Tattoosday (A Tattoo Blog): cats

Showing posts with label cats. Show all posts

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Karen Dreams Big With This Cool Tattoo

One of my favorite tattoos from last weekend's 2019 Empire State Tattoo Expo (@nyempirestatetattooexpo) wasn't done at the show, but merely spotted there. I posted it on Instagram last Saturday, but because of the size, I couldn't really share it in all its glory.

This tattoo, shared by Karen, is just super fun!

The words "Dream Big" appear in the clouds as this magical cat, be-winged and sporting a horn like a unicorn, travels through rainbows and space. So fun!

This remarkable piece was done by Erica Flannes (@ericaflannes) from Red Rocket Tattoo (@redrockettattoo) in Manhattan.

Thanks to Karen for sharing this awesome tattoo with us on 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.

Thursday, May 23, 2019

Morgan and Elanna Share Their Cat-tastic Tattoos

Last summer, I popped into the Milk & Hops beer shop in Chelsea and started chatting with Elanna and Morgan, siblings who happened to be working there.

Morgan shared this really cool tattoo on his arm, a panther comprised of faces:

This was designed and inked by Teide (@teidetattoos), who was working at Alchemy Tattoo (@alchemytattoo) in Los Angeles.

Elanna and Morgan also had a pair of matching tattoos:

Elanna, whose tattoo is on the left, explained that she loves animals, and that there have always been cats in her life.

These matching pieces were done by Fan (@fantattoo531) at Gristle Tattoo (@gristletattoo) in Brooklyn.

Thanks to Elanna and Morgan for sharing their cool tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Vita Shares Some Ink from Russia!

Catching up on some old material, these tattoos are from Vita, a Russian woman from St. Petersburg, who I met on the steps of Federal Hall in September of 2017.

Vita is a huge fan of The X-Files, and showed it proudly on her arm:

She credited the work to Dasha Kudri at No Name Tattoo Shop in St. Petersburg.

The following tattoo is dedicated to Vita's parents, who used to take a specific tram to visit one another in different cities:

She added that the Maneki-neko cat below the tram was "just for fun."

Vita also revealed this lovely tattoo on her ribs:

She explained that there was a big tattoo project being done to raise money for the World Wildlife Fund, with designs contributed by numerous artists. She said people would sign up and pick their favorite design and then winners were selected. All proceeds went to the WWF. This hand, with the word "SAVE" and a muskrat on the palm was inked by Andrey Kichaty (@kichatiy).

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

Saturday, August 4, 2018

Jackie's Lucky Cat

Back in June, at the Summer Vibe Tattoo Festival in Long Island, I ran into Jackie, who I had met two years ago at the 2016 Empire State Tattoo Expo (see the post here).

Jackie was kind enough to share this lovely Maneki-neko tattoo on her leg:

Since I got my Maneki-neko in February, I feel a kinship with folks who have similar tattoos. Hers, of course, is more traditional than mine.

This cool "lucky cat" was done by the amazing Po Zhang (@popotattoo) at World Famous Tattoo Art Gallery (@worldfamoustattooartgallery) on Long Island.

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

Monday, July 23, 2018

Dobby Says Meow (2018 Empire State Tattoo Expo)

Last weekend at the NY Empire State Tattoo Expo (@nyempirestatetattooexpo), I met met Ken, who shared this tribute to his cat Dobby:

This was done by Russian tattoo artist Daria Pirojenko (@pirojenko_tattoo).

Thanks to Ken for sharing this amazing homage to Dobby with us here on Tattoosday!

Sunday, April 29, 2018

My Maneki-neko (The Tattooed Poets Project)

It is the penultimate day of April, and I have completed submissions for one remaining poet, set for tomorrow. But what about today? Every year, I reach out to dozens and dozens of poets, and I have never struggled as mightily as this year to assemble our lineup. Every year, there are always a handful of rollovers for next year (or the year after), but I generally have spilled over into May. This year, there was a hole at the end of the month, so I've decided to selfishly fill it.

So, dear readers, today's tattooed poet is a returning contributor, William Dickenson Cohen, who first contributed in 2009 here.

This past February, I was at the Philadelphia Tattoo Arts Convention, and I left with this guy on my forearm:

This is a customized version of a Maneki-neko cat. Most folks may recognize the basic image from Asian-owned businesses, who have these cats, with waving paws, in their storefronts. The cat is meant to bring success and good fortune and, growing up in Hawai'i, they were everywhere.

Here's the one we've had in our home since the early 1990's, which survived several California earthquakes, and still diligently stands guard:

So, when I knew I was going to Philly, and learned that artist JJ Ohlinger from Prohibition Ink was working the show, I discussed the possibility of getting work from him when I was there. I told him I had wanted a Maneki-neko, and gave him free reign to come up with a design. He drew up two, changing the piece that features kanji to resemble a Pabst Blue Ribbon can. He said he looked through my Facebook feed and mostly saw posts relating to politics and beer, and he didn't think he could work our president into the cat design.

Post-tattoo with JJ Ohlinger (right) at the Philadelphia Convention

At the Philadelphia convention, the stars aligned and JJ was able to fit me in. The result is a quirky, colorful Maneki-neko which I hope will bring good fortune and future success to me and my family.

Back in 2009, when I snuck my own tattoo and poem into the first year of the Tattooed Poets Project, I diligently worked on a tattoo-related sestina, which I was thinking would be appropriate to re-share. I recently read it in public for the first time, and it was well-received. I decided against re-posting it but, if you're interested, you can find it here.

Instead, I offer up this new poem, hastily composed last Friday when it looked like I was going to need to fill a hole in our line-up:

Tattoo Poem

My epitaph will be tattooed

Into something more permanent

Than flesh.

But we’re kidding ourselves

If we think permanence

Is anything but temporary.

We are all data, with half-

lives,

Some shorter than others.

The red ink on my thigh

Is “falling out,” as they say,

The cells expelling molecules

Glacially.

Why decompose

A poem

When words wriggle like worms

Into the mud?

Blood is swept away

As the tattooer stretches the flesh

More molecules

Disappearing into some other form

Like fading stains on the sidewalk.

I hum along to the needle’s song.

The melody is beautiful

And the machines, buzzing their approval,

Sting and sing again,

Reminding us we are alive

In the moment

Before we disappear forever.

~ ~ ~

Please return tomorrow for our final post of the 2018 Tattooed Poets Project, and thank you for allowing me to share my newest tattoo and poem here on 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.net 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.

Friday, April 13, 2018

Two Tattoos (and a Poem) from Kat Finch (The Tattooed Poets Project)

Our next tattooed poet is Kat Finch, who shared two pieces with us. First is her tattoo on the front of her arm:

Kat tells us:

"I got my west coast kaleidoscope from Tara Johnston (@taraosprey) at Osprey Tattoo (@ospreytattoo) at AWP in 2014 while I was back home visiting Seattle. I got it with the poet Jess Poli, almost on a whim. I literally didn't see the tattoo until the morning of, and while the design wasn't able to fit in my original spot (on my elbow) I loved it too much to compromise. Getting into grad school was the first time I'd lived outside of Washington state for longer than six months, so I needed something from home to always carry with me. I don't know what it is, but the mountains and pine and fir have always just been a comfort-- all that green, all that protection. I get to carry home with me, no matter where I go. And when people ask me about it, I can name all the mountains in the region, until I run out of mountains or memory."

Then, there's this cool tattoo, too:

She notes that

"My little tiger family was illustrated by Jen Collins, and when I got her permission I took the design over to Spiral Tattoo in Ann Arbor. I just needed a tattoo, and a change, and something happy. I was in the process of losing a close friend, and I was letting this break up of sorts destroy me. Sometimes I tell people that two of the tigers are my closest friends, and that I'm the little one. Sometimes I say a lot of things. I just really love them. This tattoo really was more of a whim, as soon as I got permission from the artist, I was in the parlor!"

Kat included the following poem for her post:

+ in Dream

+ in dream + in dream we wind-

swept as always in + in dream the missing was

not absent not stone walking amidst ourselves

ourselves + one another the howling silent

makes us kindred spirits nothing makes us

kindred spirits spirits kindred + dreams walking out

nothing makes the golem + in dream my dream missing

became to mean to go to go + release wrong

in a changed manner become regret + in dream

regret begets the changeling the fortification of

wind to scream phantom the golem the fact in io-

dine remember the night + dark the

mare the walking the dream walking dream is paramount is king

is the thaw come kith + kith + night + kin-

dred spirits the mud is sewn a being without

fact a being a fact the apart the limb the mouth of + wind

without the limb to you + you are not listening with

out + you will always will be phantom will always scream

will always will + in dream you have not been known

to go missing to go but not known not known your limb is

to have been killed or killed or captured legacy +

in dream not present after a battle this mouth a

shapeless form from shape the mud the limb it

to it i it we it the it of it the golem the wind the limb

of it become of it a battle spirit spirit + you the walk

the dream say mare say night say mare-night saw it

it waits waited out of me + we + one

another golem limb not the thing to phantom you are

you + you are you are always are always out of limbed

+ in dream + in waking walking the silence

cannot reach reach out to out + in dream the phantom a being

without reach without absence without king + kith

absence alack erode to get to get to get what one

wants + in dream + in dream to kin meant to legacy

the lost to reach + in spirit on the miss + in dream a lost

is spirit to limb to phantom absence miss the lack to kin

the lack lacking to lack + mud to dream + you a mud is

we we must we must concur we must scream lost + miss

+ in + wake

~ ~ ~

Kat Finch is a letterpress printer living and working in Ann Arbor. Currently she works as the education coordinator at SCRAP Box, a creative reuse center. Her work is forthcoming in The Southern Indiana Review, and may also be found in The Black Warrior Review, Bone Bouquet, Hobart, The Journal, and elsewhere. She has a little orange cat and a little orange bike, even though orange is not her favorite color. You can follow her art/poetry/cat on instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/thekatticus/ and look for updates on her here: https://finchkat.wordpress.com/ also, Tumblr: http://decemberfinch.tumblr.com/

Thanks to Kat for sharing her tattoos and poetry with us here on the Tattooed Poets Project on Tattoosday!

Thursday, June 22, 2017

Jill's Mermaid (35th Annual Coney Island Mermaid Parade)

This past Saturday, I went out to Coney Island to catch the 35th Annual Mermaid Parade (@medmaidparade). This annual tradition has been ideal for Tattoosday inkspotting and this year was a banner year, having interviewed a dozen or so folks with cool tattoos, which we'll be sharing in the weeks to come.

Our first contributor is Jill. who shared this theme-related piece:

Jill's daughter had a bit to do with this tattoo, especially the top section. "Make me a mermaid," she said, and Jill went to her artist, Timmy Cronin (@TimmyTattooCronin) from Timmy Tattoo in Huntington, New York.

"I like his style," Jill told me, and I have to agree. I actually met Timmy at a supermarket in Brooklyn seven years ago (recounted here) and have featured work from his shop a few times over the years.

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

Sunday, March 12, 2017

Brandon's Tattoos

Last summer I met a gentleman named Brandon Latham at the New York Empire State Tattoo Expo (@nyempirestatetattooexpo). He had just been tattooed by J.J. Ohlinger (@jjohlinger), who was working the show.

Check it out:

Photo courtesy of Brandon Latham

Brandon, who is an artist in Greenville, South Carolina, explained:

"I wanted to draw a tattoo, so I drew an octopus and shaded it and got the look that I wanted and then I gave it to a professional [Ohlinger] to make it into a stencil, to make it a cohesive piece, we kind of collaborated on it ... the octopus is a creature that adapts to its surroundings it has three hearts, and so I kinda did that to represent my wife, my daughter and myself ... it's a creative unique character .... as soon as I thought about doing it, I saw them everywhere ... I thought about it for a long time because I'm not a very impulsive person, it took me a long time to even get a tattoo."

Ohlinger did a fine job placing the tattoo and making sure it flowed with the contour of Brandon's body. It's a great piece with solid linework and excellent detail.

Brandon also has this anatomical heart on the back of his calf, which Ohlinger also tattooed, back in 2014:

Brandon explained that "the different figures on the side[s] represent different things about [his] life." For example, the cat wearing the hat is "a Russian symbol that means even if you are born in mediocrity, you san still strive above and be an aristocrat," or, in other words, "just because you're born poor doesn't mean you have to continue to be poor, you can strive above that."

He also described the crow reading the book as a steampunk image, noting that "the crow, which is the only animal that analyzes human behavior ... has decided to take care of the children" after the kids' parents have gone off to work.

Brandon is a runner (10 half marathons and a couple of marathons), which explains the cool image of the hare with a tortoise shell on its back.

And the airplane, he explained "is a piper cub airplane, the plane that my dad used to work on, and my daughter's name is Piper."

The details in and around the heart really make this a cool combination of tattoos.

Thanks to Brandon for sharing his work with us here on Tattoosday!

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Three for Thursday - Kirsten Shares Her Tattoos

I spotted Kirsten last month in lower Manhattan after I saw the tattoo on the back of her calf. I had to ask about it but, it turns out, she had other tattoos, as well. Fortunately for me, she was in a generous sharing mood, and took the time to tell me about all of them.

First up, her feet:

Kirsten, who hails from Australia, explained the origins of these tattoos

"I grew up in Canada, so I kind of just wanted to start getting some mystic animals going on ... it's just like nicknames for my parents; I always called my dad Papa Bear and my mom Momma Wolf, so I got them for my parents.

She credited the work to a Sydney-based artist who works under the moniker Sprinkles (@Sprinkles_).

Sprinkles took her to his friend Scott M. Harrison to get this tattoo, on her thigh:

Here's a clearer shot from right after the tattoo was completed, liberally taken, with attribution from Harrison's Instagram (follow him @scott_m_harrison).

Photo via Instagram - @scott_m_harrison

Harrison noted " Really enjoyed doing the background pattern, would love to incorporate them into more pieces."

Kirsten explained:

"I've got like a theme of threes going on with all my other tattoos, so a three-eyed cat, it's kind of sll-seeing eye ... I got it kind of in honor of my friend that I'm visiting [in New York], she was always a crazy cat lady ... so one eye's for her, one eye's for the cat I grew up with [Betty Lou], and [one for] the cat I have now [Runty]."

And, finally, we have the tattoo I spotted in the first place:

She credited this to an artist named Louise that she met at the Australian Tattoo Expo in Sydney. This was one of the designs she had on display and Kirsten liked it.

Thanks to Kirsten for taking the time to share all of these tattoos with me. We here at Tattoosday our very grateful!

Friday, July 22, 2016

Sarah, The Master and Margarita

Yesterday I highlighted Sarah's tattoo inspired by a cover of a Neil Gaiman collection.

Normally, I wouldn't split a post unless it was long, but I felt Sarah's other tattoo that I took pictures of on the Broad Street platform warranted its own post.

First, the tattoo:

Inked on Sarah's inner arm, this is an image of a large black cat, swinging from a chandelier. It appears to be holding a gun. Below is the inscription "manuscripts don't burn."

The explanation is simple, this is another literary tattoo inscribed on Sarah, hearkening this time to Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita. The cat is named Behemoth and the scene depicted is one of the more memorable in the novel. The phrase "manuscripts don't burn" is uttered by a major character and is an integral message, both literally and figuratively, that permeates the text.

Before proceeding, a shout-out to Gerald Feliciano (@geraldfelciano) at East Side Ink (@eastsideink), who captured this scene so wonderfully.

When Sarah told me it was inspired by Bulgakov, I was familiar with the author's name, but had not read anything by him. Sarah emphatically insisted it was one of the great novels of all time. Not a huge fan of Russian literature, I was skeptical, but intrigued. Anyone who shares tattoos with me gives us something, but when that tattoo opens the door to curiosity and a feeding of the mind, it is truly something special.

By the following week, I was into the book, but I read it slowly. It is multi-layered and fantastical, peppered with history and satire. I'd point to one review that helped with perspective (here) and encourage reading the Penguin Classics edition which speaks to the history of the novel, published decades after Bulgakov had died, and includes pages of notes to assist with obscure references, making for a clearer reading experience.

This is one of those novels that changes you. Would I say it is the greatest novel of all time? No, probably not, but it's the first one I've read in a while that has threatened to break into my top twenty. And I think further consideration warrants inclusion.

The character Behemoth is a shining point of dark comic humor in The Master and Margarita. When the chandelier scene finally danced in front of my eyes, I was euphoric. I felt fulfilled. The novel is masterful and carries a wallop.

And quite honestly, with all the amazing books in the world, past and present, I don't know if I ever would have cracked the cover of this one had my path not crossed with Sarah's, had she not been so kind as to share her tattoos, to share them with us here on Tattoosday.

So thank you, Sarah, from the bottom of my book and tattoo-loving heart, for sharing this special tattoo with us here on Tattoosday. I hope that at least one Tattoosday reader will follow my lead and pick up the book and see why Behemoth is so special, why this novel is so important, and how a stranger's tattoo can change lives.

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Amanda's Gentleman Cat

Earlier this month, I met Amanda, who hails from Texas, near the corner of Broad and Wall Streets in lower Manhattan. I spotted her with numerous tattoos and she kindly offered to share this cool piece:

She credited this work to Jay Joree (@jayjoree) from Last Angels Tattoos (@lastangelstattoos) in Dallas.

She told me, "I'm just a crazy cat lady and I really like cats." She added "I like the idea of having a Gentleman Cat." She plans on getting a complementary Lady Cat on the other side of her forearm.

Thanks, Amanda, for sharing this cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Two from Jacqui by Betty Rose

I ran into Jacqui a couple of weeks ago in lower Manhattan, across the street from Bowling Green. It was this tattoo that caught my eye:

She credited this awesome tattoo to Betty Rose, who works out of Eight of Swords in Brooklyn.

Jacqui told me, "I asked for a fox headdress and she worked with me to pick out the face and everything ... [she] did a couple different drawings for me and this is what she came up with." Needless to say, Jacqui was very happy with the end result.

She also told me, "I knew that [Betty Rose] did really good cat tattoos, cattoos," which resulted in her getting this piece, as well:

Thanks so much to Jacqui for sharing her beautiful tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Annika's Lucky Cat

Back in September, as summer was coming to a close, I met Annika near Federal Hall on Wall Street.
She had a bunch of tattoos, and shared this, her Lucky Cat:

This is a version of the traditional Japanese maneki-neko cat.

Annika explained, "I studied economics and, in Asia, everybody has [the maneki-neko cat] in their shops for business prosperity." She added, "for me it’s just like having a career and being lucky at what I do and loving my job."

When I asked why the cat is holding a sign that says "No Pain No gain," Annika replied, "because sometimes you just have to work hard to earn what you deserve ."

Annika hails from Germany and I asked why she had the phrase in English. She modestly replied, "Because it doesn’t sound that good in German … I used to live in England and California, so I really like English … I have [tattoos in] English and French and hardly any German lettering."

This cool cat was tattooed by Andrik at Farbenpracht Tattoo in Munich, Germany.

Thanks to Annika for sharing her maneki-neko with us on Tattoosday!

Saturday, August 8, 2015

Cats for Your Saturday

Here's a cat from 2010. See all of Tattoosday cat tattoos here.

Plus, Buzzfeed shares some great tattoos too, here.

Tattoosday (A Tattoo Blog)