Synesthesia

His first spot on Saturday. I really have no idea, I told him I might pick something out of his book of designs he's bringing along or he can draw whatever we feel like doing that day. Playing it by ear. I'm just happy to get anything by him, honestly.

I'm big into music also, but unfortunately a lot of bands I like, I just don't really want their logos or album covers on me for aesthetic reasons. I have the Minor Threat black sheep logo, and some day I want to get the black cat AFI used for some merch (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61CZ77FtGZL._SY450_.jpg). I also have a piece inspired by some album artwork. I went to an artist who does, imo, great skulls and armor, and I showed him the picture and told him to come up with something inspired by the cover. Attached is a picture of the album and what he came up with for me, the picture is pretty old and taken I think before he finished the background 100% and did some final touchups (artist is Sam Warren in Lancaster, PA). I say go for it!

I guess this is awesome, but I can't help but feel a little shitty about it. My parents are moving into a bigger house and renting out part of it to my fiance and I. Basically about 1/3 of the house is an addition that's its own apartment-like area, and we have shared spaces like a basement and family room. It's good in the sense that we're saving tons of money and I'll be close to my parents (my mom has back problems and needs some help whenever it's acting up). It's bad in the sense that I guess I feel like a failure, like we couldn't cut it out on our own and so we're moving back in with my parents. I guess it's not quite as bad as the stereotypical "living in my parents' basement" scenario, but I still feel kind of down about the whole thing.

I've been away from the boards for a while, and away from tattooing for a while also. Lots of shittiness happening. Can't want for this year to be over with. My car needed lots of repair work, totaling up a little over $1000. More wedding expenses, many of them unexpected, and just lots of general headaches with trying to get everything running smoothly and finished. Worst news of all is my dog's cancer came back more aggressively. This time it's in her bladder and where the tumor is, they can't risk operating without messing up her bladder and really destroying her quality of life. She was given 6 months to a year a couple months back, and is on an anti-inflammatory medicine that's supposed to slow the process down a little more, buying us maybe an additional 6 months. She's in great spirits and doesn't show signs of being sick at all, so we're hoping maybe she's feisty enough to make it past the projected timeline.

Haha, I just called the shop to book my spot with him, I'm the first appointment of the day on Saturday. I've been out of tattooing for a while now and focusing on life bullshit, Pagoda City will be my triumphant return to the fun.

Just booked my appointment with Scott too. I'm strongly thinking about driving over there every day of the fest, I'm only about an hour away. Might book one or two more spots, if I can make up my mind on what I want.

My basic aftercare routine: 1) Get home, wash tattoo with warm/hot water and gentle soap (I already buy the cheapest, shittiest soap out there, which is usually good for tattoos ) 2) Pat dry with paper towel, apply a tiny dot of Aquaphor 3) Depending on the time of day: either continue to wash it a couple times a day, or loosely wrap a paper towel/cloth around it to sleep and not destroy my sheets (to remove stuck on paper towel, I hop in the shower and let it wash off, no pulling!) 4) Wash maybe 3-4 times a day for the next couple days, whenever I was sweating or the tattoo starts to feel oozy and gross, maybe another tiny dab of Aquaphor once a day 4) Once scabs and peeling starts happening (around day 3 or 4), I stop doing anything special to it. I only rinse it in the shower like any other part of me (albeit more gently). I apply lotion only when it's so dry and itchy I can't stand it anymore, maybe once every couple days. So yeah, I'm generally pretty low maintenance with mine and only apply lotion for my own comfort. Your body can take care of itself.

I don't think the rubbing caused the peeling, it's probably a coincidence. I usually start peeling around day 4. It might have hurt because you were pulling on the scabs, and also the skin underneath is usually extra sensitive as it's peeling. Worst case scenario, you need a touch up, but you're probably fine. Let it finish healing and look for damage after a couple months or so.

I'm feeling blessed right now. I got my most recent tattoo Thursday (that's 4 days ago, for future reference) and it's already mostly done healing, I just have a couple stubborn spots left to peel. It's been the easiest one I've had in a long time. Maybe it's because it's so small (about a 3 inch square). Small tattoos rule.

Got this from the Get What You Get machine at White Rose in York, PA. Artist is Calvin Hersh. I was actually really excited that it fit in an awkward spot so nicely.

I honestly think it looks fine. It's a bold tattoo in a highly visible place, maybe that's where some of your doubt is coming from. I see extremely minor blowouts I probably wouldn't have noticed if you wouldn't have said anything, but really all tattoos have flaws and the neck is a tough spot to tattoo as it is. If you really think having a solid line at the top would make you feel better about it, go for it...but I like it how it is, man, and I think the surrounding tattoos you're talking about adding will only improve it more.

Some updates on the things I'm working on this year... I had a minor financial setback and didn't feel comfortable getting my "get what you get" piece from a local shop yet, so maybe I'll swing by this week on one of my days off. I reached out to Paul Dobleman for a piece, unfortunately he's not taking appointments as far in advance as I wanted to make it so that needs to wait a little longer. I'm thinking I'd like either a vase with flowers or a Rose of No Man's Land design. I'd be fine with just about anything he wanted to do, though. It's for my other outer forearm and it needs to cover a burn scar, so I'm anxious to hear his thoughts on the spot. I'm also still hoping to get one of my knees done this year, I'm thinking either a peony or chrysanthemum and there's two or three artists I'm still considering for it. I have some work around my knees already so I don't know how either of those designs would fit really.

Evan Dowdell is nearby, he mostly does color illustrative stuff but I've seen him do some good black and gray. His composition is excellent, imo, and he could put together a really nice half sleeve: https://www.instagram.com/evandowdell/ Same with Travis McGregor: https://www.instagram.com/travis666/ If you can make it into NYC, the world is your oyster. There's tons of world class artists at just two shops alone: New York Adorned and King's Avenue. I would personally suggest Rose Hardy (https://www.instagram.com/rosehardy/) or maybe Matt Black if you want it to be really geometric heavy (https://www.instagram.com/mattblacktattoo/).

I think that artist just couldn't be bothered to do all that detail and gave you some BS, never heard "too symmetrical" used to turn down a design. Go to someone better and give him that design and maybe some other reference images to illustrate what you're imagining. Think about what style of tattooing you're going for, color or black and gray, etc. Where are you located so we can suggest some good artists?

I might have missed it earlier in the thread, but is this your first tattoo? Or at least your first in a highly visible spot? The forearm can be tough to live with because you're seeing it every day, it was a little jarring when I got my first piece done there so I think this is something a lot of people go through. I would say add more around it and on your other arm. A juxtaposition like the mermaid mentioned above might be nice, something feminine and brightly colored to add contrast and show your varied interests. Just make sure whatever you add to it (or cover it up with, if you so choose) is something you really want and not just something to make others happy. Women can absolutely rock more traditionally masculine tattoos, don't let people get you down about it!