Illiad86

Ok, Knoxville may be a scruffy little town on the Tennessee river, but it has a tattoo convention and it has some GREAT mountains (the Great Smoky Mountains, in fact) nearby. This is the 5th year for the convention, and I've really enjoyed the three times I've been. Location is in the bottom level of the Holiday Inn World's Fair site and there is free parking just up the hill from it in city garages. Here is the web site: http://www.knoxvilletattooconvention.com/
I guess the burlesque and other things non-tattoo are common to these shows (the local one is all that I've had a chance to attend). Enigma has been here with his act a couple times. What I really like about it is seeing so many people enjoying their passion. The artists at the show don't often have their names mentioned on here, but that doesn't take away from their talents! It isn't a huge show where the far side of the room gets lost in the haze from bodies. They use two big halls and a nice entry area that is set up for refreshments and vendors.
So, take a little trip here to the hills of Appalachia. Knoxville is just a short hop from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the touristy areas of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Or if you prefer "the quieter side of the Smokys", you can enter the park through Townsend via 321.

Just as a side-note for anyone thinking about ordering Dermalize or Saniderm. I liked Saniderm better than Dermalize. It was easier to apply and remove, and it feels.. thinner, more natural. My artist also commented on it being easier to apply. Will definetely order some of this stuff for my next trip!

Yep. Cut and piece together as needed.

Just peeled some Tegaderm off for the first time a couple minutes ago, some initial thoughts:
1. Got tattooed Monday afternoon.  Kept the original bandage on overnight (as I like to do), then washed it well Tuesday AM and left it bare (under my jeans) until that evening (didn't order it in time to arrive before Tuesday).
2. The tattoo wept a lot of plasma into the 2 sheets of 4x4" Tegaderm I applied, so much so that I sprung a minor leak at the bottom and had to patch a new piece under it.  I should mention that most of that built up plasma worked its way out before the patch.  This tattoo is on my shin, so gravity was really working against me.  I later added another piece at the top to wrap around my knee - not a super friendly area as far as movement is concerned.  These two pieces were added on Wednesday.
3. With the Tegaderm, I hardly even noticed I had a brand new tattoo while at work.  There was no irritation from rubbing on clothing, and I could ride my bike in no problem.
4. Kept it on for 4 days (Tuesday-Saturday), so that the 2 edge pieces had been on for the minimum 3 - I was a little worried about ripping my remaining leg hairs out if the adhesive hadn't weakened some... It all peeled off fine, didn't even need water to help it off, so I just hopped in the shower after to wash it all off.  
All in all, the tattoo looks and feels great.  Time will only tell how the rest of the heal goes, but I have a feeling that I'm past the worst of it.  To me, just having the freedom to move without worrying about rubbing/irritation is worth the price of admission.  In the future, I'll definitely order larger sheets to make coverage a little simpler (tattoo is about 4.5 x 7", a little tricky to get that extra 1" border around), but I think I'm a convert!  Thanks to everyone who posted here, I definitely read through this whole thread at least once while making the choice...

I've been tattooed by several people because I liked them, not necessarily because I thought they were the best artist around. Fortunately, they've mostly been great artists, too.

When pretty girls come in and give me/us cookies or whatever its pretty much one of the best things of the day.

Pretty rough tattoo. Got those and a back piece at a young age. Do have an upcoming appointment next month tho with a solid artist to start some proper b&g leg work!

Pretty rough tattoo. Got those and a back piece at a young age. Do have an upcoming appointment next month tho with a solid artist to start some proper b&g leg work!

Pretty rough tattoo. Got those and a back piece at a young age. Do have an upcoming appointment next month tho with a solid artist to start some proper b&g leg work!

@Dan, the best part is that he/she apparently doesn't know several people have his/her posts blocked (including me). Can't even see what he posts. Only thing it doesn't block is when someone quotes. We need to get that fixed. 
Big love to you, Dan! ?

Welcome!

Welcome! New here also :)

Hello and welcome!

Welcome to the forum!!
 

Thank you @JazzyMac

Hi LST! Long time lurker but just recently finally joined. Just wanted to say thanks for such a vast wealth of tattoo knowledge all in one location. 

We've all made the slightly unusual choice to embed words, symbols, and images onto our bodies until the day we die. It's barely accepted by the mainstream in liberal western countries let alone other cultures. People are going to be intrigued and ask questions just as much as they are going to be offended or mesmerized. That's part of being (visibly) tattooed.
It annoys me sometimes too but hey it's part of the package.

Looks like an octopus to me. Octopus are kind of alien in a way if you think about it though. I wouldn't read into too much of what people say though, its solid work and once the coloring is in it will be read better as others said before. It does remind me of the Doctor Who suit alien though...

Something like this...

Not sure how realistic you like your realistic tattoos. Myself, the hyper-realism, and even most of the photo-realistic stuff is not my cup of tea. They look really cool, but not my style. My personal preference is toward the realism built upon a traditional "framework", for lack of a better term.
Darcy Nutt is really good at tattooing what I described above - because pictures are worth way more than my crappy descriptions. One of my personal favorite artists, and a super chill lady - I hope to get more work from her one day.
I think a black and grey realistic owl would be cool. Have any idea what kind of owl you want?

For me the kind of realistic tattoo that appeals is black and grey stuff that doesn't go too far into the hyper-realism end of things (you know, that looks not just photographic but almost goes further, with the really crazy light effects).
Jose Lopez, Chuey Quinatar... Some of the crazy Mexican bandits in front of trains, goddesses, human sacrifices, Virgin and Jesus etc.
I like looking at the religious stuff in general, or big epic myths and legends pieces like you see some of the Eastern Europeans do.
Think these are both Zsolt Sarkozi (Hungary). Love this stuff.

I have nothing important to contribute. I like all of you guys. Even when we don't get along.

I like you @marley mission.

My opinions are after studying it, not based in ignorance. I own the Amund Dietzel biography and multiple sailor jerry books which i have read and traced and painted cover to cover. I can tell you about Stoney St. Clair and of him being interviewed by Ed Hardy, and Ed Hardy working up in Vancouver Canada way back in the day. I can tell you what "flash" actually means, how it was created, tattooed, traded, and improved upon. I can point out intentional mistakes in Sailor Jerry flash where he tried to protect his work from being copied. I spend 5 days a week in a shop full of classic flash and have 15 years of obsessively reading everything about all styles of tattoos. I've got some friends who are excellent traditional tattooers (who know I don't really care for the style). So call me rude asshole but don't say I have no interest in understanding traditional. I'm well informed and perhaps even more educated on the topic than you (or maybe not). I even have some traditional tattoos and plans to get some more. I just refuse to be a fanboy to them while ignoring everything else. I also know excellent tattooers and other collectors who share the same opinion as me but are too polite to come out and say it. I'm not interested in making friends here, just having the real talk about tattoos.

Maybe we should get a barbaque together and drink alot of alcohol to get it all out. Here's a website I found a while ago for anyone interested in other styles that we dont see much on this forum. tattrx | International Gallery of Tattoos.