Jolee's Ghost Light Shines Through the Pandemic

Yesterday, when the world was acknowledging the first anniversary of the delcaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was thinking about today, the anniversary of the lights going out on Broadway and in theaters across New York City. 

This was a particularly big deal in our home, as my daughter Jolee is an actor and worked front of house at The Public Theater.

This made me think of an amazing tattoo she got back in 2018, a "ghost light" on her thigh:

Jolee explains:

"A ghost light is an electric light that is left lit on the stage of a theater when the theater is unoccupied and would otherwise be completely dark. The light stands on a wheeled mount, and the bulb sits within a wire cage, and is placed center stage. Ghost lights also have superstitious justifications, as there are countless stories from centuries of theater about ghost lights being left lit to either appease the ghosts of a theater or to scare them away while no one is there to do that themselves."

She adds:

"I chose a ghost light for a variety of reasons. I wanted a commemorative tattoo for the art in which I've dedicated most of my life's work, but also had a sort of ambiguous nature. A deeply personal tattoo, yet also has a universal understanding amongst other artists. I like to think that the light for my love of theater remains lit throughout my life, no matter what happens."

As we look forward to the future, I like to think that the "light at the end of the tunnel" that is just out of reach is a ghost light, illuminating our way to a day when theaters will be open and vibrant again, as actors re-take their stages and bring their art back to life. 

This super cool tattoo was designed and crafted by the incomparable Alex McWatt (@alexthreekings) at Three Kings Tattoo (@threekingstattoo) in Manhattan. Alex has tattooed everyone in our family and his work has appeared numerous times on Tattoosday previously (click here to see what else we've featured).

Thanks to Jolee for sharing her tattoo and words with us here on Tattoosday! I look forward to seeing her on stage in the future, emanating her own light as an actor, and continuing to make me proud.

This entry is ©2021 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.

Andrea's Pigeon Takes Flight

Andrea (@andreas_eye), a friend of my wife's, shared her first tattoo with me, this cool pigeon on her shoulder:

Here's a closer look at the amazing detail:

Andrea related how this bird tattoo was hatched:

"...After thinking about getting a tattoo for over 10 years, I finally did it on July 18, 2018! I was mainly afraid of the pain and the permanence.

Turns out the pain was minimal and the permanence fine, too. In fact, I've been running up to every random tattooed stranger and saying, 'I just got my first tattoo!!! Can I show you?!,' and then we always get into a conversation about tattoos and everyone agrees that it hurt less than they expected.

Often, people ask me why I chose a pigeon as the image. In fact, some people laugh out loud when they realize it's a pigeon.

Well, I adore pigeons and always have. I think they're gorgeous. Some New Yorkers disparage them, but I'm convinced that if pigeons were discovered for the first time right now, everyone would see them as beautiful. The patterns! The colors on their necks. I've always liked to stand up for underdogs, and so I'm standing up for the underdog of the bird world.

I knew I needed a really great tattoo artist for the style I wanted, which was photorealistic. I wanted it to look like a painting. I searched around and asked friends for recommendations and ended up choosing Adriana Hallow (@adrianahallow), who turned out to be absolutely ideal not only because of her artistic brilliance, but also for her friendly personality. The tattoo took about 3 hours and I'm absolutely thrilled with how it came out."

Adriana can be found tattooing out of 10 Thousand Foxes Tattoo (@10thousandfoxesnyc) in Brooklyn.

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

Andrea with her pigeon tattoo and her artist, Adriana Hallow

This entry is ©2019 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.

Tattoosday Plays the Alphabet Game, 2018 Edition

Last year I embarked on what I called "The Alphabet Game," a day-long excursion on the NYC subway system to go through the lettered trains, alphabetically, interviewing passengers about their tattoos. The plan was to start on the "A" train and end with the "Z" train. You can relive the journey here, a summary post that details the experiment. Alas, I called it quits after the "R" train, leaving the "S," "W," and "Z" unexplored.

I had so much fun I decided to try again this summer and what follows below is another summary of the excursion. Did I make it this year? You'll know by the time you get to the end. Each post below consists of published posts from each train I visited, plus an extra bonus of a between-trains encounter.

I have added journal thoughts for transitions. Enjoy the journey!

~ ~ ~

Well, I'm at it again. Last year, I tried to run the letters, A to Z, on the MTA.

It's 8:06 on the J platform at Broad Street. I'm going to hop on a J, ride a stop, and hit the A train , where it will begin again.

I'll be honest, I'm not super confident, so my goal is to just go one better than last year, so if I make it to the S (Shuttle) train, I will be happy.

I know it's all about momentum and being efficient, but I'm still a little concerned that I can pull it off. A big stumbling block last year was the D train and going all the way out to Coney Island and back.

Here's the J, it's 8:10 AM, and we're off.

8:12 AM, great train luck, one stop to Fulton and an A is pulling in at the bottom of the stairs on the A/C platform. Already headed north.

Found a cool tattoo, but the dude is sleeping. I'm not a fool. Let sleeping tattooed dogs lie.

8:21 AM, switched cars at 14th Street. The first is always the hardest. I don't want to stray too far, so I am planning on switching to a downtown A at 59th Street. It's the economy, stupid.

8:26 AM, Switched cars again at 42nd Street, preparing to switch again at 59th, this time headed back downtown. I had a better start last year :-(

8:33 AM On a crowded downtown A.

8:45 AM Headed back north on an A at West 4th Street.

8:52 AM Success! Between 34th and 42nd, I meet Jill - lots of ink, including this:

It was a quick picture and a quick conversation. The tattoo is from an unremembered artist at New York Adorned. Adorned was one of the top shops in the city, but they stopped tattooing operations in July of this year, rebranding and focusing solely on piercing.

The first letter of the alphabet has been accomplished, appropriately with an Avocado.

Staying on the A train to switch for a B at 59th Street.

Thanks to Jill for sharing her tattoo and getting us started!

On we go to the B train...

At 9am I'm at 59th Street, having recently disembarked from an A train, waiting for a B.

It rolls in at 9:04, and five minutes later, at 9:09, I'm talking to Tiffany, who has a whole movie theme on her leg, including this compass, from the Pirates of the Caribbean:

That's Jack Sparrow's compass [click through to read the compass' own wiki page] and was inked by Todd Griesch at Forever Studio (@forever_studio_tattoo) in Longmont, Colorado. It is based on this:

Pretty cool!

That was it for the B train, as I hopped off at West 4th to catch a C train.

Thanks to Tiffany for sharing her tattoo with us as Tattoosday rides the rails!

~ ~ ~

9:20am, I'm on a southbound C that I grabbed at West 4th Street.

I am trying to get a woman's attention on the C. She has a small Keith Haring tattoo on her forearm, but she is buried in her phone and has earbuds in. And a Basquiat tattoo, which I only noticed when she got up to get off at Chambers Street. :-(

9:27am, back at Fulton Street, switching over to a northbound C train.

9:30am Northbound C train, I meet Jeffrey, who is kind enough to share this cool "suicide king" tattoo:

Although the heart symbol is not in the tattoo, one is instantly reminded of the King of Hearts playing card, commonly referred to as the "Suicide King," because of the way he is holding his sword, it appears as if he is driving it through his own head.

Jeffrey told me he just "liked the idea of" the tattoo, and credited artist Phil DeAngulo (@midwestphil) from Behind the Circle (@behind_the_circle) in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

Thanks to Jeffrey for sharing his tattoo with us here on Tattoosday as we ride the rails and play the Alphabet Game.

Next up is the D train.

At 9:36 A.M., I got off the C train at West 4th Street to transfer to a D train.

At 9:43 A.M., I got on a northbound D train.

After just two minutes, I met Mike, who shared a trio of tattoos that are really quite good, all from East River Tattoo (@EastRiverTattoo):

Actually some of the work at East River, like the scorpion above, was done by a visiting artist. The scorpion was done by Spider Sinclair (@spidersinclaire), who works out of Two Hands Tattoo (@twohandstattoo) in Auckland, New Zealand.

Then there's this neat skull and fern design, by Mike Adams (@mikeadamstattoo), currently out of  Frederick, Maryland.

Last was this piece, proclaiming "Life's Short" and burning the candle at both ends:

This was done by Duke Riley (@dukerileystudio), one of East River Tattoo's resident artists.

Thanks to Mike for sharing his awesome tattoos with us on the subways!

As we continue our subway adventure, I set my sights on the E train ...

I took the D to 7th Avenue where I switched for an E.

Noting that knocking the D train out of the equation before 10AM was great - last year I rode the D all the way out to Coney Island where I met someone as the train was pulling in. But then it was an hour back into Manhattan to catch an E - that was the worst time-management piece of the day.

So, now on an E train, I talk to Melissa before the E even hits 50th Street:

So, this was probably the muddiest tattoo of the day, Melissa was still cool sharing this ladybug on a flower, inked in "n old shop in the Bronx that doesn't exist anymore."

Thanks to Melissa for sharing nonetheless!

After spotting the old ladybug tattoo on the E train, I rode the E down to West 4th Street, where I planned to switch for the F train.

10:07 AM, waiting for an F train at West 4th.

At 10:18 AM, on the F train, I struck up a conversation with Ivan between the Broadway/Lafayette and Delancey Street stations. Ivan used to be a piercer, so he had worked in tattoo shops and accumulated some cool tattoos. I initially took a photo of this piece on his leg:

Ivan credited the artist Sinsentido (@sinsentido10) who works out of Circus Tattoo (@cricustattoomadrid) in Madrid.

After the train had rolled into Brooklyn, Ivan asked to share another piece, this one on his neck:

This cool skull on his neck was done by Needles (@darthneedles) at Red Rocket Tattoo (@redrockettattoo) in Manhattan. Needles has decades of experience and his work has appeared on Tattoosday multiple times over the years (see some of it here).

Thanks to Ivan for sharing his cool tattoos with us here on Tattoosday, as we travel the New York subways!

10:28 AM: I take the F to Carroll Street in Brooklyn where I plan to switch for the G.

It's my first real break of the day, since the G is a pretty isolated line in Brooklyn. I've managed to avoid any intermediary lines between trains, but once I do the G, I have to take it back to the F and then take the F to the J. There's a way to get off/exit and walk to the J, but that takes too far out of the way to my liking.

10:36 AM: On a G, missed a shot at a Family Guy sleeve, considering switching back to a Queens-bound G.

Switched at 4th Avenue/9th Street and, while waiting for another G, met Dan on the platform, who had a tattoo too good to pass up:

This amazing black and gray octopus on the back of Dan's leg was inked by Scott Move (@scottmove) at Parliament Tattoo (@parliamenttattoo) in London.

So, while technically not part of the Alphabet Game, per se, this amazing piece was spotted during the activity, so we're including it as part of the overall process. I mean, I couldn't pass this up now, could I?

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

At 10:42 AM, I boarded a Queens-bound G, and resumed my quest.

The G train runs with only four subway cars, so pickings were slim.

Got my first rejection of the day at 10:50 AM, from a woman with a leaf tattooed on her arm. So, decided to switch back at Fulton Street  and head back in the opposite direction.

10:53 AM. Back on a Brooklyn-bound G,

Success shortly follows when I meet Zach, who shares this unusual piece on his leg:

Zach tells me this is based on the work of Santiago Caruso, a surrealist artist from Buenos Aires, Argentina. The tattoo was created by Tommy from Tattoo Lou's o Long Island about ten years ago.

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

11:08 AM - After talking to Zach on the G train, I had to hop off at Bergen, but realized I had to leave the station to switch directions - ended up helping a woman up the stairs with her stroller (good deed for the day accomplished).

11:10 AM - Jumped on a Manhattan-bound F train. Also of note, my battery is still at 75%. Honestly, three hours in and I've done the A,B,C,D,E, F and G - not too shabby. Approaching lunch, considered taking A train to Fulton but am staying on the F for only three stops more. Considering taking the J back toward Broad Street where I work, so I can lunch and use the restroom. All depends on what the MTA gods provide.

11:25 AM - Delancey Street, waiting for a J.

11:29 AM - Boarded a J toward Broad.

I rode the J to Broad and, in the process, interviewed Kenny, who shared this alternative take on a Japanese half-sleeve:

Rather than your traditional dragon and koi, this cool work features two of the Pokémon universe, Gyarados and Magikarp.

Kenny credited Kristin Bonafide (@kbonafide) from Rabbits Den Tattoo Parlor (@rabbitsdentattoo) in Milltown, New Jersey with the work. Super fun!

Time to break for lunch!

Thanks to Kenny for sharing his cool tattoos with us here on Tattoosday, as we ride the rails!

12:04 PM, I'm on a 4 train to 14th Street/Union Square where I can grab an L train. Definitely ahead of where I was last year: A-J, 8 trains in 4 hours, or 2 per hour on average. L-Z remain, 9 to go and I have 5 hours, maybe 6. So far, so good.

12:10 PM, On the L, just missed someone covered with ink, got off at 6th Avenue. Just went 2 stops to 8th, now will head the opposite way - toward Brooklyn.

The L was sitting at 8th and our doors didn't open in time, so the train on the opposite platform left before I could switch, so I stayed on the original L. Good thing, because that's when I met Tina, who shared her wonderful sleeve:

This cool sleeve was the work of Steve Boltz (@steveboltz), out of Smith Street Tattoo Parlour (@smithstreettattooparlour) in Brooklyn. Tina estimates that this was created back in 2002-2003 over five sessions.

Really cool stuff, including a black cat, lucky horseshoe, sugar skull, sailor woman, pirates, and etc.

Thanks to Tina for sharing this fabulous sleeve with us here on Tattoosday as we continue playing the Alphabet Game!

I took the L one stop to 6th Avenue, where I switched for the M.

12:27 Waiting for the M.

12:35, on a northbound M, when I met Casey.

Casey had some tattoos marked on his hands which I found interesting:

Looking at the visible tattoos in this image, you'll see four letters. From left to right, there's a "C" on his index finger, a "T" on the middle finger, another "C" on his ring ringer, and a "K" below the knuckle of his pinky. Casey explained that the letters were initials of his siblings, and they are all based on fonts from French childrens' books. So, the first C and T are based on the font in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince. The second C and the K are based on fonts from Edmond à la plage.

These tattoos were also on his hand:

He pointed out that he tattooed the word "love" himself and the "R.O.T." stands for "Right On Time," a nickname he got from kids he was counseling that refers to his punctuality.

Thanks to Casey for sharing these interesting hand tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

After the M, I hopped on a D to 34th Street where I could switch to an N train.

At 12:47 PM, I board an uptown N at 34th Street.

Eight minutes later, I meet Fatima, who shares this rose tattoo:

Fatima told me little, just that this was done at a shop in the Bronx.

Thanks to Fatima for sharing her rose with us here on Tattoosday!

At 12:56 PM, I jumped from the N to a northbound Q train (there is no "O" or "P" line) and then, three minutes later, switch to a southbound Q at Lexington/63rd.

It was on the Q that I met Katie, who had a lot of tattoos, and was kind enough to share this awesome piece on her thigh:

Katie obviously likes sour things, as represented by this cool skull design with lemons. She credited the artist "Purple" from Devils Ink Tattoos (@devils_ink_tattoos) in East Harlem, New York. It was Purple's design, she told me, noting he is"great with skulls."

I love this design, especially because I had never seen anything quite like this before.

Thanks to Katie for sharing her cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday, as we continue on with the Alphabet game!

Last year, when I played the Alphabet Game for the first time, I finished on the R train. I was beat, it was the end of the day, and I called it quits having run through a dozen other train lines.

This year, I was much more efficient. So, when I hopped off the Q at Union Square at 1:15 PM, I was way ahead of last year, and quite pleased with myself.

And then it took twelve minutes for a northbound R to arrive.

And then the R train was not offering up much in terms of tattoos. At 1:40, I was at 57th Street, looking to reverse directions.

At 1:42 PM, I hopped on a southbound R and finally, between 34th and 23rd, I met Nicole, who shared this unusual-looking tree tattoo:

Nicole hails from Texas and explained that this is a representative of a tree from the Lone Star state, she couldn't recall the name but gave me a couple of clues. It's a tree indigenous to Texas and, she explained, her mother's ashes are buried underneath one in Odessa.

I am going to go out on a limb (intended) and call this a Disospyros texana, or a Texas persimmon tree. I could be wrong, but the point is, it's tattooed on Nicole and it reminds of her home.

The tattoo was done by an artist named Jason at True Blue Tattoo in Austin.

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

Last year, when I played the Alphabet Game, I quit at R. But this year, I ventured into uncharted territory.

My concern with the S train is that S stands for "shuttle" and it runs regularly between Times Square and Grand Central station. One stop, back and forth. How long, I wondered, will I be on the S train trying to interview someone in a short window of time?

Side note: I know that there are other versions of the S train, notably near Prospect Park, in Brooklyn, but that is isolated and out of the way.

Back to the Alphabet Game, at 1:56 PM, after checking off the R, I hopped off at 23rd Street, exited near the Flat Iron Building, and hopped on a northbound W to 42nd Street. Once there, I utilized one of the restrooms and then headed to the S train.

Remember how worried I was that the S would be a challenge? You should, that was only three paragraphs back! Well, I need not worry, because on my first pass of the S, I met Devin, who shared this wolf tattoo:

Devin credited Angel Garcia (@caballonegre33) from Black Horse Tattoos (@blackhorseink) in Brooklyn.

Thanks to Devin for sharing his cool tattoo with us as Tattoosday rides the rails!

I had surpassed last year's attempt by successfully finding a tattoo on the S train and set my sights on the W. In case you were wondering, there's no U train, the T train was discontinued in the 1960s and the V train only ran from 2001-2010. 

At 2:25 PM, I got a W train headed toward Whitehall Street. Between 23rd and 14th, I met Mark, who had these cool arrows tattooed on his right arm:

Mark had to hop off at 14th Street, so we had a very brief conversation, but he did manage to tell me the arrows represented strength, and he credited Daniel Delgado (@danieltattoos) with the work. Daniel currently works out of Brooklyn's Hand of Glory Tattoo (@handofglorytattoo).

Shortly after meeting him, he sent me an instagram message saying "here's the true meaning behind my arrows:"

Thanks to Mark for sharing his arrows with us here on Tattoosday!

When I finished on the W train, I set my sight on the last letter in the alphabet. The elusive Z train.

I remained on the W and switched at Canal Street - it wasn't even 3:00 PM!

All throughout this journey, I kept notes, so you may be wondering why, at 2:53 PM, my entry reads

"1 train uptown leaving Rector."

Hold the phone. The 1 train? That's not the alphabet! What's going on? My journal continues....

Oh, the best laid plans. Sigh. Way ahead of schedule, I hit the J/Z platform at Canal and was dismayed when the countdown clock showed only J trains. Is the Z defunct? No, I learned, it's a rush-hour only train. [In hindsight, this makes complete sense, and I feel foolish for not realizing it ahead of time.]

The Z only runs from 4:45 to 5:45. It's not even 3:00 PM. So, rather than sit around for nearly two hours, I decide to do so bonus inkspotting, and I headed to the 1 station at Rector Street. Headed uptown. Better than sitting around and waiting for a Z!

I don't see going through all the numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7), but I'm in bonus territory here. 

All that leads me to Fernanda, who was visiting from Mexico. I met her on the uptown 1 train and she kindly shared this lovely tattoo on her thigh:

Fernanda credited this cool elephant tattoo to Lupe Trujillo, from Capitán Tatuajes in Puebla City, Mexico.

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

Having just found a tattooed contributor on the 1 train, I hopped off at 3:01 PM at 14th Street. At 3:12, I jumped onto an uptown 2 train and met Rob, who shared this Batman tattoo:

Rob credited the work to an artist named Toxyc (@toxycxlr), out of Autopsy Tattoo Studio (@autopsy.tattoo.studio) in Austin, Texas.

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

The Alphabet Game took a twist when I had to postpone my trip on a Z train until it started up during rush hour. So, for fun, I started going through the numbers, at least until I could make it to a Z. If you don't know what I'm talking about, start with this post here.

I hopped off the 2 train at 34th Street/Penn Station and boarded a downtown 3 train. I stayed on the 3 until I got to Fulton Street, and then ran, at 3:30 PM across that platform to get an uptown 3 train, rather than heading further downtown.

This proved a good move, as I met Wendy, who was kind enough to share the following koi tattoo swimming over her shoulder:

Wendy credited this to Diego Mannino (@diegovmannino) over at Daredevil Tattoo (@daredeviltattoo) in Manhattan.

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

Last year, I only made it through the R, but this year, I took a detour after the W train and knocked out the 1, 2 and 3, because I was so efficient, and had to wait for the rush-hour Z train to start running.

So here, we go....

Already done above and beyond what I had hoped, except for the mighty Z train, Debating whether to go back for the 4/5/6/7. I'm beat. FitBit says 12,787 steps. There's little chance I can get those four done and the Z, when the Z runs only for an hour.

Most amazing is that I approached 20 people and only 1 declined.

I just stayed on the 3 and passed Fulton, so I will just take a break and chill at Broad, grab the first Z and hope and pray.

4:32 Back at Broad. Such a different approach from last year. The Z is now the prize and I have a small window to snag t. I have to get the first one and hope I get something right quick, or I will be plying for a miracle. The countdown clock now says 20 minutes for a Z. My worry is that it will be all business-folks, but I am going to try and get it before we leave Manhattan so I can make it back at a reasonable time.

Success! I get on the Z and meet Josh, who shares his space sleeve:

Josh got this work done in three sessions from Dustin Horan (@dustinhoran) at The Dead President's Lounge (@thedeadpresidentslounge)in Albany, New York.

And we're done!

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

And this concludes the 2018 Alphabet Game. This was my route over 9 hours: j-A-A-A-B-C-C-D-E-F-G-G-f-J-4-L-M-d-N-Q-Q-R-R-w-S-W-j-1-2-3-3-3-Z. My best estimate places the journey at 33 separate trains, including the 16 lettered trains and 3 of the numbered trains.

Looking forward to upping the challenge again in 2019! Thanks to everyone who participated and shared their tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2018 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.

Danny's Cab for His Father

Earlier this summer, I was at a barbecue at my friend Danny's house and noticed he had a new tattoo on the back of his leg:

Danny, whose work has appeared on Tattoosday previously (here) told me the piece, which features an old New York City taxi, is an homage to his father, who was a cab driver for many years. The plate even features his dad's old medallion number.

Kudos to Mr. Kaves (@misterkaves) at Brooklyn Made Tattoo (@brooklynmadetattoo) in Bay Ridge for this cool tattoo that is a tribute also to a New York City that is no more. You can read an article I wrote about Kaves and Brooklyn Made here. Work from Mr. Kaves and other artists from Brooklyn Made has appeared over the years on Tattoosday, linked up here.

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

This entry is ©2018 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.

Tattoosday Plays the Alphabet Game with the MTA

For several years, I had an idea that was pretty crazy, but I promised myself I would do ... one of these days.

The idea was this: Spend a day inkspotting, but follow specific guidelines. Namely, get on the New York City subways, get to an "A" train, and find someone with a tattoo, and interview them. Once that task was accomplished, switch to a "B" train. Repeat and follow the same pattern, until I got through the alphabet. Go A through Z. Make a day of it!

Considering a "good" day of inkspotting is interviewing 2 or 3 people, and the most I have ever done was 13 at the Coney Island Mermaid Parade, this seemed like an impossible task. Not to mention, I have found subway riders tend to be a little more reluctant to talk to people about their tattoos than those above ground.

But before I dismissed the idea entirely, the reality was this: although there are twenty-six letters in the alphabet, on weekdays there are only sixteen lettered trains. Currently, there are no H, I, K, O, P, T, U, V, Y, or X trains. So, really, the target is 16, which, though daunting, is still more doable than 26.

This summer, the time seemed ripe. I had a lot of available time off from work. I decided I had to do this on a weekday because a) the trains are more crowded and thus there would be more potential interviewees; b) there are also more trains to accommodate the ridership and c) the B, M, and Z trains are weekday only, so doing this on the weekend would seem a bit of a cop-out. And yes, I realize, I am not even talking about the trains numbered 1 through 7, but I just wanted to see if I could do the alphabet first.

Timing is everything, as well, and I had to pick a day when the temperature was in the upper 80's or 90's. The warmer it gets, the more ink you see. That's just a general rule.

So, as part of our 10-year anniversary celebration, I tried it on a warm day in August.

Did I accomplish it? You'll have to read to the end of the post to know for sure.

I am posting this introduction, and I will follow it with individual posts until I am finished, but I will add the new post to this one each day. The end result will be this very long, complete (or incomplete post), followed by individual posts documenting the experiment.

Thank you for indulging me, dear readers! Enjoy the journey!

8:16 AM, R train leaving 95th Street, Brooklyn: So, after years talking about it, I'm finally going to try the alphabet [game].

The concept: start with the A train. Find and photograph ink on a tattooed passenger. Switch to a B train. Rinse, repeat. Do it in a day.

That's, if you're not familiar with the NYC subways, A,B,C,D,E,F,G,J,L,M,N,Q,R,S,W, and Z. 16 trains in all. If super successful, and motivated, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7  - the Magnificent Seven to follow.

I honestly don't know how successful I'll be. But I'm going to try. Train inkspotting is more challenging than open air inkspotting. People are more guarded, more locked into their ear buds, more suspicious. I have a good 20 minutes to psych myself up - at Jay Street in Brooklyn, I will switch from the R to the A. And the game will be afoot.

First conundrum: do I try to talk to the woman next to me on the R? She has some interesting linework tattoos, but she is earbudded and the train is crowded.

I'm also superstitious. If I try to go out of sequence, will that jinx the project? If she rejects me, will it start me off on the wrong foot, dinging my confidence?

I've decided to let her be. If the ink was better, I might try, but it won't haunt me if I pass.

There's a point there, however. The quality of the work. This is a quantity not quality challenge. I also get to explore the subways a little.

8:50 AM, Switch to the A at Jay Street/Metrotech

At 8:58  A.M., I sit down next to Lucas who shares this tattoo:

Lucas explains that this is a representation of his St. Jude medal, which he used to wear on a chain. Now, he carries it with him wherever he goes, tattooed on his wrist.

Under normal circumstances, this isn't a tattoo that would have necessarily drawn me into a conversation on the train, but, remember, I'm playing the alphabet game, and this was the first step in the journey.

Thanks to Lucas for sharing his tattoo with me on the A train.

After my initial success on the A train (here), the game continued:

Next stop, I switched at West 4th Street for a northbound B train.

9:04 on Northbound B.

At 9:12 A.M., between 42nd Street and 47th-50th/Rockefeller Plaza, I met Samantha, who shared this cool tattoo:

When she told me this was by New York artist Betty Rose (@BettyRoseTattoos), I acknowledged that this made sense, as Betty Rose is no stranger to Tattoosday, and has made a name for herself as a quality artist who loves to do cat tattoos (or "cattoos," as she calls them). Betty Rose currently works out of Eight of Swords Tattoo (@8ofSwordsTattoo) in Brooklyn.

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

Next up, I'm headed to the C train...

Things were going great! Within twenty minutes, I had handled the A and the B. Next up, the C train. I was just a couple of stops from 59th Street/Columbus Circle, where I planned to hop on a southbound C.

9:16 A.M. Just missed a C. A guy in the subway car I almost made had ink too!

9:21 A.M. On a C train.

9:24 A.M.  Spotted someone with a tattoo made of musical notes forming a heart. She has earbuds in, so I will hold out for something better.

9:34 A.M.  Is it okay to switch cars? Still deciding if that's within the rules of the game.

9:37 A.M. The musical clef tattoo just got off. Regret not talking to her.

9:40 A.M. Switched cars, moved into one with no A/C. Bad idea.

9:42 A.M.  Switched again. First rejection. Woman with snake tattoo on forearm politely declines. Still takes flier. Exits at Chambers.

9:46 A.M.  After 25 minutes on the C, I switch at Fulton Street to a C running northbound, in the opposite direction.

I see a woman with "passing through" tattooed on her forearm, but she is wedged between two people...

Another woman with a half sleeve, but it looks like it was drawn and inked by an eight-year old. She also has a heart on her middle finger.

The rule of procrastination: if you don't move, or if you hesitate, consider the opportunity lost - not meant to be. "Passing through" exited at 14th Street.

Switched cars at 23rd Street.

I see a guy with not-so-good tattoos. So much for not being picky. I've done this for ten years without an altercation. Spider sense tingles. I pass.

I caught two tattoos in the first twenty minutes and got cocky. Approaching one hour since my last success.

Finally, at 10:08, I meet Michelle from Brooklyn when she gets on the C train at 59th Street/Columbus Circle. She shares this tattoo on her forearm:

       
Michelle credits her solid Brooklyn tattoo to Fernando Lions (@lions_nyc) at Flyrite Tattoo (@flyrite_tattoo) in the same borough.

Thanks to Michelle for sharing her tattoo with us on Tattoosday!

What comes after C? That would be D.

10:10 A.M.  For the sake of continuity, instead of getting off at 81^st and hitting a southbound B or C, I will go to 125^th Street and get a southbound D train.

10:20 A.M. Switch to southbound D at 125^th Street.

10:48 A.M. Still on the D train, Brooklyn-bound, crossing the Manhattan Bridge.

11:16 A.M.  Just moved through the D to the front car. Not a lot of luck. May ride to the end of the line in Coney Island and switch back, unless a chance occurs before then.

11:35 A.M. On the D, approaching Coney Island/Stillwell Avenue. A couple of times I had considered switching back, but was glad I didn’t, because I met Jessica right before the last stop on the D. She shared this tattoo of a spyglass, or hand-held telescope:

Jessica got this spyglass done by Rob Genovese (@robgenoveseart) at Brooklyn Made Tattoo (@brooklynmadetattoo) in Bay Ridge. She explained that she goes to school in upstate New York and the stars always have a calming effect on her. One doesn’t see as many stars in Brooklyn, but with her telescope, now she can always see the stars.

Thanks to Jessica for sharing her cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday, as we play the Alphabet Game!

After  just over an hour on the D train, I finally found a cool tattoo (here) and now had to go all the way back into Manhattan to connect to an E train.

The plan was to catch an uptown E at West 4^th Street. My phone was at 33% battery so I used the hour it took to get back into the city to recharge.

At 12:38 P.M., as the E pulled in at West 4^th, I spotted a woman with some incredible work. What luck! After 2 hours on the D, back and forth, I met Eva in under a minute, and she shared this amazing cobra tattoo:

This cool snake was done in three sittings by Jon Clue (@jonclue) at Sacred Tattoo (@sacredtattoonyc) in Manhattan. “I love snakes,” Eva told me, “and I love what he [Clue] does.”

I hadn’t expected to catch anything this great on my subway journey, so I considered myself very lucky.

I featured another piece by Jon earlier this year here.

At 12:40, the E pulled into 34^th Street/Penn Station and I decided to take a break for lunch.

Thanks to Eva for sharing her amazing tattoo on Tattoosday!

1:05 P.M.  After a bathroom and pizza break at Penn Station, I'm back on an E train to catch an F at West 4th Street.

1:13 P.M. On an F train at West 4th, southbound.

1:16 P.M.  I meet Adrien, who shares a couple of great tattoos from Kings Avenue Tattoo (@kingsavetattoo) on the Bowery in Manhattan.

First is this cool moth:

Adrien told me that this tattoo by Grez matches one that is also on another Kings Ave artist, Becca Genne-Bacon (@beccagennebacon) who, incidentally, tattooed this awesome black rose on Adrien, as well:

Thanks to Adrien for sharing these cool tattoos with us on Tattoosday!

Having succeeded on the F train rather quickly, I was feeling optimistic, and I headed to Brooklyn for the second time, aiming for the Carroll Street station, where I could switch to a G train.

1:27 P.M. Realizing after G (God willing), I will need to backtrack to get to a J (no H or I on the subway map), so the total fluidity of the exercise will be disrupted. Either that, or get off train, walk, and pay again.

1:30 P.M.  Off F train.

1:32 P.M.  On G train.

Less than five minutes pass and I am talking to Katie about her tattoos:

Katie has, as you can see, a plethora of Hello Kitty tattoos, but with variations. In the top photo there's a Franken-kitty and the middle tattoo is a Kitty done up in the Day of the Dead sugar skull style. The bottom photo has a pirate Kitty and a Kitty as a Maneki-neko cat.

Katie explained she was born in South Korea and that her Hello Kitty toys were her favorite toys growing up. All of her tattoos remind her of her early childhood home.

These cool tattoos were inked by Matt Bivetto (@mattbivetto) at Three Kings Tattoo (@threekingstattoo) in Brooklyn. Matt is now working out of Greenpoint Tattoo Company (@greenpointtattooco).

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

I was off the G train by 1:37 and had to pull a U-turn and head back into Manhattan.

1:38 P.M.  Just missed a northbound F train

1:50 P.M.  On F train back to Manhattan. Going to transfer to a J train at Delancey (There’s no “I” in Team or the MTA!)

2:08 P.M.  I catch a J train and almost immediately meet Luke, who is covered with tattoos. I point out this one on his leg:

Turns out this tattoo was done by Shon Lindauer (@shonlindauer) at High SeasTattoo Parlor (@highseastattooparlor) in Los Angeles.  I was excited to hear it was by Shon, as he did my tiger tattoo (revisit it here) and does great solid traditional work.

Here's a crisper view of the tattoo from Shon's instagram:

Via @shonlindauer on Instagram

Luke tells me that this palm tree ablaze represents his hatred of Los Angeles.

Luke also sent me a photo of his bodysuit, which will appear in a future installment of Tattoosday.

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

I had exited the J train to talk to Luke, so I had to wait for another one to come and get me closer to the L train (no K in the MTA). 2:24 P.M. On the J train toward Broad Street.
2:27 P.M. I get off at Canal and switch to an N train toward 14th Street/Union Square.
2:35 P.M. On the L train to Brooklyn.
2:39 P.M.  I meet Thiago, who is visiting from Italy, and he has a lot of tattoos to choose from.
Our conversation comes between 1st Avenue in Manhattan and Bedford in Brooklyn.
Thiago shared this hilarious tattoo:

This tattoo is on Thiago's inner thigh and, if you're wondering why this woman's mouth looks a little odd, it's because this is the head of a blow-up sex doll, appropriately positioned on his inner thigh.
He credited Silvie Bovary (@sylviebovary) from Holy Ink Tattoo (@holy_ink_firenze)in Florence, Italy.
Thanks to Thiago for sharing this awesome tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

2:41 P.M. Off the L train at Bedford, headed back to Manhattan.

2:47 P.M.  On the L to Manhattan.

After a rough morning, the afternoon is proving kinder: A,B,C,D before noon, E,F,G,J,L after Noon.
Technically, seven trains to go, and I begin thinking this is not likely to happen, but I feel that I am honestly doing better than I expected..

Taking the L to the M train on the 6th Avenue line and heading toward Queens.

2:57 P.M. Waiting for the M uptown.

3:02 P.M. On a northbound M.

Within a few minutes I meet Adam, from Asheville, North Carolina. He gets off at 23rd Street, but not before I snap a picture of his tattoo:

Adam is a musician, and that was all I learned. He said he would email me details, but I never received them. So all we have is this bizarre, yet cool tattoo to remember the experience with.

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

After dispatching on the M train in mere moments, I turned my sights to the N. I got off the M at 34th Street.

3:08 P.M. Waiting for southbound N at 34th Street/Herald Square.

3:15 P.M. On southbound N.

3:23 P.M. On Manhattan Bridge. Picky Bill is back, balking on several people. Just not a big fan of what I'm seeing.

3:36 P.M. I decide to switch back at Barclay's Center/Atlantic, to a northbound N train back to Manhattan.

3:44 P.M. On an N train and I meet Tiffany, who shared this tattoo:

Tiffany explained this is a tribute to her dad, who ran the family's Mom & Pop video store in Brooklyn over 20 years ago.

She credited this work to Angel at Puncture Tattoo (@puncturetattoostudio) in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. Angel gained national attention several years ago after appearing on Ink Master (@spikeinkmaster).

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

After the Q, I knew, alas, I was throwing in the towel. I could potentially finish out the Alphabet Game, but I would be battling commuters during rush hour on the R, S, W and Z trains, and I was, to be honest beat after having ridden the rails for eight-plus hours.

So, here's the final chapter of the first annual Alphabet Game on the MTA:

4:39 P.M. Off at 57th Street in Manhattan with the intent to catch a southbound R train.

4:45 P.M.  Board the R, southbound.

4:58 P.M.  At Prince Street, I decide to drop by my office to get some things, take a bathroom break, recharge the phone. I can still ride the R home and hopefully get one last tattoo.

5:07 P.M.  Exit the R train at Rector.

5:45 P.M.  Back on the R at Rector.

This is the final train of the day. For fun, I map my route:

R->A->B->C->C->D->D->E->[Break]->E->F->G->F->J->J->N->L->L->M->N->N->Q->Q->R->R 

That's 24 different trains between 8:15 A.M. and 5:45 P.M.

Just shy of 6:00 P.M., on the R between Union and 9th Street in Brooklyn, I introduce myself to Mita, who shares the 12th tattoo of the day from the subways (13th, if you count Adrien on the F train, who shared two almost five hours earlier).

This is Mita's tattoo:

Mita tells me she got this from Brooklyn tattoo legend Michael Angelo, who has been working out of his basement in a residential neighborhood in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, since 1976. He doesn't take appointments. You just show up and he gets to you when he gets to you. She says she camped out for it to guarantee she got the tattoo.

This lucky horseshoe has Taíno colors for her Puerto Rican heritage.

Thanks to Mita (and to all my the subway riders who shared their tattoos) for helping make the Alphabet Game a successful endeavor. We'll be sure to play again some time in the future!

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