Lightning bugs.

The only way Amy and Jaime could be any more awesome
would be if their names didn't rhyme.
But oh well.
Thanks tons to them and Maynard House
for the overwhelming hospitality.
I've stayed there 4 times now,
and every time there's new house members.
But every time I'm treated like a king.



This time around,
we started working on Amy's chest piece.
We didn't finish, but after 4 hours we needed to wrap up the session.
A mason jar full of fireflies.
We need to do a lot of detail work,
and some line sculpting,
but it's a good start.



Thanks again to Off the Map Tattoo and Maynard House
for all they did for me this past week.
I look forward to coming back again soon(ish).

Some of the week's work.

Big Dean doesn't mess around,
especially when it comes to inside jokes.
Getting your friend's portrait tattooed on you?
That's pretty hardcore.
Implying that your friend is a dummy...
being manipulated by an actual dummy?
That seems like some line crossing action to me.
(and of course I was glad to help)



Camille came all the way out from Texas to get this tattoo,
which is beyond flattering.
It was her first ever, and she sat like a rock.
Her and her husband entertained me with stories,
instead of it being the other way around.



The week was kind of a blur.
I did work on Todd's sleeve (below) and Megan's chestpiece,
got to meet some awesome new people,
and hang out with a bunch of old friends.
Kelly Doty is kicking so much ass out here in MA,
it's inspiring and humbling at the same time.
Keep an eye on her, for sure.
(she apprenticed at Turnpike while I was there)



I'm less sick right today,
which is great,
but I leave MA behind tomorrow.
Only two days of visiting in CT,
and then we fly back to MPLS.
These visits/working vacations are nuts.
Never enough time,
and too many people/tattoos to fit in.
Anyone I miss will just have to come visit me in Minneapolis.

What a lovely way to burn

I am one sick dude.
There's no thermometer around for proof,
but I'm pretty sure I've got a fever.
(and I've been beating up the Maynard House's lavatory pretty bad as well)
But I'm booked solid at Off the Map Tattoo,
and I'm not one to call in sick.
Ever.
(what am I, an a-hole?)

Here's a couple of tattoos I've done out here so far.
The owl was photographed at a weird angle,
so the head looks a little warped,
but it's fine in real life.



And more black and grey book themes:



I'm four tattooing days down,
with only two more to go.
But I saved the longest days for last.
Wish me luck.
I could use it.
Luck, and a few more rolls of toilet paper.

Back East

Meryl and I made it to the East Coast,
and are hanging out with the Hebranks.
(it's a loud time here, for sure)
Today we did some forest trail hiking,
then went to Baltimore's Inner Harbor for dinner
and a lighthouse-turned-museum visit.
This is a screw-pile lighthouse built in 1856,
and was relocated to Pier 5 in 1988.
That's my mom and I, photo by Meryl.



This is the second lighthouse trip in a week,
but the Wisconsin ones were fresh water.
And this, my friends, is the Atlantic Ocean.

We're headed up to Brooklyn tomorrow,
and then Long Island
(where I hope to see at least one more).
Then north to Northampton, MA.
We're staying at the Maynard House, of course,
while I do my Off the Map Tattoo guest spot.
I have 6 super packed tattooing days lined up,
with some of the most fun tattoo ideas I could ask for.
Then to CT for a few days before heading back to MD.
Two weeks, kids.
We don't mess around.

(if you ALSO think lighthouses are sexy,
you can visit this site for a comprehensive listing of them.
and if you go visit some, let me know.)

Day Tripping

Meryl and I took a trip to Milwaukee for just one day.
We left after work on Saturday,
and got home Sunday night.
That's 12 hours of driving out of the 27 we were gone for.
We went to the Milwaukee Tattoo Convention,
and I got tattooed by Jason Angst.
While I was trying not to be a baby in front of everyone,
Meryl entered her black swan tattoo in the coed leg sleeve competition.
She ended up taking 2nd place,
which was super flattering,
especially considering it's not even truly a half leg sleeve.



Somewhere in between the two long car rides
and the hours at the tattoo convention,
Meryl and I got to check out the harbor,
and two sexy lighthouses.
That's the Milwaukee Breakwater on in the background,
and the red one up close is the Milwaukee Pierhead.



Today and tomorrow will be spent packing,
and shipping out NQNS shirts before we leave on Wednesday.
Tonight is the deadline for ordering shirts if you need them before July.
We don't get back to MPLS until July 1rst.

Things will be a little quieter in Minneapolis for a couple weeks,
and the East Coast will be that much louder.
I cannot wait.

NQNS on the WWW

It's another Not Casual Friday at Identity Tattoo.
Ties all around.
Which means I'm all dressed up for this announcement:

Never Quiet, Never Soft has it's very own place on the internet now.

Albie Rock and I have been making art together now for a long time,
and there are a lot of NQNS shirts, stickers and stories out there.
But now you can find it all easily,
without having to dig through tattoo shop back rooms.

Right now there's two sexy shirts up there.
Brand new, and ready for shipping.
Eleven bucks each, for a limited time.
And every Eleventh of the month,
there will be more.

If your girl wouldn't wear this shirt,
you both have bad taste.

About Time...

I've been itching to finish this cuckoo clock
since the day we did the outline.
Adam M sits like a rock
and appreciates the subtleties of brown.
My kind of client.
I'll get some real photos when he comes in to man the desk on Friday.




Never Quiet, Never Soft is having a big unveiling on the 11th.
(of course)
I'm super excited, this has been a long time coming.
There will be tubas and skulls and acorns.
Check back then.

Who put the ram....

In the rama lama ding dong?



What...?

Here's a healed photo of Mr Shoemaker's healed backpiece.
I'm not sure where the back ends and the ass begins,
but if there's a line,
I'm pretty sure I crossed it.
There's a cover up in there, too.
Three Kanji supposedly reading "Aries",
but we felt it would be slightly redundant to keep them there.
(and ugly)


Good company is in town right now.
Caitlin is our guest at Loudernhorn Inn tonight.
(she did the handwriting for my blog header above)
We've been sharing stories and inspiration,
artists, books and bands.
We have to pack it all in,
since she's in town one night only.
Then back to Canada,
and we might not see her for another 18 months.
We did a little late night tattooing,
and I'll take some photos tomorrow.