SeeSea

I don't see how unless anything gets infected or it's a hell of a really big piercing. Like with a cookie cutter.
But I'm not a professional. I just act like one before I'm fully caffeinated.

Finally got to visit State of Grace and get my Molly Monmon Cat from Horitomo!
He did an amazing job. Just spectacular. I sent several pictures of her and some descriptions of her favorite things, her personality and her character. She *loved* shrimp sushi and got an entire order for her 16th birthday, right before we lost her to cancer. Horitomo created a picture of her in heaven with a halo and surrounded by her favorite things - including that she is surrounded by catnip! The face is perfect. I gave him a decent size square footage and told him he could expand beyond the cat and add other elements. Her face is perfect. When he showed me the sketch, my eyes just teared up.
It was neat to be tattooed on the platform in the shop. It is a little sanctuary with neat drawings, books and items on shelves. He is a quiet gentle soul.
I tried tebori for the whites and I probably would not do it again. For many areas, I didn't even feel the first 4-5 pokes. It just felt like a shoving pressure but there was *no* pain. Then the last several shoves were painful. But around my hip was bad all around. I'm glad I did it, though.
Crashing out now holed up in the hotel with mom. <3 <3 <3

Finished my back on Friday night (well, Saturday at 5:30 am). It was a hell of a ride - it took almost exactly a year of sessions every 2-3 weeks. We'll do a final session after this heals to tie the bow on it.
This tattoo was made by Sean Zee out of Brick, NJ from pictures I've taken while scuba diving. I gave him 50-some pictures and a wish list, and he selected about 15 shots to create this scene. These pics were taken on 4 continents from 1998 through 2013 using (mostly) a Nikonos V underwater camera with an SB-105 strobe, UW Nikkor 35mm, 28mm, and 15mm f2.8 fisheye lenses, Sea & Sea (no relation) macro kit and Nikonos closeup kit.

Sean is a great guy, dedicated and amazingly creative. It boggles my mind how artists just "see" stuff like this and make it happen. He put up with a lot of questions and "what ifs" and "why nots" from this nearly virgin canvas (as he likes to say, "this woman only had lil kitty paw prints on her shoulder before this"), explaining to me all the ways this tattoo would NOT work, and ended up just putting it on the table that it really needed to be a full back if I wanted so many references. And to prove it, he designed the whole thing superimposed on a picture of my bare back and emailed it to me. I remember the moment I saw it for the first time and it shorted out my brain. I committed to the full back about 20 minutes after I got the email. (And I admit at the time I did not understand in the least what I was in for...)
Kinda funny, thinking back on it, how all the chatter and uncertainty and 14 years of wanting some sort of tattoo with my eagle rays were completely silenced and resolved in a heart beat. Anyway...
So, the critters making appearances, starting at the top right and going clockwise are: two moon jellyfish, two Moorish idols, two clownfish and anemone, a batwing coral crab and mustard tube sponges just behind him, a leopard moray eel, two squirrelfish hiding in red sea fans that cross my lower back, a sea snake in lettuce coral (very poisonous, which I didn't realize until after I'd crawled up in his face to take the picture and then been admonished by the divemaster after the picture was developed), a queen angelfish and a hammerhead shark. In the center are two spotted eagle rays and the broken mast of the Nippo Maru, a Japanese supply ship sunk during WWII by US forces in Truk Lagoon, Micronesia.
When I look at this, I don't just see a tattoo of fish. It's a diary of my favorite diving experiences. Each part has such different memories of the location, the people I was with, and the experience on that dive. (Yeah, poisonous sea snake. Whoopsie on that one. And the clownfish was actually guarding a little ring of day-old eggs. And trying to photograph moon jellies in a surge without being hit is like playing a 3D video game. And that I really really wanted my spotted moray eels but Sean said the pattern wouldn't age well, so with resigned sadness, my handsome spotted moray had to morph into a leopard moray. Sniff Sniff.) All of this flooding my brain at the same time.
And then I get this goofy grin on my face thinking about walking around with this huge awesome back piece that anyone I know would be shocked to learn I have.
He put up a little video where you can see the ribs, too: Video of SeeSea's Back. Healed pics coming to an LST contest near you. I want a T-shirt, dammit :D

Nearly finished the anemone and shading and side corals, and shadows along the bottom. The red is the huge bruise already starting. The clownfish were already there, and the crab first pass was from the last session.
I am so amazed at how this is all turning out! Two more session until we're done!

Finished up detail on the sea snake, squirrel fish and eel, and the corals in the background.

Latest (unfinished) addition to my back. Badly bruised, especially under my arm where you can't see. We couldn't finish the details, and the scales are barely started. He said my skin was done for the night.
I hate to put up something so incomplete, but it's going to be forever before the last layers go on anything and I'm impatient!

You absolutely ARE allowed to be unimpressed. But your opinions would be given better consideration if you shared your thoughts and reasoning behind your conclusions. This isn't a forum where you drop the body and run. We'd like you to tidy up the grave, plant some grass and leave a nice floral arrangement. A better tack might be to ask why someone else is impressed by said giants. So much great stuff is hidden in the back story.
I'm pretty new as well. I recognize many of the names in this thread, but I had to look up a few. I admit for some, I don't know what I'm looking at beyond the basics. Some of the styles/artists really grab me, and other "big names" don't do much for me. But I'm very interested in conversations like this where people with a lot more experience than I have share the history that I know I'll never get from just surfing the internet and scrolling through Instagram.
I thought all bodysuits looked about the same. And why are all these white dudes getting Japanese suits? Then I read some of the threads that talked about the meaning, and I found myself surfing some of the recommended sites. And the stories are so unfamiliar to me, but I like that I can "read" more of the tattoo when I see which way a koi swims or if maple leaves or cherry blossoms are present. And damn I love the kitunes (thank you @Tesseracts for that awesome education with yours!)! I was never interested in anything Japanese, but when I read Horitomo's Monmon Cat's book and learned the history of cats and rats and tattoos, and I saw the depth of his work in these smaller tattoos and I'm much more "moved" and "impressed" than before. It sounds trite, but I have a much better appreciation for his work (both Monmons and not) and that has made it more desirable to me. Perhaps I wasn't "unimpressed" before but just "uninterested."
Of course anyone can disagree. But it's like flaunting ignorance not to have a meaningful conversation why you feel that way.
$0.02

Don't feed the troll. This is too good a thread to derail with BS.

Richard Stell has 5 stars on Yelp, but don't hold that against him.

Welcome!
The length of your session depends on several factors. Others around here can add more.
- The size of the tattoo. If it's small, couple hours, it's easy to sit through in one session. If you don't, you will be mocked and ridiculed. Maybe even to your face. If it's larger and your tattooer has the expectation you'll sit for the whole thing in one sitting, you do it or try your damnedest.
- Your tattoo artist's scheduling methods. Some only schedule in well defined time slices, for example, 3 hours. If the tattoo takes longer than that, you sit multiple sessions. If your tattoo artist schedules open-ended sessions, then you'll go until he finishes whatever goal he set for the session. This could be time or a particular part of the tattoo. Or, he'll keep going until you absolutely can't take another second and you have to tap out. No one likes to tap out. It's a sign of moral weakness, contributes to global warming, and will cast poorly upon your family and children. Even after many hours, it's so psychologically awesome to hear, "Ok, we've reached a good stopping point" instead of crying silently into your hand and whimpering that you're sorry you just can't take it any more. The silence that follows such an abject admission is enough to curdle milk and paralyze small dogs.
- The body part. This thread can shed some light: http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/general-tattoo-discussion/206-most-painful-spot-get-tattooed.html. Personally, I can't speak to many body parts because I'm only working on a back piece, but yes, location can play a role. (Although your back, in terms of pain, is it's own set of differing body parts.) My one and only tap out was after 5 hours on the top/middle of my back that included spine down to the bottom of my ribs and the bones of one shoulder blade. I've had many sessions longer than this. Apparently, many think the shoulder blade isn't bad. My next session is to do the second coat in that whole area. I'm queasy just thinking about it.
- Your own preparation. How you prepare for your session has a big effect - some may argue that good preparation plays as big a role as where on the body you plan to get tattooed. If you go in tired, hung over, or on an empty stomach, body part may matter very little.
Anything else to add, anyone?

Well, it was certainly uneventful. My tattoo possibly felt warm, but I had more tingling from having to lay in an uncomfortable position. Probably hallucinating it had anything to do with the tattoo.
I told the tech at this place about being rejected from the other place and he said "They always do that. We welcome the biker's here."
Haha, funny, jerk.

Ha! Yes, that was a good one. Sometimes the pre-offended newbies are fun conversations. Like the piercer from the place in NJ who admitted her Yelp reviews were fake but was still upset about them. It took quite a while for those bannings to occur.
+1 to @AverageJer as well. It gets tiring to have these us-versus-them posts. If anyone has a suggestion, there is a thread about asking questions - go over there and suggest how you think this forum could be improved. <---And THIS is a reason this forum format is cool - how many times has someone asked a question, and someone else comes along with the link to a long thread with tons of good information??? This cannot happen if there is a new thread every other microsecond.
But like I'm a masochist or something, I'll still continue to step in and offer the bull-in-the-china-shop analogy until I get just as tired of it as the old timers who are mostly ignoring this thread because they're tired of saying it too. If you don't like the format....there are other forums.
This kind of stuff is the reason that many of the tattooers aren't contributing to this forum anymore, and unfortunately, back-and-forths like this are one of the reasons why, and new folks have no idea this is happening. And we are losing valuable resources and informative conversations.
Soooo, [bIG SARCASM ALERT BOYS AND GIRLS]I guess makes me a mod-wanna-be.
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And @polliwog - you've built up street cred with your thoughtfulness and interesting conversation. Start threads when you want. NOT BECAUSE I'M BEING ALL MOD_WANNA_BE :)

From @monmoncats a couple weeks ago... https://instagram.com/p/1BJPmbxR2g/

Thanks, all!
Yeah, I was gonna start a thread called "Thread for posting while getting tattooed" (a la "Thread for posting while inebriated") but it would just be full of posts like, "Oohhh, why did I decide to get this multi-session tattoo?", "I seriously signed up for this?", "This is freaking killing me!", "My muscle just won't stop twitching," "I want to tap out now. You can't tap out. But I'm getting close. No you're not, don't be a pussy, it's not a good stopping point. But I'm starting to lose it. Buck up, girlfriend. La la la la la la la la. Where the fuck is my happy place?!? Time to put on the head-banger playlist and scream along to the lyrics in your mind."
But hey, it's a great morning - I didn't stick to the sheets last night!

Clearly, to best participate in this thread, since you are a tattooer, is to go get some fruit!

...I just want to know what you were doing at a tattoo party and whose kitchen it was in.

...I can't believe this thread has been dormant for 6 months.
Last night we went to a wedding. I wore a little black dress with thin straps so the top third of my backpiece showed. I had my hair up. Overall, I got positive reviews or no comments - it was very cool.
However, "Jackass" (as he was come to be called), came up to me at the bar. Picture 60 y/o paunch, light pink button-down, partially untucked - all the guys were all still wearing suit jackets. Partially in the bottle. So he is chatting me up and then sees my tattoo.
Him: Wow, I just saw your art. It seems like the entire back is a "new thing." The first time I saw one was when we took our son to a dude ranch in Texas and a girl had one. It was quite alluring.
Me: ::eesh::
Him: So this was probably more than one session?
Me: Yes, it was two. (Actually, it was 20).
Him: So, how is your Hepatitis C? Is it under control?
Me: Excuse me?
Him: You know, your Hep C. And your Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B?
Me (deadpanned): Everything is under control.
Him: You know, I ask, because you had more than one session, so there was more than one needle. So you have to keep it under control.
Me, (skeeved out and walking away): It's fine.
So I tell my friends, and we all get weirded out. Shudders. So anyway, later in the night, I want to go back to the bar and get a drink for me and the Hubs. But Jackass is there talking with another guy I don't know. But I go up anyway and talk straight to the bartender and order.
Him to buddy: There are a lot of women in those same little black dresses. They must all shop at the same store.
Me: ::Stars straight ahead::
Him (announcing into the air): Well, I guess no one heard that.
Me (walking away with my drinks): I'm sorry, it must be my Hepatitis C showing.
Him: Excuse me?
Me: IT MUST BE MY HEP C SHOWING.
Him (huffed up and offended): I was just being concerned.
?!? Super shudders. Eeeeesh. One of my girlfriends said I should have rubbed my arm over his and "gotten my Hep C all over him." But I was too skeeved out to even consider touching him.
I hate people who play these little word power games. I have to come up with a few more standard answers to assholes. Happily, I did get the chance to smack him back down.

I got this the other day, but the "excuse" was pretty funny. He's older now (>50) and he'd wanted a tattoo as a late teen and came home with a cross on his arm that he'd drawn on with a permanent marker. His father, as expected, assumed it was real and hit the roof. As he described the scene and the layout of the dinner table area where his father discovered the travesty, he was clearly boxed in by the radiator and the wall and the rest of the family. His father then proceeded to grab steel wool and scrubbed it off his arm, along with a layer of skin before he realized he'd been had. The teller of the tale said he didn't want to get a tattoo after that. All-in-all, not a bad excuse and completely forgivable because he told the story with such vigor and humor!

Re: cost.
Almost everyone has asked me this question and very few people know I am working on a full back. It makes me uncomfortable, even from friends, and I don't have a pat answer yet. But the other day, without even thinking, I replied, "Yeah, it's more expensive than going to the movies." For some reason, that shut down the question with a little laugh from both of us, but in a way that it was clear I wasn't going to share, conversation was over, without being rude or making them feel like a jerk for asking (my friends, after all). Not sure I can explain that, but it was a positive thing and I think I'll try that one again.

Getting a big tattoo has really changed my view of my skin health. I've got several bottles of good quality SPF 50 everywhere and several UV 50 shirts, 2 UV hoodies and coverup. And now that I am thinking thigh, I've found myself slathering lotion over other parts of my body in preparation for possible new tattoos! (You know, because it's an addiction and all...) No, I'm excited to wear my tattoos!
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I get the standard "does it hurt" and "how much is it costing" and I have no idea why people think it wouldn't hurt. Are they assessing your degree of masochism? Secretly thinking you deserve it? (Rhetorical...)
I was on a diving vacation a couple weeks ago and there were three distinct responses. We were diving with the same group of 13 on the same small boat. I wore a rash guard all the time and no one saw the tattoo until the 2nd or 3rd day, so people got to know me as a person. A nice couple our age who'd traveled the world teaching English were so interested and curious (we were diving, my back is an in-progress montage of underwater photographs I've taken) and we talked about the different critters and how a tattoo like this progress. Very nice and completely accepting. They have no tattoos. There was another group, three of whom had small tattoos, and they either didn't say anything and treated me the same - one told me a guy she knew was getting a full suit and was to be featured in a book. She was cool and open.
The other group was a family who initially was friendly to me. The dad and I are in the same profession and somewhat muckity-mucks. I could possibly have been a useful contact to him. Then when I showed up at the (inside) tiki bar wearing only a bikini and showing my tattoo off the first (and only) time, the father came around the back of me to look at the chalkboard menu above the bar where I was sitting. My husband told me he stood there for a good 5 minutes staring at my back while pretending to read the menu. After that, they didn't talk to me for a couple days, but a couple of them (including the dad) warmed up to me somewhat after being stuck on a small boat together and having to realize I was a real person.
Interesting to see the reactions.

I got this skull tattooed on my foot yesterday by my good friend Sándor Jordan. Lines done with a machine and everything else he did tebori. Super fun and relaxing way to get tattooed.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BCLLOuZjAtJ/?taken-by=jordanist
https://www.instagram.com/p/BCLDBjMkGEY/?taken-by=havetsherre
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I got this skull tattooed on my foot yesterday by my good friend Sándor Jordan. Lines done with a machine and everything else he did tebori. Super fun and relaxing way to get tattooed.

deified my shin a bit with Eddy Deutsche on friday, been waiting for this one a while, stoked! What a great dude Eddy is, and totally mesmerizing to watch him work.

It's been awhile - I've just gotten organised to finish my arm sleeve in March (not looking forward to the ditch/ elbow) but super stoked to be done!
Added a leg tattoo this winter - Alice illustration done by Jennifer Bowes at the Pearl in Toronto - I must say the thigh is a total pleasure after the inner arm experience!

I don't have a pic yet, but Horitomo of state of Grace outlined and detailed my 2/3 sleeve dragon on Sat. It is wonderful - actually looks like lace (I'm female and I guess he made the lines delicate because of that)! Makes me almost - almost - not want it colored in. When it is healed a bit, I'll see if I can get a pic of this stage.

Finally finished my 2/3rd sleeve by Sarah Hurst @ Vivid Tattoo Knoxville. If you have me on Instagram, there is a crappy phone photo there. I don't know if my tablet can post them in the browser, and Tapatalk is still broke for posting here.