So this weekend was marked as Twitter Tattoo Weekend–the first of many I’m sure–by Sara McClung over at her blog. And it’s been a total blast. All you had to do to participate (and you still can!), was change your Twitter profile pic to that of a tattoo you have, or of something you’d love to get. Easy-peasy. Then, just let everyone know by using the #twittertattoo hashtag…and that’s it.

It’s been a lot of fun checking all of the #twittertattoo mentions and seeing what people are putting up, how people are comparing each other’s tats, and how certain dares and promises to get more are suddenly popping up.

I had a hard time taking pics by myself to get my whole Scorpius Constellation tattoo in a picture, but was able to get almost half of it. The below pic is what I used for my Twitter profile, and shows 7 of the 16 nautical stars that I have from neck to lower back. Hopefully I can try and get the whole thing in a shot soon–but then again I’ve been saying that for a year.

Scorpius Constellation - half back

Oh, and before I forget…do go over and check out Sara’s blog and watch the Tattoo Nation video. Near the end there is a segment with yours truly–and she gets me good. Well, she at least thinks she does. Little does she know I already have a team of mischievous little demons working in the shadows on a fun little vlog reply. Mwahah-ha-ha-ahh.

Due to overwhelming demand I felt like I should share a bit of my recent tattoo. For the curious, here is a sneak peek of one and a half of the 16 nautical stars that now span my neck and back. The tattoo here is 2 days old, and the picture was taken with a shaky Blackberry in my bathroom, hence the soft focus. The tat is also a bit scabbed over.

Once it is all healed up nicely I promise I will post the full tattoo. In detail no less!

But for now, this is all you get:

So after a 4 month wait from booking the appointment, I had the tattoo done last night. I went to Time Will Tell Tattoo on the recommendation from a friend, and I’m very glad I did. I had consulted with Evan Dowdell when I had initially made the appointment, and so had booked with him to do the job. His portfolio is fantastic, and he was very professional.

When I got to the shop Evan and I discussed the layout of the Scorpius constellation on my back and the size of the nautical stars. We ended up going with 3 sizes based on the different stars in the constellation, with the two largest stars being assigned to Antares and the Jewel Box of Scorpius. The 16 nautical stars were done in lime green and black, and were stenciled from my neck, across my shoulder, down my spine, and curving around my lower back into the tail of the scorpion.

The session lasted for 4 hours, with 3.5 hours of straight work done in the chair with only a 1minute break to stretch my legs. Not only was it a long, tedious tattoo for me, it must’ve been long for the tattooist as well. There are a lot of straight lines and detailed work with nautical stars, and one tiny line slightly out would stand out like a lighthouse beacon on my back.

When the tattoo was done, I stood in front of the mirror, glanced into a hand mirror at my back and neck and said something along the lines of “Dude, that’s fucking awesome!”. Yes, it looked exactly how I had imagined it would. Sure it was just done and raw and the pigment not set, but it popped, the black and lime green looked fantastic against each other even though I’m slightly tanned at the moment.

The entire Scorpius constellation now spans my neck and back, and for some deep, self-fulfilling way I feel complete. I am a Scorpio’s Scorpio, and I couldn’t imagine not having the stars of the Scorpius etched into my flesh.

Once the healing is done I will most definitely post pictures.

Now to start planning the next tattoo.