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My first tebori by Horitoshi 1--just finished and still a bit bloody

Bethenny, if you really want your back done then do it. We all might whinge about how bad a backpiece can be while getting but i promise that all who have finished a backpiece would do it again. I myself am about 1/2 way through mine and although it sucks getting the work and healing it the satisfaction of seeing perhaps the biggest piece of art you can do on your body is awesome. I dont look forward to my fortnightly sessions but once they are done I cannot wait to get home and see the progress. The end result is well and truely worth it. Btw @Cork love the work, great detail and colours. I wish I was that far advanced with mine. - - - Updated - - - This fortnights update. Most of work was done on right side arse cheek and thigh but shows how he merged the original 3/4 sleeve into the backpiece.

Second session today with my buddy Iain Mullen on his collaboration with Rudy Fritsch. Beyond happy with how this is progressing. We did the lines with two machines almost 2 months ago and I had gotten used to seeing it that way. Now with some of the black in I am amazed by seeing it come to new life again.

@Shaggy That's looking amazing. Are you done with the black shading? Second session on my back later today, pictures to follow.

Please try and not let me stunningly beautiful bum distract you from the artwork :) 10 hours in total, so quick quick this time and I am glad! Some of the arse is brutal, specially where the cheek meets the thigh..... Victor said doing bums is awful, the skin is too soft and for him its not a very good place to tattoo but we are happy with the results. We still have a largish gap for the centre of my bum but we will just fill that next year with just a few shaded bits and pieces. We also have the back of that thigh to do next year. Maybe add a devil horn to the devil hound. My arse is red raw and swollen so sorry for the pics. :)

short trip to portland with the lady got this from whthd Instagram

God damn! That is so awesome. I don't know if I've ever seen an oni like that one. How did you like the tebori sound and feel?

What tattoos do you have? Edit: I feel like LST is a great and simple place to find artists and ideas, why does everyone push a nonsense app that is clearly filling a void no one needs.

I actually like some of these, but a lot of them seem like they would need to be your only tattoo, or you'd have to commit to doing your whole body in that one style for it to make visual sense. Way too much of a dilettante for that.

Hey guys, sorry to necro an old thread, but I thought you might all be interested to see that I got my design completed today. I'm more than happy with the result, and must give props to @Joe Shit and @Nest for recommending Gerry Carnelly at Octopus Tattoo in Derby. Speaking of which, here's a picture of the result from his instagram:

I guess he will eventually just be getting an even bigger eagle then one day..... ;)

I will never understand why people say "can I have your opinion" when what they really mean is "can I have your approval". Not my thing either, I do see the charm in some of them though I wouldn't want it on my body.

Alix Ge. Saw this on Tumblr, and thought everyone here would like it.

I did one of the njtrail series last summer - awesome! It was my first trail race so I signed up for the 10k. Then I was running along with some folks who were doing the half, and they peer-pressured me into the half. Well, at about the 10k point, they pulled away, and I ran the second loop by myself, cursing in the hot sun, doing some run/walk, rolling my eyes, posting instagram pics. Ugh! At that point, I just decided that I Must Finish just because I stupidly made the commitment and I needed the psychology in my head that you never give up when things start sucking really badly. I hope to be back into it enough this winter to join them - I love cold weather running.

Horrible idea. Tattooing is still very much a face to face industry and it should always stay that way.

oh this isn't going to go well

Well, I have been planning this tattoo since I was about 15. Almost 20 years later it is coming to fruition. I decided to let the apprentice at our shop start out doing the black since it would give him some skin time and I knew he was capable of saturating the black properly. I had finished up for the day so we started around 7 at night. We didn't finish up until 4 in the morning. It was AGONIZING, every last minute of it. I didn't sit the greatest, but I wasn't a terror either. I knew that letting our apprentice dig in, I was gonna' be in for a little extra chair time and maybe a little extra points on the pain scale. My back is a little larger than I actually envisioned it in my mind, also. I guess I am a pretty broad guy. At one point I was drooling all over my iPhone as I tried watch Dexter in and out of envisioning myself strapped to his table. I am gonna' try to get it hammered out in 2 or 3 more 8 to 12 hour sessions. Knowing that I actually bossed up and rode through it made it that much more cool to me. Finally getting started on this after 20 years of planning was pretty damn satisfying. I am lucky that I don't have to pay for any of it and that financial concerns for new work are non-existent. Cool beans.

I'll always be the first and the last to tell you that.

There's no right or wrong answer, but it's tricky given our country's less than hospitable history with its indigenous peoples. In my mind, an Indian girl head isn't so much a Native-American image like a thunderbird as it is American traditional. For some, an overly sexualized image like a nekkid Indian girl pinup could be seen as offensive whereas a beautiful face would not. There's a line to be crossed but it's not always so clear where that line is. For example, I find this: (Cleveland Indians mascot) to be way more offensive than this (Chicago Blackhawks):

Check out government street in Victoria. A few heavy hitters at that shop!

Maybe you should just have two or three different artists work on the back piece.

I always feel so guilty buying gym gear. I have no idea why. I think my mindset is that since I am at home now, I should be competent enough to rig something up that works well enough. So buying it is like cheating. I'm an idiot.

Howdy, been a way for a while but my daughter's girlfriend, who lives in a tiny town in eastern Indiana, decided she wanted her first tattoo. I helped her scope out her area and there was no one worthwhile there so I went and gave her a ride so she could see Jereme who did the mushrooms on my leg. I decided I like the mushrooms so much I'm just going to give him that leg so we started talking about what to do next. I said I was thinking of something along the lines of a red winged blackbird perched on a fence post. Both him and the guy that owns the shop started nodding and thinking that would work out well, then the conversation went like this: Jereme: That would be pretty bad ass, but you know what would be better? Me: What? Jereme: A red winged blackbird perched on a skull. Me: Oh fuck yeah, that would be good. Jereme: Yeah Me: And you know what would be even more bad ass than that? Jereme: No, what? Me: A blackbird, perched on a skull, with a fuckin dagger through the whole thing. Jereme: Fuck yeah, now you're takin'. So there ya go, the next tat. Now I just have to gather up some cash.

Hi. My current location is Las Vegas, NV. I've been lurking around the site for a while and finally decided to register and have some fun. I have several tattoos - Some I love, some I don't. But I love tattoos, the fun ones, the serious ones, the what the hell were you thinking ones - All of them. I like seeing the expressions we choose to decorate ourselves. The stories behind them or lack thereof. Oh and the skill of the art fascinates me. Thanks for all the great laughs, cringes, and information so far. I'm happy to now be a bonafide member. See you in the forums.

I've been pissing off people all my life......it's a special talent I have I guess! Do what you want and piss off as many people as you want......you only live once!

Cool man. I like it. [emoji106] Those tunes would go down well here! http://www.mitchellcreekrocknbluesfest.com.au/phone/index.html I'm riding up with some brothers, camp out for a couple days, sink a few beers and enjoy some sweet blues in the Hinterland. Life definitely is sweet. Thanks for sharing your link.

"Pre-offended" -- that's a good one. Phony internet outrage is our new national pastime. (Sorry, baseball.)

Thanks Mark, reading it now.. So far it looks like I'm going to be a culturally insensitive jerk since I'm considering a sugar skull too. - - - Updated - - - I suppose it would give me some encouragement to hear from others like me who chose the design despite not being Native American as well.

@DJDeepFried I hate to kick a dying dog, but man, the tattooers at the shop she brought up, woof. Horrid.

I agree that this artist does solid work, just not in a style that I would ever get. What I think bothers me most is that some of the designs would be better (imo) if they were smaller. Like the skele-dog and flower on the girl's back. So much great space there and it's all empty. Let's all just take a moment and imagine that the dog was actually a tiger and the flower was a giant snake. And they were fighting.

Finished my tiger up yesterday By Kore Flatmo Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don't know what you guys are all complaining about. I look at all the "tattoo pain" pictures on the internet and they all show the butt as one of the spots on the body where the pain is lower. I think you guys are all just looking for attention and the opportunity to show off your backsides and using this forum as a way to publicly admire butts and your S&M tendencies without the shunning of society.

After about a year of injuries and a slow return to running, I started my 14 week plan for the Philadelphia Half Marathon today. I haven't hit the track in quite a while, so it felt good to get out there and knock out some 600s. It's a pretty conservative plan so I probably won't come too close to my PR from two years ago, but I'll just be happy to get through it and to the starting line healthy.

Here's a new one: one of my best friends is almost done with his backpiece, and he just texted me to say that, the day after getting his ass tattooed for 5 hours, his penis is sore and tingling. Our combined best guess: he was subconsciously trying to escape the pain, so he unwittingly smashed his junk into the table. That poor, poor table.

Having had my backpiece for a few months now, I gotta to say that I keep loving it more and more. I wanted to get one for years, and I'm so glad that I finally said "fuck it" and went ahead. The only downside is that I have to keep looking at photos of myself to get a proper view of it. Can't wait to start filling up areas that I can actually see myself. Here is a recent photo from my holiday in Ibiza.

Got this dagger from Steve Byrne this past Friday at the Pagoda convention. Super stoked on how it came out and the convention was great! It was very cool to see such great tattoo artists and people all in one place. If I didn't leave when I did I probably would of walked out of the convention broke and with a few more tattoos.

Horitoshi 1 (foto from his instagram accnt) lines and shading done now. Color next week! (Please delete if it's weird to post in progress work here)

tony hundahl drew this reaper on my thigh tonight @ pagoda. he asked what i wanted to do so i just showed him a spot and let him do whatever he wanted.

Here's a healed picture of my back piece by Valerie Vargas at Frithstreet tattoo :)

@SeeSea. I probably wouldn't say upper thigh is a harder slog to get through. I mean, fkn smashing ribs and sternum had it's moments where I was thinking ...faaark! Just expected the thighs to be a walk in the park and it was not quite what I expected. As mentioned, sucky rather than faaarkin 'ell. :) But @Mark Bee. Your right man. When I started banging torso, my mindset was fuck this shit. Smash this fucker hard, smash it solid and we don't stop til the fucker is done. You bet.

Here's a Giger-inspired piece from Chad Chesko, if this helps: Instagram

i was gonna get an native american lady head but i didn't and now looking back on it i am glad i didn't get one...not judging anyone who has any native american traditional tattoos...i think some look great...but just not on me. after reading bury my heart at wounded knee (if you are into history and want to read about native american perspective of the history of the west this book is great and brutal) i can't watch john wayne movies and i really can't think that even the classic native american tattoo designs are not somewhat racist and historically inaccurate. but like somebody else said i imagine most native americans have a lot more pressing concerns than what some non native american folks have tattooed on them. pretty sure anthony keidis has a tattoo of sitting bull on his arm i feel like thats a little different than having an anglo looking lady head with a war bonnet. more like a tribute idk.

I got this gnarly thing from Jason Kelly here in Atlanta. I love it.

:D

Pictures would be great to include, but originally wanted to start a conversation about the designs themselves. I love a native lady head simply cause they're pretty but what's the consensus on whipping up random designs that simply look Native American? You can usually find a chief/lady head design on old flash and they've been a staple of "tattoo history" for a long time. It seems like a fine line though; throw a headdress on em, some face paint and a slouchy shirt with some beadwork and there you go. Is there a worry that we're appropriating a culture that remains essentially unrepresented in America? Has anyone with a Native-themed tattoo ever received any feedback from a Native person? How about some of the strictly graphic designs that have been popping up lately? Should I have just not started this thread and leave the whole thing alone? Sort of a big conversation to have but I'd really love to know what you all think.. or if you've even thought about it at all. Also, anyone know Jack Red Cloud's story? I think he's discussed in the McCabe NYC Tattoo book but I leant that out to a friend.

@davelang Great post, man. I came across something really interesting when reading up about Bill Reid and formline drawing, which is that a lot of what we see in terms of carvings, jewellery, and paintings originated from Reid's study of traditional Haida tattoos: So, in a sense, tattooing these designs is really taking it full-circle. There are a few really cool things online about Haida tattoos as well, like this: Haida Tattoo - The Bill Reid Centre - Simon Fraser University I grew up on the West Coast of Canada, and I love this style of art, but as a whitey I have a hard time getting it as-is on me so I've been trying to find ways to take some of what I find powerful about Haida art, as well as myth and legend, and interpret it in a way that doesn't feel so appropriative. My (in-progress) sleeve is an interpretation of the Raven myths, and because it's being done by Thomas Hooper it's interpreted through a sort of hermetic lens with some sacred geometry, Ernst Hackel references, and so on. The eye of the raven is referenced directly from Bill Reid's drawing on the cover of the book The Raven Steals the Light. I'm thrilled with it. I've been also thinking of one day getting a gagiid mask, maybe done sort of in the style of a hannya. I'm still figuring that one out though. - - - Updated - - - And just because I love to geek out on this stuff, here's a picture of a print I bought last summer by an artist named Jonathan Erickson. From what I understand, he's mostly working in jewellery right now, but the guy at the gallery said that he's also done tattoo designs...kind of figures that I'd be drawn to art done by a guy who also designs tattoos. Anyway, I think it's super cool. I need to get it properly framed still.

Yeah, the weird ambivalence I feel with this kind of thing makes me think immediately of Pendleton blankets (and, more specifically their new Portland collection that just came out and caused a huge ruckus... my wife is into clothes.. a lot.. so I hear about things..) As far as designs go, this is actually what Pendleton did from the beginning; creating non-specific native-looking designs that appealed to both white folks and tribal people -- and were hugely successful for both -- and for many tribal people the blankets became important (and still are) for certain milestones, even though they weren't tribal specific. Also, I have a buffalo head and skull with feathers tattoo, planning to add a couple other things to it and still want a native lady head tattoo. I just wondered if anyone had discussed these types of tattoos or if it's simply a non-issue at this point.

I feel like I'm a clash of different styles. I speak a few different languages, have more than a few interests, and have done a lot of different things in my life. My tattoos are a reflection of that, and as much as I admire people with one full suit from a single artist, I know that it's not for me.