Dan S

I want to make it real clear that the six month wait WAS NOT at Chicago Tattoo! The artist in question had been working there when he did my piece, but then moved-on and became all popular and hip and so-forth. Anyhow, for a typical waiting time at Chicago Tattoo, I e-mailed Nick Colella there this morning, and have appointments for my Lady and myself this Wednesday evening. Guess I can wait a day!

That's not a quirk, that's a guarnaty of civility!

I've heard that the guy who finished my sleeve is booked six months out...definitely wouldn't wait that long just for the name. I've got two small, one medium, and one backpiece planned. The two small and one medium pieces will be done shortly, probably within the next month, and I'll most probably do them in one sitting. It's about a two hour drive to get to Chicago Tattooing from here, so I like to make the most of it. Still working out the design of the backpiece...ot ain't gonna be an easy one. When I have had a large piece done, multiple sittings, I usually wait until the swelliing is down enough from the last sitting to start another, so maybe a few weeks in between. Makes it easier, I think, for the artist and for myself to see whaat the pieve really looks like.

Well, I wouldn't put it quite that radically... If I'm in a bar or coffeeshop or whatever, say, in Chicago, and I start to point at someone and laugh about his appearance, or whatever, I expect that at some point he's going to object, probably violently. I'd be surprised if he didn't. My experiences in Europe were the opposite. People seemed to expect to be able to say anything, point, laugh, whatever, and not have anyone object. Case in point, a German friend of mine, while still in college, got in an argument with a classmate about something, and the classmate pushed him and tore a gold chain from his neck. Did he deck him? Did he come back with a baseball bat and rearrange his face? No. He sued him for damages. Different ways of looking at things, I guess, and aggravated by the fact that I'm of an older generation/ that didn't typically resort to calling the police or tolerating verbal abuse. All of the stereotypes ofthe "loud Ami" and the "rude Ami" kinda rankle...I've seen bad behavior from people all over the world. But ol' Travis Bickle really did rock.

One Ami quirk that REALLY sets us apart from Euros...we may be loud, but 99% of the time, if a guy gets in your face and calls you names, or whatever, he's ready to back that up. From the time I lived in Germany, I'd have to say the exact opposite is true. Seems all the Germans/Euros I met would say anything about anyone, and then be shocked when I suggested they step outside and get a punch in the nose.

There are some strange peoples out there in the wide world of tattoing... Picture This: Flying the Flag** - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

Just ask all the Swabbies had to get clothes tattooed on their nekkid dancing girls back in the '40's.

Dude...invite him out to the house for the 4th-we'll take a wire-wheel to that sad-ass excuse for a flag.

Cu_Bu, he wasn't a BJJ teacher, he was a plain, old-fashioned Jiujitsu teacher. That was 50 years ago, and his name is long, long forgotten! This was back in the day when there were no colored belts, just students and adepts. One wore a white belt, and the other, a black belt. I didn't stay with him long enough to get much past the beginner stage, he was teaching at the local YMCA, and when my folks had to start shelling out extra for the lessons, they didn't! Boxing was free at the park district, so away I went to box. I never saw martial arts as competition, except mayhap against myself, and never even entered a tournament until I had earned a first-dan in a mixed-dtyle martial art. I have always seen it as a matter of life and death, and I don't mean to be dramatic, but that's just the way and the reason for me. I train to make myself better, and just to keep from being too damn old! Most humbling experience in my martial arts life...getting in the ring with Superfoot Wallace. Whoa. That man can flat-out throw a kick. I was honored to be his demo-dummy for most of an 8-hour seminar he put on for us, and in the process, got to spar with him. I was maybe 35, he was maybe 50, and I was maybe concsious for a minute! And I hear ya, I'm no tough-tony, I've had to rock-n-roll a few times, but I try to avoid that shit whenever possible! Besides, I'm a senior citizen now!!!

Been in the martial arts for going on 50 years now. Started training when I was around 8 with the first, as far as I know, Jiujitsu BB teaching in the States. Got tired of that, boxed, did this, did that, ended up spending 25 years studying and teaching within one federation, a mixed style. No toughman contests, nothing like that, unless you count fighting in bars and other, more "restricted" places in and around Chicago. I own and run a small school, 67Olds teaches there from time to time when I need the backup. Hey-at my age, if I can still get in the ring with a 20 y.o., I figure I won. And the two guys in wifebeaters? They both had Uzi's under their baggies.

Smartass...you need to get off yer lazy ass n get back to class!

Careful Cu_Bu, you might be messin' wit da Maytag Man!!!!!! Seriously, I bet about anyone who has been involved in the fighting arts for any length of time has come across at least one instructor pretty much like "Ken". And that's really pitiful.

I think I've trained in a few schools like that!!!

I've spent my life in a pretty mixed-bag, socially. Greasers, scooter-trash, mercs, machinists, salesmen, shop-owners, and scientists. The only time I ever got a negative remark about my tattoos was when a D.P. just over from Warsaw looked at my arms and said, "da-kriminal"! Ah well... I imagine that where you are has a lot to do with reactions. In the States, most places it seems like it's almost mandatory to have some ink someplace, while in Europe, at least in Germany where I often am, it seems to attract a bit more attention. My right arm is sleeved, my left is pretty well covered, and I have a small jailhouse heart-n-ribbon on the back of one hand. I can't handle wearing my shirts buttoned at the wrist, and always have them cuffed back to the elbow unless I'm in a suitcoat. I've given lectures to a group of engineers and scientists at a defense-establishment, worked side-by-side with many a straitlaced D.o.D. type on various projects, and attended think-tanks at G.M., Boeing, and many other pretty conservative places. I can only think of one or two instances where my ink was even commented on, the actual work I was doing being the preferred subject of convo. On the other hand, a guy I know recently lost a job at freakin Burger King of all places because of "visible tattooing above the neckline", so the prejudices are still alive and well. I think the volunteer should have told them to sod-off and split. End of story. My only hook in it was the "freak" remark. An old saying in my social circle..."never trust anyone with a naked face and no tattoos." Just sayin'.

I ageee that places of business have the right to decide on an image for their employees, and I agree that tattooing is a choice. My question is, am I missing something in the translation, or are you saying that people with tattoos are freaks? At what point do you become a freak-is it after your first tattoo, or is there a line you cross when you're down to a few bare spots of skin left?

If you want to get radical, take a drive to the Chi and stop in at Chicago Tattooing. All of their tattooists are excellent, but Nick Colella is my main man there. Tattooing by Nick Colella. 6 hour drive, good scenery, killer city to visit, most excellent shop with one of the longest histories in the Midwest, and Dude...it's Chicago, right?! Lemme know if you decide to come in, maybe I can come in with my sons and show you the sights.

If you want to get radical, take a drive to the Chi and stop in at Chicago Tattooing. All of their tattooists are excellent, but Nick Colella is my main man there. Tattooing by Nick Colella. 6 hour drive, good scenery, killer city to visit, most excellent shop with one of the longest histories in the Midwest, and Dude...it's Chicago, right?! Lemme know if you decide to come in, maybe I can come in with my sons and show you the sights.

Kinda kool going down there with both the guys...67 olds' brother got a tiger done by Nick the same evening, and I set-up a session with him for a later date.

Yeah, keep telling yerself that!!!

Not when I knew him, but that's more than a few years ago! Definitely did some nice work for me.

So, i got quite a few tattoos when I was younger, all but one of them by Dale Grande, and then I slacked after the last one he did for me, I think in like 1984. That would put me at 29. Kids, houses, more motorsickles, bidness, all that stuff came along, and then I went back to Dale's shop when I was what, 50? I had some definite ideas for linkage/sleeving, and some designs I had dug up from history books. Just a tad too late. Dale had stopped tattooing actively, and only did the occassional piece, but he looked at what I had, and what I wanted done, and said "you need to talk to this guy I have working for me." And that's how I ended up having Miles Maniaci at Chicago Tattoo layout the final design and do my sleeve. Took my ideas and turned them into a coherent piece. As far as sitting and age, I'd have to check the exact amount of time, but if memory serves, I did 5 sittings, the shortest one being like four and a half hours, and the rest nbeing between five and a half and six hours. I could have at all night, but the designs were pretty hard to pick out after five or six hours, and Miles didn't want to push past that. And I paid with a credit card. Hey-it gives me a minimum of 30 days to come up with the ching, and meantime, it's done! The best part of it, to me, was that I was able to incorporate all of Dales work from back in the day into one solid design. His colors and linework have held up wondefully, and it all fits together well. .02

Third that motion. Prison work, well, the technique could be, I've seen blackwork come out of Statesville looks better than anything I've seen in a "legit" parlor, but I've never seen anyone get hit with kanji and all the other oriental type work that boy is wearinng. I have Brothers that are sleeved, that have full back pieces, that have their legs covered, but it's all "street" themed, if ya catch my drift. .02

Thought it would be interesting to see and hear about "homemade", you know, the needle-wrapped-in-thread and ink variety tattoos, and about "jailhouse" work, be it single needle dipped in ink, guitar-string in a BIC pen barrel with a tape-player motor, or any other variant. I still have a few that haven't been covered, and I've seen many, many really nice pieces come out of various joints. I will post some pics as soon as I can scrounge a better camera, and get permission form some of my Brothers to post pix of their work. Anyone else have an interest in this? If not, Admins, please feel free to delete this!

So one of my Brothers was getting divorced, and as part of the settlement, he had to pay his ex $200 to get his name, which she had tattooed on her shoulderblade, covered up. No big deal. He gave her the money, they got divorced, all is well. A few months later, we see her at a party, and she asks do we want to see the cover-up? Sure! Instead of covering his name, she had gotten a tattoo of a dog with it's leg lifted alongside it, pissing over it. One of the best tats I've ever seen!

Just about all of my work is cover-up, and I have never had any lasering done. Did burn one small tat off with cigarettes when I was about 15...got in a fight the same day I put it on, it got a slice through it, and turned into a black blob. Wasn't fun, wasn't pretty, but it worked. Helluva scar, but that faded over the years, and it's covered now as well!