Yakuza Tattoos

Lower Back Tattoos

2011-07-08T13:38:00.002-07:00

Lower back tattoos is one of the best places to get tattooed. This is the best spot for women. Tattoos on this area are really beautiful. When you have your ink on this part, then it can be best seen with low rise jeans or hipster skirts or even a midriff shirts or blouses. Your purpose of having a tattoo may be different from the others. But regardless of whatever reason you may present when someone asks you why you got a tattoo, tattoos are meant to be seen and appreciated.

Having lower back tattoos is a good idea for girls who like to wear small tops with low waist jeans. Such fashions uncover the abdominal area, which leads to a wonderful place to have a drawing on your skin. Having drawings on your skin could be a great fashion statement and an indication of your culture. Besides, they could be an attractive addition to your appearance leaving a lot to your imagination.

Lower back tattoos are very common and often tried. It is not hard to spot them on a sandy beach. This does not make them any less sensual, or unattractive. Indeed, with the right top and bottom, lower back tattoos can really pin most eyes on any occasion. Hence, to judge tattoo designs for lower back, you must have an eye on the beginning and end of the shape. If they are sharp, then it is a good sign to go for this design. Adding to this, check the color brightness and boarding lines between each two different colors. It should be sharp and well-defined so that the contrast between each 2 different colors is clear.

Ankle Tattoos

2011-07-08T13:38:00.000-07:00

Ankle tattoos are a popular choice of tattoos amongst woman and girls right now. Generally, an ankle tattoo is a tattoo which in in the areas of the body from the lower calf to the ankle region. There are a wide range of ankle tattoo designs to choose from, including ankle band tattoos, ankle rose tattoos, and butterfly ankle tattoos to name a few. These tattoos all look magnificent and beautiful when placed tattooed onto a girls ankle.

The ankle are favorite spots for tattoos because they are two of the shapeliest parts of the body. Nothing can be appealing than a sexy tat peeping out of one’s stylish sandals or high heeled stilettos. Even if these two body parts are painful to get tattooed on because of less tissues and flesh in the areas, this does not seem to stop the women as their popularity continues to rise. Ankle tattoos are are a popular choice of tattoo, by girls as they can be easily hidden when needed. For example, at a job interview where you don’t want your tattoo to be shown – you can easily hide it by covering it up with stockings or a sock. Or, when you want your tattoo to be shown, you can simply wear sandals which expose your tattoo. This flexibility adds to the appeal of getting an ankle tattoo design.

If you are looking to be unique in your ankle tattoos, you have to think outside the box and be creative. Go for a timeless design and not based on something that is a fad. Also, think of harmony and execution to compliment the message you want to convey with your tattoo.

Feminine Tattoos

2011-07-08T13:37:00.001-07:00

Feminine tattoos and locations for placement always seem to be changing just like hair styles and hemlines. We’re going to share with you the feminine tattoo designs and placement locations for today. The most popular feminine tattoos today are those placed in the lower back region. No longer considered a tramp stamp, the lower back tattoo is becoming very popular with a variety of design ideas. The lower back tattoo is a great way to accentuate and enhance the natural curves of the female body. Women are adorning this area with tattoo designs like that of hearts, stars, angels, fairies and flowers.

Most ladies like their tattoo initially, but as time goes by, there can be regret. This can be because the design is not right or it was applied poorly or in the wrong place. For these reasons, it is imperative that the original choice is carefully considered and the area it is applied to is appropriate. The options once you have a tattoo are fairly limited and if removal is decided upon, this can be painful and extremely costly. It is for this reason you don’t rush the process when you are considering your dream feminine tattoo designs.

Feminine tattoos can look fantastic on the right body. In this whole process, never lose site of the fact that you will get older and your body will change. What is there today, may look completely different in 10 or 20 years time so choose your design and more importantly position very carefully. Good feminine tattoo designs can look very sexy today so make the most of them.

Tattoo Magazine

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If you decide you want to become an tattoo artist. it is more than just ordering a tattoo through a tattoo magazine, or website. or even your friends allowing you to start experimental tattoos on them! The art of tattooing, is an ancient art form, with a set of rules that must be understood fully if you are going to succeed as an tattoo artist.

A browsing through any tattoo magazine will reveal a host of beautifully created and colorfully decorated skin art. These designs can range from the most realistic depictions of flowers and butterflies to the grittiest interpretations.

A visit to your local bookstore will also prove helpful. Try browsing the magazine section and see if they have a tattoo magazine that you can check out for designs that you would like. Or you can search for the best tattoo artist in town, visit him and ask if he has a selection of tattoo designs that you can choose from. Do not rush and pick the first design that you like. Take your time, do your research and you will surely find the sparrow tattoo that will perfect on you.

Tattoo Magazine

Tattoo Artwork

2011-07-08T13:36:00.000-07:00

Do you like tattoo artwork? Getting more the best choice of tattoo artwork from this blog. I have many design of tattoo artwork that I get from searching online. Check it out and You will get many ideas of tattoo artwork.

Tattoo Artwork

Libra Tattoos

2011-07-08T13:35:00.001-07:00

If you’re thinking about getting a variation of Libra tattoos you need to go against the grain and make a wise, informed decision. The scales of justice that represent Libra are not as boring a design as they may seem. I will tell you how you can spice up your design and have people talking. It takes a little imagination and the right information. Libra is the seventh of the twelve signs of the zodiac. It falls between September and October. The ruling planet of Libra is Venus. There is also a glyph that represents Libra.

Work with a good professional tattoo artist. Make sure that do your research before you go to an ink studio. Talk to people who have availed of their service and check out their portfolio. A lot of them are more than willing to create a custom design especially for you. Don’t opt for the free designs being offered on the web. As the old adage goes, you get what you paid for. If its free, it means a lot of people have seen and used them already. They are usually the genetic art and cookie cutter types of designs. It’s worth spending some amount of money on your body art since its forever.

Choosing a tattoo can be a hard decision. It will be with you for life so you want it to be unique and imaginative. Stop wasting time looking at website after website. Find great Libra tattoos by looking through thousands of the best tattoo designs all in one place.

Skull Tattoos

2011-07-08T13:34:00.002-07:00

Skull tattoos may appear gruesome or scary to others but those who patronized this type of tat theme actually have special meanings attached to it. They are not just tattooed on them in order to appear tough or to appear funny. We will be looking at the several variations of skull tattoo designs and the symbolism attached to them.

Skull can be a symbol of protection, strength and power. For some people who already experienced danger, it can be a symbol of overcoming death, danger or a tough time. For those people who overcome trials, it can be a symbol for a past life, now changed, never to revert. Skulls can also be a reminder of death and bad behavior. In history, it is a symbol of victory over the enemy and a warning to the people defeated in battle. Skull is an obvious declaration of triumph.

Skulls can be drawn in various ways. Every person that chooses to have a skull tattooed on their body has a reason and meaning. They are also popular to girls who want a tattoo because not all skulls have to be demonic and masculine. It can also be in a more feminine design but many women even prefer the more demonic skull. In some cases, couples that want matching skull tattoos but of different sexes, the women prefer to smooth out the rough edges to show their feminine side.

Those who have skull tattoos look upon it as their protection from death or their talisman. It can also be a symbol of near death experience or one’s survival from a fatal accident or illness. Other’s even consider it as a lucky charm. Whatever meaning the wearer wants to attached to it, the important thing it the personal connection and symbolism it has to them.

Eeyore Tattoos

2011-07-08T13:34:00.000-07:00

Do you like Eeyore Tattoos? Getting more the best choice of Eeyore Tattoos from this blog. I have many design of Eeyore Tattoos that I get from searching online. Check it out and You will get many ideas of Eeyore Tattoos.

Eeyore Tattoos

Black And White Tattoos

2011-07-08T13:33:00.000-07:00

Black and white tattoos are becoming an increasingly popular choice among people getting their first tattoo and offer some compelling benefits over full color tattoos. Getting a tattoo may be one of the most difficult decisions of your life. The expense is not so great, but it is the permanency of the decision that can be difficult. What you enjoy or want to express as a young person may not be all that appropriate when you grow older, yet you will always have to live with the decision you make.

One of the great things about black and white tattoos is that they are easily changeable. A simple line tattoo can be filled in, altered, colored in, or even tattooed over with ease later in life. If you get a simple tattoo now and decide that you don’t like it or it is no longer appropriate, then you can change it much easier than if you had filled it in with color.

Look for professional artists who can give you striking black and white tattoo designs. Although, these designs can considered by some as simple because of the lack of color, it is still best to consult the right person who can give you the best advice and who can suggest the best designs that will fit you.

If you are looking for a wide variety of tattoo designs to select from, then I strongly suggest you check out this huge collection of black and white tattoos.

Bullseye Tattoos

2011-07-08T13:32:00.002-07:00

Do you like bullseye tattoos? Getting more the best choice of bullseye tattoos from this blog. I have many design of bullseye tattoos that I get from searching online. Check it out and You will get many ideas of bullseye tattoos.

Bullseye Tattoos

Hot Bullseye Tattoos

Guardian Bullseye Tattoos

Bullseye Tattoos

Aries Tattoos

2011-07-08T13:32:00.000-07:00

If you want to ink a tattoo but are not sure about which one will be appropriate and match with your personality then the safest bet is go for zodiac signs. According to western astrology the entire population is divided in to 12 groups depending upon the birth date of an individual. According to the astrology if your birth day falls between 21 March and 19th April then you are an Arian. You will never have to look far for a fashionable but multi-faceted body art since Aries tattoos are all the way yours to have forever.

To enhance the overall effect of Aries tattoo, there are many different symbols which can be incorporated in to the Aries tattoo sketches like knotted, Celtic and tribal art etc. If you want something unique then you have to see lots of Aries tattoos. The best source of free Aries tattoo sketches is internet. You will find lots of free website that hosts tons of Aries tattoo designs and pictures.

If you and your lover are looking for a tattoo design that you can place in your arms side by side to show intimacy, you might want to consider the glyph that can provide you the feeling of togetherness. To show your witty personality as an Aries, you can describe your individuality as someone who still smiles despite adversities through humorous or comical Aries tattoos. Moreover, because you are brave to face any problems in your life, you can honor your fortitude through a tattoo design that commemorates your undying bravery.

Boxing Tattoos

2011-07-08T13:31:00.000-07:00

Man had always used different ways to express his feelings and inner personality. This expression is pretty much visible in the way a person dresses and the things he or she wears. For instance, most people like wearing boxing t-shirts because they symbolize courage, bravery and strength. Although a boxing t-shirt is something of a generic nature, there are many personalized ways of showing off individuality and personality. One of the ways that have been around for ages is the art of boxing tattoos.

Do you like boxing tattoos? Getting more the best choice of boxing tattoos from this blog. I have many design of boxing tattoos that I get from searching online. Check it out and You will get many ideas of boxing tattoos.

Tattoo Books

2011-07-08T13:30:00.000-07:00

Tattoo books are a very helpful and informative supply of ideas. With the help of tattoo books you’ll have the option to determine what would be the right tattoo for you personally. There are literally a whole lot of tattoos obtainable available on the market so discovering a very good one will not be a problem. When you go into a tatoo parlor you’ll usually find that they’ve got tattoo books for you to take a have a look at with many various tattoo designs. A few of these books will additionally show pcitures of these tattoos on an individual so you could see what they would appear like on someone else.

A complete reference information for body art, illustrating the important points of tattoo artwork and providing stylish designs on a range of subjects, many of them are accompanied by photographs exhibiting how the design interprets to the skin. The designs supplied include classic tattoo motifs corresponding to flowers, hearts, butterflies, stars and zodiac symbols alongside contemporary favorites like Japanese kanji characters.

An excellent tattoo book could be show off the physique of people’s body. It’s an eye-opening look into the amazingly creative methods that tattoo artists are using. Whereas nearly all of tattoo artwork uses photographs to convey messages, right here the message actually is the picture. Twenty-six alphabetical characters might not appear like much to work with, but a glance through these photographs reveals a different story. They include truly distinctive social commentaries, expressions of love, hilarious examples of biting satire.

You need a creative imagination of a design transferred from a dull piece of paper onto your skin. Remember that this tattoo will be with you forever. Make certain that the whole design and artist you choose is the right one. A tattoo is a lifetime so these books should help you out choose these tattoos. After all, before computers and the internet everyone did everything on paper.

Body Suit Tattoos

2011-07-08T13:29:00.001-07:00

At that time only the most noble were allowed to display and wear fine clothing. The middle class which mostly consisted of general labourers, were forbidden to adorn themselves and wear fine clothes. As the middle class were denied permission to show any adornment, they used an alternative method and chose body suit tattoos.

It is believed the body suits were derived from samurai warrior’s sleeveless campaign coats. These coats usually displayed heroic designs on the back such as symbols of great bravery and pride. Body suits tattoo designs began on the back and continued to extend to the arms, shoulders, thighs and eventually the entire body.

If one tattoos over the entire front of their upper bodies, with the exception of a vertical strip from the chest to the abdomen, this gives the effect or illusion of an unbuttoned vest or body suit. Body Suit tattooing, explains not only the art involved but also the political and the social forces that is involved in the Japanese culture. This art is the top pick of the college level arts that best holds the culture and history of art. There are many Tattoo events and tattoo shops in big cities which make body tattooing a popular among the people.

The growth of the body suit also coincided with the growing popularity of the fictional tattooed heroes. Near the end of the eighteenth and the start of the nineteenth centuries illustrated by the works of fiction was created both the inspiration and desire for tattoos.

White Tattoos

2011-07-08T13:28:00.002-07:00

White tattoos seems caught its success overnight artist getting their white tattoos. White tattoos are different from its traditional equivalents in the sense that they generally skip the normal process of outlining and stenciling in black ink, which is required in the traditional ones before a tattooist begin to color your tattoos. A white tattoo is thus performed exclusively in white pigment, and it is so distinctive that it is like a ghostly image. If you have ever seen some of them, you will find that they are mostly like scarifications or brands, which are not easily noticed.

The white tattoo with white ink is made simply with the help of white ink and is slightly visible under sunlight. These tattoos can be extremely beautiful in a very delicate way. If you want to go for a completely white tattoo, a delicate dove on your inner wrist can look extremely beautiful. You can achieve a number of styles with the help of white ink tattoos. Now let us look at the white tattoo ink. Some of the white tattoo inks are sold opaque, to be used alone, while others are mixed with colored inks to get a different shade.

White tattoos are generally more suited on people with pale skins. Because white pigment can be more easily seen through the a pale skin than a dark skin. Also, they should be placed on the body areas that are less exposed to sun light since sunlight can accelerate the fading of white ink tattoos. If you want to have a white ink tattoo, you may also need more care and need some touch-ups from time to time to keep it from fading.

Unfortunately, most white tattoos fade out after a year or a bit more, especially if it is exposed to the sunlight a lot. However, there are some brands that create great colors that last. Remember that tattoos are meant to express who you are. So if bold colors and bright tattoos are not your style, white tattoos can be a great idea.

Cowboy Tattoos

2011-07-08T13:28:00.000-07:00

Cowboy tattoos are very famous these days and the designs reflect the individuality of a person through different designs and colors. Tattoo foreshadows the particular trait of a human being; it brings his inside to the outside world. As we know, tattoos are permanent and will remain on your skin for your lifetime until you get them removed through surgery. Tattoos are not just simple designs placed anywhere on the body, but they are a medium to communicate your personal views and give a universal message about it. One of the most popular designs is barbed wire tattoos, which symbolize your personality and show it to the world at large.

The main task in getting a cowboy tattoo done is the selection of the body part where you want to get it implanted. Barbed wire tattoos can be made anywhere, but they look best around the circular parts of the body. You can use it around the neck, around your leg or ankles or as a waist band tattoo or on the back, as it gives you enough space to place your design the way you wish to. Where ever it is used, it is supposed to give a strong message of bonding, within or without.

One can also experiment with the design, combining it with some other designs or slogans. You can choose a combination of a barbed wire tattoo with cow skull or horse tattoo giving you a cowboy look. There are countless unique designs of cowboy tattoo that fascinates the world of men.

UV Tattoos

2011-07-08T13:27:00.000-07:00

UV tattoos are an alternative to regular, or common, tattoo ink. Commonly known as a glow in the dark tattoo, or black light tattoo, UV tattoos project a bright color under a black light. . UV stands for ultraviolet and it is a type of radiation, or light, which is nearly invisible to the human eye. Ultraviolet tattoos do not simply glow in the dark, they require the use of a black light. Clubs, concerts and bowling alleys are places that commonly use black lights.

The basic color of UV ink usually matches the skin after the tattoo has fully healed. This means that you will be able to go to work with a tattoo, in a visible area, without people noticing your tattoo. This will allow a business “professional” to appear businesslike during the day, but still have the ability to be a party-animal at night. If you are worried about visible tattoos hindering your career, but still love art on your skin, a UV tattoo is a good choice. Also, if you decide to get someone’s name inked on your skin, and break up with the person, the tattoo will only be visible under black light.

In addition to the basic color of black light ink which is virtually undetectable during daylight, there are many other colors available that are visible in daylight. For instance, you can have a tattoo of a yellow sun, which is visible in daylight, but will also glow under black light. Each color of UV ink will glow a different color under a black light. This will give you added creativity when choosing ink colors for your tattoo.

The flexibility of UV tattoos is endless. You can select to have a tattoo outlined in black light ink or have an entire tattoo created in UV ink, the choice is yours. Any design that can be applied in regular tattoo ink can be created with ink that is visible under black lights.

Eagle Tattoos

2011-07-08T13:26:00.001-07:00

There are a lot of people who go for eagle tattoos when they decide to get ink done. This is will give you the information you need to know before going out and getting one. The eagle mainly symbolizes three things. Freedom. Strength and independence and this is why an eagle is such a favored choice among many tattoo enthusiasts. It is always best when you understand your personal symbolism when you get an eagle tattooed on your body. It is typically the men who go for getting an eagle tattoo and is generally considered as a solid kind of body art to get.

Eagles are also often accompanied by word banners, particularly if the tattoo is done as a memorial or tribute to someone. Words such as freedom, strength, and liberty are popular choices added to banners or underneath a tattoo of an eagle. Images of eagles have played important roles throughout history in many different lands, appearing in various emblems.

By far the best kinds of eagle tattoos are those that are large and are usually placed on a person’s arm or the whole length of his back. It is a design that is most striking when placed on a larger area of the body where there are lots of spaces that an artist can work around in. It is also important to understand that realistic looking eagle tattoo designs can be achieved using thin or fine lines rather than bold, aggressive lines. This is because an artist can achieve a lot of detail using fine and thin lines.

Some eagles are tattooed in flight, as if swooping in on their prey, complete with sharp talons, and of course the internet and many tattoo shops are full of images of the majestic eagle in varying poses. If patriotism is an integral part of the tattoo, red, white, and blue will be prominent colors, in addition to the various shades of browns and beige for the eagle itself.

Free Tattoos

2011-07-08T13:25:00.002-07:00

Do you really want a free tattoos. If you look through all of the free tattoo sites, you might be able to find a tattoo design that will suit your needs. There are many free tattoo design sites out there, that you could literally spend weeks searching through them all. The free sites have tens of thousands of designs. Most are not organized in categories, and most do not give you the flexibility to change the scale of the design.

Wouldn’t it be great to find a place that has an infinite variety of free tattoos that you can get inspiration from any time. Wouldn’t it be so cutting-edge to offer your clients the newest ink design fresh off the drawing board. Think about how much of an expert you’d look like to your clients if you sat them down to showoff this plethora of totally customizable tattoos just for them. I’m sure that would make them feel like a premium level client securing their business with you.

If you are looking for a simple basic design, you will probably have a pretty good chance of finding it on the Free Tattoo sites. If you are thinking of an intricate tribal tattoo, a Maori design, an awesome shoulder tattoo, a large back piece or something that is truly unique, you should really take your time and do all your research. Check out all the “free” sites. if you still can not find what you are looking for, tap some of your artistic friends to sketch a few designs for you. Also, go to your local tattoo shop and check out the designs on the wall and in their books.

Don’t settle for tattoo designs that aren’t top quality, even if they’re free. Tattoo fanatics are looking for unique, personalized designs that virtually no one else has. Give your what they’re looking for and they will be yours.

Old School Tattoos

2011-07-08T13:25:00.000-07:00

It seems like everything old is new again in just about every part of life. Tattoo design is no different. Many of the old school tattoos are showing back up in ink on people everywhere. Some of the old school tattoo designs that you see around are more like an homage to the original design, reminiscent of the first designs. But other tattoos are very faithful to the original design. One of the most common old school tattoo designs showing up is that of a pinup girl. They were supposed to remind the soldiers who they were fighting for.

the tattoo became quite popular during World War II. Returning soldiers and sailors wanted souvenirs to show off their worldly exploits to their family and friends. Popular designs include Navy and other armed forces symbols, anchors, daggers, pin up girls, mermaids, roses, hearts, and swallow and sparrow tattoos. These Western traditional design style tattoos, or old school tattoos feature bright red and green colors with little or no shading. Yellow, blue, purple and brown colors were rarely used in the designs. Each design had symbolism behind it.

Old School Tattoos are enjoying a worldwide resurgence of popularity. Historical evidence shows us that elements of old school tattoos have been in existence throughout most of the world’s history. The timeless designs and patterns of the Old School Tattoos have been around since prehistoric times and remain attractive to us even today.

Kerry Unveils Some Masterpieces

2011-06-29T03:51:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, I felt like I had won the Tattoosday lottery. In my own neighborhood, I ran into Kerry, who had a bit of a tattoo peeking out of her left sleeve. I stopped her and introduced myself, and she shared some simply phenomenal work. We'll get to that left sleeve in a second, but Kerry figured I'd be impressed with this tattoo on her upper right arm:

Well, she was certainly right about that! This is a piece by Anil Gupta at Inkline Studio in Manhattan. The detail of this work is astonishing.

Anil Gupta is considered a master of the biomechanical tattoo. Kerry explained:

"I'd seen Gupta's work and I really wanted something in the biomechanical style ... I just thought of a butterfly, which is usually something very feminine and soft, just made it out of parts and steel ... like a cool mix of the styles ... we just kept building and adding more stuff to the design ... he was great to work with."

To get a full appreciation of the tattoo, check out the work from Gupta's portfolio. Simply stunning!

That's twenty-five hours of work by a master of the biomechanical.

Remember, it wasn't the Gupta tattoo that caught my attention, but this colorful section of a sleeve, on the lower part of Kerry's left arm:

Kerry rolled up her sleeve to reveal the entire arm:

What you see is approximately forty-two hours of work by the talented Kaz at New York Adorned.

Kerry explained the genesis of this sleeve:

"I saw this picture when I was looking up samurai stories, because I'm a martial artist and, initially, we were just going to do it half-sleeve, but then just decided to go whole hog. Kaz is really good, so I just let him go crazy with it."

Kerry's focus in martial arts is grappling and kick-boxing.

And to think, I would have missed all of this amazing work, had I not been intrigued by the head of this Japanese monster, peeking out from one of her sleeves!

Thanks to Kerry for sharing her simply stunning tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

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Nicole Takes Us to Candyland

2011-06-28T03:00:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the month, I had the pleasure of encountering a young lady named Nicole in Herald Square (34th Street and 6th Avenue, for you out-of-towners).

Nicole is heavily inked, estimating that "about 45%" of her body is tattooed.

So with so much work, where to begin? She offered up her lower left leg, which is fully-sleeved.

I always find photographing sleeves challenging, because it is so hard to capture all of the details accurately and perfectly in a photograph. So here's a collage of Nicole's Candyland sleeve:

Why a Candylamd-themed sleeve? Nicole explained,

"Growing up, that was my favorite game in the whole world.

Getting my tattoos never really meant anything, so that was kinda the one, like, childhood thing . . . I feel like if you're a girl, you should have pretty, colorful tattoos ... otherwise, you don't look 'girly' anymore.

So that's why I did that."

Nicole credited Brian Randolph, formerly of New York Adorned, with this work

Nicole informed me that Brian had moved to California, but he comes back and forth every six months. She did say that, although this work is solely from Brian, she also gets tattooed by Justin Weatherholtz at Kings Avenue Tattoo in Massapequa, New York.

Thanks to Nicole for sharing her incredibly colorful leg sleeve with us here on Tattoosday!

Musician Monday: Doug from The Sleeping and Gramp's House

2011-06-27T03:54:00.000-07:00

This installment of Musician Monday features Doug Robinson, lead singer from the rock band The Sleeping. I ran into Doug last week in Penn Station and stopped him when I saw all of his tattoos.

Doug has had some of his work featured in Tattoo Magazine and is in the current issue of Tattoo Flash, so I was indeed honored when he agreed to share a piece from his right forearm:

Doug explained that this tattoo is based on a logo created by a friend of his, whose grandfather had passed away and left him his house. Doug's friend, along with Doug and three other guys, lived in the house which they dubbed "Gramp's House." The home was, as Doug told me, "a really important place for all of us," and many of them got this logo tattooed, as a tribute to that special place that they all held near and dear.

Doug credited Jelena Nikolic from Lone Wolf Tattoo in Bellmore, Long Island, with this tattoo.

Thanks to Doug for sharing his work with us here on Tattoosday!

Check out The Sleeping's video for "Don't Hold Back":

Jessica: A Sugar Skull and Scream and Scream Again

2011-06-24T03:35:00.000-07:00

In yesterday's post, I talked about meeting Corey and Jessica in front of Penn Station, and we featured two of Corey's tattoos. Today it's Jessica's turn.

She praised to no end the tattoo artist who did this sugar skull, her friend Chris Handford at Perkins Road Parlor in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

"They do a lot of traditional and he's originally a painter, so we just said, 'Do Whatever," and he drew up these awesome things ... he's actually a really new artist, but I would say already, skills-wise, far beyond a lot of people who have been doing it longer, especially in the South."

Jessica also shared this incredible piece on her right calf:

Jessica credited this tattoo to a different artist, Richard Hart, who currently works in Baton Rouge out of Art Addiction Tattoo Studio.

Jessica explained the story behind this interesting piece:

"[Richard Hart] is excellent at photo-realism. I found this ... it's from a movie called Scream and Scream Again (1970).

I just loved it and he drew it up on the spot ... I've never seen anyone just draw it, make a quick stencil, look at a computer, and then go off the picture itself. It looks exactly like the picture; I mean, it's insane. Insane. He's definitely awesome!"

It's always great to hear tattooed folk talk so exuberantly about how much they like their artists, and it was certainly nice to encounter some talent from a part of the country we don't see too often up here in New York.

Thanks to Jessica (and Corey) for sharing their tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Corey's Traditional Creatures

2011-06-23T02:53:00.000-07:00

I met Corey and Jessica last month outside of Madison Square Garden on a bright, sunny afternoon. Between the two of them, they have dozens of tattoos, so I had a lovely time chatting with them. They're originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and had been tattooed by a couple of artists who are friends of theirs working out of Perkins Road Parlor.

Corey credited Brent McCarron and Chris Handford with this pair of cool, traditional-style tattoos:

Corey, who has 14 or 15 tattoos, just asked them to draw him something and they did. This sabre-toothed tiger and his newest piece, the spider, about two weeks old in this photo, have a very traditional feel about them. I particularly love the yellows in the spider.

Thanks to Corey for sharing these tattoos with us! Check back tomorrow to see what Jessica had to offer!

Gang Tattoo Meanings and Pictures

2011-06-22T22:45:00.000-07:00

Tattooing is a form of ritual. It is also used as a means to express who an individual is and what they stand for. Most tattoos are a very personal symbol for whoever wears them on his or her body.

Ancient Romans were known to use their tattoos as a means in identifying their slaves. Ancient Japanese would tattoo their criminals to identify the crime they had committed. Many cultures would use tattoos to show what they as a people stood for in a spiritual sense, while others would use tattoos to outcast slaves or criminals.

These cultures as well as subcultures were brought together by tattooing but were set apart by the meanings and intent of each distinct marking.

A tattoo is a permanent work of art that is created on the skin on either a visible part of the body or in a very private position. It can never be erased. In that sense, a tattoo will be with you forever. It is for this reason that both ancient as well as the more modern cultures would use tattooing on their criminals so as to purposefully keep them separate from non-tattooed people.

They were the outcasts of society. From this, tattooing would develop its darker side and slowly make its way into the world of the criminal. Prison inmates were branded or tattooed and discovered they were on common ground, forming gangs and bonds based on their own criminal status. Their tattoos would be their symbol which would identify each member of their underworld.

Earlier gangs would tattoo the same symbol on each member, but modern day gang members will tattoo their individual interpretations of their gang's symbols.

A gang tattoo marks someone as being a part of either a prison gang or a street gang. It symbolizes proud membership. It represents allegiance to a group that is deeply personal. A gang tattoo also represents the beliefs of the wearer.

Sometimes a gang tattoo will record an act of murder or violence. Each gang will have their own set of markings and tattoos. Some symbols will cross the boundary of a gang. An example would be a teardrop beneath one eye. This could represent a loved one's death or murder.

Gang tattoos can be heavily detailed and represent a gang affiliation as well as the member as an individual. They generally represent gang names and accomplishments or a memorial to a loved one, cultural and religious ties, and even their children's names.

A common gang tattoo is dots between the thumb and forefinger which will indicate their time spent behind bars. There are also certain designs that will have coded meanings. Below are a few tattoos and an explanation of their special significance:

Barbed wire that is tattooed across a forehead signifies life imprisonment with no chance of parole.

A cat means that the person lives their life as a thief.

Churches and fortresses will often be tattooed on a hand, the back, or chest. Each tower or spire represents the number of years in incarceration.

Tombstones represent time that has been lost.

A gang tattoo is not worn to be fashionable or cool. It goes beyond that. It is a hard earned emblem that is proudly worn to show the harsh reality of a member's everyday life.

Kathy's Back, The Beginning

2011-06-22T03:19:00.000-07:00

I spotted Kathy walking in front of Madison Square Garden, near the corner of Seventh Avenue and 33rd Street earlier this month and, although I couldn't see specifically what she had going with her tattoos, I was intrigued enough to ask.

Some folks are often dismissive of me when I approach them, but Kathy was the total opposite. She was joyful and excited to share her ink and, when she removed her outer layer and adjusted her tank top, it was abundantly clear why. She had recently embarked on a full back piece and was proud of the foundation for what is ultimately going to be a phenomenal work of art:

Kathy had enlisted Derek Noble of Lucky Devil Tattoo Parlor in Seattle to create this tattoo. She explained, "he's really into horror, traditional, and all that kind of stuff, so I went to him back in January."

Kathy is an interior designer with twelve tattoos and agreed to share the back piece in its early stage (approximately three and a half hours in). She has tentatively agreed to keep us posted when she heads back to Seattle at the end of the summer so that we can see the work develop.

She explained further:

"I broke my back about two years ago, so I figured I'd make something nice out of a bad thing. There's little vertebrae holding candles and I love zombies ... I gave [Derek Noble] the time period, I said I wanted something Jack the Ripper era, and he went full out for it. I saw [the design] the day of, and I never even thought I wouldn't like it."

Well we here at Tattoosday can't wait to see how this turns out. With just the outlines, the piece looks incredible and, well, it's Derek Noble, after all, so we know it's going to turn out magnificently.

Thanks to Kathy for sharing the early stage of her new back piece with us here on Tattoosday! I know we can't wait to see more!

Emily's Typewriter

2011-06-21T03:44:00.000-07:00

Last week, on Eighth Avenue, I spotted an incredible tattoo on the back of a woman's calf and knew that I had to speak to her about it. Check it out:

This vintage typewriter belongs to Emily, and was tattooed by one of my favorite artists in New York, Virginia Elwood at New York Adorned. You can click the tag at the bottom of the post to see other work of Virginia's that I have been fortunate enough to spot in my Tattoosday travels.

Emily explained that she is a writer, and wanted a vintage typewriter inked to represent her vocation. My guess she had decided on one of these Royal typewriters, and then Virginia worked her magic. Emily elaborates:

"I asked her originally to give me a little typewriter on top of the books here:

but there wasn't enough room ... [Virginia] was like It'll be too small if I put it on your arm, we'll have to do a big one to get the best detail."

The rest, as they say, is history.

Emily has nine tattoos in all, counting a half-sleeve as one large piece, and all of her work has been done by Virginia.

Emily is managing editor for a website called xoJane, and has even written about her tattoos. She directed me to this article she recently wrote, called "My Tattoos Make Guys Think I'm Easy." She's got a smart style that really taps into the heart and soul of the subject. I'm sure many tattooed women can relate to the sentiment in that piece. She also pointed to a more current article she wrote, with some input from Virginia, as well, about sexism in tattoo shops, specifically with the drama in the premiere (and subsequent episodes) of the latest tattoo reality series, New York Ink.

I, for one, certainly recommend checking out Emily's site, xoJane, and exploring not only her contributions, but those of the other writers, as well.

Thanks to Emily for sharing her incredible work with us here on Tattoosday, and for talking with me, even though she was running late. I do appreciate it and hope we'll see more of her tattoos here in the future!

Orlando the Brave

2011-06-20T03:18:00.000-07:00

Last fall, I met Orlando near F.I.T. and posted some of his tattoos in December. I had wanted to get clearer photos, but I hadn't been able to contact him, so his work appeared here, in an end-of-the-year recap.

Fast forward to a month ago, when I spotted Orlando again on the corner where I work, so I was able to get a clearer photo of one of his tattoos, and obtain something new from him.

I was waiting until this week to post the picture, to coincide with Pride Week here in New York City.

Orlando explained that these are antlers and he got them for a specific reason:

"I got it last year when I was 19 ... antlers, for the animals who have them, are a symbol of strength and sexuality ... I came out when I was 13, so last year that would have been six years ago. So I got it just to commemorate me coming out, and I got "BRAVE" underneath it for it being the bravest thing I've ever had to do."

I wanted to share this during Pride Week as a tribute to Orlando's bravery, and with the hope that it helps instill courage in other people to be proud of who they are, and to not be ashamed of their true selves. I don't often get up on a soapbox here on Tattoosday, so I'll spare you the rhetoric, Dear Readers. Nonetheless, I want to thank Orlando for his bravery and his willingness to share a bit of his journey with us here on Tattoosday.

Orlando credited Chantal at Bleeding Image Tattoo in Astoria, Queens, with this tattoo.

Orphans: The Hungry Lion

2011-06-18T06:26:00.000-07:00

So what do I do with a tattoo photo that has been abandoned and forgotten?

Why post it here, of course.

Back on May 10, I met a guy in Penn Station and took a picture of his tattoo, which he referred to as his "Hungry Lion":

And then, before I could talk to him further, his girlfriend emerged from the bathroom and he told me they had to catch a train.

He had a Tattoosday flier, but never e-mailed me.

So if anyone wants to adopt this tattoo, leave a comment. Or, if you know who the artist is, please let me know.

Thanks to you, Dude, wherever you are, for sharing your cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Delphine Shares a Lucky Cat and a Sailor Jerry Design

2011-06-17T03:30:00.000-07:00

I met Delphine last week and she shared two of her tattoos with me. First is this piece:

For those of you who do not recognize this image, it is a common piece of ceramic sculpture popular in Japanese culture called the "Maneki Neko," or Lucky Cat. It is a good luck charm, and is often seen in Asian-owned stores as a totem of good fortune. Delphine explained further that this was her most recent piece and that "I have always loved the Japanese Lucky Cat. I felt that this would be a great time to get it (due to the economy - cat has a prosperity in Kanji) and as a tribute to the Japanese that were affected by the Tsunami)."

She credited her Lucky Cat to artists Megan Wilson at Picture Machine Tattoo in San Francisco.

On her other forearm is this tattoo:

This tattoo is attributed to Anthony Gonzalez at Lucky Stars Tattoo in San Jose, California. Delphine explains, "My father and I are Marine Vets. I saw this Sailor Jerry piece and loved it to honor my father and me. On the original piece it says 'Never Again'. I updated this to 'Never Forget' - the 'forget' is done in red to look like spray paint."

Thanks to Delphine for sharing these two tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Vaughn's Elemental Sleeve

2011-06-16T03:20:00.000-07:00

I met Vaughn in the Borders in Penn Plaza and he shared this half-sleeve with us. It's one of four tattoos that he has. He wanted a sleeve representing the intermix of the elements fire and water, and John Clarke at Holeshot's Premium Tattoo & Body Piercing in Amherst, Massachusetts came up with the design. Work from Holeshot's has appeared once before on Tattoosday, here.

Thanks to Vaughn for sharing his ink with us here on Tattoosday!

Jay's Hands Express Faith and Doubt

2011-06-15T03:23:00.000-07:00

I met Jay in Penn Station, stopping him because he had a whole lot of tattoos. He estimated that he is probably 60 to 70 percent covered. He offered up his most recent work (as of May 31, 2011), the following tattoos:

Jay explained that, as a Christian, and as a pastor at the Revolution Church in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, faith and doubt are two things that he deals with on a regular basis. Jay expounded on this for me:

"I got [these tattoos] because of this quote by Paul Tillich [a German-American theologian] that says doubt is not the opposite of faith, it's merely an element of it. And to me, being a believer, a Christian, having a church and a bar ... I deal a lot with crisis of faith, even in my own life ... So, I decided to embrace doubt, because I think embracing doubt allows you to embrace your faith much more. And it's not about belief then, you know, it is actually faith and everyone doubts ... I think there is this kind of idea that if you doubt, you're bad or something, so it kinda has to do with that."

Jay's hand tattoos were inked by Bailey Hunter Robinson, a freelance artists in Brooklyn.

You can learn more about the Revolution Church at Pete's Candy Store at http://www.revolutionnyc.com/.

Thanks to Jay for sharing his tattoos and thoughts of faith and doubt with us here on Tattoosday!

Frog Tattoo Meaning and Pictures

2011-06-14T20:01:00.000-07:00

Tattoos can probably lay claim to being around over 5000 years ago when a man was found in the Alps in 1992, perfectly preserved in the ice. There were 58 simple little lines and dots tattooed on his body.

Tattoos were also found on Nubian and Egyptian mummies that were more than 4000 years old. The Greeks, Gauls, ancient Germans, ancient Britons, South Pacific tribesmen, South and North American Indian tribes and the Maoris in New Zealand all practiced the art of tattooing.

Frog Tattoo Meanings And Symbolism

Symbolism has always played a very important role through the ages, and it is certainly no less important in our lives today. Depending on our personal lifestyle and our beliefs, certain symbols will have a deeper meaning to us.

Frogs are usually a popular symbol of harmony, life and rebirth. It is also a positive symbol for a woman's pregnancy. Within ancient Egypt, it is said that a frog was a guide and protector towards the afterlife. Native American tribesmen believe that a frog will bring rain, while some Christians of today wear the symbol of a frog that means 'forever relying on God'.

The metamorphosis of the frog has haunted many tribal cultures. Olmec tribes from Central America always believed that a frog would live in a cycle of rebirth and always eat its own skin. Chinese legend believes that a frog is able to keep many secrets and spells. One of these secrets is of being a mortal.

In Asia, frogs are thought to be the guardians of the supernatural secrets of the universe. For many Red Indian tribes, the origin of the frog has been related to the elements of water and the moon and meaning fruitfulness, riches and success in every form. For shamans, a frog was seen as their teacher or mentor. Iban warriors had a frog tattoo on their throats to symbolize protection.

Frog Tattoo Design Styles And Ideas

There are many frog tattoos that one can choose from. The realistic styles of frog tattoos are quite popular. These include the tree frogs that are bright green with red eyes and orange feet that are either amongst their natural surroundings or are climbing up the wearer's leg or arm.

Mantella or dart frogs are also a popular type of frog that is incredibly poisonous. Their coloring is vivid and they will sometimes have an interesting pattern along their body. Cartoon-like depictions show a crouching frog tattoo with a sarcastic or cute expression on its face, with its tongue ready to lap at flies and sitting serenely on top of a water-lily.

Tribal frogs will normally be tattooed in sharp, long black strokes. Aztec frogs are more stylized, with round bodies and eyes, fork-like toes and winding limbs. Egyptian art could also be recreated by using the Egyptian goddess Hekt in the profile of a Panamanian frog.

The Final Word

Not all reptiles and insects will be considered creepy. A tree frog tattoo can be both colorful and beautiful and will certainly not make anyone's skin crawl. They will instead make a person's skin glow and radiate with the beautiful colors of the frog.

A tattoo is a very personal art form, and considered by many to be a very spiritual experience. It has been said that you take your tattoos with you when you pass on from this life. In a very real sense, a tattoo will be with you forever.

Tim's Sleeve Illustrates A Vision of Life on Earth

2011-06-14T03:51:00.000-07:00

I met Tim back in April in Penn Station and took several pictures of his left arm, which is fully-sleeved. What follows is a presentation of the work, from top to bottom:

There's a lot going on here, but Tim summed the theme of the sleeve as "Hell is the world we're living in, and we're all trying to escape Death." The top of the arm features the angel, Gabriel, watching over us.

The city that is burning is based on Boston, where Tim is from.

Tim estimates that this sleeve took twenty-seven hours, in three nine-hour sessions. Yes, you read that right, nine-hour sessions! That's commitment! He credits Dan Soule at Milltown Ink in Bondsville, Massachusetts with this incredible work.

Thanks to Tim for sharing his sleeve with us here on Tattoosday!

Salvatore Shares a Family Heirloom

2011-06-13T02:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked the anniversary of the death of Norman "Sailor Jerry" Collins, so it seems appropriate to share the following tattoo, courtesy of Salvatore:

Located on his upper right arm, Salvatore explained that his family emigrated from Europe several generations ago. His grandfather joined the service when he was a young man and served in World War II. His travels brought him, at some point, through Honolulu where, according to Salvatore, his grandfather received the original version of the tattoo above, from none other than Sailor Jerry himself. The design above is a replica of Slavatore's grandfather's tattoo, a Sailor Jerry original.

Not only is he carrying a piece of traditional tattoo history on him, he is also honoring the memory of his grandfather. How cool is that?

Salvatore is a chef at One if by Land, Two if by Sea, a restaurant in New York's West Village. He is also a personal chef for several mixed martial arts fighters.

The Sailor Jerry piece above, as well as his left arm, which is fully-sleeved, was tattooed by Elio Espana, formerly of Flyrite Tattoo. Elio now works upstate at ADK Tattoo in Constable, New York.

Thanks to Salvatore for sharing this wonderful tattoo, that celebrates both an American tattoo master, and a family patriarch, here on Tattoosday.

Tara's Stunning Tattoos Represent Clarity and Freedom

2011-06-12T03:45:00.000-07:00

I was riding my bike along the water and the Belt Parkway in South Brooklyn last month, when a woman passed me on her roller skates, headed in the other direction.

I quickly reversed directions and caught up with her because I wanted to ask her about her half-sleeve:

It's really quite stunning, and I was interested in who was the artist responsible for this work. Tara credited Christian Masot at Silk City Tattoo in Hawthorne, New Jersey. I've seen a lot of cool stuff come out of the shop and Christian was responsible for the work on the last two people I've met having been inked there. Check out all the Silk City work that has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

As for Tara, she's a Roller Derby Girl, who skates under the handle PMA, with the number 24/7, because she has a Positive Mental Attitude, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

She explained, "I was going through a lot of stuff in my life a couple years ago and finally I had clarity ... so the lotus symbolizes ... clarity."

As for the butterfly, Tara told me that her butterflies "symbolize change and freedom."

Tara elaborated, saying that she brought three pictures in for reference [there's a monarch butterfly on her inner arm] and Christian "made it his own," in part by adding the design that represents the wind.

When I asked Tara how many tattoos she has, she said, "I lost count."

Thanks to Tara for sharing these stunning tattoos with us here on Tattoosday! Keep on skating with that positive mental attitude!

If you want to see more of Tara's ink, you can glimpse it on various videos on her YouTube channel here. She talks a lot about Vegan and Gluten-free recipes. I'm including one below that features her skating on the Shore Road promenade where I met her:

Rob Shares a Handful of Dust

2011-06-11T09:13:00.000-07:00

Today's tattoo comes to us from Rob, who I met in Penn Station last month.

Rob has fifteen tattoos, and he offered up the one above (two, if you count "This too shall pass" on his wrist).

He explained that the logo is from his friend's band called Handful of Dust. I wasn't able to track down a band site, but I thought I'd post it anyway, since it looks cool.

This is a video of the band performing out on Long Island:

That tattoo was inked at Salvation Tattoo in Oceanside, New York.

Thanks to Rob for sharing his tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Amanda and Her Koi

2011-06-10T03:01:00.000-07:00

This koi is swimming upstream on Amanda's left arm.

Talking to her in Penn Station, Amanda explained that she was "really interested in the Japanese style".

She received the tattoo from Pat James Dean at Tattooville, in Neptune, New Jersey. Done in two sessions, Amanda told me that she selected Pat, in part, because he had his whole back inked in the traditional Japanese fashion. I'm going to take a leap and say it might have been by Horiyoshi III of Yokohama, based on a reference in his bio on the Tattooville site.

Thanks to Amanda for sharing this, one of four tattoos she has, with us here on Tattoosday.

Nadir's LA Ink

2011-06-09T03:42:00.000-07:00

Last month, my lovely wife Melanie was hospitalized with appendicitis. A bummer by all accounts, but on one occasion, when I left Maimonides Medical Center to grab a slice of pizza, I ran into a guy on Fort Hamilton Parkway named Nadir, whose forearm tattoo jumped out at me:

Nadir is an Angeleno transplanted here in the Big Apple, but he wears his hometown on his sleeve. The distinct LA logo, most commonly seen on the apparel associated with the Los Angeles Dodgers, is a sign of civic pride. He credits Mikey Montoya, from Rube's Tattoo in Arcadia (east of Pasadena), with this piece.

Nadir also shared this tattoo, from the left side of his chest:

If that looks familiar, it is because it is the logo at the center of the Mexican flag.

This nod to his Mexican heritage was tattooed by Raul Suarez at Inkstop Tattoo NYC.

But most impressive was this piece on Nadir's right side:

Nadir explained that his father always listened to the musical group Los Tigres del Norte, and he grew up with their music playing in his home. He considers this also as an apt tribute to his heritage and upbringing.

He credits this incredible piece, which took six hours to complete (no easy feat, considering it's on his ribs), to Tom Tilden, co-owner of the aforementioned Rube's Tattoos, in Arcadia.

Thanks to Nadir for sharing his awesome tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Zoe's Birds, Aloft

2011-06-07T03:47:00.000-07:00

I met Zoe a couple weeks ago when I spotted an incredible bird tattoo creeping up over her shoulder:

What's especially mesmerizing about this tattoo is where it begins:

Starting in the middle of her back, this flock of birds lifts up off of her flesh, and flies over her shoulder.

So from where did the inspiration for this tattoo come? Zoe explains:

"I stole the color combination and the silhouetted birds from my favorite album [Deja Entendu by Brand New].

I went in [to Name Brand Tattoo in Ann Arbor, Michigan] and gave [tattoo artist Dawn Cooke] the music and said this is why ... it helped me get through a really bad point in my life. I told her what I wanted and she figured out the placement on my body. I originally wanted it straight across my back, but she worked with my body to get it on there ... after three hours of tattooing, I asked her if she put coloring in and she did. It's all free-hand."

The tattoo took four hours in all to complete, and Zoe had nothing but praise for the artist and the shop. Name Brand, she said, "is great, super-relaxed ... they weren't judgmental [and] tend to have people with art degrees, which is really interesting." Artist Dawn Cook has moved, however, and now tattoos out of Depot Town Tattoo, in Traverse City, Michigan.

Thanks to Zoe for sharing her amazing tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Asa an added treat, here's a track from Brand New, from the album that helped inspire this body art:

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Musician Monday: Sly's Mary Keeps on Burning

2011-06-06T03:23:00.000-07:00

Last week, while passing through Penn Station, I ran into Sly, one of the vocalists from an up-and-coming band called Sloburn.

Sly shared this, one of her seven tattoos:

Sly explained:

"I'm more of a spiritual person. The tattoo is Mary. I'm Catholic, for one thing, but I like wearing rosaries and this is something I don't have to worry about if I forget my rosary. She's always on me. That's one of the reasons I got that, and in commemoration of my mother, who raised me that way too."

Sly credited the tattoo to Richie Richardson at Jason's Mad Tattery in Danville, Virginia.

She was in New York with Sloburn to do The Real Radio Show. Sly joked, it's Sloburn, with NO "w". "Remember," she said, "we took the 'w' out to whup your ass with."

Sloburn is a Danville, Virginia band that has been together for about four years. Sly told me that Twisted Sister's management contacted them based on a YouTube video, brought them to New York, and they are hoping to explode on the scene with their brand of, what their Facebook page calls, "redneck metal."

Here's a little Sloburn to get your blood flowing on this Musician Monday:

Thanks to Sly for sharing her cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Tattoos I Know: Mary’s Marilyn

2011-06-05T07:39:00.000-07:00

Marilyn Monroe is a pretty popular figure to see tattooed on people. Clicking here will show you this, as well as every other post on Tattoosday that features a Marilyn Monroe tattoo. In the popularity contest, she wins by a mile.

It was with great pleasure that, a couple weeks back, one of my co-workers, Mary, got on the elevator at the end of the day, and the first thing I noticed was this fresh Marilyn Monroe tattoo, peering up at me from her right foot:

Of course, I had to ask Mary about this tattoo. Our exchange follows:

Tattoosday: Why’d you get Marilyn on your foot?

Mary: Anybody who knows me can answer that question. I love Marilyn and I wanted to put it in a spot that can showcase it without being on my forearm or my face or my neck and it seems to be a hit where it is.

Tattoosday: This is your first Marilyn tattoo?

Mary: Well, if you don’t count the mole I have. A tattoo of a mole.

Tattoosday: Oh, so that’s not a real mole?

Mary: Yes.

Tattoosday: So who is the artist?

Mary: It’s a shop that everyone in my neighborhood goes to, it’s called Eddie's Ink on Myrtle Avenue in Queens…I guess he has a following because he just moved from Brooklyn to Queens and everybody recommended him . . . it’s not like it’s in a spot that I can cover up, unless it’s winter, so I wanted to make sure it was a good job and he went online and I told him exactly what I wanted and he found a couple of pictures and we ended up settling on this one. I didn’t want color, I just wanted black…”.

I alluded to the popularity of the Marilyn tattoo at the beginning of the post. That said, I have to commend Mary on her originality, as I hadn’t seen one like this before. Thanks go to her for sharing this cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Vincent's Cross Represents Faith and Heritage

2011-06-04T09:57:00.000-07:00

Religious tattoos are quite common, as any casual observer of other people's tattoos can tell you. Generally, I don't ask people about them, but every so often I feel inclined, especially when I think they're done nicely.

Take Vincent, for example. I met him in Penn Station and took a picture of this cross on his forearm:

Vincent explained that he drew this design, incorporating Celtic designs, as an acknowledgement of his faith (represented by the cross and the circle, symbolizing the Trinity) and his heritage. His father's ancestry is Welsh, and his mother's family is Italian.

The tattoo was done by at Sacred-X-Pressions in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. He doesn't recall the tattooist's name, but does know he has moved on from that shop.

Thanks to Vincent for sharing his expression of faith and heritage with us here on Tattoosday!

Sam's "Footographs"

2011-06-03T02:59:00.000-07:00

I was passing through the campus of F.I.T. last month when I spotted Sam's feet:

Her right foot bears the signatures of all four members of the band Honor Society:

She met the band members (Michael Bruno, Jason Rosen, Andrew Lee, and Alexander Noyes) at a promotional event at a phone store out on Long Island. After getting their autographs, she had the quartet of John Hancocks permanently inked at Tormented Souls Tattoo & Body Piercing, East Northport location.

Her left foot bears this line:

The line is German, "Liebe macht erfiniderish," which Sam told me means "love will find a way." She says that this is both a nod to her German heritage, but also a reminder that, despite the fact that she may be occupied with other things, love will eventually find a way into her life. This was also inked at Tormented Souls, but in the Kings Park location.

Thanks to Sam for sharing her foot tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Andrew's Traditional Sleeve by Horisei

2011-06-02T03:35:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, it's nice to appreciate a tattoo for its own sake. This is especially rewarding for me when I am familiar with the artist, and I know people who have been tattooed by him or her, which has allowed me to appreciate their craft over time.

Two of my friends have been fortunate enough to have been tattooed by the wonderful Horisei (their work appeared here and here). Horisei works out of Chelsea Tattoo Company, former location of Rising Dragon.

So, when I spotted Andrew, coming out of Penn Station last month, I was more than thrilled to take shots of his Horisei-crafted sleeve.

Andrew estimates that this took about twenty hours of work, over a two to three month period.

His traditional Japanese sleeve consists of a tiger, two koi, and peonies, in addition to the water background.

Thanks to Andrew for sharing his awesome sleeve with us here on Tattoosday!

Timothy Shares a Luis Royo-Inspired Tattoo (and More!)

2011-06-01T03:25:00.000-07:00

When I met Timothy in Penn Station last month, I approached him because I noticed a tattoo on the back of his calf. But when I introduced myself, and explained what Tattoosday was all about, he rolled up his right sleeve to reveal a much better tattoo:

Timothy explained that the woman "is from a piece of artwork I love by Luis Royo, who worked for Heavy Metal." His tattoo artist, Tim McCormick at Wild Rose Tattoo in upstate New York, added the headdress to the original image "to make it more unique." Royo, Timothy, explained, has been his favorite artist since he was 13, and he got the tattoo at 29. The detail is incredible:

But what about the tattoo I first spotted on Timothy that prompted me to approach him in the first place?

"I've always been a big pirate fan since I was four....I got it in Puerto Rico. I drank a half a bottle of rum and my last day there decided to get a tattoo," Timothy explained. Considering the locale and the liquid that inspired the inking, the final product seemed more than appropriate:

Thanks to Timothy for sharing his tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Mr. Kaves Shares a Mark Mahoney Portrait

2011-05-31T03:18:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks back, I ran into Michael Kaves on 3rd Avenue, a couple blocks away from his shop, Brooklyn Made Tattoo. Kaves is also one of the founding members of The Lordz of Brooklyn. I know Kaves from around the neighborhood, and although I've never been tattooed by him, I have been under the needle in his shop and have had the pleasure of seeing him work first-hand and close-up on other clients.

He's familiar with Tattoosday and wanted to share a tattoo with us here on the site. Check it out:

Located on Kaves' upper right arm, this brilliant tattoo was inked by the legendary Mark Mahoney.

Kaves explained he had gone out to Los Angeles a couple months back and worked at Mahoney's renown shop, the Shamrock Social Club. They had a big launch for a limited edition tattoo pigment - "Mark Mahoney's Shamrock Green". He was there, working on St. Patrick's Day for the official launch.

Mahoney, known to many as the " founding father" of single-needle black and gray tattooing, tattooed this portrait for Kaves, which took about twelve hours from start to finish.

And who is the woman tattooed on his arm? "It's my grandmother, Marie," he explained, "from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, right here on Third Avenue, 1945."

Kaves' own tattooing work first appeared on Tattoosday back in 2008 here. Most recently, his work has appeared here. This is, however, the first time we have been honored to share a tattoo by Mark Mahoney.

Thanks to Kaves for sharing this phenomenal tattoo by an American master, here with us on Tattoosday!

Repost for Memorial Dsy: A Traditional Naval Tattoo on a 21st Century Ship

2011-05-29T21:01:00.000-07:00

This post originally appeared on November 7, 2009. I felt it was appropriate to re-post on Memorial Day, 2011:

The USS New York was put into service today by the United States Navy.

Her hull was forged with steel salvaged from the rubble of the World Trade Center.

It's a momentous occasion indeed, and several crew members were in attendance with dignitaries earlier this week at the World Series.

As is happens, I noticed a gentleman in uniform outside of Madison Square Garden earlier in the week and he had this tattoo on both hands:

Turns out, the tattoo was modeled after this naval pin, which represents the rank of Boatswain's Mate, worn on the lapel:

The gentleman, whose name is Fred, serves on the USS New York, as the more commonly-known title of Ships Bos'n, and it seems appropriate to post this tattoo today as the ship officially enters the naval fleet.

Fred has been in the service for 26 years, and has seven or eight tattoos all told.

As Ships Bos'n he works with mission systems on amphibious maneuvers.

The crossed anchors are traditional naval insignia and, even though he drew this design himself and they weren't inked in a traditional tattoo shop, he recognizes the crossed anchors as symbols of his dedication to the trade.

I thank Fred for his service to our country, as well as his willingness to contribute to Tattoosday. We wish him well as he serves with pride on the USS New York!

Life is War

2011-05-29T07:23:00.000-07:00

Back in April, I met Joshua outside of Penn Station, and he shared this, one of his five tattoos:

This forearm tattoo, exemplifies Joshua's philosophy that life is war: "you have to go through war to get where you're going."

An ex-girlfriend drew it up for him and then he had it tattooed by Jamie at Bullseye Tattoo Shop in Staten Island, New York.

Thanks to Joshua for sharing this tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Chad and the City

2011-05-28T08:09:00.000-07:00

I met Chad one afternoon in April outside of Madison Square Garden. He shared this tattoo which is on his left shin:

As one might have guessed, Chad is a huge fan of the former HBO series Sex and the City and this is one of a large number of tattoos that he has. When I asked how many he had, he quipped “I have no clue.”

Chad’s work was inked by Eileen Fabbricatore at Lady Luck Tattoo in Aurora, Colorado.

Thanks to Chad for sharing these tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Stephen's Killer Klown

2011-05-27T08:44:00.000-07:00

One of the significant changes in the chronology of Tattoosday was the discovery that the Amtrak waiting area in Penn Station was a wonderful place for inkspotting, not just on rainy days, but whenever I had the chance to pass that way.

Stopping someone on the streets of New York City, especially when they are in a hurry to get somewhere, can be challenging. I have discovered that people waiting for their trains, with nothing but time on their hands, are much more likely to be open to discussing their tattoos with strangers like me.

What’s nice, as well, as the trains running out of the Penn Station Amtrak hub go to Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and beyond (New Orleans and Toronto are possible rail destinations).

In early April, I ran into Stephen, who was visiting from Auckland, New Zealand. He has ink on both arms, one leg, and the top of his back, so there was a lot to choose from, once he consented to sharing one of his tattoos.

He offered up this horror-themed illustration, on the upper section of his right arm:

The clown with a cleaver is one of those funny/scary images that appeals to fans of the horror genre. Stephen liked the image and collaborated with the tattoo artist, Jamie Thorburn, to come up with the final design.

Thanks to Stephen for sharing this cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Our 1000th Post! David's Mermaid and Seahorse Blow Us Away......

2011-05-26T03:16:00.000-07:00

Pardon the royal "we," but this is our 1000th post, and we feel a little celebratory.

To honor this milestone, we are sharing this amazing half sleeve belonging to David:

This astonishing work is the creation of artist Erick Lynch at Redemption Tattoo in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

David said that he had wanted a mermaid, as his wife loves mermaids, and that Lynch's work reflects a traditional Japanese style, thus the female figure appearing as a pearl diver, which is more in line with Japanese artistic tradition.

The whole of the half sleeve represents about 12 hours of work, in David's estimation, which includes the inside of the biceps, and this phenomenally vivid seahorse:

David points to Erick Lynch's use of white highlights in the seahorse, which really makes it "pop".

All in all, this is a remarkable piece of work that we are honored to have as our 1000th post here at Tattoosday. Thanks to David for sharing it and to Erick Lynch for his mastery of the art form!

Christine's Sleeve of Colorful Flowers and Butterflies

2011-05-25T03:39:00.000-07:00

Some posts don't need a lot of explaining. I met Christine on 3rd Avenue in Bay Ridge earlier this month, and she shared these stunning tattoos, perfect for celebrating on a warm spring day:

The Tiger lily and Red-spotted Purple butterfly above are only the top section of a full sleeve:

The flowers on the forearm are Violets, which span the inside of Christine's arm, as well:

And that's an American Painted Lady butterfly in the ditch.

This amazing, and vibrantly colorful sleeve was inked by Tim O'Connor at The Red Parlour in the Woodside section of Queens, New York. We featured work by Tim and The Red Parlour once before, here, back in 2008.

Thanks to Christine for sharing her wonderful sleeve with us here on Tattoosday!

Don't Sit Under the Cherry Tree with Anyone Else but Me

2011-05-24T03:20:00.000-07:00

I spotted Christina one Friday afternoon in Penn Station, sporting this awesome cherry blossom tattoo:

She took some photos in to Jason Loui, then at Redemption Tattoo in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He sketched out a design, and the rest is history. Mr. Loui now works out of Good Faith Tattooing, in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Thanks to Christina for sharing her cherry blossom tree with us here on Tattoosday!

Musician Monday: Ryan from The Disconnects

2011-05-23T03:09:00.000-07:00

Here on our second installment of Musician Mondays, we have a rockin', self-explanatory tattoo from Ryan, lead singer and guitarist from an unsigned band called The Disconnects:

From her mohawk to her Doc Martens, this punk rock girl and her "Too Fast to Live, To Young to Die" banner totally capture that raw, rock aesthetic.

I met Ryan last month, across the street from where I work, on Seventh Avenue and 31st Street, in Manhattan.

The tattoo was inked at Fat Kat Tattoos in Keyport, New Jersey. Work from Fat Kat previously appearing on the site can be seen here.

Thanks to Ryan for sharing his cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Ivan's Sleeve: Doom, Zombies, and The Joker

2011-05-22T07:24:00.000-07:00

Last month I met Ivan in Penn Station, and I took a bunch of photos of his right arm, fully-sleeved. There's a lot going on here, so let's take a look:

And the inner part of the sleeve:

Ivan's tattoo artist is Larry Davis at Explicit Tattoo in Suffern, New York He also credits Adrienne Levy with the design of the cat on his wrist.

Ivan explains a little bit about his ink:

"The zombie on my shoulder is an original that Larry drew from his imagination. The face with the ragged teeth on my bicep is from the video game Doom.

As for the totem pole-esque image on my forearm, the middle and upper pieces were drawn by the artist Matt Simonetti.

The lower piece was drawn by Micki Fever. Larry did the tattooing, as is true for all my tattoos."

Ivan also has this segment of his sleeve which is noteworthy:

Ivan explained that this tattoo of The Joker and Harley Quinn is based on this illustration by the artist Alex Ross, which appeared on the cover of Batman: Harley Quinn.

Thanks to Ivan for sharing his cool tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Best Week Ever: Tattoosday Edition

2011-05-21T09:57:00.000-07:00

The last seven days have been quite a whirlwind, and I felt it is worth a recap, just because I can't believe what happened since last Saturday.

A week ago, I had my best trip to the New York Tattoo Convention, saw a lot of great ink, reconnected with old blogging friends, and met a lot of cool people. All my posts since Sunday (with the exception of Friday) recapped the show and some of the folks I met.

On Wednesday, I swung by Kings Ave NYC on the Bowery after work and met one of the greats in the tattoo community, Corey Miller. When I asked him if it would be too dorky to ask to take a picture with him, he said, "Of course, it's dorky, but I love that shit." Do I look just a little bit excited?

For those of you who watch L.A. Ink, last season we saw a subplot in an episode in which Corey designed the album art for his friend Trever Kieth's band Face to Face.

As it happened, this past week the album dropped, and Face to Face had a gig in Times Square. Corey came along for the ride, and joined the band at Kings Avenue NYC to sign posters, singles, magazines, and other goodies.

Corey and the band signed the poster featuring the original album artwork

and the single they produced with Rise Against:

I'm not holding my breath, but I did give out Tattoosday cards to the guys in the band (and to Corey, of course) and asked them to contact me if they wanted to share some of their ink on a future Musician Monday feature. Fingers crossed!

Here's a fan video from the show they did that night:

Unfortunately, I can't tell you much about how the week ended, but I can tell you I was on location Friday on the set of a local tattoo establishment that is home base for a new reality-based tattoo show on a cable channel. Now, I may or may not have received a new tattoo, but eventually I'll be able to tell you all about the experience.

Incidentally, we are less than two weeks away from the premiere of TLC's NY Ink (June 2!) Can't wait to see it, as the show features Ami James, formerly of Miami Ink, as well as amazing artists like Tim Hendricks, Tommy Montoya, and Megan Massacre.

Oh, and I almost forgot! Congratulations to Michael Henry Lee, who won a t-shirt in our Kings Ave NYC contest! Your shirt is on its way!

Kathryn's Birdhouse Reminds Her of Home

2011-05-20T03:47:00.000-07:00

I spotted Kathryn in Penn Station earlier this month and asked her about her tattoos. She shared this one, which jumped out at me from across the room:

I had a nice time chatting with Kathryn who referred to her approximately 18 tattoos as a "patchwork" collection, with each tattoo marking a different occasion and/or the places she has been. I totally related to that, although she certainly has a lot more ink than I do.

This birdhouse was the first tattoo she got after moving to Philadelphia. It represents a look back to home. Although the house is not modeled after the building where she lived, it's the same color as her former home, and she associates it with her leaving the nest for the big city.

This piece, on her inner right forearm, is credited to Topper at Philadelphia Eddie's.

Do note I framed the photo so you can see two of the five cherry bombs she had tattooed on her left arm when she turned eighteen. She noted that these bombs were a "loose" reference to the graffiti artist Banksy.

Thanks to Kathryn for sharing her tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

NYC Tattoo Convention Spotlight: Chris Shares His Half-Sleeve Inspired by the Indigenous Cultures of the Pacific Northwest

2011-05-19T03:13:00.000-07:00

For this, my final post highlighting work I enjoyed at the New York City Tattoo Convention last Saturday, we turn to Chris, who offered up this half-sleeve from his right arm:

Chris explained that he is a great admirer of Native American art and that, after a trip to a museum in British Columbia, he was inspired by a First Nations exhibit. He purchased a book about the exhibits there and he used several photos as source material to collaborate with his tattoo artist.

On complicated pieces, I always think it's best to hear the explanation in the host's own words, so here's what Chris had to say:

"The symbol in the center is a moon symbol, which is usually reserved for higher-ranking members of the tribe. Then you got two wolves on either side as spirit guides. [The outer section] is called Sisiutl:

it’s the two-headed serpent [who] protects you from evil and will eat the flesh of your enemies ... the Sisiutl is actually a perfectly round symbol and then the artist spread it out and free-handed this middle section to make it all work

On the inside of his arm is this piece:

"This is a simple salmon ... which is a symbol of prosperous fishing and hunting.

Hopefully, this [the whole tattoo, still in progress] will be protection and a lot of good coming to me with the way it’s designed.

A lot of the tribes over there have symbols that are crossing over from each other. This is a little bit of Tlingit and a little bit of Haida. Pretty much those are the two main focuses where it comes from."

This exceptional work is by Leo Fieschi at Art Club Tattoo & Piercing in New Milford, Connecticut.

Thanks to Chris for sharing it and taking the time at the convention to explain it for us here at Tattoosday!

NYC Tattoo Convention Spotlight: Steve's Phenomenal Celtic Cross

2011-05-18T03:30:00.000-07:00

Among the many amazing tattoos I saw last Saturday, this cross belonging to Steve was among my favorites:

There's really not much to it, other than amazing colors and craftsmanship.

Steve explained that the design is a nod to his Irish heritage, inspired by the Book of Kells, as exemplified by the Celtic knot in the center of the piece. He estimated that the half-sleeve, which circles the whole arm, represents about 30 hours of work.

He praised the work of Agent at Screamin' Ink Tattoos in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. For those familiar with our annual NYC Tattoo Convention recaps, Screamin' Ink was the shop that featured my favorite tattoo from last year (revisit it here).

Thanks to Steve for sharing his work with us here on Tattoosday!

NYC Tattoo Convention Spotlight: Caroline's Death's-head Hawk Moth and The Silence of the Lambs

2011-05-17T03:28:00.000-07:00

Sending an inkblogger into a tattoo convention, is like sending a kid into Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory - we just go into sensory overload.

It's always interesting to see who I will interview first, as nearly everyone has amazing work. My first choice appeared to me after I had been at the New York City Tattoo Convention for about an hour:

Behold Caroline's Death's Head Hawkmoth!

She explained that it is based on the art from The Silence of the Lambs movie poster.

She elaborated, "that was ... the first movie I saw that got me into film and I'm a huge film buff ... so it kind of marks a huge turning point in my life. I started growing up and developing interests in art [and] film."

The film's director, Jonathan Demme, is one of her favorite directors, but she loves Stanley Kubrick and hopes one day to get a Clockwork Orange tattoo.

She went to Tattoo Joe at Physical Graffiti Tattoo in Bridgeport, Connecticut for this piece and he did a wonderful job of transforming the vision from the poster to the top part of her back.

Thanks to Caroline for sharing this great tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

NYC Tattoo Convention Spotlight: Jessica's Stunning Tibetan Back Piece

2011-05-16T03:09:00.000-07:00

The last few years that I've attended the New York City Tattoo Convention, there's always been at least on person with a full back piece that captures my attention and, much to my enjoyment, agrees to share their work with us here at Tattoosday. The biggest and brightest tattoo this year for me, was this stunning work of art on Jessica:

This beautiful piece was inked by Echo at Now or Never Tattoos & Body Works in Staten Island, New York.

Jessica estimates that this piece took 11 hours to complete and added that there may, in the future, be more coming. "We have to fill it in the bottom and the top with a whole bunch of more flower work," she told me, but for the most part, this is complete.

When I asked what the origin of the piece was, she told me " I had a lotus flower on my lower back, so he [Echo] expanded it to a Tibetan princess."

As for the inspiration for the piece, Jessica explained, "I had a friend of mine pass away who was Tibetan, so that's kind of where the whole meaning came from."

As you would imagine, this piece was garnering a lot of attention from photographers and other convention attendees. I was thrilled to speak to Jessica about the tattoo and thank her profusely for taking the time to speak with me and share her Tibetan princess with us here on Tattoosday.

Dispatch from the 2011 New York City Tattoo Convention (A Recap)

2011-05-15T09:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I spent a half dozen hours at the Roseland Ballroom, where the New York City Tattoo Convention was holding court. This was my third trip to the show, and each year, I have a different experience, as Tattoosday has evolved as a site (read about 2009 here and 2010 here).

In years past, I have only highlighted one or two pieces, as I go into sensory overload. What, outside of a convention's setting, would normally pique my interest, seems commonplace and ordinary. This year, however, I took many more photos, and actually interviewed four people, so this will be Convention Recap Week.

I do want to say the best part of the show was hanging and chatting with Marisa and Brian from Needles and Sins, as well as with Nathan from Knuckle Tattoos. It's not a portrait of future world domination, yet, but here's the three of us, masterminds of three of the best tattoo sites around, and hands and above, the best three inkbloggers at the show:

Nathan, Marisa and Me (photo by Brian Grosz)

That moment of self-adulation aside, I spent the first few hours talking to vendors about advertising, chatting with colleagues, and saying hello to people I've met in years past, like Greg who was the high point of last year's show for me.

I also like to introduce myself to artists whose work has appeared on the Site before, so I said hi to Adam Rosenthal of Th'Ink Tank in Denver, and Vinny Romanelli at Red Rocket in NYC.

I also took a slew of photos of people I didn't interview, so I will just throw them up here. Unfortunately I can't credit any of the amazing artists responsible. However, if you see your work here, shoot me an email and I can give you your proper due. Many of these shots were taken during the first round of the contest, which centered around black and gray work:

This one was one of my favorites, especially considering the woman's reflection in the blade of the knife:

And this Star Wars leg was totally cool:

Finally, through social media, my friend Ben in Hawai'i requested a shot of "80s West Coast punk rock logos." I thought I had failed in my quest until, as I was leaving, I captured this tiny Black Flag tattoo on a guy named Crash, who works for Tattoo Artist Magazine:

Mini-Black Flag Bars Tattoo by Oliver Peck

and this incredible Misfits piece to boot:

Tattoo by Frank Lee at Tattoo Blues in Ft. Lauderdale

Yes, we know, Misfits are an East Coast band. But it was too nice a tattoo to not photograph. Can you blame me?

Check out the Tattoo Artist Magazine blog here.

Check back throughout the week to see what four tattoos I found most blogworthy for us here on Tattoosday!

Tova's Mockingbird Takes Wing

2011-05-14T05:54:00.000-07:00

Late last month, I met Tova at my local Borders store. She was sporting this incredible tattoo on her upper left arm:

When she told me she had it recently inked at New York Adorned, I guessed correctly that Virginia Elwood had been the artist. Virginia in incredibly talented, and seems to especially excel at bird tattoos (her work has been seen previously on Tattoosday here, here and here).

Tova explained that she loves birds, and that this mockingbird reflects a turn of events that occurred in Southern California. She described to me how, the night before she had to take ~~defend~~ her Ph.D. exams ~~dissertation~~, her husband had a guest staying with them, and this individual seemed particular insensitive to the momentous occasion Tova was facing the next day, as he was playing loud music well into the night.

Tova recalled how her anxiety and displeasure over this guest’s inconsiderate activity forced her from her home in search of a little peace and quiet. As she circled her block, she was struck by the large number of mockingbirds that were flying around.

She successfully passed her exams ~~defended her dissertation~~ and associates the mockingbird with this landmark event in her life.

As her Ph.D. Is in English, I asked her if she was familiar with one of my favorite poems, Charles Bukowski’s “The Mockingbird”. She wasn’t, so I suggested she check it out and I thought it appropriate to share here:

the mockingbird

the mockingbird had been following the cat
all summer
mocking mocking mocking
teasing and cocksure;
the cat crawled under rockers on porches
tail flashing
and said something angry to the mockingbird
which I didn't understand.

yesterday the cat walked calmly up the driveway
with the mockingbird alive in its mouth,
wings fanned, beautiful wings fanned and flopping,
feathers parted like a woman's legs,
and the bird was no longer mocking,
it was asking, it was praying
but the cat
striding down through centuries
would not listen.

I saw it crawl under a yellow car
with the bird
to bargain it to another place.

summer was over.

Thanks to Tova for sharing her stunning tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Enter to Win a T-Shirt from Kings Avenue Tattoo, Now Open in Manhattan!

2011-05-11T03:13:00.000-07:00

We here at Tattoosday have had the pleasure of encountering work from Kings Avenue Tattoo on only one occasion. We featured work by Grez here.

Nonetheless, their shop, located out in Massapequa on Long Island, has a sterling reputation, and I know at least one loyal client, Brian Grosz, over at Needles & Sins, who sings high praise to the shop owner and artist extraordinaire, Mike Rubendall.

It was from Brian that I first learned that Kings Avenue was opening a new location here in New York City. Lucky for those of us here in the Five Boroughs who don’t have cars!

We here at Tattoosday want to help spread the word about the new location, in Manhattan on the Bowery (188 Bowery, at Spring Street) to be more exact. Located on the second floor, the new shop location will be open Monday - Saturday 12-9 and Sundays from 12-6).

In fact, Kings Ave NYC would like to cordially invite you to join in the celebration of the opening of their Manhattan location tomorrow, Thursday, May 12th, at 8:00 p.m. Please join the Kings Ave crew for drinks, friends and family for this proud moment for their shop, and for the addition of some great talent to our teeming metropolis.

And to generate a little more buzz, we put our collective heads together and came up with an idea where one of our lucky Tattoosday readers can win a cool Kings Avenue Tattoo original t-shirt, like this one, perhaps:

All you have to do is head on over to their site and check out the merchandise here. Then, in the comments section of this post, tell us which shirt design you like best and why you deserve to win it. Please note, if you don’t have a blogger ID that links you to an email where I can contact you if you win, make sure you e-mail tattoosdaycontests@gmail.com as well so we can notify you if you win.

And, dear readers, while checking out those shirts, you’ll be losing out if you don’t check out the Kings Ave site, clink on the “Artists” tab, and then get lost in the hundreds of photos of top-notch tattoo art from Mike Rubendall, Grez, Justin Weatherholtz, Brian Paul, and Matt Beckerich. Not to mention the shots from such illustrious guest artists like Chris O’Donnell, Tim Hendricks, and Kat Von D, to name only a few.

We here at Tattoosday welcome the newest branch of Kings Avenue into our fair city and hope this means we’ll be seeing a lot more of their phenomenal work on the streets and, subsequently, here on the site!

More about Kings Avenue NYC:

KINGS AVENUE NYC was founded by tattooist and international award-winner, MIKE RUBENDALL, with his associate, GREZ, a well-respected tattooist in his own right. While people have traveled from all over the world to visit their Long Island location for everything from a full-scale Japanese body-suit to a modestly-sized, classic nod to Americana flash, RUBENDALL explains that they opted to open a second shop on Bowery, "for the simple fact of wanting to be a part of the energy, life, and creativity that Manhattan possesses."

KINGS AVENUE NYC will also feature the work of resident artists MATT BECKERICH, JUSTIN WEATHERHOLTZ, BRIAN PAUL, SHAUN NEL, KEVIN LEBLANC and SARAH SCHOR - a talented collective that has adorned the bodies of notables like actress EVAN RACHEL WOOD, hip-hop impresario DAMON DASH and rocker PETE WENTZ of FALL OUT BOY. The public can also expect to see guest appearances from renowned artists like CHRIS O'DONNELL, TIM HENDRICKS and Denmark's HENNING JORGENSON as well as "celebrity" tattooists such as CHRIS NUÑEZ (Miami Ink) and KAT VON D (L.A. Ink).

Tattoosday in Kentucky: Headphones at CVG

2011-05-10T03:14:00.000-07:00

On my recent whirlwind trip to Kentucky, I spotted some interesting tattoos at CGY, also known as the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.

Check this out:

The young lady that was sporting these headphones, identified herself as "E" and has "ten or eleven" tattoos. She wanted headphones that looked like they were spray-painted on. Note the "drips" and spots of splattered paint.

Unfortunately I didn't get much more information. She credited the artist "Slevin" at a shop on Main Street in Cincinnati. However, I can't seem to find any information on this artist or the shop she mentioned.

Thanks to "E" for sharing this cool and super original headphones tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Musician Monday: Meaghan Farrell

2011-05-09T03:23:00.000-07:00

Over the past several years on Tattoosday, we've run into several musicians in our travels, many of whom have generously shared their tattoos with us. We've decided to post tattoos from these talented folks on the first day of the work week, and call them "Musician Mondays."

We got a sneak peek at our first Monday Musician yesterday, as we shared a couple of Meaghan Farrell's tattoos in recognition of mother's day. The tattoos she has honoring her grandmother (here) are truly wonderful.

I was fortunate to run into Meaghan, who loved sharing her ink with me. Her enthusiasm for body art was evident in her excitement. "My tattoos mean the world to me," she beamed, and added that "there is no greater commitment to art." Considering that a tattoo is a permanent installation on one's body, I totally understood what she meant.

Aside from the two of Meghan's tattoos we posted yesterday, she shared a couple of more. Here's a wonderful piece on her left wrist that symbolizes her craft:

Of course the central object in the tattoo is the old-style microphone. As a resident of Queens, she pointed out that the skyline of Manhattan that serves as the tattoo's background is inked from the perspective of her borough, looking west toward the city.

Meaghan also shared this stunning monarch butterfly:

Meaghan explained that the monarch represents her sister, who she spoke of with great admiration. She called her the "matriarch of the family" and acknowledged that she was a solid presence that, despite huge challenges (she was widowed, a single mother, and is now remarried to a man who is wheelchair-bound), she retains the strength and grace of a butterfly.

I love how the artist created the shadow below the monarch's wings:

Like the work we saw yesterday, the artist responsible for these tattoos is Mr. Beans, at Fat Cat Tattoos NYC in Astoria, Queens.

Meaghan is a singer and she shared her debut CD, "Waitress," with me and let me tell you, it's a wonderful album. She has a very distinct voice and her songs are well-written and catchy. You can visit her website here to listen to her songs and see where you can hear her perform. In fact, she has a show this coming Saturday, May 14th, at the UC Lounge in New York City.

Check out her video for "Lost in My Life":

Thanks again to Meaghan for sharing her music and tattoos with us here at Tattoosday!

Happy Mother's Day from Tattoosday

2011-05-08T08:48:00.000-07:00

I wanted to celebrate Mother's Day with something new, but didn't have a lot in the backlog that was specifically motherly.

Then I remembered Meaghan Farrell.

I met Meaghan last month in Penn Station and approached her when I saw her tattoos. Turns out, Meaghan is a singer-songwriter with 15 tattoos, more of which will appear here tomorrow.

One of the tattoos we talked about was this one on her inner right forearm:

Madge Gassaway was Meaghan's grandmother, who passed away when Meaghan was only nine. Madge, she told me, was a "strong, independent woman," who had a huge impact on her life.

The quote, words of wisdom that have significant meaning for Meaghan, was worthy of inscribing them on her flesh.

Of course, right after I left Meaghan I realized, I forgot to take a picture of the quote from her grandmother, and she kindly sent me one she took herself.

In addition, Meaghan also has this stunning rose on her right shoulder:

Meaghan explained that her grandmother had an amazing rose garden, and that this tattoo represents not only the memory of her.

The artist responsible for these tattoos is Mr. Beans, at Fat Cat Tattoos NYC in Astoria, Queens.

Tune in tomorrow for two more of Meaghan's tattoos. I wanted to share these today in honor of mothers and grandmothers everywhere, who have such a great impact on all of our lives.

Thanks to Meaghan for sharing her tattoos with us here at Tattoosday! Happy Mother's Day to All!

A Black Rose for Saturday

2011-05-07T08:25:00.000-07:00

I ran into Sean at the A,C, E subway station at 34th Street last month, and took a picture of this black rose, what he called a personal symbol and his "call sign since junior high school."

It's one of two tattoos he has, and was inked by Joe Staska at Broad Street Tattoo in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

Thanks to Sean for sharing his black rose with us here on Tattoosday!

Tattoosday in Kentucky: Taylor's Owls

2011-05-06T03:12:00.000-07:00

I don't travel too often, but last week, I had an overnight business trip to Covington, Kentucky. I was excited to do some inkspotting outside of New York, but the bustle of the airports and the late arrival on a rainy evening didn't bode well for early success.

However, after my co-worker dropped me at the front of the hotel in Hebron, Kentucky, so I could get an early start on check in, he was a bit surprised to come in after parking the rental car to see me chatting with Taylor, the front desk representative, as she was unbuttoning her top shirt to share these tattoos with me:

While checking in, I had noticed a flaming diamond tattoo on Taylor's wrist and, after explaining a little about Tattoosday, she happily agreed to participate, showing me these two owls which she liked a lot more than her wrist tattoo.

She explained that she got these after going through a rough time, and that she appreciated the symbolism of owls, and the wisdom they represent. The owl is often associated with the Greek goddess Athena, who is often depicted with an owl perched on her shoulder.

Taylor had these tattooed at Arts Ink in Covington, Kentucky, by Boddhi.

Thanks to Taylor for sharing her owls and welcoming me to Kentucky with some cool ink!

Siobhan's Colorful Girlie Skull

2011-05-05T03:40:00.000-07:00

I still occasionally get people who ask me with wide eyes, "So you just go up to people you don't know and ask them to take a picture of their tattoos?" Pretty much, yeah.

Despite this sometimes daunting hobby, I'm generally pretty comfortable just asking away. Occasionally, however, I am quite self-conscious, fearing that I'll come across as creepy, which is why you rarely see lower back tattoos here on Tattoosday. I only show them when they are offered. Similarly, when a woman has a colorful or elaborate chest piece, I try not to make that the center of my focus and, again, I generally only ask about it if it's exceptional or very interesting.

Such was the case with Siobhan, who I spotted outside of Penn Station on the corner of 31st Street and 7th Avenue last last month. She has three tattoos, but this piece was the only one I really noticed, not necessarily because of where it was, but because of its colorful playfulness:

Siobhan credits this piece to a free-lance tattoo artist in Philadelphia named Joe Tizzo. She says she wanted a girlie skull, and this was his creation. He added the flurries of stars to fill out the piece. I particularly like the use of negative space and the use of multi-colored dots to add a little zip to the edges of the tattoo.

Thanks to Siobhan for sharing her beautiful tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Anita's Gorey Tattoo

2011-05-04T02:56:00.000-07:00

When I spotted Anita's tattoo, at the corner of 7th Avenue and 34th Street, I knew it was based on the artwork of Edward Gorey. In fact, this link, will display all the ink tagged "Gorey" on Tattoosday.

Despite their popularity, I never tire of tattoos based on Gorey's work. This particular piece is from a series of illustrations from Gorey's The Gashleycrumb Tinies.

Anita got this piece at Crazy Monkey Tattoo in Brooklyn.

Thanks to Anita for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

James and His Colorful Sleeve

2011-05-03T05:13:00.000-07:00

Last month, I had the pleasure of running into James, in Penn Station. He has an incredible sleeve, which he gladly took some time to share with us:

James is very interested in Japanese traditions, and this piece, by Christian Masot at Silk City Tattoo in Hawthorne, New Jersey, is a stunning colorful tribute. I mean, check out this detail:

Work from Silk City has appeared before on Tattoosday, check out these examples.

On the bottom of James' right arm is this incredible collage:

This burst of color includes a poison dart frog, a Jackson chameleon, a lotus, a mum, and a tulip.

Thanks to James for sharing his amazing work with us here on Tattoosday!

Danielle's Beautiful Gypsy Tattoo

2011-05-02T04:44:00.000-07:00

Well, we're back after a month-long hiatus of regular inkspotting while we celebrated National Poetry Month with the Tattooed Poets Project. It was actually on my way back from interviewing one of our poets, Alicia Adams, in Union Square, when I ran into a woman on the uptown subway platform who had some incredible tattoos.

We discussed her ink for a couple of stops and, when we got off the train, I snapped this phenomenal tattoo:

Oh, and let me tell you, dear readers, how tough it was to hold on to this picture through the entire month of April. But, as they say, good things come to those who wait.

This incredible piece was inked by Regino Gonzales at Invisible NYC. Danielle recalls, "I wish I had some amazing story about the tattoo we picked. When I was at InvisibleNYC to talk with another artist, I fell in love with the gypsy woman that Regino designed. Then I made my appointment with him!"

I have been fortunate to come across Regino's work in the streets, by chance, three times before. You can read about those encounters, and see the tattoos, here.

Thanks to Danielle for sharing her awesome tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

The 2011 Tattooed Poets Project Recap

2011-05-01T07:21:00.000-07:00

When I first started The Tattooed Poets Project in 2009, I was flying blind. Now, three years and 96 posts from 90 poets later, I feel truly blessed. To say it is a labor of love is an understatement. The Tattooed Poets Project may run for only one month, but I start working on it three months earlier, and getting thirty poets to participate is a challenge. E-mails back and forth, Facebook messages, and the sublimation of my worry that I will seem stalker-esque and creepy.

I simply could not do this without the people I call my champions: Stacey Harwood and David Lehman with the Best American Poetry blog, the incomparable Dorianne Laux who is an uninked poet, but seems to have an endless list of poets she does know with tattoos, and Adam Deutsch, my West Coast connection. This year, Patricia Carragon, who curates the Brownstone Poets reading group in New York became the latest in a growing list of talented individuals who sounded the clarion call for submissions.

To these folks, as well as all the participants who contributed this year, I raise my arms in a gesture of praise and thanksgiving. Without all of you, this little venture, which next year will eclipse the century mark in both submissions and contributors, would be fruitless.

Remember, you can see who has participated this year, as well as in years past, here, in the Tattooed Poets Project Index.

Again, thanks to all who have sent me their work, both written and inked, and to all of you who have been checking in daily. And for all of you Tattoosday fans who have been waiting patiently for our "regular" programming to resume, tomorrow we will start posting regularly again, and, boy, do we have some great stuff to showcase in May.

With gratitude and humility, I thank you all.

Bill Cohen

The Tattooed Poets Project: Debbie Kirk

2011-04-30T05:53:00.000-07:00

I always like to finish up the Tattooed Poets Project on a strong note, so today's tattooed poet, the last of this year's series, is the heavily-tattooed poet Debbie Kirk.

It also happens to be Debbie's birthday today, as we check out one of her tattoos. More specifically, let's look at the top of her left arm:

This piece, complete with straight razor, brass knuckles and cherry bomb, bears a banner that proclaims "Bow to your elders, you Emo Fucks."

I mean, what more can I say about that?

In discussing which tattoo of Debbie's to use, this exchange took place:

Tattoosday: "I hesitate to use the emo one because of the language and because I'm sure people will not understand why you would get it, but that makes me want to use it more".

Debbie: "its a favorite with peeps...it has been declared the sexiest tattoo ever..."

Tattoosday: "I love tattoos but they are generally so benign nowadays, so it's nice to see one with a true fuck-all attitude."

Debbie: "Yeah, that defines me what you said right there....and why I got the tattoo. I think that single tattoo is the most ME. I can be a bit honest...which is why people like my poetry."

Where'd she get the tattoo? Debbie recalls " I just remember I got it in Venice 5 years ago from a girl who proposed to me when I told her my idea...I still tell that story. I KNEW it was good with that reaction and she was hot."

Debbie gave us several poems to choose from, and the one we selected, she says, is very representative of her work:

Little Frankenstein girl

Little Frankenstein girl

has the hands of a pianist

And the heart of a broken organ

With thorns, glass

Bats and Indian ink

Seeping thro…

Sewn together

Crookedly stitched

Like a pastel valentine heart

Filled with mismatched parts

Little Frankenstein girl

Has the right brain of a killer

Her right hand is dominant

While her left foot always faces away

Wanting to disconnect

To run

To be free

To not be part of this

Fucked up experiment

Dreamt up by

A genius dressed in rags

And chased by demons

The kind that really scratch and bite

When you are fast asleep

Little Frankenstein girl

Is not a little girl anymore

The curls in her hair

Dreaded up in the sun

Medusa in the wind

Her loud strong voice

Muffled under the stitches

That firmly binds her lips together

Bondage bringing pleasure

Only to those who wish

To keep her silent

(and they are many)

The little Frankenstein girl

Can’t count the stitches on her wrists

From all of those nights

With her right hand doing

What her left foot

Wanted to walk away from

And her not understanding

That she was never really alive

In the first place

Little Frankenstein girl

All mixed up

And

Mix matched

Returning every evening

With fresh wounds to be sewn

From another vain attempt

To be mortal for just a few seconds

Before the fall

Little Frankenstein girl

Stolen parts

Come with stolen lies

Maggots and flies.

The gravedigger, looking to make a buck

Steals her a kiss

The moistness quenches her lips

He promises more kisses tomorrow

She scurries home

Knowing full well

She’s damned to a life of stolen kisses

And malfunctioning hearts

that spit in the moonlight.

~ ~ ~

Debbie Kirk has published 6 chapbooks and been in 12 anthologies and hundreds of print and online zines. She lives in Santa Cruz with her dog Dr. Gonzo. She has a website she rarely updates at tntkirk.com but she can be best located lurking around Facebook! Also check out http://tntkirk.com/.

Thanks to Debbie for sharing her tattoo and poetry with us here as we close out the Tattooed Poets Project on Tattoosday. Also, we wish her a very happy birthday today!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

The Tattooed Poets Project: Lizzie Wann

2011-04-29T02:31:00.000-07:00

Here, on the penultimate day of the Tattooed Poets Project, our contributor is Lizzie Wann:

Lizzie explains:

As I came into my poetic self in college, I knew I wanted a tattoo to symbolize that. My friend, Kevin, designed it for me and I carried it with me for a while. For spring break in 1993 or 1994, I went to Seattle with 4 of my best friends at the time. We happened into a cool tattoo shop and 4 of us got our first tattoos (the 5^th person didn’t want one).It was great because we each got something that symbolized who we were at the moment but also who we hoped to be in the future.

Here's a closer look at this quill and ink bottle tattoo:

Lizzie shared this poem, as well:

Grace

she lives here with me
but she comes & goes as she pleases

never tells me where she’s going
never leaves a note

it’s typical that she’ll come in
just as I’m falling asleep

I catch glimpses of her sometimes
usually when there’s music

we used to be inseparable
I didn’t think she’d ever leave

now, daily happenings of my life
rarely interest her

but sometimes they do
and she’ll spend time with me

when that happens
I remember how good it feels

her company is like an avalanche of
warm towels out of the dryer

I could stay there all day

© 2010 Lizzie Wann

Lizzie Wann started reading at open mics in 1995. She soon became an integral part of the development of the San Diego poetry scene, facilitating workshops at the Writing Center, creating her own readings and producing original shows that featured poets and musicians. She earned a spot on the 1999 Laguna Beach national slam team that competed at the National Poetry Slam in Chicago of that year, and from there, helped make slam poetry become a San Diego fixture. She was on the 2000 San Diego team that went to the West Coast Regionals in Big Sur, served as coach for that same team in 2002, and co-hosted the fledgling San Diego slam, held at the Urban Grind, until 2003. Her work appears on CDs (A Wing & A Prayer and A New Leaf), in chapbooks including Familiars, Naked Wrists, and Complicated Skies and in anthologies including Comstock Review, Incidental Buildings & Accidental Beauty, A Year in Ink, volume 2, So Luminous the Wildflowers, The San Diego Poetry Annual, and Don’t Blame the Ugly Mug. She also founded the Meeting Grace house concert series which ran from 2000-2008. One of her CD’s can be found at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/lizziewann.

Thanks to Lizzie for sharing her tattoo and poem with us here on Tattoosday!

The Tattooed Poets Project: Gerry LaFemina

2011-04-28T03:02:00.000-07:00

Today's tattooed poet is Gerry LaFemina. Gerry put together a narrative about his ink, which makes my job easier, and gives us a detailed view of his tattoos. Let's see what he has to say:

Photo by Joy Gaines-Friedler
"My first tattoo–I was 19, I was a punk rock kid, and I had been thinking about getting a tattoo for some time. I had had a dream in which I had a tattoo of a skull and crossbones design in which the skull had peace symbols for eyes. When I was shaving the next morning, I was surprised I didn’t have the tattoo. So I called up my friend Melody, whose uncle was Tattoo Ray–one of the best tattooists on Staten Island. She made the appointment and came with me to her uncle’s house.

In New York at the time (the mid 1980's), tattooing was still illegal: most tattoo artists worked out of their homes and their clientele was through word of mouth. Ray was pretty famous–and I have met a number of people over the years on Staten island who had work done by Ray. He was funny, sarcastic, and quick-tongued. I remember asking him about his needles (this was in the midst of the AIDS epidemic) after all and he asked me right back “How clean is your blood?”

I liked him immediately. He did the work. His niece and I talked. I just remember being surprised how much the tattoo gun sounded like a dentist drill. The little whine, the humming buzz.

My second tattoo: I got my senior year in college. We found somebody in Westchester who did the work in his suburban neighborhood house. I remember little of the experience. The tattoo was not the one I wanted: what I had hoped to get – Tigger with a microphone and a mohawk jumping on his tail – I ended up not being able to afford. Instead: I went with symmetry – and more pirate stuff: a rose with crossed swords above the left bicep. In hindsight, this tattoo has held up better than Tigger probably would have....

Photo by Joy Gaines-Friedler

What lasts though are the tattoos I wanted to get but didn’t: After the rose I wanted to get Charlie Chaplin tattooed on me. I asked several artist friends of mine to make me a design, and I got a few of them, but none of them “worked.” And for several years I wanted the logo for my old band tattooed somewhere. But neither happened.

So I went with two for a long time: but I often thought about getting new ink. I wrote. I taught. I created a program for young writers in northern Michigan called the Controlled Burn Seminar for Young Writers. I committed 13 years to that project, and after the tenth seminar, I thought I would get its logo – a lit cherry bomb – tattooed on my right forearm. The logo was important to me: I believe poetry and all art should be a lit cherry bomb. It should be a potential explosion. But it should be fun, too. I looked into it a few times, but I finally made the decision on a lark a few days after my birthday. I was walking on Carson Street in Pittsburgh – tattoo parlor row. I liked the name Flying Monkey Tattoo. So in I went.

Photo by Joy Gaines-Friedler

The tattooist was a kid, He could have been one of my students–he was finishing up his apprenticeship and mine was one of his first tattoos. The seminar after the ink ended up being the last one. It seemed fitting that the creative writing kids got to see it before the seminar ended.

And now I’m back to collecting designs: this time, though, I know who’s going to do the tattoos. The next one will be a Buddha carrying a tattered pirate flag on my back. These are the two strains of my life. And I want the MG logo somewhere. I’ve been driving an MGB for 15 years. The tattoo is a commitment and the things I am committed too, the things that define me, that continue to define me I want inked on me. I spend much of my life putting ink on paper. I think it’s only fitting to have some ink on me, too."

And now, for one of Gerry's poems:

Alphabet City

Avenues A through D, Lower East Side, NYC

After the ambulances left but

before the sun finally rose above Avenue

C, I walked toward Tompkins Square Park where the heroin

dependent rockers slept, addled on benches, while

ex-punks huddled in their leather jackets

for the morning was still damp. One of them called out,

Gerry? What was I to do when I saw her, recognized

her hesitant familiar eyes. How could I have

imagined things would turn out this way when I’d call out her name —

Joanna — those sleepless nights of high school &

kept a photo of her deep into college.

Longing has such a sense of history.

Morning was approaching in its colorful coat.

Not once those months of kissing her, had I wakened beside her, but

oh — I’d wanted to. She was thinner & glanced away when I nodded;

pigeons surrounded her bench but would take off

quickly with the first sudden movement or when the next squad car

revealed itself in flashers & sirens.

So what did I do? What could I do?

The three five dollar bills folded in my pocket, what

use were they to me? I gave them to her, she who’d once been beautiful. How

victorious I’d felt that first time I kissed her.

We didn’t look at each other, nor did we look askance. I thought of the little

xiphoid syringes she might load with that money. This was my sin.

Two young black kids with dreadlocks walked by singing

Zion! Take me back to Zion! & I knew I’d never be saved.

– Gerry LaFemina

from Vanishing Horizon, 2011 Anhinga Press

Gerry LaFemina is the author of seven books of poems, most recently Vanishing Horizon (2011, Anhinga Press) and a collection of short stories. He directs the Frostburg Center for Creative Writing at Frostburg State University where he also teaches. He splits his time between Maryland and New York City.

Thanks to Gerry for sharing his tattoos and poetry with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

The Tattooed Poets Project: David Jonathan Newman

2011-04-27T02:51:00.000-07:00

Today's tattooed poet is David Jonathan Newman, who sent along this photo:

Dave explains:

"The tattoo is fairly literal; the state of Florida is burning, with the words "Til The Bitter End" aside it. I moved to Miami for 4 years to pursue a relationship, and saw it out to its unfortunate conclusion. The tattoo is born out of that experience, and I got it to help me put a finishing stamp on what happened there and what brought me back to Long Island. None of us are perfect, but we can become stronger people if we have reminders of our mistakes and put them to good use to make sure they don't happen again. This piece, along with most of the work on my body, was done by Chris Koutsis of Da Vinci Tattoo Studio in Wantagh NY. I told him exactly what I had in mind, and between my ideas and his talents I was very happy with the outcome."

The following is my favorite of the several poems David sent me to choose from:

hello, atmosphere.

I keep the eyes of a rapist in a jar by my bed
walk lightly
for that part of the room is glass
modern-day sorcerer, am I
blueprints and otherworldly photographs in my drawers
beakers and tubes filled with dust
the cold makes it feel like home
and when the mirror talks to me, it only says
"I will wrap you in a sheet before this night is done."
well so says you, my sweet, but look what you've become
all my furniture, ghosts
rooms rife with other lives
no doors
my paintings are stolen from churches and are hanging backwards and are numbered one to infinity.

~ ~ ~

David Jonathan Newman has been a poet and vocalist/lyricist in bands, both on Long Island, NY and in Miami, FL. He currently is working on a collection of poetry, writes music as a solo artist and has a blog (http://captainselfdestruct.blogspot.com) where he posts both his solid works and stream of consciousness ideas. He's been winning poetry contests since 6th grade, and the poem above, "Hello, Atmosphere" won a writing contest at the SUNY College Of Old Westbury which was featured in Harmonia, their on-campus writing publication.

Thanks to David for sharing his tattoo and poem with us here on Tattoosday!