1st Amendment Tattoo & Body Piercing

I have one tattoo; my name in alibata on the inside of my right forearm.  "Alibata" is the last known form of written communication in the Philippines before Spanish indoctrination.

My tattoo is just an outline.  For quite some time now, I've been up in arms about how to fill it in and what to surround it with.  The area isn't that large and I don't want something that will take up my entire forearm.  But I do want something that will represent me.

I walked into 1st Amendment to get some ideas.  I left without getting any work done, but I do have a better idea of what I want.  I'm a conscientious shopper when it comes to anything, so I'll be looking for a 2nd and 3rd opinion before I make a decision.  But I'm glad that I have options close to home.

Expression is a freedom...

Eli hooked it up!

On 2/13/09 they were offering "Valentine inspired" flash work for free (+ tip). I chose a sparrow with a heart, two flowers, and a banner. I was able to choose the word that would go on the banner and I got a tribute to my dad, so it says "Daddy" on the ribbon. Bring on the "Who's your Daddy?" jokes.

We ended up waiting about an hour because Eli was inking up another guy so I went next door to the shady Mexican food place to grab a bite and a beer. (Shhh!)

Went back, picked the image and showed him the placing. Inside of my right arm, technically my first "big" piece and my first "visible" piece. The owner, Reverend Mike, asked if it was my first tattoo, made small talk then went about his business. I laid out on a table with my arm hooked under my head and we did the outline. This took about an hour. Smoke break. Then we did some shading. Another hour. Finally we went back to discuss colors and I told him I liked turquoise and so he managed to incorporate it into the art. Another hour and a half.

All in all it took a little longer than I would have expected for something of this size but I love it and I couldn't beat the price.

Just got my 1st two tattoos at 1st Amendment (Temecula location) over the weekend. I didn't need an appointment, I just walked in and asked for the person I was interested in working with. I ducked a star right away because of the guys' attitude - he gave me such a hard time! I just wanted to get two small tattoos, for which I had drawings and sizes, and the artist couldn't let go the fact that that's all I wanted. He kept insisting I get something big - eek! Talk about personal decisions?! It didn't ruin my experience, but it did leave a tiny indent in my day.

Otherwise, the place was very clean and there are very talented people working there. I got exactly what I had in mind, which couldn't make me happier. I ducked the second star for it's location, the place is surrounded by some shady businesses that don't look too appealing.