Synesthesia

Oh, see, if I had time to travel, I'd do it in a heart beat... I've began planning a minor trip for a pin-up, though I haven't even nabbed the artist yet. Too many responsibilities in real life.

Not to say I refuse to travel. If I ever find an artist that I love and a design I really want that particular person to do, I would go to them as soon as it was feasible. But I'm just not interested in hopping all over the world getting things from different people just to say I got tattooed by so-and-so. Great for people that are into that, but I'm just not.

I have two spots that I consider prime canvas: I would like sleeves of some length (I've flip flopped from half to 3/4 to full) and maybe a large piece on my back. Because I'm not sure exactly the size and style of tattoos I want in those areas and I want them to be cohesive, I've always known I would save those until I was 1000% sure I wanted to give up that valuable real estate. I went 4 years between my first and second tattoos for money/confidence/time reasons, and now that I seem to be getting in a better place overall, I might work at a faster pace. I'm fine with any of the other places I don't consider off limits (neck, hands, etc) in any order. I'd like to space them out a little at least for healing purposes, but they'll probably be unintentionally more spaced out than I would like based on money. I don't consider myself a collector and just don't really have any interest in traveling all over the world for tattoos, I'd rather find some good local-ish artists.

Just made an appointment for Halloween to get my owl filled in.

I've kept somewhat in touch with a girl I went to high school with, and for a couple months, her dream was to be a tattoo artist. Actually, her specific dream was to win on Ink Master and open her own shop. She doesn't have a single tattoo. She tattooed on some oranges, and went straight to skin a couple weeks later under the guidance of a "professional tattoo artist" (she never did say who). She churned out some real crap in that time period. I told her she needed to slow down and practice some more, because her drawings were nowhere near the level of being permanently on someone's skin. She basically told me I didn't know anything and she was doing everything exactly right because her "professional" teacher told her to do it that way.

She hasn't said a word about tattooing in several months. She's the kind of person that fleets from one goal to another without any dedication. Before this, her dream for a few months was to make custom bows and arrows just because she's obsessed with The Hunger Games and her favorite character uses bows and arrows. Sigh.

It makes me sad that people treat something so permanent so carelessly. But if anyone looked at her drawings and thought "Yeah I want that on me forever," they kind of deserve whatever they get.

Looks good! And I agree that it ties the rest of your work together. The spiderweb on the shoulder is a cool place for an otherwise done to death tattoo subject. Makes me want a chest piece more and more. :p

Logically, I know you guys are right. It's more of a psychological hurdle at this point. I've been told my whole life by my family, boyfriends, and most of my friends that tattoos are for guys and women with tattoos are ugly. I've been lucky enough to be accepted by those around me for what I have so far, but I think deep down, I have this irrational fear that I'm going to make myself ugly by getting more. And not ugly to other people, but that I'll have this sudden realization of "oh man, these people were right all along, what have I done" and I'll have ruined myself. I know that makes no sense, and I feel so much better about myself than I did before I was tattooed, but it's something I struggle with because it's been drilled into my head so much. I'm starting to see now that it's very possible to make a "masculine" subject have a more "feminine" execution, so I don't have to worry so much about looking like a big burly biker.

I've actually been planning a new design for the distant future (want to finish up some more work first) that kind of represents this, and hopefully will help me usher in some bigger, tougher pieces without fear. :p

^ It's always reassuring to hear opinions that are the opposite from what I've heard my whole life.

I watch this show, I honestly don't know why I do, it just pisses me off 99% of the time. Occasionally, there's some nice work on there, but the guy who does that nice work almost never wins for the week. UGH. One of the guys is terrible at drawing, and somehow wasn't eliminated the first week. I always thought being good at the most basic fundamental behind tattooing was kind of a requirement, silly me? And Tatu Baby pisses me off. Mediocre work at best every week, for 2 SEASONS. She was voted back by the viewers solely for her boobs, and has now made it to the finale for the second time. I wouldn't get a tattoo by her if she paid me.

Also, unless I missed something, I don't think they did a traditional themed challenge. I'm pretty sure they did one in the first two seasons. It was always a disaster, maybe that's why they stopped.

This is something I struggle with and has really slowed down my tattoo progress. I think being female makes a huge difference as far as "pickiness." There's a lot of stuff I love, but I'm worried it would be too masculine on me. I'm sure once I get a couple larger pieces, I'll get over it and it won't make any difference; I'd love to be at least moderately tattooed. But it's just hard to make that jump right now because people are so much more judgmental against women with tattoos. I would love to be able to just get what I want where I want it, but I've heard so many condescending opinions of tattooed women that I think deep down, I have this fear that tattoos will make me unattractive to other people or even to myself.

My boyfriend hates my interest in tattoos and once volunteered to get some tattoos on himself so I wouldn't have to get any more on me. He seems to think I just like looking at them on someone, anyone, not even necessarily myself. I told him I would be thrilled if he got some, but it won't make any difference as far as what I get. :D

I'm a big fan of AFI, and all the guys in the band speak highly of Lindsey Carmichael, Scott Sylvia, Freddy Corbin, Eric Hogan, Jeff Rassier, and probably a ton of others. Most of their albums have a section in the liner notes called "Get tattooed by" and then a huge list of artists.

Thanks. Just uploaded one in the lowdown thread, going to upload my first one in a little bit.

Got this a few days ago from Jason Reeder at Little Vinnie's in Finksburg, MD. Going to hopefully get it colored at the end of the month. Not the greatest pic because 1) it's hard to get a picture of your own leg, and 2) it's getting into the peely/scabby stage and not looking its best at the moment. But you get the idea. It wraps onto my shin a little because we both wanted to expand the theme in the future and wanted to leave lots of calf space open. Thinking about turning this into a leg sleeve for nocturnal/crepuscular plants and animals.:p

I kind of like the idea of one small, unrelated piece in the midst of a themed sleeve. It gives it more character and uniqueness. :)

And if you like it, you should keep it. It's on your body, not hers.

Hey guys, I'm 22, living in Pennsylvania, and a girl, so I have quite the uphill battle as far as people accepting my interest in tattoos. Been lurking on this board for a while now and there's just so much awesome and inspiring art. I currently am working on finishing my second tattoo, and am enjoying getting ideas for new ones from these boards! :)