polliwog

I'm glad I had a 6-month break last year, after joining this forum, buying books, getting super excited and getting 6 tattoos (from zero) in somewhat different styles over a year and a half (though not wildly different, mostly variations on traditional). I think I feel a little more unhurried and at ease now, like this interest hasn't turned into a passing one. I really need to get my shit together and plan a larger tattoo that isn't a one-shot, though. And to leave some room in more visible spots for people who might feel inaccessible to me right now, but won't always be that way. @marley mission you have been on such a great tear recently, it's fantastic to see. I also really love what @taaarro said earlier in this thread. Lots of respect for people with large, beautiful and tasteful tattoos that are thoughtfully planned out, but I am so not like that. I already spend way too much time in my head; impulsive-ish tattoos let me tell my brain to fuck off.

Two sets of Valerie Vargas girls. I have so many emotions right now.

Can I third the recommendation for getting tattooed in the Midwest? I've only been to Tattoo Faction and Aloha Monkey and was/am frankly too new to tattoos/derpy because of nerves to fully appreciate either of them, but the people there are so friendly (coming from famously reserved New England) and you could get an amazing sleeve by picking flash off the wall with help from an artist at either place in terms of placement and whatnot. Going to a place with the history of Aloha Monkey and getting flash from a bunch of people who've been involved with it over the years could be a super fun way to approach this--Kandi Everett girl, Rollo dagger-stabbing-a-thing, etc etc. Plus the cost of staying there while you get this done might be lower than on either of the coasts.

Just wanted to bump this back to the top because Brian David Macneil is impressing me right now and I don't remember seeing his name on here. There are so many lower-profile good tattooers in New England.

Flirted a bit with the knee today and that was *interesting.* I have no idea how you people deal with butt crack tattoos. I'm just going to own being a wimp, I guess.

Looks like something one of the Spider Murphy's (or formerly Spider Murphy's) people could do really well, to just scratch the surface. If you look around on here, you'll find a lot of pictures of a bodysuit that Stuart Cripwell did that might inspire you. Check out the "tattoos & negative space" thread. @sophistre has a beautiful sleeve from Greg Whitehead that's traditional in style but with a really unique twist.

@Mark Bee I love that! I'm pretty ignorant of the different traditional ways of depicting tigers, though thanks to this forum I am broadly familiar with Thai-style tiger tattoos and Korean tigers. Does that tiger fit within a particular style? It's cool regardless. Clearly I need to look at more paintings of tigers.

Seeing Todd Noble soon--thanks to @BrianH for the nudge. I loved the atmosphere of Redemption in the 5 minutes I was there AND I can get there on public transportation, so this might be dangerous.

@DJDeepFried I gasped out loud when that popped up on my screen.

You could always try the halt-the-conversation-with TMI approach if it gets really uncomfortable. "This Hot Stuff represents my struggle with irritable bowel syndrome." This was a super fun way of dealing with annoying questions about whether I was pregnant when I gained weight a few years ago.

Love that Percy Waters crane/girl. It's so beautifully done and the placement is spectacular. I kept looking at it earlier today. Awesome. Welcome!

I never would have abandoned the flip if I could've found a decent replacement battery for it, though I didn't try particularly hard. It was a great phone, though--it could land on cement and the battery and SIM card would pop out and you could reassemble it and it would be fine. Pretty comfortable for making calls, too. Apparently the cool people have them again now.

Probably obvious that I look like that without the picture... - - - Updated - - - Thanks for the suggestions, and totally agree about livedintattoos and thanking @Iwar for thr work he does to maintain it. It was nice to be able to see some of @Eilin's amazing collection recently, and a bunch of other people who may or may not be on this board. Pretty ambivalent about and even afraid of smart phones, but so far it's all been positive.

I finally got a smart phone, so naturally I downloaded Instagram ASAP. I'm puttablock on there, in case some weirdo by that name starts following you.

That is such a beautiful tattoo, and you look pretty relaxed and normal for someone who just sat for 6 hours. Congratulations!

The commuter rail goes to Plymouth, but I'm not sure where the shop is in relation to the station. You may need to take a cab once you get there.

Near the ankle? Where are you thinking of going? I would love to do this some day, but am pretty much always working 12-9 on Fridays. Those healed up beautifully, by the way. That yellow is so vibrant. I'm jealous.

Uh, because it's beautiful. Great face, her gaze has a magic to it.

Holy shit. That's ridiculously beautiful and vibrant; I can't begin to imagine how it looks in person.

Boston area--shops that I've had direct experience with include The Torchbearer (in Pawtucket), Congress St. (in Portsmouth) and Fat Ram's Pumpkin Tattoo (in Boston proper) and I hope to be making an appointment at Redemption Tattoo soon. All shops that get repeated a lot on here, but I wanted to stick to what I know in recommending them to you! The first two are easy day trips, the latter two are public-transit accessible.

Uggghhh that hollow at the back of the neck is tender when you just *press* on it. That's beautiful, though.

Lately I've noticed that people are expanding its usage beyond just low-back tattoos to legs and arms and whatnot, because people are both stupid and love to insult women, apparently.

People who call tattoos on women "tramp stamps" & think they're using a hilarious and novel insult are the best. You got me pegged, dudes. I am SUCH a ho.

If you have access to a decent library, why not ask for help at the reference desk? It's not clear from your post whether you've already chosen a subject for your tattoo, but if you have, the librarian should be able to help you find books that contain images so that you're not standing in front of a shelf and feeling overwhelmed. I keep meaning to go to the Boston library to do this, myself. There's also this thread: http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/tattoo-designs-books-flash/4244-your-favorite-reference-material-page7.html

I don't usually feel it's my place to offer advice on here, but I also got kinda spooked after my first tattoo and would like to suggest that you don't hurry to change or add to this one...you might find that you feel very differently about it in a couple months. Maybe getting an unrelated tattoo that you feel really good about might give you some perspective on how to add to your rose later on. It's just that getting tattooed is way too much fun to focus on compensating for one you don't like right at the start. Hope this isn't condescending or out of line.