Cut off.

Meryl and I did it up right yesterday.

We started with pancakes at Seward Cafe,

took a drive to the St Croix River,

walked on an old railroad tracks path along the river,

went to an apple orchard,

stopped and got some pumpkins,

and took the long way home through Wisconsin

to check out some super nice foliage changing.

What could possibly make the day any better?

How about finally doing the long awaited,

best tattoo idea anyone has ever approached me with?

And done on one of my favorite people ever.

Katie's got a laugh that beats mine in every way possible.

She also has a penis she's not particularly into.

No kidding.

Extra baggage, if you will.

Leftovers from the move.

Eventually, it'll be reconstructed into a whole new deal,

but that might be a little while.

So until then, Katie wanted to hint at what's to come.

Foreshadowing foreskin, kids.

NSFW

Chef's Choice

Saturdays book out pretty far in advance.
But sometimes we have last minute cancellations,
leaving us with a wide open day,
and a measly $60 deposit for us to dry our eyes with.

In order to cheer myself up last minute,

I put out a call for any brave soul willing to get a

"you get what you get" tattoo to fill the spot.

That's what this was.

6 hours.

It's going to have more added to the background,

and a few little details added,

and then I'll get a healed photo.

There's lots of exciting things on the horizon right now,

and I have a new fire in my belly.

Tomorrow kicks off the first of "Painting Mondays",

a weekly art session that I've carved out a space in my week for,

since otherwise painting rarely ever happens.

I hope to have lots to show for it soon.

400.

This is my four hundredth blog post.
Which sounds like a lot,
until I realized I've been writing since early 2007.
And then I just felt lazy.
Ha.

Casey had the big wedding this weekend,
and all the family came out from everywhere for it.
It was on a riverboat on the Mississippi,
and everything was really nice.
I found out that there's a kind of pretend lighthouse
hanging out on the shore of the river in MPLS.
I mean, it's real, and has a light,
but if you need it for navigational purposes,
you should probably not be driving. anything. (ever)

Here's Meryl looking all matron-of-honory,
and timed just right for the lighthouse.



Also, the next guest spot at Off the Map has been set!
January 2nd-7th, 2011
I'll be starting to take appointments this week,
but I'm booking it slightly differently this time.

If you want to get tattooed,
email me your idea with all relevant info:
size, black and grey or color, body area, etc.
Preference will be given to tattoos that best fit my style,
and I'd like to work in 4-6 hour blocks of time.
Once we set a date,
you'll have to call OTM and give them a deposit.

I just realized I didn't book my stay at Maynard House yet,

so I'm off to do that.

email me if you want in.

shawnhebrank@gmail.com

mid week, mid month

Meryl's sister Casey is having a big wedding party on a riverboat this week,
and all the family is coming to town.
Her dad and step mom came a few days early,
for some extra baby time and new tattoos.
Here's my father-in-law getting getting his first ever tattoo.



I came back from Peru to a few really fun projects.
Here's the first sitting of a big chest piece cover up.
You can see the old horned skull underneath the ram skull.




The world has been paying more attention to "body art" lately,
but is lumping it all together every time it's discussed.
Identity Tattoo doesn't do piercings or body modification,
and every day we have to explain our reasonings.
Meryl's been bumping into a lot of these discussions
in online literary communities,
and she wrote a blog post about it.
(that's my lady)

NQNS and DDD

Yesterday was September 11th.

And you know what that means, right?

Something sexy was put up on the NQNS website.

Every month,

on the eleventh,
that's what happens.



I keep things pretty busy.
Apparently, that's the way I like (need?) it.
This October, though, is going to top it all.
It'll be nice, then, to kick off the month with a Dark Dark Dark show.
A record release party, even.
And better yet,
they asked me to do up the flier for them....
I did a black and grey version
(for easy/cheap copying)
and this color version.
It's going to be so good,
you might be an a-hole if you miss it.

Solemente tres dias

I didn't have too many expectations for my 3 day visit to Peru.
I figured as long as I got to see some lighthouses and dead birds,
(and didn't completely starve)
it'd be a successful trip.
It was such a strange and short adventure.
Lima is a city dealing only in extremes.
A coastal city that's also a desert.
It is always grey and foggy,
but never rains.
Old building next to new ones,
with Incan ruins right in the middle of the city.
A business hub surrounded by excessive poverty.

Here's the Faro de la Marina Lighthouse in Miraflores,
only blocks from our hotel.

Lighthouse - check.

Miraflores (part of Lima) from the "beach".

We found dead everything down there,

including some birds.

Dead Peruvian birds - check

Adam and I aren't very proficient in Spanish,
but we got by.
And I found a fully vegetarian restaurant that catered to vegans,
so of course I went every day.
Not starving - check

The rest of it was just icing on the cake.

Lots of sexy old government buildings, churches,

museums and ruins.

We did a lot of tours,

by bicycle, van, taxi, walking, etc.

The best, by far, though,

was inside the Church of San Francisco.

There's catacombs under the church,

with the remains of over 25,000 people.

They didn't allow photos,

but here's a link to exactly what we saw.

So dope.

Most of the world resides in the Northern Hemisphere,

so it was exciting to cross the equator.

Thanks to Adam for figuring out the trip,

and inviting me to join him.

Now it's back to work tomorrow.

Grandma's a Badass.

Viola turned 85 today,

so she got a birthday tattoo.

No kidding.

On her hand.

A cover-up, even.

She didn't move,

or make a peep,

but she did keep us laughing the whole time.

Viola's daughter Stephanie went next,

and got some more work done on her lower leg sleeve.

We added this owl, acorns and leaves,

and colored some of it in.

Tomorrow I tattoo a couple more birds,

then leave early for the airport.

I'm off to Peru with Adam W.

In search of South American lighthouses,

dead birds and vegan food.

I'll be back in the shop September 11th.

Long weekends?

I win.