I've been wanting one for years and had a couple of designs in mind. Yesterday, I was just exploring the city and decided to check out a few tattoo shops out of curiousity. Just to see how much a certain design would cost and to get a feel of the shop and its artists.
I visited the best-rated shop in the city but was immediately turned off after talking to one of the artists. I wanted five words wrapped around my ankle. He kept telling me it wouldn't fit, which I respect because he knows his craft, but he was also very limited in the types of letters he would use (some stencils on the wall) and wanted to charge me $300.
After that unpleasant conversation, I was worried that all artists would look a first-timer like me and just try to make a quick, easy buck. This is something permanent and I didn't like being bullied. On a whim, I hit this little shop a block from my boyfriend's house.
I got into a talk with this artist named Michael and he was amazing. He thought my design would fit on my ankle and then brought out pages and pages of script to see which kind of styles I liked. Then, seeing what interested me, he brought out a script design he had been worked out on his own. And it was perfect. Pretty but not overly flowery or gothic. Then I asked about incorporating cherry blossoms flowers or petals and he just started playing around with it, showing me samples to get my feedback, reworking the design to my every quirk. Resizing it over and over again to get it perfect.
And he did all this without asking for money, knowing I could easily change my mind and walk out the door. After I saw what he did though, I couldn't leave. It was beautiful and so meaningful to me. Its simple, just your basic first tattoo, nothing too big incase I was a wuss...but I love it.
I have to say, I was quite the trooper during the actual tattooing process which took about two hours once we got the stencil on (its really hard to wrap a design around an ankle.) I'm terrified of needles but enjoyed the pain after the endorphins kicked in. It was practically a mystical experience to see something beautiful come out of so much pain. We only took one break and that's cause my artist needed a smoke.
The words in my tattoo are "Falling for the First Time." BNL fans will know its from a song and I think it was even a radio single at some point. And while I am a long-time fan of the band, I didn't get it in ode to them. As I've posted before, I struggle with anxiety. I still remember where I was and what I was doing when I first heard "Falling for the First Time." The song is catchy and the lyrics are simple but its kind of been my anthem ever since. Alot of my anxiety comes from a feel of failure so instead I never try. At this point in my life where I'm starting to rediscover myself and look at new possibilities, this song and message is more important to me than ever.
And now its a part of my skin to carry forever. The cherry blossoms I just love and I kept thinking about how beatiful the petals are falling from the tree. It just seemed appropriate. I'm actually not 100% happy with the blossoms yet but he told me I could come back later to get the color retouched. He was having a hard time doing the white highlights because I was bleeding pretty badly at that point. I might want some little highlight on the green leaves and maybe something to soften up on the hard circle around the yellow. But we'll see how it looks after it fully heals.
Check it out: (the lettering is sharp in real life, not sure why it looks bumpy in my pictures.)
[ September 17, 2007, 10:01 PM: Message edited by: Shanna ]
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
Wow, the colors look great! Awesome.
-pH
Posted by landybraine (Member # 10807) on :
Shanna, it's beautiful. I actually have three, and am about to get another. It's this new one that I'm the most excited about.
I've been afraid of the dark since I was very little. To the point where I sleep completly covered head to toe, except my nose and mouth because I have this strange idea that something will get me. Not only that, but I also have had a hard time adjusting to being alone, in all aspects of the word. I am a single mom, and plan to be that way for the long haul (unless something crazy happens).
So...I have been working on a lot of things in my life, with good results. This is the next.
So...My boyfriend has this wristband that says: The Dark is Afraid of Me
The minute I saw it, I realized how perfect it was for me. What a way to turn it around! I like to focus on creating the things I want in life, and to have this forever, I believe, will help.
I plan on getting it running down the back of my calf. Maybe soon, I'll have pics too.
Whew! Sorry that was so long and self-centered. Your post just got me really geeked about getting my next tat.
Congratulations on your new body art!
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
quote:Originally posted by landybraine: I've been afraid of the dark since I was very little. To the point where I sleep completly covered head to toe, except my nose and mouth because I have this strange idea that something will get me.
I did this for a very long time, even when I had no working air conditioning (and I grew up in Florida). Also sometimes I would sleep with my head at the foot of the bed because I thought if someone broke into the house and tried to stab me they would cut my legs instead of my chest.
....I was a strange child.
-pH
Posted by Shanna (Member # 7900) on :
No worries, I am all about geeking over tattoos. I think I'm obsessed. I totally understand the addictive nature of tattoos now. I have no doubt that more are in my future.
I'd love to see yours if you have pictures.
Posted by landybraine (Member # 10807) on :
pH, I grew up in Louisanna, so I feel your pain.
Shanna, I don't have any right now, but I'll bump this thread when I do.
My first was when I was sixteen. Mistake.
The second and third were on whims, and kind of just signify that specific moment in my life.
This next one is going to be the most meaningful so far. It's the only one that truly means something to me. I can also understand exactly what you mean when you say you enjoyed the pain (after the endorphins kicked in). I almost go into a meditative sleep. It's very odd.
Posted by beatnix19 (Member # 5836) on :
I just had my first tattoo done as well. And I had a great guy like you explained. He was patient with my many changes and my poicky personality. The end result really is great and I'm really glad I did it.
For those of you curious. It's a rampant lion. with the scots motto "wha Daur Meddle Wi' me?" above it and my name below. The motto basically means, who dares meddle with me. It is the scots version of the original latin which meant, no one provokes me with impunity.
[ September 18, 2007, 10:54 AM: Message edited by: beatnix19 ]
Posted by Evie3217 (Member # 5426) on :
I'm thinking about getting a tattoo, but I don't know where I want it yet. I know what I want though. It's the celtic peace knot. I've been wanting to get a tattoo for a long time, and I've been thinking about it for years. I wanted something that indicates the struggles I've gone through over the years and how far I've come. The peace knot exemplifies it perfectly. It's all about unity and peace within one's self. Here's a picture: Celtic knot
But I still don't know where to get it yet. Any suggestions?
Shanna, about your tattoo it's absolutely gorgeous. I love it.
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
quote:Originally posted by beatnix19: It is the scots version of the original latin which meant, no one provokes me without impunity.
That would be a very odd motto. I hope you meant to type "with impunity." Posted by beatnix19 (Member # 5836) on :
I did and thank you. It was early when I posted. Although saying, pick on me and I'll do nothing about it is a pretty tough motto, right?
I think I'll go edit now
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
I'm jealous. I want a tattoo, but am more afraid of permanence than almost anything else. If I get one it will be on my leg, so no one would see it unless I go swimming. This is the design that I'm starting with (as is everyone in my family. They'll all be different, but with this basic design. Maybe inversed colors and stylized a bit.)
Y'all's are pretty cool though. If I can ever work up the courage, I'll try to be as cool as you.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
I read an article on CNN which talked about a new ink that is designed to allow a doctor to laser it off in only one short session (as opposed to current inks, which can take many long and painful ones).
Sounds like that may be the way to go with tattoos, at least for us pessimists.
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
Yellow and green are the hardest colours to remove, too. And ankles are the hardest part.
I hope you still love it when you're older and the colours have bled out.
I can't imagine why anyone would get a tattoo. =(
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
I can, though I'm not sure this is the place to start a Hatrack moral pile-on.
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
Nothing moral about it... It's just unblemished skin is so much more beautiful than anything you could possibly draw on it.
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
I've always been a big fan of The Enigma. I mean, if you're gonna do it, go all the way, right?
(also, I saw on a special that his horn implants are made of choral, so the bone in his skull will recognize it as dead bone and replace it with natural calcium, thereby forming actual human bone horns. In the interview, Enigma said his goal is for someone hundreds of years in the future to find his skull and think they uncovered Satan.)
Posted by MattP (Member # 10495) on :
I cannot relate to having that level of confidence in the perpetual pleasure of perceiving a permanent painting on ones person , but I can understand that other people feel differently than I do.
Posted by Artemisia Tridentata (Member # 8746) on :
Lets see. Shanna, if they score the bark all the way arround the limb, does the limb eventually fall off?
Posted by brojack17 (Member # 9189) on :
I just had my first tattoo done as well. And I had a great guy like you explained. He was patient with my many changes and my poicky personality. The end result really is great and I'm really glad I did it.
For those of you curious. It's a rampant lion. with the scots motto "wha Daur Meddle Wi' me?" above it and my name below. The motto basically means, who dares meddle with me. It is the scots version of the original latin which meant, no one provokes me with impunity.
I have the rampant lion on my left leg. I like the highlights in yours. Very nice.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
I'd get a tattoo, if I could conceive of anything on my skin which I would be sure to want there 30 years from now.
I've always thought that the most appealing tattoos to me are ones which commemorate some great achievement you've worked hard for (like getting your black belt in a martial art) or membership in a group you are very proud to belong to (something like the Marine corps).
I've never achieved anything worthy of a tattoo, however, and neither am I a member of anything special.
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
quote:Originally posted by The Pixiest: Nothing moral about it... It's just unblemished skin is so much more beautiful than anything you could possibly draw on it.
But you think it's wrong to have a tattoo for that reason. That would make it a moral question.
Posted by MattP (Member # 10495) on :
quote:But you think it's wrong to have a tattoo for that reason. That would make it a moral question.
Only tangentially. Pixiest appears to hold the position that one should not actively decrease beauty. Most of us probably agree with that position.
Where we differ is in what we consider beautiful, which is an aesthetic measure, not a moral one.
Posted by brojack17 (Member # 9189) on :
quote:Originally posted by Xavier: I'd get a tattoo, if I could conceive of anything on my skin which I would be sure to want there 30 years from now.
I've always thought that the most appealing tattoos to me are ones which commemorate some great achievement you've worked hard for (like getting your black belt in a martial art) or membership in a group you are very proud to belong to (something like the Marine corps).
I've never achieved anything worthy of a tattoo, however, and neither am I a member of anything special.
I deagree X. You have over 4000 posts on Hatrack. I see a tree with light beam coming through it in your future.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:But you think it's wrong to have a tattoo for that reason.
I don't see anything she wrote which indicates this.
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
quote:Originally posted by MattP:
quote:But you think it's wrong to have a tattoo for that reason. That would make it a moral question.
Only tangentially. Pixiest appears to hold the position that one should not actively decrease beauty. Most of us probably agree with that position.
Where we differ is in what we consider beautiful, which is an aesthetic measure, not a moral one.
That seems a reasonable explanation.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
quote:I deagree X. You have over 4000 posts on Hatrack. I see a tree with light beam coming through it in your future.
Not a bad idea!
Posted by Javert Hugo (Member # 3980) on :
If I were to get a tattoo to commemorate anything, it would be to commemorate my mission. *enjoys the irony*
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
The irony is indeed delicious.
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
quote:Originally posted by Xavier: I've always thought that the most appealing tattoos to me are ones which commemorate some great achievement you've worked hard for (like getting your black belt in a martial art) or membership in a group you are very proud to belong to (something like the Marine corps).
The one I have serves as a reminder of a decision I made. As I get older and modify the way that decision influences my life, the tattoo changes as well. It wasn't so much a matter of appeal as something I felt was a necessity; I put my reminder in the one place I can never get away from it.
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
If you want a tattoo.. if you think it's more beautiful than your own, beautiful skin, knock yourself out.
I just don't understand it. There are many many many things people like that I don't understand, but there's nothing immoral about liking stuff I don't like.
Except mushrooms. You've gotta be a sick (expletive) to like mushrooms. Yuck.
Pix
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
quote:Originally posted by Xavier: I'd get a tattoo, if I could conceive of anything on my skin which I would be sure to want there 30 years from now.
I've always thought that the most appealing tattoos to me are ones which commemorate some great achievement you've worked hard for (like getting your black belt in a martial art) or membership in a group you are very proud to belong to (something like the Marine corps).
I've never achieved anything worthy of a tattoo, however, and neither am I a member of anything special.
Mostly agreed, except I have done some stuff that's worthy of commemorating. I just haven't found a design that's unique enough for me to want to permanently want to affix it to my body.
The two tattoo possibilities I'm considering are a small design on the inside of one bicep (that way I can easily keep it private even if I'm at the beach or something), or, if/when I get married, a small band around my ring finger that would be covered by my wedding band.
Assuming I still like that idea at that time and wife likes it too.
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
When the shroompocalypse comes, Pix, you and the children are going first. Posted by MattP (Member # 10495) on :
quote:Except mushrooms. You've gotta be a sick (expletive) to like mushrooms. Yuck.
Now just a minute there...
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
I'm just teasin' guys =) My hubby loves mushrooms and I still love him anyway.
Posted by brojack17 (Member # 9189) on :
Pix,
I don't appreciate the anit-mushroomite tone in your post.
JT, I loved the idea of a wedding band tattoo, until I heard Pamela Anderson had done it. I'm not entirely sure why that now gives it terrible connotations but it does.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:Originally posted by Javert Hugo: If I were to get a tattoo to commemorate anything, it would be to commemorate my mission. *enjoys the irony*
Apparently, it's not uncommon for people who server their missions among the Maoris to do exactly that.
quote:Except mushrooms. You've gotta be a sick (expletive) to like mushrooms. Yuck.
You and my wife. It makes me so sad, because I love them so much.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I don't mind tattoos, though I think big ones tend to be gaudy in the same way that large jewelry is, which is to say, unattractive.
But I go back and forth on whether I'd get one myself. If I ever did, it would be something meaningful, and not just a decoration like a lot of the ones I see on people at work or the few friends of mine that have one. I had an idea before of getting a the Canadian Maple Leaf but with the French tri-color in it, because I'm French Canadian, but then someone told me that white doesn't show up every well like that, so the colors didn't really work out. But now I think if I did do it, I'd either get my family crest, or a fleur de lys.
I just read an article the other day on how laser surgery to remove tattoos is a BOOMING business. Double digits percentage increases eveyr year for the last five years in an industry that didn't really exist before 2000. Currently, it takes multiple surgeries because the lasers target a single pigment at a time, and it's extremely painful, and quite expensive (depends on the size of the tattoo, but even small ones can cost $3K), not to mention they can take weeks and still leave scarring.
But that new ink that someone else mentioned is going to be great. It's designed to be melted away all at once, on a single frequency, where the skin will reabsorb it back into your system and there will be no scarring. It's expected to radically increase the number of tattooed people, which is already a fairly high number of people as a percentage of the population.
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
Yeah, when the new ink becomes available widespread, it may be that final push to finally get some work done.
Posted by brojack17 (Member # 9189) on :
I want to get a barbed wire armband or chinese characters on the back of my neck.
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
quote:Originally posted by brojack17: I want to get a barbed wire armband or chinese characters on the back of my neck.
Go for 馬鹿外人.
Posted by brojack17 (Member # 9189) on :
Does that say I have little... er... feet?
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
Nah, that'd be 小的腳...or 小陰莖 if you're going to dodge euphemisms. Posted by brojack17 (Member # 9189) on :
Stupid Alien, funny.
I hope everyone got that I was joking about the barbed wire and Chinese characters on the back of my neck.
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
I dunno 'bout everyone else, but I did - hence my tongue-in-cheek replies.
Posted by rollainm (Member # 8318) on :
edit: In case anyone's interested, for future reference, it's probably not a good idea to do an image search for "xxx tattoo".
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
The back hair makes that tattoo extra sexy.
-pH
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
Back hair doesn't need a tattoo to make it sexy.
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
I'm relatively hair-free, so I'm thinking I should get a tattoo OF back hair!
Posted by Juxtapose (Member # 8837) on :
I've wanted a tattoo of Escher's Three Worlds for quite a while now. It'd probably cover most of my shoulder and upper left arm. I've been procrastinating because:
1. Money. 2. I'm not sure I have sufficient real estate. 2. Gives me time to mentally revisit the idea to test for suitability.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:Originally posted by El JT de Spang: Back hair doesn't need a tattoo to make it sexy.
I'm set!
Posted by Shanna (Member # 7900) on :
I was surprised to come back from work to discover this thread was on its second page since this morning when it had 7 posts or something.
Just to touch on the subject of beauty, I've never had a problem with body modification. Its nothing I've seen as detracting from a person's beauty. So many of us do it on small levels whether its piercing our ears, dying our hair, tanning, or adding/losing weight. For me, beauty is what I make of it. The body I have is a result of genes I did not ask for. I love my body but at the same time, my inner beauty is more important and therefore, I take a certain level of enjoyment in controlling my appearance. I now have a part of my body that isn't just a collection of untanned skin cells but beautiful artwork which means alot to me.
I think its pretty and as my opinion is the one I have to live with, I'm proud of my choice. Just as I'm proud of people who don't get tattoos. As long as we don't judge each other based on an relative sense of beauty, its all good!
For as long as I suffer from anxiety, this tattoo will give me strength and be a reminder that I am capable of making decisions, being strong and independent. And if I am able to one day overcome my anxiety, then this tattoo will be a reminder of how precious my life is.
Besides, with proper care, I've have seen some OLD tattoos that still look wonderful with the occasional touch-up.
Posted by landybraine (Member # 10807) on :
Shanna, you have completly stated exactly what I feel. Very good post.
((Shanna))
(edited to give hugs...I'm still in a hugging mood )
Posted by brojack17 (Member # 9189) on :
Jux, Plus, that one is rectangular. The tattoo artist would need to make it transition into your body a little better. Not that it's not a great picture, but not all great pictures translate to greate tattoos.
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