I did it for the lulz.
Ok, so some of you are wondering, who the hell is that guy in my tattoo? Please understand that most jokes that need explaining end up losing something in the translation, and you really have to be from Tacoma (or the area) to fully grok the "I see what you did there" aspect of the piece.
Tacoma's "famous artist" is Dale Chihuly. Chihuly is world famous for his blown glass, and is the creator of the Bridge of Glass in downtown Tacoma. Every third person in Tacoma seems to have a story about the dude. Most of my friends who've worked for him say he's kind of a dick, but I can say that about most of my previous bosses, so who knows? He does get criticized for not actually blowing any of the glass he gets credit for, but he's unable due to a couple of unfortunate accidents, neither of which were glass related. A guy I met tonight told a story of Dale happening across his daughter's birthday party at a bowling alley, and being very gracious, signing stuff, and sending the girl a gift pack later.
Personally, I've never met the guy, so I don't know. He's a successful artist that some locals like to poke fun at. I do know that he's not the type of person that springs to mind when you're thinking up a tattoo concept.
Chihuly lost an eye in a car accident, leaving him wearing his definitive eye patch. Combine this with his unruly hair and his passion for Hawaiian shirts, and you start getting a lot of pirate jokes. I can't remember exactly how it happened, but a few years back this vision came to me of Chihuly's face over a pair of cross bones. I burst into laughter, and the idea made me giggle ever since. My friend Sion helped me photoshop up a draft, and my friend Katy finally got tired of me putting it off so she bought it for me as a gift.
Tacoma's response so far has been excellent.
Tacoma's "famous artist" is Dale Chihuly. Chihuly is world famous for his blown glass, and is the creator of the Bridge of Glass in downtown Tacoma. Every third person in Tacoma seems to have a story about the dude. Most of my friends who've worked for him say he's kind of a dick, but I can say that about most of my previous bosses, so who knows? He does get criticized for not actually blowing any of the glass he gets credit for, but he's unable due to a couple of unfortunate accidents, neither of which were glass related. A guy I met tonight told a story of Dale happening across his daughter's birthday party at a bowling alley, and being very gracious, signing stuff, and sending the girl a gift pack later.
Personally, I've never met the guy, so I don't know. He's a successful artist that some locals like to poke fun at. I do know that he's not the type of person that springs to mind when you're thinking up a tattoo concept.
Chihuly lost an eye in a car accident, leaving him wearing his definitive eye patch. Combine this with his unruly hair and his passion for Hawaiian shirts, and you start getting a lot of pirate jokes. I can't remember exactly how it happened, but a few years back this vision came to me of Chihuly's face over a pair of cross bones. I burst into laughter, and the idea made me giggle ever since. My friend Sion helped me photoshop up a draft, and my friend Katy finally got tired of me putting it off so she bought it for me as a gift.
Tacoma's response so far has been excellent.