I have been wanting a tattoo for many years. I recently got even more serious about it, and today I walked into Texas Tattoo Emporium and got one!!!
I had been in there many times, looking at their work and looking at the artwork. The tattoo artist, Jessica, combined two designs into one that worked for me.
I got a small one, about 2 inches in diameter on my shoulder. I’m a Scorpio, and I got a blue stylized scorpion with a red rose in its claw.
It is so cool!!! It hurt like a bitch, too. Stung like she was cutting me with a sharp knife, but it only took about twenty minutes.
I can’t wait until my sweetie gets home to show him! He knew I wanted one, but I just got a wild hair and went for it.
Finished a sleeve (wrist to shoulder) about a year back. It took considerably longer then 20 minutes, like every Saturday for about 3 1/2 months, and armpits and elbows were the worst. I need to get a picture up though, because it’s about the sweetest tattoo known to man.
Thanks! The girl who did mine had a sleeve, too. It was nice, but there is no way I could sit through that. She said the outline took about 9 hours, all in one sitting. After that she did sessions of 4-6 hours.
I have the Chinese Kanji for “sword” on the back of my neck. It’s about 1 1/2" x 2" - very pretty brush script style. I got it done at “In the Skin” in Pasadena on the recommendation of a friend who had some neat colorwork done there.
Well, you’ve probably heard the stories of how getting a tattoo is this incredibly painful process, and you might think the back of the neck to be a very sensitive area and go OUCH- that must’ve hurt like a bitch! upon hearing that I had one done there. But the experience couldn’t have been more opposite. I’m one of those slightly masochistic people that gets pierced or tattooed as a means of catharsis and pleasure. I LOVE being under the needle. Even the smell when I walk into a (clean) mod shop is intoxicating.
So when I had the tat done, I was straddling a chair with my chin leaning on top of the backrest, completely relaxed. The needlework began and I slipped into this enveloping meditative state, and I was so comfortable that I actually fell asleep for a few minutes! It was nirvana, it was bliss, and I was sorry when it was over.
So welcome to the club, and be warned: tattoing and piercing is addicting! I need to get my piercer to teach me how to play-pierce safely, since I’m running out of permanent mods I actually want to keep on my body!
The two on the back of my wrists (both simple lines - crescent moon on right wrist, wierd starburst design on the left) were both really quick. It took longer to draw them up, since I’m so picky.
The first tat I got is on my left breast. It’s a black dragon with blue flames, all very simple. No shading on the dragon, just flat, straight black. One foot rests on my sternum, and THAT hurt. And since it has a lot of black, he had to go over some places repetedly, sometimes in lines, sometimes kinda swirling. Hated the swirling. Felt like it was gonna dig into bone. But it was worth it.
On my lower back, I have two snakes entwined together with a single tail with some words on either side. The text and right over my spine made my eyes water, and I got too close to passing out, which made me feel really lame. But they had glucose or something tablets that were like big Smarties that made me feel better. Beautiful work, with shading and stuff.
I have another design in works that’s gonna cost about $1,200, that I’ll probably do in 1hr/mo for a year. It goes elbow from elbow, across my back, and up my neck. The design is a dark Oriental dragon wrapping around my right arm up to my shoulder blade, a pale one on the left, and they’re breathing out a pheonix that goes across my shoulders and up my neck. The tat artist is really good (award-winning) so I’m ognna give him artistic license on the details of it all, since I know he’ll do a good job.
But that one’ll hafta wait until after I get my expensive snake this year.
I actually made the design for my sleeve, and my tattoo guy who I’ve known for years crumpled up the paper and threw it in the garbage. He said “I know what you really want”, and freestyled it up on the fly.
It came out 50,00 times better then I could have imagined.
Welcome to the tattooed club.
Let us know when you get your second.
Like Yamirskoonir said, it is very addictive. Horseflesh and I recently ( well, October 26th ) got new tattoos together. I believe he may have a link to the pics somewhere.
I got my first one a few months back. There’s a thread about in in IMHO somewhere, too lazy to link. I thought being under the needle was rather pleasurable myself, but maybe that’s just me.
I plan on getting a coiled, colored dragon on my left shoulder blade next time, but I dunno when that’s going to be. Still looking for the perfect dragon.
I have a 9 ball on my right hip. Tasteful, small, very cute. I am now looking to get a second one. On my left shoulder, maybe. I’m torn between getting this one, which is dainty and pretty and sweet, and this dragon which I think is just wicked. Maybe in green, tho.
