Go to a place where there are lots of pierced and tattooed people wandering about...find someone with ink that you like and ask them who did it.

This is the plan I'll be using sometime later in the year when I get my second tattoo. I don't know anyone around here that would know so I'm going to rely on the kindness of strangers. Fortunately there are lots of tattooed people who hang out at the tattoo studio that's less than a block away and I plan to spend some time there to see if the guy who owns it is a good artist - I also plan to quiz the people that hang around there. I have four shops within easy driving distance.

Oh also, as far as health concerns. Make sure they clean (autoclave) their equipment. And it is just peachy if you get a tattoo at 42 or beyond.

Any tattoo shop will have many examples of ankh art available.

You just go for it WolfDaddy! It doesn't matter how old you are!

Health considerations - if you go to a reputable place there shouldn't be any really. After you get it done it will feel like sunburn for a while until it heals. Don't pick at the scabs if there are any! Your tattooist may recommend a cream to use, otherwise just make sure the area stays clean.

Much further along the line when you are all healed up the big thing to watch out for it tanning. You are better off wearing sunscreen on your tattoo it helps preserve them better if you don't tan.

In regards to where on the body - legs and shoulders are easy places to conceal a tattoo, a forearm not so much.

Go to a few tattoo forums and see what people are saying about places in your area too. Just because you walk in to have a look doesn't bind you to having it done there.

For your "It seemed like a good idea at the time!" file: laser erasable tattoo ink. And apropos of nothing in particular, a musical meditation from jazz man Charles Mingus entitled "Myself When I Am Real".

Don't.

The human body is the ultimate work of art. Anything you do to "enhance" it is just gilding the lily, i.e., it will detract from what you already have.

Just my opinion, obviously... you will always be studly no matter what you do, so feel free to ignore my opinion.

BP, I appreciate your advice, and believe me I've been thinking about this for at least 20 years. To get long-winded, and to explain my mind on the matter a bit, it comes down to adornment.

I can't wear jewelry. I always, always, always lose it. I have one small diamond earring that I never take out (because I've lost much larger diamonds that way), and I have a small gold chain with a gold ankh that I wear around my neck that I also never take off because I'll lose it. I've lost many thousands of dollars worth of jewelry over the years, including the only ring with emeralds (my birthstone) I have ever found after many many years of searching that I thought looked good on a man.

A tattoo is permanent adornment. I'll never lose it. The jewelry I've had (and lost) has always had a specific purpose besides adornment ... to remind me of watershed events in my life. That ring I was telling you about? It was to commemorate when my birth family found me (I'm adopted). I got a ring with six small emeralds and six small diamonds (there were six siblings including myself in my birth family) ... and I had the damn thing for less than a year when it somehow slipped off my finger unnoticed at Disneyland. It was never found. Or at least never returned. And that saddened me more than words can say.

So, really, the reason I want a tat (or tats, I think I want a zia, too) is not to make myself more attractive to myself, but to remind myself through these symbols of things in my life that I feel are worth commemorating enough to permanently adorn my own body with. I resisted getting one for a long time because they are SO in vogue with the young gay boys and for them it's all about looking and feeling sexy ... and ultimately they end up all looking the same. A star here, some sort of faux celtic/tribal/whatever braid there. Meh. I didn't want to be that guy, especially because I AM older. I already I know I'm sexy (hee hee). This is for me, and no one else.

My mom's gonna shit a circle around herself though, I promise you that.

Dropping by here tomorrow, and that's when I'll make my ultimate decision. Wish me luck! And thanks for listening to me ramble in the middle of the night.

BP, I respect what you say, but I see my body as my own canvas. Different takes on the theme, really. My body is art on its own, but I can make my own stamp on it, and I don't see it as gilding the lily. I buy works of art by friends to decorate my walls. The really good ones who can handle the tattoo gun I get works on my skin or holes therein. Maybe it's a control issue, or a socially acceptable way of redirecting self-injury, but the result is, IMHO and that of others, quite attractive.

WolfDaddy, thinking about it for a long time and wanting to commemorate a shift in your life or something important to you are both good signs that the tattoo is a good idea. What you need to look for: well, what you want for your first one is pretty simple, so you don't have to do a lot of research about colour, shading, etc. What you want to know is, do they wear gloves. Do they use new needles each and every time. (When my first tattooist said he'd fix any problem for the price of the needle, that was a good sign.) Do they autoclave the equipment that's exposed to blood. Are they properly trained, period. Can they actually draw, or at least make a decent transfer. I think you're right to approach someone with good ink. If I (and most of my friends) are anything to go by, most inked people will be happy to give you good advice, because man, there's nothing worse than a permanent bad tattoo, and those that do it well deserve the business. I'm a big fan of the show-or-hide locations, too, so you can make that statement when you want, but keep it out of sight when it's not appropriate/in your best interest.

Good on ya, and best of luck in your quest.

My mom's gonna shit a circle around herself though, I promise you that.
Well, color me stupefied! I called my mom this morning and told her that by the next time I saw her I'd probably have a tattoo, and while at first she feigned incomprehension, she then told me she'd had her eyebrows and lips tattooed about 20 years ago for cosmetic reasons. NOW I know why she rarely wears lipstick!

*THUNK*

Also, artists often (and should) have portfolios of their work. And really good ones will steer you to someone else if your choice of design isn't their specialty. Your age has nothing to do with it. My aunt got her first one in her 60's, my mom in her late 50's, and I just got my 6th one last Saturday (age 41). You're already in a good place, so to speak, by thinking about this for so long and not rushing into it. It's also important to feel comfortable with the artist.

On preview...Go Mom!

T-Minus 20 minutes. I'm having a red zia tattooed on my right calf. I've always liked the meaning behind the symbol, and since I spent a great deal of my formative years/misspent youth in the mountains of New Mexico, this will mean a lot to me. Photos to come! Stay tuned!

Here's a blog entry with pics if you're interested! Need to get someone else to take the picture, though, this was rather awkward to do myself. Of course, I forgot to take the bloody camera to the tattoo parlor itself. *smacks head*

Didn't hurt a bit (well, not much at all) during the process. It now feels a bit like a sunburn. That's it. I think I will be getting more in future :-)

Ooh, shiny! Looks like they did a really nice job.

They did, I was quite impressed with the entire process. Well, I was an old fart and asked them to turn down the INCREDIBLY LOUD THRASH METAL MUSIC they were playing. Since I was the only paying customer on a Sunday afternoon they were only too happy to oblige.

The fuckers put on Britney Spears. I like these people and their twisted sense of humor.

Here's where I went, if you're ever down Houston way, and here's the artist who did me.

And because I can't resist posting a kitty picture:

≡ Click to see image ≡

Looks sharp!

The human body is the ultimate work of art. Anything you do to "enhance" it is just gilding the lily, i.e., it will detract from what you already have.

I have to disagree. For me, tattoos are like therapy. I'm so covered in scars from my accident, ink is my way of reclaiming my skin for me.

And WolfDaddy- very nice! Remember to keep it clean (but don't scrub hard!), keep it moisturized (I like a&d, but use what your artist suggested, they know what works best with their inks), and always always wear sunblock to keep it from fading.