Tattoo Tuesday, V.3

Hi everyone! Welcome to the third edition of Tattoo Tuesday. I am loving this feature so much, and I'm glad you're enjoying it too. Thank you for stopping by to read my blog! Today I am pleased to feature two of the loveliest ladies I have the pleasure of knowing, Holly and Brittney. First up, the lovely Holly!



Name: Holly (Hollysarah) Neufeld, and my blog is {create*loves} http://createloves.blogspot.com.

Tattoo/location: girl with camera on upper right arm

Artist/shop/location: Zara Leaf at Metamorphosis in Winnipeg, Manitoba. (she has since moved to Edmonton *sad face*)

1) Tell us about the tattoo you are sharing with us- is there a background story or special meaning? Why did you choose this particular piece of art?

I want my tattoos to be reflective of my personality, and so I this one to show my creative side, and also because I love Elsie's girl designs *so* much. They're my all time favorite illustrations of hers, and I knew I wanted a tattoo of one. The girl is wearing a camera, and a headband, because they are both things I love. This girl is not meant to represent 'me', but the loves that I have. Elsie designed her for me, and I took a few different sketches to Zara and she worked her magic as well. So it's a collaboration of designs, and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. I chose this particular artwork simply because.... I love it and I think it's cute!

2) Do you have any other tattoos? If so, what do you have and where?

I have 3 other tattoos. I have a plumeria flower on the inside of my left forearm, which is sort of a Hawaiian honeymoon memoir. I have the inside of my upper right arm tattooed with 2 swallows, nautical stars, and a banner that reads "Loves", and a bow on my right shoulder.

3) Do you plan on getting more?

Yes, I would love love to:

-finish my right half sleeve

-chest piece (hopefully this year)

-right knuckles

-cover up the plumeria flower with more of them (more realistic looking ones)

I love tattoos and I love getting them, so who knows how many I'll get in the future. ;)

4) How do your family and friends feel about your tattoo(s)? Have you run into any adversity or negativity because of them?

My mom was a little weirded out when she found out I was getting a tattoo, but now she likes them. My other family members that don't like them usually keep their opinions to themselves, even though I know they don't 'approve'. Ryan has a tattoo as well, but I don't think he has the desire for any others. He likes my tattoos but doesn't really have a strong opinion about them in either direction. I don't get a tattoo worrying about what others think. I know my friends/family will still accept me just the same, with or without ink. :)

5) Any advice for those interested in getting tattooed but haven't gotten one yet?

Don't just "walk in" for an appt.... that's what I did for my first one, and that's the one I want covered up. I still like it a lot, but I just think it could look better. Make sure you do your research, and check out artist's portfolios before making an appt. For my girl tattoo, I knew that it was a very "graphic" design, in the way that it had bold lines, so when I was looking for an artist, I looked for someone who was good at bold lines, and cartoon-like illustrated figures. I found Zara and knew she would be perfect for the design I wanted.

Also, plan ahead. In manitoba, the tattooing industry is taken very seriously, and a lot of the time, you need to be on a waiting list for a talented artist. I waited more than half a year for 2 of my tattoos, after making a deposit and approving artwork from the artist during the consult. The way I see it, if you are sure of what you want, then it's worth the wait in the long run, and worth the investment. Tattoo artists in my area charge around $150 per hour, so it's something that requires thought and planning.

A lot of people also ask me if I think getting tattooed hurts. I wouldn't use the word 'hurt', I strangely enjoy the feeling of getting tattooed quite a bit! For longer sessions, the body has to work a little harder at handling it, for example, with my girl tattoo I was doing great up until about 5 hours and then it became difficult to enjoy it.

Lastly, I feel that tattoos should be fun and beautiful, so get them for YOU and love them because they reflect who you are and things that you love. :) XO holly

Our next beautiful tattooed lovely is my friend Ms. Brittney Reyes!



Name: Brittney, of obabycakes (http://obabycakes.blogspot.com/)

Tattoo/location: man from an old picture during the early 1900's

Artist/shop/location: Cris Cleen from spider murphy's tattoo

1) Tell us about the tattoo you are sharing with us- is there a background story or special meaning? Why did you choose this particular piece of art?

This is one of my favorite pieces. It is a man from an old picture during the early 1900's. When I look at this man I think about him traveling around the world, writing love letters to his wife. Many of my pieces are centered around love; enduring love that lasted decades and wars and distance. We live in a day and age where text message, emails, and comments are the major forms of communication, it is all so impersonal now! I find hand written letters to be one of the most intimate forms of expression. To immortalize these ideas on my body is a sort of preservation. To think that one day society could find an appreciation for this, or revert back to more personal ways of communicating is very endearing to me.

2) Do you have any other tattoos? If so, what do you have and where?

I have lots more! 24 to be exact. Without going to much into detail: script on my foot as well as left and right hips, initials behind both ears, heart on my ring finger, circus elephant on left thigh, ode to wartime lovers on my right thigh, top hat wearing skull above right knee, sweet tooth on wrist, traditional butterfly, sailor gypsy, lucky panther, hot air balloon, roses, owl in a teapot, grandmothers name, sailor Jerry "mom" piece, hand in hand lovers, sugar skull, peacock, and old perfume bottle.

3) Do you plan on getting more?

I do! I plan on finishing my right sleeve as well as finish covering both my thighs from the knees to the hips, and if given the opportunity to work with some of the far off artists that I admire, I'd love to squeeze a bit of their work onto vacant spots.

4) How do your family and friends feel about your tattoo(s)? Have you run into any adversity or negativity because of them?

At first my family was very supportive, until I started getting work done in more visible areas. At this point my parents don't really support anything new that I get so I usually try not to mention new items or plans for future ones. Friends on the other hand love them, but that is to be expected considering most of them have or plan for some themselves! Sadly, with the general public I have come under fire quite often because of them. Although many strangers compliment my work, It is too often that I get dirty looks or have been cornered into a conversation where I must defend my decision. Unfortunately, I've gotten to the point where I cut most tattoo talk with strangers off pretty bluntly unless people are extremely nice and genuinely curious about my work. I understand that people are naturally curious and may have good intentions, but it gets quite exhausting explaining or defending myself multiple times a day. It all just comes down to manners, politeness is key :)

5) Any advice for those interested in getting tattooed but haven't gotten one yet?

Yes! My number one piece of advice is begin getting tattooed in places that no one will see. You may get one and decide its not for you, and you wouldn't want something you regret to be visible to the world for the rest of your life. It took me a very long time and a lot of contemplating to decide that I was ready to put artwork in visible places. It truly is for the rest of your life. To this day though, I don't regret a single one!