Brand New Skin

When J.L. was 2 years old,

she got hot grease spilled onto her chest,

and it scarred up pretty seriously.

28 years later she decided to get the spot tattooed,

and in two sessions we put some waves there.

Not to hide them, per se,

but instead to put something there she'd rather see

when she looked in the mirror.



The scar tissue was really varied in thickness and texture,

(notice the shininess in spots)

and some areas gave me a lot of trouble.

This photo is not long after the second session,

so some of the waves are fully healed,

while the bottom and ones on the left are fresh

(and thus darker right now).

































It was a really interesting project,

and I'm happy with how it turned out.

(and the little bit of tie-in to the swirly tattoo on the right)

I don't usually tattoo over burn scars due to their inconsistent nature,

but this worked out well.

Thanks to J.L. for her patience and trust.

Backhanded Birthdays

Now-Slightly-Less Handsome Adam got his right hand tattooed today.

Nothing like pain and swelling to celebrate getting older.

Though, if you've ever seen Adam getting tattooed or lazered,

you'd know he takes it like the toughest of badasses.

He doesn't seem to care at all.

We had a HoneyHoney sing along during the session,

and listened to both their albums.

Twice.























































































Today was only half of a birthday gift.

Next week we'll do the other hand,

and it'll look something like this stencil/marker mess we made today.

One at a time, though.

Baby Portfolios of Cuteness

This is the 500th post.

Which normally would be an accomplishment to be proud of,

but I'm friends with Albie Rock, kids,

and he's way ahead.

Like 800 posts ahead.

And he started after me, too,

at the less-than-gentle prodding of yours truly.

(really, i just started it for him one day)

And since there's no catching up,

500 is just a minor milestone along the way.



But anyway,

since I'm heading to Oregon to work at GogueArt for 3 months,

and having to build a mostly new clientele out there,

I decided to make up these mini portfolios sans shop info.

Just links to where I live in the online world,

my website, this blog, tumblr, etc.

That little thing on the front is a qr code for all your robotphones,

and sends you directly to shawnhebrank.com when scanned.





For some reason I didn't take a photo of the backside

(and that's always the best part, right?)

















































































The idea came from my Japan trip a year and a half ago.

There was a shop there called Cat's Claw that gave away printed portfolios,

and a restaurant that had a mini accordion style menu.

You combine those two ideas,

and ask the awesome Robyn Seguin for her graphic/layout expertise,

and this happens.

You need some printed material, too?

Email her: seguin.robyn@gmail.com

She has a lot of skills with this type of thing,

she just doesn't tell anyone.

Party Hopping

Meryl and I flew to Colorado for her sister Nicole's wedding,

but it was a super quick less-than-3-day visit.



Fly in, drive, rehearsal dinner, drive, bed.

wake up, drive, wedding, drive, bed.

wake up, drive, hike, fly home,

(and then do a birthday dinner for handsome adam!)



Here's us post-vows with our nephew Sia:































We went hiking at Brainard Lake near Boulder.

Meryl took this photo,

and others just as sexy here.

It's pretty unreal out there.













































Once we landed in MPLS,

we still had a birthday dinner to attend.

Identity's Handsome Adam had his golden birthday,

27 on the 27th!

We ate too much blops at T's Place,

since that's tradition now.

We had lots of mango juice, too, of course.

And then,

since shots on your birthday is part of T's tradition,

we had some birthday mango shots.

Just look at me.

That's a dude who doesn't know what state he's in.

Or maybe just poorly adjusting to normal altitude.

































Ruining Adam's bday photos wasn't my only birthday gift to him.

Tomorrow I'm going to ruin his future, too!

How?

Hand tattoos.

Well, just one tomorrow.

(only a-holes get both their hands done in one day)



And then with that comes some big nickname changes.

"Handsome Adam" will also be known as:

"Don't Date My Daughter Adam",

"We're Following You Around the Store Because You Look Sketchy Adam",

and my favorite,

"What Does Your Mother Think About That Adam".

Yup.

27 and all grown up.



Happy Weddings and Happy Birthdays.

You throw the party,

and we'll be there.

A little extra bit more

Yup, the Dark Dark Dark "Celebrate" video is already up.

My face gets a little cameratime at a few spots (1:54 and 3:31),

and it's kinda funny to see myself.

Luckily I just got a haircut that morning,

otherwise everyone would have thought Justin Bieber made a cameo.

yuck.



And just so it's not three exclusively DDD related posts in a row,

here's the stencil/sharpie stage of a backpiece I started today.

The existing tree/feet/moons were done by someone else,

I'm just excited to do all of this artichoke, eggplant, sunflower and snail action.

More of all of that soon.

The Big Show.

Last night was a blast.

Getting to work with Marshall, Dark Dark Dark,

and all the other talented people involved

doing the live score to Fritz Lang's "Spies" at the Walker Art's Center

was a pretty awesome experience.

We performed in front of a few thousand people,

and it seemed like a big success.

Meryl took the above photo as the movie was just starting,

and then I found this clip on YouTube of the train crash scene.









We also did a music video for DDD's "Celebrate"

while we were at the Walker,

and hopefully that will be released soon.



Now that all of this is done,

I'm back to having rehearsal-less Sundays

(and I'm expecting some series stepping withdrawals).

Goodbye, dear Spychestra Crew.

I'll be hearing your beats in my dreams.

Spies!

Tonight is the DarkDarkDark and Modern Times Spychestra performance,

we're doing a live score to Fritz Langs's silent film "Spies".

Minneapolis' Walker Art Center

It'll be outside if it doesn't rain,

and it's free,

so if you miss it,

you're probably an a-hole.

If it rains,

it'll be in the Walker's theatre space that we did the rehearsal in last night.

That's what these photos are from,

expertly taken by Meryl.

(and there's even more here)



It's been really amazing working on this,

and being a part of it.

(even without any musical talent,

dance skills, or singing ability!)

I'm excited for the actual performance tonight,

hope to see you there...

Too many words...

...no room for photos.



Plans.

I've made some serious plans for the rest of 2011,

and the first few months of 2012.

I'll start with the new year plans and work backward.



In January, Meryl and I will be headed West.

Back to Grants Pass, but this time we'll stay for 3 months!

We'll be living out there,

and I'll be working at GogueArt,

Jeff Gogue's tattoo shop and art gallery.

I'm beyond excited,

and I feel like the luckiest,

most fortunate tattoo artist in the world right now.

Jeff is such an amazing and inspiring person,

and I look forward to four months of growth in both tattooing and painting.

Obviously, I don't have a Grants Pass clientele,

so I might be doing some guest spots occasionally in Portland,

but otherwise, that's where you'll be able to find me.

Then, in April, we'll be moving back to Minneapolis.



So with that departure date in mind,

I have committed to only two (tattooing) travel plans for the rest of 2011.

In September (15th-18th) I'll be doing the Paradise Tattoo Gathering at Jiminy Peak in MA,

and in November (13th-16th) I'll be at Optic Nerve in Portland, OR.



I will also be doing a big tattoo project the first 11 days of November.

I'll be doing one 5 hour(ish) tattoo each day,

starting November 1rst,

and ending November 11th.

(11/11/11)

I'm almost done with the 11 drawings for that,

and will have them at the shop for viewing and booking soon.

If you already know you need one,

contact me for more details,

and to save your spot.

And then after November 11th,

I'm thinking of printing up a little art zine

with the drawings and finished tattoos in it.

.

.

.

Aside from all of that,

if you're working on some tattoo projects

(that you want finished before January),

come by Identity Tattoo and have Handsome Adam book a series of appointments.

The rest of August is booked,

and September is filling up, too.

And if you're unable to come into the shop to leave a deposit

(let's say you don't live in MN),

I can take paypal deposits now, too.

Just email me.



That's pretty much everything.

Minneapolis and both coasts,

tattooing and moving and all of that.

full moon over minneapolis

It's a big, beautiful, full moon out tonight.

I took Shamira for a walk around Powderhorn Park

when I got home from work,

and it was so bright.

Which was good, because it helped me not step on any of the frogs (toads?)

that weren't trying very hard not to get stepped on.



I got to end my week on a positive note* with this half sleeve.

No joke, the only direction I was given was "something pretty".

And then this happened.

Handsome Adam was a little trigger happy with the camera today,

so I have some nice progress shots.

(thanks adam!)

Stencil/marker, in progress, and final product.

6 hours total.





















































































































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*thank goodness, too.

because, man, one of friday's appointments

brought me right to the brink of crazy.

it wasn't pretty.

i somehow even lost my dress shirt, but kept the tie on.

and then went to go scrub tubes to calm down.

check out how defeated i look.

well, i know, i always kinda look like that.

but trust me,

i was not amused.

but no matter how bad it was,

it was still only the third worst client experience i've ever had.

you know connecticut still holds first AND second place in terrible tattoo getters.

forever.

Slow and sexy

Max and his friend Ally,
(both from Connecticut )
are heading cross country,
and Max decided he needed a sexy pin up sloth tattoo,
so I figured out a way to squeeze him in.
He says Varga was his grandmother's brother,
and he wanted a sloth after visiting Costa Rica recently.
Somehow, those got put together into Max's first ever tattoo.
Sloths are weird, for sure,
but way weirder when trying to look sexy.
Here's a link to the original Varga pose we used.






















Max never even got to see Minneapolis,
since they drove up from Chicago that morning,
and they kept heading west as soon as we finished.
But Ally did head into the city
and checked out the mill ruins for a bit while the tattoo was in progress.
I gave them a few spots not to miss on their travels,
a few email address,
and some good luck wishes.

dirt love.

Peyton stayed with us at Louderhorn Inn this weekend,
and we showed her around some parts of MPLS that she's never seen before.
I never get tired of those mill ruins downtown,
so if you're coming to visit,
I'll take you there, too.






















Peyton is getting a doctorate in microscopic soil bugs.
Or dirt creatures.
I don't really know,
but I like the parts about symbiotic relationships,
especially between mushrooms and trees.
Anyway, we worked on her sleeve some more today,
mushrooms and ferns and roots and mycorrhiza.


















It's slightly less scientific
(but still kind of relevant):
Over at Ilovedeadbirds.com
we're having a little contest.
A vote of the best photo/post from the last two years,
since the blog's 2nd anniversary is coming up.
Head over there and vote on your favorite.
And here's to another two years of loving dead birds!