ElizabethBee

Cool thread. My dream tattoo is an Icarus back piece.... I'm saving the real estate but seriously doubt I'll ever be able to afford it :(

Almost done!!! 1 more session needed for grey wash background. By Mark Duhan, Skin Deep Ink in New Milford, CT (hummingbird was already there) Back of the arm is swelled up pretty good.

This is all about my boys. The flowers are for their birth month.

Artist did an awesome job of rolling with my idea for a watercolor/ feminine polka trash colorful mish mash!

I hadn't meant that passive-aggressively.

I understand, and I didn't mean to start a BDSM or feminism conversation. It's a tattoo that I kept coming back to and looking at done by an artist whom I think is exceptionally talented and is close to where I live. I'm considering having a tattoo done by her at some point, though nothing like this image. It's one of the more violent (without being campy) tattoos I've ever seen, so I thought I'd throw it out there.

I've never been tattooed by a female artist before and I really want to.

Insert long and tedious conversation about fantasy and BDSM and feminism here.

Wow, OK, point taken.

I had a dream the other night about a tattoo - never had this happen before. I guess that means I should probably get it!!!

It was a rose shape/outline with galaxy stars, nebuli, outer space-y kinds of images inside (a la Andres Acosta style - out of Austin, TX). It was on my right shin, but since I have no leg tattoos yet, I should probably start with my calf...

In some spots there are some red spots and in some parts the ink is rised.

Your tattoo looks great. Don't worry about a thing. Keep following the after-care instructions that your artist gave you.

Nice work, especially for a first tattoo!!

I have noticed rotary machines have a little more discomfort for me personally but heal really well

I completely agree with this. Plus, less noise.

I hear ya - I'm having one of the roughest heals I ever had... Looking forward to when it's just my skin, ya know?

A silhouette of my son - angled really well so that when I hold my arm out at a 45 degree angle from my body, it looks level. The negative space is a motherhood symbol. Part of an unfinished half sleeve for my 2 boys.

Sternum, right in the center where it drops off to your guts (I can only speak for how this feels on a lady.... but it's pretty much like your lungs and heart are being shocked with an electric wire). Fun stuff.

My re-entry into the tattoo world has only served to remind me how exhilarating it is to see your ideas transformed into powerful artwork AND how much it sucks to heal a tattoo! My sensitive skin never ceases to amaze me - this time around it's an allergic reaction to the sharpie my artist used to free-hand a small part of my new piece. I'm just a delicate flower... :o

I've been lurking for a while, but finally decided to sign up! I live in CT and recently started a new half-sleeve after taking several years off from getting tattooed because I had a baby to care for (physically and financially). I'm so psyched to be getting tattooed again and I really just want to talk about it! ;)

Ladies,

I have been following Megan Jean Morris on Instagram for a while and I am completely blown away by her recent piece titled "Rough Tuesdays". It's posted on her Instagram (dated May 4). Her write-up about it just made me more interested, but I read through some of the responses and some people are calling it a rape tattoo (it looks as if those comments got deleted though). It's such a disturbing image, which is only accentuated by her incredible talent. What do you gals think about it?

[MENTION=39806]Also liking how elbow-length sleeves seem to be a thing right now. Whatever corporate entity decides on clothing trends for women has come up with a lot of work-friendly tattoo covering solutions this year.QUOTE]

I'm a public middle school teacher with half sleeves on both arms (one is currently in the works) and I have a closet full of elbow-length sleeved shirts. While my tattoos do sometimes peak out when I reach up, it's never been an issue. There are a lot of stores that make them in a light cotton - like a t-shirt, so I'm never too hot.

There are male teachers at my school who have tattoos on their arms and they wear short sleeves (i.e. showing their tattoos). For some reason, they're almost all Special Ed teachers... hmmmmm, not sure what the connection is. I often think about going to work with my tattoos showing, but I never have and probably never will since one of mine is a quite buxom pinup-esque model and just wouldn't be middle school co-ed appropriate.

Apparently I have no idea how "Reply with a Quote" - oops!

I don't want to upload photos yet because my half-sleeve is still very much in progress.... BUT...... I am (read... my artist is) really going out on a limb and mixing styles. I'm getting a half sleeve on my right upper arm for my boys (1 biological and 1 step son). It's a feminine, soft trash polka style mixed with some soft watercolor-y realism. So far so good - I've really composed this whole piece myself and I'm pretty proud of what I brought to the table. OF COURSE my artist is taking my ideas and making them beautiful. Will post pics and give credit when it's done.

Thanks for reading. :o

HA! Great question!

I was married to someone with tattoos at the time, in my mid-twenties, and so I think my parents might have been dreading that I would be getting tattooed at some point. When I showed my dad he said "Well, at least it's good" (like he would even know). I think that was about as positive a reaction as I could ever have hoped for!

I am a 35 year old moderately tattooed woman and I could not care less if my partner is or is not tattooed. I have been in relationships with men who were heavily tattooed, moderately tattooed like me, and I am now engaged to a man that has no tattoos at all. I equate it with sharing a hobby with someone, while it may be ideal to have the same hobby as someone, it's not a deal breaker for me by any means. My fiancee is really in to volleyball - I don't play, nor do I really have any interest in playing - but I'll cheer him on at tournaments.

Being tattooed and getting tattooed is not the biggest priority in my life. It doesn't define who I am.

While I haven't read every single post on this thread, I think I may be one of the only people that respond with "meh.... I didn't love it".

I've had all kinds of tattoo healing experiences, from extreme scabbing, to an infection, and even some really easy healing! So I figured I'd try something that so many people seem to love. My artist warned me that I might not like it, but that some people love it.

I DID like having it on for the first evening/night just so that I didn't leak everywhere, but after that I found it to be a little irritating. It might have been psychological, but I felt like my new tattoo needed to "breathe". Part of the issue might have been the area - my last session was a first round of color on a half-sleeve from the back of my shoulder down to my elbow, so the Tatuderm made my entire right arm feel pretty constricted. In total I had the derm on for 2.5 days, but I took it off each night for a little "breather". At this point (Saturday afternoon- got tattooed on Wednesday) I've taken it off for good. Hurt like hell to take it off, but my fresh tattoo feels and looks good.

I can see how people that need to be a dirty environment would really benefit from using a product like this, and maybe if my tattoo were smaller or in more of a flat spot I would have liked it better.