Fala

I had experimented at home with a latex foam pillow and various others prior to the session by laying on the hardwood floor, oddly the air pad was the most comfortable of the bunch. The foam pillow made the hip pain worse at home, without additional weight from the tattooer which would have been more excruciating than it already was. Yes, I did stretch beforehand (daily, night before, morning of, etc), was hydrated/well fed, and I know how to breathe through/around/etc pain (have been through enough of it in my lifetime). I had plenty of materials with me to keep me as comfortable as possible, everything else was fine. Must be my particular physiological issue because I can't even camp (or sleep on otherwise hard surfaces) because of my hips and back. On the other end of things: I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who goes to the shop heavily prepared with pillows, sweaters, and the likes. I thought I was being high maintenance - I see so many people go in with nothing.

The pain did take my mind off the tattoo pain, that's for sure! But it made me want to squirm because I hurt so much. When I had a few minutes reprieve (post-stretch/break), the tattooing felt blissful/fine then the non-tattoo related pain would creep in. Yes, it was a distraction but an unwelcome one! We tried a roll of paper towels under my butt, so I could sort of lean back onto it and it didn't make a difference. This is the first time I've had this happen, and I've had some sessions where I've been in super odd positions for the same length of time. It was a strange experience this weekend.

Every time I see certain family members and friends, I ALWAYS get asked about how much money I've spent on my tattoos. What I find ironic with this particular question, is not the question itself but the questioner who 9/10 times has some outrageous (in my mind) hobby, collection, or pet project they are dumping heaps of money into - yet, they don't give that a second thought and see it is as something they must do. Luxury (opulent) items/experiences are individual. For one person it might be over the top to spend good money on a good tattoo, for another it might be over the top to spend good money on clothes that they'll wear infrequently (ie that $10k wedding dress) or to buy only local and organic groceries. It's about the energy involved - we get our kicks from tattoos, others from buying shoes or clothes, or dinners out, or jewelry, or property (house, car, etc.), etc, etc. It seems to me that tattoos are still in the place where they are not considered "acceptable" in terms of money spent if one is in the middle class where wealth is seen as something to strive and save for. Thus, spending available funds on a non-necessity item/experience would prevent wealth from accruing and keep said person in the middle class indefinitely. I do agree with @Graeme that they are akin to education (or even exercise or otherwise taking care of your body/soul) where no one but the wearer/student will glean benefit from said tattoo or education. I don't get tattooed nearly as much as I'd like, but when I do get tattooed I'm able to get the exact tattoo I want because it is something that I prioritize with my funds. I've also been one of those people whose life was transformed by getting tattooed. I know several people with tattoos who have not been impacted in the way I imagine many people here have been, and I suppose that's where the luxury/necessity line gets blurred a bit by emotion. Which, let's face it, luxury/opulence/etc is an emotionally charged area. Who needs to eat a burger or ice cream with gold leaf on it? No one.

I have sort of a weird question, and I'm sure I'll get pinned as a wuss for asking this but... What do ya'll do for screaming body pain while getting tattooed? I'm not talking about the pain of getting tattooed, but when your body itself hurts (ie laying on one hip with all of your body weight on it for several hours, while the other hip is tattooed and your bottom leg and hip go into some kind of shock and the hurt is so bad tattooing feels like it isn't happening). What do you do with that? I resorted to a blow up pad under my hip, a travel pillow between the legs, and asking (gasp!) for a break every hour or so to stretch my joints out. I felt like the session could have been better if I was able to do something more about this pain (the session was great, finished earlier than planned, the tattoo looks awesome, tattooer was fantastic, etc, etc, etc). I guess I feel I let myself down (and my tattooer) by having to ask for a break to move and alleviate the discomfort of laying a particular way for him to work. Is it from getting old or am I really just a huge sissy who shouldn't be getting tattooed?

Session 1 of 2 with Brian Kaneko completed last night, leaving in a half hour for session 2! I'm nervous, have never done 2 back-to-back sessions before - and I am SUPER exhausted from sleeping like crap last night. That said, the lining and first bits of shading look phenomenal, and I can't wait to share photos!!!

@SStu - we can dream!!!

Last October for me. Next one up is in 2 weeks (WOOT!), then another in late November. I should be set for another year at least... hopefully.

Brian Kaneko in less than a month, then in November Yoni Zilber. Husband is starting a chestpiece (his first tattoo) with Roxx this week. Going to be a busy fall getting tattooed, I usually get one a year.

I guess the right answer is, "whatever makes you feel the least nervous" ;)

Holy cow @pidjones!

@suburbanxcore - I recall you mentioning that in another thread. Which is why I asked about traveling (vs staying local-ish) for tattoos and what folks do with their funds.

Totally @CABS! I think that traveling/flying across the country with a ton of cash in your pocket is not the wisest idea. In NYC, I get the cash right before the appointment, because my bank is 2 blocks away from the shop usually. I've had to go to work and such with the cash before, and it is nervewracking.

Hi All! Been absent of late working on a number of other projects. The next few months are filled with tattoo appointments for my husband and I (yahoo!) and there has been a bit of a question revolving around traveling for tattoos. Namely: how do folks handle traveling (flight, etc) with all the cash necessary for an all day appointment in an unfamiliar city? Do you wire as much as you can to your tattoo artist and bring the remainder with you in cash, or do you bring it with you on the plane then go directly to the shop to drop it off, or visit the ATM/bank branch several times, or ???? Advice would be greatly appreciated!

pamelafala @cltattooing! Pretty pleeeeeaze!

Oh yeah @SeeSea... oh how they droop with time... I miss my 25yo boobs.

I don't see why not @TrixieFaux. From what I understand this is pre-preliminary research/thinking...

Funny @Graeme and @BrianH - those are the two artists that first sprung to mind. Great minds ;)

Thanks @Joe Shit!

I've been charged with finding an artist (preferably in the NYC metro area) who can do killer orchids. This, for me, is a difficult request because I've yet to see an orchid tattoo that doesn't look overly flat. Orchids are tough to paint, photograph and draw, let alone tattoo! They do not seem to translate to tattoos well for me, at least not for my aesthetic. I would love some recommendations: realistic, Japanese... it doesn't matter. Any help/guidance would be greatly appreciated!

That's great @beez!!! Nothing like having enough money to do the things you want to do!!!!

Yeah @Hogrider. I know someone who got a neck tattoo removed and it took many, many sessions!

I think the aesthetic of tattoos is so interesting - what is done, why, how it will age, and everything in between. It's a whole different media/art form, and has it's own set of rules. I don't know those rules, but also coming a fine arts background, I get the rules intuitively and understand that it must take an immense amount of time to learn how to draw (not even tattoo) well enough to be tattooing what one has drawn. It's pretty cool, and I dig that there is still an apprentice system out there.

@cltattooing - I've been using ice packs for the itch too, works great. The itch is the worst. I've also used a bristle brush (soft body one) and gently rubbed it over especially badly itchy areas (over clothing, not on the fresh tattoo). That helps a bit as well. Icing is the best, even if it does slow healing time down some.

I've been on this forum for a short time, and I do have to say that when the majority of the posts are not actually about tattoos, I log right back out again. And, we all don't have to like each other here, that's what the "ignore list" is for. And, if you have to think about whether or not what you are posting is appropriate for a tattoo forum, it likely isn't appropriate. Oddly enough, we've had a similar scenario/conversation from a few weeks/months ago. This seems to be a recurring theme here of late.

Fancy Toes Wriggling