Ashley Shares a Couple Jeff Rassier Pieces

Earlier this month, I spotted Ashley in Penn Station. She has quite a few tattoos and, after speaking with her, learned she is the piercer at Revolver Tattoo in New Brunswick, NJ. (Work from Revolver has appeared here previously, as seen from this tag.)

She offered up two small pieces for our tattoo-viewing enjoyment:

She credited this work to Jeff Rassier at Black Heart Tattoo in San Francisco with these pieces.

While out visiting the shop in California, she spotted these pieces on one of Rossier's flash sheets and just dug it. She said her father even got the same tattoos because he liked the work as well.

Thanks to Ashley for sharing some of her ink with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another website 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.

Let the Games Begin! (A Re-post of Olympic Awesomeness)

The 2012 Olympics, or the games of  XXX Olympiad, begin today, officially. The summer games are always a big deal in our household and one thing you'll notice, the Olympians of 2012 are sporting a lot more ink than they have in the past. For a taste, check out this slideshow here, highlighting a few.

This, of course, reminds me of Tattoosday's chance encounter with an Olympian several years ago. In honor of the games starting today, I thought I'd repost "Ronda's Olympic Tattoos," which appeared back in May 2009:

...On Tuesday, April 21 [2009] ... I spotted a familiar symbol on the right ankle of a woman in the Amtrak section of Penn Station:

Those are, of course, the recognizable Olympic rings.

One can imagine how pleased I was when the individual to whom this tattoo belonged was open to discussing not only her tattoos, but their significance.

For Ronda Rousey, like many athletes (see this New York Times article here), getting tattoos to commemorate attendance and participation in the Olympics, is a rite of passage.

But Ronda isn't just any Olympic athlete. She participated in both the 2004 games in Athens, and the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. In fact, she won the Bronze Medal in China in the sport of judo (middleweight division)

and became the first American woman ever to medal in that event.

She actually has at least three pieces that circumnavigate her ankle. The tail end of one can be seen to the left of the Olympic rings. Here's the beginning (and majority) of the slogan:


That is "Citius, Altius, Fortius," which is the motto of the modern Olympic games. Translated into English it means "Swifter, Higher, Stronger".

Also on the ankle is a third element, which is a Greek head garland:


This is a symbol of the 2004 Athens games, at which Ronda also competed.

She did not medal that year, but she was also the youngest, at 17, judo competitor in the Games, and was a rising star.

A resident of Los Angeles, Ronda had all three tattoos done at Ink Monkey Tattoo in Venice, California.

On a side note, personally, I always get a charge out of meeting a complete stranger and talking to them about their tattoos. That excitement is the fuel that energizes the Tattoosday experience for me.

Days later, I was still pumped about meeting an Olympic athlete. Most Olympians will say they're just like everyone else, normal folks like you and me. But, I beg to differ. Ronda isn't a member of the "Dream Team" or a star in track or gymnastics or beach volleyball or any of the "marquis" events. Nonetheless, here is a woman who participates in a sport and, in August 2008, was one of the top three women in the world in that event. She accomplished what so many athletes aspire to. She stood on a podium and even though the Star-Spangled Banner wasn't blaring on the P.A. system, she wore a medal around her neck and saw the American flag raised because of her remarkable athletic accomplishment.

It is an honor to have her featured here on Tattoosday and I thank her profusely, from the bottom of my tattoo-loving heart.

Click here [for a news article that is] a recap of Ronda's Olympic medal run....

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

~ ~ ~

I should add that Ronda has gone on to have a successful career in MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). 

Let the Games Begin!

This entry is © 2009, 2012 Tattoosday.

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An Israeli Butterfly

Well, we seem to be on an international run this week, with work from two European artists over the last two days. Today we head further east.

I know butterflies are fairly common as tattoo designs, but when I spotted this one fluttering around Penn Station, I felt compelled to ask its owner about it:

This pretty butterfly belongs to Osnat, who is from Israel. She credited the piece on her right shoulder to an artist named Raz at Studio Raz in the southern Israeli city of Eilat.

Thanks to Osnat for sharing her butterfly with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another website 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.

Anna's Amazing Half-Sleeve Honors Her Brothers and Where They Have Lived

Yesterday we saw work from an Italian artist, today we are admiring ink I spotted on the subway last month that originated in Sweden.

I met Anna on the West 4th Street platform and hopped on the F train toward Brooklyn just to have a moment to talk to her and find out a little about her tattoos:

Anna explained the concept as a family-related sleeve. The two faces that are featured in the hot air balloons are portraits of her brothers, Mike and John. The maps that appear as background represent many of the places they have lived, like Japan, Peru, and Puerto Rico.

She credited this stunning work to Vilda Nordström at Vild@art in Vårgårda, Sweden. Check out their Facebook page here. Vilda's work is very impressive!

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


This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another website 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.

Daniela Shares a Sliver of Italian Sleeve

Earlier this month, we headed to the Brooklyn Bridge area to have lunch with friends visiting from out of town. After pizza at Grimaldi's, we ambled down to the water to get some ice cream and soak in the sights. It was there that I met Daniela, a gentleman visiting from Italy. He was kind enough to share a segment of his sleeve:

He was with a group and was in a bit of a hurry, but I did manage to find out from Daniela that the artist is Edoardo Iacovoni at Moko Tattoo Studio in Rome.

It is always wonderful to meet people with body art from places other than the United States, and the tattoo community in Europe is filled with so many talented practitioners of the art. You can see more of Edoardo's work on the shop's Facebook page here.

Thank you to Daniela for sharing his wonderful tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!


This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

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Remembering Julien's Father

A couple weeks ago outside of Madison Square Garden, I met Julien, who shared this portrait of his father:

As it turns out, today, July 20, 2012, marks the twentieth anniversary of his passing. Julien was only seven years old when his father died.

This wonderful portrait was inked by the always-amazing Virginia Elwood at New York Adorned.

Via e-mail, Julien explained the name at the top of the portrait:

"I actually chose my last name rather than my father's name because I got the tattoo done a few months after my grandfather (father of my father) past away, this way paid homage to both of them, and honor my family name at the same time. Since my father past away when I was 7 years old, my grandfather became very important to me."

Thanks to Julien for sharing this lovely tattoo with us here on Tattoosday, and for agreeing to let me post it on the anniversary of his father's passing.

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another website 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.

Jesse's Stargate Tattoo is Forever Tied to His Father

I spotted this tattoo on the Court Street subway platform in Brooklyn Heights back in April.

This piece belongs to Jesse, who had this inked at Sanctity Tattoo in Tucson, Arizona.

Jesse explained that he and his father both got this tattoo because they watched the science fiction show Stargate SG-1 together. These are alien runes that were seen in one of the episodes.

Both he and his father regarded this concept of alien life and although they "didn't exactly believe in it, but something similar...". It's certainly a deep concept to fully accept.

What makes this tattoo all the more meaningful is that Jesse and his father both shared the experience of getting the same tattoo on his 20th birthday. As it turned out, his father passed away about two months later.
In this way, the meaning of the tattoo evolved, from a symbol of his enjoyment of a television show to a reminder of a shared experience with his father before he died. Both the intellectual and emotional aspects of the piece are significant.

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


This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another website 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.

Kitty's Owl-Girl, Preserving the Memory of Ben Zehner

I met Kitty back in May at a Starbucks at the corner of 31st and 7th in Manhattan. She is an actress and children's book illustrator. She also does alternative modeling, burlesque, and blogs over at The Tattooed Artist.

She shared this tattoo above, which was inked by Ben Zehner out of Studio Seven Tattoo in Wilmington, North Carolina and gave me a little history about the piece:

"It was his own [Zehner's] creation ... he was a painter, this is actually a painting he did that was very very beautiful, it was ... three feet by two feet wide, it's very large, very beautiful painting and, of course, I couldn't afford the painting, it was just too extravagant. So he scaled it down for me and when I moved to New York a couple years ago, he tattooed it on me and then, unfortunately, last November, he passed away ... it's a good piece to remember him by, absolutely gorgeous piece, I'm very very happy with it and I wish I could get more, but at least I have an original piece that is never going away."

Meeting people with tattoos done by artists who have passed away is not too common, but when it does occasionally happen, it is interesting to hear how people talk about the tattoos. Getting a tattoo from someone is a very intimate experience and to lose someone with whom one has shared that bond is hard to imagine. I have found that often the tattoos carry more emotional meaning when their artist is deceased. It is as if the host knows they are helping preserve the artist's memory and work even after the creator has moved on.

Thanks to Kitty for sharing this very poignant tattoo with us on Tattoosday!


This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another website 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.

Marjo Shares an Amazing Lighthouse from the UK

Back in June, in Herald Square, I ran into a couple named Marjo and Jon, who were visiting from the UK. Both were tattooed, but it was the Marjo's half-sleeve that really brought down the house:

Marjo credited an artist named Sergi Besa at a shop called Nine, in Brighton, with this amazing tattoo work.

At the inner part of the upper arm near the shoulder, is an amazing compass rose:

I only wish the sun had not been so bright, as it washed out some of the color in my photos.

Marjo explained that she had the original concept for the tattoo and Sergi did the rest.

Truly a remarkable piece of work!

Thanks to Marjo for sharing her lighthouse sleeve with us here on Tattoosday!

UPDATE: Jon's tattoo appeared in December 2012 here.

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another website 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.

A New Tattoo on Friday the 13th, or, the Templar of My Familiar

People familiar with Tattoosday have seen my Friday the 13th tattoo posts. Melanie has two and I have one, and I remember watching enviously when she got her first (here), but it was her birthday, so it didn't make sense for me to get one then.

Someone commented on the site back then that I should check out Three Kings Tattoo in Brooklyn, that we wouldn't have to have to wait all day like at Dare Devil, but when the next opportunity came along, we were already looking at Hand of Glory, which was a little closer to home. 

This past January, we missed our chance and as our turned out, HOG was packed and a late arrival would have been for naught.

But there are three Friday the Thirteenths this year, and in April, I called Three Kings. "Sorry," I was told, "we're not doing it this month." Well, I thought, there's always July.

However, it didn't look good for July. My company is closing and as head of Human Resources, I have been coordinating and overseeing layoffs. We had twenty separations scheduled for Friday the Thirteenth.

I didn't want to wait until next May, so I reached out to Alex Mcwatt at Three Kings to see if maybe they could squeeze me in. Not really following the first-come first-served rule, but I thought having showed his work on Tattoosday before (here, here, and here) and showcasing a lot of work from  the other amazingly talented artists at the shop (a full history here), he might consider it. The worst he could do was say no, right?

Alex promptly replied, but he had an unexpected response. My heart sank when he told me they were no longer doing the event. However, he did say he would tattoo me with a piece of old flash if I wanted, just without the Friday the Thirteenth mayhem.

I was, as you might imagine, completely stoked. I got why they decided to stop doing the event. most likely why Hand of Glory also skipped this month as well. Its a great deal if you want a cheap tattoo experience, but who can blame artists for tiring quickly of people wanting cheap experiences? Especially when many of the people getting these novelty items were not always loyal customers, but merely bargain hunters who would only show up once or twice a year to zip in, zip out, and that was that. I totally got it.

It just so happened we were in the neighborhood last Sunday, so Melanie and I stopped in to meet Alex and nail down the details. We confirmed I'd come in on Friday, after a brutal day of work, and I'd pick something off the walls. I had also invited Alex to draw up something new, if he wanted, and that I would be very open and receptive to it, as long as it didn't "gross out my daughters or piss off my wife".

I had once been told by someone I once interviewed that he liked to go into a shop, ask an artist what they were drawing, and ask for that to be tattooed on them, if he dug the art. The concept is, an artist will be much more excited about doing something new and fresh than doing something they modified or have done before. The more enthusiastic the artist is about the design, I believe, the more care and passion they'll put into their work. That's not to say they'll do a poor job on an old piece, but they'll be happier doing something more interesting, and that can only positively impact the final product.

So, I arrived on schedule Friday and Alex showed me something new he has drawn up, a profile of a knight in armor. Way cool. I love the image and I immediately started relating to it. My name, "William," has etymological roots in Europe and derives from Wilhelm, which is a compound of will (or desire) and helm (protection).

I had also been doing some work earlier in the week, looking at my family ancestry on my mother's side. I descend from Englishmen on one branch of the family tree and the Scottish clan Graham on another branch. The design, which he had only recently drawn up resonated with me. When I told Alex this, he nodded and said, "it was in the ether".

From his perspective, when they had been toying with the idea of doing more Friday the 13th flash, Alex said he had been considering drawing from Masonic and the Knights Templar. There's a lot of 13 imagery in those deep mysterious traditions, and back in 1307, there was even an infamous event when a French king had many of the knights arrested on Friday, October 13. See the 13's in the date? I am oversimplifying here, but these arrests led to a wave of anti-templar frenzy in Europe and in the Catholic Church. Many of these knights were tortured and executed, and that initial date of Friday the 13th has often been cited as one of the earliest example of the superstition surrounding the unlucky thirteenth day.

But, I digress. Let's cut to the chase. Alex did a phenomenal job:

This is just above my right ankle, on the outer side of my leg. The lines and shading are brilliant. The photo above was taken by Alex on my Samsung Galaxy IIs, so it is still a little bloody, but you can see what a great job he did. 

I also got the opportunity to further support the shop by purchasing t-shirts for me and Melanie - it was her consolation for not getting new Friday the 13th ink.

I got this classic Dan Trochio-designed tee:

photo courtesy of Three Kings Tattoo (that's not me modeling)

and I got Melanie this cool new shirt designed by Josh Egnew:

photo courtesy of Three Kings Tattoo (that's not Melanie modeling)

You can check out a lot of other cool merchandise at the shop here. 

I found the shop clean, friendly, and I saw some amazing work being done. The line-up of artists in house is one of the most talented groups in New York City. I would highly, HIGHLY recommend Three Kings to anyone looking for great custom work in Brooklyn.

Thanks again, from the bottom of my heart, to Alex McWatt, for making this an awesome Friday the Thirteenth to remember!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another website 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.

Another Friday the 13th & An Amazing Vargas Batgirl Tattoo from Jess

First of all, it seems appropriate to share this tattoo today:

This tattoo belongs to Jess, who I met walking up 8th Avenue in the high 30's earlier this week.

It's a Friday the 13th tattoo special, inked by Sean McCartney at Ink Zone in Yorkville, New York.

Today is the the day when hordes of bargain-seeking ink hunters descend on shops offering up the $20 Friday the 13th-themed tattoo (that's $13 for the tattoo and a $7 tip). Two of the shops I know in Brooklyn that have done the event in the past are not doing it this month (more on that in the immediate future), but I believe Dare Devil in Manhattan is doing it again.

But I digress...

I posted the Friday the 13th cupcake because it was timely, but the piece that jumped out at me when I saw Jess was this, on her left arm:

This piece was inspired by a famous pin-up of Batgirl by Alberto Vargas.

Jess got this tattooed because she "just loves the pin-up style".

That tattoo was inked by Stacey Martin at Dovetail Tattoo in Austin, Texas.

Thanks to Jess for sharing both of these tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!


This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another website 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.

Lindsey's Lucky Cat

Growing up in Hawai'i, the Maneki-neko was a common sight in most homes and businesses. I still have my "lucky cat" today and always am happy to see it in people's tattoos, like in this variation we saw earlier this month.

The photo above is a lucky cat belonging to Lindsey, who I met passing through Penn Station last month. She loves Japanese art and has a koi fish, a well, on her leg. The cherry blossoms on her arm are a nice touch, as well.

This tattoo was done by Erik Desmond at Horifudo Tattoo in Smithtown, New York.

Thanks to Lindsey for sharing her luck with us here on Tattoosday!


This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another website 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.

Marnee's Owl

I was walking in the aisles of my local grocery store in Brooklyn , when I met Marnee, who had quite a few tattoos. She offered up this owl on her upper left arm:

Marnee explained:

"There's no story behind it. I've just always loved owls and all the meaning behind them. I'm pretty wise myself."

The tattoo was inked in 2008 by Jimbo at Lark Tattoo. Work from Lark has appeared previously on Tattoosday here. A piece by Jimbo appeared in this post back in 2009.

Thanks again to Marnee for sharing her owl with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another website 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.

Jared's Sleeve Reflects His Journey Through the Music Business

I met Jared back in April outside of Penn Station on Eighth Avenue. He had an interesting sleeve that he offered to share:

Jared explained that the concept of the sleeve was based on his experience in the music industry. He had been a musician, but gave up the professional calling "about six months ago." He elaborated:

"...It's a sacrificial piece ... the heart right there [at the center of the arm, in the ditch] ... music's in your DNA and it rips your heart open ...

... and the sacrifice you have to go through ... two faces are the two faces you had to deal with in the music business..."

The work above was done by two free-lance artists. The top section of the sleeve was done by a guy named Steve, and the bottom section with the two faces was done by another person whose name Jared doesn't recall.

Thanks to Jared for sharing this work with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 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.

Vicki's Half-Woman, Half-Octopus Tattoo

I met Vicki at the DeKalb Avenue subway station in Brooklyn last month and I had to ask her about this tattoo.

This design is a half-woman, half-octopus, and was done by Brian Faulk at Hand of Glory Tattoo in Park Slope. She elaborated:

"I went to him [Brian] with a picture from the Victorian era that was of a woman who is all buttoned up, with a high collar, and then her bustle and her skirt are an octopus, so I went to him and said this is something to go from, but I want it to be more modern and not so buttoned up...it was [also] inspired by a song by Carla Kihlstedt, who's in a band called Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, so this is from a song from her band 2 Foot Yard ... the song is called "Octopus" [and] it's the story of a woman and all the different facets of her personality, pulling her in different directions."

Here's another look at the tattoo from the shop's website:

© 2012 The End Is Near - All rights reserved

Brian, the artist from Hand of Glory/The End is Near, has tattooed me before, as reported here and here.

Thanks to Vicki for sharing her woman/octopus with us here on Tattoosday!

Here's a performance of "Octopus" from YouTube:

This entry is ©2012 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.

Jeniffer's Birthday Tattoo, Honoring Babba

I spotted Jeniffer on the steps outside of Madison Square Garden on the last day in May and couldn't resist asking her about this tattoo:

Jeniffer, who is from Sydney, Australia, was visiting New York in April 2011 and had this Matroyshka doll (more commonly referred to as a Russian nesting doll) done in honor of her twenty-first birthday. It was a gift from her sister, who got the same tattoo.

The tattoo was done by Sarah Schor in Brooklyn.

Jeniffer elaborated on the origin of the tattoo:

"There's three of us [sisters]. I'm the youngest. The sister who got it is the oldest and ...we went to get something together and we were trying to come up with something that came in threes ... three amigos, three musketeers, little pigs, and then we just, we've ... got European background, so we thought babushkas ... Babba is what we call my grandmother ... and all three of us have always been close to her ... sort of a triple whammy ... we meant to actually get differing sizes, but we couldn't convince the middle sister to get it, so, we ended up just getting the same."

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


This entry is ©2012 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.

Lakota and the Evolution of Man: A Tattoo Odyssey

This colorful tattoo belongs to Lakota, who I met in Penn Station back in March.

He credited his work to Mike Drexler at Fly Rite Tattoo in Brooklyn.

Lakota explained the origins of this piece:

"It's actually inspired by the opening scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey ... this is the specific moment when  man is elevated from primitive simian ...I really, really liked that concept and that idea. I brought in a couple of pictures. I told [Mike Drexler] what I had in mind and he did the final design."

Lakota estimates that the piece was done in three sessions over an eleven hour span and that the fist at the top of the monolith was part of an original first tattoo that was blended into this new design.

Thanks to Lakota for sharing this cool and interesting tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!


This entry is ©2012 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.

The Story Behind Teddy Roosevelt and the Bear in a Wheelchair

Well, America is another year older, so it seems appropriate to honor our post-birthday euphoria with this unique presidential tattoo:

I spotted this piece back in May in Penn Station on the right calf of Emma. And, your eyes are not deceiving you, that's Theodore Roosevelt and a bear cub in a wheelchair.

The million dollar question, of course, was "Why do you have Theodore Roosevelt on your leg?" Emma replied:

"The short answer is that I think that he was super bad-ass and he's my favorite president. The long answer is that it came from a long decision process - I was gonna get Stephen Hawking and F.D.R, one on either calves, in wheelchairs, so then they could go for walks together and then I realized that that was just absolutely stupid. So I wanted to keep the wheelchair because I really like the way wheelchairs look and I decided instead of FDR, that I'd choose Teddy because he's my favorite president. And then I stuck the bear in the wheelchair so they could be friends because of all of his [Roosevelt's] naturalism...".

An interesting, well-thought out response, but certainly unusual. In fact, the artist, Virginia Elwood at New York Adorned, posted this on her website here, under the heading, What's the Weirdest Tattoo You've Ever Done? As Virginia says in her post, "this was her first tattoo and she sat like a champ. Teddy would be proud."


Thanks to Emma for sharing this wonderful and unusual tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!


This entry is ©2012 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.

Kristen's Ink Honors a Generational Vocation

At the end of last summer, we saw a traditional-style tattoo from Kristen (here).

Since then, our paths have crossed several times in the neighborhood. Last weekend, I once again had the good fortune to be doing laundry at the same time Kristen was, and I asked if she'd share the piece above, which is dedicated to her mother.

Kristen explained that her grandmother and mother were both nurses, and she, too, is in the same profession. It's a tribute not only to her mother, but a symbol honoring three generations of dedicated women.

She explained that this, too, was inked by an artist named Twace who works in Brooklyn. You can see some of his work on the site for the Brooklyn shop Citizen Ink.


Thanks again to Kristen for sharing her ink with us here on Tattoosday. 


This entry is ©2012 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.

Lucy's Radiolarian

I met Lucy yesterday in Penn Station after I spotted this cool tattoo on her right arm:

Lucy credits the artist JK5 with this tattoo. She said he did this out of Saved Tattoo, but he freelances and has also worked out of Dare Devil Tattoo.

And what is this on her arm?

Lucy explained that this is based on an illustration by German biologist/naturalist Ernst Haeckel and depicts a creature known as a radiolarian, an amoeboid protozoa. This is something you would see on the great science tattoo site, Carl Zimmer's Science Tattoo Emporium

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


This entry is ©2012 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.

Jenn's Robotic Tattoos, with a Hand-Mixer to Boot

Back in April, I passed Jenn in Penn Station and this tattoo stopped me in my tracks:

Jenn, who has eleven tattoos, explained that her work has a predominant robot theme. A lot of her work was done by Cyndi Lou at Squid & Whale Tattoo in Portland, Maine.

Speaking about the tattoo above, Jenn told me:

"It's the lucky cat but we doctored him up to have the robot armor and a lot of the metal work ... everything's made of metal to fit the theme. I needed some good luck two years ago, so we did it ... I really like the bright colors."

When I asked if the cat brought her good luck, she acknowledged that he did, "it's been a really good year, actually, a very successful year."

And then she was kind enough to share her chest piece, which features a mechanical heart:

And one last tattoo from Jenn is this hand mixer on her right forearm:

Jenn is a baker, and this ties into her vocation.

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


This entry is ©2012 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.

Congratulations to our Pantera Giveaway Winners!

One small administrative matter: we never formally announced the contest winners for our Pantera giveaway.

These Tattoosday readers

1. Ryan Loomis
2. William Carter
3. Terry Payne
4. Sandy Tran

were our lucky winners, each receiving copies of Pantera's 20th anniversary CD/DVD of Vulgar Display of Power.

Congrats to all!

Joe's Motto: Ora et Labora

Last September, at my dear friend Jill's wedding, I met Joe, who is the father of Kathy (Jill's step-mother).

There wasn't a lot of visible ink at the wedding, but when Kathy saw me at the reception, she yelled "Hey, Tattoosday!" and brought Joe over to see me.

He held out his wrists and I snapped the photo above.

It was a bit noisy at the reception, but he basically said that this was his motto. In Latin, Ora et Labora  mean "pray and work," and as Joe tells it, all he does is work and pray. The phrase is attributed to Saint Benedict.

Kathy concurs, "I will tell you that he does is work and pray ... or tell us to work and pray ... it really is quite a theme with him."

This was tattooed at Godspeed Tattoo in Breckenridge, Colorado. Joe got these words inked on his wrists a few years back, when he was in his early seventies. Who says cool tattoos are just for the youth?

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


This entry is ©2012 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.