Bleck, and Stuff.

I am so tired and so awake right now. I can't decide if I want to draw or sleep. I didn't actually fall asleep until after 5 am this morning. I saw sunlight enter my room, even though it rained a bit.
I'm going to install a faucet on the side of my head. I'm going to use that faucet to turn my nose drippage off, just like in the cartoons. The right side of my face has drained, now it's the left side's turn. Ahhh, silly weather. Everyone at the studio has been afflicted, but Brian and Ryan have been affected the most. Brian has been sick for the past few weeks, and just as he started feeling better, he got whatever sinus-eating monster that's going around. Ryan actually called out of work, which is very unusual. He def. wasn't himself today.
I don't feel bad at all. My face feels stupid, and my nose won't stop dripping, but that's about as far as that annoyance goes. I feel the best out of all of them, and I'm the only one not taking any medicine. It's my supercells. Last time I was sick to the point of vomitting was back in 7th grade. Notice I did not include any alcohol related sickness, there were plenty of those. The crazy PTS episodes I was having made me feel like I was going to vomit, but mostly they left me feeling like I was dying. The reaction to that medication I was taking wasn't all that fun, either. Having your entire body go into convulsions while you are wide awake and conscious is a rather interesting feeling.
I finished up a very short half of a half sleeve today...I really don't know what to call it. The piece is of two lambs, one on top of the other, holding banners with some background stuff behind it. The thing covers his arm, shoulder to elbow and bicep to tricep, without going ionto his inner bicep. I've been addicted to big mags lately. The piece (which was done in black and grey) should have taken me 5-6 hours, but we rawked it out in less than 3. He had to come back after the first session, which worked out perfectly. Today's session only took me 1/2 hour to do. He was stoked, and told me how he's had nothing but compliments and people stopping him when he goes out into public. Considering he got a piece on his other arm by an artist of inferior calibre, his popular new tattoo has boosted his ego, as well as intensified the meaning behind the design. I think that's the best thing about being a tattoo artist. You can actually change someone's attitude for the better, which can have outward effects on all from that point on. Chain reaction, baby.

I think I like seeing the change more in men than I do women, at least in American culture. I can't speak for many other cultures. Women tend to label their tattoo as 'cute' and 'sexy,' which are words to describe a hair cut or a dress. Guys take their art and and wear it more symbolically, kind of like "I have many tattoos, I am alpha." Which, in my opinion, is what tattoos are all about. It doesn't even matter what they have tattooed on them, they just have more pride in wearing them. Even women in natural tribes got tattooed to symbolize their transcience into adulthood, or mark the number of years they have lived. They don't use little pictures of cartoon characters on concealed areas of their bodies to generate the sex appeal. Lines, dots, marks on their faces, hands, feet, arms...the places that are seen the most are used as their advertising. In essence, they wear them 'loud' to tell more of a story about their place in culture rather than use them as an erotic 'flavor of the week.'
There is a fine line between using a tattoo to 'represent' or 'adorn for sexual purposes.' I really cannot connect with using a butterfly on my upper ass as a billboard for my fertility, but I can't deny what a person thinks is a representation of themselves. Maybe that person is a blossoming butterfly, and the tattoo that they have chosen is truly the epitome of all that resides inside them. Maybe it's the skinny guy in the back who is ashamed of his arms, so a tribal arm band will fulfill what nature has left him lacking. Of course I cannot deny his intentions for wanting something to enhance his body, but at the same time, his tattoo reads as a band-aid to what he thinks is a laceration to society's standards.
It's not just about relating a random (or even cliche) image to an adversity in your life, it's about relating the adversity to an image. Adversity is not all the meaning there is to choose from, either. Imagination is the source of creation.

Alright, I'm stepping off my soapbox now.