And We're Back At It!

I have finally gotten back into my Dragon Tattoo.  As stated in my previous post, I hadn't been back since July.  That my friends had been due to driving back and forth between Oklahoma every month since the end of July up until October, but that's a whole other story that I won't bore you with right now, because after all, you're hear to read about my tattoos and not my love life, right?  Right.  Anyway, I knew I had to get on top of getting this tattoo going again since I'm leaving the country, again another story, so here we are.

We began this session by trying to figure out how to make the tattoo still appear done by the time I left, because we both knew that it wouldn't be "done" before I leave the country, but it's important for it to appear done to everyone else who sees it since it will be a good long while before I can return to actually finish it.  A part of the tattoo that he and I had discussed, but that I hadn't mentioned here, is the Phoenix.  We decided that it would really pull everything together if we did a Phoenix on the back side of my thigh (not to mention it would be really bad ass!!), so that's where we decided to start in this session.

November 20, 2013 - Authentic Ink Tattoo (Omaha, NE)

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* Location: Back side of right thigh

* Tattoo: A continuation on the Dragon/Butterfly Tattoo - Phoenix

* Story: I'm not going to go back into the story portion of this here too much since I covered that in my first post about this tattoo, but suffice to say that the Phoenix was not part of the original plan.  This may be the first tattoo (or part of a tattoo) that I didn't have some awesome story behind.  I've always found Phoenix's to be pretty damn awesome, and part of the point of this tattoo was mysticism and fantasy.  Neither dragons nor the phoenix are real creatures, but they appear throughout fantasy books, movies, and games, which I love.  When I think about the Phoenix, I think about Greek Mythology and Harry Potter.  Awesome, right?  Yeah, I thought so.

Here's a look at session one of the Phoenix.  It's certainly far from finished.  This was merely the first hour and a half (sorry the photo isn't the greatest - it's a little difficult to get a decent photo of the back of your own leg).

Stay Tuned!

Finally!!!

Wow, the last time I posted was all the way back in July and I had spoken about trying to get into the shop in a week or so.  Well, that clearly never happened.  I simply didn't have the time, nor the money, which was rather unfortunate.  But I am now faced with NEEDING to get back to it because I'm going to run out of time.  Ladies and Gentleman, I am leaving the country in a few months, so I've got to get going on this tattoo of mine!

I have no illusions that I'll be able to get this tattoo finished before I leave (there's still a good 10-14 hours left on this, if not more), but I'm going to make damn sure that I get as much done as feasibly possible before I leave.  I have no idea when I'll return to be able to finish it.  I found it humorous that when I went to make an appointment to resume inking my artist made sure to say, "Don't let some other limey bastard fix my shit!"  Haha, well hell no!  There's no way in the world any other artist will touch this tattoo.  Tattoos are art and you NEVER have another artist touch another artist's work. That is unless you made the mistake of letting some shitty artist ink your body and totally fuck shit up.  Then, by all means, find someone who is willing to fix it, but they probably won't be terribly happy about it.

So... this Wednesday I will be getting some more work done! Finally!!

Updates and photos to come soon!

Time and Cost

It seems like people like to ask how much money you’ve spent on your tattoos, and occasionally how many hours, but people generally like to quantify other’s tattoos on a dollar amount.  To be perfectly honest, I never really considered how much money I have spent on my tattoos, or how many hours I have been under the needle.  I just get them done and that’s that.  However, after being asked how much my tattoos have cost me, I decided to attempt to figure it out.  Since I’ve been being inked since I turned 18, I had to guess.  Like I said, I never really logged all of that information.  I did figure out that I have spent about $1850 on my ink thus far (this includes tattoos that have been covered up), but as I keep saying, all of it is part of your journey, so I’d of course have to include that amount in my total.  As for hours, I estimate around 21.5 hours have been spent on my tattoos to date.  It’s interesting when I start analyzing the hours portion of it, because people generally think that the more elaborate tattoos I have (Cherry Blossom Tree, Dragon, and Skeletons).  People are usually surprised by the amount of time that has gone into the tattoos I have; they’re always expecting them to be more.  I’m not really sure what to say about that; my tattoo artist doesn’t mess around and gets down to business?  To be fair, I have had 5 hours on just the dragon, which actually is quite a bit.  I’m actually estimating that this leg piece will be around 15 hours when it’s all said and done (I may have already mentioned that, but meh).  However, I do believe that the most detailed portion of the tattoo is finishing, which is the dragon.  

I’m getting rather anxious to continue with my dragon/orchid/butterfly tattoo.  I think I’m going to find a way to get going here in a week or so.  I’d like to see some more progress on it.  I’m really excited about what the back of the tattoo will have in store.

Until next time,

Prost! 

A Little Break

Alright, since we’re all caught up to where I’m at currently at within my tattooing journey, I figure I’ll start sharing some stories here and there, because it will be a month or so before I schedule another session for my thigh piece (this one is being done slowly so that I can afford it).

Speaking of being able to afford tattoos (I know I’m rambling a bit; you’ll have to forgive me, because I just have the tendency to do that), Spike and I have had quite a few conversations on how many people go about getting tattoos.  So many people will go in and say they want this awesome tattoo, but will only spend “x” amount of dollars on it.  Many times the amount of money they say they’re willing to spend won’t get them anywhere near what it is they’re wanting, but they go ahead get the subpar tattoo.  Not that the work isn’t good, but the tattoo ends up being half-assed because they won’t take it in sessions, or something.  I could never afford most of the tattoos I’ve gotten if I didn’t split them up into sessions.  This tattoo on my thigh has only been done in hour, or hour and a half, sessions because that’s what I can afford.  I think it’s important to think of a tattoo as an investment and not to put a dollar amount on something you’re wanting, especially if there’s going to be any kind of detail.  Chances are it’s going to cost more than you anticipate, and may take longer than you initially thought, but ask yourself this question - Do I want a good tattoo that has been done well, with detail and effort, or do I just want what $100 will get me? Asking yourself that question could save you the trouble of hating something down the road.

Anyway, I’m finished with my rant.

Back to “stories” - I think I’ll start with this last weekend at Crescent Moon’s 7th Annual Sunfest!!! First of all, craft beer - Can I get an amen? Aaaaaahhhhhhhh yes, I would like to start by saying that craft beer drinkers are generally the nicest and coolest people you can ever meet.  They’re so friendly and open; it’s great.  My friend Tyler and I went to Sunfest together and we got to meet some kick ass people, while sampling some kick ass beer created by some rather talented people.  He used to work for Thunderhead, so that was his conversation starter (wearing a Thunderhead shirt, just as he should have) and mine are my tattoos.  I had a few random strangers come up and ask to see my thigh and my back.  I love the great conversations that ensue over passions like tattoos and craft beer.  I’ve never been one to have conversations with strangers, and generally try to avoid such interactions, but ever since I have gotten these large and very noticeable tattoos, I’m a lot more open to random conversations.  I think it’s because starting off by discussing one another’s tattoo pieces, where you got them done, how much time went into them and whatnot, is very non-threatening and thoroughly enjoyable conversation starter!  Of course, there’s the other side of the coin where someone deliberately comes up to insult you because of your tattoos - fortunately, I have not had to encounter this.  I don’t know if it’s because people haven’t had the gumption to come up to me and say such things, or if it’s because I haven’t actually encountered anyone who has thought my tattoos were trashy, or horrible, or whatever people sometimes think.  It’s impossible to know what people are thinking when they don’t speak up; I did start to notice that ever since I have gotten the tattoos on my thigh, that whenever I’m wearing something that shows them off, I do get stared at quite a bit.  Maybe that’s just curiosity - or maybe that’s people judging me and not speaking up.  Honestly, I could care less.  I think there’s an e-card that says it perfectly, and it’s along the lines of - I don’t care what you think of my tattoos, your opinion never crossed my mind when I was getting them. 

Until next time,

Cheers

It Has Been a Long Time Coming, a Childhood Dream - Number 8

*Here we come to present day - and what is in progress*

It’s going to sound a little crazy, well maybe not, but I get a lot of somewhat strange looks whenever I tell people this, this tattoo is one that I’ve wanted since I was about 12.  Well, part of it I’ve wanted since I was 12, and the other part has been ever since I was 13 or 14.  I think this will be one of my more impressive, and extensive tattoos thus far.  I just finished session 4 with 6 hours, and we’re nowhere near done with this one.  You may be wondering why if I have wanted this tattoo since I was 12 that I didn’t get it as a first tattoo, and instead ended up with the awful one I did... Well, I knew way back then that this wouldn’t be a simple tattoo and I couldn’t actually envision it.  That’s something kind of important about me - If I can’t visualize it, I won’t do it.  That goes with anything.  It can be a good thing and a bad thing.  That type of thought process can, at times, stop me from doing really stupid things, but it can also keep me from amazing things.  Some of the best things in life are done on an impulsive whim.  Some things.

Anyway, I’m going to cut right to the chase because it’s near impossible to really talk about this tattoo without delving into the story.

Location: Remainder of upper thigh (all above the knee)

Tattoo: Dragon - Orchids - Butterflies

Story: I will start with the dragon (this is the part I’ve wanted since I was 12) - As a kid I would retreat into books and I always loved scifi, fantasy, horror, and mysteries the most.  I cannot tell you when my love affair with dragons began, but I feel as if I’ve always loved them.  I remember my 12th birthday party was a surprise.  I had a dragon cake and my mom had gotten me this dragon necklace with earrings that came in a little box, another dragon necklace that was a vile that had glitter in it (or pixie dust - it was more fun to think of it that way) and the most awesome dragon card that I had ever seen!  Anyway, enough reminiscing, that is the simple version of my love for dragons, and it hasn’t wavered.  As for the orchids and the butterflies - this comes from a song. “The Theft” by Atreyu “A thousand black flowers explode into butterflies.” I cannot explain to you why this touched me so much, nor why I felt so compelled to get it as a tattoo.  All I remember is the first time I ever heard this song when I was a freshman in high school (14 or 15), and those lyrics, I knew I had to get it as a tattoo.  

Now for the fun voila moment - As I had said, I hadn’t gotten this dragon tattoo, or the flowers/butterflies tattoo yet because I could not visualize it.  I had thought that I’d get the dragon huge down the side of my thigh the way my mom had her roses done, but I just wasn’t in love with the idea.  Well, my friend Kimber and I were, and still are, planning to get a sister/best friend Batman and Robin tattoo, so we went into the shop to get pricing on it.  While we were sitting there and contemplating our Batman and Robin tattoo, I suddenly knew exactly how and where I wanted these tattoos - I needed to combine them into one!  So, I made an appointment. 

I figure in this post, I will catch you up to the most recent session.  I could have broken each one down into its own post, but that seemed silly.

Session 1 - 

Here we just got the dragon started (sorry for the less than visible photo of the dragon, but I got a new phone and for whatever reason, the other photo didn't get transferred - see Instagram for more)

Session 2 - 

Now the dragon has started to take on some definition, starting to look pretty awesome

Session 3 - 

Now we’ve gotten to work on the flowers and butterflies, still a lot of work ahead

Middle of Session 4 - 

End of Session 4 - 

This is the dragon all finished 5 hours later! Spike said no one has ever let him spend 5 hours on a dragon before (or anything like that, I think), but I knew I wanted this dragon to have a lot of detail and really stand out.  The orchids and the butterflies are just the accent pieces.  We also discussed the full extent of where this tattoo is going.  It has actually taken on more than I had ever anticipated when I started this process. I think we’re looking at a good 10-12 hours before it’s all done.  Possibly more; it just depends on the detail put into the rest of it.

And just a little Collage of the process thus far :) 

It Came Out of Nowhere - Number 7

So, it had been a little while since my Cherry Blossom Tree back tattoo and I was itching to get another tattoo (this seems to happen more and more for me), so my brain had been busy at work trying to come up with something to get.  Since the point of this blog was to illustrate my journey and the meaning behind the tattoos I’ve chosen to get (or at least the lessons I’ve learned as to why that’s important and why I incorporate that philosophy now), you can guess that I couldn’t just get any ol’ tattoo.  Certainly not.  It’s easy to see something and think, now that’s cool, that could make a good tattoo, but it’s another to conjure up something that will look good and have true meaning (in my opinion anyway - you may have a different experience).  I’ll cut to the chase on how I came to devise this next tattoo and save the detail for below - I like to peruse Google+ and I had come across a quote by a poet, which I loved, so I saved it for future reference (I also write poetry and I am sometimes inspired by the words of others. Many of my poems started with a line, or a few words that had initially be written by someone else).  Then a few weeks later, or so, I came across a photo that, to put it simply, just spoke to me.  Then out of nowhere I devised a way to combine the two into a meaningful tattoo.

December 22, 2012/January 18, 2013 - Authentic Ink (Omaha, NE)

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Location: Outer portion of my right thigh

Tattoo: Two skeletons branching off into trees with night on one side and day on the other with a verse from a poem at the bottom.

Story: I’ll start by sharing the whole quote and citing its source - “Night is purer than day; it is better for thinking and loving and dreaming. At night everything is more intense, more true. The echo of words that have been spoken during the day takes on a new and deeper meaning. The tragedy of man is that he doesn’t know how to distinguish between day and night. He says things at night that should only be said by day.” - Elie Wiesel

What I find beautiful about poetry is that, yes the author usually had some intended meaning behind his/her writings, but they are always so open for interpretation and can speak to anyone in whatever way they feel. Frankly, when I first came across this poem, it didn’t mean anything to me necessarily, but after finding the photo to pair it with, it took on a deep meaning for me. I had found this photo of two skeletons (which are obviously dead) that had arms with leaves growing from them, and their feet were roots.  From this poem I devised a night and day scenario - one side would be graced by moonlight and the other by a sunrise.  The roots would be in water while the quote went over it - I chose to only use a portion - “Night is purer than day; it is better for thinking and loving and dreaming.” Many things may look more beautiful during the day, but at night, at night is when everything truly comes alive. At night is when everyone’s true self comes out, but in order to be blessed with the night, we must first be graced by the sunlight.

Session 1 -

Session 2 - 

I have also been struggling a lot when it comes to love.  What I derived from this photo of these skeletons was death and despair, but regardless of the times we encounter death, pain, loss, despair and loss of hope, there is always a glimmer of life and possibilities.  In order to truly experience love, we must also endure pain and despair.  Without one, we cannot have the other, just as without day, we cannot have night.

Death does not necessarily mean the end, but rather the beginning of something else.  Making room for something new to grow.

And so it Grows - Number 6

As I mentioned in my first post, I desperately wanted to cover up my lower back tattoo, most colorfully known as a “tramp stamp,” and I had been racking my brain to come up with a solution.  Well, I finally had, and since I had met Spike and loved the work he had done for my Crest of Hyrule tattoo; I knew just where to go.  I first scoured the internet for photos to come up with some kind of idea as to what I wanted. I didn’t want to walk in there half cocked and not know what I wanted *hehe, half cocked* (sorry, that was terrible and juvenile - moving on).  I saved a few photos on my phone so that I would have a general guideline, if you will, to show him.  I didn’t want some carbon copy of someone else’s tattoo, or of some photo I found, but needed something.  You should recall the Japanese Cherry Blossom on my shoulder?  Well, that tattoo was about to expand into an entire back piece! AND cover up my blunder of a first tattoo. It was perfect because I absolutely loved my Japanese Cherry Blossom tattoo and I received compliments on it regularly.  Also, one of the reasons I love the Japanese Cherry Blossom so much is because it is in fact a tree. 

Let’s fast forward to getting the tattoo, shall we?

March 31, 2012 / April 13, 2012 -  Authentic Ink Tattoo & Piercing (Omaha, NE) by Spike

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Location: Back

Tattoo: Japanese Cherry Blossom Tree (expanding from original shoulder tattoo and covering up lower back tattoo)

Story: Well, I’m not sure I have much to say here since it has been prefaced with the original Cherry Blossom tattoo and that I kind of eluded to the story above. So, this section has been rendered mildly useless. Oh well. 

There were 3 sessions in total with this tattoo. The third session was merely the blending of the original Cherry Blossom tattoo on my shoulder to match the new work he had done to the tree on my back.

Session 1 - 

As you can see the lower back tattoo is still visible, and he’s mainly done work on the tree and outlining (he drew this tattoo directly on my body without a stencil, as well)

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Session 2 - 

 This is immediately following the last session that completed the back

Ah, almost finished! I think this tattoo (including the time spent blending the shoulder portion) took around 6 hours.  I can safely say that this was one of the more enjoyable tattoos I’ve gotten.  Please understand that I emphasized enjoyable for a reason - I genuinely liked the feeling.  The cover up on the lower back was probably the best part.  I got those little tingles going down my bottom and my legs (maybe you know what I’m talking about).  Suffice to say, this was a solid tattoo choice.

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Session 3 - 

I decided the best way to showcase this part of the Cherry Blossom Tree was to put together a Pic-Stitch of the original piece (pictured earlier in my blog) and what it looks like now.  I didn’t actually take a picture right after since it was just the blending, but it’s an interesting contrast.  This also showcases how good Spike is at what he does.

*Since I am going backwards and working my way forward, I have stories that I can share regarding people’s reactions to my tattoos and conversations I’ve had about them, but so that I can keep the blog going after I’ve reached present time (since there can be a couple months, or even more, between tattoo sessions, or new tattoos), I’ll save those stories for later.