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I've heard that one before!!!

I've experienced this before. It's usually a very fleeting feeling, but I think it has to do with getting used to the change. I know I'd be a lot sadder if I woke up and a tattoo was missing.

I've never got the blues directly after a tattoo, I do remember it being odd when I got the first thing on my chest because my eyes would catch it when I glanced down and I wasn't used to it being there. I did get the blues after the SFO convention, more like go into a mini depression, only because it was such a great trip getting tattooed, watching my Wife get tattooed, hang out and shoot the shit with some of my favorite tattooers, etc. It was so much excitement that when I got home to real life things kinda sucked :( Right now I'm in the excitement stage, I even have a count down marked on my calendar, for my appt. with Grime. Getting to travel to SF, 2 days in a row with Grime and whatever else I get into, I predict a great few days but I also see getting back home and being a little down for a few days when I get home. Fortunately I'll be able to look forward to a few more trips to finish the tattoo :D

nobody gets just one or two.

I think you hit the nail on the head. Getting tattooed can be like Christmas, months of build up and anticipation to that day, then it the day comes you get the tattoo and you wake up the next day and start the wait all over, and nothing magical happens, you are the same person just now you have a tattoo, a badass tattoo, but still just a tattoo. i can relate to that and I imagine it also afflicts me. It's probably thing in my head that always makes me focus on how much blank skin I have, not on how much of it is tattooed. I would say sometimes I shake my head at how silly this whole tattoo thing is and how I got involved, but most days I wouldn't have it any other way. This is kind of the reason I don't travel more and get tattooed, it is kind of a head thing for me. I feel much better about going to someone i know and getting tattooed either same day or next couple days type of thing. To many stuff involved, too many things to go wrong, and I hate being on vacation and having to stick to some schedule.

Agreed! My tattoos are more precious to me than almost any materialistic item in my life. The "can't be stolen, broken or lost" aspect makes a strong selling point. I lose and break shit all the time.

I have people ask me this all the time, I only have 11. I joke and say never. I'll be done when I feel like it. I know that's kinda vague but it's the most honest answer I can give. I don't sit around thinking "I'll get this here, and that there!" It's more instinctual almost. I just see something or an idea pops up and I go and get it (once I have the money.) I also hear a lot of comments about it being addictive. I don't view it that way. An addiction would mean I couldn't stop if I wanted. I don't want to. It's just something I really have a passion for and enjoy. That's not an addiction, that's a party!

I think I've mentioned this before, but I heard from an artist on Season two about how heavily edited they were. You shoot tons of footage and use the best of the worst to 'create a show' that has 'villains' and drama and tension. You're also coached on things to say. You look like a giant ass on tv, but... after the show airs... you find your appointment book is a little fuller, even though you looked like a giant ass on tv. Turning a culture into a commodity isn't new, its just affecting us a little closer to the chest because... well.. it's us. We had to bleed for these damned things. We had to get stared at in line at the bank. We have to answer the litany of dumb questions on a daily basis... "why yes ma'am, it did hurt" and "yes, I AM tattooed other places... wait, we mean my dick, right?"... Im kind of biased though... I grew up on Royboy videos. Tattooers hated them, too, but.... damn they were fun. I should mention that a tattooer friend asked me to write some Inkmaster erotic fan fiction that he's going to illustrate and we're going to accidentally leave at tattoo conventions the 'stars' are at. If he ever finishes the first chapter I'll write more. Kay Kutta and Sarah Miller are in it. "Penetrated by more than your needles" comes up a lot. Because we think it's ok to make fun of people we don't know. People who may be genuinely nice. Because we're children. :D

i've traveled and gotten tattooed ~20 times this year. no plans of stopping or slowing down anytime soon.

I used to think I had to slow down, so I don't run out of space, but now I don't have as much free time or money to get tattooed and all I want to do is get more tattoos. I can't imagine I will stop. I see other friends who are a little ahead of me and they seem to find ways to keep getting tattoos with limited or no skin left. I don't really want face tattoos even though that seems to be the trend right now, I have a feeling it will slightly harder to live with and a little more regretful than all the tribal armbands that came out of the 90's and I would just assume skip it.

Nope, never happened. Not with stuff I put on myself, not on stuff I've gotten since then. Always enjoyed planning it, having it done, watching it heal.

I remember feeling awkward after the first session I did on my front. It was really weird to look at myself in the mirror afterwards. Only took a couple days to get used to though. Besides that one time, I can't say that I've been anything else than stoked after getting a new tattoo.

Yesterday finished my piece with Alex De Pase. Its a take on Eve and apple with nails going through the apple and Alex added the drip of blood from it, which i really like :) Onwards to Silvano Fiato now :)

A fun and quick one last night. By Aron Dubois at Scapegoat Tattoo in Portland, OR.

Only depression I feel is having to wait to get another one. Or perhaps realizing there's another awkward spot ill have to fill. But mostly excitement here

Got the new Smashing Pumpkins record, stoked on a few tracks, still getting into it overall though. Anyone into them? Anyone buy it? Anyone still obsessed with them?! They've also put out crazy re-issues with extra tracks and DVDs, see: money pit. I still love this band. There's also a great interview Howard Stern did with Billy Corgan. It's over an hour long, I listened to it two consecutive mornings opening the bar, really interesting no matter what you think of the dude -- and he plays an acoustic version of Tonight, Tonight. http://vimeo.com/44532986" Good listen!

by exactly that; managing my money. i've got a car loan and all that but while all my friends are out at the bars or whatever i'm just hanging out at home and saving money to get tattooed.

the SFO Convention was our Christmas :D I"ll be picking up that Tattoo Time when I'm in SF next month...

@DJDeepFried and I have some fun new books to read.

My work? There's pix of most, if not all of it on my profile or posts..

@blacksandtattoo More artwork than tattoos. Hopefully that changes to "more adventure than artwork and tattoos."

People are always going to have an inaccurate representation of tattooers and the tattoo lifestyle. I don't think this show started it, the world is full of mediocre and bad tattooers who are completely delusional with over inflated egos, this show just happens to give those people 15 mins of pseudo fame. But I don't even know if this could be considered Z list celebrity status, the contestants are pretty forgettable and at best have a short career headlining traveling tattoo conventions. Why does it really matter what people think about the lifestyle. People who are serious about tattooing whether it be clients, or tattooers understand the hierarchy and where this show place is in it. People who aren't into it probably already have their per-conceived notions or don't really care one way or another. I have had to listen to plenty of customers rattle off their interpretation of what happened on last weeks inkmaster, and a lot of them are completely clueless about a lot of things, but most of them understand that these people aren't that good and are full of themselves. All I really have to do to give tattooing a better perception amongst them is just not act like the contestants. And as annoying as listening to this stuff, if people watch a show about tattooing and it makes them want to get tattooed, I am not going to complain. For the record there are hundreds of threads about who is the best tattooer, favorite tattooer, who's doing your next tattoo, a thread for each genre of tattoo, a thread for each animal that people get tattooed, and so on. If you added up all the activity of these threads you would probably see how little people really talk about this show in comparision. But really why wouldn't we talk about this show. This season alone has had Rubendall, Jack Rudy, Richard Stell, and Forrest Cavacco judging tattoos. I don't know one person in tattooing who hasn't watched one episode (most have watched more, but some will only admit to watching it once).

Interesting, because mine is a battle royale that does go down to the back of my knees and when I looked at it the other day, I thought 'No way would I want to cram this into a smaller space.'