First Little Octopus

Friday, the 16th of May, I asked and was allowed to learn some stuff at the shop: [link]
Osam supervised and taught me about the needles, ink, how to assemble the machine, align everything, etc. Since I was only allowed to make a design 1-2" square, I hurriedly put together this little octopus baby. I wasn't really expecting to do it TODAY, and I wasn't prepared, and I was so nervous, doing my very first self-tattoo...

It's a real commitment, to my own art, to the job, taking possession of my body, and many other heavy spiritual and emotional matters. And it all came down to the moment when I held the buzzing, vibrating machine in tight fingers and hesitated before touching it to my calf..
but I did. And about halfway through, the focus, tiny localized pain, and endorphins all came in a rush of adrenaline and excitement and I started laughing and saying ｢楽しい、うれしい、ああ～楽しい!」 (This is so much fun, omg, THIS IS FUNNNN!!)

The coloring was incredibly entertaining too, and I got the hang of this beast pretty quickly, the speed of the needle and the weight of the machine, which were all totally new to me.

So here's my first attempt at tattooing anything on anything, and it wound up being a baby octopus on my own right calf. I think next is gonna be some flowers and maybe more sea creatures. I'll keep working on this leg and let someone else do beautiful work on the other. XD