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    Iron Heart Fall/Winter 2025 Live Reveal - Thursday 12th of June at 1700BST

    Tattoos

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    • S
      sabergirl
      見習いボス
      Joined:

      Very cool! I found this interview with the artist because I was curious about her style: https://homegrown.co.in/homegrown-voices/swasthik-iyengars-tattoos-are-a-celebration-of-self-discovery-indigenous-artforms

      last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
      • C
        Craneman
        Raw and Unwashed
        @EdH
        Joined:

        @EdH just seeing this now you & @Nik nice work!
        I like that Justice looks kind of slutty

        last edited by EdHE 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • EdHE
          EdH
          Iron Heart Deity
          @jskidder
          Joined:

          @jskidder Thanks for the explanation. They're very cool. I hope they heal up well and nothing drops out of the knuckles!

          Take the dive...

          last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • EdHE
            EdH
            Iron Heart Deity
            @Craneman
            Joined:

            @Craneman said in Tattoos:

            I like that Justice looks kind of slutty

            Much as I like the classic design, I've got a baby girl so I specifically asked my guy to make sure that Lady Justice has her hips turned away, rather than have her arse out like Jerry drew his! 😅

            The idea for this sleeve is to riff on Sailor Jerry's and other American Trad-style compositions to introduce a bit of Stoic wisdom for life. I've got a whole day with my guy booked in three weeks or so, should get a lot more done then.

            Take the dive...

            last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
            • EdHE
              EdH
              Iron Heart Deity
              Joined:

              Here’s the work I got done yesterday. A few more pieces to do, but the sleeve is getting there.

              First up, a pin-up-girl Angel on the front of my traps, reminding me to do good deeds. Edit: I just realised we forgot to give her a halo… 🤦‍♂️ Will have to get that sorted…

              IMG_1972.jpeg

              Next up, a pair of daggers on my forearm. Epictetus has this bit about grabbing an event by its sturdy handle: “Every event has two handles, one by which it can be carried, and one by which it can’t. If your brother does you wrong, don’t grab it by his wronging, because this is the handle incapable of lifting it. Instead, use the other—that he is your brother, that you were raised together, and then you will have hold of the handle that carries.” There’s many ways of taking this advice. There is opportunity to be a better person in even the worst events that befall us in life, or perhaps choose to interpret misfortune in a way which is empowering (my neighbour who had a very nasty and near-miss health scare recently has chosen to tell himself that he is a survivor rather than dwell on how close he came to dying or how the health service fucked up and should have caught the disease sooner, for instance). So we went with a pair of daggers, one with a smooth handle, which should be grasped, and one with the snake and skull warning you off of it.

              IMG_1975.jpeg
              IMG_1976.jpeg

              Next, a torch on the back of my triceps, except we have made the torch into a spindle, around which are the threads of one’s fate or destiny, fuelling the flame on top, and an ouroboros. These are references to the idea of amor fati, or “love of one’s fate”. Marcus Aurelius has this bit about being like a fire - whatever you throw in the fire just makes it burn hotter - the idea being that whatever comes your way in life is fuel for your fire. The Ouroboros harkens to Nietzsche’s idea of the eternal recurrence, I.E. living as if you would gladly live the same life over again eternally. By accepting that our individual paths through life are what make us who we are, we can love our own journeys.

              IMG_1974.jpeg

              Lastly, we did a compass on the shoulder, with the needle pointing towards the cracked and dented end, with a more wilted flower. This represents the idea expressed by Marcus Aurelius when he said “ Our actions may be impeded, but there can be no impeding our intentions or dispositions. Because we can accommodate and adapt. The mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting. The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” It’s a reminder to tackle the obstacle in your way, whether that be a personal flaw or weakness you need to work on, or a seemingly insurmountable project.

              IMG_1973.jpeg

              Anyway, enough guff from me for one evening. We still have a few more pieces ready to put into the sleeve when my guy has time over the next few months, and I think we will have a big space left on the inner bicep if I can think of another way of representing a piece of Stoic wisdom by riffing on some more iconic American trad tattoos. Both my tattoo guy and I have really enjoyed this project - it’s fun to think about how to represent these ideas in this medium, and he tells me he’s really enjoying doing the drawings and coming up with the compositions from my ramblings whenever I email him new ideas.

              Take the dive...

              last edited by EdH 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 8
              • Fades for futureF
                Fades for future
                Iron Heart Deity
                @EdH
                Joined:

                @EdH nice, great work👌

                last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                • popvultureP
                  popvulture
                  見習いボス
                  Joined:

                  Nice! Beautiful stuff @EdH . My girlfriend and I read a page of the Daily Stoic in the morning with coffee, and we just read the bit about the handles the other day. I love that quote. Fave so far is "I will lay siege to the gods, and shake up the world" from Seneca.

                  WTB
                  IHSH-IHG-BLK XXL
                  Sugar Cane Coke Stripe SS L charcoal

                  last edited by EdHE 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • EdHE
                    EdH
                    Iron Heart Deity
                    @popvulture
                    Joined:

                    @popvulture said in Tattoos:

                    My girlfriend and I read a page of the Daily Stoic in the morning with coffee

                    I haven't got that one yet, but I've been dipping into The Daily Dad which, as you'd expect, is more focussed on raising kiddos. It's got plenty to reflect on.

                    Take the dive...

                    last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                    • Daniel SanD
                      Daniel San
                      見習いボス
                      Joined:

                      anyone here has traditional japanese irezumi ?
                      after 1,5 years waiting I’ll get my sleeve in November 🥳🤙
                      Moe from Spade Tattoo in Hamburg will do it , he is a well know tattoo artist for irezumi and I love his work.

                      last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • MizmazzleM
                        Mizmazzle
                        見習いボス
                        Joined:

                        Love al the work here everyone! As the finally leg of Morgan and I’s honeymoon starts, tomorrow we will both be getting some tattoo work done in Rome. Quite excited about it! It’s been about 5 years since I’ve had any work done. So many nerves happening haha

                        In the easy chair with my boots on, melted whiskey in my hand. Could'na been asleep for more than three hours...time to go to work again...

                        last edited by EdHE 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                        • EdHE
                          EdH
                          Iron Heart Deity
                          @Mizmazzle
                          Joined:

                          @Mizmazzle Make sure you show us what you get done!

                          Take the dive...

                          last edited by MizmazzleM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • MizmazzleM
                            Mizmazzle
                            見習いボス
                            @EdH
                            Joined:

                            @EdH will do amigo!!

                            In the easy chair with my boots on, melted whiskey in my hand. Could'na been asleep for more than three hours...time to go to work again...

                            last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                            • MizmazzleM
                              Mizmazzle
                              見習いボス
                              Joined:

                              Phew! What a session. About 5 hours or so. Claudio was a fast worker with a steady hand I’d say! What an incredible tattoo shop in Rome. Nicest people ever. Super talented the lot of them. Morgan and I couldn’t be happier with the work and treatment we received.
                              Fronte del Porto Tattoos if you’re ever ever in Rome.

                              8F79F40A-A19D-4AB9-B5F7-E98F2E2C1779.jpeg
                              D84134DE-DAA6-41B3-BC9C-59EE81772CB6.jpeg

                              In the easy chair with my boots on, melted whiskey in my hand. Could'na been asleep for more than three hours...time to go to work again...

                              last edited by EdHE 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 7
                              • MattM
                                Matt
                                見習いボス
                                Joined:

                                Hell yeah! That’s fantastic

                                last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                • EdHE
                                  EdH
                                  Iron Heart Deity
                                  @Mizmazzle
                                  Joined:

                                  @Mizmazzle very nice tiger! That looks absolutely ace.

                                  Take the dive...

                                  last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                  • MattM
                                    Matt
                                    見習いボス
                                    Joined:

                                    Those eyes are incredible.

                                    last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                    • MizmazzleM
                                      Mizmazzle
                                      見習いボス
                                      Joined:

                                      Thanks @Matt and @EdH
                                      I’m super stoked on it! Sleeping last night was tricky. I may have ruined some hotel sheets.
                                      Now, what to add to the rest of the arm?? A dragon perhaps??

                                      In the easy chair with my boots on, melted whiskey in my hand. Could'na been asleep for more than three hours...time to go to work again...

                                      last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • ARNCA
                                        ARNC
                                        啓蒙家
                                        Joined:

                                        @Mizmazzle I’ll start by saying I know nothing about tattoos but I really like the tiger. Dragons are always cool but tigers and elephants seems to be a classic combination in other art forms - like this bronze by Genryusai Seiya (sadly not mine). Could translate into a tattoo?

                                        E490D6FA-5CCE-485C-9EB4-EA73DB717130.jpeg

                                        “Every day that you survive you get a free sunset“

                                        last edited by MizmazzleM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • MizmazzleM
                                          Mizmazzle
                                          見習いボス
                                          @ARNC
                                          Joined:

                                          @ARNC that’s a really cool idea dude!! Thanks!! I do have an elephant on my thigh already. But two could be even better!!

                                          In the easy chair with my boots on, melted whiskey in my hand. Could'na been asleep for more than three hours...time to go to work again...

                                          last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                          • J
                                            jskidder
                                            Raw and Unwashed
                                            Joined:

                                            Continuing to add to the second layer. Got this one from Josh Davis on a trip to Tampa to see Misfits & Megadeth last weekend.

                                            IMG_8004.jpg

                                            last edited by MizmazzleM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
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