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ironchef

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Posts posted by ironchef

  1. it might be worth asking Henning or Rubendall for their opinion, at your next session. hell... they might even know who did Troy Denning's.

    Yes, I was going to ask Mike when I see him in March again. Hell, I might just ask him to do it. But O'Donnell happens to be there, I might hit him up too and he's really good friends with Denning.

  2. Hey Folks,

    I'm looking for recommendations on a good artist for bonji characters. These are Japanese sanskrit characters from esoteric Buddhism. Troy Denning from Invisible NYC has a great set of bonji around his neck. I'm trying to find out who did them; hopefully someone from within his shop as I'm local to NYC. I have great work from Henning and Rubendall, but just looking to branch out my collection. I was hoping to get Thomas Hooper but he couldn't squeeze me in his schedule due to him moving in June. He would have been the best choice in my mind as he is highly knowledgeable in esoteric Buddhism. I was considering Chris O'Donnell as well.

    Like to hear everyone's thoughts. Thanks!

  3. Mostly grew up in Buffalo and have relatives in Rochester.

    And Wegman's has awesome horseradish cheese.

    Without threadjacking...I miss the wings and beef on weck. Plus back in my college days, the exchange rate in Canada was amazing. I worked at Wegman's for a few years and all my family in Syracuse all work at Wegman's, hahaha

  4. Oh shit I didn't even think about the toilet. Thanks for the insight. This is one more reason why squat toilets are superior.

    Yeah dude, that's definitely something you need to take into account. I'm Asian, so squatting is in my blood, hahaha (yeah, I said it!). You'll also need to mind your reach around to wipe and which direction so as not to wipe into your tattoo. Don't make too big a deal out of it, but all those little habits and normal processes we take for granted everyday come into play when you're literally a walking wounded tattoo warrior, haha.

  5. That helps a ton. Thanks for taking the time to post those. I've been debating on who to get work from next, but seeing your sleeves makes me think waiting for Henning to come back to King's Ave would be worth the wait :).

    Happy to help. You don't need me to tell you how great of an artist Henning is. The biggest personal bonus is that Henning has become a really good friend. We communicate regularly via email. Honestly one of the nicest people I've ever met through tattooing and just in general. Rubendall is right up there with Henning, that's why they are such good friends. Made sense for me to ask them both to collaborate on my back.

  6. @Cork I've been lucky in the fact that I live really close to the Kings Avenue NYC shop. I'm literally a 15-20 minute walk away. At the end of my last session last Tuesday 2/12 my butt/lower back was pretty tender from Rubendall shading for over 4+ hours. Including the tattoo session, I took a couple of days extra off to recoup. Slept on my stomach and spent of the time either lying on the couch or in bed with my iPhone and iPad.

    I went back to the office a couple of days later but again, lucky in the fact that my commute to work is about 30 minute walk. In NYC, everyone walks around or gets on the subway or buses since locations since most things are right at your doorstep.

    My personal suggestion is to get a soft pillow or cushion to help with your tattoo commute. I cannot imagine sitting for three hours on a car ride back home after getting inked.

  7. Thank you for all the kind words everyone. Getting tattooed has been a great experience thus far and I've met some really fantastic people. I'm very happy with how this back piece is turning out so far. I'm posted pics of my arms and thighs in my gallery and also an intro in the Initiation section. I'll be seeing Rubendall again mid March. I believe we're going to outline the back of the left thigh and shade that as well.

  8. So I posted some pics, but apparently it needs to be approved by a mod. I uploaded them afterwards and they are in my gallery. Enjoy and again, thanks to all for the warm welcome and it's nice to be among kindred spirits.

  9. Okay as promised, here are some pictures with commentary:

    First is my left arm. It was my first tattoo ever and started originally as a half sleeve which eventually I had Henning extend his work to 3/4. Koi with splashing waves and cherry blossoms. Purple peony on the inner part of the forearm:

    8491123800_148a25aa47_z.jpg

    8490021897_ca565d4aee_z.jpg

    My right arm is a 3/4 dragon. This piece has a lot of significance to me as I was born in the year of the dragon. At the same time, this piece in my perception sort of book ended the koi piece I had on my left arm. Don't want to get all overly philosophical so enjoy the pic. Henning actually compiled this photo together:

    8490024563_8937dfc412_z.jpg

    So after my two 3/4 sleeves, I knew I was a big fan of Henning's koi, so I had him start a thigh piece with two koi on my left thigh. We were supposed to finish this piece on 10/31/2012...but that was the day after Super Storm Sandy hit. Needless to say, Henning's flight was cancelled and he ended up coming into NYC 3 days later and we decided to start the back piece. FYI, these pics were taken right after we put in some color in May 2012. To be continued

    8491124410_6009e5739c_z.jpg

    8491124112_2a9b86e0dc_z.jpg

    Now, here's where things get a little crazy. As some of you may know, all of lower Manhattan was completely blacked out from Sandy for almost 2 weeks, me included. There was no subway or rail service and only some bus service. Kings Avenue NYC was affected as well and closed. Henning had hunkered down with Rubendall in the Long Island shop. They were within a four block radius that actually had power in Massapequa. Once the Long Island Rail Road was up and running, I made a run out there, even though I knew most likely I would be coming back to darkness with no running water for at least another day. Thus we started this collaboration back piece. Henning lined the phoenix (about a 6 hour sitting). A week later, I see Rubendall to start the dragon. I saw Mike again last week and we hammered out the back of my right thigh. I will be seeing Mike again in March.

    8491121672_1ee9a742b1_z.jpg

    8490025379_517fd8320a_z.jpg

  10. Appreciate the welcome folks. A friend of mine was getting work done by Henning back in 2007 and he introduced me. It's been a great artist/client relationship and friendship since then. And "Yes" all of my work done by Henning has been when he does a guest spot at Kings Avenue. Of course, it was a natural progression to get something from Rubendall having been in and out of his shop so much. Both Rubendall and Henning are true gentleman, and Rubendall and his staff have always made me feel welcomed every time I come in for work. The Kings Avenue crew is top notch. Chris O'Donnell is there now a couple of times a week and I got to chat with him briefly last week. Definitely going to get something from him in the near future.

    I also follow the entire staff from InvisibleNYC on Instagram. Troy's posts are hilarious and crack me up all the time. Everyone there is really putting out stellar looking work (from this layman's point of view). I might swing by there just to ask about the bonji but I'm in no rush as I have so much more work planned ahead of me.

    Oddly enough, a former co-worker of mine was getting work from Thomas Hooper and I ran into Hooper at my job site once. Chatted with him and then emailed him. Really nice guy but super tough to get on his client list. Not surprising as his work is AMAZING.

    I will post some pics later this evening to share with all.

  11. Hi Folks,

    Just wanted to introduce myself here as I've been lurking for the better part of the past year. My name is Ricky from NYC. Born, bred, and still working/living in the lower east side of Manhattan. I got my first tattoo in 2009 at the ripe old age of 33 and have been getting tattooed every year ever since. I have two 3/4 sleeves and a thigh piece, all by Henning Jorgensen. Currently Henning is working on a collaboration with Mike Rubendall on my back.

    It's been a fantastic experience getting tattooed by these two great artists. I have to say that the Internet and Instagram have been a blessing in doing research and just looking at all the wonderful talent that is out there. I'm always in awe of artists, as I can't even draw a stick figure to save my life and I personally consider tattooing a true art form.

    I decided to come out from behind the shadows as I wanted to branch my collection out a little bit. In NYC, there's just so many talented artists to choose from and I'm starting to run out of real estate. What I was searching for on the forums was an artist who is really adept at nice bonji characters. I really wanted to get on Thomas Hooper's wait list, but he's booked solid and he will be moving away from NYC this coming June. I prefer to stay local and I may contact Chris O'Donnell or someone else, but still wanted to hear people's recommendation's on solid bonji work. Troy Denning has great bonji characters around his neck and I'm going to email his shop. Hopefully it was one of his artists that did them.

    Anyways, thanks for putting together this great forum and hope to meet many like minded individuals who share a love and passion for beautiful tattoos. Cheers

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