So It Goes

Sorry if yesterday's entry didn't make much sense. I was fiddling with some HTML and I'm rather inept at that sort of thing. Oops.

I got an email back from Scott Ellis as I think I mentioned. He liked my pirate pin up idea, but thought having the whole body would make her face too small. I am wondering if I'm asking for trouble tattooing directly on my stomach. I guess everything on my torso and even my feet are at risk if I get pregnant (and I figure I'll probably decide to have one or two of the little monsters eventually). I'm not terribly prone to stretch marks. The ones I got when I gained weight are almost invisible now. I guess I have to weigh how much I want it with how heartbroken I might be if pregnancy screws it up. I assume he would've said something if he thought it was a really terrible idea. He already said the whole body would be a no go, so I figure if he thought my stomach would be an issue, he would've said something. Also, Yelp has been a total godsend during this process. I've looked up all the shops I've contacted people from and they've all got 4.5 or 5 star reviews from at least 5 reviewers. I read over and over again how good Scott was, so that put my mind at ease a bit. Russ also said this was an "all star" convention and that I'd get great work regardless of who I saw.

Sent Jeff another MySpace message. I figure I'll need to keep on these guys to make sure they don't forget about me. I'll see how that goes and if it pans out. I really do like his work and he seemed to think he could do something cool. So I guess we'll see how long it takes him to get back to me.

Also, if I really like my experience with Muriel, I could always get something else done by her when I'm there. :P

As for my issues with possibly attending Memorial's little party, I think if nothing else I'll swing by. If they've got a particularly cute black sheep, I'll put my name on the list. If not, then I guess I'll go on my merry way. I've never been to one of these and it might be fun just to see what the experience is like. I've missed every single one up until now, so I'm pretty determined that I'll at least see what it's like.

Too Many Ideas!

I officially made my appointment with Tim this morning. I talked to his apprentice Zach, who was super nice. He was really helpful. I'm booked as Tim's first appointment on Friday, whenever that is. Neither of us knew when the official start of the convention was, so we decided to just say "first tattoo of the day". It took everything I had not to squeal in the poor kid's ear.

I got replies from two more tattooists, Eva Huber and Thad Ritchey. I emailed Eva back with a few ideas (detailed below) and gave Thad my cell, but haven't heard from him.

Now I have a dilemma. I've decided that I want all the tattoos I get that weekend to have an old school feel to them. Sailor Jerry and Ed Hardy of course being the kings of all things old school, but still awesome. I've already got the geisha booked, so I was browsing for more ideas. I came across this shirt and fell in love. The dragon is also a Japanese motif I can relate to. I was obsessed with dragons as a kid and had a stuffed dragon that I literally loved to pieces. He's currently sitting in the top of my closet so I can resist the urge to snuggle with him. My first thought for placement was going up my spine above my current tattoo and stopping right at the nape of my neck. Then I thought about putting it on my lower stomach between Mae's foot and Ol' Blue Balls. However, I don't think that's going to fit. It's a much smaller space and these guys are fairly detailed. My back may just end up being an incoherent mish mash of everything. And then Russ would cry. I guess a third option would be running up the back of my right thigh, as well.

I also still want a lock tattoo. I'm perfectly happy with the tattoo I got from Kevin, but in the end, I'm still lacking a lock tat. I though it could somehow be worked in with the rose and key I currently have, maybe on the back of my calf or something.

I'm also running into the issue of pieces being coherent and well laid out. The roses on my left foot will look fine with a geisha bust. But how well would a Japanese dragon and two Western style revolvers go together? Should tattoos on the backs of my calves or thighs be a pair? Maybe not, but they should have the same feel to them. I think a cupcake and a peach, both with banners describing my personality and heritage, could work. Or a cupcake and a bell. The right tattooist can give the cupcake the right feel to it.

If I opt for the dragon on my back, the revolvers are going to have to move. Now revolvers and pin up girls, that could work. I'm sure someone with Danielle's talent could keep the feel of the revolvers and wording in the same style as a pair of pin ups. It's a cliche place to have them, but I think in the long run I may be happier. I'm not concerned about it going with the shamrock or Ol' Blue Balls simply because they aren't visible even in a bikini. Let's face it, I wear a bikini once a year whether I need to or not. So it's more what makes the most sense artistically. In all honesty, I would like to stay away from my back. Perhaps just my original idea of "Tough Bitch" and a pair of lip prints on my ass like I started with. Then there's no meshing issues and it's still a tattoo I can be totally happy with.

Enough with the stream of consciousness for now and time to work out. After all, I'm still 7 lbs away from earning the right to have that "Tough Bitch" tat.

Adventures in Tattooing

A few photos from yesterday. They're actually reversed, which is a bit annoying, but whatever.

Jenn and I started at Ink & Dagger. They'd actually already finished talking about her tattoo by the time I got there. We hung out there for about an hour just chatting. I confirmed with Kurt that we'll be finishing Lucius on Friday night. Then it was off to Only You, Danielle's new shop.

We got there early, but that didn't seem to bother any of them. They're all super nice and I'd trust any of them to work on me. It took a while to get the placement perfect because of the banner, but once we got it, it was cake from there. I'd expected a lot more pain, honestly. There were a few spots that stung a little, but overall, it was a very easy experience. Of course, now I can't wear a bra for a few days, but who cares? I don't think the cats mind. So if you're thinking about getting your lower sternum tattooed, it's really not that bad. Just try to keep your breathing even and don't laugh. It was definitely one of the easiest experiences I've had to date, but it's also fairly small. I think it only took her 20-25 minutes to do the whole thing. Ah the joys of small tattoos.

Danielle was also nice enough to let us bounce some ideas off her. I threw out the idea for my tramp stamp and she gave me a lot of things to think about. It could end up being both a slightly cheesy, but really awesome tattoo. Once I think on it more, I may go back to her and have her refine it and ultimately do it. We'll see.

In other news, I contacted Sacred Heart about the convention. The artist I want to work on me said to contact her about a week before the convention so she knows when she'll be working. Her old school work looks solid. I've been thinking of getting a gypsy head and she's got a Medusa head in her portfolio that looks to be about what I'm looking for. If they have a "Bad Tattoo" category in the competitions, I've been informed that I'm entering it with Ol' Blue Balls. Oh my how awesome that could be.

More Ideas

So the idea that I had when my brain was scrambled still makes sense. It also makes sense to other people. I was thinking that the roses may have to be extended further down my arm to look right. Since the puppet (currently Em Jr as both of my inspiration pieces happened to be named Emily) is going to take up more space than I originally anticipated, I think it makes sense to extend the roses in both directions. I feel like it wouldn't look right if the roses only extended up my arm and left the bottom part blank. It's definitely something that needs to be discussed in our group pow wow, whenever that happens. Probably shortly before we get started on Em Jr.

My other idea was for a convention piece. As I've mentioned, I love the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. I though that maybe Russ (or someone else) could do that for me during the convention. I could also place it such that it leaves room to eventually add to it. Alice in Wonderland tattoos are fairly common, but I didn't really see many that focused on the Cheshire Cat. Most of them were larger scenes. Again, something to discuss with Russ (or someone). It'd be cool if Mark and Shane went but I don't think they're going to. I know Shane helped organize it a few years ago, so who knows? I'm just going to keep my eyes peeled.

And that's all for now as I'm falling asleep sitting up and it's back to the grindstone tomorrow. *sigh*

It's All In A Name

I'm thinking of getting my first initial of my surname tattooed on my left ring finger. It'll be a long time before I get married and I kind of like the idea of having something that's uniquely me that will be under something that is both me and my husband. Of course, if I opt for the first letter of my last name, I better hope my husband's name doesn't start with the same letter. Then everyone would think I got his initial tattooed instead of my maiden name. Of course, that could lend itself to some humorous conversations. I probably won't let a concern like that stop me. Statistically, he's just as likely to have the same last name as I have and I won't even change it.

Britney & Christina are doing well. When I showered yesterday morning, the bulk of the scabbing came off. I'm sure the same will be true tomorrow morning, I just have to make sure they're totally dry before applying any lotion. I don't want another round of scabbing. Ew. Pictures should be forthcoming. I'll probably con Mark into taking pictures on Sunday after we've touched up Mae and worked on Butch. I just need to remember to bring my camera. That seems to be the sticking point. So next Sunday may be a big picture post. At least I hope so.