Anyone have Tattoos?

[goroth]

There are aspects of pretty much everyone's posts that in some way reflect my own thoughts on tattoos.
Good work team.

[OldGeorge]

There are aspects of pretty much everyone's posts that in some way reflect my own thoughts on tattoos.
Good work team.

+1

[gunslinger_burrito]

I think I'm walking in to the middle of a discussion here, but two cents:

I used to want all my tattoos to have a lot of deep meaning, and for future tattoos I still do. However, some of my tattooer friends brought up a good point: If you get something because it has a lot of special meaning to you, that's fine and all, but will your beliefs and personality be the same in 10 years? Maybe you'll hate the tattoo at that point. At the end of the day, the great majority of people in the west are getting tattoos because they think that having a picture/design on their body would look cool. So it's far better to get a well made and well drawn tattoo, because no matter what changes you go through in life, it'll always look great and you likely won't regret it a bit.

Personally I get a lot of mystical, mythological imagery, because those beliefs ain't changing I have a handful that just sounded cool at the time, and I have fond memories surrounding the times I got them.

[waltdogg]

my best friend is in town and is staying with me. we got fucked up last night and spent all night talking about tattoos. he brought up a good point, i thought, at least. as nice as it is to have your go to artist or two, branch out and get a piece from every artist who's work you like. otherwise your body will lool kinda samey. but if that's what you're going for, go for it.

and i definitely agree on the meaning vs. no meaning. the human body is a channel for art, music, drawing/painting, written works, and to be used as a canvas (tattoos). whether it has meaning or not, make sure it's drawn well and done good. so you won't hate it. i look down at my only tattoo and think to myself that it has tons of meaning and no meaning at the same time. it's great, i don't have to explain shit to anyone. everyone knows i love ghostlimb and if someday i were to ever get over that band well the name is slang for phantom pain. and who doesn't have a pain that won't go away? physical or mental?

[Invisible Man]

The weird thing is that tattoos appear to be necessary-but-not-sufficient for outsider status.

Sleeves are part of an 'arms race,' though I don't begrudge anyone for having them if that's what they want.

Not that I disagree with the bit I took out, but to this point I'm not sure you're totally in the correct here (I know you're certainly not correct in the other bit, Mr. fled to southeast asia to avoid interment, but that's another can of soup), insofar as it seems the really extreme body modification people don't seem to give a shit (this obviously varies from person to person, which is an important note when you're talking about groups of hundreds on a planet with billions) but I guess the moms and dads of the former mt. dew army and the #thoughtful creatives with the portriature might?

Don't think I was clear. I meant that there are a lot of people who would appear to be rounded-off mom/dadcore stereotypes who wield that image so they can get away with crazy shit; the reverse is also true (hardcore-looking people who are conservative-minded who use ink as a crutch). But now I'm stating the obvious.

As for sub-subcultures: it bugs me that explanations of increasingly extreme bodymod always have to explain increasingly extreme pathology. Maybe there's no 'diagnosis.' That article reinforces a bunch of dumb shit about 'drones,' resistance, and subversion that have nothing to do with stepping out. Hence 'arms race.' Folks who aren't thoughtful about this stuff are idiot canvases, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing, but also diluting any of the interesting shit that tattoos can do.

OK I'm being hyperbolic because I don't want to do my fucken job.

[infamousalien]

I wonder what sailors, who were full of rum, getting anchors and naked ladies tattooed on them (probably between frequenting hookers) in Sailor Jerry's Chinatown tattoo shop back in the day would have thought about you soy boys ( ) intellectually wanking off about tattoos. It was a new era when the lame TV shows came out and everyone's little fucking feather/infinity/star tattoo had to have a novel's worth of meaning behind it. If your tattoo has meaning behind it good for you. If you just like the art of it good for you. If you want to have five guys simultaneously cover your body black, good for you.

[Invisible Man]

Jesus Christ thinking about things isn't intellectual wanking. Also this analogy would make more sense if it had clerks getting tattoos.

YOU MUST BE A DRONE

(Also those sailors died from assorted venereal diseases but lived super rad lives I guess so you win.)

[D.o.S.]

I wonder what sailors, who were full of rum, getting anchors and naked ladies tattooed on them (probably between frequenting hookers) in Sailor Jerry's Chinatown tattoo shop back in the day would have thought about you soy boys ( ) intellectually wanking off about tattoos. It was a new era when the lame TV shows came out and everyone's little fucking feather/infinity/star tattoo had to have a novel's worth of meaning behind it. If your tattoo has meaning behind it good for you. If you just like the art of it good for you. If you want to have five guys simultaneously cover your body black, good for you.

Well if we're going for lazy appeals to authority I'd say the Polynesians who did have a novel's worth of meaning behind their tattoos predate the sailor Jerry western cultural appropriation.

But, you know, that's just me.

[behndy]

sooooooo..... question. i have a few tats, love them all except the first thing i got. this huge messy fucker down my back. i like the top part that goes across the shoulders (the circuits, arrows and zeros), but the vertical part? ugh. garbage. and that's after my normal tatty grrL tried to fix it by adding on to the shit job that was originally done.

i'd love to get it covered up, and i have some ideas (mostly trees made out of metal type things), but is that cover'up'able? i found a few local artists i like their style (my normal grrL said she's not great at coverups), going to hit them up. but is it too messy/big to fix? that's a slightly old pic, there's some color in the middle of each empty piece. bluish green?

lol. fucking. ugh. fucking PERSON that did it. was my first tat, she didn't tell me that it was a pretty crap design, i TOLD her i was not an artist, this is just sort of what i want, she did NOTHING to improve it, or tell me that it was going to look like..... well. crap. and found out i was like the last job she took at the studio she worked at before she fucked off out of state and left tatooing.

not cool. HELP PEOPLE THAT ARE GETTING THEIR FIRST TATTOO.

i kinda hate being without a shirt every time i remember that's there.

[infamousalien]

sooooooo..... question.
i'd love to get it covered up, and i have some ideas (mostly trees made out of metal type things), but is that cover'up'able? i found a few local artists i like their style (my normal grrL said she's not great at coverups), going to hit them up. but is it too messy/big to fix? t

It is totally cover-up-able. I had my whole right sleeve covered and it had a lot more black than that in it. It was some weird American take on Japanese style with the solid black wind bars (ah, good old 90's tattooing). Just go to an artist that has done it before. You're in the east bay? I'd recommend going to Tattoo 13. I've been tattooed there and everyone there's work is top notch.

[Invisible Man]

[behndy]

sooooooo..... question.
i'd love to get it covered up, and i have some ideas (mostly trees made out of metal type things), but is that cover'up'able? i found a few local artists i like their style (my normal grrL said she's not great at coverups), going to hit them up. but is it too messy/big to fix? t

It is totally cover-up-able. I had my whole right sleeve covered and it had a lot more black than that in it. It was some weird American take on Japanese style with the solid black wind bars (ah, good old 90's tattooing). Just go to an artist that has done it before. You're in the east bay? I'd recommend going to Tattoo 13. I've been tattooed there and everyone there's work is top notch.

Tattoo 13 is in Alameda? if it's the place i'm thinking of, they seem AWESOME, but.... dunno if i can go there. there was this WEIRD thing where my grrL went through email for about 2 weeks, was super descriptive, we went in for a consult and the woman she was talking to told her

a) she didn't have openings for like 6 months

b) she didn't like working on other artists work (my grrL was trying to get one thing altered a local did that was.... okay. and another touched up that someone in Chile did.)

after talking about THOSE SPECIFIC THINGS a bunch over email. so.... kinda fucked off at the place.

but thanks for the recommendation and the You'll Be Better Bebe, You WILL reassurance!

[waltdogg]

i had a great experience at tiger's blood in alameda, and they dont ever seem to be too backed up. a few of the artists there specialize in coverups too. i've also heard great things about temple tattoo by lake merritt.

[infamousalien]

Tattoo 13 is in Alameda?

Nah Tattoo 13 is right downtown Oakland.

i've also heard great things about temple tattoo by lake merritt.

Tattoo 13 and Temple are owned but the same people. Can't go wrong at either!

[behndy]

COOL. not the spot i was thinking about. i will look into their PEOPLE'S WORKS.

thanks!