TATTOO: December 2011

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Usher in the New Year with a Hugs and Kisses Monster!

I met Laine earlier this month in Penn Station and she shared this, one of her "eight or nine" tattoos:

Laine explained that her friend Jason Lee, who tattoos and DJs in Florida under the name "Mr. Monster," inked this on her as a spur-of-the-moment tattoo. She was with a friend who was getting inked by Mr. Monster and it just happened. His signature tattoo is a monster design, so he just drew it on her with a Sharpie, and because they are such close friends, it developed as this friendly "Hugz and Keesez" monster.

Thanks to Laine for sharing this with us here on Tattoosday and happy new year to all! Please beware the Hugs and Kisses monsters lurking on New Years' Eve!

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.

Friday, December 30, 2011

Shanon Inks Lovely Thoughts

Last week, my brother Seth was in town, and I met him after work at a restaurant near Madison Square Garden, where he was having a quick bite with Shanon, an old friend of his from Southern California. He had just seen Shanon in a performance of Peter Pan at the Garden. Shanon is with the touring company of the show, and acts in the role of Curly, one of the Lost Boys, and is an understudy to the title character, played by Cathy Rigby, as well as the role of Mrs. Darling. The show closes in New York today (December 30, 2011).

I was talking to Seth and Shanon when I noticed that she had a tattoo on her inner right wrist. Of course, I went into Tattoosday mode, and she agreed to share some of her ink with us here on Tattoosday.

This is the piece on her wrist:

Shanon also removed her left shoe, to display her foot tattoo:

We took pictures of both tattoos because they each relate to Shanon's journey as an actress, and her role in Peter Pan.

The tattoo on her wrist references a verse in the Bible's New Testament, Mark 9:23. Shanon said that she was specifically drawn to the passage's proclamation that "Anything is possible to he who believes."

Her foot tattoo instructs "Think lovely thoughts," which is from Peter Pan itself, most popularly in the song "I'm Flying".

The show was the first play she remembers seeing as a child, and it is her first professional job in New York. Both messages tie into the fact that Shanon pursued her passion for performing and was able to attain the goal of being on stage in New York City. The road between first seeing Peter Pan and being on stage at the theater in Madison Square Garden, "the world's most famous arena," is no easy route to take. Believing in oneself and positive thinking are just two elements in attaining one's goals.

Both tattoos were done at Action Tattoo in Yorba Linda, California.

Thanks to Shanon for sharing her inspiring tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

The Long Story About a Small Tattoo, or, Megan Massacre's Golden Touch

Tonight on TLC, New York Ink premieres its second season. For those of you who may have blinked, I got about six seconds of quality screen time in season 1, episode 7, at the tail end of the show. I figured I'd share my experience here, in conjunction with the premiere of the show's sophomore run.

Ever since news broke earlier this year that Ami James, formerly of TLC’s Miami Ink, was opening up shop in New York City, and developing NY Ink, people within and on the periphery of the tattoo industry were waiting to see how it would play up.

Bits and pieces of news fragments floated about during the spring, in the blogosphere, and in the print media. This piece, in New York magazine really caught my attention.

So, a few weeks before the series was set to premiere on TLC during the first week of June, I was excited to see, on one of my favorite sites, Tattoo Snob, this blurb:

New York Ink’s $50 rooster deal
Wooster Street Social Club (A.K.A. the home of New York Ink) will be hosting/shooting a $50 rooster tattoo event on Friday, May 20th. The event starts at 11am, and will air at the end of Season 1 of New York Ink.

Send an RSVP email today to nyinkcasting@gmail.com with the subject: RSVP ROOSTER. Be sure to include your name, phone number and email address and you’ll be put on the VIP list.

Well, as you would imagine, my interest was piqued, so I dashed off an email and crossed my fingers. I then asked for Friday off, anticipating that I could get down there, thinking they were going to do one of those Friday-the-13th-like events, tattooing hundreds of roosters on adoring fans. Surely, I thought, I was fast enough out of the gate to make the list.

Unfortunately, that night I got an email from NY Ink breaking it to me that I wasn’t selected, but I was more than welcome to come down and be an extra.

Not really interested in missing work to not get a tattoo, I chalked it up to experience and BBM’d my boss and told him I’d be in Friday, after all.

“Never mind about Friday,” I messaged, “just got an email saying they were booked solid.”

“That sucks,” he wrote back.

“I could go, but no guarantee,” I messaged back, “not worth it.”

He tried to console me, “At least you won’t have a dumb rooster on you for the rest of your life.”

That was one way of looking at it.

The next day, I had just returned from lunch when the following e-mail hit my BlackBerry:

Exciting news! We have added 5 more spots to the guaranteed rooster tattoo list for tomorrow. If you are still interested in the $50 tattoo event tomorrow, and 100% want to get the tattoo please reply to this email by 2pm today with the subject line "100% rooster." Please note we need you to arrive by 11 AM sharp, and do not have an end time for the shoot. You need to be able to commit fully to the day in order to be involved.

The first 5 people to reply to this email will be added to the guaranteed rooster tattoo list. You will receive a confirmation email and phone call if you are chosen. Anyone we do not respond to is still more than welcome to attend the event but cannot be guaranteed a rooster tattoo.

Thanks and good luck!

NY Ink Casting

I responded immediately and things looked promising when I got this message:

Hi Bill-

What is your phone number?

Thanks!

Moments after sending my number, I got the call. I was in! The production team sent me the logistics and I was good to go.

I got completely razzed by my boss, but he gave me the day off.

With my mother's birthday approaching, I thought it would be fun to dedicate the rooster tattoo to her late "pet" Golden, memorialized here. In addition, I thought that the personal side of this story would make my rooster tattoo stand out among all the others being inked. It was a decent strategy, I thought. Just to show I wasn't making this up, I brought a picture of Golden along with me to the shoot.

I arrived early, about 30 minutes or so ahead of the call time, bemoaning the fact that I was arriving much later than I anticipated, thinking they were going to be inking a ton of roosters. I was the only one there, but the crowd quickly grew to a few dozen. Still, I thought, much less than I anticipated.

I even spotted a Tattoosday contributor Liz in line and wondered who else I would see. It was a bit of a blur, as people filled out forms, had photos taken, and mingled. I met a guy named Roy, who saw I had checked in on Facebook, and he friended me as we stood in line. He had driven up from Philadelphia for the occasion.

A light rain had started to fall, and we huddled under a construction scaffold across the street from the shop.

I was still puzzled by the small group of people present, considering the call for volunteers. When one producer asked “those getting rooster tattoos” to come up on a landing above the sidewalk where we were all standing, I was even further shocked by the small group of us that broke off of the main group. I asked the producer how many of us were getting tattoos and my heart jumped when she looked at her clipboard and said, “There’s only ten of you.” I was stunned, I thought we’d be vying for airtime with dozens of people, based on the instructions we should be expected to stay “all day, into the evening”. It would certainly be easier to stand out with only nine other people getting inked.

Cut to us being ferried across the street for some exterior shots in front of the shop. Slight drizzle still falling. It was then that I noticed, maybe forty feet away, Corey Miller standing under a tree watching us. I had just met him the night before (recounted here) and 24 hours later here he was again! There was a slight buzz as a few of us recognized him and wondered, would we be getting a rooster tattoo from Corey Miller?

Time sped up as the moment of truth arrived. After an unknown person, who we later learn is Floor Manager, Robear, does a rooster-costumed warm-up in the light rain, Ami James opens the door and yells “who wants a fifty dollar cock?”

That’s our cue to file in and I am number five, or last, in the first group. A woman named Jessica, the shop manager, gives us paperwork as the cameras roll. I watch with envy as I see Tim Hendricks pick a client, then Ami James, then Tommy Montoya, and Roy, who knows Megan Massacre from Philly, gets paired up with her. Who’s left? I don’t see Chris Torres, but there are people running around everywhere, and the shop looks amazing. Huge, spacious, covered with art.

I chat with Jessica and discover she knows Marisa and Brian, from Needles and Sins. I show her my picture of Golden, the famous Hawaiian rooster, and she hands me a post-it with the number five on it.

Golden, photo courtesy Diane Ferreira

The next five sign in at the desk and the other folks from the line sit in the waiting area, as human background. I stand around, eschewing a seat, figuring I will be more visible and not overlooked. When the show finally airs, I am prominently lurking in many of the shots, maroon Tommy Bahama shirt sticking out like a sore thumb.

Tattoo machines whir and Jessica comes up to me telling me she’s going to set me up with Ami. This brings me great joy. The flash for the roosters is a little disappointing, five versions of small tribal cocks, in various positions, crowing, strutting, with various color schemes. Black. Black fading to red. Black fading to blue. Black fading to green. If I am going to get a small, unimpressive rooster silhouette, let it be from Ami James, I think.

I do an on-camera interview with the producers, plugging Tattoosday and sharing the story of Golden, my mother’s deceased Hawaiian rooster. I know it’s not likely that much of it will air, but I figure it’s good for something.

The second wave of clients get tattooed. I pay my $50, including a $10 tip. I am keeping an eye on Ami but he doesn’t seem to be gearing up for another client. I start to get a sinking feeling about the likelihood of his getting to tattoo me. I am standing around nervously, imagining how this could be going wrong, with a worst-case scenario playing out in my head, as they give me my money back and apologize.

Of course, that doesn’t happen. Jessica approaches me, biting her lip and saying, apologetically, “Ami’s not doing any more tattoos, but I’ve set you up with Megan. She’s really good.” I don’t doubt what she’s saying, but the disappointment clearly made itself known on my face.

There’s only a few clients left in the shop. Most of the “background” people have taken off. I observe the goings-on about the shop with keen interest. I always knew that these reality shows relied on orchestration and staging, but I am struck by how much of the show seems staged for the cameras.

In the mean time, Megan is ready for me. She is sweet as sugar and much better looking than Ami, so I start thinking that this might not be so terrible after all. But then, much to my surprise, Megan Massacre makes me a fan for life by going completely outside the box.

I show her the picture of Golden that I brought along for inspiration, and she asks which design I want. I show her the silhouette and she asks if I mind if she tries something a little different, with some color, to make him more like my mom’s rooster. I give her full artistic license and she starts tattooing. I ask for it on my inner right arm and she uncannily picks a spot and orientation that matches my Friday the 13th Anchor tattoo.

I want to be surprised so I don’t watch much. Tommy Montoya and Tim Hendricks swing by to check out Megan’s work. Everyone else is done and people are cleaning up their stations. Tim whistles and exclaims, “Megan, are you trying to show us up?” I consider this a good sign. Tommy makes some crude remarks, “Megan, you’re making his cock bleed.” I laugh and say “Hey, my kids watch this show!” Tommy later proclaims that Megan just might get the award for “Cock of the Day”.

When Megan finishes, I get a good look at her handiwork and I’m stunned. I was expecting a solid tribal rooster and I got this instead:

I am astonished at what she has done with colors to give my rooster a dusty brown and gold appearance. Compare this to the type of rooster others received:

Photo by Roy Chapman

I know for certain, Ami would never have done that for me, and I doubt that Tommy, Tim, or Billy would have done that. I didn’t even ask for it. Megan just went with it and hit it out of the park.

Three days later, on my mother’s birthday, we called her on Skype in Hawaii, and I showed her the Golden tattoo. She was thrilled that their old rooster was immortalized on my flesh.

The show aired on July 21, 2011. I was excited to see a glimpse of me the previous week in the preview at the end of episode 6. Of course, shortly thereafter, the huge controversy surrounding TLC’s one-off Tattoo School blew up on Facebook and it seemed like most of my tattoo artist FB friends had "Boycott TLC" profile pictures. So, I gathered, not that many artists watch the ink-based “reality” shows on TLC, but there were likely fewer watching than normal. Such is life.

When the show aired, the Rooster event was left for the final five minutes of the episode. I pop up in the background quite a bit, and wham! There I am “William” talking about how Ami is going to tattoo my rooster, dedicated to Golden, whose picture I show on camera. But that’s all of me. No blog mention, as I gathered, but I was a little disappointed because, they showed quite a few of the finished rooster tattoos, but they didn’t show Megan’s effort which I think, all personal bias aside, was the finest one of the day.

Thanks to Megan Massacre for giving me a remarkable tattoo when she could have just given me the standard rooster everyone else was getting. I still look at it and marvel at how well she did with such a tiny piece, and I continue to receive compliments on it.

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

"Because You Can't Take the Brooklyn Out of the Girl..."

Back in October, my friend Ronni introduced me to her friend Elizabeth via the web. Elizabeth is from Brooklyn, but resides in Seattle, and was looking to get a New York-themed tattoo on an upcoming visit. She wanted to find a reputable artist and shop in New York City.

Although I am by no means an expert on tattooing in the Big Apple, blogging about ink here for 4 1/2 years certainly qualifies me to speak on the matter with some authority.

I recommended several shops and artists, mostly in Brooklyn, because Elizabeth had a specific idea in mind. And rather than just showing up in a tattoo parlor and going with the first available artist, Elizabeth took my suggestions and did some research, contacting several of the artists, and poring over their online portfolios.

Ultimately, Elizabeth wanted a Brooklyn Bridge tattoo. No easy feat, as she did not want a BIG tattoo, and the architectural wonder lends itself to looking best on a larger scale, in my opinion. This piece, for example, seen here back in July, took up a whole upper arm.

Elizabeth ended up at Saved Tattoo in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, and she got exactly what she wanted:

Elizabeth is extremely happy with her new tattoo. She writes "Zac Scheinbaum ... did a great job, got in a lot more detail than he led me to expect. Now you can definitely not take the Brooklyn out of the girl."

Thanks to Elizabeth for sharing her little piece of Brooklyn with us here on Tattoosday!

[Update: After posting this, Elizabeth wrote to me, adding, "what gave me the idea of having the Brooklyn Bridge tattooed to begin with (and the idea of the location at my heart followed almost immediately) was seeing a woman in the dance tent at the Falcon Ridge Music Festival whose entire upper arm was tattooed with the Brooklyn Bridge. I think it must have been Mariam- unless there's more than one woman with a Brooklyn Bridge on her right upper arm like that. That adds a nice circularity to your piece, for me."]

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Nigel from the Dirty Thirty Shares Some Traditional Ink

I met Nigel on the Upper West Side last month, across the street from Verdi Square. I spotted some tattoos on his arms and asked if he wouldn't mind sharing some of them. He was happy to oblige.

The first piece is a gypsy, inked by Dan Santoro of Smith Street Tattoo in Brooklyn:

"The gypsy," Nigel said, "is pretty much from travelling and bouncing."

He also shared two pieces done by a friend of his from Richmond, Virginia, Gerald M.

"The eyeball here on my right arm is ... blood sweat and tears," he told me. "It represents a lot of different endings and beginnings, as far as work and life and whatnot."

I particularly like this tattoo, on Nigel's upper left arm:

"The train is," Nigel explained, "more or less a story of how my art finished and started." Also by Gerald M., Nigel had nothing but praise for his work:

"His specialty is roses. He won an award in Las Vegas for doing the best rose last year, so that's kind of his thing. His little trademark is an eyeball, as well, so you'll see an eye in most of his pieces."

The banner identifies "The Dirty 30," a nationwide art collective of which Nigel is a part.

Thanks to Nigel for sharing his tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Repost: All I Want for Christmas is a Tattoo with Teeth

Happy Holidays from us here at Tattoosday! Today we're re-visting a post from 2009, in the spirit of the season:

On Christmas Eve afternoon, I was passing through Penn Station, I spotted Lindsay, a woman with what appeared to be a sleeve that had a water-inspired design.

It wasn't until after I approached her and asked if she wanted to contribute to Tattoosday that I saw, as she rolled up her sleeve, what awesome work she had done on her left arm:

Lindsay said that, like all of her 14 or 15 tattoos, none of them have "deep meaning". She just goes with whatever she describes as an "intense urge" at the time she's getting the tattoo.

The sleeve above started with her taking photos with stylings to the artist, saying she wanted a bloody shark. This was the first part of the tattoo:

She then expanded it with this segment of shark

which is certainly reminiscient of the movie poster for Jaws.

This piece was created in four sittings lasting 3-4 hours each, by John Reardon at Saved Tattoo (which was the shop responsible for yesterday's post, too). [Reardon now works at the Greenpoint Tattoo Company]

Work from John Reardon has appeared here on Tattoosday previously. Reardon is also the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting a Tattoo.

Thanks to Lindsay for taking the time to share her incredible shark sleeve with us here on Tattoosday!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Going Ape for Josean's Ink

Earlier this month, I met Josean, who was sitting waiting for a downtown express train at the 72nd Street subway stop on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Josean is pretty much covered in tattoos (70-80%, by his best estimate) and so I sat down to talk to him about his work.

As it turns out, he is currently the piercer at Powerhouse Tattoo Company in Montclair, New Jersey. Work from the artists at Powerhouse have appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Josean offered up this colorful baboon tattoo on his left forearm:

At the center of this piece is the monkey that screams out from his arm:

Josean likes mnnkeys and figured this design would "look cool for a tattoo." He's absolutely right. This was done by Juan Salgado, a great artist in Puerto Rico. Josean worked at Senzala Tattoo in P.R. before moving up to Powerhouse.

Thanks to Josean for sharing his awesome ink with us here on Tattoosday!

Monday, December 19, 2011

Flame

Looking back to the summer, I ran into Derek one evening while waiting to board the R train at 36th Street in Brooklyn.

I first noticed this piece on the outside of his right leg:

Derek explained that he had this illustration by John Tenniel from Alice's Adventures Under Ground by Lewis Carroll because Alice's passion and curiosity appeal to him. The book is a classic of children's literature and was later published as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

This piece depicts Alice being stretched tall, and Derek added this tattoo to his chest:

That one (above) is just incredibly well-done.

Just last week, Derek sent me his latest Alice-inspired piece to me via e-mail :

Inked on his right forearm, this is another Tenniel illustration from the book featuring the scene in which Alice observes three playing cards painting white roses red, on orders from the Queen of Hearts. Derek noted that "this particular image is a reminder not to blindly follow orders without considering the consequences of my actions."

Derek credited all three of these tattoos to Craig Rodriguez at Hand of Glory Tattoo in Brooklyn. Craig is an amazing artist whose work first appeared on Tattoosday here. I'm a big fan of the shop, as evidenced by these posts. I plan on visiting them again in January for their regular Friday the 13th extravaganza.

Thanks to Derek for sharing these awesome tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

SICK DICK HUDGIE TATS.

HUDGE JUST FINISHED THIS AWESOME SQUID, SUBMARINE BATTLE SCENE ON OUR GOOD FRIEND ETHAN'S LEG.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

ART SHOW!

All of us over here at the F U have been busy little beavers making pretty pictures for this here shindig. Come on down and stay for a while.

Jasmin's Phoenix Keeps Her Grounded

As the year winds down, I am clearing out the cobwebs - a hodgepodge of posts that just didn't make the grade. What causes an encounter from May to be delayed over seven months? Several things, like, in this case, a photo that just didn't make the grade. Further problematic is a subject's non-working e-mail address, and a credited artist who is not listed on the attributed shop's website.

Still, I hate to just totally abandon a piece, so we'll just go with what we have...

I met Jasmin just outside of Penn Station and she let me photograph this tattoo:

This is a phoenix that Jasmin got in 2010. It doubly keeps her grounded and represents her rise from the ashes.She told me she wanted the "girliest-looking phoenix," something "light and wispy".

The two phrases in the banners are "Ut prosim aliis" and "Il buon tempo".

"Ut prosim aliis" is the motto on her family (Jennings) crest and translates to "that I may be of use to others," or, in Jasmin's words, "that I might profit others".

She told me that "il buon tempo" meant "each new day is bright," but it is more commonly translated from the Italian as "good times".

She credited the work of this tattoo to an artist named Zack at Psycho Tattoo 2 in Atlanta.

Thanks to Jasmin for sharing this tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Friday, December 16, 2011

Amy's Stunning Peacock Tattoo

Sometimes, my little camera just doesn't cut it - like on a late summer afternoon with a bright sun low on the horizon.

I met Amy as she walked passed my office back in August. I caught up to her just as she was about to go into Penn Station and I snapped these photos of her peacock half-sleeve:

Amy credited her artist Benjamin Harris at Sink the Ink Tattoo & Body Piercing, which has locations in Doylestown and Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. Amy says Ben has "been my one and only tattoo artist for years and he's great"!

And, fortunately for us, Sink the Ink had a great photo of this tattoo up on their website:

Thanks to Amy for sharing this amazing tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

One More from Michael: An Otomo Design That Reminds Him of a Love Lost

Michael, whose Calvin tattoo was featured in the previous post here, also shared this cool piece from his right arm:

Michael explained the origin of this design:

"The artist is Katsuhiro Otomo, the legendary Japanese animator, who did Akira [a popular manga series]. I’ve been in love with him since I was a kid. He came out with another movie called Steamboy that I was super excited about … I got the deluxe set … with the sketchbook in it and I’ve fallen in love with [this girl] … I loved her from the beginning but then I was dating a girl and I fucked it all up and she, well, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and I just wanted to … she’s almost adorable as this and I wanted to put that in memory and not be a fool and, well, she’s still mad at me."

Michael added that they still talk and he's holding out hope that forgiveness and reconciliation are still a possibility.

The tattoo was inked by Ariel Salgado at Millenium Tattoo in Newburgh, New York. Ariel, Michael said, has done most of his tattoos.

Thanks (again) to Michael for sharing his work with us here on Tattoosday!

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 can contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Michael's Calvin Embodies His Spirit of Adventure

I met Michael back in August out on Penn Plaza and he shared this tattoo, on the upper left side of his chest:

That is, for those who don't know, the comic strip character Calvin, from Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes.

Michael is an illustrator and visual artist. He explains this tattoo:

"I’m a Calvin and Hobbes fanatic since I was a kid. I own every single strip. I actually have two of those omnibus hardcover [volumes] and I had gone on a road trip with my father and my 21-year old cousin. 17 states in three weeks. I‘ve always wanted a Calvin tattoo."

~~The tattoo depicts Calvin as one of his alter-egos, Spaceman Spiff.~~ The tattoo depicts Calvin, from the cover of Yukon Ho!, in which he runs away with Hobbes to the Yukon. Michael told me that this embodies his spirit of adventure.

The piece was inked by his friend Kyle Sajban at Red Rocket Tattoo in New York City.

We've featured a lot of work from Red Rocket here on this site, but I believe this is the first tattoo attributed to Kyle.

Thanks to Michael for sharing his cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

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.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Vickie's Pin-Up Has Blood Money

In what must have looked odd to passers-by, I interviewed Vickie in Penn Station the day after Halloween. I'm guessing that she and her friend had attended costume parties the night before. What interested me most was Vickie's ink. She "lost count" of how many tattoos she has, and she offered up this wonderful piece on her upper left arm:

This tattoo, whose name is "Trixie," was designed and inked by Tatu Baby, who works out of Chico's Marked 4 Life, in Miami.

She also wanted to point out that, in Trixie's right hand, she's holding blood money:

Thanks to Vickie for sharing Trixie with us here on Tattoosday!

Sunday, December 11, 2011

In Memory of Tama

Yesterday, my DVR finally managed to catch an episode of "Tattooed in Detroit," on Animal Planet.

Marisa over at Needles and Sins talked about the show here.

In a bit of a coincidence, shortly after watching the hour-long episode, which featured several memorial tattoos for owners' pets, I learned, via Facebook, that my nephew Ikaika, was getting more ink on Saturday.
Back in April 2010, I was back home in Hawai'i and I got a chance to take pictures of his tattoos, along with my other nieces and nephews. His post originally appeared on Tattoosday here, and since all the planets seemed to align (maybe it was the lunar eclipse), I thought I'd share his new tattoo with Tattoosday.

This is a portrait of Ikaika's pit bull Tama, who lived with him for 12 years.

The tattoo was done by James Cacal at Tattoo Krew Empire in Waipahu, Hawai'i.

A big mahalo to my nephew for sharing Tama's portrait with us here on Tattoosday!

Saturday, December 10, 2011

A Trio of Tattoos from Devin

I met Devin walking down Third Avenue in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, back in September.

He had a lot of ink, so I just grabbed a shot of his left leg:

He broke these three pieces down for me, explaining that the butterfly on the top is an old Sailor Jerry flash piece that was his friend Shawn first tattoo as an apprentice at Ron & Dave's Tattooing on Staten Island.

His friend Shawn's second tattoo as an apprentice was the skull at the bottom:

In the middle of these two pieces is a piece of art that Devin attributed to artwork from the first album by a Staten Island band called The Cable Car Theory:

Thanks to Devin for sharing these three tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Friday, December 9, 2011

Seth's Phoenix

Yesterday's post featured a sleeve from a guy named Phoenix. Today we have a sleeve that centers around a phoenix.

Anyone who's spent any time in New York City could tell you that bike messengers have a lot of great ink. Not all, of course, but quite a few. Fixtures in the city streets, especially in warmer months, if they're not zipping by on their bikes, you can often catch a glimpse of something cool. However, I've featured very few of these folks, just because they're usually in such a hurry, it's hard to catch them.

Fortunately, I spotted Seth securing his bicycle under Madison Square Garden late one afternoon back in September, and I had a chance to compliment his sleeve, at the center of which is this phoenix:

Sleeves are often challenging to portray on Tattoosday, as they generally require multiple shots and several takes, preferably in a controlled environment, like, say, a tattoo studio. But I always try to do my best to capture more than just the central element.

Seth credits his work to Jacob Redmond, when he was at Oddball Studios in Portland, Oregon. Redmond has since moved to Atlas Tattoo, also in Portland.

Thanks to Seth for sharing his phoenix with us here on Tattoosday!