At the last session we started to tattoo on the top of the left side of my chest. You can see we also finished the background on the top of my left arm/shoulder. I changed my tattoo bandaging and aftercare routine up a bit and the results were a dramatic improvement in healing. After just a few days my tattoo was looking pretty good, which is amazing considering I have some spots from over a month ago that are not 100% yet. Hopefully I can replicate those results after my next session - I have a vacation to Florida planned 10 days after the session and I want to be able to do a little swimming and get out on the beach (after heavy sunblock applications of course).

Oh, I also checked with Shinji and confirmed he does not have a website outside of the Adorned site.

Thought I'd share an amusing article I saw here. A woman is suing a tattoo artist who she claims mistakenly covered half of her face with star tattoos when she feel asleep during the procedure. Apparently she only wanted a few stars but woke up with 56. I have to call bullshit on this one - I think it's a case of buyer's remorse. Part of the reason I'm so skeptical is I can't imagine falling asleep while getting your face tattooed. Many tattoo artists won't tattoo your face if you ask, and with good reason: it can change your life and most people are not happy with the result.

It's all starting to come together! As you can see, my left arm is almost completely connected to my back. The background on my arm is also very close to completion. The most recently tattooed areas are not fully healed yet, but I have time today to get pictures posted and I don't want to miss another session's worth of pics before my upcoming tattoo appointment.

Looking at my back with the arms attached makes me realize how far I've come. Strange how things can move along steadily right underneath your nose but it's a rare occasion that you're able to step back and see the progress for what it is. Sometimes this process can be a little trying but moments like this renew my commitment to getting the tattoo completed.

In response to Ryan's question in the previous post - I don't believe Horizakura has his own website aside from his section on the NY Adorned site. I'll have to ask him next time I see him. I did however come across this set of pictures (appears to have been taken when Shinji still worked out of the 2nd ave location) and this site that has an awesome t-shirt he designed. I just noticed my picture is in the background of the second site - that darn pic pops up all over the place!

Here's a great interview with Horitoshi from '00, please check it out if you'd like to learn more about him.

It's 7AM and I'm out of bed, I gave up on hopes of sleeping in today. I had a tattoo session yesterday and I almost never sleep well after a session. You just can't get 100% comfortable if there are parts of your body you can't move or roll over on without discomfort. I also had a session 2 weeks ago, sorry I didn't post pictures but the tattoo just wasn't far enough along in the healing process. Over the past two sessions we've been filling in the background on my upper arm, most of it on the inside near the armpit and yesterday where your arm meets your back. This area takes a bit longer to heal since it is in constant motion. But it's exciting to see the tattoo on my arm starting to be connected to the tattoo on my back. I should be able to get more pics up before my next session in a few weeks.

As I mentioned in my last post, I received a copy of Mario Barth's "Under the Skin" documentary which features Horitoshi. After watching it, I'd have to give it mixed marks. In the documentary Mr. Barth makes his way over to Tokyo for the annual Sanja Matsuri festival, which if you've been following me you know I also visited (I believe I was there the year before Mario, you can check out the archived post with a few pictures here.) The interviews with Horitoshi and family are short, but a picture emerges of the artist as exceptionally committed to his craft and refreshingly humble. A few of Horitoshi's clients are featured and the work they display is just incredible. At the end of the film you also get a taste of the festival, which is just insane - I highly recommend checking it out someday if you can. I suppose what bothered me about the film is that I got the feeling that in the end it is just another promotional tool for the Mario Barth marketing machine; that staking out his rather dubious claims to be the "only Westerner welcome to immerse into this highly guarded world" and thereby raising his own profile was secondary to exploring the world of Horitoshi and Japanese tattoo. But perhaps I'm cynical, so please, check it out yourself and draw your own conclusions.

The other day someone remarked my tattoo was "quite an accomplishment". I reminded them I don't actually do anything, I just lie there. The accomplishment is all Horizakura's.