Category: Tattoos

Tattoo Tuesday – AM Schultz

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle2 Comments

Yes! Finally the man, the myth (what?), the legend has graced the pages of Sydney Aaliyah with his witty and evasive words of wisdom.

*Did I over sell it? No, I think I’m still good.

Ok, so without further ado, please welcome A.M. Schultz to Tattoo Tuesday:

1. How old where you when you got your first tattoo?

Age is a number. Sometimes I feel 20, sometimes I feel 40. 
That said, I got my first tattoo in October of 2008. I was old enough to
drink, but not old enough to rent a car. 
 

2. What made you want to get your first tattoo?

I was young and wanted some ink. I was going through a bit of a
“jaded-youth” stage, and was brimming with testosterone, libido, and
post-teenage angst. I lived on a diet of creatine and protein shakes, and
figured a tattoo was the next logical progression in my
“douchebadassness.” Really, it was for all the wrong reasons.
 
MMA was starting to become popular and I was seeing a lot of guys get
nautical stars on their chest. I liked the whole “human as lost ship
finding its way in the night” philosophy behind them, so I got them.
 
Unfortunately, because I might as well have been auditioning for a role on
The Jersey Shore at the time and had been GTL’ing pretty hard, I strolled
into the shop with this huge barrel chest and the stars tends to float in
their own wave of muscular inflation and deflation, depending on my
commitment to superficiality at any given time.

3. How many tattoos do you have?

As of right now, only these two. I intend on getting more, but have
intended on getting more for the past four years.
I had “settled down” for a few years, though, and “settled” men don’t
really need to go sit in the chair or live at the gym, so my journey has
been a bit protracted…
Now that I am “unsettled” — which would sound awful if I wasn’t trying to
pass myself off as a writer — I am free to go get all inky.

4. What is your tattoo story? If you have more then one tattoo, tell me your most recent or your favorite tattoo.

It’s not as deep or introspective as I’d like. I had wanted a sleeve done
that would interweave the major world religions, but never had the right
combination of time/money. I will have to revisit Tattoo Tuesday after my
next session. 🙂
 

5. Tattoos on a significant other, like or dislike? Why?

Absolutely. I appreciate art and expression and creativity, and a tattoo
can be a great indicator of some combination of the three.
 

And there you have it, from the creator of Headspit himself.

Make sure you are following A.M.:
Twitter:  @am-sch
Blog:  Headspit

And, check out his debut novel, Ring Girl available in January 2013.

Tattoo Tuesday – Tyler Wiechman

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah MichelleLeave a comment

Please join me in welcoming Tyler Wiechman.  

No, your eyes are do not deceive you.  It is the web slinger himself tattooed on Tyler’s arm.

Sing it with me:  Spider man, Spider man, Does whatever a spider can. Spins a web, any size, Catches thieves just like flies.  Look Out! Here come the Spiderman.

Ok, now that I got that out of my system, read on to learn what inspires Tyler’s ink.   Tyler makes his favorite action heroes look so cool.  

5 Questions

1.  How old were you when you got your first tattoo?

16

2.  What made you want to get your first tattoo?

Religion–I’m no longer religious and actually the current sleeve is covering up my first tattoo

3.  How many tattoos do you have?

8

4.  What is your tattoo story?  If you have more then one tattoo, tell me about your first or your favorite?

I don’t have a specific tattoo story, but the story behind the current sleeve is my love of marvel comics and how I’ve been inspired as a fiction writer, by many of the characters throughout that universe.  Some of my other tattoos symbolize my love of music, the loss of friends, my love of writing, and other fun geeky things (like star wars!)

5.  Tattoos on a significant other, like or dislike? Why?

It depends on the girl (and the ink for that matter).  A good girl with some good ink is pretty awesome.  Poor artwork and sloppy coloring is just disappointing.

Twitter:  @twiechman

Blog:  twiechman.wordpress.com

Related Blog:  Tyler has some background work done on the two tattoos shown above.    Check it out.

If you would like to be featured on Tattoo Tuesday, let me know in the comments below.

Tattoo Tuesday – D. Savannah

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle3 Comments

D. Savannah is such a creative soul.  And, when she shared with me her tattoo story, I had to share it with you.  Ironically, today is the anniversary of her marriage to her now ex-husband.  Read on and experience the irony.

Thanks for sharing D. Savannah.

My Tattoo

By D. Savannah George

1.  How old were you when you got your first tattoo? 
29 ½.
2.  What made you want to get your first tattoo?
My (now ex-) husband had always wanted to get a tattoo, but his mother had been firmly against it. She even burst into tears at the sight of a fake, temporary tattoo he’d put on his arm or something.  So, when he turned 30, he decided it was high time he got a tattoo, because, after all, 30 is practically grown-up, right?
I had never had any interest in getting ink. I got my first while he got his first. His took 3o minutes. Mine took two and a half hours.
3.  How many tattoos do you have?
I have seven (in order of getting them): wolf howling at the moon, Native American design, right stomach; Japanese Kanji for courage, left shoulder; turtle with the universe in its belly, right lower back; infinity symbol with a turtle, left hip; tree of life, right shoulder; feather with quill and birds, left shoulder (around kanji); “Open a vein”, right wrist.
4.  What is your tattoo story? If you have more then one tattoo, tell me your most recent or your favorite tattoo. 
I got my second tattoo when I got divorced. I got my third when I moved to the ocean. I got the fourth when I remarried. The last three have to do with my art and writing. If I start at the first one, and go on to the 7th in order, they circle my body, like invisible rings. They are all, except for the first two, original. (My idea, someone else’s actual drawing.)
My tattoos are the story of my life. I like that people wouldn’t know I have tattoos unless I show them – they are all (except the one on my wrist) easily hidden with clothes. But I also like that I can show off the three on my shoulders if I want to. (I have to drop trou to show the other three.) (Which I’ll gladly do, if you ask nicely enough.)
My favorite has got to be #6. My artist (who also did #5) free-handed it on my back, and it surrounds #2. It also feels the most “me” (whatever that means).
I had no idea tattoos were so addicting! But I promised my (current) husband I’d stop at seven, so I guess I will.
5.  Tattoos on a significant other, like or dislike?  Why?  
Like, obviously. Ironically, my ex-husband’s current wife has none, and my husband has none, and I’m pretty sure he just tolerates them on me. Also, my ex-husband only has three tattoos, while I have seven.
BIO
D. Savannah George has a tendency to be verbose, so writing short blog posts is good exercise for her brain. She is a multi-disciplinary artist – she writes, paints, crochets, takes photographs, and makes beaded jewelry, bookmarks, and notecards. She has published several short stories and a number of poems, as well as numerous articles in various newspapers and magazines, and has won several awards for her writing. Her first book, A Spicy Secret, #22 in the Annie’s Attic Mystery Series, will be released in January 2013. She also serves as a book editor for authors and several small publishers.
 
If you want to find out more about D. Savannah George, visit her at:
www.dsavannah.com
www.dsavannah.com/blog/
twitter: @dSavannahcreate

The feather quill with the birds is absolutely beautiful.  Thanks again D. for participating in Tattoo Tuesday.  

If you want to share your tattoo story.  Let me know in the comments. 

 

Tattoo Tuesday – My Friend Convinced me to Get a Tattoo

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle10 Comments
Marvin by Tom Armstrong – How cute does Marvin look with that bone on his back? haha

No one had to convince me to get a tattoo because, well, I have wanted one for as long as I can remember. But, over the years, I have convinced two friends to get tattoos.  So, I asked them recently, how did you let me talk you into getting a tattoo?

Friend #1 – The week I returned home after law school, I wanted to get a tattoo to commemorate the occasion. This was tattoo #2 and I had such a great experience with tattoo #1, I wanted to share this one with someone.  Cue my work friend that had turned into one of my closest friends.  It really didn’t take much convincing, but I recall before this occasion we had never had one conversation about tattoos prior to this day.  So, how did I convince her?  She said I was so excited about sharing the experience with her she didn’t have the heart to say no she didn’t want one.  Now, how is that for friendship. She ended up getting a connected female/male symbol on her lower stomach.  She didn’t regret it and we have this great memory to share.

Friend #2 – Tattoo #3 is my favorite and I got it from Gabe Shum at Ace Dragon Tattoo in Hong Kong. Brilliant tattoo artist by the way. If you want a dragon, he is the go to guy. My friend’s boyfriend and I were going to get tattoos.  He had one already and wanted to get a dragon on her upper arm. Now, my friend is the type of person I though would never get a tattoo. I realize now that you can’t assume that about anyone.  She sat and watch her boyfriend and I talk about and plan and schedule our tattoos for months.  (Gabe usually has a waiting list). She went with us to the tattoo shop.  Her boyfriend gets his tattoo and then I get mine.  The entire time, I am telling her to go ahead get one.  And telling her what a bad ass she would be if she had a tattoo. As we were wrapping my tattoo up, she decides to get one. A small dragon on her lower stomach.  Seems to be the place for spur of the moment tattoos. She said, she saw how excited we were about our tattoos, she wanted to experience it herself. Now, she wants to get an entire back piece.  We created a monster.

One of my favorite episodes of Friends is when Phoebe convinces Rachel to get a tattoo with her.  Phoebe decided to get a Lily, “For my mom because her name is Lily.” Later at the shop, Rachel get her heart shape tattoo on her hip.  Then, when Rachel asked to see Phoebe’s tattoo, she didn’t get it.  “The guy came in with needles and did you know they do this with needles.” and  then Rachel replies, “Really, you don’t say because mine was licked on by kittens.”

After getting her back in the chair, the artist touched Phoebe once and she jump out of the chair and left.  In sharing the story with the “friends” later, she says “For your information, this is exactly what I wanted. This is a tattoo of the earth as seen from a great great distance.  It’s the way my mother sees me from heaven.” Cue the aahh track.

Needless to say, you should get a tattoo for yourself, but getting a tattoo with friends can be a great  bonding experience.  But, please make sure you want one the tattoo in the first place. As you know, they are permanent.

I am still taking submissions for tattoo stories.  If you would like to be a part of Tattoo Tuesday, let me know in the comments. 

Tattoo Tuesday – I don’t like my tattoo.

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle14 Comments
Marvin by Tom Armstrong

I know how Marvin feels.  I didn’t like one of my tattoo’s, either.  I had a great idea and a unique image reference, but my tattoo artist couldn’t quite capture my vision.

The tattoo didn’t turn out the way I wanted.

So, I had a few options.  I could have pouted and cried, threatened and accused, or criticized and complained.

And, I did a little bit of all that.  But in the end, I realized it was my tattoo. No one else’s. So, I could either cut my wrist off or I could learn to love it.  The former wasn’t a viable option.  Especially for a writer, I kind of need my hand.

I talked to the original artist and between of the two of us, we came up with a way to covered part of the bad tattoo with another image and still keep the same story and created a better tattoo.

It still isn’t perfect. But, I learned to love my tattoo.

If you get a tattoo and you don’t like it, there are options besides self mutilation (yeah, I get the irony of that statement considering some people think tattoos are a form of body mutilation):

  • If you don’t like your tattoo or it didn’t turn out the way you envisioned, say something to your tattoo artist.  If he is good, he will change it or adjust it to make sure you are happy leaving his shop.  His reputation is on the line.
  • Go to another artist and see if they have any ideas on how to change it or improve it.  Fresh eyes may be the key to creating something good our of something bad.
  • Cover it up by incorporating it into a larger piece (not an option for my wrist tattoo, I have no more skin surface).
  • Live with it. Your tattoo may not be perfect, but it is uniquely yours.  And, it doesn’t change the story behind why you got the tattoo in the first place.

Do you have a tattoo you’re not 100% happy with?  What did you do about?

Related post:  My wrist tattoo redux.