keepcalm

That's cool you made it to Tattoo Paradise! I live in DC and stopped by on Saturday, but didn't get anything. I would've liked to have maybe gotten something small, but I'd just gotten back from almost a month abroad and hadn't had time to study the artists or think about an idea. I'm not very good with the spur-of-the-moment stuff :) Nice post and it's always nice to see photos!

The verbal comments I have received from strangers have always been positive -- from both men and women, in the U.S. and when I was in India last month (somewhat surprisingly to me). The only negative comments I've had said to my face have been from my mom. ("it makes me sick", "please cover them up", and... ::silent treatment:: sigh..) Who's to know what people are thinking but don't say, though. I feel like there is a perception that women who have lots of tattoos (or very visible ones) also have a certain personality type / attitude -- one that is maybe more aggressive or combatant than average ("bad ass") -- and that leads people to want to say things to them either to get a rise out of them, or get into an argument or something. Though the perception for tattooed men may be the same re: aggressiveness, it's less interesting because it's more normal, in society's view, for men to be more aggressive / "bad ass." The whole thing is obviously insane -- I know some very quiet and unassuming women with some visible "bad ass" tattoos -- but those are my thoughts on a possible reason for strangers treating tattooed men/women differently, based on very unscientific observations made in bars and on public transportation, haha :) (Though I suppose this is vaguely related to the post topic, I apologize anyway for the detour!)

I like the way you think!

First, apologies to @IAmMattLewis for the thread hijack! For three years, I lived in Old Town Alexandria, but at the north end, close to Del Ray. Both are great little neighborhoods. I just moved into the district proper over the summer. If you're ever back in town and want to check in on Del Ray, let me know! Maybe some Dairy Godmother action? Though I guess it's getting too cold for ice cream, huh? Whomp whomp...

I wish I worked that close! Are you still in the DC / NOVA area?

Nice! The Portrait Gallery is my favorite Smithsonian. Definitely show that panther head, too! Hope you had a good experience and I'm sure it looks awesome!

When I was getting my first tattoo, for months beforehand, I wanted to get a phrase taken from a John Cheever quote -- "write to make sense of life" (full quote: "The need to write comes from the need to make sense of one's life and discover one's usefulness.") -- AND I wanted to get in Latin. This was only six years ago, but I don't even remember what my reasoning was for the whole Latin thing. Anyway, after stressing over the correct spelling for the Latin (seriously. wut.), font options for the script, etc., I finally decided the reason I was dallying on actually getting the tattoo was because I didn't really want to get words written on me. I wanted an image. I wanted something that would look beautiful. I wanted art. So I found the ibis, the bird that represents the Egyptian deity Thoth, who served as scribe to the gods. As soon as I stumbled upon it, I knew it would be the image I got tattooed on me. It held the meaning I wanted, that was important to me, but it was also a beautiful image of a lovely bird (my ibis is in flight). Now that I have three more tattoos, I feel confident saying I don't think I'll ever put text on my body. I think script can look really great incorporated into certain designs, but what I personally like about tattoos is that they are mobile art that I get to carry with me everywhere I go. It's a bit ironic given how much I clearly value the written word, but hey, a time and place for everything, right? :) Side benefit -- there's more ambiguity with pictures. They feel more personal to me. I know what my ibis means, and if someone who sees it asks me about it, I can tell them. For everyone else who doesn't ask, they'll just see a pretty bird in flight. And that's cool, too. Anyway, good luck with your tattoo -- I hope you get exactly what you want.

Looks like you're in luck! ;)

Welcome! Nikki is awesome! I live in DC and have previously been tattooed by Scott M. at Tattoo Paradise, but I'm looking at getting a lady head from Nikki next. Enjoy your visit here -- if Congress can get its shit together, maybe the museums & monuments will be open again and you can actually see some stuff.

I forgot my password and didn't log on for a while, but I am happy to finally catch up on where this thread has been, haha! Love some of the photos and thoughts posted. I have what I think is a killer idea for another piece, but I am stalled on getting it because I can't think of a place to put it that I feel good & excited about. #lame Yall are so fun. Love this forum.

I'd go bigger! Otherwise, I'm still quite happy with the subjects of my tattoos and my decision to stick with black & gray. I'll always have lingering doubts about placement no matter what I do, so that doesn't count, haha.

No, I completely understand!

I'm still over here trying to figure out how to get a shot of all my tattoos at once without crossing into inappropriate territory :o Might have to try left side then right side, haha. Loving seeing the full-body shots, though -- it really helps when thinking of where I'd like to put more work and what it might look like on me. Hopefully some more ladies will share, too! :)

Sounds fun! I don't really have a full-body shot of myself yet but would be interested to see others in the meantime!

This is awesome, haha! Also makes me think about the different ways to achieve balance... My left/right split is 2 and 2. My front/back split is 1 on front, 2 on back, 1 on side. My top/bottom split is 3.5 on top, and 0.5 on bottom ;) I dunno, the more people post and the more I think about it, I realize it's all totally personal preference and style, and people who care more about managing their overall look will always pay more attention to things like this, and people who are more relaxed about it won't. And the world goes on ;) I tend to think of my tattoos as permanent accessories -- I always think about how they'll look with the kinds of clothes I like to wear / my style / etc., so I'll probably always agonize over placement before a getting new one.

You're gonna love it! You can do whatever you want and don't have to agree or compromise with a travel partner. You are also much more likely to meet locals along the way, in my opinion. When traveling with another, it's so easy to just keep to yourselves, since you already have companionship. But when you travel alone, you are much more likely to meet and interact with people along the way -- and I have found some of the best detours by talking with people like this... either other travelers staying at my hostel, or locals in the bar/restaurant while I'm having dinner or a drink, etc. It can be really great. I hope you enjoy it! :)

To me, symmetry and balance are two separate things. Something can be balanced without being symmetrical -- in fact I think with tattoos especially, too much actual symmetry might be strange.

I'm going to India in October/November! (!!)

This is what I worry will happen to me, haha! Perfectionism and tattoos do NOT go together...

I think this is kind of it for me, too. I like the way tattoos look on skin, and I feel like I still need to be able to see some skin to really appreciate them. I also think it's really cool when a tattoo flows perfectly with the part of the body it's on -- like one that follows the curve of the back or hip, or curls around the shoulder or elbow perfectly. It looks so cool to me because it highlights the natural shape/movement of the body, and to me, those kinds of tattoos always look like they really BELONG where they are, especially when there is negative space around them that makes them stand out. I just think it's neat. I would love to get more work like that.

Interesting! I assumed some people would pay much more attention to all of this than others, but it's cool to hear everyone's reasoning. I definitely have an interest in keeping my work at least partially balanced on my body, as that look is just more appealing to me personally. The problem is deciding exactly where I want things to go! I have some ideas for pieces that I know will look best on certain body parts, and I am trying to create a game plan around that, haha. I also take into consideration how public I want each tattoo to be -- that is, if I want to be able to hide it easily. In my opinion, there's a lot to think about!

For those who are not necessarily going for full-body coverage, do you ever think about the overall look you have as a tattooed person? Like I imagine many people here, I am an appreciator of aesthetics, and when I consider getting new work done, I think long and hard about where to put it and how it will change the way my body looks in clothes, out of clothes, in swim suits, etc. It might be slightly different for females since we tend to have more variety in the clothes we wear (different cuts, lengths, dresses, etc.), but I do wonder... Do you pay a lot of attention to keeping your work balanced on your body? Do you take into consideration places on your body where you don't plan to ever get work? I guess one approach would be to prioritize the design, and pick the place on your body where that design fits best. Another approach would be to think about where you'd like to have tattoos, and pick designs you like that would flow well in those spaces. This post is partially inspired by this thread about negative space with tattoos. I am a huge fan of negative space and have spent a lot of time thinking about the best way and location to place substantial tattoos on my body, with space in between them. Some people might say this is overthinking it, but I can't help it, ha. I've considered putting most of my work on my left arm and right leg, leaving the opposites mostly clear. I've also considered mainly tattooing my torso and leaving my limbs mostly clear. When you think about it, following each of those two patterns would make for a really different overall look. Maybe as a still-kinda-newbie to this world, I do think about this stuff too much, but I'm still curious as to others' thoughts :)

Yeah :) I am always excited when I start thinking about an idea for a new piece, and since I don't have a ton of friends who are into tattoos, I just come here. I always make my final decisions with my artist, but I like to think (and talk) through my ideas a LOT, and I don't want to bug my artist with excessive questions, haha. And also this :) Also thanks to everyone who likes to chat about ideas - I appreciate you!

Thanks so much! The only thing Scott went off was the illustration/drawing in my first post in this thread. I found that image on a website called Behance (?) -- not sure exactly what that site is about, I found it through an image search. Not sure if that helps, sorry! - - - Updated - - - Thanks! :)

You should! :) I'm excited to get some work from her. "a darker Alice" as in Alice in Wonderland? I would love to see that - sounds awesome!