Saturday, December 26, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Kait, On Her Own Two Feet
While passing through Borders at 2 Penn Plaza, I spotted Kait's feet, both tattooed on their outside edges. She graciously allowed me to take pictures of both pieces.
On her left foot is a green bow, inspired in part by the fact that she is known where she grew up for always having a bow on her, whether it be in her clothing or in her hair. It's her trademark, of sorts, and the tattoo insures that she'll never be "bow-less".
Her right foot bears the following inscription:
"Think Happy Thoughts" is a tribute to her friend Max, a graffiti artist, who passed away a year or two back. The script is in her own hand, in emulation of a free-form style that reminds her of graffiti.
On her left foot is a green bow, inspired in part by the fact that she is known where she grew up for always having a bow on her, whether it be in her clothing or in her hair. It's her trademark, of sorts, and the tattoo insures that she'll never be "bow-less".
Her right foot bears the following inscription:
"Think Happy Thoughts" is a tribute to her friend Max, a graffiti artist, who passed away a year or two back. The script is in her own hand, in emulation of a free-form style that reminds her of graffiti.
http://www.island-life.net/pre2009/headbanger.gif
Asian Tattoos Day
A month ago, I posted a bit of tattoorism; Sean from New Jersey sent me photos of his left leg, an intricate Japanese-style piece, complete with koi, dragons, a lotus, and a pagoda.
Sean has been kind enough to update us here on Tattoosday with two more pieces, the first being this cool gypsy head that is tattooed on the inside of his upper left arm:
As he was in the last post, Sean is not only generous with the pictures of his tattoos, but he also has provided a thoughtful explanation of his work:
Again, in his own words:
"I had my right leg sleeve done for most aesthetic reasons. I explained [previously here]...that I love Asian style artwork, and to keep symmetry with my left leg this was done in just that style. Originally, I believed I had chosen the geisha image solely for its beauty.
Sean has been kind enough to update us here on Tattoosday with two more pieces, the first being this cool gypsy head that is tattooed on the inside of his upper left arm:
As he was in the last post, Sean is not only generous with the pictures of his tattoos, but he also has provided a thoughtful explanation of his work:
"I got the gypsy woman about two weeks after graduating from college. I really enjoy the traditional, old school style of tattoos and feel it’s important that this style does not disappear... from tattoo culture. Further, I always viewed these women as adventurers, constantly looking for a new journey. Especially, the woman who are looking off to the sides, almost as if into the distance, as opposed to those who look straight forward. I always envision them looking off to a new land, a new adventure, etc. This tattoo signifies my “journey” through life, especially significant due to just graduating college. It is a reminder to never stagnate and to constantly be striving for better things. I plan on getting a banner added underneath with the word "hope," for obvious reasons."
Sean also sent images from his right leg sleeve, to match the work on the left:
Again, in his own words:"I had my right leg sleeve done for most aesthetic reasons. I explained [previously here]...that I love Asian style artwork, and to keep symmetry with my left leg this was done in just that style. Originally, I believed I had chosen the geisha image solely for its beauty.
I once again thank Sean for not only sharing his tattoos with us here, but for putting the effort into writing a thoughtful, detailed account of the meaning of the art gracing his skin. As with previous pieces featured, the tattoos in this post were done by Mike Schweigert at Electric Tattoo in Bradley Beach, New Jersey. Truly a talented artist that was able to so distinctly transform Sean's body into a living canvas. We here at Tattoosday offer our sincerest thanks and appreciation!Moving on, the phoenix has always been a very powerful image to me.However, about a week after my tattoo I realized that my family has a framed picture of a geisha hanging outside of my room that I have honestly never paid much attention to, until seeing it that day. So now, every time I see the tattoo it reminds me of my home and family (particularly, my mother for some reason). Your subconscious has a funny way of revealing itself.
I love the idea of rebuilding yourself from the ashes of past selves. This was significant to me as I received that tattoo during my final years at college (the first two years I spent commuting to a community college, the last two years I spent living on campus away from home for the first time in my life). I feel that those two years living away from home was a period of immense change, where, metaphorically, past versions of myself “burned up,” with new versions arising from those ashes.
Finally, the bonsai tree kind of goes hand-in-hand with the phoenix imagery.It was always interesting to me that in order for a bonsai to grow correctly, a have a long life, it needed to have branches/new growths pruned and trimmed, in essence losing a piece of itself. I feel this ideology also applies to human life. In order, for someone to fully mature, I feel one needs to be prepared to lose parts of oneself (whether they be thought processes, habits, etc.) in order to grow into a better-equipped and well-rounded person. The bonsai reminds me to strive for this."
Tattoo Two Tourists
Sometimes the hand of Fate guides the Tattoosday blogger as he journeys through the streets of New York. At lunch, a change in traffic signals prompted me to veer East, sending me into a bank vestibule that I rarely, if ever, frequent.I could have ventured into a dozen branches or drug stores to do my business but this is where I ended up on a day that started frigid, but was still in the blustery high 30's at noon.
I finished my ATM transaction and exited, not even glancing at the two people to my left, jacketed and weighed down with large backpacks.
I hit the sidewalk, peering into a side window bordering the vestibule. I did a quick about-face and headed back into the bank. Despite the coats, hats, and long pants, I could tell the two men I had been next to had significant ink.
And, once back inside, I was delighted to find them both willing to talk tattoos.
Both men were visiting tourists from England. The first one I spoke to was Jethro "Jeff" Wood, a tattoo artist who works out of The SkynYard in Southend-on-Sea (in Essex County, 40 miles East of central London). I spoke to Jeff first, while his friend Sam worked the ATM machine.
Jeff estimates that his body is 30% covered in ink. He offered up this neck piece:
I apologize for the angle, but one can see that it's a pretty nice grim reaper tattoo. You also get a view of the small skull and crossbones behind Jeff's left ear.
He had been hanging out with another tattooer and "got drunk and tatted my neck". The artist was Dan Sims at Life Family Tattoo in Sevenoaks, Kent, in England.
Not to be outdone, Jeff's friend Sam had an amazing pirate-themed neck piece, with a "Do or Die" banner, courtesy of Jeff:
The two visitors seemed to enjoy showing their tattoos and were soon rolling up pant legs to show me what Jeff's apprentice, Charlie, had tattooed on the back of Sam's left leg:
That is the mask of The Ultimate Warrior.
Sam also showed me some work on his right leg, also credited to Charlie, featuring a mythical creature, "The Rare Horned Dolfin," stuffed and mounted by a taxidermist:
Granted, it's a funny tattoo, but I believe there was an element I was missing (perhaps a key facet of an inside joke). Sam and Jeff laughed heartily while showing me the piece, along with another gag tattoo on Sam's right calf, a D.L.T. sandwich:
In a DLT sandwich, the bacon is replaced by, you guessed it, tiny smiling dolphins!
I also get a kick out of the "I love frogs" scribbled above the D.L.T. Note the S is reversed. Sam indicated that Charlie had done some of these, but he had also inked a few himself, on an experimental basis.
Both men also have knuckle tattoos, and pictures of their knuckle are posted here at KnuckleTattoos.com.
Thanks again to Sam and Jeff for sharing their tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!
His explains Xrin Arms Tattoos
I ran into Anthony after work while passing through the Amtrak section of Penn Station.
He was in town to perform in Brooklyn and was waiting for his ride. He performs under the name "Xrin Arms," which he pronounced as "Your-in-arms". He's a techno punk musician currently on tour. Here's the flier for the gig he was playing that night:
He had an unusual series of tattoos which he allowed me to photograph, after he explained them to me.
The tattoos cover a significant part of his upper right arm, as well as one side of his forearm.
First and foremost, as a writer, he had his pen inked on his arm.
He always uses a Pilot Precise V5, he said,
and he produced one to show me, holding it up to the piece to show me that it was tattooed to scale.
The next element of his inked arm is a legion of sperm directed at his elbow. Some of the sperm are traveling from the pen, representing the knowledge that flows from the written word.
At the center of the elbow is a moth in a circle. He said that it represents a "moth in a beehive". When I questioned that image, he acknowledged that that was how he feels a lot of the time.
If you picture a moth in a beehive, you envision many things: solitude and violence. Of beauty and alienation. The sperm heading toward this image reinforce that the creative experience is a birthing process fraught with danger.
Lastly, on the back of the bicep, is an owl with its wings outstretched.
The owl represents to him that he is noctural, and stays up all night.
He has 2 other tattoos but we stuck with these because they played off one another.
They were tattooed by Chris Bragg when he was working out of Hammer's Tattoo & Body Piercing in Canton, Ohio.
Thanks again to for sharing his work with us here on Tattoosday.
He was in town to perform in Brooklyn and was waiting for his ride. He performs under the name "Xrin Arms," which he pronounced as "Your-in-arms". He's a techno punk musician currently on tour. Here's the flier for the gig he was playing that night:
He had an unusual series of tattoos which he allowed me to photograph, after he explained them to me.
The tattoos cover a significant part of his upper right arm, as well as one side of his forearm.
First and foremost, as a writer, he had his pen inked on his arm.
He always uses a Pilot Precise V5, he said,
and he produced one to show me, holding it up to the piece to show me that it was tattooed to scale.The next element of his inked arm is a legion of sperm directed at his elbow. Some of the sperm are traveling from the pen, representing the knowledge that flows from the written word.
At the center of the elbow is a moth in a circle. He said that it represents a "moth in a beehive". When I questioned that image, he acknowledged that that was how he feels a lot of the time.
If you picture a moth in a beehive, you envision many things: solitude and violence. Of beauty and alienation. The sperm heading toward this image reinforce that the creative experience is a birthing process fraught with danger.
Lastly, on the back of the bicep, is an owl with its wings outstretched.
The owl represents to him that he is noctural, and stays up all night.
He has 2 other tattoos but we stuck with these because they played off one another.
They were tattooed by Chris Bragg when he was working out of Hammer's Tattoo & Body Piercing in Canton, Ohio.
Thanks again to for sharing his work with us here on Tattoosday.
The Tattooed Poets Project: Jill Alexander Essbaum's Poetic Feet
I've decided to launch this special National Poetry Month Tattoosday feature with the wonderful tattooed feet of Jill Alexander Essbaum, author of several collections of poetry, the most recent being Harlot.
Although this month I will be featuring tattoos on poets, not every tattoo is poetic, in the literal sense. Jill's inked feet are.
Jill met me in the Starbucks at 7 Penn Plaza on a cold day in February, prior to a reading at the KGB Bar later that evening.
She was one of the first poets who signed on to this project, and she allowed me the honor of taking a clearer picture of her tattoos, even though they appeared here, on the Best American Poetry blog, back in May 2008.
Although the concept may be alien to many, students and purveyors of the art of poetry know that a line of poetry can be broken down into metered verse that is identifiable based on the stress and intonation of the syllables.
People may have heard that most of Shakespeare's work is composed, for example, in iambic pentameter. What that means is that each line is comprised of five parts, or "feet," and each foot is made up of an iamb, or two syllables, the first of which is unstressed, followed by the stressed sound.
The name "Marie" is an iamb, for example, as the stress falls on the second syllable. "Mary," on the other hand, has the stress on the first syllable, and is identified as a "trochee".
There are other types of poetic fragments, such as dactylls and anapests, but the iambic and trochaic feet are the most common.
So what does this have to do with Jill's feet? When poets study and scan a line of verse, they mark it up, identifying the stress marks with the accents (or longums), and the unstressed syllables with a symbol known as a brevis.
Jill's feet are literally with the symbols denoting them as trochee (left) and iamb (right). Pure brilliance, in my opinion.
Jill and her friend Jessica came up with this idea last year and gave it significant thought.
As most poets (with notable exceptions, of course) are also teachers, they thought it would be a great visual aid when educating students on scansion.
Jill spent a weekend sketching and drawing the marks, not as easy a task as one would imagine. How to make the marks look like poetic symbols, and not stray ink marks, or even worse, scars, was a part of the process.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
A Love Story Tattoos Day
Last Saturday night, Melanie and I went into Manhattan for a small holiday gathering. We were going to see her old high school friend Vibeke at her mother's apartment on the Upper West Side. It had been quite some time since we had last seen Vibeke. We weren't sure, but our best guess was 1998.
Vibeke had been living in Los Angeles, had recently married and moved to Houston. It was great seeing her again, and it was nice meeting her husband Matt.
Invariably, Melanie asked Vibeke how she and Matt had met. She explained that, in the early '90s, she had been living on a boat in St. John, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. For a while, the only way she could get to shore from the boat where it was moored was to swim. I'm guessing she also occasionally hitched a ride on someone's dinghy, but her primary shore-to-ship mode of transport was her own arms and legs.
As one would imagine, this proved to be problematic. So she invested in an inflatable dinghy and a small outboard motor to more practically transport her to and from dry land.
When the motor developed a problem, she took it into a shop for repairs. A gentleman named Matt was the proprietor and he repaired it. A little tension developed when, as Vibeke tells it, the repairs were less than satisfactory. More work was done, apparently to her standards and from this initial meeting, a romance blossomed.
After six months, Vibeke decided, for various reasons, that she would return to the states and move on with her life. The relationship with Matt abruptly ended.
Cut to the cinematic technique of a calender shedding pages like a tree in autumn, as time passed.
Then 9/11 happened. This prompted many Americans to feel the need to check in with past acquaintances and such. Vibeke looked for Matt, but he has a common last name and she couldn't find him. She was having, and continued to have, "where is he now" moments. She never found him.
But he found her.
Earlier this year, she was proctoring a test for students at a public school in Southern California where she was teaching. The phone rang.
It was Matt. He was beside himself. He had found her. Vibeke was stunned, but she was otherwise occupied. She gave him her number and told him to call back.
He did. He lived in Houston, she was dating someone else. The next time he came to town she was single. They met. The rest, they say, is history. They were married in June and are now newlyweds in Texas.
"What a great story," Melanie and I collectively thought. We were very happy for her, and him.
Later that evening, Melanie and I were chatting with Matt near the kitchen.
Matt asked about Melanie's ankle tattoo. He seemed interested. I mentioned Tattoosday. "Want to see something?" he asked. He motioned us into the kitchen, away from the rest of the party guests.
"You've heard how Vibeke and I met, right?" he asked, touching a button on his shirt. We nodded. And he began to tell his story, similar to his wife's version, only he paused after speaking of her leaving the island way back in 1995.
The month after she departed, still devastated from the abrupt end to their relationship, he returned to his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
And there, he told us, unbuttoning his shirt and revealing his left shoulder, he went to Route 66 Fine Line Tattoo and got this:
See, dear readers, there was a relevant point to this story.
And Matt pointed out in this subtle aquatic tattoo, the marks of his true love. Here in the undulating leaves is a V for Vibeke, a C for her middle name, and an H (at the top of the piece) for her maiden name.
Woven into his tattoo of lost love and despair were the initials of the woman he loved. And he had no idea where she was.
But the years passed for Matt, as they did for Vibeke, and this ink in his flesh was an anchor reminding him of his love. And when people asked him about it, he explained it was just an aquatic-themed piece, an homage to his love of the ocean.
And fourteen years later they reunited and picked up where they had left off in 1995. Now married to the woman whose initials were subtly inked into his flesh, the tattoo has changed.
When fresh, the piece was a memento of loss, the missed moment of the road not taken, a reminder of a relationship that ended too soon.
Over the years, the tattoo meant hope that some day, the two would cross paths again. It was a daily reminder of what was lost, and what Matt hoped to regain.
Seemingly miraculously the two souls were reunited, and the tattoo, in its simple black and gray tones, represents perseverance and success. The ink may have faded in the sun, but the love only became more clear.
Matt and Vibeke's story is quite remarkable, and the time they were apart has faded. Togetherness always defeats the pain of separation.
I want to thank Matt and Vibeke for sharing their tale with us here on Tattoosday. It's not every day that we get to hear a full-blown love story on this site, and the fact that Matt's tattoo is at the center of it makes it even more wonderful.
Vibeke had been living in Los Angeles, had recently married and moved to Houston. It was great seeing her again, and it was nice meeting her husband Matt.
Invariably, Melanie asked Vibeke how she and Matt had met. She explained that, in the early '90s, she had been living on a boat in St. John, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. For a while, the only way she could get to shore from the boat where it was moored was to swim. I'm guessing she also occasionally hitched a ride on someone's dinghy, but her primary shore-to-ship mode of transport was her own arms and legs.
As one would imagine, this proved to be problematic. So she invested in an inflatable dinghy and a small outboard motor to more practically transport her to and from dry land.
When the motor developed a problem, she took it into a shop for repairs. A gentleman named Matt was the proprietor and he repaired it. A little tension developed when, as Vibeke tells it, the repairs were less than satisfactory. More work was done, apparently to her standards and from this initial meeting, a romance blossomed.
After six months, Vibeke decided, for various reasons, that she would return to the states and move on with her life. The relationship with Matt abruptly ended.
Cut to the cinematic technique of a calender shedding pages like a tree in autumn, as time passed.
Then 9/11 happened. This prompted many Americans to feel the need to check in with past acquaintances and such. Vibeke looked for Matt, but he has a common last name and she couldn't find him. She was having, and continued to have, "where is he now" moments. She never found him.
But he found her.
Earlier this year, she was proctoring a test for students at a public school in Southern California where she was teaching. The phone rang.
It was Matt. He was beside himself. He had found her. Vibeke was stunned, but she was otherwise occupied. She gave him her number and told him to call back.
He did. He lived in Houston, she was dating someone else. The next time he came to town she was single. They met. The rest, they say, is history. They were married in June and are now newlyweds in Texas.
"What a great story," Melanie and I collectively thought. We were very happy for her, and him.
Later that evening, Melanie and I were chatting with Matt near the kitchen.
Matt asked about Melanie's ankle tattoo. He seemed interested. I mentioned Tattoosday. "Want to see something?" he asked. He motioned us into the kitchen, away from the rest of the party guests.
"You've heard how Vibeke and I met, right?" he asked, touching a button on his shirt. We nodded. And he began to tell his story, similar to his wife's version, only he paused after speaking of her leaving the island way back in 1995.
The month after she departed, still devastated from the abrupt end to their relationship, he returned to his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
And there, he told us, unbuttoning his shirt and revealing his left shoulder, he went to Route 66 Fine Line Tattoo and got this:
See, dear readers, there was a relevant point to this story.And Matt pointed out in this subtle aquatic tattoo, the marks of his true love. Here in the undulating leaves is a V for Vibeke, a C for her middle name, and an H (at the top of the piece) for her maiden name.
Woven into his tattoo of lost love and despair were the initials of the woman he loved. And he had no idea where she was.
But the years passed for Matt, as they did for Vibeke, and this ink in his flesh was an anchor reminding him of his love. And when people asked him about it, he explained it was just an aquatic-themed piece, an homage to his love of the ocean.
And fourteen years later they reunited and picked up where they had left off in 1995. Now married to the woman whose initials were subtly inked into his flesh, the tattoo has changed.
When fresh, the piece was a memento of loss, the missed moment of the road not taken, a reminder of a relationship that ended too soon.
Over the years, the tattoo meant hope that some day, the two would cross paths again. It was a daily reminder of what was lost, and what Matt hoped to regain.
Seemingly miraculously the two souls were reunited, and the tattoo, in its simple black and gray tones, represents perseverance and success. The ink may have faded in the sun, but the love only became more clear.
Matt and Vibeke's story is quite remarkable, and the time they were apart has faded. Togetherness always defeats the pain of separation.
I want to thank Matt and Vibeke for sharing their tale with us here on Tattoosday. It's not every day that we get to hear a full-blown love story on this site, and the fact that Matt's tattoo is at the center of it makes it even more wonderful.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Tattoos I Know: Tracy Returns with an Important Reminder
We originally introduced Tracy on Tattoosday back in January 2008 here.
Last Saturday night she was down visiting from upstate New York and she showed off her latest tattoo:
Inked on the inside of her left wrist, this simple message "Breathe" is a reminder to herself to "slow down and take it all in". In other words, when stressful things happen in life, pause, take a deep breath, and focus on the here and now.
This serves as an anchor to keep her grounded. Words on the wrist are great ways to help keep the focus (here's another example from earlier this year).
As a mother of two boys (one a teenager) and the wife of a soldier serving our country proudly in Afghanistan, one can only imagine the stress Tracy encounters on a daily basis. Yet every time I see her, she has a positive outlook and a smile. She's one of many people I know who use tattoos as symbols from which to gain emotional strength through challenging times.
The tattoo was done at Tattoos Forever in Evans Mills, NY.
Thanks again to Tracy for sharing her ink with us here on Tattoosday!
Last Saturday night she was down visiting from upstate New York and she showed off her latest tattoo:
Inked on the inside of her left wrist, this simple message "Breathe" is a reminder to herself to "slow down and take it all in". In other words, when stressful things happen in life, pause, take a deep breath, and focus on the here and now.
This serves as an anchor to keep her grounded. Words on the wrist are great ways to help keep the focus (here's another example from earlier this year).
As a mother of two boys (one a teenager) and the wife of a soldier serving our country proudly in Afghanistan, one can only imagine the stress Tracy encounters on a daily basis. Yet every time I see her, she has a positive outlook and a smile. She's one of many people I know who use tattoos as symbols from which to gain emotional strength through challenging times.
The tattoo was done at Tattoos Forever in Evans Mills, NY.
Thanks again to Tracy for sharing her ink with us here on Tattoosday!
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