank you kindly for the kind words on my humble tattoos! and, yeah, I feel very lucky to have gotten so much work from Henning. He is quite a rad individual. I hope I can be as able and excited about tattooing after doing it as many years as him. Especially as he seems to constantly progress, and to balance his life so well.

Well, I can say getting my backpiece has made me think I don't have any other tattoos. It is physically and mentally the most challenging thing I have ever put myself through (tattoo wise). I chose my artist (Henning Jorgensen) because I admired his work, and because I was comfortable around him (I'm pretty shy). I just told him the basic idea, and obviously let him do whatever he wanted. I'm about 65 hours into it (It goes from neck to knees), and we started about 2 1/2 years ago. We should finish this year. Because of the traveling involved I have to sit all day. Even on bad days, when it is horrible from the first moment to the last moment.... I have a regimen that I go through to prepare for a session. Getting my body as healthy as I can (no booze, lots of healthy food, and sleep). It seems to be the only way that I can make it through all day sessions. As I've aged, I definitely have gotten to be a much worse sitter (at least in my mind.) But, you can do anything if you really want to. I tried taking a pain killer for the 2nd lining session (because the first one was so rough), and it made me so dizzy and nauseous, I decided I would rather deal with the pain. Now that we are getting closer and closer to the end, I feel very happy that I have gone through it. I feel like I've crossed into a new level of being tattooed. And, I feel like I really now can be justified in the pain I cause others (tattooing them), because I now have been tattooed over the majority of my body. It feels like I've been going through a right of passage getting it done. Moreso than any other tattoo. Healing has never been a problem, and I usually get on a plane across the ocean a day after getting worked on. Sometimes I'm bruised, sometimes a little scabby and a little limited in my mobility; but never overworked, and never had a problem with sticking to clothing or healing up really rough.

I think, living in the southwest, we actually have a decent understanding, as the swastika is a native symbol. The college in my city used to use the swastika as its symbol. my dad's house up in denver actually has a swastika built into the brick outside on the fireplace (pre world war II construction). I think with a symbol like that you take it on a case by case basis. If someone wants to put themselves out to be judged by others, more power to them (unless they are a nazi piece of shit. then they can just go fuck themselves.... but I think those that subscribe to that kind of a doctrine of hate are pretty easy to pick out of a crowd). After all, being tattooed used to be controversial all on its own. People already assumed things about you, just because you had A tattoo.

My whole shop will be there. Black Rat Tattoo from NM.

Yeah, blood borne pathogen info goes without saying. I was already planning on that little gem.

Not sure if this is the place to start a thread like this (and if not, please delete). I come from the mindset that one should not share tattoo info with anyone other than peers, or the very very very few deemed worthy (meaning they are paying dues and earn it)...... However, I will be going to Nairobi on my way back to SA in January. My brother is currently residing there, and being someone that has been close to the tattoo scene for so long, he has befriended a tattooer there. I have been forewarned that he would like to buy any equipment I might be wanting to sell, and will very much like to meet me. His work is of poor quality (at least by our standards), but I haven't been able to locate anything I would consider high quality there...... So, my question, I guess, is; how do other professionals on here feel about traveling to, and interacting with cultures that are still so behind in the tattoo world?

@Ticktat2 should just read ticktat2

for some reason the above link didn't work for me. if that is the case for anyone else, it is on youtube as well....

I agree that arizona only needs the one coleman, and I also don't see the denial of opening a shop in a certain location as out of the ordinary. I had to convince our landlord that we were "good people" before she would allow us to rent from her. She had a belief in a certain tattoo stigma of bad bad folks associated with tattoo. The city I live in has ordinances against all kinds of stuff. No booze within x miles of a church. No boobie bars within the city limits. No trash within view of a street. No weeds in your yard. etc etc etc. I can't say Arizona is pro tattoo or anti tattoo. I would say that neighborhood seemed to be the ones that didn't want the shop around in the first place. And, why would you want to start a business in a place that probably won't support you? Were there no other locations that were suitable for them and perhaps more conducive to what they were trying to do. I mean, I don't think it is the only strip mall in the greater phoenix area.