In Search of the Perfect Tattoo - A Meeting in Minneapolis Awaits

I have a 1:30 pm appointment with Rodney Taylor, my tattoo artist, for a consultation about my scalp tattoo. I'm totally stoked! I realize "stoked" is probably really old-school terminology and truly not appropriate for a "senior" citizen to be saying, but it's also a rather evocative term, and it describes my feelings about this meeting to a "T". I'm stoked! I know skull tattoos are painful, but I really want that winged scarab tattoo. 

This was one of the first skull tattoos of his I 
found on the internet years ago. I was specifically 
looking for someone who was comfortable working 
on skulls and in black/white. I'm not a fan of 
color in tattoos, at least not for me. I prefer 
sticking with the black and grey tones. 

I have a file of Pinterest pics on my phone, and a small bracelet of an iridescent beetle in plexiglass I purchased more than a decade ago for artistic inspiration. Out of curiosity, I printed out the entire history of our emails back and forth. My original inquiry for the tattoo was on September 4, 2019. Now, more than 18 months later, we're finally getting a chance to meet and discuss whether or not we'll have a meeting of the minds. 

Here's another skull piece he did. Again, just lovely 
work in plain black and white. 

When I contacted him regarding this meeting, I warned him that I needed to be home in time for my weekly phone call with my sister in California. We set the appointment up so that I'll have ample time to get home in time to have my convo with Aearwen, my Sister From a Different Mother. Some things take priority, after all. LOL

My fellow Tolkien fans will love this one. The 
winding road in the foreground, and the Lonely 
Mountain in the background, all set in a lovely 
filigree framework. 

I will be missing a Zoom call for one of my WildFit groups, (I'm a member of five different FB groups), but I'll have to catch that on replay later this week. This tattoo will NEVER happen if I'm not willing to make some sacrifices to achieve success. I think he's an artist with great talent and that he can take a winged scarab design to a new level of beauty and intensity on my skull. It's really the perfect time to get this done. I'm not willing to go back to the gym until Fall, and I won't be in the pool until then either. The tattoo will only have to deal with summer heat, sweat and daily showers, something that the inks are designed to handle anyway. 

The koi might be an oil painting of his, not a tattoo, but
I adore what he did with the subtle colors here. If I
have any color at all on my skull tattoo, I'd want it to
be subtle shading similar to this. 

So on that note, and hoping Rodney and I click and don't hate each other on sight, I'll plug in some of his tats for you to look at. He's so incredibly talented, and I can't wait to see what he can do for me. Stay safe, be kind, and I'll be back tomorrow.