cltattooing

I feel obligated to post this, it's pretty amazing...

This is one of my favorites of yours. Stop being so good, damnit!

Congratulations, @Graeme! Earned that!!

Meh. It's some of both. The dude I work for doesn't tattoo, but has a strong appreciation for them. He mostly thinks that they're cool and just likes the lifestyle. He always makes sure that we have everything that we need, but as far as contributing to the legacy of tattooing, he has nothing to offer. One of my coworkers has a job at another shop which is also owned by a non-tattooer. They just worked a convention in the area last week, and his boss was down their throat the entire time, yelling at them for taking too long and not getting people in & out fast enough. All the while still making the artists pay shop cut, which at a convention, is robbery. Some people are in the business for the cash, some for the braggery, some for the image, and some for the love of the culture. In my opinion, tattoos are a personal thing that happens between the client and the artist. I really do believe that only seasoned professionals should be at the head of the shop for a few reasons. One being that a seasoned professional will be able to offer the very best for the client. Take a moment to think about who owns some of the world's top shops, or even the best shops in your city. Another being that a seasoned professional will generally hire only good artists. They will know exactly what to look for in work ethic, technique, personality, and skill. And most importantly, who has earned the right to have a tattoo shop more than someone who has been working in the business 15+ years? I think it's mostly like what Bo said, it really comes down to what you are able to give back.

It depends more on the quality of pigments used than the visible tone of red. Which is also sort of hard to get information on because mixing pigments is a trade secret, but if you can talk to an artist of 15+ years who mixes/has mixed a lot of their own pigment and has a great portfolio, I'm sure they will be able to give you some reliable info on what sort of color will age best with your skin.

Cheers :)

@hogg Yeah, for me it's not really much of an incrimination thing so much as an appropriation thing. Like.. when a westerner moves to Japan, they have to accept the fact that they will never fully integrate into Japanese culture, even though they may live a Japanese lifestyle for years. Personally, I think it is kind of tasteless to have them on me as such an outsider (and truly, I have never even been to Japan), given that they are symbols representing a family's heritage and traditions. Like what if I ran into someone whose mon was on my arm? I can't feel good about that.

@hogg I have two of these on my forearms: Mon (emblem) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia At the time I understood their significance as emblems or identifying symbols, but not specifically as heraldic emblems. I'm not even remotely Japanese.

Looks awesome, congrats on finishing! I love how organic her style is, she really has a way of making everything look natural.

Hey, did that ever happen? I'd love to see pictures, Max's work is fantastic.

@sighthound fuck YEAH. Welcome!!!

Ah yeah, should have mentioned that the actual museum is shut down at the moment. It is a pretty horrible situation, so sad to see peoples' greed get the best of something so beneficial to so many people. Although also very touching to see the tattoo community come together and support Henk's repossession of the collection. But yeah, I highly recommend that book. Especially given the time at which the photos were taken, it's really amazing to see that everyone in each picture is either beaming with joy or standing very tall and proud to display their tattoos. Reminds you that all of this is so much greater than any one person.

Yeah, go talk to them! I'm sure you'll come out of there feeling like a kid on Christmas :p

I have never been to the ATM, but being that the Mingins collection is in their hands, I think it's safe to say that the photos are on display. I think that would actually be the best place to go for information, especially on European tattooing. No info on who the woman is, sadly.

So this book has absolutely no written information other than side-annotations, but it has an unmatched wealth of old photos -- especially those of tattooed women. ISSUU - Brochure ATM Publishing by KIT Publishers Don't mind the price tag, there are almost 1300 photos in this book. It's an essential in any collector's library. I've thought about posting a bunch of them here but I don't know if that's really an OK thing to do. I'd love to share some valuable history, but I also want you guys to give all of your money to the Amsterdam Tattoo Museum. :) Here's one of my all-time favorite pictures:

DAMN, Souryou is a spitting image of his dad.

I still have a hard time wrapping my head around how people can let dumb shit like that fly out of their mouth.

No, sir, YOU are a machine. That is pure insanity right there, I have no idea how you do that. You should get an award, I'm serious. Work looks great as well!

Hey, welcome! So you just have to click the 'insert image' icon and paste the url of the picture you want to post. Or you can upload them to your user gallery and click 'insert pictures from your tattoo gallery' in the reply box.

@motsimus surprise! :) @cookietruck sure thing. I pretty much dry healed it and although it took a while, I'm very pleased with how it's turned out. @9Years That thing rules, was staring at it on IG earlier. Super jealous! Definitely want to get tattooed by him soon.

fixed!

blah, alright it'll be right in a few hours

Alright, image heavy post incoming! So at @BrianH 's suggestion, I posted a scabby piece, here are some more pictures of the heal and a couple of tattoos I've gotten since. (healed) by Sean Perkinson at FTW in Oakland By Rempe, also at FTW during a guest spot. and then this one is from a couple weeks ago by Casey O who is new at Chicago Tattoo Co. and spent a week guesting at our shop. One of my favorites so far I think.

When I started getting tattooed, I definitely got a few pieces just for the sake of getting tattoos, and I think that's the only thing I'd change now. I mean... I still do that, but I think I have better taste now, and for me it's more about who I'm getting tattooed by, just having a token of that person and the experience of getting the tattoo. I only have one that I truly regret, and two that I like but will probably laser off because I want to visit Japan and would dearly love to not offend everyone I meet.

Hey, thanks for doing the interview! Can't tell you how much of a contribution those are. Hope you enjoy it here!