Familiar Ink: Meister Returns to Tattoosday with an Awesome NYC Tattoo

There's something therapeutic about running posts of work I spotted over the summer. The warmth from these encounters is brightening these winter days.<br /><br />Case in point, on a bike ride out to Coney Island, I was cruising along the boardwalk when I spotted a woman on a bench, reading a book. She had tattoos so, naturally, I stopped.<br /><br />It was after I introduced myself that she recognized me, and I saw the sparrows on the backs of her calves. This was Meister, who had contributed back in January 2012 <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2012/01/meisters-memorial-sparrows.html">here</a>.<br /><br />Meister blogs at <a href="http://www.thenervouscook.com/">The Nervous Cook</a> and is a <a href="http://www.seriouseats.com/user/profile/NervousCook">food writer</a> and coffee columnist. Now, she is a repeat subject on Tattoosday. I first met her in December 2011 on 23rd Street and 7th Avenue in Manhattan. Here we were, 19 months later, in another borough and another season.<br /><br />What would have been impossible to see in the winter, was now visible in the summer, and Meister rolled up her shorts and shared this awesome tattoo on her thigh:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghmm09g1wMcfHqzmMzvnTa5IbCsOJavBepvlY0u6-Ko7w85FiPWp9pukZ6JYj4APa8VD0VrPjklr6PCWtCz6gOJbU5wWXPTe9bVEr82kDUC8_H5KMllozkm5rsv7Eqj2jTVb5d_EB4TLQ/s1600/Meister.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghmm09g1wMcfHqzmMzvnTa5IbCsOJavBepvlY0u6-Ko7w85FiPWp9pukZ6JYj4APa8VD0VrPjklr6PCWtCz6gOJbU5wWXPTe9bVEr82kDUC8_H5KMllozkm5rsv7Eqj2jTVb5d_EB4TLQ/s640/Meister.JPG" width="358" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />This is, if you look at it closely, an aerial view of world-famous Central Park. Meister explained:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">"It's a map of Central Park, with some birds, and a little squirrely-o ... I love Central Park, it's my favorite part of New York City and I wanted to honor it ...it's my home. And on the other [thigh] I plan to get a lake in my husband's home town, which is Oklahoma City, to finish it off, my last piece, but I've been hesitating because it will be my last piece of work..."</blockquote><br />In addition to the red-tailed hawk and the New York City pigeon, there's a peacock because, as Meister explained, "I was running past the park the day that the peacock escaped" from the Central Park Zoo. You can re-visit that newsworthy event <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/peacock-escapes-central-park-zoo-roaming-upper-east-side-article-1.946075">here</a>.<br /><br />Like her previous work featured here, Meister had this done by <a href="http://myleskarr.tumblr.com/">Myles Karr</a>. If you're going to stick with one artist, Myles is among the best to choose from. He's currently with the amazing shop <a href="http://threekingstattoo.com/">Three Kings Tattoo</a>, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Myles and the good people at Three Kings have had work featured on Tattoosday many times before. Click <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/search/label/Myles%20Karr">here</a> to see everything from Myles on Tattoosday and <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/search/label/Three%20Kings%20Tattoo">here</a> to see all the work from Three Kings we've showcased.<br /><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 ©2014 Tattoosday.</span></span></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-72fa81df-63a2-bf70-bd22-843d7b4fc8bf"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span><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. 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Familiar Ink: Meister Returns to Tattoosday with an Awesome NYC Tattoo

There's something therapeutic about running posts of work I spotted over the summer. The warmth from these encounters is brightening the...

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¡Squirrel Libre!

I spotted Eliza at the Atlantic Avenue subway station several Saturdays ago.<br /><br />She has several tattoos, but this one, on her right arm, seemed the most appropriate to share:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqisqVw0HZy-nMD9ldp_Pm6upFmFa9RzhjrlBEWsTjZvWxTE0jeZzhp3jPvZwmwksH1uVZ-FHGV8IUHKHnUXZdNlo_Sv1cTukPaioAc0aBpcVi9nuF_nmz7B9ttsc6UZKn-oaaR-FZ/s1600-h/squirrel.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387939275216337154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqisqVw0HZy-nMD9ldp_Pm6upFmFa9RzhjrlBEWsTjZvWxTE0jeZzhp3jPvZwmwksH1uVZ-FHGV8IUHKHnUXZdNlo_Sv1cTukPaioAc0aBpcVi9nuF_nmz7B9ttsc6UZKn-oaaR-FZ/s400/squirrel.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 148px; height: 400px;" /></a><br />This is, of course, a squirrel, which was chosen because Eliza has the nickname of Squirrel.<br /><br />Why Squirrel?<br /><br />Eliza grew up in rural Arkansas in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozark_mountains">Ozark Mountains</a>. "When I was younger," she told me, "I hunted and shot squirrel".<br /><br />Of course, I had to ask what squirrel tasted like. "Like chicken," she answered, and then clarified, "the dark meat".<br /><br />As for the head of the squirrel, Eliza confirmed what I thought, the tattoo sports a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luchador" style="font-style: italic;">Lucha Libre</a> Mexican-style wrestling mask.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyAdJL4KeinN9RebQFFxNsxWtAhXK8CEJ5NBS8cX0b1An0fQaT0I5Dc_o0nvM1fvx4AMo2WFhYhSNKCk3b_-_pvJS31MzzKWlLJlQ8ueaXsYuOzM4WgxlL3P-LGgYzaBXl1ERGLWyx/s1600-h/squirrel+head.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387939179796700274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyAdJL4KeinN9RebQFFxNsxWtAhXK8CEJ5NBS8cX0b1An0fQaT0I5Dc_o0nvM1fvx4AMo2WFhYhSNKCk3b_-_pvJS31MzzKWlLJlQ8ueaXsYuOzM4WgxlL3P-LGgYzaBXl1ERGLWyx/s400/squirrel+head.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 340px; height: 400px;" /></a><br />Eliza explained that she wanted the squirrel to be like her, kind of "sassafrass". I thought I knew what she meant, but not being familiar with rural American dialect, I asked her to clarify. "Sassafrass," she smiled, "is sorta wild and crazy".<br /><br />The piece was inked at <a href="http://www.southsidetattoos.com/">Southside Tattoo</a> in Austin, Texas, by <a href="http://www.hub-tattoo.com/">Michael Norris</a>.<br /><br />A hearty thanks to Eliza and her cool squirrel tattoo from us here at Tattoosday!

¡Squirrel Libre!

I spotted Eliza at the Atlantic Avenue subway station several Saturdays ago. She has several tattoos, but this one, on her right arm, seeme...

Read more »