More Pictures

Goinked from Meg aka my personal photographer. Thanks, love!

I'm in pain and having trouble walking, but in love. He's absolutely amazing and there's no two ways about it. I'm ridiculously happy with the results, even if I am starting to develop the nasty scaly scabbing. I figured I wasn't going to dodge that bullet. That would've been too easy. I had to promise everyone that the office that I'd print out the picture so they could see it since I can't exactly go lifting up my skirt or dropping trou at work.

Apparently my spell checker doesn't like the work "goinked". Its loss.

Augusta Tattoo Expo

A huge shout out to Russ and the Ink & Dagger crew, Beth (Russ' wife), Melissa (one of Russ' clients and helper for the day), and Muriel (the adopted I&D artist). They were all amazing and not just because I was stuck with them for 10 hours yesterday. The arena was FREEZING and Beth went out and got me a heating pad and Melissa let me borrow her sweater. The heating pad was really the lifesaver. I was to the point where I was shivering so badly it was affecting the tattoo process. Not good.

Instead of both working on me at the same time, Russ and Muriel switched off for the first 5 hours. So it wasn't any quicker than if I were just being tattooed by one of them. They would pow wow when they switched, so it was interesting insight into how a tattooist's mind works. As Russ said, this is normally stuff inside their heads but they have to communicate it to each other. The toughest part was in hour 6 when they both started working on me. That was definitely a sensory overload experience. For the first time ever, I cried while being tattooed. We took a break around 6.5 hours so I could get it together, eat something, and just power through the end.

They were actually holding the tattoo of the day competition until we were done. I jokingly said it when they pushed it back by an hour the first time, but then the organizer came over and asked when we'd be done so we could enter. I thought that was pretty nice. Of course, from what I heard, there wasn't really much other competition and everyone had taken an interest in the piece. So it would've been silly to hold a tattoo of the day competition without the Russ Abbott and Muriel Zao collaborative piece entered.

As for the convention itself, it wasn't much to write home about. We had a little time to kill before I got tattooed, so we walked around, but there wasn't much of interest. The sound system also wasn't that good, so it was hard to tell what they were saying sometimes. I think at one point they were having $25 piercings and $40 something involving acetate, or at least, that's what we thought we heard. They had food, but it was pretty bad. The pretzels that were supposed to be soft were ridiculously salty and on the hard side. There's a distinct possibility they were left over from the last event.

Overall it took 8.5 hours of tattooing time, we won tattoo of the day, and I will have no problems taking a break after this. It was definitely one of the toughest things I've gone through. It was worth it, as the piece is amazing, and the crown jewel of my collection. Muriel suggested doing a full "sleeve" on my thigh that has a macabre circus theme. Hmmm.

Pictures will appear in Skin & Ink magazine, or so I heard. I'll have to confirm with Sylvia. She got a couple pictures of all of us and then one for winning tattoo of the day. After a good night's sleep and some real food, I'm really glad I did it. The experience was tough, that's for sure, but I made it. I think when I get back into it, short tattoos are in my future. ;)

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

Oh My God, I am getting the coolest tattoo ever.

They didn't have anything on paper yet, which was fine. I instead got the verbal tour of their idea. For those who have seen The Prestige, I'll be getting a magician very much like Hugh Jackman's character. For those who haven't, he's going to be a Victorian era magician with the tux and mustache. Muriel assured me that he would be "sexy". Rock on. Instead of a rabbit coming out of the hat, it's going to be this tentacle type thing that Muriel is apparently known for. The feel is going to be gothic and creepy, which is pretty much perfect.

Russ is starting to creep me out with how well he picked it. I was obsessed with magic when I was younger. Rannie and I even did a "messed up" magic show for the talent show in 4th grade. It's always been something that fascinates me, so it's pretty damn perfect that I'll have a magician of my very own. Maybe he can make my ass smaller. :P

I honestly haven't thought about it much since I've been dealing with all this work drama, but when I heard the design, I was so excited. If it comes out the way I'm seeing it my head, and it probably will and more, it could very likely become my favorite tattoo. Now I'm even more excited for the photo shoot as well. This is going to be an awesome piece to highlight. Plus, I'm way prettier than their last 3 cover girls, give or take.

Meg will be tagging along to document, so keep your eyes peeled for a Facebook album and highlights posted here. Hopefully I'll also have a "tattoo of the day" trophy to show off.

Collaborations

After some serious thought and talking with a few people who truly "get" my obsession, I'll be getting a collaborative tattoo from Russ and Muriel. For those who don't know, it's when two tattooists are tattooing at the same time on the same piece. They usually also share in the design process. It's a way to get a large piece done in half the time. I called today to confirm and Russ, by way of Jason (?) was all for it and said I was awesome. He was tattooing so I just let him know that I was in and would be by to meet with both of them shortly before this goes down.

When I originally asked about it, he said they got to pick the design, I'd only be on the hook for one of their hourly rates, and it would probably take 5-6 hours. Placement will most likely be the front of my right thigh. Now I think he's open to my input on what I want it to be. Crap. That means I have to think! I trust them both, so I didn't much care what they picked, as nuts as that sounds. I have so many ideas, I don't know what would look good on that large of a canvas. This is an opportunity to do something big and visually stunning. And all on display for other convention goers.

Downside is the convention is in Augusta, so I'm going to have to drive 2+ hours one way. The harder part will be explaining this to my parents. I'm less nervous about it now than I was when I made the decision, but I can't just disappear for a day or so. The good news is, if I don't feel like driving back on Saturday night, I can crash at my grandparents' house for the night. They'd probably be happy to see me. That will all be hashed out sometime this week. Daddums is the tougher critic, so I'll deal with him first. I'm half expecting him to say he'd rather do the driving to and from. I can see him at a tattoo convention now. LOL

So that's my big news and will be my final tattoo until September. Yikes! At least I'm going out with a bang before my hiatus. ;)

It's Official

So much has happened today.

After feeling almost frustrated for choice with all the tattooists who are attending, I decided to call Russ and get his advice. I figured he'd know a fair number of the attendees and be able to point me in the right direction. Firstly, we discussed my desire to be tattooed by Muriel. I told him I hadn't heard back from her yet so he gave me her number. He also gave me a list of about 5 guys who I should talk to. I picked the first guy he suggested Jeff Ensminger and the guy he said he knew somewhat well Matt "Skinny" Bagwell. But before I get to them, I called Muriel.

She is super, super nice. She said she'd gotten my email, but hadn't replied yet. So I told her to ignore it since I'd changed my mind. We batted around a few ideas and decided on an iron work inspired 1/4 sleeve around Lucy that fades into cherry blossoms on the back of my shoulder. Since I'm looking to go more traditional Japanese on my back, I figured the cherry blossoms would flow the best. We talked for a good 10 minutes and I'll be seeing her in person when she gets into town. That way she can see what she has to work with and then set up an official appointment. I'm really excited to work with her.

After that, I shot Jeff an email and then got the number for the shop Matt/Skinny works at. He was tattooing, but one of the other guys helped me out by playing middle man. I decided to give him the dragon. I described what I wanted and he requested a picture of my back to see what's currently there and my height. I ended up taking this vaguely soft core porn shot of my back as no one else could do it. I think it still gives the idea, though. So I guess I'll hear back from him in a day or so once he's had time to look at the pictures and source material.

So everything is booked. There was some drama over my flight, but in the end I only ended up paying $36 out of pocket. Sweet! I just have to fly out about 4 hours earlier than I originally planned. I'll get in around 2 and check in isn't until 4, so maybe I'll just explore for a few hours. I think they said something about a shuttle to the mall and I know they'll hold my bags until check in time. Maybe I can ask if I can lay out by the pool before I'm officially checked in. ;) That means I'll be there well in time for the meet and greet at 8. Yay!

Hell City Bound

HUGE NEWS!!

Through a series of site jumps from Ink & Dagger (shameless plug), I ended up looking at Hell City Tattoo Fest in Phoenix. They have the flagship convention in Columbus, OH at the end of the month and then the Phoenix event over Labor Day weekend. I was thinking of taking a vacation by myself this year and the tagline for the Phoenix event was "Tattoo Vacation". A sign, mayhaps?

There was the small matter of money. I knew I was getting a nice tax refund, but we filed right at the deadline, so I figured I wouldn't see it for 6-8 weeks. Lo and behold, I come home and my Fed refund is in today's mail. Sweet! So once that gets deposited, I'm booking my flight and hotel for Phoenix.

As for the matter of being tattooed, there are tons of talented artists. One will actually be guesting at Ink & Dagger at the beginning of June. I emailed her on Sunday about doing some work while she's in town, but haven't heard back. If I don't hear back from her before she's in town, I'm gonna call the shop when she gets in and set something up. She'll also be at both Hell City events. So if I like her and she likes me, maybe I can go ahead and book time with her for Phoenix.

There are tons of others I'm interested in, but I've only sent emails to two of them. One I got a form email back thanking me for my interest. He's one of the organizers, so I doubt I'll get in with him. Though, I got in with Russ so stranger things have happened. I also emailed a guy from Austin. I'm gonna send more out today to others I was interested in. I have several ideas that I think are ideal "convention pieces". They are:

*A cupcake with devil horns and a spaded tail. Possibly a banner that says "Devilishly Good"
*A peach with a banner that says "Dirty" (my take on a Dirty South tat since I am a GA girl)
*An Ed Hardy inspired piece, right now I'm between a geisha and a flower inspired by this bag.
*Something that uses the text "No Love Lost"

Russ will be attending so if he's there when I next find myself there, I fully intend to pick his brain. Plus, they have a "worst tattoo" category in the competitions, so I may have to enter Ol' Blue Balls and see how we do. This could get interesting.

Now time to email more tattooists and see who wants to tattoo me.