Tattoo Odyssey

So to start out this post I thought I'd give you a little list so you could better understand my journey to this point of ginourmous tattoo on my back. Then its time for the good stuff: the pictures!

Stages of getting a tattoo:
I really really want this............................... 1 year
Do I really want this?.................................. 1 month
Hey I got a tax bonus! I want a tattoo!
Now! ............................................................. 1 week
Yay I have an appointment!
In 1 month ):{ ......................................... 1 month
Outline:
Ow this kinda hurts! .................................. 1.5 hours
Hey this kinda itches! ................................ 2 days
and its peeling! black bits! ........................ 2 days
Oh look, all better
Fill in:
Ow this kinda hurts! ................................. 30 mins
No, this Really HURTS! ........................... 2 hours
Yuck this feels like a bad sunburn .......... 5 days
Hey this itches! Itches like hell! ............. 2 days
(overlaps with the pain -- how is that possible??)
OK, enough of this, it still itches ............. 2 days
and its peeling! lots of black bits! ........... 4 days
(overlaps with itching)
Finally, I think its healed ........................ 8 days post fill in session

And for those who think that the fill in is less pain than the outline, I can assure you its not true. 2.5 hours of pure pain cannot even compare to the the outline. I'm now convinced that I could probably handle getting shot (note: I do NOT want to though) and childbirth. At least then they could give you pain meds. There were no pain meds involved in this b/c most of them thin your blood. Which makes you Bleed. Bleeding is not good b/c then your skin wont absorb the ink and you'll have to go back for more touch-ups. As it is having an all black tattoo requires a minimum of 1 touch-up session. Joy. BUT it was all def worth it. I think it looks amazing and I love it.
And now, for the fun stuff. Pictures.

First, the Outline.
Here is the "Before" shot with my crappy little blobby dolphin tattoo. (Yes, the picture is in focus, the tattoo is not though)



Cool mirror shot
Making the "ouch" face
Looking oddly serene
Halfway through the outline


Close-up of the outline in progress



Outline is done. All bandaged up and ready to go. (Yes that is blood).

Here is the finished outline before the peeling began. The ointment makes it shiny.

And now the Fill In



Close up of red swollen -ness

At this point, I made him take a break b/c I was feeling woozy and needed a snack. So Ariel snapped a picture.
Here I am thinking its all done (b/c he cleaned it) but not wanting to get up b/c of the pain.
There are no pictures of him touching up spots while I was standing. Trust me that is was intense and horrible.


And here is the final picture after all the itching and peeling.
Taa-daaa!



Its beautiful. Well, I think so anyway and that's what matters since its my back. (:{
I have to say throughout it all my artist, Andrew, was a class act. A perfectionist through and through. Everyone that I dealt with at Fat Ram's Pumpkin Tattoo over in Jamaica Plain was great and I would definitely recommend that studio, and of course my artist, Andrew, to anyone. If you are like me and dont want to wait a year to get in to see the famous owner, Ram himself, then go see Andrew. His custom work is great as well. He also didn't freak out when I decided after the outline that I wanted to tweak parts of the design. Its going to be on my back for the rest of my life so of course he wants me to be happy with it.
Well now this has become a super long post, so I think its time to end it. There may be more about this in a couple months after the required touch-up. And I can assure you I am not looking forward to that. But, it must be done.
Edit: in case anyone is wondering, its a tribal design based off of the luna moth

Weds Blog Challenge: Fav Things

Yesterday's Blog Challenge was a list of your favourite things, Oprah Style. As in, things that people could actually go out and buy not metaphorical things or people. So here it is.

1. Creative Zen V Plus 8gb player. This little guy is amazing! Its about the size of 2 books of matches and its a beast. Fits in my pocket, has loads of great features, great music quality, can handle my clumsy life, all around winner.

2. Peanut Butter. Trader Joes and Nature Promise (Stop and Shop organic brand) are my two winners. Both are just peanuts so no migraines from preservatives for me. And they taste great. Considering PB has been my lunch of choice for almost 20 years I honestly couldn't live w/out these two products!

3. Issey Miyake L'eau D'Issey Eau de parfum for women. Doesn't give me migraines -- which is huge considering soooo many perfumes do. And it matches my chemistry and smells great on me. Its understated too, wont overpower the sense of smell of those standing near me.

4. Oil of Olay Sensitive daily moisturizer. My mother uses this so I've always used it too. For awhile I tried other stuff just to make sure and always keep coming back to this. Its a perfect light moisturizer that doesn't make me break out.

5. Yarn. Yes, its low on the list. Too bad. (:{ I still love it.

6. DVR. Sad, I know. But I have to admit that being able to record shows and watching them at a later time is amazing. No more do I have to worry about making it home on time. And I dont have to watch commercials either. And being able to pause live tv to use the bathroom or see instant replays of things i missed is awesome too.

7. Asics running shoes. Simply the best. Ever. The end.

8. Teva sandals in the summer and my Naot black boots in the winter.

9. My digital camera: Cannon Powershot SD700 IS Digital Elph. Love it. Maybe too much.

10. National Geographic Magazine. I dont get to read it as often as I would like but even getting it just to look at the amazing pictures makes me happy. Every month. So wonderful.

And I think I'll end it there. Ten is a good number. Besides, If I keep going its not really a list of favourites anymore, just stuff I like. (:{

Stay tuned: next time: my tattoo odyssey. I promise!

Since I've Been Gone 2: FO: Ceramics

Ok, well since I couldn't get these pictures or this post to look anything like I wanted to I'm just going to do it this way.
Pretty annoyed at this point and so I think I'll skip the drawn out commentary. I'll just say that the top 8 pictures are from a soda fire and the bottom 5 are from a reduction kiln. Several of the glazes are the same, they just come out looking different on different stoneware types (I use both brown and white stoneware) and different positions in the kilns also give different effects for the same glaze. I'm not very happy with the results of the soda fire, luckily there is another one at the end of this week so I can redeem myself. I am however, very happy with the glaze results of the reduction kiln. Especially since reduction kilns can be so unpredictable.

Since I've Been Gone 1

Well, it was quite awhile ago, and it has nothing to do with knitting, but I did go berry picking with Ariel, and co-workers Liz and Andreas. I got a Zipcar and drove us up to Russell Orchards in Ipswich, MA. It would have been totally awesome if it wasn't greenhead season. We had no idea until we got to the blueberry patch and started getting attacked that July is nasty fly biting season up there. Oh and the mosquitoes were out in full force in the daylight as well! After picking blueberries and raspberries we left the bug filled fields for the petting zoo and winery. We had a wine tasting -- the orchard has its own winery and its very good stuff! I bought a whole case. Then we ate some freshly made ice cream and apple cider donuts for lunch and were off in search of a bug free beach. We ended up on Plum Island until it rained and we were forced out of the sun and fun.
Here are some black raspberries to feast your eyes on. And yes, they are delicious.


Above is a neato rooster that was wandering around the farm.
Below is Ariel and Andreas feeding the crazy sheep.





Above is my friend the crazy turkey. He decided that he liked me and followed me around for about 30 mins as we wandered around.
Below is me feeding some sheep while the crazy turkey watches.



Up next: FO ceramics and my tattoo odyssey.

Craft meme

I know, I've been away forever. But I have a good excuse (Really, I do!) and soon (as in at some point soon when I have freetime at home and not at work) I'll post a complete abbreviated update with pictures!
But for now I'll steal a kewl meme I saw on Grumperina's blog and tag all my friends (Anne, Alexis, Amanda, Ariel, Catherine) only b/c I am interested in seeing what they have to say!

So here are my limits on creative pursuits
in order of things i do most often and/or importance

4. Love it! This is my thing
Knitting, ceramics (throwing and hand building functional objects), photography (both digital and old school), necklace making, baking, ceramic bead making, beading, card making, clay sculpture, indoor gardening

3. I do, or have dabbled in it
Crocheting, sewing, stamping, felting, cooking, drawing, painting, yarn dyeing, found object sculpture, toy making, decoupage

2. I'll give it a try
designing / pattern writing for knitting, etching, glass etching, soap making, glass blowing, calligraphy, book binding, wood carving, shibori, sock monkey making, quilting, metal smithing (for jewelry purposes)

1. I've got absolutely no interest
basket weaving, rug hooking (tried it, not for me), origami (tried it), spinning, singing (I'm tone deaf and just plain bad), playing a musical instrument (again, tone deaf and piss poor -- tried the cello, teacher told me to find other creative pursuits), acting, cross-stitch, graphic design, scrapbooking, tatting, creative writing, embriodery, floral arrangement, furniture making

I think that about covers it. Well at least of things that I can think of off the top of my head. Considering all the arts and crafts I do regularly (I knit and throw at least once a week) its no surprise to me that my "want to try" list is shorter than the "no interest."