Shattered FaithOn Tuesday, I met Shawn in Penn Station. He and a friend had visited to New York City from Albany to catch the band Shattered Faith last Monday night at a Brooklyn venue called Club Europa.The band is not familiar to me, despite the fact that they are an Orange County-based punk band that has been p…
A Year Ago Today, Tattoosday Was BornWhen, on July 31, 2007, I posted my first installment of the weekly Tattoosday feature on BillyBlog, I didn't know what I had started.Had you told me then that, a year later, Tattoosday would have spun off from BillyBlog, that it would have set a personal best in July '08 with over 13,000 hits, and …
Mona's Pocket Watch Honors her Grandfather's MemoryOn Monday, I ran into two hair stylists walking west on 23rd Street. Both were inked, and both graciously agreed to share one of their tattoos with us here in the blogosphere.The photo above is one of three pieces that Mona has. She currently has a sleeve in progress. This pocket watch will eventua…
Kara's Astrological InkIn the post above (or here), I met two hair stylists this past Monday, who both had tattoos. The photo above is of one of three tattoos on Kara.Kara is a Pisces, born on March 3, and she found a design that she liked to represent that aspect of her.This tattoo was inked about six years ago at Allsta…
Knuckle TattoosJust a production note, one of my June posts has been picked up by a site devoted solely to knuckle tattoos. Click on the title of this post to check out the site here. I exchanged e-mails with Nathan, who runs the site, and he had kind words to say about Tattoosday. Should I run across any more knu…
These Are a Few of Her Favorite ThingsThis is a continuation, of sorts, from a previous post here.Claire showed me the above trio of tiny tattoos on her left hand. She explained that they represented her three favorite things.A strict literalist would interpret this as diamonds, martinis, and cash, but one could be more general and call…
Heather's Salute to the Flora and Fauna of North CarolinaAs I approach a year of writing Tattoosday, I like to think that, within the first fifteen seconds of talking to an inked person, I can tell whether they are going to be interested in sharing, or are going to politely (or impolitely) decline.When I first stopped Heather last week, on Seventh Avenue …
Claire's Sugar Skull Celebrates Her Grandmother's LifeI met Claire last week, a couple of buildings down from where I work in Manhattan. I first noticed some script pieces she had on her inner wrists, but she unveiled this beauty of a sugar skull for Tattoosday.She had this inked on the inside of her left bicep as a memorial to her grandmother, who had…
Damien's Pistol Star Nebula Tattoo is Out of this WorldSorry. Couldn't resist that title.I ran into Damien near Fashion Institute of Technology earlier in the week, and her bright, colorful tattoo just jumped right off of her in the sunlight.She explained to me that it is based on a photograph of the Pistol Star Nebula, as seen from the Hubble telescope…
Dara's FragmentI was hesitating whether or not to ask Dara Zad about her tattoo that wraps around her left ankle.I am glad I did.She has the word "Fragment" inked above her foot and, whereas a passer-by might dismiss it as a band name or a random word, the piece carries a depth of meaning about which Dara is clear…
Sam's Lotus in Memory of a Friend Gone Too SoonI ran into Sam outside of Rite-Aid in my neighborhood, and she let me take a picture of the tattoo above.Sam has a handful of tattoos, all meaningful, but we selected this one, on her right shoulder.The lotus has an interesting look to it. She had wanted it to have a distinct pastel appearance and i…
Sal's Medicine Wheel Honors his FamilyI was waiting for a prescription at Rite-Aid, on Thursday, July 17, which had already been a record Tattoosday. I saw a familiar-looking guy with the tattoo above on his forearm.I asked him about it and he recognized me as the father of my two daughters who used to go to an after-school program wher…
Bryan's Homage to a Classic Pulp CoverI met Bryan last week outside of Penn Station. He has "7 or 8" tattoos, and he offered up this piece from his left leg.It's a recreation of a pulp book cover that depicts a woman holding a photograph of a crime in progress, just as the man in the photo who is the perpetrator, is entering the room, g…
Erik's Captain's WheelI ran into Erik at the laundromat and snapped this shot of one of his many tattoos. It is located on the inner part of his right bicep.Erik explained that his grandfather and many of his uncles had been ship captains and this was a way to honor them with something significant from their family histo…
Lorraine's Red SliderYes, the Red Slider is a turtle, and the one on Lorraine's left foot is practically crawling off her skin.She has three of them alive at home, named "Dikiewamish" "Panchito," and "Panchita." She sent me a photo of one of them. I'm not sure whic one of the three he/she is:She loves turtles and wanted…
Becky's Nod to Angelique HoutkampOn Thursday, July 17, I spotted Becky outside of the Penn Plaza Borders talking to her friend Ashley.Becky's not hard to miss, she's a striking young woman with twenty-seven tattoos. And, whereas generally Tattoosday participants are open and happy to share their ink here, both Becky and Ashley's ki…
Ashley Displays the Mark of FriendshipI met Ashley when I approached Becky (her post here) about her work. Unlike Becky, who is inked 27 times, Ashley has just four pieces, none of which are immediately visible.However, after talking with her friend Becky, I queried Ashley about any tattoos she might have, she offered up the small piece…
San Diego Tattoos Visit The Big AppleI spotted Mike and Tracy on 34th Street on Thursday, July 17. They were the third and fourth people I photographed that day.Mike had the logo from his favorite band, The Misfits, on the back of his left calf. It's one of his three tattoos.Tracy liked the art for the piece she has, on her upper left …
Tattoosday RecordI don't know what it was about Thursday, July 17, but I set a Tattoosday record. By the end of the day, I had shots of eight different people's ink (my previous best has always capped around 3 subjects in one day). This, after a bit of a drought and some bad luck (a beautiful but unfinishedrooster f…
Dropping a Couple of F BombsI ran into Shawn and Chris from Albany outside of Penn Station on Thursday, July 17. Both were heavily inked.Of their many tattoos, one had some additional meaning, and it was one that they both had on their lower shins. In fact, they told me, there is a group of about twenty of their friends with t…
On the CuspI was on my way home when I spotted Lisa, who was with a friend, in the hours before Bon Jovi's second night at Madison Square Garden.It was only when she stopped to explain, that I was able to grasp the tattoos meanings (two for Tattosday, no less!).Lisa had a wrap-around musical staff on her right…
Not Seeing, But KnowingAshley has this tattoo on the back of her neck. The lines "I will not lose hope/I will not give in" are based on lyrics from a song called "The Crimson" by a band called Atreyu.The lyrics were words commonly uttered by Ashley's best friend and cousin, who died a couple of years ago. He committed sui…
Honoring His SonI ran into Alex at the laundromat and complimented him on the name inked on his left forearm.The piece is a tribute to his son Julian. As a fellow father with tattoos honoring one's kids (see one of them here), I certainly appreciated the sentiment.This piece was done by an artist named Salem, who …
Pete's PirateI ran into Pete at the laundromat and he offered up this tattoo. He had this inked on his left side because he is infatuated by pirates, something he never grew out of from childhood.This tattoo is about two and a half years old and was done by his friend Pee Wee at Cutting Edge Body Arts in Manhatt…
Ladybug LuckBridget loves ladybugs. They represent luck because, whenever bad things are happening, she will inevitably see a ladybug, and she is convinced they help her luck turn around.She went to her tattoo artist, Stacey Sharp at Ink Alternative Studio in Ronkonkoma, New York, and told her she wanted a piec…
Two Tattoos, Starry Reminders of Youth and FriendshipI met Randy in front of Penn Station, where he was talking with Cait.I spotted what appeared to be a Chilly Willy tatoo on his inner right forearm, but he dismissed it as a youthful mistake that he eventually wanted to get covered up.He did offer me the three stars on his right hand as a tattoo that…
Fabiana's Most Important TattooIf you haven't met Fabiana's ink yet, you may want to check out her previous posts here and here before continuing. The above tattoo is on her right bicep and has a remarkable story behind it.Fabiana was born in Italy. When she was three years old, a mirror belonging to her parents broke. Rather tha…
Time Flies When You're Living and Dying"No," I explained to Heather, "I don't troll the post office for tattoos." She was asking why, of all places, I stopped her in line at the Fort Hamilton Post Office in Brooklyn.Really, it was a series of coincidences. My younger daughter was sick today, so I stayed home. Otherwise, I would have been…
Marcus Sports a Heavenly GeishaI ran into Marcus walking down 86th Street in Bay Ridge, just a block from Brooklyn Ink, where the above piece was tattooed by Joe. I hear Joe's name a lot, as his shop is closest to home for me. Although I have never been inked by Joe, everyone I've spoken to has nothing but good things to say.Marc…
Angie's Life-Affirming FlowerI ran into Angie at Duane Reade and she offered up the above piece as one of her favorite tattoos (she has over twenty).This flower is actually a composite, based on several different flowers. There is a clear lotus influence, as well, she acknowledged, a little bit of daisy. The color is based on …
Hello Polaroid, Goodbye Kodak!Just a service note. The official camera of Tattoosday has been upgraded from a circa-'05 Kodak Easyshare (took a lickin' but kept on clickin') that snapped decent 4.0 megapixel shots, to a fancy-schmancy Polaroid 7.0 megapixel t730.This upgrade comes courtesy of two friends, who generously pooled t…
Amanda's Tree of StrengthIt seemed quite appropriate that, as I had some guests over to celebrate my birthday, Amanda, a friend of my wife's, was sharing with me a tattoo she had inked as a 30th birthday gift from her husband.I'm fairly certain that this is the first one of these tattoos appearing here and, when I say, "one…
