Live Free Tattoo

Cori James is the sheeit!  I've had one session with her and my tattoo is not finished yet. However, I am so excited about how easy it was to communicate with and work with her, and how badass my tatt is already, I have to share the love here.

First of all, the shop is like waaay traditional.. Like, as in their decor and tons of flash on the walls, in books, etc. ..This is very appropriate and was actually unexpected.. because I was getting my very first traditional tattoo. Walking in to that made me feel good about my choice.

Let me back up, I found Cori through Instagram.. yea, what?!  Isn't that weird?  Go technology!!

I started following Live Free Tattoo.. and then found Alan Berg.. and then found Cori.. I emailed her with a description of my idea, and asked if she would be able to do something like that.  She enthusiastically responded less than 24 hours later with so much helpful info. Sometimes artists can be vague online, and I understand it - You don't want to promise time or cost necessarily to a stranger over the internet. She doesn't necessarily know it, but I'm not a stranger to tattoos anymore (14ish over almost 12 years, now) so I want to know the deets straightforward, and I don't necessarily want to drive my ass down there (Dunwoody to Grant Park) unless I know what I'm getting into (price, an artist's personality, etc etc)  Speaking of price, they charge $150/hour at this time.

Her art examples are not quite as vast as some other artists I've worked with, as I believe she's newish (but no longer an apprentice, and there is no "inexperience" to be found!)  What I saw, I liked.. and I really wanted a girly touch to this tattoo. She delivered!

She let me go back and forth with her through email to pick the right date to meet. Then she let me send her pictures of what I liked - I did so through a private Facebook photo album. When I showed up for my appointment, she showed me her drawing and it was perfect.

She set up, which took about 15-20 minutes - Normal - and then we were GO! I laid down on a table, on my back, with my left arm outstretched. The little padded stand for my arm was wobbly, so a little bit into the tattoo, she switched it out with another. That one was still a little wobbly, so maybe it's supposed to be?  Didn't matter too much since Cori was stabilizing it all as she worked.

Back to the shop.. It's not in the bestest area of Atlanta, honestly - which is the only reason why I dropped a star - but the inside is really nicely put together. I've seen a few "meh" shops in my day and didn't stick around, but this one is solid. Someone put a ton of time and love into this.
I had never been tattooed in a shop where there weren't actually walls on each "room" - but this one has spaces separated by half walls, more like stalls. I did see a sign that said if you want privacy, they can help you with that. I think there's one or two actual enclosed rooms. The beautiful pictures and paintings on the walls go for miles.. which I love, because there's always something to stare at.. something to get your brain lost in.. That's important to me for getting tatt'd.. you need to get in your zone, ya know.

The actual sesh - outline and shading on a maybe-6 inch long dagger tatt on the inside of my left bicep took about 1 hour and 15-20 minutes. That's a pretty good time. I could not sit longer for this super-sensitive area, so I've made another appointment with Cori to complete it in a couple weeks. She was super sweet the whole time.. asked how I was doing occasionally.. talked about fun stuff but hushed when I wasn't really responding (because it's hard to have a conversation when you're feeling this pain!) She seemed down to earth - a sweet, adorable Southern gal, and she likes good music - (We listened to Tame Impala which totally calmed me!) I'm stoked, and I'd totally recommend checking out Cori! Tell her Heidi sent you!

I went to Live Free Tattoo to see new artist Cori James about a cover-up tattoo in July of 2013. Before my first appointment, I told Cori that I wanted to see her interpretation of a mandala style that I liked. She also asked for photos of my existing tattoo, and asked some questions about what I liked about certain mandalas.

The shop itself is neat, clean, well-maintained and has always had a parking spot available when I went there. I found that while Cori was working, the other artists would walk over and make observations about her work; each and every one of these gentlemen were kind and cordial. I've seen a lot of gruff, rude individuals in tattoo establishments and it's a huge bummer, but the entire staff at Live Free seemed entirely uninterested in keeping up an air of hardassery.

Cori worked on my tattoo in three sessions, over a course of seven hours, and in each of these trips to Live Free I was treated really well, the artist was professional, clean, confident and funny, and my cover-up looks incredible. The tattoo is a memorial, and the loss is incredibly new and raw--I needed a place I could go that would treat me with dignity and maybe even a little gentleness (yes, in a tattoo parlor, I get how that sounds, let's move on) I found all of that at Live Free Tattoo and I will recommend the shop and Cori James or the gentlemen there any time the topic of tattooing comes up.

Jason is great.  I'm getting a good sized piece on my forearm and he did the outline and some shading in a little over an hour and it looks awesome.  He let me split up the outline and color into two sessions so it cuts down on the pain and how much cash I'm throwing down at one time. I definitely appreciate that cause I'm kind of poor and a bit of a wimp.  I get compliments on the tat all the time and it's not even finished yet.  He's tattooed a couple of my friends and their stuff is stellar too.  He's also donated gift certificates to charity poker tournaments which is pretty cool.  I think the other artists at the shop are good too and they have visiting artists from time to time as well.  Check it out bro...