A New Tattoo on Friday the 13th, or, the Templar of My Familiar

<br /><div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">People familiar with Tattoosday have seen my Friday the 13th tattoo posts. Melanie has two and I have one, and I remember watching enviously when she got her first (<a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2009/03/friday-13th-tattoosday-adventure.html">here</a>), but it was her birthday, so it didn't make sense for me to get one then.</div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Someone commented on the site back then that I should check out <a href="http://www.threekingstattoo.com/site/">Three Kings Tattoo</a> in Brooklyn, that we wouldn't have to have to wait all day like at <a href="http://www.daredeviltattoo.com/">Dare Devil</a>, but when the next opportunity came along, we were already looking at <a href="http://handofglorytattoo.com/">Hand of Glory</a>, which was a little closer to home. </div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">This past January, we missed our chance and as our turned out, HOG was packed and a late arrival would have been for naught.</div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">But there are three Friday the Thirteenths this year, and in April, I called Three Kings. "Sorry," I was told, "we're not doing it this month." <i>Well</i>, I thought, <i>there's always July</i>.</div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">However, it didn't look good for July. My company is closing and as head of Human Resources, I have been coordinating and overseeing layoffs. We had twenty separations scheduled for Friday the Thirteenth.</div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I didn't want to wait until next May, so I reached out to <a href="http://www.threekingstattoo.com/site/artistpage.php?artistid=9&picid=1235&page=1">Alex Mcwatt</a> at Three Kings to see if maybe they could squeeze me in. Not really following the first-come first-served rule, but I thought having showed his work on Tattoosday before (<a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2012/06/remembering-king-of-pop-three-years.html">here</a>, <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2012/06/blaise-unique-sugar-skull.html">here</a>, and <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2009/04/tattooed-poets-project-meredith-ss.html">here</a>) and showcasing a lot of work from  the other amazingly talented artists at the shop (a full history <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/search/label/Three%20Kings%20Tattoo">here</a>), he might consider it. The worst he could do was say no, right?</div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Alex promptly replied, but he had an unexpected response. My heart sank when he told me they were no longer doing the event. However, he did say he would tattoo me with a piece of old flash if I wanted, just without the Friday the Thirteenth mayhem.</div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I was, as you might imagine, completely stoked. I got why they decided to stop doing the event. most likely why Hand of Glory also skipped this month as well. Its a great deal if you want a cheap tattoo experience, but who can blame artists for tiring quickly of people wanting cheap experiences? Especially when many of the people getting these novelty items were not always loyal customers, but merely bargain hunters who would only show up once or twice a year to zip in, zip out, and that was that. I totally got it.</div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">It just so happened we were in the neighborhood last Sunday, so Melanie and I stopped in to meet Alex and nail down the details. We confirmed I'd come in on Friday, after a brutal day of work, and I'd pick something off the walls. I had also invited Alex to draw up something new, if he wanted, and that I would be very open and receptive to it, as long as it didn't "gross out my daughters or piss off my wife".</div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I had once been told by someone I once interviewed that he liked to go into a shop, ask an artist what they were drawing, and ask for that to be tattooed on them, if he dug the art. The concept is, an artist will be much more excited about doing something new and fresh than doing something they modified or have done before. The more enthusiastic the artist is about the design, I believe, the more care and passion they'll put into their work. That's not to say they'll do a poor job on an old piece, but they'll be happier doing something more interesting, and that can only positively impact the final product.</div><div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So, I arrived on schedule Friday and Alex showed me something new he has drawn up, a profile of a knight in armor. Way cool. I love the image and I immediately started relating to it. My name, "William," has etymological roots in Europe and derives from Wilhelm, which is a compound of will (or desire) and helm (protection).</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I had also been doing some work earlier in the week, looking at my family ancestry on my mother's side. I descend from Englishmen on one branch of the family tree and the Scottish clan Graham on another branch. The design, which he had only recently drawn up resonated with me. When I told Alex this, he nodded and said, "it was in the ether".</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">From his perspective, when they had been toying with the idea of doing more Friday the 13th flash, Alex said he had been considering drawing from Masonic and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Templar">Knights Templar</a>. There's a lot of 13 imagery in those deep mysterious traditions, and back in 1307, there was even an infamous event when a French king had many of the knights arrested on Friday, October 13. See the 13's in the date? I am oversimplifying here, but these arrests led to a wave of anti-templar frenzy in Europe and in the Catholic Church. Many of these knights were tortured and executed, and that initial date of Friday the 13th has often been cited as one of the earliest example of the superstition surrounding the unlucky thirteenth day.</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But, I digress. Let's cut to the chase. Alex did a phenomenal job:</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaTEjex7IP6akQ1wqT7XymP_IQpfsTLKuBg0LsjJjQwGAEl1mjezguEeYxSOVixRsY-lbSeza5tSUp2v0NXFeCq9MYECBduqrgixK5SYsESmI4NsZLSDYtc_meOQ5wI4tbMbmJGPJrlV8/s615/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaTEjex7IP6akQ1wqT7XymP_IQpfsTLKuBg0LsjJjQwGAEl1mjezguEeYxSOVixRsY-lbSeza5tSUp2v0NXFeCq9MYECBduqrgixK5SYsESmI4NsZLSDYtc_meOQ5wI4tbMbmJGPJrlV8/s640/photo.jpg" width="402" /></a></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This is just above my right ankle, on the outer side of my leg. The lines and shading are brilliant. The photo above was taken by Alex on my Samsung Galaxy IIs, so it is still a little bloody, but you can see what a great job he did. </span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I also got the opportunity to further support the shop by purchasing t-shirts for me and Melanie - it was her consolation for not getting new Friday the 13th ink.</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I got this classic <a href="http://www.danieltrocchio.com/">Dan Trochio</a>-designed tee:</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></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="http://www.threekingstattoo.com/shopimages/trocchionew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://www.threekingstattoo.com/shopimages/trocchionew.jpg" width="301" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">photo courtesy of Three Kings Tattoo (that's not me modeling)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">and I got Melanie this cool new shirt designed by <a href="http://joshegnew.com/home.html">Josh Egnew</a>:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></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="http://www.threekingstattoo.com/shopimages/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://www.threekingstattoo.com/shopimages/photo.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">photo courtesy of Three Kings Tattoo (that's not Melanie modeling)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You can check out a lot of other cool merchandise at the shop <a href="http://www.threekingstattoo.com/site/shop.php">here</a>. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I found the shop clean, friendly, and I saw some amazing work being done. The line-up of artists in house is one of the most talented groups in New York City. I would highly, HIGHLY recommend Three Kings to anyone looking for great custom work in Brooklyn.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Thanks again, from the bottom of my heart, to Alex McWatt, for making this an awesome Friday the Thirteenth to remember!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.09646353987045586" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you are reading this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit</span><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; 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></span></b></div>

A New Tattoo on Friday the 13th, or, the Templar of My Familiar

People familiar with Tattoosday have seen my Friday the 13th tattoo posts. Melanie has two and I have one, and I remember watching enviously...

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Another Friday the 13th & An Amazing Vargas Batgirl Tattoo from Jess

First of all, it seems appropriate to share this tattoo today:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhskrOrVFqdIKmWUTjgF3iAG3k2gWWac_W1NmNO3G4t19vKW1vAK8oT3Q_Ka7jC1PFDGC9WYytcdDaXHQ41qQ-62EVWTFVRBOtYBrVSzkrtzYltioVWj5didx4rV6R1vt_1sCnaHyIjTNk/s615/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhskrOrVFqdIKmWUTjgF3iAG3k2gWWac_W1NmNO3G4t19vKW1vAK8oT3Q_Ka7jC1PFDGC9WYytcdDaXHQ41qQ-62EVWTFVRBOtYBrVSzkrtzYltioVWj5didx4rV6R1vt_1sCnaHyIjTNk/s400/photo.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><br />This tattoo belongs to Jess, who I met walking up 8th Avenue in the high 30's earlier this week.<br /><br />It's a Friday the 13th tattoo special, inked by Sean McCartney at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/INK-ZONE-Tattoo/174849585895403">Ink Zone</a> in Yorkville, New York.<br /><br />Today is the the day when hordes of bargain-seeking ink hunters descend on shops offering up the $20 Friday the 13th-themed tattoo (that's $13 for the tattoo and a $7 tip). Two of the shops I know in Brooklyn that have done the event in the past are not doing it this month (more on that in the immediate future), but I believe Dare Devil in Manhattan is doing it again.<br /><br />But I digress...<br /><br />I posted the Friday the 13th cupcake because it was timely, but the piece that jumped out at me when I saw Jess was this, on her left arm:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX5yOccIbEwMX0Q2hJkwdbtCB9kU1KywIA6iUJYlhGCHeXSxKWROdIMuBqDifn4Cgv2oz33Oxp4KkOe-Mq0CoZm3x6Pyncbx0WEiP39cdHxbBEbHoMSt6LAHXZ08Cj20EllzxicaIT1Bk/s614/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX5yOccIbEwMX0Q2hJkwdbtCB9kU1KywIA6iUJYlhGCHeXSxKWROdIMuBqDifn4Cgv2oz33Oxp4KkOe-Mq0CoZm3x6Pyncbx0WEiP39cdHxbBEbHoMSt6LAHXZ08Cj20EllzxicaIT1Bk/s640/photo.jpg" width="312" /></a></div><br />This piece was inspired by a famous pin-up of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batgirl">Batgirl</a> by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Vargas">Alberto Vargas</a>.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLfuyBZvnvYcDdlweHo9jkj82cGg2F1-bC6wYLxgSt81JRUyWgznxhtuC5r21V7f09ZctU4xiN9f9cSSDuKtnofYEryKzTwE34KXIwa1JBvi-vUhPem-1LihYO6nwsdJJnwZIDZFELEqY/s1600/Untitled-18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLfuyBZvnvYcDdlweHo9jkj82cGg2F1-bC6wYLxgSt81JRUyWgznxhtuC5r21V7f09ZctU4xiN9f9cSSDuKtnofYEryKzTwE34KXIwa1JBvi-vUhPem-1LihYO6nwsdJJnwZIDZFELEqY/s400/Untitled-18.jpg" width="268" /></a></div><br />Jess got this tattooed because she "just loves the pin-up style".<br /><br />That tattoo was inked by <a href="http://staceymartin.com/site/">Stacey Martin</a> at <a href="http://dovetailtattoo.com/site/">Dovetail Tattoo</a> in Austin, Texas.<br /><br />Thanks to Jess for sharing both of these tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /><b id="internal-source-marker_0.5825666573364288" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you are reading this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit</span><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; 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></span></b>

Another Friday the 13th & An Amazing Vargas Batgirl Tattoo from Jess

First of all, it seems appropriate to share this tattoo today: This tattoo belongs to Jess, who I met walking up 8th Avenue in the high 30...

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Lindsey's Lucky Cat

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjElvV1xlL6lkfg-j0sNBHI6u0QkYnPsl3J2Rorbj5heueCfKDIg3hoNRKkFtW6OwyvtqLH2TFHb79paE2KtIIZ6Du6fdCROCO4N6qdmyd4iPK5enBwUJjS6ElN3CJptVR2X-qzV3TkZc/s0-d/IMG_0460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjElvV1xlL6lkfg-j0sNBHI6u0QkYnPsl3J2Rorbj5heueCfKDIg3hoNRKkFtW6OwyvtqLH2TFHb79paE2KtIIZ6Du6fdCROCO4N6qdmyd4iPK5enBwUJjS6ElN3CJptVR2X-qzV3TkZc/s0-d/IMG_0460.JPG" width="312" /></a></div><br />Growing up in Hawai'i, the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maneki-neko">Maneki-neko</a> </i>was a common sight in most homes and businesses. I still have my "lucky cat" today and always am happy to see it in people's tattoos, like in <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2012/07/jenns-robotic-tattoos-with-hand-mixer.html">this variation</a> we saw earlier this month.<br /><br />The photo above is a lucky cat belonging to Lindsey, who I met passing through Penn Station last month. She loves Japanese art and has a koi fish, a well, on her leg. The cherry blossoms on her arm are a nice touch, as well.<br /><br />This tattoo was done by Erik Desmond at <a href="http://www.horifudo.com/bio.shtml">Horifudo Tattoo</a> in Smithtown, New York.<br /><br />Thanks to Lindsey for sharing her luck with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /><b id="internal-source-marker_0.825981087051332" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you are reading this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit</span><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; 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></span></b>

Lindsey's Lucky Cat

Growing up in Hawai'i, the Maneki-neko   was a common sight in most homes and businesses. I still have my "lucky cat" today an...

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Marnee's Owl

I was walking in the aisles of my local grocery store in Brooklyn , when I met Marnee, who had quite a few tattoos. She offered up this owl on her upper left arm:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjchx-u-kqVYkehuCt-QVmV4I9x90vJ1Deb48UsDh721Ixgd0utEZHdVUiEQeiVwTM4saK3SP3ntV4S5oNMHX1uxUNgQef3si-jbSvds0pR2DNPnS2XTL_zu_wYfKIJlwdFmCuJFGkcl50/s615/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjchx-u-kqVYkehuCt-QVmV4I9x90vJ1Deb48UsDh721Ixgd0utEZHdVUiEQeiVwTM4saK3SP3ntV4S5oNMHX1uxUNgQef3si-jbSvds0pR2DNPnS2XTL_zu_wYfKIJlwdFmCuJFGkcl50/s640/photo.jpg" width="360" /></a></div><br />Marnee explained:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">"There's no story behind it. I've just always loved owls and all the meaning behind them. I'm pretty wise myself."</blockquote>The tattoo was inked in 2008 by <a href="http://www.larktattoo.com/index.php/artists/jimbo/0">Jimbo</a> at Lark Tattoo. Work from Lark has appeared previously on Tattoosday <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/search/label/Lark%20Tattoo">here</a>. A piece by Jimbo appeared in <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2009/06/three-tattoos-from-mary-marilyn-monroe.html">this post</a> back in 2009.<br /><br />Thanks again to Marnee for sharing her owl with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br /><b id="internal-source-marker_0.46698298468254507" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you are reading this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit</span><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; 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></span></b>

Marnee's Owl

I was walking in the aisles of my local grocery store in Brooklyn , when I met Marnee, who had quite a few tattoos. She offered up this owl ...

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Jared's Sleeve Reflects His Journey Through the Music Business

<div class="tr_bq">I met Jared back in April outside of Penn Station on Eighth Avenue. He had an interesting sleeve that he offered to share:</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir-e8dPtpS83uf-7o7MmOaJvvokodlCQNdnGmZofRMPTFX3rls5O7LkZJovhxo3emKBerVrKs9Qw8tHW-Cy5h9PgmkJ0MbzCbgroZvB4MRiQnAcJL_icjNpesSEwlEE44h14HugHwQejo/s615/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir-e8dPtpS83uf-7o7MmOaJvvokodlCQNdnGmZofRMPTFX3rls5O7LkZJovhxo3emKBerVrKs9Qw8tHW-Cy5h9PgmkJ0MbzCbgroZvB4MRiQnAcJL_icjNpesSEwlEE44h14HugHwQejo/s1600/photo.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiui17svU_9vqXaTnCU38ZUQvk0by6PSSBYfs1k8mxt_RhjmIsScUABlvAhW1gR0TxQjQftsENowkQIlQ2EFDm948mC_Y8OSAr_VyveBtWkKn9VfIZr97GefWjJ02rcZu18PN3FN43r7gk/s615/IMG_0236.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiui17svU_9vqXaTnCU38ZUQvk0by6PSSBYfs1k8mxt_RhjmIsScUABlvAhW1gR0TxQjQftsENowkQIlQ2EFDm948mC_Y8OSAr_VyveBtWkKn9VfIZr97GefWjJ02rcZu18PN3FN43r7gk/s1600/IMG_0236.JPG" /></a></div><br />Jared explained that the concept of the sleeve was based on his experience in the music industry. He had been a musician, but gave up the professional calling "about six months ago." He elaborated:<br /><blockquote><br />"...It's a sacrificial piece ... the heart right there [at the center of the arm, in the ditch] ... music's in your DNA and it rips your heart open ...</blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifWkG88Qme3lCH9LWh7osDyv4r0TbK4VKC8BB9KpExeIR02_3wGqCfh4FSNaEjG5F2UNS1NNhOE8N2PIjKCfl2BZWuJoQxSDlI9I1zpLj3g8wSCVfof85wqyYuA2K_y_NzZPCb5iwdT8Q/s499/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifWkG88Qme3lCH9LWh7osDyv4r0TbK4VKC8BB9KpExeIR02_3wGqCfh4FSNaEjG5F2UNS1NNhOE8N2PIjKCfl2BZWuJoQxSDlI9I1zpLj3g8wSCVfof85wqyYuA2K_y_NzZPCb5iwdT8Q/s400/photo.jpg" width="372" /></a></div></blockquote><blockquote>... and the sacrifice you have to go through ... two faces are the two faces you had to deal with in the music business..."</blockquote>The work above was done by two free-lance artists. The top section of the sleeve was done by a guy named Steve, and the bottom section with the two faces was done by another person whose name Jared doesn't recall.<br /><br />Thanks to Jared for sharing this work with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br /><b id="internal-source-marker_0.2149179216939956" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; 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="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; 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></span></b>

Jared's Sleeve Reflects His Journey Through the Music Business

I met Jared back in April outside of Penn Station on Eighth Avenue. He had an interesting sleeve that he offered to share: Jared explained t...

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Vicki's Half-Woman, Half-Octopus Tattoo

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcHeMkMlD-207c8PEZbjN7m-AOhg9SldSUfnPsUxx79nsNuuCIr-3rbdhY71OnPNeToeT0rTxSYYA9hqVyQWeIImvcJkr6MJvRJFHK-tH02zLOC_E1XI0rqatMjMX8RGcU2K1xlXm3uxg/s615/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcHeMkMlD-207c8PEZbjN7m-AOhg9SldSUfnPsUxx79nsNuuCIr-3rbdhY71OnPNeToeT0rTxSYYA9hqVyQWeIImvcJkr6MJvRJFHK-tH02zLOC_E1XI0rqatMjMX8RGcU2K1xlXm3uxg/s640/photo.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><br />I met Vicki at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeKalb_Avenue_(BMT_Fourth_Avenue_Line)">DeKalb Avenue</a> subway station in Brooklyn last month and I had to ask her about this tattoo.<br /><br />This design is a half-woman, half-octopus, and was done by <a href="http://handofglorytattoo.com/ein/artists/BJ">Brian Faulk</a> at <a href="http://handofglorytattoo.com/hog/about">Hand of Glory Tattoo</a> in Park Slope. She elaborated:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: white;">"I went to him [Brian] with a picture from the Victorian era that was of a woman who is all buttoned up, with a high collar, and then her bustle and her skirt are an octopus, so I went to him and said this is something to go from, but I want it to be more modern and not so buttoned up...it was [also] inspired by a song by </span><a href="http://www.carlakihlstedt.com/" style="background-color: white;">Carla Kihlstedt</a><span style="background-color: white;">, who's in a band called <a href="http://www.sleepytimegorillamuseum.com/">Sleepytime Gorilla Museum</a>, so this is from a song from her band <a href="http://www.myspace.com/2footyard">2 Foot Yard</a> ... the song is called "Octopus" [and] it's the story of a woman and all the different facets of her personality, pulling her in different directions."</span></blockquote><span style="background-color: white;">Here's another look at the tattoo from the shop's website:</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><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="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-85woP5b5sCo/TmO3Ymo-vDI/AAAAAAAAAxo/vXDrbCoC7io/s640/healedocto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-85woP5b5sCo/TmO3Ymo-vDI/AAAAAAAAAxo/vXDrbCoC7io/s640/healedocto.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">© 2012 The End Is Near - All rights reserved</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white;">Brian, the artist from Hand of Glory/The End is Near, has tattooed me before, as reported <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2010/08/tattoosdays-trip-to-hand-of-glory.html">here</a> and <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2011/11/thanksgiving-re-post-have-happy-and.html">here</a>.</span><br /><br />Thanks to Vicki for sharing her woman/octopus with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Here's a performance of "Octopus" from YouTube: </span><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="375" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/A0Nfrdmo5SI" style="background-color: white;" width="500"></iframe><br /><br /><b id="internal-source-marker_0.7614350854419172" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; 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="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; 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><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></b>

Vicki's Half-Woman, Half-Octopus Tattoo

I met Vicki at the DeKalb Avenue subway station in Brooklyn last month and I had to ask her about this tattoo. This design is a half-woman,...

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Jeniffer's Birthday Tattoo, Honoring Babba

I spotted Jeniffer on the steps outside of Madison Square Garden on the last day in May and couldn't resist asking her about this tattoo:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizFE-7ezCCULcqdM0mWL5orel-uf2xfzXE-c-G_nej6L4xwBhTGHCGro7fcM4qqXKX77hSqjLy8Rwywp1KV3Q-VIhPatQSnDsx5iA63BM9ZNP8d9ToEQY7fFMB4hQQ7UTJdUKHy5KFRMg/s615/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizFE-7ezCCULcqdM0mWL5orel-uf2xfzXE-c-G_nej6L4xwBhTGHCGro7fcM4qqXKX77hSqjLy8Rwywp1KV3Q-VIhPatQSnDsx5iA63BM9ZNP8d9ToEQY7fFMB4hQQ7UTJdUKHy5KFRMg/s640/photo.jpg" width="420" /></a></div><br />Jeniffer, who is from Sydney, Australia, was visiting New York in April 2011 and had this <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matryoshka_doll">Matroyshka doll</a> (more commonly referred to as a <i>Russian nesting doll</i>) done in honor of her twenty-first birthday. It was a gift from her sister, who got the same tattoo.<br /><br />The tattoo was done by <a href="http://sarahschor.com/">Sarah Schor</a> in Brooklyn.<br /><br />Jeniffer elaborated on the origin of the tattoo:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">"There's three of us [sisters]. I'm the youngest. The sister who got it is the oldest and ...we went to get something together and we were trying to come up with something that came in threes ... three amigos, three musketeers, little pigs, and then we just, we've ... got European background, so we thought <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babushka">babushkas</a> ... Babba is what we call my grandmother ... and all three of us have always been close to her ... sort of a triple whammy ... we meant to actually get differing sizes, but we couldn't convince the middle sister to get it, so, we ended up just getting the same."</blockquote>Thanks to Jeniffer for sharing this lovely tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /><b id="internal-source-marker_0.09874832327477634" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; 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="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; 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></span></b>

Jeniffer's Birthday Tattoo, Honoring Babba

I spotted Jeniffer on the steps outside of Madison Square Garden on the last day in May and couldn't resist asking her about this tattoo...

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