semele

Yeah Litho party! I haven't done it in a couple of years (and haven't worked with actual stones in much longer - the last time I did litho it was photolitho) - wanted to get back into it this fall but the studio I sometimes go to (i.e. that has ways of letting amateurs work there) is under renovations. I'm happy to be in good company with the printmaking love! Litho school is a great place to meet your husband. :)

I've gotten kind of obsessed with stone litho--I didn't even know what lithography WAS a few months ago and now I basically live in the print shop. I'm still figuring things out, but here are a couple pieces I've been ruining my back with this spring, both editions of 11 on somerset and BFK printmaking papers.
I'm going to learn to etch copper plates next, I think.

I took an intro drawing class at the college where I teach, and HATED drawing still lives, but it got me drawing fifteen hours a week. I picked up a bunch of drawing books too, which were of varying helpfulness, but it's really all just practice and having the patience to work through things that don't look good quickly. I don't think I'll ever have the best technical drawing skills ever, but I started a little less than two years ago and made some solid progress. I think starting late has definitely been motivating, and I know I didn't have the dedication or direction to work like I'm working now when I was in my early twenties.

This is a little more technical in nature, but I think it's kinda cool to share. My mentor(s) have really had me focusing on the craft of tattooing lately. Making needles. Making pigment. Tuning and rebuilding machines. It's something that we take for granted with the ease of pre-made and disposables. But it feels good to know that I'm gaining the skills the old timers relied upon.

I spent this weekend hanging out with my old buddy @Iwar and new buddies @Wilhell and Nina and their little boy. I went with Iwar to his Horitomo appointment on Saturday and all of us had lunch and visited the Academy of Sciences yesterday. Great times with great people!

I have a piece going into a gallery show in around a month... it's the first show I'll be in that isn't affiliated with the school I work for.

I think getting tattooed gave me a really intense appreciation for craft, and dedication and hard work. It was a tattooer that convinced me that I could still learn to draw at 25, and that obsession with craft eventually drew me to printmaking and has kept me there. Now I'm thinking of training to become a master printmaker.

I think getting tattooed gave me a really intense appreciation for craft, and dedication and hard work. It was a tattooer that convinced me that I could still learn to draw at 25, and that obsession with craft eventually drew me to printmaking and has kept me there. Now I'm thinking of training to become a master printmaker.

I think getting tattooed gave me a really intense appreciation for craft, and dedication and hard work. It was a tattooer that convinced me that I could still learn to draw at 25, and that obsession with craft eventually drew me to printmaking and has kept me there. Now I'm thinking of training to become a master printmaker.

I think getting tattooed gave me a really intense appreciation for craft, and dedication and hard work. It was a tattooer that convinced me that I could still learn to draw at 25, and that obsession with craft eventually drew me to printmaking and has kept me there. Now I'm thinking of training to become a master printmaker.

I cosign this. Getting tattooed led me down the path to go to art school, mostly b/c I was so encouraged by my friend (who is my tattoo hero) to draw. And well, yeah, here we are.
It's never too late to do something you want to do.

I have loved watching you explore this path from afar!!! Tattooing has certainly been a big inspiration for both the dude and I to work on our own art stuff. Being around creative people a lot will do that to you!

I think getting tattooed gave me a really intense appreciation for craft, and dedication and hard work. It was a tattooer that convinced me that I could still learn to draw at 25, and that obsession with craft eventually drew me to printmaking and has kept me there. Now I'm thinking of training to become a master printmaker.

I think getting tattooed gave me a really intense appreciation for craft, and dedication and hard work. It was a tattooer that convinced me that I could still learn to draw at 25, and that obsession with craft eventually drew me to printmaking and has kept me there. Now I'm thinking of training to become a master printmaker.

I think getting tattooed gave me a really intense appreciation for craft, and dedication and hard work. It was a tattooer that convinced me that I could still learn to draw at 25, and that obsession with craft eventually drew me to printmaking and has kept me there. Now I'm thinking of training to become a master printmaker.

I think getting tattooed gave me a really intense appreciation for craft, and dedication and hard work. It was a tattooer that convinced me that I could still learn to draw at 25, and that obsession with craft eventually drew me to printmaking and has kept me there. Now I'm thinking of training to become a master printmaker.

i'll post a healed pic of this birdhead in here since i uploaded it to my flickr...
a month old. the wizard is two weeks old.
whitehead birdhead by misomad, on Flickr

Here's a beautiful one taken from Miyazo's instagram:

I will enthusiastically third how much that spot sucks to get tattooed. It feels so awful to get tattooed there.

My dude Matt Brotka drew this and posted this on instagram a bit of a time ago. Very relevant. Photo, obviously from his account.

I am slammed at work, yet I just read this entire thread. And I'm glad that I did, because there's some great back and forth in it. Thanks to everyone who posted something good here.
I don't count my tattoos, but I do keep a list of who has tattooed me. Two weeks from today, I'm getting something from someone who's been on my wish list for a few years now. He'll be artist #42 for me. Then again, I started getting tattooed 20+ years ago. Some of the names on that list are very well-known. Some of them are complete unknowns. One of them is no longer alive, two of them have since stopped tattooing, and three of them were shit on in the this thread's first post. ;) Not a single name on that list makes me better (or worse) than anyone else who gets tattooed. But every one of them is a part of a story--my story. Just as every tattoo I have comes with a story of its own. I love meeting people and sharing stories, which is part of what I love so much about getting tattooed and hanging out with awesome people like so many of you.
I'll stop rambling now, but thanks again to those of you who made this thread worth reading.

I've seen work from "name" artists that wasn't the greatest, but I wouldn't say any of them have "lost" it. They are all human and have off days. I used to get bent out of shape if I noticed anything on a tattoo what wasn't perfect, but now I step back and look at the piece as a whole. It would be ridiculous to write off a whole suit based on a couple blow outs/poorly healed shading here and there.
I'm in the same boat as @Graeme , I've travelled for tattoos based on how the work connects with me, and how the interaction was with the artist themselves. Skill is irrelevant if the person is an asshole.
That being said, Horiyoshi III finished this piece up in July. Can't say I'd object to being the owner!

Not now, maybe not ever. Why would you get tattooed on your back anyway, you'll never see it, and unless you plan on spending most of your time shirtless, neither will anybody else.

Things I just remembered: this board has an "ignore user" function!
@mmikaoj - again, I am so impressed by your engagement in this discussion despite how prickly it's been. Here's to civil disagreement. Also, I hadn't considered how differing languages might make for tricky discussion. Good point.
@CultExciter - he didn't sell you out, your chemistry is just too strong to be ignored!

I have a piece going into a gallery show in around a month... it's the first show I'll be in that isn't affiliated with the school I work for.

I have a piece going into a gallery show in around a month... it's the first show I'll be in that isn't affiliated with the school I work for.