leaps and bounds

  howdy folks! first and for most, how was everyones weekend? i am not gonna beat around the bush, mine, fantastic....here is why.....

i got my tattoo machine last week, i've named him bob and we have become very intimate very fast. he is amazing, even more so then i thought. when i got to the shop wedensday i felt like a kid at christmas, i tore that box up like it was nothing and reveled in bob's beauty. so far he is steady, reliable and all around bad ass. i am in love! 

the reason for our quick intimacy is...well, i tattooed human skin for the first time! not gonna lie, was nervous, real nervous but thankfully tom was my victim for my first tattoo. my buddy and mentor, erik was there to help guide me and cheer me on. it was awsome having him there. the first line i made was scarey, it felt so much different then the melon or pig skin, obviously, its real human skin, but in a way it was soo much easier and felt better then practicing. 

tom and i had been discussing what he wanted to get and an eye was his idea. the lower leg is a great place to start because the skin is tightier making it easier for learning. tom and i have a design for his legs in the works so the eyeball is just the begining, im soooobeyond stoked. they are not perfect but for my first time, i couldnt be happier with the result. what i learned that day far exceeded the final product.

at first i was just going to do one eye but it felt so good after the first one that i wanted to do another and tom was totally down. i cant even really describe how i felt other than, i know more then ever, this is it for me. pushing myself and getting this far has really shown me that i want this more then ever. i knew that deep down i was gonna do a good job, as unhumble as that sounds, but i didnt know that the feeling after the first one was gonna be, I WANT MORE, MORE! it felt almost natural albeit the first line was scarey as hell but after a few lines it wasnt human skin anymore, just another canvas for my artwork. writing this is even making me tear up because for the first time in my life, i feel i am finally achieving what i have always wanted for myself, to be an artist. i still have such a long way to go and more confidence to build but i know i am heading down the right path. life right now is pretty sweet and i can't thank tom enough for helping take such a tremendous leap into a pretty awesome furture!

xo,cb