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.

Puppet Experience

Hopefully that's a good enough size for everyone. I'm still futzing with Blogger's image uploader. I is not computer savvy.

So yesterday was the big day. I got there early, as I am wont to do, and Russ was still in sketching mode. So I just hung out and was privy to the now infamous Russ Abbott "Hunky Male" calendar. ;) Once the obligatory paperwork, stenciling, and readying was done, it was time to put needle to skin.

It HURT. Not like the usual "this is unpleasant, but I can live with it". It was like slowly wiggle away kind of pain. I managed to keep it together pretty well. I forgot to breathe at some points and then had to refocus. My elbow and the ditch (inside of your elbow) were probably the worst. That's when I started making faces. We took two breaks, which for once I was actually grateful for. I'm still too stubborn to ask for one outright unless I honestly believe I'm going to die. And that's only happened once to date. I think this may win for second most painful after my sides. Goodie.

Russ was great. He would occasionally sing along with the music, which provided a nice momentary distraction. Everything you see in the picture was done in less than 3 hours (it was timed). There's only an hour and a half to two hours of work left, which made me happy. I'm not so much a fan of running around with unfinished tattoos, especially in visible places. However, I don't think it's that obvious that she's incomplete (much like Lucius). Also probably not easily visible in the picture is the amount of detail. Her braids have a ton of detail. Parts of her skirt actually look like fabric. Her nose and mouth also have a lot of soft details that also are probably hard to see. If you see me in person, I'll be more than happy to point them all out. Talent like that doesn't grow on trees, kids.

My second session is at the end of the month (March 31), probably just enough time for me to work up the emotional energy to do it again. I'm sleeping with saran wrap on my arm (per Mark and Shane's suggestion) to help the ditch heal better. It's uncomfortable, but if it means better healing in the long run, I'll suck it up. I only have to do it two more nights. Haven't broken it to the parents yet, but I figure I'll do it soon. They can't exactly talk me out of it. What's done is done. Plus, when I have my arms down by my sides you can only see her hand from the front and part of her skirt from the back. It's not like *BAM* giant tattoo!!

Overall, it was a really positive experience. The whole I&D crew is great and that's probably a reflection on their esteemed leader and proprietor.