growltiger

Miss @beez, you are an inspiration!!

#1) Everything REALLY DOES look better with GOOD tattoos. (Even douchebags wearing Ed Hardy shirts...:rolleyes:). Whatever you're self conscious about ain't no thang when you've got a bad ass tattoo. Why would it be? You're too busy being stoked about the awesome tattoo. IMHO.
#2) Keep watching, @growltiger, because it's not anywhere near finished yet! :) And if you wanna talk backpiece stuff feel free to PM me for anything!
#3)
It really is. Like I said, I've spent a lot of time (years) changing scripts in my head and weeding out the shaming stuff - btw totally get rid of anything that has advertising and/or commercials in it...anyway - I visited a friend who I had not seen for 3 years recently, and some of the first words out of her mouth were about how heavy she was and her weight - in response to a question that had nothing to do with anything at all about her or her weight!
Because I don't have that particular shame-script running through my head any longer I was sort of shocked and surprised - and then really sad, because it sucks to have that awful, shameful, guilty, not-good-enough feeling running through your entire being at all times, and a lot of PEOPLE (all of us, regardless of gender) have that subconsciously ruling our lives. Just behind all of our other thoughts. And I felt sad for my incredibly talented and awesome friend who after three years, it was the one of the first things she wanted to communicate to me :(.
FWIW, when I was younger, I realized that when I saw a woman who was clearly confident and also fat or somehow unattractive, my thoughts went along the lines of "who does she think she is? she's fat! she can't do/wear/say that!". I became afraid to go into public for awhile, because if *I* was thinking that then what were people thinking about ME? Literally would not go in public unless I had to for work or groceries. I began to wonder why I had such a sharp reaction, and such a negative one, at that? And what kind of asshole thinks that!! So I actively reversed my initial instinct and began admiring confidence in all who had it. (Why am I writing all of this? This is embarrassing/painful to admit, geez )
I think that there was something in me that was jealous of them for having confidence when I couldn't - if that makes sense? Like how could you be confident if I am not? (How dare you!) I think society gets mad when people go off script.
I didn't like the way those thoughts made me feel, the way that negativity would sort of take over and poison me.
A quick aside:
Can I be honest, in the middle of this writing, and say that I am feeling a little bit of shame at ever having had such poisonous feelings...and feeling very grateful that I was able to literally change my mind....but wow, how petty and shortsighted and young. Life is a work in progress, always.
Anyway - I traced a lot of my anxiety, guilt, fear, shame, and poisonous negativity to some of those thoughts I was describing (and of course many other thoughts and patterns in my life) - and I realized that I didn't have to accept my part of the deal. Just because society or some jerk or my mom or WHOEVER offered me this deal (i.e. be 'fat'! = feel shame, you're worthless!) didn't mean I had to participate.
My thoughts are kind of falling apart here, but I think I'm trying to say - remove yourself from the equation. It takes some time to shed what we've been fed our entire lives, and you have to actively identify what is making you feel bad and then actively change it. Listen to your body. Do you feel bad? Knots in your stomach? Headaches? Active guilt/shame? Identify what triggers those feelings...dig deep if you have to...and then remove yourself from the thoughts/people/environments that are causing it.
Ugh, word vomit, in the end just go get a big, awesome tattoo. I think that encapsulates what I'm trying to say...

I'm a bigger guy, standing at 6 ft 2 and weighing in a few hairs under 3 bills. I honestly have never given a thought to what a fat person looks like tattooed, because it makes no nevermind to me. Never thought for a second about placement or visibility vs body type or any other dumb shit. I personally don't believe that tattoos and body shape should have anything to do with each other, one way or the other. Just my personal opinion.

I know one bigger lady from the beach, she has a mastectomy done and plastic surgery to get her back to somewhat normal. She had the area tattooed and it looks great on her, really hard to see the scarring that they do a nice job covering up.

I decided to test this theory, being unfamiliar with Dio and today's work requiring a little 'awesoming' up. This just resulted in my secretary, a quite stuffy retirement-aged man who had come into my office to do some filing, throwing me the devil horns and having a little mosh. It's made my day. Dio for the win.

Thanks @beez and @SeeSea, you are both totally right. I've hit that age where youth is no longer on my side, plus having a baby, even though I came out of it relatively unscathed, has been a bit of a shock. I'm the same size as I was before, just everything is rearranged. I need reupholstering ;) It's very easy to be negative, like you say, about not being cool/pretty/thin enough but that is just years of exposure to body-shaming talking.
I've seen someone on here say something along the lines of "Everything looks better with tattoos". I like that mantra :D
@beez: I hadn't realised it goes right up your back too. What are you doing to me?!!

I decided to test this theory, being unfamiliar with Dio and today's work requiring a little 'awesoming' up. This just resulted in my secretary, a quite stuffy retirement-aged man who had come into my office to do some filing, throwing me the devil horns and having a little mosh. It's made my day. Dio for the win.

I decided to test this theory, being unfamiliar with Dio and today's work requiring a little 'awesoming' up. This just resulted in my secretary, a quite stuffy retirement-aged man who had come into my office to do some filing, throwing me the devil horns and having a little mosh. It's made my day. Dio for the win.

Thanks @beez and @SeeSea, you are both totally right. I've hit that age where youth is no longer on my side, plus having a baby, even though I came out of it relatively unscathed, has been a bit of a shock. I'm the same size as I was before, just everything is rearranged. I need reupholstering ;) It's very easy to be negative, like you say, about not being cool/pretty/thin enough but that is just years of exposure to body-shaming talking.
I've seen someone on here say something along the lines of "Everything looks better with tattoos". I like that mantra :D
@beez: I hadn't realised it goes right up your back too. What are you doing to me?!!

I decided to test this theory, being unfamiliar with Dio and today's work requiring a little 'awesoming' up. This just resulted in my secretary, a quite stuffy retirement-aged man who had come into my office to do some filing, throwing me the devil horns and having a little mosh. It's made my day. Dio for the win.

Thanks @beez and @SeeSea, you are both totally right. I've hit that age where youth is no longer on my side, plus having a baby, even though I came out of it relatively unscathed, has been a bit of a shock. I'm the same size as I was before, just everything is rearranged. I need reupholstering ;) It's very easy to be negative, like you say, about not being cool/pretty/thin enough but that is just years of exposure to body-shaming talking.
I've seen someone on here say something along the lines of "Everything looks better with tattoos". I like that mantra :D
@beez: I hadn't realised it goes right up your back too. What are you doing to me?!!

Yet another body-positive thread. This forum makes me feel warm and fuzzy :-)
Can I ask a dumb question wrt thighs. Specifically, lady thighs that are prone to cellulite in the not so distant future (thanks mum!). How would tattoos be affected? Would developing cellulite ruin a thigh tattoo or would the tattoo hide it to some extent? Presumably something geometric might go a little wonky, but would something more organic hold up?

This is great! And kinda relates to something my artist did a couple months ago. I'm not heavy, but did carry some extra poundage for some years, and I'm older. So I've got the start of some sagging in my mid back - you know where I mean. So he was placing the stencil for a moray eel on my lower back and the shape of the eel was similar to the contour of my back there. And I jokingly said, how about moving the eel up a little? :-) Well, by the time he got it where he wanted it, it worked perfectly! The top dorsal fin of an eel is kind of wrinkly compared to its body, and heck, that's sure fitting the tattoo to the body, right? LOL!
Get a great tattoo! Go in and tell them if you want to hide anything or accentuate anything - your mom and her friends were on to something!

I'm at work so no time to read back through the thread, but I recall people suggesting things that you weren't keen on. It might be worth you having a good response for why you don't like those ideas, in case she brings them up. I only say that as, based on this page of the thread, you say you are worried about being nervous, upset and/or angry. Having some responses in your mind might help you articulate them better.
WhatSeeSea says makes sense too. Better to be over-prepared and get what you want out of this, than for it to go wrong and you potentially burn bridges.

Yet another body-positive thread. This forum makes me feel warm and fuzzy :-)
Can I ask a dumb question wrt thighs. Specifically, lady thighs that are prone to cellulite in the not so distant future (thanks mum!). How would tattoos be affected? Would developing cellulite ruin a thigh tattoo or would the tattoo hide it to some extent? Presumably something geometric might go a little wonky, but would something more organic hold up?

@beez You know when you see something that makes you hold your breath because you want it so badly? Your tattoo just did that to me. That is so beautiful! Very inspiring. If I lived in seattle...
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Could someone briefly summarise the Bubbleberry saga? I searched for him, and found a (probably fake) wife with a dubious apprenticeship, an "interesting" avatar and a cryptic reference to something no-one will talk about anymore, possibly related to a dvd. It's piqued my interest...
Also, this:

I'm sorry, but would you tell that to a girl who said she was getting her tattoo to cover up cutting scars?
My parents are odd and paranoid, but they have quite a few friends with arms full of tattoos and my mom has been wanting one for years yet has not gotten it yet. And while my parents are not exactly excited about me wanting tattoos, if I pay for it, I get what I want. Though, my parents are not up for me getting piercings. They have told me me, "18 for tattoos, 21 for piercings." They're actually concerned more with a scar from an old piercing than a tattoo.
And, unfortunately, of the conventions I know about in the state, one just passed and the other is in November right around the end of the semester like a week before exams. Not exactly the best idea to get a tattoo then considering exam week is a hectic mess of "Eat, cram, test, eat, study, sleep, repeat."

@SerenityViolet
Absolute Art -- Richmond
Studio Evolve -- Va Beach
Loose Screw -- Richmond
Ancient Art -- Va Beach/Norfolk
I also just saw a very nice tattoo done on a friend by Charles Berger from Heroes and Ghosts Tattoo in Richmond......
Look at portfolios at these shops and talk to artists!
These are the ones I know and would think about getting work from myself....
Hope it helps narrow it down for you
- - - Updated - - -
My first tattoo was a butterfly.......and it started an obsession that has lasted 30 years and counting!
I was also very lucky because I started out with a very solid and talented tattoo artist to do my first tattoo and didn't even realize it!
:)

Brian Bruno is in Richmond at Absolute Art.......and I heard someone mention Studio Evolve in Va Beach! Also Scott Sterling is at Ancient Art Tattoo in Va Beach!
Honestly what I briefly read sounds like you want someone at Studio Evolve
Gabriel Cece might be the right person to check into.....
I know Tanane Whitfield does solid work as well although does have an animated overtone to most of the work you will see in his port....but that doesn't mean he can't do what you want!
You might have seen Jesse Smith from Loose Screw Tattoo on one of those TV shows! While I HATE those shows....Jesse still does good solid work and he could pull off what you are looking for as well!
Not sure what your budget is and I didn't really read the whole thread all the way through BUT you do want to save up what you can and get the best tattoo you can afford!
If you have to save a little longer it might be worth taking the extra time....and if you have to wait for the artists I have mentioned or another great one then remember that it is worth the wait for that too doll!
There are many good solid artists in the areas you mentioned and I am sure you will find the right one to do your tattoo!
Also....I saw something about you getting this tattoo for a specific reason!
Please don't take anyone here wrong......most people never really got "meaningful" tattoos.....ones with long drawn out stories behind them why they had to have specific things in them to represent meanings to them......until these TV shows sensationalized it all to give the impression that every tattoo has to have some sacred meaning to it's owner!
The people here are more concerned with the actual tattoo.....the fact that you are 18 years old means that when you are 48 years old this will be a 30 year old tattoo! Have you seen a 30 year old tattoo? If so then you know that tattoos age with us and don't look the same as time goes on and while when we are young we say we won't care about it then......well the truth is we will! Great tattoos age well.....good ones not so well....and bad ones age really fast!
You seem like a smart young lady...you came here so you did the right thing....just continue to be smart and you will have a tattoo you will love for a lifetime!
:)

Could someone briefly summarise the Bubbleberry saga? I searched for him, and found a (probably fake) wife with a dubious apprenticeship, an "interesting" avatar and a cryptic reference to something no-one will talk about anymore, possibly related to a dvd. It's piqued my interest...
Also, this:

Cool but not cool! Haha I've been working on my "personal statement" for the past... million weeks. Ugh, I hate trying to talk myself up/writing personal essays. I'm hoping whoever reads it has a sense of humor or I'm fucked lol
As for me, my now husband has passed the 90 days sober mark (longest stretch of time to date) and it's amazing how much my life has changed as a result of his sobriety. We've been going out more, spending our (his) money on mutual activities and just soaking up (real) life.
He's also agreed for us to adopt a dog this summer (the last one didn't work out for a bunch of reasons) so I'm sooo excited for that because I haven't had a dog in years.

I am biased towards greyhounds, but really, all dogs are awesome.

Our next dog will be a giant, lazy, drooly mastiff. I can't wait :)
@Graeme. I have owned whippets and greyhounds growing up (along with a dozen other breeds). I crack up when you post vids of yours.
I actually had a whippet/greyhound cross that was the lone survivor of a litter that was born on my water-bed while I was away at school (around 10 years old) When I got home I found my water bed in tatters, water everywhere, and my mom holding a lone puppy.
All of the puppies had fallen to the edges, and as anyone fluent in water-bed physics knows; water beds are black holes for anything unlucky enough to get caught on the sides. The mother had clawed the thick plastic to pieces in an effort to save them. Sadly, all but one had suffocated and or drowned.
The last was a beautiful brindle dog named Ninja that grew up to be my best friend for a decade :). His favorite things to do were fly around our 17 acre farm and lick the place where his balls used to be. /pour some out for the homies.