Remaining Beltaine Ink

I've been away from blogging for a good long while and must now play catchup!

Call for Contributors

I was wondering, would any of my readers like to join NeoPagan Ink and be regular contributors? My requirements are pretty straightforward:

1. Images

You'd have to know how to download/upload images. And you've got to be willing to put in the time to find images; sometimes it can take a while to sift through all of the vaguely labeled images on Flickr. More importantly, all images would have to be licensed under Creative Commons or otherwise be free to use. That means no swiping images from wherever you might happen to find them. No copyright infringement allowed. (I know I've still got quite a few examples of infringement on here but I've already got too much to deal with to go back and update/change/remove them. I plan to eventually!)

2. Competency

I wouldn't feel comfortable bringing anyone on board unless I knew they were competent writers and that they knew their way around the internet. You don't have to be a scholar but you'd have to be able to write something decent and make use of your spell/grammar checker. As mentioned above, you'd also have to know how to download/upload images. And you'd have to know how to handle Blogger and make nice looking posts with correctly functioning links. You don't have to be a blogger necessarily but it would go a long way toward proving to me that you know how to handle the Blogger site. That said, as far as I know, Blogger is the simplest blogging format so if you know how to post text, links and images on a message board you'd probably be just fine. Still, if you want to contribute I'd need some link(s) to show me that you could do a decent job. It could be a link to your personal site or blog, a message board you frequent, your Facebook, etc., just as long as it includes some proof that you could handle things. If you'd prefer you could just send me an email with some links and pictures to show you know how to do those things and that would be fine.

3. Understanding of or Interest in Paganism/Mythology

You wouldn't necessarily have to be pagan to contribute here but it would help if you have a general knowledge of paganism, mythology and the related symbolism. Or you've got to have a high level of interest in these things and a willingness to spend time learning about them so you could present coherent and interesting posts. There's plenty of things I've posted about that I wasn't very familiar with so I had to spend time learning about them; it's part of the fun!

4. Regular and worthwhile posts

This is pretty self-explanatory. You would be expected to publish at least one post per month (but would be very welcome to publish as many as you wish!). And while long explanations aren't required for each post you would be expected to post more than just a photo and a link most of the time. (I've been guilty of doing this, especially lately, which is why I'm looking for some help! My hope is that with others contributing there would be plenty of time to devote to writing quality posts.)

For the record: I'd still be contributing and have veto power and all that. For instance, if you repeatedly steal images, don't write enough posts or start being a jerk I'd kick you right to the curb. (If life got in the way and you couldn't post for a while that would be fine as long as you gave me some heads up.) I'll also maintain control over reader submissions and the associated email address.

To conclude, if you're not sure what being a contributor would entail just go back and read some older posts and that should give you a pretty good idea. If you have questions before throwing your hat in the ring feel free to ask either through comments or through email. I'd really like to keep this blog going and would greatly appreciate some help. I look forward to working with you on this great project!

Happy Birthday NeoPagan Ink!

I started this blog 1 year ago as of July 20!

A few posts have been like this one: blog updates/questions/summaries as well as a handful or so of historical posts with accompanying images. The much greater majority, however, have been tattoo photos with about 30 people submitting their art, sometimes in multiples, but well over 200 being found by yours truly in my many hours of internet surfing.

Roughly 60% of all my visitors are from the United States, with the United Kingdom and Canada surprisingly making up only about 6% each. Germany, Ireland and Saudi Arabia (!) stay pretty much within the 2 or 3% range. Mexico, Norway, Australia, the Netherlands, Thailand, Sweden, Spain, Brazil, Poland and Italy all stay within the 1 to 2% range. Another two dozen or so countries each send me two or three visitors a quarter with European countries factoring more heavily than others. All told, NeoPagan Ink has had about 43,000 hits since I started counting, which I didn't do for the first few months.

What bothers me about that nice round figure is that the majority of my visitors are first time visitors who only stay for a few minutes and then never return. But, as I keep telling my ego, that's to be expected with a blog populated mostly by pictures and nothing else. It also stands to reason that folks visiting a tattoo blog are usually only looking for tattoo ideas for themselves and are not necessarily interested in looking at other tattoos once they find what they're looking for. But it still irks me that so many visitors to NeoPagan Ink stay no longer than five minutes. Which leads me to the changes I've made in content and vision...

I've read before that it takes a good 6 months to a year for a blogger to really find their voice as far as the format, style and content of their blog is concerned. And, in the case of this blog, it's been absolutely true. Up until just a couple months ago I was ripping tattoo images from wherever I found them and only occasionally providing some context for said images. That's all past now as I've become a strictly Creative Commons girl who tries to provide at least some background information about nearly every image. This change reflects the greater shift in my view of this blog from a journal of tattoo photos to an illustrated myth, magic and folklore blog with tattoos serving as the visual interpretation. There are several reasons for this.

One reason is the aforementioned disparity in my visitors who visit once for just a few minutes as opposed to my much smaller group of returning readers. By including more of the background information about the tattoos I hope to give all of my readers a reason to spend some time learning about the important history of deities, symbols, etc., and perhaps keep them coming back for more. The larger reason for this change is that I'm a writer at heart with a long love affair with mythology and folklore who wants to spread some magic through the blogosphere. To that end I've recently begun slowly going back and revisiting older posts and adding more myth and folklore to them. I'm also in the process up updating my labels as I've created categories since I began that I didn't take into account when I started. Basically, I'm revisiting every single post to perhaps add some mythological information and update the labels if necessary. It's kind of a pain and is an ass-backwards way of doing things but it will go a long way toward making my blog more cohesive.

I've also tinkered a lot with the look of NeoPagan Ink over the last year going from all black with skulls and crossbones to this much simpler, cleaner and more universally appealing template. I think I'll probably stick with this template for a good long time, perhaps permanently. I also added a post by post rating system some time ago which I've since removed as so very, very few people ever used it. I try to average about 20 posts per month which I think is reasonable considering that I now include at least a paragraph or two of text with each post and only use free to use images.

So, there you have it. A year of tattoo images and a slowly growing collection of mythological references and many links to tattoo photo sources, tattoo artist sites and galleries as well more than a few links to tattoo shops. I've said it before and I think I'll keep saying it until I can't say it anymore: this blog is a resource for all interested in tattoos of a pagan or mythological bent. I'd like to take this opportunity to say a special thank you to all of my loyal returning readers and commenters. There's not many of you, especially compared to the one-timers, but all of your visits and comments are GREATLY appreciated. I hope to continue providing this service for many years to come.

So, that's the year one summary. There's been a lot of changes but this blog has finally grown up and is really starting to flourish. Here's to the future!

Updates and Tweaks

I've been making a few small, and some not so small, changes around the ol' pagan tattoo blog. Let's get the little things out of the way first. I've added a visible counter, centered the title and added a submission banner as opposed to the old wordy "submission details" section. I've also added a five star ratings system, courtesy of Outbrain, which should better help me figure out just what you folks like (especially since you don't say much).

This is usually the part where I talk about implementing a new template or background. I think I'll give that a miss this time. I like this template; it's clean, simple and doesn't outshine the tattoos themselves. I've also removed the followers section from the page. I liked it but, through direct and indirect comments, I learned that it was preventing some people from submitting their tattoos as they thought they had to join or sign up for something. So, it had to go. Also, NeoPagan Ink is now on MySpace!

I'm also considering a rethink on the few spotlighted tattoo artists. There are so many great artists out there it's hard to know who to choose. And as I'm usually looking for pagan-specific content I often feel a tug-of-war between great artists who have only done a couple pagan tattoos and the very few out-of-the-broom-closet pagan tattoo artists I manage to find. Sometimes I think I'll just scrap the whole thing but something always changes my mind. I think I might, maybe make the spotlighted artists section a rotating project. I dunno, I've still got to think about that. Stay tuned.

Now, for the bigger stuff. I'm making a change in the way I view my visitors. I had previously thought of all of my visitors as very well versed in all things mythology. However, tracking and statistics have shown me that this is not always the case. So, instead of only providing little snippets of myths here and there, I'm gonna make a concerted effort to include myths in nearly every post with the view that my readers might not be familiar with the stories behind the images. I know I've said something like this before but I'm looking at the situation a little differently now.

Instead of thinking of this blog as a tattoo blog with the occasional accompanying stories I'm thinking of it more as a mythology blog with illustrative tattoos. Or something like that; it's late and I'm fuzzy on the details. Don't get me wrong, this is still a tattoo blog first and foremost. But the mythological link is stronger than it was when I first started out last July. So, look forward to richer posts!

As always, I welcome, welcome, welcome comments of any and all kinds. However, if you don't feel like speaking up I strongly encourage you to take advantage of the new ratings system. I want this to be an informative and inspirational resource for pagan tattoo enthusiasts as well as non-pagans interested in pagan, pagan-esque or related images. Feedback, positive or negative, is essential in making this blog the best it can be. Again, I welcome your opinions and encourage you to comment or rate, thanks!

P.S. From now on I'm going to try to stick with images listed under Creative Commons so as to avoid copyright infringement. Commenter Lili brought this issue back to my attention, thanks Lili!

P.P.S. Another great suggestion from Lili prompts me to ask: how many RSS readers do I have out there? Just a quick "Me!" in the comments would be great. This isn't required of course but I do wonder how many there are as, I've just learned, counters don't count you folks.

Link to Scarab Ink

Heads up, folks. There's an awesome scarab tattoo just posted over at Jason Clay Dunn's blog. Check it out. And if you've never visited his site before give it a going over; he's a great artist.

Under Construction

I'm currently in the process of changing my template. After many trials and tribulations I think I've finally decided on this blue and white template. But I haven't got the the links, bloglists and other info and bits and pieces up yet. So, stay tuned. Or not, as this blog might look crappy for a few days.

FYI: I'm going to start linking to specific artists sites. So, if you know of some tattoo artists who seem to specialize in pagan or magical themes, or who may be pagans themselves, leave me a link won't you?

UPDATE: After two headache-filled nights of tinkering I think I'm finally done with the new template. I hope you all like it!

Call for Suggestions; Updates

As my regular readers know I've recently started a new category: Body Mod in Pagan Art. I was really excited about it at first as I figured I'd find lots of examples. Well, either I'm not using the right search terms or I'm not into the right artists or something because I'm having a much tougher time of it than I thought I would. So, I'm putting out a call for pagan-themed art that includes body modification. Now, I don't necessarily mean your own personal, original art (although that would be cool too) but professional or really good amateur examples that you find online. This could include paintings, drawings, digital art, photography, etc. I'm not too picky as long as it's got a pagan-y or magical theme, includes body mod of some sort and is of a pretty good quality. So come on folks and share some art with me! To do so just suggest an artist, send a link or image (with the name of the artist of course) to: neopaganink@gmail.com

Thanks in advance!

Also, in recent weeks I've made a concerted effort to include more of the mythological history and folklore behind many of the images featured here on NeoPagan Ink. I hope you noticed and enjoy these bits of background; I would love some feedback about it.

Lastly, I'm sorta kinda considering changing the blog template (that's the background and colors) not because I dislike the current look but because I love tinkering with my blogs. I've only had this blog up and running since July and the current template was installed within weeks of the first post so it hasn't really been that long. Now, so far I haven't found another suitable template but I'm still looking. At any rate, I'd like to know your thoughts about it: should I change the template or stick with it for a while longer? Or are you ready for a new color scheme and background? If so could you recommend a new look or template?

As always, I'm fishing for feedback as I consider this a blog for all neopagan tattoo enthusiasts and not just for me. I've always wanted this to be a resource for anyone of the pagan-y persuasion to see the great art to be found on pagan bodies. With your help and input I hope to continue showcasing great tattoos for a long time to come.

Burn the Witch: UPDATED: DELETIONS

Okay, I'm just gonna preface this by saying I've been hemming and hawing over this tattoo for months and you might not want to see this. But I think it's important to remember the sufferings of old. Even if they weren't really witches (which most, if not all, weren't) this type of thing really happened. It's disturbing but true to history.

This tattoo comes from Rate My Ink. I'm curious to know what my guests think of this type of tattoo. Is it ok to include here or would you prefer I didn't? You're the boss folks, I just work here. So, let me know what you think.

Edited to UPDATE: I've only had two responses to this, both negative. So, unless I hear different from someone else in the next day or so I'll be removing this post and will not post anything similar in the future.

Edited again to UPDATE: Okay folks, the readers have spoken. Okay, only two spoke but that's enough for me. The image has been removed and I will refrain from posting anything similar in the future. I will, however, leave this post and the link to the original source up if anyone cares to view it.

And while I'm at it: 4 recent posts that contained images from BMEzine have been removed as those folks made it pretty plain they wish to bogart tattoo images. So if you notice a few nice tattoos missing just know you have not lost your mind. They have disappeared and been released back into the blogosphere.

What's Missing?

So, I haven't had any submissions in several weeks now. Given that I was ill for a time that doesn't surprise me too much. And I know I haven't been posting a lot lately and am endeavoring to catch up. But I'm a little concerned about where this blog is going. I wanted to post a poll but it wouldn't work correctly with my template. So, I'm just gonna ask in this post. What would you like to see more of here at NeoPagan Ink? More images from a particular pantheon or tradition? Body art other than tattoo? History of Body Art posts? Other? Bueller? Bueller? I'd REALLY appreciate some input.

Kreativ Blogger Award

Mrs. B. from Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom has nominated NeoPagan Ink for the Kreativ Blogger Award! How cool is that? Now I've got to nominate 6 others and list 6 things I like.

1. Mike from Ozark Photos for his gorgeous photography of my homeland
2. Moonroot for her beautiful arts and crafts
3. Raised by Puffins from Owl Tattoos
4. Kerrdelune from Beyond the Fields We Know for her stunning photography and beautiful words
5. Bill from Tattoosday
6. Red Witch from Sexy Witch, an amazing collection of witches in art and photography

Now, for the six things I like.

1. The smell of a newly struck match
2. Waking up before the alarm goes off just so I can go back to sleep again
3. Candles, incense and oil warmers, anything with small flames that make great smells
4. Honey on fried ham and eggs
5. Walking in the woods or walking in the rain
6. Sunlight through green leaves as seen from right underneath the tree

Call for Submissions

Hey tattooed pagans of the world! I haven't been getting any submissions lately. So, if any of you have been holding back your ink get off your arse and send it in already. And spread the word to your pagan friends. Don't be afraid that your ink isn't good or complex enough. If I had a functioning USB cord I'd post images of my very simple pagan tattoos. There aren't any qualifications that a tattoo must meet. So please send in your ink!

Blog Award

The folks over at MetaPagan have nominated NeoPagan Ink for an award. Yay!

The rules are:

1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links to those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs nominated.

So, here are my seven picks, in no particular order. These aren't all strictly pagan blogs, but they're all awesome.

1. Hecate, politics and paganism
2. At the end of Desire, one woman's pagan path
3. Witches and Scientists, a blog stressing the importance of scientific discovery
4. Herbal Connection, a woman's view of shamanic principles
5. The Herbalist's Path, a great herbal blog
6. Earth and Tree, the natural world with great photos
7. Got Medieval, medieval history, art and humor

UPDATED: Dryads

It's a shame the photo quality isn't a little better. But still, what a tattoo!! This gorgeous black and grey tattoo comes to us from LadyMockingbird's Flickrphotostream.

Updated 12/10/08: Thanks to Ailia for letting me in on a little secret. These ladies aren't a triple goddess representation. They are dryads from the above Boris Vallejo painting. Thanks again Ailia!