Jackie's Ganesh (at the NY Empire State Tattoo Expo)

Last July at the NY Empire State Tattoo Expo (@nyempirestatetattooexpo), I met Jackie, who shared this stunning tattoo on her forearm:

She briefly told me, "I have a lot of interest in Buddhism ... this is Ganesh ... and it's supposed to mean good fortune and good health."

The artist that did this is Popo (Zhang Po) (@popotattoo), who works out of Tattoo Lou's (@tattoo_lous_ny) in Selden, New York, out on Long Island. He was also at the expo as part of the World Famous Ink Pro Team (@worldfsmousproteam).

Work from Popo has appeared previously on Tattoosday here,

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

This entry is ©2017 Tattoosday.

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.

Brooke and Josh, Ganesh and Ram

With 2017 upon us, we've still got some stragglers from 2016, but we're also celebrating. Later this year, Tattoosday will be celebrating a landmark. Tattoosday will be Ten!

That's practically venerable in blogyears - and to help celebrate we'll be revisiting some of our old contributors and see what's new on their skin.

She may not realize it, but this celebration of sorts was inspired by Brooke, a friend and former colleague, who first appeared on Tattoosday here in 2007 and again here, in 2008.

Last month Brooke sent me photos of her new tattoo, and her husband Josh's, as well.

Let's check out Brooke's first:

Brooke and Josh got tattooed on a trip to India, so it only seemed fitting that their new body art have deep roots in this wonderful country's culture.

Brooke went into greater detail with me:

"For Me, Ganesh is my favorite deity in Hinduism. He's the remover of obstacles and is known for wisdom. In total, I've now spent 5 weeks in India and felt it would be good to commemorate my time there by getting a tattoo of my favorite idol."

She credited Vikas Milani from Body Canvas Mumbai (@bodycanvastattooart) as the artist that tattooed her Ganesh.

Vikas Milani tattoos Brooke while her husband Josh looks on

As for Josh's new tattoo, check out this beautiful work:

Brooke explained that "Josh loves the story of Lord Rama or 'Ram.' Ram epitomizes everything Josh strives to be: The perfect Husband, Teacher, Son and Brother."

After his tattoo was done, Brooke and Josh hopped in an auto rickshaw with Shyam Waghmare (@shyam_waghmare), his artist, and get professional pictures taken at a photo studio. This is the result, in stunning three-panel perspective:

Brooke estimated that Josh's Ram tattoo took about twenty hours in all.

Thanks to Brooke and Josh for sharing these wonderful tattoos with us here on Tattoosday. And a special thanks to Brooke for being one of our earliest contributors, back when Tattoosday was in its infancy. We're blessed to have Brooke and Josh helping us celebrate our tenth year of publication!

This entry is ©2017 Tattoosday.

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.

The Tattooed Poets Project: Erika Lutzner

Today's tattooed poet is Erika Lutzner, who sent us this photo:

Erika explains:

I have five tattoos which tell the history of my story; skin is my canvas. The tattoo that I want to share is of Ganesha. I chose to get the tattoo of Ganesha because he is the remover of obstacles, and I was at a point in my life where my path was far from clear. Ganesha watches over me and keeps me grounded and safe. I also have a tattoo of Hanuman carrying a mountain. He represents strength and knowledge. Anil Gupta did all my tattoos. He is an amazing artist. He works on the Lower East Side at his shop, Inkline Studio Inc.

Erika sent us this poem, as well, which was first published in failbetter, July, 2009.

Blackness Slips Through Sundays

A mirror cannot speak truth
Just as a woman’s face masks
a madness
The man in the mug shot
Could be anyone’s husband, friend, father, —
The woman hides behind
fiction

~ ~ ~

Erika Lutzner is the editor of Scapegoat Review. She curates Upstairs at Erika’s, a monthly writer's salon in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Her work can be found in various places such as failbetter, Eclectica Magazine, and Tygerburing Literary Journal. Her first book, Invisible Girls, by dancing girl press as well as a second book, Some Things Are True That Never Happened (an anthology) are both out. She is working on various new projects. You can find Erika at http://upstairsaterikas.com/ as well as http://scapegoatreview.com/.

Thanks to Erika for sharing her tattoo and poem with us here on Tattoosday's Tattooed Poets Project!

This entry is ©2013 Tattoosday. The poem and tattoo are reprinted with the poet's permission.

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.

Travis and Another Perspective of Ganesh

People who are familiar with being featured here on Tattoosday know that there is a process, in which I generally go chronologically, and it often can be several weeks before I post their work.

But there are always exceptions.

Take, for example, Travis, who I met on Monday near the corner of 32nd and 8th Avenue waiting for a bus.

Under normal circumstances, you'd have seen Travis's tattoo in September but, the next day, I got the following mysterious tweet: "@Tattoosday post pictures of that guys tattoos- you were talking to him yesterday outside MSG plzz! *stalker*".

What?

Well, a little bit of digging, and I discovered that the source of the message was Hannah, who appeared last month on Tattoosday here. And since I'm a sucker for my fans, I'll gladly oblige and share Travis's tattoo with us here today. Here it is:

Travis's tattoo depicts the Hindu deity Ganesh. However, unlike this Ganesh tattoo, this one has a twist.

Travis explained that one of the common beliefs is that Ganesh was born with a human head, but that he was beheaded as a boy, and his head was replaced with that of an elephant. He obtained a third eye so that he could make sure he was never betrayed again.

Travis says that he often feels "too aware" of others, to the point that it detracts from his enjoyment of life. Thus, his tattoo of Ganesh has him literally slicing off the third eye, wielding a sword with his trunk, which metaphorically translates to Travis "cooling out" and being less aware so that he can enjoy life more.

The "F.I.A." on the banner stand for "Fuck It All".

Travis has eight tattoos, which includes a full sleeve, all by artist Brad Stevens at Dare Devil Tattoo in New York City.

Thanks to Travis for sharing this interesting interpretation of Ganesh with us here on Tattoosday!

Ganesh Waits for the A Train

Actually, Kerry was waiting on the platform for the uptown A Train when I walked by at 34th Street.

How could I not stop and ask her about this tattoo:

This absolutely stunning depiction of the Hindu deity Ganesh took between eight and nine hours to complete.

Guy Ursitti at Thicker Than Water is the tattooist responsible for this work of art, the newest (at the time I met her) of Kerry's approximately fifty tattoos.

The detail in the tattoo is absolutely incredible.

Work from Thicker Than Water has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

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