sophistre

The people who said they didn't think the elbow was too bad are all insane. Or they have magical elbows.

More fun stuff on the arm with Greg. Took the photo from his instagram. Feels weird to include something this little this week when there's so much crazy stuff on my instagram from the Bay Area convention, but oh well!
The trend of 'never actually doing what we previously planned on' continues. At this point I kinda hope it always does. And now I am done until the end of November!

The people who said they didn't think the elbow was too bad are all insane. Or they have magical elbows.

More fun stuff on the arm with Greg. Took the photo from his instagram. Feels weird to include something this little this week when there's so much crazy stuff on my instagram from the Bay Area convention, but oh well!
The trend of 'never actually doing what we previously planned on' continues. At this point I kinda hope it always does. And now I am done until the end of November!

What a great topic.
So what has tattooing taught me... Where do I start with that one. I have really gotten into tattooing over a period in my life where I have transitioned from education into the working world and both things have taught me a lot about myself and tattooing has definitely been a big part of what I have learned.
The first thing that I think it has taught me is a great appreciation for anything that is made with a bit of heart and soul to it. This for me has revolved around things that are hand made and require time and effort. So everything from a good books, decent music, art and any sort of traditional craft. Art particularly has been something that my parents are quite interested in and I have never found an aspect of it that I really connected with. Tattooing has however taught me a huge amount about different types of visual imagery and as a result I have learned to read the images I see a lot more. It's gone deeper than the simple aesthetic though as I now know a huge amount about the history of where certain images come from and the cultural history that they stem from. This has then been something that I have been able to give back to my friends and family even in a small way. I have also started collecting original paintings and prints myself which just brings me a lot of joy to see them every day.
Tattooing has also inspired me to start drawing and painting more myself. Now I would never claim that what I produce is great art, or even particularly worth spending a lot of time examining, however it gives me an opportunity to focus on something outside of myself and it inspires and frustrates me in equal measure. It has also given me the opportunity to give something back to my friends and family in a very honest and simple way. Especially over the last three years as I have steadily drawn more and more for other people.
As other people have mentioned it has also given me the opportunity to meet some very interesting people. I have had some great conversations with friends and strangers alike and learned a huge amount as a result. There was one tattoo artist particularly who introduced me to sacred geometry and the patterns of nature which is another form of visual imagery that I now see everywhere. The variety of music that tattoo artists particularly have introduced me to as well is great. For example who knew that the verses in Lateralus by Tool follow a Fibonacci sequence. Youtube it... I found it fascinating.
As a general statement to summarise tattooing has changed the way I live my life from the things that I am interested in, to the conversations I have with people and what I choose to do with my spare time. And I couldn't be happier about it. Here's to continued adventures within this world we call tattoo...

I have learned that in spite of all of the work I had done on so many levels I was still carrying the subconscious imprint of social beauty ideals and enculturation. On some subtle levels, I was carrying the social responsibility of ensuring that the appearance of my skin was still palatable to the general populace...the belief that women are still meant to be a part of the scenery and therefore "be attractive" (in a social sense). I really had to confront this in order to continue getting tattooed. It's amazing to be free of this.
On another level, I saw that I lived in fear of being noticed or really "seen".
Also, I learned that I can do anything if I have good company...walk through fire (or at least get both of my feet tattooed in the same session ;) ).
And that snacks are never ever, in any situation or time ever, a bad idea.
I love this thread.

bad photos but i got the dragon yesterday from Andre Cleary and the girls head a month ago from Adrian Hing ,
both are really nice humble guys.
also sorry for the sideways pics ive tryed everything cant figure it out.

Got this photo realistic elephant I once saw... spot on by Eli Quinters yesterday, at the Bay Area Convention.

Beyond happy with this rose from Chris Garver this week. Pic stolen from his IG

I want you to know that last time you were talking about a "faked line" I had no idea what you were talking about, and ended up delving into forums where dudes from different organizations were talking about stories and tripping over ropes and the like, and faked versus flaked and I ended up on a page with all sorts of pictures and knots - I learned so much just trying to figure out what "faked line" was! I can coil a rope for storage, tie off to cleats and make a nice Flemish. And if I try really hard I can do that knot to temporarily tie off to a piling. Knots hurt my brain. But that's it for me! And I can make a nice butchery of tying off fishing line on hooks. It works but it isn't pretty :) And my shoes. I've got that knot down pretty good.
I'm looking forward to seeing that tattoo on you!

Well since Stewart posted it on his instgram.....I will repost it here. Mine is top left. I will post a bigger pic when it heals.

Well, we (finally) started - after almost 2 years waiting for him to move and cut down his list a bit.
Start of a full half squidpant. I wasn't going to post it yet - but he did, so I stole this image off of Thomas' instagram:

Not gonna touch on the OP or the thread, but I just wanted to say: cancer-treatment radiation targeting tattoos get MY vote for toughest tattoos, full stop.
A bit tongue in cheek, this, but:

Hey everyone. It's been a while so here are a couple new things.
Got the "born lost" skull from Ross K. Jones at Idle Hand's get what you want. The flash was redrawn by Austin Maples.
Also got this shishi head from Koji Ichimaru while he's at SOG.

Not gonna touch on the OP or the thread, but I just wanted to say: cancer-treatment radiation targeting tattoos get MY vote for toughest tattoos, full stop.
A bit tongue in cheek, this, but:

You forgot to mention the part where you made fun of me for knowing when @hogg 's appointment was and being on like, PEONY WATCH 2014.
All of that to say: you lucky dudes!

Not gonna touch on the OP or the thread, but I just wanted to say: cancer-treatment radiation targeting tattoos get MY vote for toughest tattoos, full stop.
A bit tongue in cheek, this, but:

I had a fantastic experience at Diamond Club last night with one of my favorite tattooers, Brian Kaneko (truenaturetattoo on Instagram). I got this peony:

Shad, Junii, and Dr. Claw were there, too, which made it even more fun. But the best part is that @Iwar wanted to get something from Brian, but couldn't get an appointment. He asked if he could show up during mine, and I said, "Of course!" He walked in right after I got there, so I introduced him to Brian and Shad. They all started laughing, then Brian said, "By the way, I tattooed him earlier today. I had a cancellation." So now Iwar and I are not only banhammer bros, but we're botan brothers, too.

Not gonna touch on the OP or the thread, but I just wanted to say: cancer-treatment radiation targeting tattoos get MY vote for toughest tattoos, full stop.
A bit tongue in cheek, this, but:

Nah, sometimes I start writing and crazy shit comes out. I've seen dead deer on the side of the road driving home from sessions, but no hobbling dogs.

Yeah, I'd ask if I can have a tattoo artist do it before letting a radiation oncologist come at me with a tattoo machine! Same goes for sticking with IVs. Have a nurse, NOT a doctor do it, and never a nurse that you know! Someone you know will be extra-careful and never hit the vein.
BTW, I've worked on some of those flesh-searing (actually not relativistic) particle cannons. Fantastic therapy for the indicated lesions.

Amazing. This sounds every bit as apocalyptic as I feared.
My tattooer asked me just before we started the first one if I was nervous, and I told him I was only nervous about doing a bad job sitting there, which was true.
Now I know I had good reason to be nervous. I will continue to try to sit there...if not for the sake of my dignity, then for small dogs everywhere.

Not gonna touch on the OP or the thread, but I just wanted to say: cancer-treatment radiation targeting tattoos get MY vote for toughest tattoos, full stop.
A bit tongue in cheek, this, but:

Not gonna touch on the OP or the thread, but I just wanted to say: cancer-treatment radiation targeting tattoos get MY vote for toughest tattoos, full stop.
A bit tongue in cheek, this, but:

Not gonna touch on the OP or the thread, but I just wanted to say: cancer-treatment radiation targeting tattoos get MY vote for toughest tattoos, full stop.
A bit tongue in cheek, this, but:

Not gonna touch on the OP or the thread, but I just wanted to say: cancer-treatment radiation targeting tattoos get MY vote for toughest tattoos, full stop.
A bit tongue in cheek, this, but:

I'm noticing a few second delay after clicking "Like" before the like registers. No big deal but this is going to slow down my productivity.