spookysproul

A coworker of mine commented on how dark the black in my tattoos are and asked how I kept them that dark. This lead to her telling me about how she has one tattoo on her ankle and that she went swimming a few days after getting it done so it healed weird. Well, the three stars on her ankle were pretty faded (she's barely 21, if that) but there was also some nasty blow-out and real wild lines.
Apparently the tattooer who did it told her those were also because she went swimming. Classy guy.

I frequently have un- or barely-tattooed coworkers discussing my "ink" or "tats" with me. Those terms, or variations thereof, make my skin crawl. I think because it implies a familiarity - a "tight bros from way back when," if you will - that they very clearly don't have. Maybe I thought to much about it.
That being said, I enjoy saying "zaps." I think I'm using it in a tongue-in-cheek manner, but I imagine that doesn't make it any less obnoxious.

I started saying "tats" a while back in a funny way, but now it's just in my vocabulary. I guess this is my life now.

I started saying "tats" a while back in a funny way, but now it's just in my vocabulary. I guess this is my life now.

I started saying "tats" a while back in a funny way, but now it's just in my vocabulary. I guess this is my life now.

Check out Mike Moses in Columbus, OH. He's very illustrative, but not exactly like the above style. There are plenty of sketchy tattooers in the US however, they usually do full sleeves for a pack of smokes and dimebag.

Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right.

My late friend used to always say "be more like Christ and less like Christians."

My late friend used to always say "be more like Christ and less like Christians."

Guess we're crazy.

Temple is about a 45 second walk eastward from the 19th Street BART station in downtown Oakland, and you can take a bus that goes along Van Ness in SF that will drop you off roughly 5 or 6 blocks from Spider Murphy's.
Incidentally, Diamond Club is on the aforementioned Van Ness and you will absolutely get quality work there. Blackheart is roughly four blocks from the 16th & Mission BART station in SF and everything else is easily accessible by almost any MUNI line.
I miss the City, sometimes. :(

What sort of upbringing do you suppose leads to someone craving attention so desperately?

Scab Vendor is another classic.
These signs hang at Atlas Tattoo in Portland

I prefer skin wizard, personally.

For people who actually tattoo, I notice the terms alternating between different styles of tattooing. The more rendered, over the top styles seem to go with artist more, while the traditional/craftsmen minded guys seem to opt for tattooer. Clients almost across the board use tattoo artist, or occasionally tattooist. Some variations seem to occur based on era in which someone came from, as well. Similar to shops or tattooers now using the term "professional tattooing" to differentiate from scratchers/fly-by-night kind of guys, tattoo artist did seem to be a way to try to separate from those who aren't serious.
Personally, I call myself and use the term tattooer. I find I work best thinking of what I do on skin as all craft, with art being on paper or canvas, and ending with my final line drawing for a stencil. However, like a potter, or someone who works in a bronze foundry casting people's sculptures, I understand there is an artistic component to the craft.

@smiling.politely is a long-term poster and tattooer who brings a lot of insight, intelligence, first-hand knowledge and experience to this forum and is dedicating his life to both getting and giving people good tattoos, and everything he said above is correct. Who are you again?

I live in Montreal and I see Yann Black's tattoos around a fair bit. They are 100% not my thing, but it's solid work and you can read his tattoos from across the street. Style and taste is another thing but I think for what his tattoos are they're well done.

A review of Wrecking Balm from Amazon. Classic
354 of 434 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Don't get it in your eyes, January 2, 2012
By Amy L. Brown (WOODBRIDGE, VA, US) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Wrecking Balm Tattoo Removal & Fade System (Health and Beauty)
I bought this for my wife who wanted to remove a tattoo from just above her buttocks. I believe they call it a tramp stamp. The tattoo said "Ronnie", which is the name of one of her ex boyfriends. So you can understand how I decided to spend the money on getting that damn tattoo removed.
My wife didn't really want to get the tattoo removed. Although she denied it, I think she was still into this "Ronnie" character. She would always visit him in jail, as well as send him letters and pictures.
So I found this product at a local Wegmans. I didn't tell my wife what it was, instead explaining to her that it was tattoo enhancement cream. I told her it would sting a little, but that was just the stuff doing its job.
Now, you have to understand that my wife is a big girl. Let's just say that she constantly wears jogging pants and refers to them as them as her pants. So she couldn't really see the tattoo herself. Even when she tried to use a mirror, it was hard to make out. So I thought everything would turn out okay.
Well, the cream worked. Every evening I would apply the cream for her, telling her that the tattoo was looking better and better. When in fact it was fading more and more. I told her that the micro dermabrasion thingy was actually a tattoo polisher. And so I would spend a good 15 minutes every night grinding away at that damn tattoo. And it was almost gone entirely.
Then Ronnie got out of jail. It turns out my suspicions were correct. My wife still had a thing for him. I came home from work one evening to find Ronnie and my wife hanging out on the couch. And boy did they look pissed. And Ronnie was a pretty tough looking guy.
Apparently, and I'm not trying to insinuate anything here, somehow Ronnie had noticed the now bare space just above my wife's buttocks and had asked her about it. And now he was pissed off because he had bought her the tattoo to begin with. And she was pissed off as well because I had tricked her into having her tattoo removed.
Long story short, I had the option of getting my ass kicked, or of buying a new tattoo. So we went to the tattoo place, shelled out the cash for a new tattoo, and winced the entire time as Ronnie and my wife watched me get the words "Ronnie's Bitch" tattooed on my chest.
Since then my wife has kicked me out. And Ronnie is now living in my house. And me, I'm on my second tube of wrecking balm tattoo fade system. I can't tell you enough how much I like this product.

snake oil...

Thanks everyone.
@else - I'm not vegan, I'm looking to help a client out who is. I'm also lucky enough to be friends with some amazing people who happen to be very in-tune with the Vegan community, one of theme operates a premiere East Coast Bakery (Welcome to Vegan Treats!).
It's no hassle, I can explain the problem with harvesting lanolin for you. Most vegans are so because they despise cruelty of any kind to animals. More often than not, sheep are not kept in great conditions and their quality of life, simply for the harvest of wool, is terrible. The sheering process can also be rather horrific on them. Furthermore, the carbon dioxide output of cattle, sheep and other livestock in American alone is said to be upwards of 4x worse than all the cars in America. Info: Which Is Worse: 1000 Cars or 1000 Cows? | Green Living Tips and Ideas
This is why vegans abstain from all animal and animal by-products, including wool, lanolin, honey, eggs, silk and so on.

I've been talking about this a lot recently. How are SO many people who clearly have NO concept of the mechanics of drawing, composition, or even basic familiarity with art in general picking up "tat guns" and thinking "Yeah, I should give this a shot"??

That Wiesbeck hand is stunning! I'm particularly fond of the big black right above it.

I second Iwar's point about the consultation. I have multiple tattoos that I didn't know what I wanted, just who I wanted to do it - so I went to them, showed them the space available and asked for some ideas and went with the least objectionable answer.
People who aren't "into" tattoos will harangue you for getting something that doesn't have the "Miami Ink" story to it, but don't let their foolishness dissuade you - if you appreciate art and like the artist doing it then that is more than enough meaning.

I second Iwar's point about the consultation. I have multiple tattoos that I didn't know what I wanted, just who I wanted to do it - so I went to them, showed them the space available and asked for some ideas and went with the least objectionable answer.
People who aren't "into" tattoos will harangue you for getting something that doesn't have the "Miami Ink" story to it, but don't let their foolishness dissuade you - if you appreciate art and like the artist doing it then that is more than enough meaning.

Hi Phyllis,
Here's a thread discussing exactly that:
http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/tattoo-advice/1561-white-ink.html
Good luck!