Tattoosday (A Tattoo Blog): 2022

Monday, May 30, 2022

Re-post: Mike's Memorial Day Ink

The following post is from 2009. I have reposted it in 2013 and in 2017, and five years later, it seems worth posting again. This was originally shared to commemorate Memorial Day, and seems well worth sharing again:

It only seemed fitting that, on this Memorial Day, we feature a tattoo that honors our men and women in uniform.

A week ago, I was fresh off of my experience at the New York City Tattoo Convention, and everything I saw on the street was uninteresting. Until I passed by Mike and did a double-take.

This is the tattoo on Mike's inner right forearm:

Mike explained that, as a United States Marine, he was choosing to honor the corps by building a sleeve of iconic military photographs.

If you think this is an impressive tattoo (which it is), seeing the source material further magnifies how phenomenal a replica the artist has created on Mike's flesh:

A page on About.com explains this image further:

"While units of the U.S. Far East Air Forces Combat Cargo Command made an all-out effort to aid embattled units of the First Marine Division and Seventh Infantry Division, the men fighting in Korea were trying desperately to link up in their battle for survival. This marine is shown just as he reached the crest of the ridge at the link-up point. Wet, stinging snow and ice made the operation the most difficult sort, as unleashed hordes of communist troops charge again and again into the United Nations forces. (circa December 1950) "

In addition to this tattoo, Mike has a Vietnam-era photo of a Marine sniper inked on his right biceps.

This astonishing tattoo was created by Randy Prause at Permanent Buzz Tattoo, in Denville, New Jersey.

A hearty thanks to Mike for sharing this tattoo with us here on Memorial Day. More importantly, Tattoosday expresses even more gratitude to Mike and all his fellow soldiers and who have so bravely served our country to ensure the freedoms we enjoy each day.

Have a safe and pleasant Memorial Day!

If you are seeing 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.

Saturday, January 29, 2022

Al Shares a Rib Tattoo by Bianka Nedbál

In July 2018, I was on Governor's Island for the New York City Poetry Festival to enjoy poetry and spot tattoos. I met Al who was kind enough to let me take this photo:

Al credited this work to Bianka Nedbál (@bianca_nedbal) who worked out of Edison Bar & Ink in Budapest, Hungary before it closed in September 2020.

Al told me the design was inspired by a photo of a staircase bannister that Bianka then interpreted into this lovely tattoo on her ribs.

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

Friday, January 28, 2022

You Get What You Get For Your Birthday

Last summer on my birthday, my family and I headed to Crown Hieights, Brooklyn, and celebrated the day, in part, at Electic Anvil Tattoo:

My daughters, Jolee and Shayna, had decided to treat their old dad to a new tattoo. What was I getting? It was still undetermined:

What's this? To those who aren't familiar with the concept, a customer pays for a token that they drop in the gumball machine. A little plastic ball drops after twisting the handle, and inside the bulb is a drawing. That's what you've just selected for your new tattoo. What happens if you don't like it? You can pay extra for a second chance, but you can also walk away. This rarely happens, I am told. Most people who are game enough to take the chance, are not going to walk away.

Needless to say, I liked my design and, as a bonus, the tattooer available to me was none other than Jason Monroe (@jason_monroe), who had tattooed me eight years earlier at a special Sailor Jerry event (read about it here).

The design I got it was this cool little Reaper, which now graces my left leg, just above the ankle.

When Jason asked if I wanted color, I deferred to him, so he was able to add the red he thought was best for the design. I thought getting a grim reaper tattoo on my birthday was pretty iconic, and the fact that it was a gift from my kiddos made it all the more special.

I should add that my daughter Shayna also "got what she got" - the family concluded she got a better design (although I was 100% happy with the outcome):

This tattoo, on Shayna's inner left forearm, was done by Josh Arseneau (@josharseneau) and was also a "Get What You Get" special.

Thanks to my kids for this awesome birthday gift and to Jason Monroe and the rest of the Electric Anvil crew for making it a memorable birthday!

Tattoosday (A Tattoo Blog)