countessa

I just got back from a great weekend adventure in Sydney! Feeling rather exhausted now, but nothing that a lot of sleep and vitamin C can't fix!



I got myself some new glasses, they look sorta similar to my old glasses, but they seem really different to me. I am back to plastic frames which is taking some getting used to because I keep wearing them so close to my face (because I CAN) that my eyelashes touch the lens and smear. Boo! Nerdproblems.



Also, this happened...



And I was in a local magazine along with my friend Lily. Double redhead fun!! This photoshoot was so fun even though we were dolled up till we looked like different people. I really want to get a set shot of her for SG, shame about the Melbourne-ness. All my friends leave and go to Melbourne. It's like a pit of wind and ghosts and yet everyone goes there. WHY. Stupid Melbourne. Sydney forever!!!



Speaking of Sydney, I went out partying with these wonderful ladies.


Daeneryss, me, Aubreyx and Christina.

There was also sirius69, Exkyu and Terome out and about (plus some other people who don't have accounts lalala) but for some reason they're not in the group shot! Waa.

Anyway, it was so lovely hanging out with other hopefuls and SG's. I could totally get used to that! Daeneryss and Aubreyx both have sets in the Member Review queue so keep an eye out!


Here's me and Terome being drunk.


And here's me and Aubreyx!

And that's all the photos I decided to take, apparently!

I also went and got another tattoo while I was in Sydney. The artist I chose was Charlie Tapper and she is a fucking awesome chick. Maybe it's placebo effect or something, but I honestly think being tattooed by a bangin' babe actually makes the process a lot less painful! I was able to sit for about five hours (so the whole tattoo). I think the paleo diet that I've been on probably really helped with coping as well. I cried when I did 4hrs on my back a few years ago, this was a walk in the park in comparison.

We talked about so much random stuff and she used a rotary tattoo gun for the outlining which is really really quiet so I didn't even have the conditioning response of the 'tattoo gun sound = pain' thing going on. If you want to check her out here's her Facebook and Instagram.

Here's the outlining done...


And then the morning after!

My body is ridiculously uneven but Miss Charlie did such a great job of minimising the uneven-ness. You can hardly tell now. Also no more 'second belly button' comments EVER. YESSS.

By the way, if you want a tattoo in this location DON'T go too close to your boobs! There is a tiny line just under where your boobs attach to your ribs where there is NO barrier between bone and flesh (where a bra's underwire would sit) and holy snapping duckshit, it hurt!! The rest of it wasn't even half as painful.

It was interesting hanging out at the studio all day too. I know that King's Cross generally gets a bad rap, but it's basically the home of tattooing in Sydney. The studio has been open since the 50's I think and back then they basically just did flash. One of the older artists was telling me that he used to keep a bucket of water and a sponge at his feet to wipe excess ink and blood off with. He'd change the water in the bucket once it was black. So basically at the end of the shift. No gloves, no sterilising wipes, can you imagine? People would just come in, pick something off the wall and off they'd go with an open wound sponged off with other people's blood and ink germs. Haha.



What tough bastards they all were.

He showed me some pretty cool photos from the '70s of him tattooing a dragon freehand onto a Thai (at a guess) guy who didn't speak ANY English (just pointed to the flash on the wall and then at his own chest) as well as him tattooing one of the guitarists from Rose Tattoo. All you can see is both of their long curly locks. It was kind of cute. At the end of my session he said I'd done well and taken it like a champ. Thanks dude. I like to think I can crack hardy with the best of 'em.

Here's what it looks like with boobs hanging naturally. They cover some of the design when I just stand straight. It really makes my boobs pop I think. And that's what everyone wants. Poppin' tatas.


I've already had a few people ask what I'm going to put in the middle and the answer is actually nothing. The tattoo is an ornate baroque frame with nothing inside of it. Ornament for ornament's sake. It's sort of where I stand in terms of architecture and aesthetics in general. I don't think that you need a reason to make pretty curly things. I've kind of been angry at modernism in general since I read Adolf Loos' lecture On Ornament and Crime (it's all over the internet if you want to read it) where he basically outlines how because cavemen liked beads and decorating cave walls then the desire to decorate must be something 'primitive' that the modern "man" must do away with. He actually equates the desire to decorate one's own body with being a criminal or a degenerate. In one part of the lecture he says 'if a tattooed man dies outside of prison, it is only because he has not yet had time to commit his crime'. Yep. And this is taught as part of the syllabus in architecture schools everywhere!

Anyway, so the ink is kind of reactionary to studying that and other bs modernist and minimalist philosophy at university. I think there are plenty of people who prefer clean skin, bare walls and empty coffee tables. I'm just not one of those people and I think that it's simply human nature to want to arrange things in a pleasing way. Whether that be adding a pretty curly frame (with nothing inside haha) or leaving the wall blank and painting it a crisp colour, is down to personal taste. And for me, gimme the pretty frame any day. I am NOT wrong. Despite what Adolf Loos thought.

Though, maybe I should write "today I feel: happy" or whatever mood I'm in and keep it updated every day. Like those old LiveJournal moods.

ps, the shield's shape is taken from the Hogwarts crest. Teehee. Couldn't help myself.



In other news, I got a machine called a DYMO and it makes these AMAZING LABELS haha. I am having so much fun making labels for everything. My great aunt gave me a whole lot of office supplies and this is the BEST thing ever. I've seen these labels on really old filing cabinets but never thought about where they came from. Haha. So retro and lame. There's even a woodgrain patterned sticker roll. And a fluoro green one! YAY.

Before I go, if anyone is interested in shooting a set in Canberra with me; as in I will be set director/photoshopper and Exkyu will be operating the camera, we are running an unofficial shootfest in about a month. I'll be getting naked, plus another SG and some hopefuls. Toss me a message if you'd like to play along. All you need to do is show up with an outfit, I've got hair/makeup/location/post all sorted already. We will be running something similar in Sydney in October with a few more photographers so this is something for the Canberrans, really. But anyone who wants to travel down and get stuff submitted like SOON, contact me and then you will have MOAR sets to submit! Tell your friendss, tell your wife. I am really excited about shooting and organising all this stuff. Whee!

Time for lunch. Kiss kiss.