Mark Bee

Thanks! I suspect I'll be posting more from Franz over the next few months.

A few years ago I was staying in a village just outside London (UK) visiting with friends. We walked out to a park along the Themes, and I was surprised to find massive flocks of Canada Geese. They get big here in Toronto, but holy shit! These birds were massive and seemed to spend the bulk of their time terrifying children. There were signs everywhere warning of the menace, but few heeded the warning. The people fishing along the banks seemed oblivious, but they all had boxes of live maggots with them, so I question their sanity. Hey UK, consider the birds payback for Jedward: Planet Jedward : Home and One Direction. - - - Updated - - - My folks had a place in the country when they retired, and the backyard was filled with blue-jays. Not the friendliest birds, but they are stunning. (And one variety of them is doing well in the AL this year.)

I tend to leave the dressing on overnight. Then I wash it thoroughly, first thing in the morning. (I'm often up by 6am) After that, I keep it clean and dry and wear loose clothing. I like SeeSea's suggestion to tape folded paper towel around the tattoo. I'm healing a new thigh tattoo that I got yesterday, and I may try that trick this afternoon when I head out to shop.

This thread has really encouraged me. I started on my thigh today!

I headed over to the Okey Doke tattoo shop on College St. in Toronto this morning to get a tattoo by Franz Stefanik. What an amazing experience. Here is my latest tattoo, as I continue to work on my legs.

I ended up going down the the Okey Doke and getting a tattoo from Franz. It was a great experience. He is a really nice guy and I'm super-stoked with the results. I'm about to post it in the Latest Tattoo Lowdown thread. If you get the chance, get a tattoo from Franz. I'll be going back for a few more from him.

Great choice. The Okey Doke is an amazing shop. I was thinking of going for a walk-in with Franz today. I dont think I can afford it though. Consider Pearl Harbor in Kensington Market. I am a regular there and can't say enough good things about the place. New Tribe on Queen West is good and so is Passage on Church street. Let me know if you need directions or anything.

I totally get that! I wasn't trying to suggest everyone drop FB. It can be very useful for keeping up with family and friends. For me, it became about how much time I was wasting on it. And I was wasting plenty! :)

I quit FB about 8 months ago and I have enjoyed the experience a great deal.

Great collection, Hogg.

Yup. Son House is the man. Haunting music. "

I'll add my sorry sticks to the thread. Visible tattoos: Hot Stuff and the ankle cuff are by Nathan Draper. The hot air balloon and the cat are by Chad Koeplinger. The pyramid (Higgs flash) is by Glennie Whittal The skull, clown, and boxer are by Tim Pausinger. Not visible is a space torch I picked up from Mario Desa at Great Lakes, a hand of glory by Chad, and some more work by Tim. This September I have a session with R.H. Wells to fill in some more of my legs at the Montreal convention. Who knows, maybe I'll find a few more fillers before the end of the summer.

I dunno - It seems like a reasonable thing to discuss on a tattoo forum. Its just people comparing notes on their experiences.

That is a great collection.

Normally I don't get many comments, but I've been stopped on the street several times this week by people wanting to know where I got mine done, and then in several cases, they wanted to show me their tattoos as well. I had the time, and was in a good mood, so I was happy to take part in these conversations.

Congratulations @TrixieFaux!

@irezumi I agree. I guess each of us has to find our own method. And you're right. Many people simply wont listen. I teach english and history. I'm a professional writer. I earn my keep via teaching and writing. I spend hours trying to get my students to follow certain, basic steps, and invariably many chose to ignore me - then they wonder why they were not successful. You can lead a horse to water, right?

I'm sorry to hear you had a rough heal. I always use the dry heal method, to great success. I agree with @irezumi that it can get crazy itchy, but that has always been the worst of it for me. I wash my new tattoos in hot water and soap two or three times over the first two days. Then I leave it alone and forget about it, as best I can. The thinking behind the dry heal is that the human body is an amazing machine with fantastic ability to heal itself. For those of us that swear by the dry heal, we say get out of the way, and let your body do its work. That said, each of us finds our own best way to heal, as no two bodies are the same. I encourage people to try different methods and stick with what works best for you. After your experience, I'd be tempted to avoid dry-healing. I hope you find the method that works best for you! There are threads here dedicated to this very topic. Good luck!

Well played sir! Well played. I just read the tell-all book about The Room, by Greg Sestero (he played Mark). The 8 second scene you linked to above took close to 3 hours to shoot. One of the funniest books I've ever read. - - - Updated - - - What was your first tattoo? How was the experience?

Hi Purple.

I've been sitting here, allegedly writing an article, but in reality I'm checking out local centres. The only one near me is somewhat controversial (New Kadampa Tradition), so I may have to look to the west end of the city where there seem to be more options. I'm glad you brought this up - I've needed a kick in the pants to get moving on it again! Thanks!

I just started my back as well. The worst part for me is always the lining. It just sucks and because its such a large area, it seems to take forever. That said, its manageable and well worth the few hours of suffering to get a killer, life-long piece of art. Good luck and I hope you have a good experience.

@DJDeepFried That sounds awesome. I'd love to do something like that. I spent a great deal of time (daily) doing meditation at a local Buddhist center in the city where I did my MA. It was such a gruelling and unpleasant process that I needed some way to manage the stress. Meditation was a brilliant way to work things out. I lost the habit when I moved back to Toronto, but I'm seriously thinking about finding a place here and starting up again.

Its our first truly hot day of the year. 30 celcius today, and very humid. Loving. Every. Minute. :D

Thanks!