cosmic indifference

thanks everyone, I really appreciate the advice. I feel like I may wait until I can plan a trip to SF to see Matt at 2spirit, which is pretty easy in the grand scheme of things. In the meantime, I would like to physically check out more shops in LA. I have 2 small kids so my time away from them and work is limited, but do any of you have any recommendations for places that focus on black? I know there is some controversy around the terms 'blackwork' and 'dotwork' but 2Spirit for example certainly uses both of those terms to describe the shop, something I haven't found down here. Thanks again everyone :)

Oh, for sure. There a big space between the intellectual and the emotional. It's especially difficult with parents I think, definitely not an on off switch. For me, I also felt like trying to cut past the negative reaction and seeing what the trigger was for my mom allowed me to feel less angry and annoyed and more compassionate towards her feelings, even if they seemed really overwrought and somewhat irrational at first. I wish you and your folks peace in any case! - - - Updated - - - Oh, for sure. There a big space between the intellectual and the emotional. It's especially difficult with parents I think, definitely not an on off switch. For me, I also felt like trying to cut past the negative reaction and seeing what the trigger was for my mom allowed me to feel less angry and annoyed and more compassionate towards her feelings, even if they seemed really overwrought and somewhat irrational at first. I wish you and your folks peace in any case!

@10PieceNuggets I like black ink, graphic stuff. I think 2Spirit in SF epitomizes the style I'm looking for. There are places nearby that focus on black, but as far as I can tell, not necessarily in the same way as 2Spirit. I would welcome any suggestions! @JAllen Are you directing me to get off my computer and go into the shops to look at a 2 dimensional book? Or to talk to some artists? If I found an artist who seemed close I'd be down there for sure. For some reason though, I do feel self conscious to go into a shop and basically use other artists' work and style as a reference. That's the main reason I would at least like to start with someone who's in the ballpark of what I want.

I have a larger tattoo that I am planning that will cover my arm from shoulder to elbow. I've found some artists whose work I've seen online that I am head over heals about but the problem is, none of them are local. I live in LA, so obviously, there are tons of incredibly talented artists here who I'm sure could do an amazing job, but through all the portfolios I've looked through, I haven't found someone whose work I respond to the same as the out-of-towners. I can't tell if I'm picky or just have a very particular style that I'm interested in and I'm fairly new to tattoos, so I'm not exactly sure how to describe what I'm looking for. I just know that I can usually find a piece or two in any gallery that I like more than the others, but with a few artists, Ive felt like every single picture they have is just incredible to me, and they are unfortunately not local. Is this normal? Am I looking at this the wrong way? What I'm saying is, am I placing importance on the wrong thing? Am I not looking hard enough in LA? I thank you in advance for your advice everyone!

your parents may have created your body, but you are the one maintaining it! all jokes aside, it does seem like a lot of parents hate tattoos. my step mother in particular is especially against them, and my sister and I both have them. her horror is superficially related to our being Jewish, but the truth is that I think she worries that we will be somehow outcast/unemployable if we have visible tattoos. That's mom being mom. As hard as it is, at the end of the day it's about boundaries: the reality is, your tattoo doesn't "make" anyone feel any which way. that person reacts to it. and on the flip side, their reaction doesn't "make" you feel any which way, you react to it. Easier said than done, but I felt like once I acknowledged that my well-being is not connected to another person's (even someone who I love) visible discomfort, I had a much easier time letting their feelings pass through and around me. It's an ongoing challenge for sure.

I don't think I'd get tattooed by this guy, but on the other hand different people are into different styles. I wouldn't want a 'bad' tattoo, but I've seen some very rudimentary looking tattoos on friends of mine or other musicians that look cool with their style and seem compliment their other pro looking work well. I understand the position that some feel that stuff like this demeans the art form, but the truth is, every art form has high and low-brow expressions. I don't mean to over-simplify or offend anyone, and it goes without saying that unsafe unsanitary work is not cool, but to each their own, right?

cool stuff! I especially like what you are doing with the ships.

I love grado cartridges. And old stuff rules, I'm that way with synthesizers; I dream of a time where I could become adept at repairing them. Until then... I have a great CD player from California Audio Labs that is too broken to fix but too painful to get rid of. That thing was incredible though.

just curious, are there a lot of posters on here in southern california?

in my world this would probably be like if a director told me that they decided not to hire me to score their movie because they were just going to record a busker playing down the street...

Hey Catherine, awesome hummingbird. Good luck with the spot test. I know some folks with autoimmune issues and it definitely seems like a struggle.

hi InkedMomma and Reyeslv, and thank you for the warm welcome! I have my older daughter's name on my chest which I got at Studio City Tattoo, and then the phase of the moon from the day my younger daughter was born on the other side of my chest as well, which I got at American Electric. Chris at Alchemy also did the hummingbird depicted in my avatar. I have some specific ideas swirling, but I'd the artists I'd relaly love to work with are Matt Matik at 2spirit in SF and this Australian fellow Victor J Webster. Not sure when either of those are going to happen so I should probably find some artists in LA whose work excites me as much as those two!

I've had 3 tattoos by 3 different artists so far. They have all been pretty simple, so it was more about experiencing the vibe and personality of an artist/shop rather than their specific style. I figure that during this time when my ideas are simple, I might as well check out as many different artists as possible and see if I find someone I'd like to work with on a larger tattoo.

hey everyone, I'm Jules. I was born and raised in Los Angeles and currently live in North East LA. I'm 32 and never thought I'd get tattooed until I was 26 or so... and then waited until I was 30 to actually do it. I have 3 now and am starting to think about my first "big" tattoo. I'm really blown away by the community here and the wealth of knowledge, wisdom and all around love being shown. I'm really psyched to be a part of it.