meet bob...

the melon! yes, i had to name the melon i was gonna tattoo, it felt only right. so this is bob in all his glory. i didn't take a before picture as you get what he would have looked like before all his tattoos....

 i can't tell you how awesome it was to pick up that machine and start inking away! it was pretty much the best feeling. it was tough though because the machine i was working with was from a starter kit my boss had bought a while ago and the kit only came with needles that are used for shading not line work so it was weird but still such  great learning experience. my boss pretended to be my client and he told me what he wanted, a lotus, and how big. we found an image he liked and i redrew it and then stenciled it on my melon. i was pretty stoked at how awesome it was to be learning a new way to draw my art and not to mention fun, thrilling, exciting, unbelievable....you get the picture. it was like sewing with an ink pen. i went home that night filled with so much hope and happiness.

since it was labor day weekend, it was pretty slow at the shop so when i wasn't doing chores or learning from one of the guys there, i asked one of them if i could use his station to practice. he was so sweet, offered to watch me set up the machine and giving advice. after a few annoying hiccups with the machine and finally just giving up on it all together, he gave me his machines to play with and WOW does a good machine really make a difference! it was like night and day!

it was so much easier and steadier then the starter kit machine and not to mention it just felt better in my hand. after i finished my star i played around and did some freehand stuff and then played with a shading machine and filled in my horrible freehand star and hearts.

i know tattooing a melon is much different then tattooing a person and the guys there gave me some tips on other things to tattoo but it felt so good to get that first tiny little hump out of the way. i have a long way to go but with lots of practice i know i can only get better and better. i was so excited that i talked to my boss about getting a machine so when i am not at the shop i can practice and he said instead of buying one he was gonna loan me one and that he wanted me to just buy the power source for the machine which i did, and i get it tuesday! aaahhhh! it is all happening so wonderfully fast! i am just so over the moon excited!

on top of really great days at the shop, i had a really awesome weekend with kelly-anne & xanadujulie! they came down to play and i had such a great time! it was the best. i suck and didn't bring out my camera the entire time so as soon as kelly-anne has uploaded them, i plan on stealing a few so you can get a peek into my wonderful weekend that i needed oh so much.

happy labor day!
xo,
cb