Tracy's Owl for Jamie

I ran into Tracy last month in a drugstore in Penn Station.<br /><br />She agreed to share this tattoo on her arm:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUpuew-cBdUBTYObtg3ZZ7GfbIeaiCQinB5IJDfo2CYALrAs-SavJOu-bowdGi9YW6p3QVC8kWW4WS7Qheem5u3v19m13Oe2cZMVfw8TqYX308EoixGzdpVhN3lEP6VMYwgIC3czaXaxw/w421-h658-no/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUpuew-cBdUBTYObtg3ZZ7GfbIeaiCQinB5IJDfo2CYALrAs-SavJOu-bowdGi9YW6p3QVC8kWW4WS7Qheem5u3v19m13Oe2cZMVfw8TqYX308EoixGzdpVhN3lEP6VMYwgIC3czaXaxw/w421-h658-no/photo.jpg" width="408" /></a></div><br />The name "Jamie" refers to her son. This is a mother owl with a protective wing over a baby owl, whose head can be seen resting in the middle of the mama owl's chest.<br /><br />This was inked by the talented <a href="http://www.johnreardontattoos.com/">John Reardon</a> at <a href="http://greenpointtattoo.com/site/">Greenpoint Tattoo Company</a> in Brooklyn. Reardon's work has appeared countless times on Tattoosday, and it's always an honor to feature his work on the site. Readers may remember this <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2013/06/ashley-shares-narwhal-of-tattoo.html">narwhal</a> by him which we featured back in June.<br /><br />Thanks to Tracy for sharing this lovely tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2013 Tattoosday.</span></span></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-29ec20c0-db1a-85b4-a54f-e2b481c36338"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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</span><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 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.</span></span></div>

Tracy's Owl for Jamie

I ran into Tracy last month in a drugstore in Penn Station. She agreed to share this tattoo on her arm: The name "Jamie" refers to...

Read more »

The Tattooed Poets Project: Sarah Certa

Today's tattooed poet is <a href="http://sarahcerta.tumblr.com/">Sarah Certa</a>.<br /><br />Sarah's tattoo is simple, but powerful:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLQ_LCBuor2gm5BqC4fyH6zWM-Cm_9Aj0Pze7UKyv3xS5iiyCm8GN_Ti4ssTx7nwgZjlbd6sMGZxkTkUVGdOXJK99X4vdWDt95mKhFqZatGvn6-8bYMy1AHGnv3NdiZMLZ5s6KiPuJd_4/s774/tattoo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLQ_LCBuor2gm5BqC4fyH6zWM-Cm_9Aj0Pze7UKyv3xS5iiyCm8GN_Ti4ssTx7nwgZjlbd6sMGZxkTkUVGdOXJK99X4vdWDt95mKhFqZatGvn6-8bYMy1AHGnv3NdiZMLZ5s6KiPuJd_4/s640/tattoo+1.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Sarah Certa</td></tr></tbody></table>She even sent along a collage of the tattoo process:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicc5NhkWoTRsY1jbf4d_H0_gAKn2U9na_CyRTipNAIqNNjc31VegxRXa98PZ6b1XOu2DcQeLt7ZZjoBAiI6kNMhZhyphenhyphenBtxEmqa3tYlrUsUzMRqtl9YBf_-Vxbe3Fu0Q3QJ74rPEIyP2wXk/s615/tattoo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicc5NhkWoTRsY1jbf4d_H0_gAKn2U9na_CyRTipNAIqNNjc31VegxRXa98PZ6b1XOu2DcQeLt7ZZjoBAiI6kNMhZhyphenhyphenBtxEmqa3tYlrUsUzMRqtl9YBf_-Vxbe3Fu0Q3QJ74rPEIyP2wXk/s640/tattoo.jpg" width="494" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photos by Laura Martie</td></tr></tbody></table>Why does a woman have a tattoo of the name "Johnny" on her arm? I'll let Sarah explain:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">"My tattoo was done at <a href="http://www.voodootattoostudio.net/">Voodoo Tattoo</a> in Big Lake, MN. It's on the inside of my left wrist, and it's my brother's name, Johnny, in my handwriting. He is two years younger than me and in the Army Infantry, currently deployed in southern Afghanistan. I got the tattoo this past fall, November 2012, about a month before he deployed, because I wanted to do something to show my support and admiration for him, and since I carry a strong needle phobia, this was a very big thing for me to do. It also serves as a reminder of strength, especially on hard days, to just keep going, the way he does..."</blockquote>Sarah also sent us this poem, which is making its first appearance here:<br /><br /><b>The Wind</b><br /><br />I’ve been eating way too much chocolate <br />these past few days, which really fucks up <br />my bikini-season diet, which is really<br />a ridiculous thing to waste time thinking about because regardless of my pant size<br />one day I’m going to die. This is not a newsflash<br />but every time I think about it, it’s as if I’m being beat<br />in the stomach with a baseball bat, and on it are the signatures<br />of everyone I’ve ever loved. It’s amazing<br />that I continue to recover from these assaults, that somehow<br />I get out of bed. I make coffee. Every day<br />I brush my teeth. I smooth Burt’s Bees chap-stick<br />on my lips, which are filled with blood, and how incredible<br />is that? How incredible, that I’m able to stand up<br />and put one foot in front of the other, shuffle forward<br />one small miracle at a time. How incredible, yet how<br />pathetic, as I sit here with my coffee and my diet, while nearly 2,000 miles away<br />my little brother is marching in the 5 AM rain with the rest<br />of his infantry platoon. He is already my hero, <br />the way he skydives into this life, so reckless yet good<br />to himself, raving about sushi like it’s his religion and sipping $90 whiskey <br />that’s almost as old as he is. You just keep going, he says. You’re not going to die<br />from running too much. I think about him <br />training for war this summer, hiking 25 miles <br />in the California desert with 60 pounds on his back, knowing<br />that soon he’ll be on foot in southern Afghanistan where he could <br />be blown to pieces at any minute, and already<br />each step he takes is an army-sized miracle, each breath the wind that pushes me <br />through another goddamn day. <br /><br />~ ~ ~<br /><br />Sarah Certa holds an MFA in Writing from <a href="http://www.vcfa.edu/">Vermont College of Fine Arts</a>. Her poems appear in <a href="http://www.countrymusicpoetry.org/">Country Music</a>, <a href="http://www.thebakerypoetry.com/">The Bakery</a>, <a href="http://bodyliterature.com/">B O D Y</a>, and <a href="http://www.pankmagazine.com/">PANK</a>, among other places. She is the Social Media Director for <a href="http://www.h-ngm-n.com/">H_NGM_N</a>, a contributing editor for <a href="http://www.splitrockreview.org/">Split Rock Review</a>, and a freelance writer and photographer. Find her online at <a href="http://sarahcerta.tumblr.com/">sarahcerta.tumblr.com</a>. <br /><br />Thanks to Sarah for sharing her tattoo and poem with us here on Tattoosday's Tattooed Poets Project! And a special thanks to her brother Johnny for his service to our country. We're wishing him our very best and pray for his safety while he is overseas.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2013 Tattoosday. The poem and tattoo are reprinted with the poet's permission.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">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.</span>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Sarah Certa

Today's tattooed poet is Sarah Certa . Sarah's tattoo is simple, but powerful: Photo by Sarah Certa She even sent along a collage of...

Read more »

Laura Brooks Shares Her Parents Names and Her Toe Knuckles

<div class="tr_bq">I met Laura Brooks outside of Macy*s on 34th Street last month. She has a lot of tattoos (she estimates 60% of her canvas is covered), so I deferred to her, asking which she wanted to share with us here on Tattoosday.</div><br />She offered up her wrists:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMWvEd8Gs-TcI0-UmVpZjmAkveSNBYF0TvZaPEMmkemSxu6EK_-l6OngCPJTFb-jGVjbwtd_LdFT0NBSUa0_ojTTsld6w0pSwkHdPtgciwdIgjveXW-fPRE6YdeLouz7866brqPLeZfO8/s615/IMG_0291.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMWvEd8Gs-TcI0-UmVpZjmAkveSNBYF0TvZaPEMmkemSxu6EK_-l6OngCPJTFb-jGVjbwtd_LdFT0NBSUa0_ojTTsld6w0pSwkHdPtgciwdIgjveXW-fPRE6YdeLouz7866brqPLeZfO8/s640/IMG_0291.JPG" width="440" /></a></div><br />These are her parents names, Davis and Blythe, and they were designed by a friend of hers whose graffiti moniker is "Gamble". She credited the actual tattooing to an artist named Joe from <a href="http://www.beelistic.com/home.php">Beelistic's Blood Money Tattoo</a> in Cincinnati, Ohio. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix39rM7_ipS7nTYIDUGrfRt2lhqSD0kWDib7YxT8kMoSTZcCRqpe1QaDxA14UH_4ONdMPXOTPRh61liw4ntR34BjLMM7EGKjV8esL6ynkdRZKQIujED0OXbWpTYiQnLLqC03WjWUCohgM/s749/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix39rM7_ipS7nTYIDUGrfRt2lhqSD0kWDib7YxT8kMoSTZcCRqpe1QaDxA14UH_4ONdMPXOTPRh61liw4ntR34BjLMM7EGKjV8esL6ynkdRZKQIujED0OXbWpTYiQnLLqC03WjWUCohgM/s400/photo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Laura Brooks also informed me that she had tattoos on her toes, but she was wearing shoes when I met her. Later that day, she held to her word and sent me a photo of her toe knuckle tattoos which read "Dirty South":<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAYqKNu5Ko3p6Oaj8uFsX3-K2mI-gkS_AJATDHpGCaKINqXi3g3q2jXGoB5tOwYg2W2q-GvyS8_RxF1uqWVlKV3vwPk6h237-tKMdsHqysKRQ5gCBYyqRE54iDkuROpNT15GE3k1sN2zQ/s750/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAYqKNu5Ko3p6Oaj8uFsX3-K2mI-gkS_AJATDHpGCaKINqXi3g3q2jXGoB5tOwYg2W2q-GvyS8_RxF1uqWVlKV3vwPk6h237-tKMdsHqysKRQ5gCBYyqRE54iDkuROpNT15GE3k1sN2zQ/s400/photo.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />She added:<br /><blockquote><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.918); color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">"The artist was <a href="http://www.noregretstattooemporium.com/brent.html">Brent Hale</a> at <a href="http://www.noregretstattooemporium.com/home.html">No Regrets Tattoo Emporium</a> in Memphis, TN. It was actually his idea. I wanted to get toe knuckle tattoos & couldn't decide what I wanted it to say. He came up with it while we were working on a different piece ... The significance is kind of obvious. Hometown pride. (:</span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.918); color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">One thing about toe tattoos: by far the most painful spot. And you have to get them touched up about half a dozen times before they look right. I should probably go get them done one more time but I'm procrastinating because of the pain."</span></blockquote>Thanks to Laura Brooks for sharing her tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.7055282751098275" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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</span><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 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.</span></b></span>

Laura Brooks Shares Her Parents Names and Her Toe Knuckles

I met Laura Brooks outside of Macy*s on 34th Street last month. She has a lot of tattoos (she estimates 60% of her canvas is covered), so I ...

Read more »

The Tattooed Poets Project: Noelle Kocot

We are launching this, our fourth year of celebrating tattooed poets for National Poetry Month, with the work of an amazingly talented writer, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noelle_Kocot">Noelle Kocot</a>. I had first approached Noelle about participating last year, but it never came to fruition.This year, however, we were able to pull it together.<br /><br />First, here's a glimpse of Noelle's tattoo:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJXP6Cbbr5nXJimsGTMobsHH9ZCEXhsjerk5v9bhjgkO5CpEg5UOS4Z3d6qKyAyMe48f6P19iVK4D_ocPnRSLWRtcNQOuR0byUtuOIIpNrnKla3HTCpTwTbWgT86ihwNCnAGm1Dh-vd64/s1600/kocot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJXP6Cbbr5nXJimsGTMobsHH9ZCEXhsjerk5v9bhjgkO5CpEg5UOS4Z3d6qKyAyMe48f6P19iVK4D_ocPnRSLWRtcNQOuR0byUtuOIIpNrnKla3HTCpTwTbWgT86ihwNCnAGm1Dh-vd64/s320/kocot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />As tattoos go, this is fairly simple and straight forward. It's the name "Damon," but it's not just any name.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8EAl9sS5wgH-c842WS0tDbCMQOWNntTt0L721eIhnRrXTQnd_aSCjgWwm39aJTIj4kscMobhiY6DukGpT6iY-NpovVJKvt9mqLNewRy8xe6mMDVHgfATxyDs_CX4Teuxxh0DPFXE5-rI/s1600/kocot+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8EAl9sS5wgH-c842WS0tDbCMQOWNntTt0L721eIhnRrXTQnd_aSCjgWwm39aJTIj4kscMobhiY6DukGpT6iY-NpovVJKvt9mqLNewRy8xe6mMDVHgfATxyDs_CX4Teuxxh0DPFXE5-rI/s320/kocot+detail.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Damon Tomblin  was Noelle's husband, who died on March 10, 2004. She had his name memorialized in December, later that year. This is her only tattoo.  I'd point you to <a href="http://dewclawjournal.com/issue-3/damon-tomblin/">this page</a> from <i>dewclaw journal</i> to read a little more from Noelle about Damon, and hear a few movements from a sonata Damon composed.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Noelle offered us the following poem, which originally appeared in <i><a href="http://www.tinhouse.com/blog/home-page">Tin House</a>, </i>and was later included in her book <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933517395/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=bill03-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1933517395%22%3ESunny%20Wednesday%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=bill03-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1933517395%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20!important;%20margin:0px%20!important;%22%20/%3E">Sunny Wednesday</a>:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><blockquote><u>12^th Wedding Anniversary</u><u><br /></u><u><br /></u>Jailed and decreased, my doughnuts rise.</blockquote><blockquote><o:p> </o:p>Have a feather, don’t ask why,<br /><o:p></o:p></blockquote><blockquote><o:p> </o:p>There is a <st1:place>Coney Island</st1:place> in my eye.<br /><o:p></o:p></blockquote><blockquote><o:p> </o:p>Hair and plaid rabbits,<br /><o:p></o:p></blockquote><blockquote><o:p> </o:p>Anniversal belief is the strongest to go<br /><o:p></o:p></blockquote><blockquote><o:p> </o:p>Over a listless sky, a prevenient frost.<br /><o:p></o:p></blockquote><blockquote><o:p> </o:p>Let’s go to the Cloisters<br /><o:p></o:p></blockquote><blockquote><o:p> </o:p>And all you can eat sushi<br /><o:p></o:p></blockquote><blockquote><o:p> </o:p>My tattoo should be healed now.<br /><o:p></o:p></blockquote><blockquote><o:p> </o:p>Dear, you are a norming legend in the kitty-star.<br /><o:p></o:p></blockquote><blockquote><o:p> </o:p>I eat for two, on the evening of<br /><o:p></o:p></blockquote><blockquote><o:p> </o:p>We knew each other before our faces and our names.</blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">~ ~ ~</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></b></div><b style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Noelle Kocot</b><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> is </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">the author of five full-length collections of poetry,</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> including most recently, </span><i style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_225933655">The Bigger World</a></i><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><a href="http://www.wavepoetry.com/catalog/98-the-bigger-world"> </a>(</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Wave Books, 2011) and </span><i style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><a href="http://www.wavepoetry.com/catalog/68-sunny-wednesday">Sunny Wednesday</a></i><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> (</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Wave Books,</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">2009). She has also recently published a limited-edition collection of translations of the poems of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tristan_Corbi%C3%A8re">Tristan Corbière</a>, as </span><i style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Poet-Default-Tristan-Corbiere/dp/1933517603/ref=sr_1_sc_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331345217&sr=1-3-spell">Poet By Default</a></i><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> (</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Wave Books,</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">2011). Kocot has received numerous honors for her poetry, including a <a href="http://www.nea.org/">NEA</a> </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">fellowship</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">and inclusion in <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1198464601">The Best American Poetry </a></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><a href="http://bestamericanpoetry.com/pages/volumes/?id=2001">2001</a> and <a href="http://blog.bestamericanpoetry.com/the_best_american_poetry/2011/12/the-best-american-poetry-2011to-be-human.html">2011</a>.</span> <br /><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Thanks to Noelle for her contribution, and helping us launch this, our fourth year of the Tattooed Poets Project!</span><br /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=bill03-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=1933517395" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday. Photos courtesy of Noelle Kocot. Poem reprinted with the author's permission.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">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 <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</a> 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.</span></div>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Noelle Kocot

We are launching this, our fourth year of celebrating tattooed poets for National Poetry Month, with the work of an amazingly talented write...

Read more »

The Tattooed Poets Project: Nescher Pyscher

<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Today's tattooed poet is named Nescher Pyscher and hails from Cambridge, Ohio.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Nescher offered  up his right wrist for us here at Tattoosday:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXZEdYEbSaSZs4s49STaHP8o966TzBj_Ei5cgb3wDDMFJbcfeFoauMWxWh37a7vYibC6KS8Rhg2IWCzVU1k2Z80egXixjpAniXggjbF8KEcYp_4FrfKs84xY_B7EYq1pDEM5Mj1H5MhDk/s1600/Geir.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXZEdYEbSaSZs4s49STaHP8o966TzBj_Ei5cgb3wDDMFJbcfeFoauMWxWh37a7vYibC6KS8Rhg2IWCzVU1k2Z80egXixjpAniXggjbF8KEcYp_4FrfKs84xY_B7EYq1pDEM5Mj1H5MhDk/s400/Geir.jpg" width="351" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of Nescher Pyscher</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">Nescher explains:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">"The tattoo was done in two parts. The first part was my wife's name in Chinese, surrounded by an infinity symbol. It was my wedding present for her. I designed the tattoo myself, and I was inspired to do so by a ink-stamper-thing-y my wife's father brought home for her from </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">China</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">. The second part, my son's name, was my wife's Christmas present to me when our son was born. I do not remember the name of the tattoo studios or the artists, but both tats were procured in the </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Akron</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">, </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Ohio</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"> area."</span></div></blockquote>As a matter of clarification, I asked Nescher about the kanji representing his wife's name. He told me that the "three symbols mean--so I've been told--'Mother,' 'Earth' and 'Love.' " He added that she is a geologist, by occupation. <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjky0sUN-r5-5uz2achYVHMDyl3hQTeph1qqMXvk4n4E60dCEgv9jtVz78rBgyNb84lJWyOjWTPUiKbZhGQxyvJCzpKd4GhGsS1opfygeaVk2Nao9ujyIyyv8TkILbwjEonjTyRJd69ksU/s1600/Geir+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjky0sUN-r5-5uz2achYVHMDyl3hQTeph1qqMXvk4n4E60dCEgv9jtVz78rBgyNb84lJWyOjWTPUiKbZhGQxyvJCzpKd4GhGsS1opfygeaVk2Nao9ujyIyyv8TkILbwjEonjTyRJd69ksU/s400/Geir+detail.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of Nescher Pyscher</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">As for his son's name, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geir">Geir</a>, he clarified that his name means Spear, which is Icelandic or Norwegian, in origin. Nescher added that "names with value and freighted with meaning are important in my family. He is the strong weapon in my right hand, the spear we cast into the future."</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">As for a poem, Nescher, offered up this piece:</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"></div><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: black; font-size: 14pt;">dustbitten</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">i plant the seed of myself within myself-- </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">mutated, cloned, half-life-whole that</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">gropes toward darkening life-- </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">and watch the poisoned weed of me grow.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">i am the frozen feathers of a bird in flight, </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">locked to dead tree, dying in estrous, </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">decayed in birth, and forgotten before the wind</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">could sweep through feathers.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">i am eye, </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">i am face, </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">i am ear</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">i am the frozen corpse at the bottom of the well</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">leaking into life; oozing into being;</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">draining into dream and desire</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">i am fist</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">i am nail</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">i am bent, broken finger</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">i water the tumors of me with the salt of my tears</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">the iron tang of my blood, </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">the sweet toxin of my urine.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">i am teeth</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">i am tongue</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">i am busily working lips</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">i eat my flesh, taken straight from crippled vine</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">and wince at the taste of my self-inflicted pain,</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">juices running unchecked down my pocked and hairless</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">chin</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">i am blister</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">i am burn</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">i am wounded, weeping sore</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">my madness drives me, sings inside me</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">and keeps me warm</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">the feel of meeting teeth on my broken skin feels</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">like warm rain in the evening;  </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">sun setting on life forever</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">i am stone</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">i am flesh</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">i am dust</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> ~ ~ ~</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivDUGH2YaQcB0xeh0YoasKGovn1h3-hW94Gz4QQ_ZJxpBgVt2HxP-hL-giCvwDzj_y2WSGvpsKVMVwAIqc09xE8i_ubGExGFBnXVGEFBqLI8IR45PQEMnuZBYteL1zbXR7K4dgRPBiHlA/s1600/nescher.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivDUGH2YaQcB0xeh0YoasKGovn1h3-hW94Gz4QQ_ZJxpBgVt2HxP-hL-giCvwDzj_y2WSGvpsKVMVwAIqc09xE8i_ubGExGFBnXVGEFBqLI8IR45PQEMnuZBYteL1zbXR7K4dgRPBiHlA/s320/nescher.gif" width="236" /></a><span style="color: black;">Nescher Pyscher--his real name. Honest!--is a happily married, thirty-five year old author and poet living, writing and staying at home with his son in the Cambridge, Ohio area. His writing can be found at <a href="http://nescherpyscher.weebly.com/check-it-out.html">Weebly.com</a>, <a href="http://www.helium.com/users/607400/show_articles">Helium.com</a>, <i>Pablo Lennis</i>, and his book of short stories, <i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1425118097/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=bill03-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1425118097%22%3EItchy%20Whispers%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=1425118097%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20%21important;%20margin:0px%20%21important;%22%20/%3E">Itchy Whispers</a>,</i> is now available from Trafford or Amazon.com. His adventures in ineptitude with his son, The Pants, can be read twice weekly at <i><a href="http://www.daily-jeff.com/">The Daily Jeffersonian</a>.  </i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">Thanks to Nescher for sharing his tattoos and his poetry with us here on Tattoosday!</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><br /><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=bill03-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=1425118097" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.<br /><br />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 </span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</a> 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.</span></div>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Nescher Pyscher

Today's tattooed poet is named Nescher Pyscher and hails from Cambridge, Ohio. Nescher offered  up his right wrist for us here at Tattoo...

Read more »

William's Museum of Art

I met William on the <a href="http://www.mta.info/nyct/service/aline.htm">A train</a> one Sunday morning. He was <i>covered </i>with tattoos. When I asked him how many he has, he replied that he had "never counted".<br /><br />As many of my subjects can attest, when I meet people with a lot of ink, I ask them which one they'd like me to post on the site. William offered up a tattoo he has of <a href="http://www.marilynmonroe.com/">Marilyn Monroe</a>, as seen by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Warhol">Andy Warhol</a>. But, as such a tattoo has appeared here before (see Nina's ink <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2008/09/introducing-ninas-ink-part-1.html">here</a>), I asked for something else. He let me choose this piece, a tattoo of the work of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Michel_Basquiat">Jean-Michel Basquiat</a>: <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ABPeeSJbOdIMgl3Zus_K5SbM2N2zNrrgqQhCmvKWFoPpjPpdW_F7AT9oFkfWbW_qZ2TDQy0hzL-ovePRTWzL3rUZR71ha5MggdYjsZ_bohW9YkE5B9D6hKn1bnGk2L0QQOO04RQ7/s1600/Basquiat+general+wm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ABPeeSJbOdIMgl3Zus_K5SbM2N2zNrrgqQhCmvKWFoPpjPpdW_F7AT9oFkfWbW_qZ2TDQy0hzL-ovePRTWzL3rUZR71ha5MggdYjsZ_bohW9YkE5B9D6hKn1bnGk2L0QQOO04RQ7/s640/Basquiat+general+wm.jpg" width="330" /></a></div><br />A closer look:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvIWe80btvJw72cN0Ro1DHxA9uClV30QtnyzQsW0bZkRDQYho1K_XdKA3kC6ExzW7TE9-MDcAnjMdCYN1Kw40q-rkiKrGp7Q4JXy2FTReG0fv1nFgHQUqw4HH2SW6j4fuhspmjRsbO/s1600/basquiat+detail+wm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvIWe80btvJw72cN0Ro1DHxA9uClV30QtnyzQsW0bZkRDQYho1K_XdKA3kC6ExzW7TE9-MDcAnjMdCYN1Kw40q-rkiKrGp7Q4JXy2FTReG0fv1nFgHQUqw4HH2SW6j4fuhspmjRsbO/s640/basquiat+detail+wm.jpg" width="308" /></a></div><br />This is based on Basquiat's artwork, which is most recognizable from its appearance on the cover of a Maya Angelou children's story.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqbuSTpvJ2_7SeuNpEhGoS20Q11e552ePt7oRsGRXkt-inibMAZ3aCR-hbKK11MUYNQnZV5wNLndoaVXpHrzYcYpFqoPUiqQl_fjKwdpWGQ07WwKdGiX9RswnBpMi6mQp4SyOrLb-y/s1600/bas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqbuSTpvJ2_7SeuNpEhGoS20Q11e552ePt7oRsGRXkt-inibMAZ3aCR-hbKK11MUYNQnZV5wNLndoaVXpHrzYcYpFqoPUiqQl_fjKwdpWGQ07WwKdGiX9RswnBpMi6mQp4SyOrLb-y/s320/bas.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />William also let me take a picture of his name on his hand, which appeared in Ina Saltz's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Body-Type-More-Typographic-Tattoos/dp/0810982765?ie=UTF8&tag=bill03-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Body Type 2</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=bill03-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0810982765" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE9hXLPbzwaFrsd5v_tDHE6xTvfgilCfUPqnzcs5TQG_qxAgq8VH9cZYZ_bZGugYxh-nvLbX-iAC5MVJJ3MbneQrpTsZeApR_6rFulDf7HM_DEPRn6isMJfnap7Z714UvAjdvRnCNf/s1600/will.i.am+wm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE9hXLPbzwaFrsd5v_tDHE6xTvfgilCfUPqnzcs5TQG_qxAgq8VH9cZYZ_bZGugYxh-nvLbX-iAC5MVJJ3MbneQrpTsZeApR_6rFulDf7HM_DEPRn6isMJfnap7Z714UvAjdvRnCNf/s400/will.i.am+wm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />William credited the Basquiat tattoo with <a href="http://www.senaspace.com/">David Sena</a> at <a href="http://www.northstartattoo.com/">North Star Tattoo</a> in Manhattan. Work by David Sena appeared previously on Tattoosday <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2010/07/two-for-tattoosday-purple-lotus-and.html">here</a>.<br /><br />Thanks to William for sharing his tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

William's Museum of Art

I met William on the A train one Sunday morning. He was covered with tattoos. When I asked him how many he has, he replied that he had ...

Read more »

Tattoosday Goes To Hawai'i - All in the Family, Part 5 (Ulu's Amazing Plumage)

In January 2008, when Tattoosday was a mere infant blog, my mother sent me photos of some of the ink my cousins possessed.<br /><br />I already shared Keali'i's sleeves here, but included in that email from Mom was this astonishing piece from his kid sister, my niece, Ulu:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI_pCmaFdtWpcnAOgWmVq8xsS6g8TgJol__h6WmyBcA52kQLmxA6u_tjW6s7k1WJhpRuI6VFwx_gp7mrvB9-D8ZFLEGWvFo5fD0Nuisxa2jRHO8iNv7cdw2fewzQDXwfCCkGI8ELs0/s1600/Ulu+Feather.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI_pCmaFdtWpcnAOgWmVq8xsS6g8TgJol__h6WmyBcA52kQLmxA6u_tjW6s7k1WJhpRuI6VFwx_gp7mrvB9-D8ZFLEGWvFo5fD0Nuisxa2jRHO8iNv7cdw2fewzQDXwfCCkGI8ELs0/s400/Ulu+Feather.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Photo by Diane Scrafton Cohen Ferreira</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>I reached out to Ulu (which is a shortened version of her middle name, Uluwehi, which is abbreviated from her full middle name, Kamali'iwahineuluwehi) and we exchanged messages, but we never connected to discuss the tattoo. Then, last month, I was in Hawai'i, at the home of Ulu and her husband Travis.<br /><br />For the record, despite my inkspotting ways, I was never sure if I'd have the opportunity on this trip to document all my nieces' and nephews' ink. I knew I'd be seeing them, but my purpose for doing so was not tattoo-related.<br /><br />But as you may have read over the last week, there I was at Ulu and Travis's place, hanging out with family, and the subject turned inky, and out came the camera.<br /><br />Still, I wasn't sure I would be seeing the tattoo from my mom's photo - Ulu was wearing a dress and I'm always walking on eggshells when it comes to lower back tattoos. But I was taking pictures of everyone else's tattoos and Ulu's back piece was mentioned. She happily changed into sweats so I could take a closer look at this amazing peacock feather tattoo:<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHjdzdPbL4bfcQOIofu9JILBgWZprf_hyphenhyphen8CKFGHu-X4pvJ5gZWAarbj_Q489j6cnBjj6S2P0k1MqeXqaKEPOcm5vANCBbdDVwNwhxqmFhWoqO-6cXviG0qO-iLYnkA7zylcp0tVSRk/s1600/Ulu+Feather+Crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHjdzdPbL4bfcQOIofu9JILBgWZprf_hyphenhyphen8CKFGHu-X4pvJ5gZWAarbj_Q489j6cnBjj6S2P0k1MqeXqaKEPOcm5vANCBbdDVwNwhxqmFhWoqO-6cXviG0qO-iLYnkA7zylcp0tVSRk/s400/Ulu+Feather+Crop.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br />One of the things I had always wondered was how far around the feather went. I got my answer soon enough:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmgXdoXrJBKvBARXgqO1wkw0YnHaWxK6TcZ3Fkq4O9_tXto6pAwMh51EJEw8X74b4d8C2W4ZMZPBfGBlBLt0vn6d_VctKK9fJ_UOb6y8Zueb-I9nhTmnHCgmygX1nbnZyYx31977Dw/s1600/Ulu+Feather+Wraparound.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmgXdoXrJBKvBARXgqO1wkw0YnHaWxK6TcZ3Fkq4O9_tXto6pAwMh51EJEw8X74b4d8C2W4ZMZPBfGBlBLt0vn6d_VctKK9fJ_UOb6y8Zueb-I9nhTmnHCgmygX1nbnZyYx31977Dw/s400/Ulu+Feather+Wraparound.jpg" width="335" /></a></div><br /><br />As you can see the tattoo dips gracefully down after it rounds the hip. I'm glad I got to see this side because I was able to capture the detail in the color and the tiny pink butterfly near the tip of the quill:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBx5jfc49AlW5KWu_-NjdKaUZ3LU6KcefMdffMUwDUC0-CbZz-oE0L6npahNx7Wz8f3z5rqNwCQ94LZeAIpyNhz_4Qc9jXaP0yAecuPNkyRSl42f7sYZfMWN2SFwasUdVy3R5JBmov/s1600/Ulu+Feather+Wraparound+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBx5jfc49AlW5KWu_-NjdKaUZ3LU6KcefMdffMUwDUC0-CbZz-oE0L6npahNx7Wz8f3z5rqNwCQ94LZeAIpyNhz_4Qc9jXaP0yAecuPNkyRSl42f7sYZfMWN2SFwasUdVy3R5JBmov/s400/Ulu+Feather+Wraparound+detail.jpg" width="366" /></a></div><br /><br />Ulu got this, aside from the beauty of it, to cover up a "tramp stamp" [her words, not mine - no angry comments, please]. The original piece is covered by the eye of the peacock feather.<br /><br />The artist responsible for this incredible tattoo is <a href="http://www.myspace.com/libratat2">Libra</a>, who freelances in Hawai'i, but occasionally does guest spots at <a href="http://www.myspace.com/808tattoohawaii">808 Tattoo</a>, and was at <a href="http://www.eastsidetattoostudio.com/artists.html">East Side Tattoo Studio</a> at the time this was done.<br /><br />In that original email from Grandma Diane (my mom), she also included the tattoos of Travis, Ulu's husband.<br /><br />I had never met Travis before, but was welcomed by him as one of the family. I took my own photo of the forearm ink he wears, also by Libra, in honor of his and Ulu's children, Ezra and Trinity.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6bN6Nj17ZqtNU8G3BS2E_O5t77pNjS9U27KKpA2dMVLg5wKxuM6GuYJxGnTiW3FPfzhiJXDjraLrDHVJ0UgnEXo8jAVagHsfuqNTjaOSS_L4jTfNcksfTfmlMAre8GPC_lVhs6l8/s1600/Travis+-+Ezra+Trinity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6bN6Nj17ZqtNU8G3BS2E_O5t77pNjS9U27KKpA2dMVLg5wKxuM6GuYJxGnTiW3FPfzhiJXDjraLrDHVJ0UgnEXo8jAVagHsfuqNTjaOSS_L4jTfNcksfTfmlMAre8GPC_lVhs6l8/s400/Travis+-+Ezra+Trinity.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>My deepest and most sincere thanks to both Travis and Ulu, not only for their hospitality and kindness, but for sharing their tattoos with us here on Tattoosday.<br /><br />This concludes the "All in the Family" subset of the Tattoosday Goes to Hawai'i series. A warm <i>mahalo</i> to all of my nieces and nephews for letting their mainland uncle help share their tattoos with the Tattoosday community. <br /><br />Previously in the <i>Tattoosday Goes to Hawai'i - All in the Family</i> series:<br /><br /><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2010/05/tattoosday-goes-to-hawaii-all-in-family.html">Part 1, A Preface</a> <br /><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2010/05/tattoosday-goes-to-hawaii-all-in-family_19.html">Part 2, Keali'i's Sleeves</a><br /><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2010/05/tattoosday-goes-to-hawaii-all-in-family_21.html">Part 3, Ikaika, In Progress</a><br /><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2010/05/tattoosday-goes-to-hawaii-all-in-family_23.html">Part 4, Lehua's Eternal Tribute to Poppa John</a>

Tattoosday Goes To Hawai'i - All in the Family, Part 5 (Ulu's Amazing Plumage)

In January 2008, when Tattoosday was a mere infant blog, my mother sent me photos of some of the ink my cousins possessed. I already shared ...

Read more »

The Tattooed Poets Project: Joseph Millar

Today's tattooed poet is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Millar">Joseph Millar</a>.<br /><br />This is a bit of an unusual submission, as it was provided on behalf of Joseph by his wife, the poet <a href="http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/742">Dorianne Laux</a>. Dorianne, who herself is un-inked, was instrumental in last year's Tattooed Poets Project, referring me to several tattooed poets, who in turn introduced me to many more, acting as the lead domino in a fantastic tattooed poet domino effect.<br /><br />This is the tattoo she provided on behalf of Joseph:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBb4dtOkFMHwnYYZtV_-TqsBqX1i4kuk8vGzOnG9esHVbALEoNl0PJO1njXQFGrkRjnb8TfizDbGoxg5-rtkdWXqRKp7mMQzB-7f2_F-KQc0aMbar3gdiXDrho9ynWimiRQHue1DrI/s1600/Josephs+Rose.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457329441665399010" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBb4dtOkFMHwnYYZtV_-TqsBqX1i4kuk8vGzOnG9esHVbALEoNl0PJO1njXQFGrkRjnb8TfizDbGoxg5-rtkdWXqRKp7mMQzB-7f2_F-KQc0aMbar3gdiXDrho9ynWimiRQHue1DrI/s400/Josephs+Rose.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 253px; height: 302px;" /></a><br />Dorianne explains that this tattoo is actually a two-part piece. The original was "a much smaller rose" by the legendary <a href="http://lyletuttle.com/">Lyle Tuttle.</a> She continues:<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote>"The banner was etched with his second wife's name, which I never saw as a problem. I liked his ex-wife who is an artist. In fact, <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=iL-hfr6TgeQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=dorianne+laux+smoke&source=bl&ots=daw67KwB9Q&sig=8B6sJrNsqgXP2tsXfnPXuQPDnow&hl=en&ei=XFW8S-XFFc6clgeZ6tWIDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false">her painting</a> graces the cover of my third book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Smoke-American-Poets-Continuum-62/dp/1880238861">Smoke</a>. One night he came home late with a bandage on his arm. I worried he'd been in a work-related accident. He peeled it back to show me he had the rose enlarged and my name stenciled into the new banner by <a href="http://julientattoo.com/about-julien/">Doctor Ju</a><a href="http://julientattoo.com/about-julien/">lien</a> of [<a href="http://julientattoo.com/">Julien's Black Lotus Tattoo</a> in] Eugene, Oregon. I wish I could tell you I thanked him and kissed him, but what I did was sock him in the arm and call him an idiot. Secretly, I found I was pleased."</blockquote></div>Be sure to head over to <a href="http://oxypoet.blogspot.com/">BillyBlog</a> and read one of Joseph's poems <a href="http://oxypoet.blogspot.com/2010/04/tattooed-poets-project-joseph-millar.html">here</a>.<br /><br />JOSEPH MILLAR is the author of <a href="http://www.ewu.edu/ewupress/poetry/fortune.htm">Fortune</a>, from <a href="http://ewupress.ewu.edu/">Eastern Washington University Press</a>.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGebk_jVQCn978JBQKybMbz22lhjDSNnosrN_gRkkYtYWqtvrBzHF3nG8UP9hEIuM1swuLWKx6O73_3gDs5U1I2KL80yBycziLuoab-UleyI_bNI8ERfMF1qSdEH5ohzr_Vb9fIeSa/s1600/fortune_cover2.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457332604055245362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGebk_jVQCn978JBQKybMbz22lhjDSNnosrN_gRkkYtYWqtvrBzHF3nG8UP9hEIuM1swuLWKx6O73_3gDs5U1I2KL80yBycziLuoab-UleyI_bNI8ERfMF1qSdEH5ohzr_Vb9fIeSa/s400/fortune_cover2.gif" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 144px; height: 288px;" /></a><br />His first collection, <a href="http://www.ewu.edu/ewupress/poetry/overtime.htm">Overtime</a> (2001) was finalist for the <a href="http://www.literary-arts.org/awards/">Oregon Book Award</a> and the <a href="http://www.pw.org/content/robert_h_winner_memorial_award">Robert H. Winner Memorial Award</a> from the <a href="http://www.poetrysociety.org/psa/">Poetry Society of America</a>. Millar grew up in Pennsylvania, attended Johns Hopkins University and spent 25 years in the San Francisco Bay area, working at a variety of jobs, from telephone repairman to commercial fisherman. His poems have appeared in numerous magazines including <a href="http://www.lsu.edu/thesouthernreview/" style="font-style: italic;">The Southern Review</a>, <a href="http://www.triquarterly.org/"><span style="font-style: italic;">TriQuarterly Review</span></a>, <a href="http://prairieschooner.unl.edu/" style="font-style: italic;">Prairie Schooner</a>, <a href="http://www.wlu.edu/x31904.xml"><span style="font-style: italic;">Shenandoah</span></a>, <a href="http://www.doubletakemagazine.org/" style="font-style: italic;">DoubleTake</a>, <a href="http://www.newletters.org/"><span style="font-style: italic;">New Letters</span></a>, <a href="http://www.pshares.org/" style="font-style: italic;">Ploughshares</a>, <a href="http://www.hawaii.edu/mjournal/" style="font-style: italic;">Manoa</a>, and <a href="http://www.riverstyx.org/"><span style="font-style: italic;">River Styx</span></a>. His work has won fellowships from the <a href="http://www.nea.org/">National Endowment for the Arts</a> in Poetry, <a href="http://montalvoarts.org/">Montalvo Center for the Arts</a>, <a href="http://www.literary-arts.org/pal/">Oregon Literary Arts</a> and a 2008 <a href="http://www.pushcartprize.com/index.htm">Pushcart Prize</a> in Poetry. In 1997 he gave up his job as a telephone installation foreman. He now lives in Raleigh, NC and teaches at <a href="http://www.pacificu.edu/as/mfa/">Pacific University’s</a> Low Residency MFA Program in Oregon and yearly at the <a href="http://www.esalen.org/">Esalen Institute</a> in Big Sur, CA. <a href="http://www.pulitzer.org/">Pulitzer Prize</a> winner <a href="http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/22">Yusef Komunyakaa</a> has said, “There's a tenderness at the core of <a href="http://www.ewu.edu/ewupress/poetry/fortune.htm">Fortune</a>, where the commonplace becomes atypical and fantastical, and each poem possesses a voice that summons and reveals. Joseph Millar is a poet we can believe.” His third collection of poems will be published in fall of 2011 by <a href="http://www.cmu.edu/universitypress/">Carnegie Mellon Press</a>.<br /><br />Thanks to Joseph and Dorianne for their collaborative submission to the Tattooed Poets Project!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=bill03-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=0910055742" style="width: 120px; height: 240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=bill03-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=1597660264" style="width: 120px; height: 240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><br /></div>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Joseph Millar

Today's tattooed poet is Joseph Millar . This is a bit of an unusual submission, as it was provided on behalf of Joseph by his wife, the...

Read more »

Blocks of Lucky Ink: Heather's Tribute to Her Son

Heather has seven tattoos.<br /><br />The one I noticed that led me to approach her is not the one you're about to see. It is on her foot and, in her opinion, slightly "flawed," so she chose to share one that is nearer and dearer to her heart:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7xper4nSDAnRdWFa3FVLosn7yB-PhWd6sVb3Wfw4ICYOde0JiK0bZ4ywxd7Ix4COpLYULHjfZ6jUEzhSo9sPa_LgWKLaCyFb9ptU9zWNWBiY4DU1bz_UJD0DPxpg8g_4QQh8MemXI/s1600/Vegas.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452133878710622370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7xper4nSDAnRdWFa3FVLosn7yB-PhWd6sVb3Wfw4ICYOde0JiK0bZ4ywxd7Ix4COpLYULHjfZ6jUEzhSo9sPa_LgWKLaCyFb9ptU9zWNWBiY4DU1bz_UJD0DPxpg8g_4QQh8MemXI/s400/Vegas.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 148px; height: 400px;" /></a><br />The tattoo marks the birth date 3-28-99 and spells out the name Vegas, for her son.<br /><br />What's particularly cool about this tattoo, which is on Heather's outer left forearm, is not just that she spells out her son's name in kids' building blocks, but that these blocks are also dice, which acknowledges the name Vegas, and its link to the city which is built on chance and luck.<br /><br />Other images that ring the name are a slot machine, a horseshoe, and a hand of cards featuring four aces. The colorful dice/blocks also feature some traditional tattoo designs, including the standard "Mom" design (on the A block).<br /><br />This great tattoo was completed in two sittings and was done by <a href="http://www.myspace.com/vintagebaba">Baba</a>, who works out of <a href="http://www.vintagetattooartparlor.com/">Vintage Tattoo Art Parlor</a> in Los Angeles.<br /><br />Heather also has a large back piece that she will hopefully share with us in the future,<br /><br />Thanks to Heather for sharing her wonderful tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Blocks of Lucky Ink: Heather's Tribute to Her Son

Heather has seven tattoos. The one I noticed that led me to approach her is not the one you're about to see. It is on her foot and, in h...

Read more »

Tattoos I Know: Paul's Love, Over His Heart

On this Valentine's Day, I'm sharing a tattoo that my friend Paul had recently done. He showed me when I was taking the latest set of photos on <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2010/02/tattoos-i-know-paul-part-5-or-great.html">the cover-up</a> her is working on.<br /><br />He pulled down the top of his shirt to reveal this simple message:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivaGumOTJqwX9q0vW99EqQN6ejpcNxWXNb2oFSlU6qobMJIiLzX6xt9zaPNW7Pv2p8AoQlNrrXB02PVo6Npo-BXCQ2EyI6ZlyAG5_ekc5JSRUAvYFl2aYTwfnY3Fnn4VpTLdCoMFO-/s1600-h/Ana+Tejeda.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438106474697286514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivaGumOTJqwX9q0vW99EqQN6ejpcNxWXNb2oFSlU6qobMJIiLzX6xt9zaPNW7Pv2p8AoQlNrrXB02PVo6Npo-BXCQ2EyI6ZlyAG5_ekc5JSRUAvYFl2aYTwfnY3Fnn4VpTLdCoMFO-/s400/Ana+Tejeda.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" /></a><br />Paul's message to his wife is simple, but it is what is not spoken that is most remarklable. Paul always swore up and down that he would never ink a woman's name on his body. When he showed me this, I was surprised, but love can make us express ourselves in such ways, especially when we love getting tattooed.<br /><br />Paul had this done by <a href="http://fortapachestudio.com/Pierre.html">Pierre</a> at <a href="http://fortapachestudio.com/2ndpage.html">Fort Apache Tattoo Studio</a>, just around the corner from where we work in Manhattan.<br /><br />Happy Valentine's Day from Tattoosday to Paul and Ana. Stay tunde, as there may be more Valentine's ink on the horizon!

Tattoos I Know: Paul's Love, Over His Heart

On this Valentine's Day, I'm sharing a tattoo that my friend Paul had recently done. He showed me when I was taking the latest set o...

Read more »

Bill's Ink Honors Generations Past and Future

I met Bill in mid-September on the 34th Street train platform while waiting for a downtown A train.<br /><br />You may have heard of the scent known as a "new car smell". Bill had whatis known as a "new tattoo sheen," which occurs when one anoints a fresh tattoo with a healing ointment used to protect the ink.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEExMvZqiTP_ZkYSF70u6b6cUKSHZBmUb6F8TOf_5kZ-4PlvHaCsuSHoc5XZF3IWIY_kz2_JRZkv9Y26KlL_uNCQLPXifcFDsAcjglo0x1zomA2oo_AufZoJChj6TwEoIVtnBzq7Di/s1600-h/giff+graveyard+2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394989005805584306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEExMvZqiTP_ZkYSF70u6b6cUKSHZBmUb6F8TOf_5kZ-4PlvHaCsuSHoc5XZF3IWIY_kz2_JRZkv9Y26KlL_uNCQLPXifcFDsAcjglo0x1zomA2oo_AufZoJChj6TwEoIVtnBzq7Di/s400/giff+graveyard+2.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" /></a><br />The tattoo depicts himself, seen from the back, standing in reverence at the graves of his grandfather "Giff" and his uncle Giff Jr.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisa4jMKsWhdmE8ia9Z6ZHx-LVlP8HQM2ZbE-0a0iQZrWddSsL5TFOmD3sgwUgcQ8_XKo04SoTvZw4fmPt96PV3e95OHaoPMd992OYoelG668w3V2LDm6AptLBkllRmum5fmvHI2J_g/s1600-h/giff+graveyard.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394989161186559250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisa4jMKsWhdmE8ia9Z6ZHx-LVlP8HQM2ZbE-0a0iQZrWddSsL5TFOmD3sgwUgcQ8_XKo04SoTvZw4fmPt96PV3e95OHaoPMd992OYoelG668w3V2LDm6AptLBkllRmum5fmvHI2J_g/s400/giff+graveyard.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 136px; height: 400px;" /></a><br />It's a nice way to memorialize his family. This was inked by Aaron at <a href="http://www.redrockettattoo.com/">Red Rocket Tattoo East</a>, in Levittown on Long Island.<br /><br />Bill has a great tattoo on his outer right forearm, as well. Whereas his left arm is a memorial to those in his family that passed before him, his other piece pays tribute to a newer generation:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx_9eY1KTfLHGCoWKHfgWiRur0rmASZrb6Uh-TfRZKY_V0p4RtXCPO19qIt2NaGwk7IczyEC4hCRbEyio36SD3ScuVEULTlYHD-DrzvEXHcHVkDm7IuHp1gw0XHvHTp6MgfG5FByLV/s1600-h/allana.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394988846365714450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx_9eY1KTfLHGCoWKHfgWiRur0rmASZrb6Uh-TfRZKY_V0p4RtXCPO19qIt2NaGwk7IczyEC4hCRbEyio36SD3ScuVEULTlYHD-DrzvEXHcHVkDm7IuHp1gw0XHvHTp6MgfG5FByLV/s400/allana.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 134px;" /></a><br />In this piece, two traditional swallows hold aloft a banner bearing the name of his daughter, Allana.<br /><br />This tattoo, his first, was done by <a href="http://www.thetattooshop.net/greg-fly.php">Greg Fly</a> at <a href="http://www.thetattooshop.net/home.php">The Tattoo Shop</a> on Rte 112 in Medford, L.I.<br /><br />Thanks to Bill for sharing his tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Bill's Ink Honors Generations Past and Future

I met Bill in mid-September on the 34th Street train platform while waiting for a downtown A train. You may have heard of the scent known as...

Read more »

Alyssa's Arabic Ink

It wasn't Alyssa I approached on a Friday afternoon outside of <a href="http://www.thegarden.com/">Madison Square Garden</a>, but her friend, who had several visible tattoos.<br /><br />However, the friend was unhappy with all of her ink, so I asked if anyone else standing with her if they had work they'd like to share.<br /><br />Alyssa offered up this Arabic tattoo, behind her right ear:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEVKQCsO0V2sVFlphKw1QaqaHPyBJTNsldPpYJuNtPl_Ww5YBWWLNWF6eS8uWTHi1e5XZ_l0Y3Io_UQvT7aaFk2WA-wKYiHVrtrAJ4elg29T-1o2EhCQrDlYpEAyWN3ypiRwGLZFnG/s1600-h/Alyssa+Name.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391366030416648690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEVKQCsO0V2sVFlphKw1QaqaHPyBJTNsldPpYJuNtPl_Ww5YBWWLNWF6eS8uWTHi1e5XZ_l0Y3Io_UQvT7aaFk2WA-wKYiHVrtrAJ4elg29T-1o2EhCQrDlYpEAyWN3ypiRwGLZFnG/s400/Alyssa+Name.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" /></a><br />The script is the transliteration of her name, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alyssa">Alyssa</a>, which she said means "flourishing" in Greek.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv15hyphenhyphenlaVzPJpctdoyi3kx53UVfNNv4IBy1ovs89QlhGd5E6GYG1H9HctBdiQ00kiNMm-A2Gb8KAip4oQJ0I34e0kXaGaP27v7KNuKfhinbpGVmtsxyzXhpDm-V1U-fWN-5FFnR5tx/s1600-h/Alyssa+Name+closeup.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391365620326111890" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv15hyphenhyphenlaVzPJpctdoyi3kx53UVfNNv4IBy1ovs89QlhGd5E6GYG1H9HctBdiQ00kiNMm-A2Gb8KAip4oQJ0I34e0kXaGaP27v7KNuKfhinbpGVmtsxyzXhpDm-V1U-fWN-5FFnR5tx/s400/Alyssa+Name+closeup.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 211px;" /></a><br />Definitions I have found point to it meaning "rational," or "noble," rather than "flourishing". Nonetheless, it is widely regarded as a very pretty name.<br /><br />This was tattooed at <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/crazy-fantasy-tattoo-new-york">Crazy Fantasy Tattoo</a> in Manhattan. Work from that shop previously posted on Tattoosday can be seen <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/search/label/Crazy%20Fantasy%20Tattoo">here</a>.<br /><br />It just so happened I recently read the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Arabic-Tattoos-Jon-Udelson/dp/0977985083/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255176955&sr=8-1">Arabic Tattoos</a> compiled by Jon Udelson. It's an interesting look at the phenomenon of the increase in popularity of Arabic script tattoos, and well worth a gander.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=bill03-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=0977985083" style="width: 120px; height: 240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><br /></div><br />My favorite Arabic tattoo that has appeared on Tattoosday is <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2008/08/thea-illuminates-music.html">this one</a>.<br /><br />Thanks to Alyssa for sharing her tattoo with us here on the site!

Alyssa's Arabic Ink

It wasn't Alyssa I approached on a Friday afternoon outside of Madison Square Garden , but her friend, who had several visible tattoos. ...

Read more »

Geraldine's Joseph (With a Nod to Green Day)

It was my boldest moment as a tattoo solicitor to date. A half-dozen or so <a href="http://www.greenday.com/vma/vma_splash.html">Green Day</a> fans were decamped in the early afternoon near the artist entrance at <a href="http://www.thegarden.com/">Madison Square Garden</a>. Green Day was playing that night and I saw one person inked, a woman, but I chose to announce to all: "I write a tattoo blog and was wondering if any of you had Green Day tattoos?"<br /><br />Sadly the answer was "no," or, I should say, not exactly.<br /><br />The woman I spotted before spoke up and we chatted about her ink. She was okay having me take the following photo, one of the few I've posted in which you can identify the tattoo contributor:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJuOp5_LCSDgR1-jba9XC8EkgLpMOE1GFTPdkw3cIoY6lVuTM1yV9TsKCZtF8Lhj1ybQRyC6rwmJ_bWyCiKDkDG9CRTZPhyClwQAgcfBkRNWqb23-MSyuakw0szmc6H2gOIkogQaYfOJM/s1600-h/Geraldine.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371834684716005042" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJuOp5_LCSDgR1-jba9XC8EkgLpMOE1GFTPdkw3cIoY6lVuTM1yV9TsKCZtF8Lhj1ybQRyC6rwmJ_bWyCiKDkDG9CRTZPhyClwQAgcfBkRNWqb23-MSyuakw0szmc6H2gOIkogQaYfOJM/s400/Geraldine.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" /></a><br />Her name is Geraldine and the tattoo she is displaying is a memorial piece for an ex-boyfriend who recently passed away.<br /><br />Joseph was a musician and died of a heroin overdose.<br /><br />Geraldine is a huge Green Day fan and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billie_Joe_Armstrong">Billie Joe Armstrong</a>, lead singer for the band, has the name Joseph on his arm, in honor of his son.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin8vHbqHnJlCmvOGEqGPWWICFNKOrKl1bRIVVgLa12dBTw4lVuCzDcrrgaGjI7HLGhUP1nEetgSEexnoDDvwMu8uH-DRmSuK9YK1kS9aRjoR78qd5CZlo05FfQhtVRhJ_dyJN_iiU_fnk/s1600-h/josepfbest1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371834199703339586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin8vHbqHnJlCmvOGEqGPWWICFNKOrKl1bRIVVgLa12dBTw4lVuCzDcrrgaGjI7HLGhUP1nEetgSEexnoDDvwMu8uH-DRmSuK9YK1kS9aRjoR78qd5CZlo05FfQhtVRhJ_dyJN_iiU_fnk/s400/josepfbest1.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 246px; height: 400px;" /></a><br />Geraldine chose the same font as Billie Joe's Joseph tattoo and noted that, in the song "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Of_Suburbia">Jesus of Suburbia</a>" the first three letters of each word in the song title spell out the first three letters in the name Joseph.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIVwXCIODPnT3dBjVsoQrX9JjzJnq1etZ9Q7Pu8EY8C1vRuofGM4fB7dBrMTFJudvn59uMBkBA0quF3mstYS8o-Wd3dQ6gN_sQx2xys5XKXRcFVPYbll71OJ5evfR_D3LQu341cpLsYns/s1600-h/Joseph.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371834593989775266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIVwXCIODPnT3dBjVsoQrX9JjzJnq1etZ9Q7Pu8EY8C1vRuofGM4fB7dBrMTFJudvn59uMBkBA0quF3mstYS8o-Wd3dQ6gN_sQx2xys5XKXRcFVPYbll71OJ5evfR_D3LQu341cpLsYns/s400/Joseph.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 253px;" /></a><br />She had this tattoo at <a href="http://www.inkincnewyork.com/">Ink Inc.</a> in Kingston, New York.<br /><br />Thanks to Geraldine for sharing her story and tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Geraldine's Joseph (With a Nod to Green Day)

It was my boldest moment as a tattoo solicitor to date. A half-dozen or so Green Day fans were decamped in the early afternoon near the art...

Read more »

The Tattooed Poets Project: Guy LeCharles Gonzalez Presents A Bat from Jersey and a Honeymoon Memento

Today's tattoos are presented by the poet <a href="http://loudpoet.com/">Guy LeCharles Gonzalez</a>.<br /><br />The first one is a bat:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP9pmbwwDiNMM7s2aOctrjFzxmy54iuzJxDj2P8KZV-U5BCExj1A-XgmXIUcWfkVUkdmJU07wwOI1HzZTEhKQIsFIF9WU3drOgKG55ua54iLJwPffizd_2ZALTYYR_ullC8kDr9jIV6YA/s1600-h/guy-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325669821312868722" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP9pmbwwDiNMM7s2aOctrjFzxmy54iuzJxDj2P8KZV-U5BCExj1A-XgmXIUcWfkVUkdmJU07wwOI1HzZTEhKQIsFIF9WU3drOgKG55ua54iLJwPffizd_2ZALTYYR_ullC8kDr9jIV6YA/s400/guy-1.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 318px; height: 309px;" /></a><br />Guy explains:<br /><br /><blockquote>"I got the first tattoo, a stylized bat, back in 1995 somewhere in New Jersey; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toms_River,_New_Jersey">Toms River</a>, maybe? I'd resisted the urge to get one while I was on active duty in the Army, not wanting something stereotypical that I'd hate or regret a few years later, but a friend of mine had finally psyched herself up, and convinced me and another friend to head down to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_shore">Jersey Shore</a> and do the deed as a group. Before we got to the Shore, which seemed much further away than we thought it was, we passed a small tattoo parlor on the side of the road and decided to go there instead. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman">Batman</a> has always been my favorite superhero, appealing on a number of levels, but I figured the logo would be too cheesy for a tattoo, and picked out a bat from the artist's sketchbook, tweaked it a little bit, and voila! I still love it to this day."</blockquote><br />The second tattoo Guy sent was this:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXAZiKFHRl7i0km6ojK8a5WP5hTSQ5YxBy0HOu_jCwlejTfTbP1P9BRyOtQK_iIxNW0qYFxTed_mmIMmT2VhhUSCdPcVEqhuXQhgnO15j-cjTEJ-1cdihgzslTYgqgZiwTCaZVGtACYug/s1600-h/guy-2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325669874818741794" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXAZiKFHRl7i0km6ojK8a5WP5hTSQ5YxBy0HOu_jCwlejTfTbP1P9BRyOtQK_iIxNW0qYFxTed_mmIMmT2VhhUSCdPcVEqhuXQhgnO15j-cjTEJ-1cdihgzslTYgqgZiwTCaZVGtACYug/s400/guy-2.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 145px;" /></a><br />Guy continues:<br /><br /><blockquote>"I got the second tattoo, a pseudo-tribal band with my wife's name in the middle, on the second-to-last day of our honeymoon in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancun">Cancun</a> in July 1998. There was a tattoo parlor in one of the flea market/shopping districts up near the elbow of the strip that seemed pretty clean -- despite the handful of teenagers getting tattoos they would certainly regret a few years later -- and against our better judgment, we both decided to get our second tattoos, each incorporating the other's name. We'll celebrate our 11th anniversary this summer, and before then we both intend to have those tattoos tweaked; I'd like mine to be bigger and have more of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayan">Mayan</a> flavor to<br />it as I've always felt a connection to that culture, even before our trips to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yucatan">Yucatan</a>."</blockquote>Thanks to Guy for sharing these tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br />Please head over to BillyBlog and check out one of his poems <a href="http://oxypoet.blogspot.com/2009/04/tattooed-poets-series-day-23-guy.html">here</a>.

The Tattooed Poets Project: Guy LeCharles Gonzalez Presents A Bat from Jersey and a Honeymoon Memento

Today's tattoos are presented by the poet Guy LeCharles Gonzalez . The first one is a bat: Guy explains: "I got the first tattoo, a...

Read more »

Casey's Name Transcends Generations

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX487jnBRxxNP8cnUSQYLqgJu1V3tA5ZU6gdK56n4zmcYiXgacEwv3Q8FZVYowejwO0jRq_ORK1p4WEtV4C7vmcpDzzubMx2Qx1XuUmguyZtx8M0kUTv9ZLKU4FJ7GGnewuhA4PDFGb1xZ/s1600-h/casey-detail.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288412645836869842" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX487jnBRxxNP8cnUSQYLqgJu1V3tA5ZU6gdK56n4zmcYiXgacEwv3Q8FZVYowejwO0jRq_ORK1p4WEtV4C7vmcpDzzubMx2Qx1XuUmguyZtx8M0kUTv9ZLKU4FJ7GGnewuhA4PDFGb1xZ/s400/casey-detail.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 334px; height: 400px;" /></a><br />I met Casey while passing through Penn Station. He was waiting for the Amtrak to his home in Rhode Island. I spotted his neck tattoo and asked him about it because it was not your typical neck piece. He was very enthusiastic about sharing it with Tattoosday,<br /><br />Simply, the ink, which begins on the left side of his neck and curves in a semi-circle to the right side of his neck, is his name (first, middle, and last) in Armenian.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6w7yHXIkRNFyVtVdTAo8VZP8wqAJAExF9iWzUonRtypFIevnrLXvdUWfp_ZHCrPKjHBrtEKr6jAzbbdzFPTExzURX09T5X63r_oXfcdRZQzGFwpCDPGgKFl-7I3zC-6vMWKV1hJmlJ57J/s1600-h/casey-left.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288411821004577426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6w7yHXIkRNFyVtVdTAo8VZP8wqAJAExF9iWzUonRtypFIevnrLXvdUWfp_ZHCrPKjHBrtEKr6jAzbbdzFPTExzURX09T5X63r_oXfcdRZQzGFwpCDPGgKFl-7I3zC-6vMWKV1hJmlJ57J/s400/casey-left.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjChbyHA36063b5GfszAEinkFY6_YooXi9ArLCDdT9uJV755L0WnGdWr1OjsAGYmVQakU-O1yX60ihjNFitwMJoVyCxL5kZiSBA6KP-vrku8RdCCGoO5hYaIrGRfWl6mRS7zHbvnsHKEOXD/s1600-h/casey-center.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288411595419450098" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjChbyHA36063b5GfszAEinkFY6_YooXi9ArLCDdT9uJV755L0WnGdWr1OjsAGYmVQakU-O1yX60ihjNFitwMJoVyCxL5kZiSBA6KP-vrku8RdCCGoO5hYaIrGRfWl6mRS7zHbvnsHKEOXD/s400/casey-center.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGdv9tf4ZlE4AlQAKkCGfm7IWkymHpG3GfXqjeUhlwF9zErZWFV_1kmJIIv4zzf83GoElm566XQo00KVSBeWvs1TOdWKr0YWh16OUiccEOKf3bQmwkbnY8jXbqmpNC2132jfHKstNK69jN/s1600-h/casey-right.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288411445111694514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGdv9tf4ZlE4AlQAKkCGfm7IWkymHpG3GfXqjeUhlwF9zErZWFV_1kmJIIv4zzf83GoElm566XQo00KVSBeWvs1TOdWKr0YWh16OUiccEOKf3bQmwkbnY8jXbqmpNC2132jfHKstNK69jN/s400/casey-right.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a><br />I normally don't spout opinions about people's choice of ink, but I have never understood why people tattoo their own names on their bodies. I work with many people who possess cursive renditions of their names in ink, and these tattoos don't appeal to my artistic sensibility.<br /><br />However, after speaking with Casey about his tattoo, I fully appreciate the design and meaning of the piece.<br /><br />One remarkable thing about the tattoo, in my opinion, is that it is inked in a language that is not commonly seen on skin, in this country at least. I have featured <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/search/label/kanji" style="font-style: italic;">kanji</a>, <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2008/08/what-doesnt-kill-you-makes-you-stronger.html">Hebrew</a>, and <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2008/08/thea-illuminates-music.html">Arabic</a>, but never Armenian. The name inscribed in another language, especially when it honors one's family<br />heritage, elevates the art and carves deeper meaning into the flesh.<br /><br />What makes this piece even more phenomenal is that the handwriting of Casey's name belongs to his grandfather. He went to him and asked for him to write the name out in the language of the Old Country, with the express desire to have it tattooed. And his grandfather not only gave his blessing, but loves the finished product.<br /><br />In this way, Casey has created a tribute to his heritage, as well to as his grandfather, and is able to convey that respect for the past. It will also be a constant reminder for him to remember his grandfather and the roots from whence he came.<br /><br />The piece was inked by his friend <a href="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=9817253">Jesus</a>, who was not affiliated with a shop at the time he got the tattoo 2 1/2 years ago, but is now working at <a href="http://www.myspace.com/getwickedink">Wicked Ink Tattoo</a> in Riverside, Rhode Island.<br /><br />As a bonus, on two-for-Tattoosday, Casey showed me his other tattoo that is inked on his right bicep:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWaYdgx_42bl2zgZ5MCOw3o-8yMaZZfbD4faAgdWUKExVHs4VQCIWrpxraG2eBqfNTxU7PSfvXALF26QjuqM7X8qfHXQvZbhg08m5wtk3La6VRn6qd3iRw532efkQ5r4znWkcmugkblSBO/s1600-h/yankees.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288411276680117378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWaYdgx_42bl2zgZ5MCOw3o-8yMaZZfbD4faAgdWUKExVHs4VQCIWrpxraG2eBqfNTxU7PSfvXALF26QjuqM7X8qfHXQvZbhg08m5wtk3La6VRn6qd3iRw532efkQ5r4znWkcmugkblSBO/s400/yankees.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 310px; height: 400px;" /></a><br />"So you're a Yankees fan?" I asked, smiling.<br /><br />Casey corrected me, "It's a memorial piece for my cousin J.J. who was a devoted fan".<br /><br />J.J. died at the too-young age of 26 and the tattoo was supposed to include the text "J.J. - Rest in Peace," but he didn't have time to finish it. There are plans to complete the memorial in the next month, and I hope to post the final version here in the future.<br /><br />I must say that I have seen tattoos of the "NY" logo for the Yankees, but this piece is one of the best I've seen, just based on its size and sheer brightness of color. The deeper meaning as a memorial for a close relative makes the tattoo even better, in my opinion.<br /><br />Thanks again to Casey for sharing both tattoos with us here at Tattoosday!

Casey's Name Transcends Generations

I met Casey while passing through Penn Station. He was waiting for the Amtrak to his home in Rhode Island. I spotted his neck tattoo and ask...

Read more »

Honoring His Son

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjf5tZa1bMiwk1Ycw_4IaFGK6JllPqEI4DaYNE3wfFCwCWuuOmmWaaGe4hgeXouTt_1KFf6lxrJxYnSN3j-G8hZP54NUb_RSRd2GybbC2rn4WAYa0Sd4xg4gBHpOeKjOt4v_ZROpTl5EhC/s1600-h/PICT0083.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222805639102600114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjf5tZa1bMiwk1Ycw_4IaFGK6JllPqEI4DaYNE3wfFCwCWuuOmmWaaGe4hgeXouTt_1KFf6lxrJxYnSN3j-G8hZP54NUb_RSRd2GybbC2rn4WAYa0Sd4xg4gBHpOeKjOt4v_ZROpTl5EhC/s400/PICT0083.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a> I ran into Alex at the laundromat and complimented him on the name inked on his left forearm.<br /><br />The piece is a tribute to his son Julian. As a fellow father with tattoos honoring one's kids (see one of them <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2008/07/keikikalani.html">here</a>), I certainly appreciated the sentiment.<br /><br />This piece was done by an artist named Salem, who is part of the DFM crew in San Francisco.<br /><br />Another interesting fact about this piece is that it is on Alex's left forearm. Both he and his son are left-handed, and Alex's four other tattoos are on the left side of his body. He strongly believes in inking only on that side of his person and does not intend to ever ink the right side of his body.<br /><br />Thanks to Alex for sharing his ink with us here at Tattoosday!

Honoring His Son

I 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 ...

Read more »

The Return of Danielle's Ink

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPh8hd1WXom9ktgwOOVxoea2YSZbXaKjJLUn76fcWjYcDmb6KtPfUkIdEMM5px-DV7DXQv6zhvRjNot4pivly-DhM8w9l3lVd67n3j-vXqXSTQALCWM2CsgQ6nWMB_b2rmGYSuwZOLspTI/s1600-h/100_7320.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206658256601435202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPh8hd1WXom9ktgwOOVxoea2YSZbXaKjJLUn76fcWjYcDmb6KtPfUkIdEMM5px-DV7DXQv6zhvRjNot4pivly-DhM8w9l3lVd67n3j-vXqXSTQALCWM2CsgQ6nWMB_b2rmGYSuwZOLspTI/s400/100_7320.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a> I first ran into Danielle <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2007/10/hawaiian-in-brooklyn.html">here</a>, back in the Fall of '07.<br /><br />Her upper arm tattoo jumped out at me then, as it isn't often you see Hawaiian words in Broolyn, and it jumped out the other day, when I had just come off the subway.<br /><br />Last time I saw her, she had a burn on her right forearm, close to her other tattoo. So I took a rain check and cashed it 7 months later.<br /><br />What looks initially like a few squiggles is actually a more complex piece she designed herself.<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danielle">Danielle</a> is the feminine form of the name Daniel. She appreciates the meaning of her name, in Hebrew, which is "God is my Judge." She elaborated on her name by transforming it in a stylized fusing of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew">Hebrew</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aramaic">Aramaic</a> script. One familiar with either language can see, deep down, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daled" style="font-style: italic;">daled</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nun_%28letter%29" style="font-style: italic;">nun</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yodh" style="font-style: italic;">yud</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamedh" style="font-style: italic;">lamed</a>.<br /><br />Very cool design.<br /><br />This piece, like the Hawaiian inscription, was inked at <a href="http://www.funcitytattoo.com/">Funcity Tattoo</a> in the East Village. The artist was Joe.<br /><br />Thanks again to Danielle for sharing her ink here on Tattoosday!

The Return of Danielle's Ink

I first ran into Danielle here , back in the Fall of '07. Her upper arm tattoo jumped out at me then, as it isn't often you see Haw...

Read more »

Tattoos from the Blogosphere: More of Mat's Ink

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXFvY18kK3FJ9wLt58tbeqlMd2P83fQgudwlP-xFIyWcKQ_XOMoqmxHw8ffTgPOOgy2Z5WD4KtrnF3SbxZ6GhNKocfG8N_nGj4ioR-kKFffDsQNjQatVNRQzKCryOlDSSxe4sUkOKmY53J/s1600-h/forearm_2.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204161364479002978" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXFvY18kK3FJ9wLt58tbeqlMd2P83fQgudwlP-xFIyWcKQ_XOMoqmxHw8ffTgPOOgy2Z5WD4KtrnF3SbxZ6GhNKocfG8N_nGj4ioR-kKFffDsQNjQatVNRQzKCryOlDSSxe4sUkOKmY53J/s400/forearm_2.png" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />Back in April, I posted an incredible back piece that was sent to me by a comrade in the blogosphere, <a href="http://www.matgiordano.com/">Mat Giordano</a>. Revisit it <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2008/03/tattoos-from-blogosphere-introducing.html">here</a>. Totally worth it.<br /><br />Shortly after sending me the elephant pictures, he sent me these, to add to the mix. I thought it was time to be a good blogger and share. Full disclosure: these are in Houston, photographed and sent by someone I've never met, but have spoken to on line.<br /><br />Nonetheless, it's amazing ink, and Mat is a multimedia designer, so his work is pretty interesting.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUeU1KLgu777m4dOvqJv_h7jXXGPeEXe5iQMnvPtWjqC0VIBjhmDD52Aq1F5Km1jS5i3Jk460AcfDlNg8L7ECt_n94zsN_e0xB1PqS31ycGpvfQkHpRylSwkCMjdFz9_t5l56jexNzbt_s/s1600-h/forearmFresh.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204161274284689746" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUeU1KLgu777m4dOvqJv_h7jXXGPeEXe5iQMnvPtWjqC0VIBjhmDD52Aq1F5Km1jS5i3Jk460AcfDlNg8L7ECt_n94zsN_e0xB1PqS31ycGpvfQkHpRylSwkCMjdFz9_t5l56jexNzbt_s/s400/forearmFresh.png" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />So, what's with this flower? Here's an excerpt from our chat (edited and abbreviated):<br /><br /><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; text-indent: -1em;"><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me</span>: What's the <span class="nfakPe">flower</span>?</span></span><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; text-indent: -1em;"><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mat</span>: Sort of a mutation of a hibiscus</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em;"><span>unrealistic color scheme </span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em;"><span>but what was in my head;<br />I just didn't know it until I saw Travis' stencil.<br /></span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; text-indent: -1em;"><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me</span>: did you do the design or was it a collaborative </span></span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; text-indent: -1em;"><span> effort with Travis [the artist]?</span></span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; text-indent: -1em;"><span></span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; text-indent: -1em;"><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mat</span>: I never design my tattoos</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em;"><span>just ideas</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em;"><span>I realize my place as a designer</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em;"><span>I'm not a tattoo artist</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em;"><span>lots of designers make the mistake of designing their own tattoos and being very adamant about what the tattoo artist should do</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em;"><span>instead of letting them fly at what they are best at</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; text-indent: -1em;"><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me</span>: Agreed</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; text-indent: -1em;"><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mat</span>: I say "I'd sort of like this" </span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; text-indent: -1em;"><span> and say "tattoo what you think belongs there".</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em;"><span>This was a special one for me</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; text-indent: -1em;"><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me</span>: Why special?</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; text-indent: -1em;"><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mat</span>: It was the pink-to-red gradient of the hibiscus plants that I planted in the driveway of the first home I had with ... my little boy Jack</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em;"><span>whose name you can see on my wrist at the end.</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em;"><span>Every morning when I'd be leaving to go create things for a living,</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em;"><span>I'd see it open in the driveway</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em;"><span>one on each side</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em;"><span>so past that, being in Houston now, it's nice to look at it and remember</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em;"><span>I was there this past weekend and all those feelings came rushing back like a tidal wave</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; text-indent: -1em;"><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me</span>: The hibiscus (maybe all flowers) can carry such emotional weight as symbols of places...I grew up in Hawai'i where the hibiscus is the state <span class="nfakPe">flower</span> and to me it just represents <span style="font-style: italic;">home</span></span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"></span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; text-indent: -1em;"><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mat</span>: Wow, so you can sort of relate how I feel about the relations of a <span class="nfakPe">flower</span> symbolizing comforts of home</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em;"><span>or symbols of anything that carry emotional weight, I suppose</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; text-indent: -1em;"><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me</span>: Absolutely, especially when they are so significant to a specific time and place.</span></span></div><br />As you can see, interesting discussion about the emotional weight behind tattoos as symbols of not only the abstract (the idea of 'home'), but of concrete places as well.<br /><br />Later on, Mat elaborated : "I couldn't really understand, beyond the fact that Travis is a great friend of mine, why my mind immediately wanted those colors [in the hibiscus] he predetermined right before we started, until I realized the weight of what they meant in my subconscious, which fortunately made its way through a pretty muddy network to my conscious so I could relay it to the artist. Thankfully, Travis can read me pretty well, in turn cutting plenty of my mindless stares and utters out of the time frame."<br /><br />Mat has communicated about tattoos with me on a level more cereberally than anyone I have met since Tattoosday began. He's above and beyond the "I-liked-the-art-on-the-wall" mentality, which is fine for many people.<br /><br />Below is a shot of Travis Stanley, the artist at <a href="http://713tattoo.com/index.html">713 Tattoo Parlour</a>, in Houston, Texas, working on Mat's flower tattoo.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4rWJLKo7lDHspzWNEgIMBRSMtwUD-QGeiNofQEV0bZGv6oZscuHcgzsUmyO-YArIq4rSK3qX4-va4KC-dBFsTLPAPGxDWHFHRLSjxO2nVEWLrYQCepTkxQyrfMR7F-nZcnZlcoj6a64xf/s1600-h/forearm_1.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204160874852731202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4rWJLKo7lDHspzWNEgIMBRSMtwUD-QGeiNofQEV0bZGv6oZscuHcgzsUmyO-YArIq4rSK3qX4-va4KC-dBFsTLPAPGxDWHFHRLSjxO2nVEWLrYQCepTkxQyrfMR7F-nZcnZlcoj6a64xf/s400/forearm_1.png" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a>And finally, a cool shot of Mat's wrists:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy98gDuVKYky-erq2m84VztJV7araXJtgQmQGWHz4FcdDZEwbJAioef9Y9XXXyXr4y4ATSHtlA8jlDNklns_EfBTQBBlk0FxzntW6DnV_hFLyV3VLkwQW14-HWYQejC7g_UaGj0RKkvIwY/s1600-h/-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204161450378348914" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy98gDuVKYky-erq2m84VztJV7araXJtgQmQGWHz4FcdDZEwbJAioef9Y9XXXyXr4y4ATSHtlA8jlDNklns_EfBTQBBlk0FxzntW6DnV_hFLyV3VLkwQW14-HWYQejC7g_UaGj0RKkvIwY/s400/-1.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />Jack, as mentioned above, is his son. The name was inked by Marc da Sharc at <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/i-drive-tattoo-orlando">I-Drive Tattoo</a> in Orlando, Florida. Marc da Sharc also did the other piece, but at the aforementioned 713 Tattoo Parlour. For those unfamiliar with the design, it is the symbol for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinity">infinity</a>. Mat specifically wanted to clarify that the placement of that symbol on his wrist "by no means was a decision based on how long he thinks he'll be around".<br /><br />Thanks again to Mat for sharing his tattoos here!<br /><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em;"><span></span></span>

Tattoos from the Blogosphere: More of Mat's Ink

Back in April, I posted an incredible back piece that was sent to me by a comrade in the blogosphere, Mat Giordano . Revisit it here . Total...

Read more »