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soraya

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  1. Like
    soraya got a reaction from pfj99 in " It's a good thing tattoos hurt " word from Jack Rudy .   
    YES!!!! I agree with everything you said!!!!
    I know people get tattooed for a lot of reasons. But if you cut to the core, sweep away all of the beautiful symbolism, meaning, memorials, and life stories, I think that the absolute essence, the elemental appeal of a tattoo it is that it is a PERMANENT addition to your body. IMHO, that is why all of us get tattooed. So yes, tattoos should be viewed as a commitment, whether you get a dot on your finger, or a body suit. As you said, @Synesthesia, commitment to the consequences of living as a tattooed person is really something to think about.
    I didn’t realize it until I had a couple of tattoos, but the pain matters to me a lot. I don’t like the pain, but I like that there is pain. It makes it hard, something you have to earn, and really want. Its like running a marathon: You get to 18 miles and you think you are going to die, that you can’t go on. But you press on because you want to reach your goal. You collapse on the ground at the finish line, your body is slammed for a week, but you are exhilarated that you did it. Because it was hard, and painful, and you pushed through it. Would you feel that way if you had driven the same 26 miles in you car? No! Too many things in life are easy and painless. I need some things that are difficult, and painful.
    And that is part of the appeal of tattoos to me. Committment, permanence and pain. To me all three are essential.
  2. Like
    soraya got a reaction from Intomyskin in " It's a good thing tattoos hurt " word from Jack Rudy .   
    YES!!!! I agree with everything you said!!!!
    I know people get tattooed for a lot of reasons. But if you cut to the core, sweep away all of the beautiful symbolism, meaning, memorials, and life stories, I think that the absolute essence, the elemental appeal of a tattoo it is that it is a PERMANENT addition to your body. IMHO, that is why all of us get tattooed. So yes, tattoos should be viewed as a commitment, whether you get a dot on your finger, or a body suit. As you said, @Synesthesia, commitment to the consequences of living as a tattooed person is really something to think about.
    I didn’t realize it until I had a couple of tattoos, but the pain matters to me a lot. I don’t like the pain, but I like that there is pain. It makes it hard, something you have to earn, and really want. Its like running a marathon: You get to 18 miles and you think you are going to die, that you can’t go on. But you press on because you want to reach your goal. You collapse on the ground at the finish line, your body is slammed for a week, but you are exhilarated that you did it. Because it was hard, and painful, and you pushed through it. Would you feel that way if you had driven the same 26 miles in you car? No! Too many things in life are easy and painless. I need some things that are difficult, and painful.
    And that is part of the appeal of tattoos to me. Committment, permanence and pain. To me all three are essential.
  3. Like
    soraya got a reaction from keepcalm in Your overall look as a tattooed person   
    Great thread! This is why I love LST!
    I live in an environment where none of my friends have any interest whatsoever in tattoos. It is hard enough for them to get past the notion that I am tattooed. So asking them for their thoughts on coordinating clothing with tattoos would be a hilarious non-starter.
    But here, you get dozens of people who think about the same thing, and have ideas to share, and its no big deal.
    Thanks you guys!
    - - - Updated - - -
    I don't show my tattoos very much in my normal environment. But when we are on vacation away from home I do. In that case, if I am just out and about, I don't think much about coordinating my clothes. But if we are going out to dinner at a nice restaurant or something like that, and if am going to let my sleeves show, I generally tend toward solid colors, and black or charcoal, because it doesn't clash with the patterns of my tattoos.
    I like white too, because it really lets the tattoos take the lead because of the contrast. One of my favorite looks if I really want to rock my tattoos is a sleeveless white turtleneck. You have all of that pure white, and then "Pow!" – these colorful arms pop out of the sleeve openings. Love it.
  4. Like
    soraya got a reaction from Intomyskin in To nipple or not to nipple that is the question?   
    Great photo shop work @Intomyskin! 
    I really love the nipple-in-a-flower look in general. Its a tough call between your two examples. Both look good. I’m leaning toward the cherry blossom version in your examples. It looks more in scale with male anatomy and nipple size.
    I’ve fancied the nipple flower idea for myself if I ever went to full chest coverage (which is unlikely, sigh). I’d probably go for a larger flower myself, because I think it works better with the shape of a woman’s breast.
  5. Like
    soraya reacted to Intomyskin in To nipple or not to nipple that is the question?   
    I stumbled onto this thread and want to bump it because suddenly it is relevant to my  plans. 
    I am planning a Japanese style back piece and partial sleeves, with chest panels (I’m a guy, by the way). I recently found some images online of some Japanese chest pieces that incorporate the nipples into the design. I’m now really intrigued with the idea of nipples incorporated into the center of flowers and I would would like to do something like that as part of my piece. I’ve never cared for designs where the nipple is sort of a random hole in the design. In my opinion, incorporating them into the flowers sort of subtly acknowledges their “nipple-ness” while still disguising them and blending it into the design in a way that doesn’t detract. 
    My areolae are light in color and not very big, so I’m thinking that the flower coloring could extend over the areolae and go right up to the base of the nipple so that just the protruding part would be not be colored. 
    I like to play with Photoshop, so i superimposed some images onto a  picture of my chest, and adjusted them so the they would fit my body (see below).
    One pic has a large flowers with the nips in the center, the other has cherry blossoms. They both have pros and cons. I’m leaning toward the cherry blossom version because it is a little more subtle. 
    Has anybody here tried anything like this, or have have any thoughts, opinions, thoughts on aesthetics, or other guidance on this? Am I crazy? I have found posts on LST that suggest that getting tattooed around the nipples is quite an interesting experience. All opinions welcomed!
  6. Like
    soraya reacted to bongsau in I hate summer :(   
    Summer is over...and winter is coming. Time for us to get the tatts!
    The real tattoo season is now declared OPEN !! 
  7. Like
    soraya got a reaction from AverageJer in I hate summer :(   
    Yeah, I always get sad when summer ends. But in the spring I come back to life. Sometimes when warm weather finally comes in the spring, I think "Oh, Boy! Tattoo season!" because I see so much new ink popping out on bare arms and legs.
  8. Like
    soraya got a reaction from Devious6 in I hate summer :(   
    Yeah, I always get sad when summer ends. But in the spring I come back to life. Sometimes when warm weather finally comes in the spring, I think "Oh, Boy! Tattoo season!" because I see so much new ink popping out on bare arms and legs.
  9. Like
    soraya reacted to LizBee in Latest tattoo lowdown.....   
    Finished my upper arm this weekend at the Richmond convention with the (holdout) inner bicep area. Thanks, @darcynutt! She did the outer/shoulder portion of it last year at the convention, and I booked her Saturday to go ahead and finish all the way around. She made it look like it was all done at the same time, and I'm thrilled. She once again used my own aquarium fish in the design. 

  10. Like
    soraya reacted to Intomyskin in Relationships and tattoos   
    When my wife and I met in the late 1960s, we had no interest in tattoos. We were still dating a few years later, when articles about tattooing started to pop up in magazines and newspapers, and I was becoming interested. I struck up a conversation with her about it, and she jumped in, suggesting that we get matching tattoos. I had started to think that tattoos on women were rather attractive, so I thought it was quite cool that she wanted one. But I was also quite shocked, because (I’m embarrassed to confess here that I thought this) I didn’t think she “was the type of girl would would get a tattoo!”
    Today, she has four tattoos, I stayed at one + some background added a few years later, until I recently started planning a back piece. 
    Today I look at those first tattoos on me, and on her and I smile. Its hard to explain. They are still there over 40 years later, after everything we have gone through, a constant. It really means something. And I’m glad she was “the type of girl who would get a tattoo,” because I still do find them quite attractive on women, and it has been sort of “icing on the cake” for us. 
    Looking back, I realize it was amazingly serendipitous that I connected with a woman at that time, when tattoos were pretty rare, who would want to have tattoos, even though tattooing was not on the radar for either of us when we met. I feel kind of lucky. It is hard to imagine not being with her. But if something were to happen to her and I had to form a new relationship with someone, I’m tempted to say that she would have to be tattooed, partly because I find that attractive, but also to understand me, and why I want a back piece. But at my age, there are not a lot of tattooed sixty-something ladies out there, and relationships are so much complex than that, that I’m not sure it is realistic to put that kind of limitation on choice of partner. Comments here reinforce that plainskins and tattooed folks can have great relationships.
    ... and @Gingerninja - Like Viagra? Yup...
  11. Like
    soraya got a reaction from exume in Relationships and tattoos   
    I was approaching middle age when my mom saw my first visible tattoo (I already had one that she didn’t know about). She just sort of exaggeratedly rolled her eyes and shook her head, but had a smile on her face and wasn't judgmental. But I started getting more and more she just couldn’t comprehend it, and there was a period when she wondered if I had gone wacko. She kept saying “Why?” and “I just don’t understand.” But she was never rude or judgmental. She truly just didn’t understand why. It was just beyond her ability to process. I think we who are tattooed (especially if we have a lot of coverage) can easily forget how different we look, or how extreme it may seem to others to go through the pain of a large tattoo.
     
    But even as she struggled with accepting my tattoos, Mom always complimented the artistry of my pieces, and never criticized.  She eventually got accustomed to the “changed me,” and accepted it. What is interesting is that she is now at a point where she makes an effort to point out people with interesting tattoos to me, and even has made an effort to learn a little bit about the subject. And quite honestly she has developed a pretty good eye for quality work.
     
    And her reactions demonstrate that you can be uncomfortable with tattoos, or not understand the motivation, yet still be polite and respectful.
  12. Like
    soraya got a reaction from NihilNovum in Relationships and tattoos   
    I was approaching middle age when my mom saw my first visible tattoo (I already had one that she didn’t know about). She just sort of exaggeratedly rolled her eyes and shook her head, but had a smile on her face and wasn't judgmental. But I started getting more and more she just couldn’t comprehend it, and there was a period when she wondered if I had gone wacko. She kept saying “Why?” and “I just don’t understand.” But she was never rude or judgmental. She truly just didn’t understand why. It was just beyond her ability to process. I think we who are tattooed (especially if we have a lot of coverage) can easily forget how different we look, or how extreme it may seem to others to go through the pain of a large tattoo.
     
    But even as she struggled with accepting my tattoos, Mom always complimented the artistry of my pieces, and never criticized.  She eventually got accustomed to the “changed me,” and accepted it. What is interesting is that she is now at a point where she makes an effort to point out people with interesting tattoos to me, and even has made an effort to learn a little bit about the subject. And quite honestly she has developed a pretty good eye for quality work.
     
    And her reactions demonstrate that you can be uncomfortable with tattoos, or not understand the motivation, yet still be polite and respectful.
  13. Like
    soraya got a reaction from Kate1939 in First tattoo is coming up   
    Welcome! I didn't get into tattooing until around 50, and I've now been getting tattooed for almost 10 years, so I feel a connection with you already! While there are great things about starting young, there are also benefits to starting late. You are settled into who you are, you know what your career trajectory is, what you like and don't like, and perhaps are less impulsive (although impulsiveness in moderation is a great thing!).
    I enjoy the perspective of people who start their tattoo lives late. So much that you read focuses on tattooing in the younger generations, and it is really exciting to see how those folks are pushing the art ahead and making tattooing more accepted - we all benefit from that. But it is also fun to hear of the experiences of older folks. There is a different perspective that helps complete the picture of the tattooed world.
  14. Like
    soraya reacted to Harlot in Tattoos and Piercings?   
    It's strange because I don't find my piercings to be high maintenance at all, even during the healing process. And I like pretty jewelry so it just gives me more places to put it. :)
  15. Like
    soraya got a reaction from omeletta in Japanese sleeve(s) - favorite flavor?   
    @sighthound- I work for an environmental consulting firm. It is a pretty traditional office environment. Lots of men wear ties, women in business attire. No dress code prohibiting tattoos, and some people do dress casual every day, but I just feel that when I'm at work, I want to project a professional image, without distractions. Others may not feel that way, that's fine. If one of my coworkers wants to display their tattoos, thats fine. Is just my personal rule for me.
    If I go beyond half sleeves, the coverup issue really changes. That 6” difference between half and 3/4 sleeves means I’d pretty much have wear long sleeves full time for the summer, and I really do not want to do that, especially out in the field on hot summer days. 
    Also, my tattoo life started in my 50s, and is pretty unusual for people my age that are around me. I’m currently tying to get comfortable with showing my tattoos away from work. I really love the way I look with tattoos, and would like to show them sometimes, even though I’m committed to staying covered at work.
     
  16. Like
    soraya reacted to Devious6 in Post awesome things you have been doing recently   
    I was too often at the Donut Bar...and the Ice Cream Bar. That was my problem.
  17. Like
    soraya reacted to Gingerninja in Post awesome things you have been doing recently   
    Ha! I am totally Team Donut. Viva la Donut!! @soraya
  18. Like
    soraya got a reaction from sighthound in Japanese sleeve(s) - favorite flavor?   
    Hey, @a_beukeveld! First of all, great pictures, especially of the vintage Japanese pieces!
    Interesting perspective! I get your point, and on some days I would agree! I am very aware of two conflicting ideas in my head. One is the aesthetics of the tattoo, and I love the Japanese aesthetics. In that regard, I might agree with your preference for the "modest" body suit. But I am also very fascinated with the the "idea" of tattooing — of changing the skin, changing the body. That part of me is attracted to the idea of near-total coverage - front and back, full sleeves to the wrists, legs covered to the ankles. The "idea" of changing as much skin as possible is just really attractive to me, hence the attraction to full sleeves. I do like the sharp cutoffs, and for myself, would not go onto hands, feet, neck or head. 
    Having said that, I just realistically could never, never, NEV-ER go that far in my world for professional reasons, and because I do have some discomfort about displaying my tattoos in public. So the modest route is more realistic for me if I decide to go further.
    I love the Japanese style. I started out accumulating a handful of one-point style pieces scattered around, but by chance I selected an artist who worked in a Japanese style, so when I decided that I wanted to get Japanese half sleeves, I was able to make it work pretty well. I'd like to get a back piece, but that may be a long way off. As much as I like the total coverage, realistically the absolute farthest I would ever go would be 3/4 sleeves, back piece, and coverage on the front of my torso in the Munewari style (the style with the "river" down the center that you referred to). So I guess in the end we are are on the same page!
  19. Like
    soraya got a reaction from pidjones in Post awesome things you have been doing recently   
    Somehow the posts by @Gingerninja and @Devious6 seem to be going in opposite directions.  
  20. Like
    soraya reacted to DJDeepFried in Japanese sleeve(s) - favorite flavor?   
    I hear you@a_beukeveld but of course you can have full coverage down to the wrists and ankles and still stay covered up under a suit or whatever (for men). But I agree with you that the Japanese style may have been designed with more modesty/privacy in mind as opposed to the showoffyness of the West. Personally I like that I can roll up my sleeves one or two folds and still keep my tattoos hidden. But even when I had a half sleeve you could see it with a t shirt.



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
  21. Like
    soraya reacted to a_beukeveld in Japanese sleeve(s) - favorite flavor?   
    For sure!
    Its interesting, because your dilemma is the dilemma that many Japanese people face. Tattoos are still demonized is allot of Japanese circles, especially within the world of business and government. I can imagine allot of the people featured in these photos would love to be fully covered, but are unable to. We are a bit more fortunate here in the west.
  22. Like
    soraya got a reaction from a_beukeveld in Japanese sleeve(s) - favorite flavor?   
    Hey, @a_beukeveld! First of all, great pictures, especially of the vintage Japanese pieces!
    Interesting perspective! I get your point, and on some days I would agree! I am very aware of two conflicting ideas in my head. One is the aesthetics of the tattoo, and I love the Japanese aesthetics. In that regard, I might agree with your preference for the "modest" body suit. But I am also very fascinated with the the "idea" of tattooing — of changing the skin, changing the body. That part of me is attracted to the idea of near-total coverage - front and back, full sleeves to the wrists, legs covered to the ankles. The "idea" of changing as much skin as possible is just really attractive to me, hence the attraction to full sleeves. I do like the sharp cutoffs, and for myself, would not go onto hands, feet, neck or head. 
    Having said that, I just realistically could never, never, NEV-ER go that far in my world for professional reasons, and because I do have some discomfort about displaying my tattoos in public. So the modest route is more realistic for me if I decide to go further.
    I love the Japanese style. I started out accumulating a handful of one-point style pieces scattered around, but by chance I selected an artist who worked in a Japanese style, so when I decided that I wanted to get Japanese half sleeves, I was able to make it work pretty well. I'd like to get a back piece, but that may be a long way off. As much as I like the total coverage, realistically the absolute farthest I would ever go would be 3/4 sleeves, back piece, and coverage on the front of my torso in the Munewari style (the style with the "river" down the center that you referred to). So I guess in the end we are are on the same page!
  23. Like
    soraya got a reaction from a_beukeveld in Japanese sleeve(s) - favorite flavor?   
    I would so, so, so love to have 3/4 or full sleeves, Japanese style, but professionally it is just not an option for me.  Sigh...
    I currently have Japanese half sleeves.
    There is something about the totality of Japanese sleeves that really appeals to me. It is like they transform the arm into a completely new thing. I really admire people with the nerve to go to full sleeves and display them.
  24. Like
    soraya reacted to sprouler in Munewari on women   
    I feel like I only rarely ever see tattoos that take a woman's breasts into consideration.  I would really like to see more chest pieces that go down onto and encompass the breast; how often do you see pictures of a woman with two large holes in whatever tattoo is covering the rest of her torso?  However, that being said, I don't have any bright ideas for how to incorporate them into the design.
  25. Like
    soraya reacted to Devious6 in Latest tattoo lowdown.....   
    @Gingerninja Wow!!! Did you spend the entire weekend on the table??!! Gorgeous work!! You are a true Warrior!!
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