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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.

got this lil' dude today on the side of my thigh from Joe Chatt. super great experience, lovely dude. showed me some old stencils, business cards, and flash that he'd acquired during his recent travels only just stopped limping from the last one :rolleyes: aiming for Erl next and a large piece from my mentor before he moves back to aus

Looks like I have an appointment with Marcus Kuhn in Eindhoven in March! I'm over there for my stag/bachelor's party and supposed to be flying home the Sunday morning but I chanced my arm to see if Marcus could take me on Sunday - he said he could so looks like I'm flying home on the Monday instead! Gonna get a start on my chest with a badass eagle

Damn, nobody is disappointing! Got this little one from Andy Perez at the new shop Allied in Bushwick when I was back a couple months ago visiting. Bad cell phone picture, but you get the idea. First one above the collar, d'oh!

Started my sleeve w/ Jason Brooks last Saturday... First new project in over 5 years... and first visible ink :)

Some of you may have already seen this on Instagram, but I wanted to wait till I had some healed pics before posting here. Seth Wood @ Memoir Tattoo in L.A., Started 1/14, completed 12/15.

Snakes and flowers make great butt tattoos.

me too

I've also seen Jenna's work up close over the years, she's done several tattoos on one of my best friends and was a friend of my old bandmates (she's originally from our city). I will concur her work definately has that handmade look, but her stuff stands out as very professional in comparison to the hipster DIY tattoo-party crap you tend to see all over. I believe she's put in a lot of effort and heart travelling the world and learning the style/tech that she executes. I'd like to get a small tattoo from her one day if the opportunity comes, more for the collector element - both receiving a stick/poke and getting tattooed by a woman (which I haven't yet). She seems to get back to Edmonton every couple of years... This bud of mine with the stick/poke collection said he likes the silence of it, it's therapeutic for him. I am completely opposite, heavy hands and fucking loud machines are what get me off.

that should ring a bell. if not, check it out, it's great! Marcus Kuhn's - The Gypsy Gentlemen - Home

Apologies for the offence. Is this better? Don't get tattooed specifically by @Ponto Tattoo because he doesn't have the conviction to actually have tattoos, but yet wants to take your money to put a garbage Pinterest tattoo on you. Please refer to the linked-to thread as to why he is a parasite.

The best part of being away from LST for life stuff is getting to come back and binge on this thread. Too many good tattoos for me to even comment on which ones I liked best. Holy wow.

THIS THREAD WAS SO FUN! I've missed so much.. Lil panther guy by Mario Desa on my right, and on my left I've got a sleeve-background-skin triangle where a little "Mom" heart lives. That actually says, Ma. No photo of that one though.

I am a high school history teacher and I have never had any issues with my tattoos. The only visible one I have is star wars related and I find it breaks the ice more often than not.

I've seen some of the work by Jenna Bouma (Slowerblack, East River Tattoo in NYC), and you can tell that it's hand made. The reason for this is that the lines are made by a bunch of dots connected rather than a single motion. Even at her speed, which quite frankly is really impressive, it's a slower technique. Less skilled usually results in a more obvious dotted line. As for any possible "pros", it's a different feeling than machine tattoos... And people on tumblr will love you... I'd say that chances are that this stick and poke "artist" has most likely never been an apprentice, and probably doesn't have any training in keeping a safe workplace other than what they learned from the internet and common sense. I mean you don't have to be an expert at the internet to find some pretty sketchy "artists" on instagram.

If you can keep up on new music you aren't getting tattooed enough. I think the only 2015 release I bought and listened to this year was Monolord's Vaenir which is solid.

My opinion is if a person doesn't get tattoos because they are too picky, they are just making excuses to not get tattooed, which is fine, it's not for everyone. My sisters are both artists. My older sister is a Art Director and very picky. She has two tattoos, that yes did take a lot of direction but still got done. My younger sister is still trying to get that "perfect" tattoo aka not ready yet.

Absolutely none of the "situations" or "examples" you listed work in the context we are talking about here. None of those involve or require a connection or deeply personal bond. There are mountains of reasons that tattooing and tattoos are about much more than what you see. There are things you feel when you are part of a tattoo connection that you can't get from anything else. It is a kind of brotherhood that you can only be a part if you share that bond with someone. You are not capable of giving a deeply personal experience if you have never experienced that with someone tattooing you. It is an absolute and non-negotiable fact of tattooing. Tattooers need tattoos. Period.