gougetheeyes

My buddy jaie came to town so i had him stick this dagger on my shin.

Good tattoos aren't really that expensive in comparison to what I see acquaintances spend on motorcycles, travel and cocaine.

i'm imagining this guy:

http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/164/6/3/Laugh_Dragon_by_talpimado.gif

What on earth is a "laughing" dragon?

Lars Krutak has written a fair bit about tattooing in Africa. I believe he has written books about this, but here are some things available online:
Tattooing in North Africa, The Middle East and Balkans by Lars Krutak
Tattoos of Sub-Saharan Africa by Lars Krutak
TRIBAL TATTOOS of MOZAMBIQUE'S MAKONDE - by LARS KRUTAK
I once worked with a woman from Senegal who was casually interested in tattoos are she talked a little bit about traditional tattooing in Senegal, nothing really in depth, but there is a tradition of tattooing there.
In general, if you want good information, I'd spend less time on the Internet and more time talking with people. I would guess that Lars Krutak, who wrote the above articles, has an email address and probably does speaking engagements or lectures. You said that your nan doesn't like tattoos, but what about your other relatives? They may know things, and even if you don't get anything useful about tattoos in Ghana, maybe you'll get some good stories regardless. You're in the UK, right? I'd also suggest talking to guys like Curly, Alex Binnie, or Tomas Tomas because I can only assume those guys have a tremendous amount of knowledge and information about pre-technological tattooing, and I'm sure they'd be super happy to do a tattoo like this. Finally, you have access to some of the world's greatest libraries and universities, use those.

hi there i live in France, and i had my 1rst tattoo at 56, a sentence Alice Cooper said to me after having worn my red leather vest on stage (then he did at 52 other shows!), i am a professional painter and i paint and draw on leathers or for tattoos!
*
"It is part of the tour now"
Alice Cooper
*
its on my right hand, the one that paint

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Petri, great topic with a lot to think about. That's a really good Cliff Raven quote, too! It's strange, too, because I've been thinking a little bit about blackwork tattooing lately as I've been reading up on plains Indians (this is a really fantastic book on the Blackfeet, by the way if anyone has any interest) and learning about some basic things, especially how artwork reflected their beliefs and what was important in their lives.. seeing some old photos of the men and women, and gathering little tidbits about the importance of tattoos across different groups. Which also ties in to the sun dance that the Blackfeet participated in, incorporating some serious piercing… Anyway.
I think this topic is pretty huge but I'll try keep it short. In my opinion, with tattoos, we're all struggling to apply ten million things to our bodies, most of which we’ll never fully understand. Aside from our struggle to reconcile our own mind and spirit with our physical world, we obviously latch on to art that we can identify with, be it music, tattoos, or the argument could even be made for clothing. And so much of it is ingrained in our culture and subconscious, it's tough to step outside those parameters, tattoo or otherwise. I do love blackwork tattoos and I do appreciate what those (growing) few have done and are doing by exploring different styles of the artwork. I do think it suits a lot of people but I think there's a certain... not problem, but maybe an uncertainty, when it comes to co-opting various styles and designs from other cultures. It's powerful and striking and instantly more "meaningful" or "exotic" than traditional western tattoos, but sometimes what happens is just a bunch of borrowing from other cultures. Now -- there's not necessarily anything wrong with it and, in fact, there's something very American -- and very human -- about that. We consume and incorporate and for the most part it's to understand and gain knowledge. And in that way, we create a new tattoo language, which is really exciting and maybe even necessary.
All of this is to say, I’ve had a real, growing interest in blackwork/native tattooing as I’ve gotten older. And I think it’s because I’ve made myself think about things a bit more, try to understand the whys of tattooing and expression; whys that probably won’t ever be fully answered. I think folks that exploded the possibilities for our modern times, like Leo Zulueta, and those that are building on that foundation, like Thomas Hooper, have the right idea. When I mentioned “co-opting” and “borrowing” I didn’t mean it in the negative, I think that’s just our nature because we’re all trying to understand something we can’t put our finger on. Who knows – maybe as I get older I’ll get really into black-only tattoos. I identify a lot with both Celtic and American Indian designs but maybe that’s my own subconscious connecting slivers of my ancestry to my geography to my own search for meaning. I’m glad for the renewed interest in tribal tattoos, I just keep my fingers crossed people will treat it with respect.

Why am I so lazy when it comes to music?! Not sure if this is from this year but I've been listening to the Iron Chic album The Constant One a lot lately.

Good way to wake up this morning. This was great!

Last contest of 2014 folks!
The rules:
The tattoo picture that gets posted in this thread for December 2014 with the most 'likes' for the month wins! The contest starts on the first of the month and ends on the last day of the month.

Your tattoo picture must be posted in this thread (both tattooers and tattoo customers can win) in order to qualify.
Include with your photo/post...tattoo artist name & tattoo shop.
You MUST be the one who has the tattoo or did the tattoo.
You can 'like' as many tattoos as you want.
It can be a finished or in progress tattoo.
You cannot enter the same tattoo in more than one contest.

The winner of Tattoo of the month "November" is my Norwegian homeboy @Wilhell with this crazy face ripping Oni, by none other than the great Tim Lehi at Blackheart Tattoo, San Francisco. Congrats dude!

Please PM @steve1461686340 with your shirt info (size and male or female) along with your address.
New contest will be up shortly!

@SeeSea just thought this one came out the best? Here's the one with the flash so you can all our lovely faces!

To be fair, we did end up going out for drinks after we split up with you guys, which is I think what tipped the scales.

@SeeSea just thought this one came out the best? Here's the one with the flash so you can all our lovely faces!

@SeeSea just thought this one came out the best? Here's the one with the flash so you can all our lovely faces!

@SeeSea just thought this one came out the best? Here's the one with the flash so you can all our lovely faces!

@SeeSea just thought this one came out the best? Here's the one with the flash so you can all our lovely faces!

@SeeSea just thought this one came out the best? Here's the one with the flash so you can all our lovely faces!

@SeeSea just thought this one came out the best? Here's the one with the flash so you can all our lovely faces!

@SeeSea just thought this one came out the best? Here's the one with the flash so you can all our lovely faces!

@SeeSea just thought this one came out the best? Here's the one with the flash so you can all our lovely faces!

@SeeSea just thought this one came out the best? Here's the one with the flash so you can all our lovely faces!

Buncha mysterious people sitting in the shadows.. Good to have a few drinks with you guys and finally meet in person!!

@SeeSea just thought this one came out the best? Here's the one with the flash so you can all our lovely faces!