Figured I'd start a quick little thread on this!
Went yesterday afternoon with a buddy who bought a piece for himself and another for a friend. Wasn't expecting to be so into so much of Thom's artwork.. seeing it on a screen doesn't really do it justice. At all. Super powerful.. and really fun. Met him and Nick Bubash and Thom signed my copy of his book... They thought it was pretty funny that I didn't realize those little black stamps of the man in the hat IS THOM! Shoulda known.. that design would make a killer tattoo, too, by the way.
Thom was funny and very nice. I asked him about a photo of him that was in display and he said he liked it because it looked like he'd just come out of a casino at 5AM. He talks very, quietly. He was rifling through his bag to find the brush he usually signs things with and came up with a ball peen hammer and gave me a sideways glance -- "Well, that's not it," he said.
Another quick thing, as we were looking through the portfolios sitting out a dude asked, "Hey, you mind if I just look over your shoulder?" I told him no problem as my friend and I pored over the pages and this dude was all up over the portfolios.. ended up snagging four rubbings and pounced on one when my friend passed on it. I kept thinking shit, I know that dude from somewhere.. "That was Civ, dude," my friend politely told me. HA!
Ok, not such a quick thread. The atmosphere was pretty electric there.. Talked to Mike and their awesome shop dude Jon (who happens to be a reg at my bar) and just had a really fun afternoon and wanted to share.
Anyone else?! Thank you Chris Grosso for making it happen.. wanted to talk a bit more but it was a busy time.
Browsing around the board just now, I was struck by how often folks asking questions about tattoos they want to get or tattoos they have gotten end up getting similar responses, as their issues often correspond to a fairly narrow set that come up again and again. I thought it could be cool to have a thread where we list our generally accepted "tattoo advice" and wisdom in one centralized location. We could point people to it when appropriate.
For example:
1. Thou shalt never haggle in a tattoo shop.
2. Thou shalt not try to force a tattooer to tattoo an exact replica of an image you've brought in. If you are going to a skilled tattooer, you will always be better off letting them turn your idea into an actual tattoo design that will work for this medium.
3. Thou shalt consult with your tattooer for questions re: design, sizing, placement, ideas, aftercare instructions and any touch-ups.
4. Thou shalt not stress about how your new tattoo looks until it is fully healed.
5. Thou shalt accept that flaking, scabbing, swelling, itching, and a whole bunch of other uncomfortable stuff is all totally normal when healing a tattoo. Thou shalt only be concerned if it doesn't get better after weeks, or if it smells or looks infected.
Next?
