Black And Grey on The D Train (Tattoosday Plays the Alphabet Game)

Continuing on our subway journey (the whole trip is summarized here) ...

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!

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.

The Tattooed Poets Project: Aaron M.P. Jackson

Our next tattooed poet is Aaron M.P. Jackson, who has eleven tattoos.

He chose this one to share:

Aaron tells us:

"I chose to get a candle on my right forearm because I am named after a character in a novel my father wrote a few years before I was born. Aaron is the main character of the novel Operation BurningCandle by Blyden Jackson and it is that character who gave me my name.

While attending a church charity function, I won a gift certificate in a silent auction from Body and Soul Tattoos in Jersey City, NJ. My wife is a designer (ladyjay.net) and she created the image for the tattoo as she has with a number of my other tattoos and I used the gift certificate to get it done.  At this time my father was dying of cancer and I wanted him to see the candle I was getting to honor him before he passed away. When he saw it, he thanked me, a few weeks later, he was gone."

Poet Aaron M.P. Jackson and author Blyden Jackson

Aaron tells us that today (April 29) is the second anniversary of his father's passing, so this is an apt day for this post to appear.

He also shared this poem, which was previously published in The Furious Gazelle in January 2014::

Shaving Dad

Cancer means

I have to shave my Dad’s face

He is weak

His skin is droopy

He looks terrible

But he is my Dad

So I try not to cut him

~ ~ ~

Aaron M.P. Jackson is a poet and writer. His poems have appeared in multiple publications including The Bark Magazine, Instigatorzine, Fat City Review and Runaway Parade, his work is also in many anthologies including Like One: Poems for Boston, Seeing Past Sickness, and works from Kattywompus Press and Cloud City Press. He is the former Poet Laureate of Jersey City, NJ (2005-06) and has twice been the recipient of grants from the Puffin Foundation. As a performer he has written and starred in an ad campaign for the Partnership for a Drug Free America and he also served as one of three poetry fellowship judges for the Connecticut Office of the Arts in 2013. For more information please visit middlepoet.com.

Thanks to Aaron for his contribution to this year's Tattooed Poets Project on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2014 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.

Tattoosday in Massachusetts: Katie's Candle Illuminates Her Arm

On our last full day in Massachusetts, we stopped to visit friends in Northampton and ended up at  Woodstar Cafe for some delicious coffee and afternoon snacks.

The cashier, Katie, had tattoos, and shared this one:

She told me that this piece, on her upper right arm, was based on an old illustration from a history book. The idea, she explained, was "something I'd been carrying around for a while and it just felt right to me."

She credited the work to Jeff Ash at Horseshoes & Hand Grenades Tattoo in Chicopee, Massachusetts.

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

This entry is ©2013 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.

Collin's Gypsy Snake and Time

I met Collin back in August in the middle of Broadway, between 35th and 35th Streets, sitting at one of those tables that New York City had installed in the middle of the street.

He had a lot of ink, and chose to share this section of his upper left arm:

This piece, a snake with a gypsy head, circling an alarm clock, was done by Grez at Kings Avenue Tattoo in Manhattan on the Bowery. We promoted the shop opening back in May here.

Collin explained the elements of this piece that curves around the arm:

"The clock represents when I was born ... the candle's my life, burning, it's the time I have left ... gypsies are usually known to be good luck ...  the snake is for the fucked up parts of my life and the gypsy head is for the good parts of my life, you know, the future."

Collin explained that Grez initially was concerned about all of these elements combined into one piece. "At first he [Grez] thought it was going to be too much," Collin told me, "but it worked out and I'm happy with it."

The clock is particularly remarkable:

Grez's work has appeared on Tattoosday before, here and here. He's a great talent, and I'm always happy to stumble upon his work.

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

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

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

Larry's Tattoo Burns at Both Ends

Occasionally, but not too often, I do venture out of the city to places far, and not so far, away.

Fourth of July weekend, I was up visiting friends in Woodstock, New York.

On July 3, we found ourselves at an outdoor flea market and I met a couple of inked folk, including Larry who has "a lot" of tattoos.

When asked to choose one, he offered up this piece on his forearm:

The image, of a candle burning at both ends, reminds him that life goes by quickly. The "No Tomorrow" is a spin on the carpe diem, or "seize the day" philosophy.

The tattoo was done by JR Maloney at Vanguard Tattoo in Nyack, New York.

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