Guerillaneedles

Most recent acquisition. From @helfire in Newquay, Cornwall. Little birthday treat for myself. Next to the first tattoo I ever did! 

I've been busy recently! First up I got this really cute cat and umbrella from Wendy Pham at Brighton Tattoo convention. I've been after this piece of flash for years so happy he's now mine! 
Next up (and also at Brighton), I got the side of my knee done by  Jody Dawber. This was the most painful tattoo I have ever got. I was whimpering like a baby (and I usually never make a fuss). I had to dig deep to get through it! Thank god she's fast.  
And last but not least, my latest addition (again on the side of the knee) from my super talented co-worker Lucy O Connell. Had my eye on this babe for well over a year, so happy to finally give her a home. 

I've been busy recently! First up I got this really cute cat and umbrella from Wendy Pham at Brighton Tattoo convention. I've been after this piece of flash for years so happy he's now mine! 
Next up (and also at Brighton), I got the side of my knee done by  Jody Dawber. This was the most painful tattoo I have ever got. I was whimpering like a baby (and I usually never make a fuss). I had to dig deep to get through it! Thank god she's fast.  
And last but not least, my latest addition (again on the side of the knee) from my super talented co-worker Lucy O Connell. Had my eye on this babe for well over a year, so happy to finally give her a home. 

Please tell me that 'mice' is a deliberate play on words ?

In my very short time here and now with two whole tattoos, I remember seeing two comments most frequently. "Get a panther." And "Go large or go home."
 

Here's a nice link with references for Japanese mythical creatures  . . . 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_legendary_creatures_from_Japan

Ooooh great thread. I've just uploaded loads to the gallery but I won't post all at once. Here are some hands I've painted :

I'm always up for trades btw. 

Ooooh great thread. I've just uploaded loads to the gallery but I won't post all at once. Here are some hands I've painted :

I'm always up for trades btw. 

i hate when people ask "what about when you get old?"
 
Well surely then  will be old with tattoos rather than young with tattoos?

I guess it is because tattoos are so much in the public consciousness, but I don't understand why people feel so comfortable coming up and touching my tattoos, and asking personal questions, completely out of nowhere. This is similar to when I have been pregnant and strangers feel quite comfortable coming up and putting their hand upon my belly. EXCUSE me? I have been stopped in public by strangers and asked to raise the sleeve of my shirt so a better view can be achieved. ????? 
How is this different than if you had a really nice piece of jewelry or outfit on, and I just walked up to you and touched the collar of your jacket or fingered your watch/necklace, asked you where you got it, how much it cost, etc.? How about if you had a nasty scar on your arm and I couldn't quite see the entire thing, and I asked you, a stranger, to raise your shirt sleeve a bit so I could see it all. It would not be acceptable behavior. 
I realize that people assume you have tattoos because you want them to be seen, maybe, and you want to share them with the world, but not necessarily!

One of the things that I like about LST is that the regulars are like-minded and share a genuine enthusiasm for tattoos. I know some people are uncomfortable with the notion of a tattoo “community.”  However, in a sense I think that this is a “community” in that it is a group with common interests and experiences, and information to share, without judgement. 
Whether we like it or not, we have an interest in a practice that a many of people find pretty weird. So, there is something to be said for having a group of people available to you who do not find tattooing weird, and in fact find it quite wonderful.
Even if we have people around us who don’t judge or criticize, there is still a gap between tattooed and untattooed people that you can’t bridge. You really can’t talk to them about tattooing and expect a response that is enthusiastic, supportive and understanding that you would get from another tattooed person. And you certainly can’t discuss the technical aspects or ask for advice.
It is probably no different than, say, being interested in restoring old cars. People may accept your hobby, be curious about it, enjoy seeing your restored ’35 Chevy. But but the depth of conversation is limited, and at some point you wish you could talk to other car restorers so you can get into the intricacies of 1930s Chevy carburetors. It is fun to be able to “talk shop” with insiders in your field of interest, and it is fun to be one of the insiders.
Speaking for myself, I’m planning a back piece and sleeves, but have almost no tattooed people around me. So LST is sort of an oasis, where I can “hang out with” tattooed people, where it is ok to be tattooed, to like being tattooed, to be heavily tattooed, and to be excited about your next tattoo. You can just talk about tattoos as much as you want. I like to read the discussions, hear how people feel about tattooing, gather information, ask questions, and chime in, knowing that I am welcome. It is the only place where I can do that.
On the other hand, maybe some are happily tattooed and don’t feel any need to have like minded people to interact with.
So how do you feel about LST as a community, or about the concept of a “tattoo community” in general, and does it play a role for you in you tattooed life?

Most recent acquisition. From @helfire in Newquay, Cornwall. Little birthday treat for myself. Next to the first tattoo I ever did! 

This.
I'm still pretty new to getting tattooed and I've already gone from thinking that everything about tattoos is the coolest thing in the world to thinking that tattoos are still the coolest thing in the world, it's just sort of unfortunate about the getting them and healing them part, and as I'm planning on starting some big work in the next year I expect that my opinions will change again, and that I will lament ever getting involved in this thing that involves me getting repeatedly stabbed with needles in my ass crack.
That said, I really like what was said above about the experience of getting tattooed and getting to meet people who really excel at what they do and really getting something from that energy. I love the way that when I look at my tattoos that I can remember the experiences around them and getting them (for example, around a year ago I was in NYC on that freakishly really snowy day at the end of October and because the weather was so miserable and people were cancelling their tattoo appointments I managed to get a walk-in at Smith Street and got that classic wolf head with its tongue hanging out the side of its mouth from Eli Quinters and when I look at that tattoo I remember that day really sharply, though I probably would have otherwise forgotten about it) and I want to continue having those experiences as long as possible because they've been some of the best and most important experiences I've had in my life.
Which isn't to say that getting a cohesive bodysuit wouldn't be this really amazing, transformative experience, because I'm sure that it absolutely is.

His stuff is awesome. You'll get a great tattoo no doubt

Its not rude to ask your tattooer for their rate. It is rude to ask various artists for prices on a design and price hunt. Show that you intent to get tattooed by the artist you want and ask for price once everything else is done. 
I always ask how much the tattoo will be, but I do it last. If you hear artists complain, its from people who price hunt and dont really want a tattoo, they just want a deal.
Tattoo prices vary, based on so many different factors. Only the artist doing the tattoo can tell you how much a design will be.

Sounds like a question for your tattoo artist.

It's not just a UK thing, it's a Washington and LA thing as well. It's a very peculiar concept to me that so many people treat tattoos as a fashion accessory; the "I like this tattoo where they have it, and I want it just like that on me" (ignoring that this person is very possibly built and proportioned very differently than they are. It's fine, not really offensive, and not really my problem; it just seems a bit like they're forgetting that this isn't the must-have phone that they can just trade in after a better one comes out.

OK for me, I do a lot of walk in stuff and as we work in a student town we get a lot of requests for pinterest style stuff. It irks me when people ask for an exact copy of tattoo AND placement (aren't tattoos meant to be individual?), obviously we usually don't copy but if it's a crescent moon outline 2cm big there's only so much you can do with that. We also get huge gangs of girls especially who all try and pile in to watch, and there's usually a tattoo 'expert' among them who of course knows more about tattooing than you do. It also grinds me when someone has to ask all 8 of their friends whether the placement is alright. Before you even get them in the chair, I also hate it when people get shitty with you when you try and advise them on placement, size etc and look at you like you're being a dick. Honestly I could take your money but I'd rather give you a good solid tattoo.
I realise I'm on a roll here, and this is probably a UK thing but I pretty much get asked every single day,3/4x a day whether I watch tattoo fixers. I tell them I don't have a TV licence (which is true). Also fuck those guys.

I've been busy recently! First up I got this really cute cat and umbrella from Wendy Pham at Brighton Tattoo convention. I've been after this piece of flash for years so happy he's now mine! 
Next up (and also at Brighton), I got the side of my knee done by  Jody Dawber. This was the most painful tattoo I have ever got. I was whimpering like a baby (and I usually never make a fuss). I had to dig deep to get through it! Thank god she's fast.  
And last but not least, my latest addition (again on the side of the knee) from my super talented co-worker Lucy O Connell. Had my eye on this babe for well over a year, so happy to finally give her a home. 

Thought I'd wade in and post a few hand tattoos I've done. Top two are fresh, bottom is healed.  I LOVE tattooing hands! Which is really ironic because I used to hate drawing them. I used to want to be a fashion designer but I'd draw all the models with their hands behind their backs just to avoid it! 
I love Guen Douglas's, Xam and Ebony Mellowship 's tattooed hands. 

Most recent acquisition. From @helfire in Newquay, Cornwall. Little birthday treat for myself. Next to the first tattoo I ever did! 

I've been busy recently! First up I got this really cute cat and umbrella from Wendy Pham at Brighton Tattoo convention. I've been after this piece of flash for years so happy he's now mine! 
Next up (and also at Brighton), I got the side of my knee done by  Jody Dawber. This was the most painful tattoo I have ever got. I was whimpering like a baby (and I usually never make a fuss). I had to dig deep to get through it! Thank god she's fast.  
And last but not least, my latest addition (again on the side of the knee) from my super talented co-worker Lucy O Connell. Had my eye on this babe for well over a year, so happy to finally give her a home. 

Thought I'd wade in and post a few hand tattoos I've done. Top two are fresh, bottom is healed.  I LOVE tattooing hands! Which is really ironic because I used to hate drawing them. I used to want to be a fashion designer but I'd draw all the models with their hands behind their backs just to avoid it! 
I love Guen Douglas's, Xam and Ebony Mellowship 's tattooed hands. 

Thought I'd wade in and post a few hand tattoos I've done. Top two are fresh, bottom is healed.  I LOVE tattooing hands! Which is really ironic because I used to hate drawing them. I used to want to be a fashion designer but I'd draw all the models with their hands behind their backs just to avoid it! 
I love Guen Douglas's, Xam and Ebony Mellowship 's tattooed hands. 

Thought I'd wade in and post a few hand tattoos I've done. Top two are fresh, bottom is healed.  I LOVE tattooing hands! Which is really ironic because I used to hate drawing them. I used to want to be a fashion designer but I'd draw all the models with their hands behind their backs just to avoid it! 
I love Guen Douglas's, Xam and Ebony Mellowship 's tattooed hands.