Tattoosday (A Tattoo Blog)

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Tattoos I Love: Melanie's Tribute to Our Family

How is it possible that my lovely wife Melanie, who celebrates her birthday today, has a tattoo that hasn't graced these pages? It just is, I guess, but in celebration of her special day, let's all look at my favorite tattoo of her collection:

This photo was taken shortly after it was inked by the awesome Peter Cavorsi, owner of Body Art Studios in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, many five or six years ago.

The center of the piece is a Star of David with the Hebrew word חי (Chai) in the center. The design is inspired by this necklace Melanie has:

The Hebrew words encircling the center design element are the Hebrew names of our family members: Melanie's, mine, and those of our two daughters.

When Melanie came up with the concept of the whole piece, she wanted to make sure she got the Hebrew correct, so she met with a friend of ours who is a rabbi. He agreed, in a very rabbinical way, to provide her with the Hebrew lettering on the condition that Melanie would meet with him and study why tattooing is considered by many to be forbidden in Judaism. She agreed, of course, and the lesson proves valuable whenever she feels like challenging those who challenge her on why Jews shouldn't get inked. Note this 2008 piece from the New York Times about Jews and Tattoos.

One technical note: I was in charge of proofreading the final design before the stencil was made, and I missed the fact that, in one of our daughter's Hebrew names, which is comprised of three names, the second and third names run together, a detail missed by many, but proof that, even when you think you know something's perfect, you should triple-check. This small technical error doesn't make the tattoo any less awesome, in my opinion.

Then again, I'm biased, because it's a beautiful tattoo on the woman I love and, well, she chose to ink my Hebrew name on her flesh, along with our awesome children, as well.

So, on this, Melanie's birthday, I want to share her tattoo and wish her a wonderful day.

I love you Melanie, and I love your tattoos!

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Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Gonzo & Camilla on Denise (at the NYC Tattoo Convention)

Still recapping individual pieces I spotted at the NYC Tattoo Convention last weekend, I was fortunate enough to stumble upon Denise Bock, a licensed massage therapist from Philadelphia, who possesses these truly amazing tattoos:

Yes that's Gonzo the Great and Camilla the chicken, from the Muppets, gazing lovingly at one another from Denise's calves.

Earlier this week, Denise and I corresponded via e-mail, so I could get the full story behind these amazing tattoos.

Denise explains:

"The Muppets were a HUGE part of my upbringing. My father could do many of the voices and would sometimes break into the Swedish Chef at dinner time. This was back in the late 70's when the Muppets were truly bad ass.

You may not have noticed but my legs are kinda chickeny & skinny....doesn't help that my last name is Bock. I pick my food apart, inspecting it and I have been known to get myself in a tizzy with feathers all a flyin'. Therefore, Camilla represents me. My fiancee, John, he's Gonzo, the Big Nosed Weirdo. (If you didn't know, Gonzo and Camilla are married).

Long story short, I was going to marry John (not planned) in Hawaii but I chickened out. I was also supposed to get tattooed but the artist and I did not resonate well. So I left the island not married [and] not tattooed. Ain't no thing.

Tattoos are personal for me. All of my tattoos represent love. John and I love each other and Hawaii. Hawaii feels like home to me; one day I will permanently reside on the Big Island. That's why Camilla is wearing coconut boobies and a lei, and Gonzo has on a Hawaiian shirt. (I love how Gonzo is gazing at Camilla) The sunset heart. It's all there.

If something ever happens between John and me, I wouldn't feel awkward for having a Gonzo and Camilla tatted on me. It's not like it's his name. Besides, there are so many other bad ass qualities, I didn't care. I'm a lady that does what she wants."

This incredible work was created by Pete Zebley at Body Graphics Portside Parlor in Philadelphia.

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

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

J.R. Gets His Moth On (at the NYC Tattoo Convention)

The Village Voice ran a piece this weekend about the New York City Tattoo Convention, including a slideshow called "What Inspired You to Get a Face Tattoo?" It's worth checking out and I was excited to see that the first photo was someone I interviewed as well!

I first snapped a photo of J.R. while he was getting his neck tattooed by Matt Truiano, who works out of Winky Dink Ink in Valley Cottage, New York:

I was later able to get a shot of the finished product later in the day:

Why this piece on the throat?

Simply put, "I just always wanted a moth," he told me.

It was also interesting hearing him describe the best way to get a throat piece, how one had to modify your breathing with the rhythm of the artist, timing the intake of air with the brief pauses the artist makes with the machine.

As an added bonus, J.R. also shared this thigh piece, one of his favorites by Mike Cann at Folk City Tattoo in Suffolk, Virginia:

Thanks to J.R. for sharing his amazing work with us here on Tattoosday!

Monday, March 10, 2014

Tasha's Horned Viper (from the NYC Tattoo Convention)

The 17th Annual New York City Tattoo Convention has ended, but I'll be expanding this week on some of the amazing tattoos I saw (and tweeted out) during the show.

First off is this amazing horned viper:

This vibrant tattoo is on the left hand of Tasha, the shop manager at Independent Tattoo, in Selbyville, Delaware. Matthew Amey, one of the owners, put this on Tasha Friday evening at the convention, so when I took the photo it was still fresh.

When I asked Tasha about why she got this particular piece, she explained, "I was actually gonna get Medusa, but it's like, ten pounds of shit in a dimebag - it's just too much for a small area so [Matt] said, What about a horned viper? and I was like, okay, and he brought the drawing in that he had done and I was like that's pretty cool!"

The rest, as they say, is history.

Tasha, Matthew Amey and Tres Denk, all from Independent, are super cool to talk to, and if you're ever passing through Delaware, are well-worth a visit.

Thanks to Tasha (and the rest of the crew from Independent Tattoo) for sharing this awesome horned viper with us here on Tatoosday!

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Coda: NYC Tattoo Convention at Roseland

Today is the final day for the New York City Tattoo Convention at Roseland Ballroom. Next year, the show will return to May in a new locale, while the old home for the show will be a distant memory, swallowed up by NYC developers.

I spent a long day there yesterday and met a lot of great artists and tattoo enthusiasts. I met up with my old friend Paul, one of Tattoosday's earliest contributors (click his name to see his ink) and we had a nice chat with Jasmine, one of the stars of Tattoo Nightmares.

Jasmine and Paul

Not only did I spend time with the awesome Marisa & Brian from Needles & Sins, but I had a nice chat with Michael McCabe (below right).

McCabe is, among other things, the author of two of the best books on New York City tattooing, one of which New York City Tattoo, has just gone back into print. Check it out and order it here. His other book, also a classic, is Tattooing New York City.

It's hard to get bored with the convention and, thanks to warmer temps on Saturday, there was a lot more tattoos to see than Friday night. I imagine everyone will be out today to give Roseland a final send-off.

Be sure to follow Tattoosday's twitter feed and check back later this week for more tattoos and stories from the show!

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Sam Shares Two Cool Tattoos at the NYC Tattoo Convention

It has been a brutal winter, and the tattoos have been scarce here in New York City, so I was excited to get back to the New York City Tattoo Convention and see some great tattoos.

The event is early this year, to account for the closing of Roseland Ballroom, so unfortunately there were an inordinate amount of people wearing jackets and long sleeves - meaning body art was not overflowing as much as it has been in the past. However, today looks to be warmer, and I'm looking forward to Day 2!

That said, I did interview a woman named Sam, who works at Lark Tattoo in Westbury, NY. She was kind enough to share two tattoos with us for Tattoosday.

First is this giant piece on her thigh:

Sam explained the origins of this piece, which was done in three sessions of three hours apiece:

"This tattoo was done at South Shore Tattoo in Amityville, New York by an artist named Mike Nomy ... he's the owner of the shop. I'd actually gotten it done a couple years ago ... it was one of my first tattoos ... I knew that I was gonna be a heavily-tattooed person and I needed a way to introduce it to my parents, in a way that was heart-felt to them and seemed genuine ... I got something that was literally for them - my mom has a little tattoo of a rose on her butt and my dad has always wanted to get snakes tattooed on him ... I kinda took the two ideas and formed it into something that would show them how much I care about them and hopefully they can see me in the way I choose to transform myself and love me that way also ... It's kinda the way I reached out to them ... I dedicated a huge spot on my body to them."

She also offered up this amazing piece on the back of her calf:

Sam credits this cool tattoo to Joe Friedman at Lark Tattoo.

She elaborates:

"It's a Maneki-neko cat which is normally a lucky cat ....this type of cat is an unlucky cat, there's really no name for it - it's something that I kinda came up with based on a toy I had seen actually and it really inspired me to think about the way my life has been running, I'm pretty unlucky ... so I wanted a way to remind myself that I gotta work and not rely on luck."

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

Be sure to head down to Roseland this weekend to catch the last two days of the NYC Tattoo Convention in this historic venue!

Friday, March 7, 2014

The NYC Tattoo Convention This Weekend!

If you're thinking, "Wait, is the convention early this year?" you'd be right on the mark.

Normally the Tattoo Industry takes over the venue in May, but alas, our city's beloved Roseland Ballroom, the convention's home, is closing in April, after over 50 years in its current location. Rather than scramble to find a new home, it is only fitting that the 17th Annual New York City Convention bumped up its dates to this weekend, so we could have one last fling before moving to a new location in May 2015.

That said, I will be descending on Roseland this weekend and tweeting, Facebooking, and gathering material for posts for Tattoosday. The Convention has always been kind to Tattoosday, as clicking here can show.

Hope to see you all there!

Get more info on the Convention's Official Site and Facebook page.