RoryQ

Tomo's new studio, Silk Needle, continues the Yellow Blaze tradition of being somewhat hard to find without GPS / phone map.
The sign is 'blink and you'll miss it'.
Nagaoka is a morning shinkansen's ride from Tokyo... 1.5 hours. The new studio is super comfy and Tomo seems to be planning a lot of conventions in Europe and Canada soon, he's energised.
We did 5 hours, which finished off my front after (I think) 4 years and about six sessions? All in Japan bar one. My bank account is glad that's done.
Drank some awesome Echigo beer on the way home and zoned out till I ate a restorative giant ramen. I lived on ramen this trip: All kinds! Soya base, extra fatty pork base, fish base... Cheap, tasty and hydrating.
Flying home tomorrow but this morning I had a consult with Shige and, all going well, getting a small piece from him at a convention in Europe in next while.

Tomo's new studio, Silk Needle, continues the Yellow Blaze tradition of being somewhat hard to find without GPS / phone map.
The sign is 'blink and you'll miss it'.
Nagaoka is a morning shinkansen's ride from Tokyo... 1.5 hours. The new studio is super comfy and Tomo seems to be planning a lot of conventions in Europe and Canada soon, he's energised.
We did 5 hours, which finished off my front after (I think) 4 years and about six sessions? All in Japan bar one. My bank account is glad that's done.
Drank some awesome Echigo beer on the way home and zoned out till I ate a restorative giant ramen. I lived on ramen this trip: All kinds! Soya base, extra fatty pork base, fish base... Cheap, tasty and hydrating.
Flying home tomorrow but this morning I had a consult with Shige and, all going well, getting a small piece from him at a convention in Europe in next while.

Tomo's new studio, Silk Needle, continues the Yellow Blaze tradition of being somewhat hard to find without GPS / phone map.
The sign is 'blink and you'll miss it'.
Nagaoka is a morning shinkansen's ride from Tokyo... 1.5 hours. The new studio is super comfy and Tomo seems to be planning a lot of conventions in Europe and Canada soon, he's energised.
We did 5 hours, which finished off my front after (I think) 4 years and about six sessions? All in Japan bar one. My bank account is glad that's done.
Drank some awesome Echigo beer on the way home and zoned out till I ate a restorative giant ramen. I lived on ramen this trip: All kinds! Soya base, extra fatty pork base, fish base... Cheap, tasty and hydrating.
Flying home tomorrow but this morning I had a consult with Shige and, all going well, getting a small piece from him at a convention in Europe in next while.

Tomo's new studio, Silk Needle, continues the Yellow Blaze tradition of being somewhat hard to find without GPS / phone map.
The sign is 'blink and you'll miss it'.
Nagaoka is a morning shinkansen's ride from Tokyo... 1.5 hours. The new studio is super comfy and Tomo seems to be planning a lot of conventions in Europe and Canada soon, he's energised.
We did 5 hours, which finished off my front after (I think) 4 years and about six sessions? All in Japan bar one. My bank account is glad that's done.
Drank some awesome Echigo beer on the way home and zoned out till I ate a restorative giant ramen. I lived on ramen this trip: All kinds! Soya base, extra fatty pork base, fish base... Cheap, tasty and hydrating.
Flying home tomorrow but this morning I had a consult with Shige and, all going well, getting a small piece from him at a convention in Europe in next while.

Tomo's new studio, Silk Needle, continues the Yellow Blaze tradition of being somewhat hard to find without GPS / phone map.
The sign is 'blink and you'll miss it'.
Nagaoka is a morning shinkansen's ride from Tokyo... 1.5 hours. The new studio is super comfy and Tomo seems to be planning a lot of conventions in Europe and Canada soon, he's energised.
We did 5 hours, which finished off my front after (I think) 4 years and about six sessions? All in Japan bar one. My bank account is glad that's done.
Drank some awesome Echigo beer on the way home and zoned out till I ate a restorative giant ramen. I lived on ramen this trip: All kinds! Soya base, extra fatty pork base, fish base... Cheap, tasty and hydrating.
Flying home tomorrow but this morning I had a consult with Shige and, all going well, getting a small piece from him at a convention in Europe in next while.

Tomo's new studio, Silk Needle, continues the Yellow Blaze tradition of being somewhat hard to find without GPS / phone map.
The sign is 'blink and you'll miss it'.
Nagaoka is a morning shinkansen's ride from Tokyo... 1.5 hours. The new studio is super comfy and Tomo seems to be planning a lot of conventions in Europe and Canada soon, he's energised.
We did 5 hours, which finished off my front after (I think) 4 years and about six sessions? All in Japan bar one. My bank account is glad that's done.
Drank some awesome Echigo beer on the way home and zoned out till I ate a restorative giant ramen. I lived on ramen this trip: All kinds! Soya base, extra fatty pork base, fish base... Cheap, tasty and hydrating.
Flying home tomorrow but this morning I had a consult with Shige and, all going well, getting a small piece from him at a convention in Europe in next while.

Tomo's new studio, Silk Needle, continues the Yellow Blaze tradition of being somewhat hard to find without GPS / phone map.
The sign is 'blink and you'll miss it'.
Nagaoka is a morning shinkansen's ride from Tokyo... 1.5 hours. The new studio is super comfy and Tomo seems to be planning a lot of conventions in Europe and Canada soon, he's energised.
We did 5 hours, which finished off my front after (I think) 4 years and about six sessions? All in Japan bar one. My bank account is glad that's done.
Drank some awesome Echigo beer on the way home and zoned out till I ate a restorative giant ramen. I lived on ramen this trip: All kinds! Soya base, extra fatty pork base, fish base... Cheap, tasty and hydrating.
Flying home tomorrow but this morning I had a consult with Shige and, all going well, getting a small piece from him at a convention in Europe in next while.

Tomo's new studio, Silk Needle, continues the Yellow Blaze tradition of being somewhat hard to find without GPS / phone map.
The sign is 'blink and you'll miss it'.
Nagaoka is a morning shinkansen's ride from Tokyo... 1.5 hours. The new studio is super comfy and Tomo seems to be planning a lot of conventions in Europe and Canada soon, he's energised.
We did 5 hours, which finished off my front after (I think) 4 years and about six sessions? All in Japan bar one. My bank account is glad that's done.
Drank some awesome Echigo beer on the way home and zoned out till I ate a restorative giant ramen. I lived on ramen this trip: All kinds! Soya base, extra fatty pork base, fish base... Cheap, tasty and hydrating.
Flying home tomorrow but this morning I had a consult with Shige and, all going well, getting a small piece from him at a convention in Europe in next while.

Tomo's new studio, Silk Needle, continues the Yellow Blaze tradition of being somewhat hard to find without GPS / phone map.
The sign is 'blink and you'll miss it'.
Nagaoka is a morning shinkansen's ride from Tokyo... 1.5 hours. The new studio is super comfy and Tomo seems to be planning a lot of conventions in Europe and Canada soon, he's energised.
We did 5 hours, which finished off my front after (I think) 4 years and about six sessions? All in Japan bar one. My bank account is glad that's done.
Drank some awesome Echigo beer on the way home and zoned out till I ate a restorative giant ramen. I lived on ramen this trip: All kinds! Soya base, extra fatty pork base, fish base... Cheap, tasty and hydrating.
Flying home tomorrow but this morning I had a consult with Shige and, all going well, getting a small piece from him at a convention in Europe in next while.

Tomo's new studio, Silk Needle, continues the Yellow Blaze tradition of being somewhat hard to find without GPS / phone map.
The sign is 'blink and you'll miss it'.
Nagaoka is a morning shinkansen's ride from Tokyo... 1.5 hours. The new studio is super comfy and Tomo seems to be planning a lot of conventions in Europe and Canada soon, he's energised.
We did 5 hours, which finished off my front after (I think) 4 years and about six sessions? All in Japan bar one. My bank account is glad that's done.
Drank some awesome Echigo beer on the way home and zoned out till I ate a restorative giant ramen. I lived on ramen this trip: All kinds! Soya base, extra fatty pork base, fish base... Cheap, tasty and hydrating.
Flying home tomorrow but this morning I had a consult with Shige and, all going well, getting a small piece from him at a convention in Europe in next while.

Tomo's new studio, Silk Needle, continues the Yellow Blaze tradition of being somewhat hard to find without GPS / phone map.
The sign is 'blink and you'll miss it'.
Nagaoka is a morning shinkansen's ride from Tokyo... 1.5 hours. The new studio is super comfy and Tomo seems to be planning a lot of conventions in Europe and Canada soon, he's energised.
We did 5 hours, which finished off my front after (I think) 4 years and about six sessions? All in Japan bar one. My bank account is glad that's done.
Drank some awesome Echigo beer on the way home and zoned out till I ate a restorative giant ramen. I lived on ramen this trip: All kinds! Soya base, extra fatty pork base, fish base... Cheap, tasty and hydrating.
Flying home tomorrow but this morning I had a consult with Shige and, all going well, getting a small piece from him at a convention in Europe in next while.

This time next week my torso should be all done.
Going up to Nagaoka city to Tomo's new studio, Silk Needle Tattoo.
Looking forward to it, insofar as I ever look forward to sessions on my front. I'll be sad to be finished as it gave me a great excuse to visit Japan regularly.
Tomo's new site, if anyone's interested: silkneedletattoo | Japanese style tattoosilkneedletattoo | Japanese style tattoo

This time next week my torso should be all done.
Going up to Nagaoka city to Tomo's new studio, Silk Needle Tattoo.
Looking forward to it, insofar as I ever look forward to sessions on my front. I'll be sad to be finished as it gave me a great excuse to visit Japan regularly.
Tomo's new site, if anyone's interested: silkneedletattoo | Japanese style tattoosilkneedletattoo | Japanese style tattoo

This time next week my torso should be all done.
Going up to Nagaoka city to Tomo's new studio, Silk Needle Tattoo.
Looking forward to it, insofar as I ever look forward to sessions on my front. I'll be sad to be finished as it gave me a great excuse to visit Japan regularly.
Tomo's new site, if anyone's interested: silkneedletattoo | Japanese style tattoosilkneedletattoo | Japanese style tattoo

I also don't think it's THAT bad. It's also very cover-able.
That said:-
The fact that the teacher offered to pay to have it 'fixed' suggests to me he knows he screwed up. I find it a little odd that he went with them to the shop when they got these tattoos ... and I second noting that it looks like it's in a fairly intimate spot? Was the teacher hanging around? Creepy if so. Overall, really poor judgment - legal or not.
If my kid was 18 I would tell him he was an idiot, but at that age I think it's pretty much adulthood: Big boy rules.
If he was 17 or younger, yeah, it's a little arbitrary, but I'd be considering taking it further with that teacher's school.

I also don't think it's THAT bad. It's also very cover-able.
That said:-
The fact that the teacher offered to pay to have it 'fixed' suggests to me he knows he screwed up. I find it a little odd that he went with them to the shop when they got these tattoos ... and I second noting that it looks like it's in a fairly intimate spot? Was the teacher hanging around? Creepy if so. Overall, really poor judgment - legal or not.
If my kid was 18 I would tell him he was an idiot, but at that age I think it's pretty much adulthood: Big boy rules.
If he was 17 or younger, yeah, it's a little arbitrary, but I'd be considering taking it further with that teacher's school.

Thought this one was cool. I still think tiger head hand tattoos look great for some reason.

I really like Clark North's work - I believe he is located in Las Vegas.
He's certainly done more than a few dragon tattoos (Japanese style).

Hey :)
Well, I have tattoos and I'm also a psychologist. Truth be told, we have an entire chapter to check about how our client looks like, and this of course, includes tattoos. This looks "chapter" is NOT as important as the others, but it is a source of information about our client - and any information we can get is helpful to better understand the client.
Some tattoos have meaning, some don't. We are interested in those with a meaning for the client.
Imagine a woman coming to your office, and she has a portrait tattoo in memory of her dead son. Maybe that's the reason she's there (the death of her son) and you'll want & need to find out more about it, and even if it's not, nonetheless it was an event that shaped your client one way or another.
And what if tattoos could talk? What story would they say? These are very good questions to ask the client once you have established a relation with him. Some people really like to talk about their tattoos!
There's also could be the case when a certain tattoo is related to a gang, to a rite of passage or even has a medical purpose (a tattoo which warns others in case of emergency that you have diabetes or certain allergies etc.) and it's important to find out the symbolism of these because it helps us, as I already said, to better understand the client.
I could go on and on, but the basic idea is that there's nothing wrong with your psychologist wanting to know more about your tattoos :)
P.S. - English is not my native language, so sorry for my mistakes.

From an artists perspective, i'd say go in at least with an idea of the tattoos the artist youve chosen has done that you like and explain why you like them (colours, layout,subject etc) and at best say youd like something along those lines.
dont go in saying 'do what you want', no one ever really means that and if they explain something they'd be stoked to do and you say, yeah but not that. well, then you will have a deflated and slightly annoyed artist in your hands, vague guidance is great.
the artist puts out there work theyve enjoyed or that shows their ability, all within the realm of what that customer asked for, however, so just cos you like what you see them posting doesnt mean it's what they want to do, it might be something entirely different that they simply havent gotten a chance to tattoo ever before.

I asked myself if I wanted sleeves badly enough that I was willing to wear long sleeve shirts during the hottest days of summer.
(I was / am, so that was fine.)
I don't have to depend on anyone else "accepting" anything as long as I'm willing to do that.
Now, neck and hands, that would be rolling the dice.

I asked myself if I wanted sleeves badly enough that I was willing to wear long sleeve shirts during the hottest days of summer.
(I was / am, so that was fine.)
I don't have to depend on anyone else "accepting" anything as long as I'm willing to do that.
Now, neck and hands, that would be rolling the dice.

I asked myself if I wanted sleeves badly enough that I was willing to wear long sleeve shirts during the hottest days of summer.
(I was / am, so that was fine.)
I don't have to depend on anyone else "accepting" anything as long as I'm willing to do that.
Now, neck and hands, that would be rolling the dice.

I asked myself if I wanted sleeves badly enough that I was willing to wear long sleeve shirts during the hottest days of summer.
(I was / am, so that was fine.)
I don't have to depend on anyone else "accepting" anything as long as I'm willing to do that.
Now, neck and hands, that would be rolling the dice.

To me they are a luxury in the sense that ... let's be clear ... paying the mortgage or paying for my son's needs (yes, his wants as well as his needs) are ahead.
I have a few paintings that have accrued in value since I bought em- enough that I guess they count as an investment. I hesitate to say tattoos could be an investment in that sense ... for obvious reasons. No re-sale value.
But...
I would prioritise spending my truly disposable income on them because, as Graeme said, they're gonna be there till death. You get "use" out of your tattoos daily. So much enjoyment and good memories.
In terms of their perceived value: It's interesting to me that most people here (Ireland) don't consciously recognise the cost. When I see someone with big work then - if they aren't obviously patronising scratchers - then I know they are *probably* either someone with a good enough income that they can afford it out of disposable income OR someone who can budget and exercise restraint to save up. Either way, I admire / approve of that.