s3rndpt

So as soon as I finish healing from one, I went back in for work on my sleeve, and now I feel like someone has burned the inside of my arm. Sleeping was fun last night since we did color on the inside of my arm, and outlines on the outside of my arm, so finding a way to sleep so that nothing new was in contact with the sheets was damn near impossible. Oh well. Looks awesome.

I'm in Richmond, and will actually be having some work done by Katie Davis (Salvation) in August. There are so many great artists in this town!

@s3rndpt i think you'd be surprised; this forum seems to have a soft spot for a well done Peonie, and those are gorgeous!

@s3rndpt
Your tattoos sound great! I like the tattoo in progress you posted too.
My son sees tattoos (and piercings) the same way. To him it is fancy and pretty like jewelry or make up. He calls me "princess mommy" :)

My daughters (9 & 5) love mine---I now have a very stylized triskele on my inner forearm, made of vines with roses and thistles. It kinda symbolizes myself and my two girls--and they love looking at it and picking out which flower they "are." My left arm is covered in large Art Nouveau peonies, in their favorite colors (purple and pink, and soon to be blue), and I have Egyptian Revival shoulder caps-- scarabs on one side and a lotus on the other, both of which they think are "pretty." To them, Mommy is just getting fancy things to wear on herself--they don't really see it as anything other than normal. And that's exactly the way I want it. Neither has made any noise about wanting any of their own, but I'm sure they will eventually.

Soooo, I had a thought recently that Hubbs should let ME chose his back piece tattooer and subject because I was the one who was going to see it ALLLL of the time and vice versa. He didn't go for it. But isn't that just the most practical and wonderful idea y'all have ever heard? I could wake up to a giant Horitomo Kanon EVERY morning! I'm certain it would make me a better spouse.

Now that I better understand the question, I have given it some thought and came up with this, my answer:
I don't give a flying fuck what anyone else thinks of me. As long as I live my life in line with the morals I believe are fitting to me, I am good to go.
Will you be judged by the tattoos you choose? Absolutely, and by the very same people who would judge you by your clothes or hair or car or any number of things even if you didn't have tattoos.
In this Millenneal age of "Tolerance", I have come to realize that the tolerance only extends to those thoughts and actions Millenneals deem to be correct.
In other words "you shall tolerate that which is, by our standards, tolerable. Otherwise, you will be shunned." Which is as it always has been. You will outgrow it, sooner or later. But you may miss some pretty great times along the way.
If you are worried about what others think about a tattoo, then do not get the tattoo, because you will allow them to make your reaction.
But realize that you are not getting something you think is beautiful because you are worried that someone else - who has no stake in the matter - may disagree.
There are enough things happening in our lives over which we have no control. To give up that which I do control willingly because of peer pressure? Not gonna happen.

Mreh. Mandalas are beautiful. They've been beautiful since like the 9th-11th centuries, B.C.E. Just because they've become popular subjects for tattoos doesn't make them any less beautiful! Geometric designs likewise; you have only to look at the ceiling of any given mosque to be blown away. Whether these things make great tattoos or not is open to discussion (by people who know more about these things than I do), but that's entirely a separate conversation.
Trends are a social phenomenon that has to do with perception and self-image. They often have little or nothing to do with the intrinsic worth of the object of acclaim/derision; it's more about social identity and group belonging and whatever else. I would totally get a mandala tattoo, and I don't give a fuuuuuu. It'd have to be placed well, but they're still stunning, imo. Don't care what anybody thinks, or who else might be wearing them. We tend to want to reject things that become trendy when we feel wiser about the thing the trend concerns itself with than the bulk of derps following the trend, but sometimes that's just cutting off our noses to spite our faces.
The other tattoos under discussion draw fire here because they make for crap tattoos. But, still. If somebody loves it, even if they got it because it's trendy, it doesn't really matter. Their body, their life. More joy to them.

Oops, guess I'm trendy, now---does it count it if wasn't on purpose?! I found an artist whose stuff I loved (she does a lot of geometric mandala-ish work), and had her create shoulder caps for me--I wanted them to be symmetric, and reminiscent of Egyptian Revival jewelry. I *guess* they look kinda like mandalas...(?) Personally, I think they are kinda badass, but that might just be me.
In all seriousness, I find some of the more popular stuff, like black tree skylines, flocks of black birds, feathers, cartoony stuff, tiny finger tattoos, mustache tattoos, etc., not to my liking. But I'm not the one wearing those for the rest of my life, so if it makes a person happy, great. If someone chooses to think I'm being somehow trendy, oh well. Guess I'll live with it. I'm old enough I really just don't care if someone thinks I'm cool, or a poser, or whatever.

Oops, guess I'm trendy, now---does it count it if wasn't on purpose?! I found an artist whose stuff I loved (she does a lot of geometric mandala-ish work), and had her create shoulder caps for me--I wanted them to be symmetric, and reminiscent of Egyptian Revival jewelry. I *guess* they look kinda like mandalas...(?) Personally, I think they are kinda badass, but that might just be me.
In all seriousness, I find some of the more popular stuff, like black tree skylines, flocks of black birds, feathers, cartoony stuff, tiny finger tattoos, mustache tattoos, etc., not to my liking. But I'm not the one wearing those for the rest of my life, so if it makes a person happy, great. If someone chooses to think I'm being somehow trendy, oh well. Guess I'll live with it. I'm old enough I really just don't care if someone thinks I'm cool, or a poser, or whatever.

This is a great discussion! A tattoo could be considered "trendy," but you LIKE it and enjoy it for years and years, and don't regret it, then there's nothing wrong with it whatsoever. Some trendy tattoos are actually very attractive. You just have to ignore the comments of others (we all judge each other based on appearance, it can't be helped).
Think about how trends start - someone starts it, somewhere, others see it, and independently, they do the same thing, because they LIKED it. There is something to be said for an idea that has such strikingly wide appeal. That doesn't happen by accident. Is there really anything wrong with that? The only issue I have is people who tend to jump on board just to be doing it because others are doing it, to feel like they belong, and to fit in, and that's the WRONG reason to get a tattoo, for sure. A haircut, a style of clothing or shoes, no problem - you just move on and hope the pictures never surface. Tattoos are a different story.
Has anyone had an original idea/concept for a tattoo that they'd never seen before, had it done, been happy with it, and years down the road hear people talk about it as if it was just a "trend?" Isn't there always the first one to come up with it, the proverbial trend setter?
Like the OP describes, it can be demeaning and a pejorative label to write something off as being trendy.

Oops, guess I'm trendy, now---does it count it if wasn't on purpose?! I found an artist whose stuff I loved (she does a lot of geometric mandala-ish work), and had her create shoulder caps for me--I wanted them to be symmetric, and reminiscent of Egyptian Revival jewelry. I *guess* they look kinda like mandalas...(?) Personally, I think they are kinda badass, but that might just be me.
In all seriousness, I find some of the more popular stuff, like black tree skylines, flocks of black birds, feathers, cartoony stuff, tiny finger tattoos, mustache tattoos, etc., not to my liking. But I'm not the one wearing those for the rest of my life, so if it makes a person happy, great. If someone chooses to think I'm being somehow trendy, oh well. Guess I'll live with it. I'm old enough I really just don't care if someone thinks I'm cool, or a poser, or whatever.

So as soon as I finish healing from one, I went back in for work on my sleeve, and now I feel like someone has burned the inside of my arm. Sleeping was fun last night since we did color on the inside of my arm, and outlines on the outside of my arm, so finding a way to sleep so that nothing new was in contact with the sheets was damn near impossible. Oh well. Looks awesome.

Tattoos may be a trend but they're not a passing fad -- partly because that ink isn't going anywhere. You can throw out that pair of '90s Hammer pants, but you're not getting rid of that tribal tattoo armband without a laser (or some high grit sandpaper).

I think people without tattoos might assume getting tattooed these days is simply a trend, as a way to explain its popularity, but I definitely am not a follower of trends and have simply come to a point in my life (middle age) where tattoos are more meaningful to me and I love the art of them, and the way I can express myself through them, plus I'm less concerned about public perception (getting employed, looking "professional", etc). Also it is easier now to find amazing artists than it used to be because of social media and the internet.
As for parenting, I'm realizing now, after having my own kids, what kinds of things affected my parents and how I was raised, and I'm cutting them a bit more slack! I can see how hard it is to relax and allow kids to become who they are, and how anxious you can get over your kids not making the same mistakes you did, etc. My mother and I will never be on the same page, but now I realize she can't help it, lol, and she's learned to just accept me for me.

My daughters (9 & 5) love mine---I now have a very stylized triskele on my inner forearm, made of vines with roses and thistles. It kinda symbolizes myself and my two girls--and they love looking at it and picking out which flower they "are." My left arm is covered in large Art Nouveau peonies, in their favorite colors (purple and pink, and soon to be blue), and I have Egyptian Revival shoulder caps-- scarabs on one side and a lotus on the other, both of which they think are "pretty." To them, Mommy is just getting fancy things to wear on herself--they don't really see it as anything other than normal. And that's exactly the way I want it. Neither has made any noise about wanting any of their own, but I'm sure they will eventually.

Tattoo #5 is in the books. I'm 8 months into my apprenticeship and did my first tattoo about a month ago. This was, by far, my biggest piece. It took me about 3 and a half hours. My teacher wouldn't normally let me do something so ambitious this soon, but it was on a good friend that I did my second tattoo on (the smaller tree, outer calf). I'm pretty stoked on it. It was a good lesson in getting in over your head, breathing, staying focused and just getting the job done. Thanks for looking.

I don't care about nor pay attention to trends. If I am into something, I do it. Pretty simple.

Apparently, tattoos seem to rub off in my relationship...since I started getting more, my husband has decided he wants some now, and has been going through laser hair removal on his back and upper arms (because he thought people would laugh at him if he was fuzzy and had tattoos??) in preparation to what is looking more and more like a trip to Copenhagen in December to an artist whose work he loves.

I picked one with a nice tree design down the side, so that helps, lol. Hopefully everyone's looking at the tree instead.

I picked one with a nice tree design down the side, so that helps, lol. Hopefully everyone's looking at the tree instead.

Healed photos of my last tattoo. Angel Tyrael (from Diablo) with Giger Wings. Got this finished in December 2014. Done by Tommygunn in Belfast City Skinworks, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Showing the wings wrapping around my leg.

I am smack in the middle of what is turning into a full sleeve from Amy Black here in Richmond. Outlined a bunch of peonies yesterday, in fact. In early April, I'm heading to San Diego to get shoulder caps from Briana Sargent at Buju Tattoo. Glad I booked that one when I did...discovered the other day she is so busy she's not taking any more bookings, except on a case-by-case basis.
Also finding that I need to NOT visit/lurk here so much because it makes me want more and more tattoos. Which is not bad, but I'm going to go broke!

My strategy is to play dead, like I'm being mauled by a tiny bear. So far it's working.

Henrik Grysjberg out of France, while guesting at Off the Map Nw. Such a great dude.
http://www.henrik-tattoo.com/