Fala

All right, three in.

This, and also what Dave Borjes said: If you're an adult you should be capable of asking a question or picking up the phone like an adult (not a dig at the OP, btw, she did contact her artist one way or another).
Sure, it's good for a shop to make sure the clients knows about aftercare- that's beyond dispute. But it should also be a given that people have a responsibility to make it their own, and speak up themselves if they're in the dark. After all, it's even free...
The idea that tattooists better watch out and ensure they do enough hand-holding with their hapless clients, or else those clients are going to lawyer up...well, there may be people this stupidly litigious out there, but they should have to wear badges so that people providing a service in good faith can avoid them.

I haven't been getting tattooed for very long and I don't have a lot of tattoos so I don't think that my opinion carries much weight, and nor should it, but can we have a bit of outlaw spirit in tattooing still please? It's cool that the people here for the most part are pretty average people with regular jobs, families, and lives and that the one badass thing we do is get tattooed, and while I can't speak for everybody here, I at least would like it if this part of my life could be removed from the realm of legal responsibilities and obligations and the rest of that dreary world. Take some fucking responsibility for your own actions. If you have any questions about aftercare, especially when you're getting your first tattoo, TALK WITH YOUR ARTIST ABOUT IT THEN AND THERE. Don't wait to be handed a printed out sheet of aftercare advice and then moan about it on the internet when you don't receive one.

ice it! you're welcome in advance

See your artist. Did they give you after-care instructions? All of the after-care instructions I've seen say no bath for at least two weeks. What cream did you use? Most after-care instructions indicate washing the tattoo a couple of times a day followed by a very thin layer of something like A&D ointment. The less you do to it the better off you are; for the most part let your body heal itself.

Over the summer, my coworkers and I attended a staff appreciation BBQ, so the cats out of the bag. No one seemed to mind though. I was surprised to find out one of my coworkers has a ton of sweet Japanese tattoos. Needless to say, we are best buds now haha

Horitomo posted the piece he's doing on me to instagram so I think I'm safe posting it here!

I work as a carpenter on commercial sites. Tattoos (usually bad) are quite common and fairly accepted in non-leadership positions.
I just started with a new company this week and I'm slowly meeting my co-workers. Today a lead laborer showed up. It was chilly this morning so he was wearing a hooded sweatshirt. Looked like he might have a body suit because his throat was done as well as some hand and knuckle tattoos. As the day warmed up he took off his sweatshirt and low and behold Warped Tour Body Suit!!! It was pretty awesome, I tried not to laugh out loud. Highlight of the day.

Trying this again; getting tattooed by Robert Ryan tomorrow!
yaay! This appointment has moved more than the Freelings (bonus points to anyone who gets that reference) and I'm really geeked to get it started.

No shti!
Rob

@GrayCatLove your typo is actually a true statement because castor oil can be used as a laxative

@Hogrider I'm by no means an authority on this stuff, but I'm travelling along the same road you've just started...
Part of the reason you can't find what you're looking for is because you're looking for literal or binary meanings.
Most of the images you've seen tattooed are taken from Japanese and Chinese folk tales or religious stories.
Imagine of you asked someone regarding western cultural art or tattoos:
1) "What does it mean when there's a guy hanging on cross with his arms outstretched?"
2) "What does it mean when there's a woman in blue holding a naked baby"
3) "What does it mean when the muscle-bound guy in the black mask overpowers the brightly dressed skinny man in the clown makeup.
The answers depend on your level of interest/sympathy and how abstract or literal you want to be:
1a) It's Jesus. His father, God, sacrificed him to atone for the sins of the world.
1b) The wearer has faith in a religious power higher than himself and possibly feel kinship with or sympathy for the figure and character of Jesus Christ.
1c) The wearer wants to be forgiven for past wrongdoings.
2a) It's Mary, Jesus' mother. The baby is Jesus.
2b) She's a figure of worship because some people believe she should be revered because God chose her as the vessel for his earthly offspring. Her cloak is blue because traditionally goddesses were associated with the moon and night sky. Sometimes it has stars on it. Christianity adopted this symbol to make it easier for people who held older religious beliefs to adopt the new faith.
2c) The wearer may have sympathy or empathy with the concept of being the vessel for divine power or lineage. Also this symbol can have an added element of sadness because we know the eventual sadness and loss of a mother witnessing her only son be sacrificed for the good of mankind - possibly a greater sacrifice than Jesus, some might say.
3a) It's Batman, he's fighting the Joker.
3b) Batman is a symbol of vigilante justice. He works outside of recognised laws to bring justice to a world crippled by wrongdoing.
3c) This scene is a metaphor for the darkness of repressed homosexuality and it's power to overcome the sinister flamboyance of non-hetro feelings.
etc, etc.
In short, think about what you want your tattoo to 'mean' or 'say' - tell that to a tattooer who knows his stuff and let them find a story or theme that fits your idea.
Or just pick one you like from a woodblock print.
I try to tell people all the time that western traditional tattooing has just as much symbolism and poetry but nobody will listen. It's all sex, death and the struggles of humankind.
Good luck.

Well, for what it's worth, (blue) hydrangea is pretty much exactly halfway between sweet williams and forget-me-nots, visually (to me).




Sweet candy tuft might be worth a look too:

This^ is golden advice.

We often advise people here to not overthink the whole process of getting a tattoo. I am going to offer you the same advice, but about fucking. There is no "perfect body" and the sooner you can understand that there is beauty in imperfection, the better. Tattoos or not.

Any chance chrysanthemums would work? Or anemones?

Criminal. Thinking about it some more I probably won't tattoo my feet because for a long time I've wanted Jondix or Hooper to do them and it would be a shame to just get them tattooed with whatever now just because it's convenient.

If you think that $100 an hour for a good artist is too much, think how much it will cost to cover up a cheap artist's work!
Seriously though, this will be on you for the rest of your life; if your primary concern is cost, then you should re-think getting a tattoo.

"Good tattoos aren't cheap and cheap tattoos aren't good."
good luck with your bargain hunting.

it's perfectly normal for someone who's drunk

I may have one of the ugliest tattoos to date. I owed my buddy a favor and in return he said let me tattoo something of my choosing on you. He has never tattooed. I said ok. He chose Dick Butt, google it and you will see, he did it as his first and only tattoo so you can imagine how it looks. Actually it looks just like the google image. I love it. One of my favorites.

If you want to be able to hide a tattoo putting it on your head is one of the worst places you can choose.

Horitomo is amazing, but has a very different style than Shige. I think for tattooers like Shige in the US you can't go wrong with Jeff Gogue. But honestly, I wouldn't attempt to get a sleeve while working on minimum wage. You're looking at a financial commitment of multiple thousands of dollars. Finish your schooling, get a job that pays better, and then start seriously looking into it.

I will be grateful to have survived that long, and continue repairing/getting tattoos so long as I am able.
If they look ragged and are unfixable when I'm 90, I guess all those 20 year olds dying to have sex with me are just going to have to be sad and disappointed.