Small Hip Tattoos

<div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXU1sm6KWYGiLFjxsKpZvKAoWCTQyzJ801R9azdzjU5E0lrJPxOxFjC1DRVmkmH0CQR8sHqbTCDpD-2Pg5G-yjbDEwR7bfAlbKPxlw9_isfrF9LXqUMy5cXorVBeldvOFOh8qjQ2Erm7A/s1600/small-hip-tattoo-6.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Hello kitty as angel idea.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv7A1yp1p9tnngqEcnGDsd8sWINaIPr59La_uOLYUuMcDMnxPv5rVC9gAB-aGN_RqrwPohv-Jj8QL52cEmckTxrtkER1jsdgHEuWQTnp65DSziLQgq9Vt4nF27N0Bw4sFKXv0nCJCCBXA/s400/small-hip-tattoo-7.jpg" width="372" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Small dove on lower abdomen.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl3tQdTl7tbqg4FAysLErvQfrug7-ZYLp41NQ1Ejh-IBIvHk2oSDfLLUw_VKkZ4lsFGjHkEPSR_gWUy_bpAjgd-DaHDpNCkBZLlO-c5yJRf8Q1A9M7zVIwuxFpyhO-pltumZeWOxUYS_c/s1600/small-hip-tattoo-5.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Three nice red hearts.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7LLxRolnWxRfJ9r34zgwZg8HKLrj43q2591vOOxtEL5r14a0htZL96JnsB_20hogpBvke4asI7BMKXGovZql4CeuwvFT8S5jin6UCeUleAZVxBBpkiD0sLrc2U7QWW_NHndzsM9l3Ymg/s1600/small-hip-tattoo-4.jpeg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Simple outline idea.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH-z-yyMtt_pnL9gX7km9C-sP_TvOZQBLMu4m9D7FKvo4PfFQWLICz9f2m2BfXtJKz0FAepGzsJSJiP6LVDHQF9WCk_6Q9kjVHrcPUw_2TR1ghe0LIChHkuj_IX3lZTMXTW0A6uEfzTPA/s1600/small-hip-tattoo-3.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Pretty butterfly ink.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSyccraOsEeYNjRf2YS8s6BJC71mBhWsUq1ZdBZpmN8dxnn-vSqpOXoCmKg8OKNPIjOVuLDtHfP_3ayl9Nod2d4hYe3JMSfJvqekk0IJ4Nb_TXBuvi4ymX3MBrn6yifkbXaLjBYSe7o0M/s1600/small-hip-tattoo-2.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">arty creation.</div><br />Much like any other tattoo location, hip tattoos come in all shapes and sizes, but for many potential ink artwork enthusiastic, especially new ones, smaller hip tattoos are the most requested of them all.<br /><br />Butterflies, hearts, birds and other cute little designs top the list for hip designs, and you can see a few lovely idea pictures in gallery below.

Small Hip Tattoos

Hello kitty as angel idea. Small dove on lower abdomen. Three nice red hearts. Simple outline idea. Pretty butterfly ink. arty creation. Muc...

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Michael and his Misfits Ink

I met Michael in Bay Ridge, at 92nd and 3rd Avenue, and he offered up these two tattoos on his forearm:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqiM0XSLOb73pg5x3FNY8SvfJ63YQyDuJGX7z_cdPxDaBzbYb6hwJ7CyPTpiyCiTjcyG6SYeZtvad1_O4Gatqd29MpAldX72pzmSDJv0lTtTT6HlE1yIksQ2V1UFPbhxWz_71cPYQe6qU/s1600/Misfits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqiM0XSLOb73pg5x3FNY8SvfJ63YQyDuJGX7z_cdPxDaBzbYb6hwJ7CyPTpiyCiTjcyG6SYeZtvad1_O4Gatqd29MpAldX72pzmSDJv0lTtTT6HlE1yIksQ2V1UFPbhxWz_71cPYQe6qU/s640/Misfits.jpg" width="284" /></a></div><br /> I recognized the top piece as a Misfits tattoo and asked why he chose it.<br /> <br /> He responded:<br /> <br /> <blockquote>"They are my favorite band of all time and when I say the Misfits, I mean the 1977-1983 Misfits. That to me is one of the greatest bands of all time and Glenn Danzig is my favorite singer of all time."</blockquote><br /> He credited Mark Harada, currently at East Side Ink, with tattooing this back in 2002.<br /> <br /> The Danzig skull below the Misfits piece was done, he told me, by Chris Torres at Inborn Tattoo NYC in 2010.<br /> <br /> Here's a little classic Misfits to get you going today:

Michael and his Misfits Ink

I met Michael in Bay Ridge, at 92nd and 3rd Avenue, and he offered up these two tattoos on his forearm: I recognized the top piece as a M...

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Alex Shares Three Elements of an Amazing Sleeve

I'm not sure why it has taken so long to post Alex's tattoos - when I met him at the end of May in K-Mart @ Penn Station, I was totally stoked by his ink. Perhaps I was just letting the photos simmer as I waited for the right time to share them. Nevertheless, here they are, finally.<br /> <br /> What we're seeing are three portions of Alex's left arm sleeve, beginning with this segment which is the most impressive part of the work:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr07y58ff6iCW5f_4H4hZtRvosZ9OcLwxdEQSYAw0BqhXhOcuON4Clc7SmaqO00-Tc4YI5YScwAvZoWsupdH-53GnnIGUfuvcDKNj60Vg19vCALzeCKyKPCOYMlGL9mrdx3Uju8H6flAA/s1600/Indra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr07y58ff6iCW5f_4H4hZtRvosZ9OcLwxdEQSYAw0BqhXhOcuON4Clc7SmaqO00-Tc4YI5YScwAvZoWsupdH-53GnnIGUfuvcDKNj60Vg19vCALzeCKyKPCOYMlGL9mrdx3Uju8H6flAA/s640/Indra.jpg" width="164" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As Alex explains, this tattoo is </div><blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"inspired by the carvings in Cambodia in Siem Reap ... it's one of the temples of Indra, Indian god of thunder ... he's also the god of change and progress ...  </div></blockquote><blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh53beq_QyvvrDXWrSUA33lHu51pf4ln0d0blfHbZ_sAIpWiVLKD6EU6aGETw68P6aT5Z56_HhyphenhyphenD5wK7KK6ZPSaTQNquGwRm4i95tIZbsGBNWvy6Y5CLmLqrCMUKBma6JT2WKMYBG1qkug/s1600/Indra+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh53beq_QyvvrDXWrSUA33lHu51pf4ln0d0blfHbZ_sAIpWiVLKD6EU6aGETw68P6aT5Z56_HhyphenhyphenD5wK7KK6ZPSaTQNquGwRm4i95tIZbsGBNWvy6Y5CLmLqrCMUKBma6JT2WKMYBG1qkug/s640/Indra+detail.jpg" width="254" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div></blockquote><br /> <blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> ... He's very human-like because he messes up a lot ... he's somewhat of a womanized, so it makes him very original from the rest of the Indian gods..."</div></blockquote>At the top of Alex's arm is this symbol:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdbG38pfo8o7hvOowheMIY3dIZiEgMPlm-hL9xYxVr8SoarFaFLBgCz2grky0l1rOcedEotnY0pQzz_u3LojeEAh_qaorfypb3lXvgUJ0fTAaSQ52aw1H4TXCRH2PI4UKz4UpTR3j5wCw/s1600/Life+of+Agony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdbG38pfo8o7hvOowheMIY3dIZiEgMPlm-hL9xYxVr8SoarFaFLBgCz2grky0l1rOcedEotnY0pQzz_u3LojeEAh_qaorfypb3lXvgUJ0fTAaSQ52aw1H4TXCRH2PI4UKz4UpTR3j5wCw/s640/Life+of+Agony.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> He told me that this is the logo of a hard rock group from Brooklyn called Life of Agony.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj87QMDDXuywiCPSSSXrLuVg_F9o_0NddsOKb0WO_Mp7YVcgbxi2G6_8t3vw0MtS9k0_ghuA1qOUSx7xTOs15DFUwwY8Fmz4a-3LPlkuf3v91jB9xmERlRfh3Nkq65qU09yEV99Q3Ls9ck/s1600/51RItv2N2iL._SL500_AA280_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj87QMDDXuywiCPSSSXrLuVg_F9o_0NddsOKb0WO_Mp7YVcgbxi2G6_8t3vw0MtS9k0_ghuA1qOUSx7xTOs15DFUwwY8Fmz4a-3LPlkuf3v91jB9xmERlRfh3Nkq65qU09yEV99Q3Ls9ck/s400/51RItv2N2iL._SL500_AA280_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> You can check out their website here or peruse their Amazon catalog here.<br /> <br /> In the photo above, you get a glimpse of the third and final segment of Alex's sleeve which we're seeing today, which features this familiar face:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9HHILCrmDhVHNE_q5ijbragjIDP0lxPEPZqAz35o1gchD2mhygT1P24Czn6xMs-aWUPUKteqhL8bRm_r3M0RZYFoYMEnhi9HsUaD96xSwVtyJunSb7rpt0lt3ckVMVC6vZqXvMltlY0E/s1600/Steeplechase.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9HHILCrmDhVHNE_q5ijbragjIDP0lxPEPZqAz35o1gchD2mhygT1P24Czn6xMs-aWUPUKteqhL8bRm_r3M0RZYFoYMEnhi9HsUaD96xSwVtyJunSb7rpt0lt3ckVMVC6vZqXvMltlY0E/s640/Steeplechase.jpg" width="290" /></a></div><br /> That's the symbolic face of  Steeplechase Park on Coney Island.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilOlJmo-SdSXYdrhG6L4JTgZzbpJ9xpZjSguYL6wytxWCqJWsRXH5dhnx2eWOR6A9HuU5rr6okeLZWLPF5hJ4MohF4a5I_nbKsohGLCK0v4qcbdrt-1L5qMC8LBU13_AV4bGHUlYwnghI/s400/CONEY+ISLAND+STEEPLE+CHASE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilOlJmo-SdSXYdrhG6L4JTgZzbpJ9xpZjSguYL6wytxWCqJWsRXH5dhnx2eWOR6A9HuU5rr6okeLZWLPF5hJ4MohF4a5I_nbKsohGLCK0v4qcbdrt-1L5qMC8LBU13_AV4bGHUlYwnghI/s400/CONEY+ISLAND+STEEPLE+CHASE.jpg" width="290" /></a></div><br /> Compare to this tattoo, which appeared here last year.<br /> <br /> Alex explained about his connection to Coney Island:<br /> <blockquote>"...Basically, I grew up there ... I grew up in Bensonhurst, but [Coney Island] is kind of where I became myself, adolescence and all that stuff - that's the <u>old</u> Coney Island..."</blockquote>Alex credited all of his work to a tattoo artist named Seth Wood who is currently working out of Saved Tattoo in Brooklyn.<br /> <br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span>

Alex Shares Three Elements of an Amazing Sleeve

I'm not sure why it has taken so long to post Alex's tattoos - when I met him at the end of May in K-Mart @ Penn Station, I was tota...

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Liberty and Justice, Courtesy of Alex

I met Alex a few weeks back in Penn Station. I spotted this familiar face on his right calf:<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7sSId5xSgAO6zGKU4X9DG3hsbWGdHJHrBUosOeqW60t4bMSM3jVxpeX2iORvMr082zN-q4kj06txwpYP-2_bMVmsonP8NjEUs4AqLt2UFmC1gbdG32B9PivqiSiRA_OR_6o3gUSoN7Xs/s1600/liberty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7sSId5xSgAO6zGKU4X9DG3hsbWGdHJHrBUosOeqW60t4bMSM3jVxpeX2iORvMr082zN-q4kj06txwpYP-2_bMVmsonP8NjEUs4AqLt2UFmC1gbdG32B9PivqiSiRA_OR_6o3gUSoN7Xs/s400/liberty.jpg" width="232" /></a></div><br /> I say a familiar face, because it is clearly the profile of the Statue of Liberty, but something looks slightly different. Alex explained why:<br /> <blockquote>"It's the right side of the face, [which] is really hard to find because the arm for the torch is in the way ... I had to research forever and then I found two photos which I matched up ... one was when it was under construction, someone got the right side ... the crown part we had to reverse and put onto the picture ... I'm pretty particular - it actually  took two weeks to come up with a good design..."</blockquote>Alex says he got this tattoo a few years back "to commemorate President Bush leaving office." He was living in Portland, Oregon, at the time and is originally from Albany, New York. The collaboration on the tattoo was with an artist named Ron at a shop whose name he doesn't recall.<br /> <br /> As happy as I was to take this photo, Alex was more keen on showing off a newer piece, done by Chris Reynolds at Albany Modern Body Art. He raised his shirt up to show me this tattoo on his right side:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh298DWgeBVwFHFflMwZkClZ8fpYK5UiY3_RTgH3hwkRn9MLBYAv0BvZCdnWc8VwCBvRxodCxwBMcbUWBz-HC3u-y7dsVh-D0SNcVxcDw4vj9JR6JoT_NsqlF4YPQRefcXyLY1BmBW3SkA/s1600/justice+large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh298DWgeBVwFHFflMwZkClZ8fpYK5UiY3_RTgH3hwkRn9MLBYAv0BvZCdnWc8VwCBvRxodCxwBMcbUWBz-HC3u-y7dsVh-D0SNcVxcDw4vj9JR6JoT_NsqlF4YPQRefcXyLY1BmBW3SkA/s400/justice+large.jpg" width="290" /></a></div><br /> Alex explained that his ink had a very Northeastern slant to it. This tattoo fits in with the general feel of that theme.<br /> <br /> He wanted to be sure to praise the guys at Modern Body Art and was really very proud of this work.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9owP_dkKwqkDFo1JifILzXxvalpmrdchLknV_Dgw9p_3ExPFrIfgqosfviRE2hoFlPrU1DEaI5N5f95VaHdzH9l4VbKLAl2_p6FTjmLXl4biwUGwhZqF3kWkr9Er1SeNBFJPqlReJT7A/s1600/Justice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9owP_dkKwqkDFo1JifILzXxvalpmrdchLknV_Dgw9p_3ExPFrIfgqosfviRE2hoFlPrU1DEaI5N5f95VaHdzH9l4VbKLAl2_p6FTjmLXl4biwUGwhZqF3kWkr9Er1SeNBFJPqlReJT7A/s640/Justice.jpg" width="241" /></a></div>

Liberty and Justice, Courtesy of Alex

I met Alex a few weeks back in Penn Station. I spotted this familiar face on his right calf: I say a familiar face, because it is clearly ...

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Two from Samanatha, Including a Tattoo for Bubbie

I met Samanatha last month in Penn Station and asked her about her many tattoos. She's 26, and has been getting inked since she was 18, and appears to be going at a steady clip, because she has a lot of great work.<br /> <br /> She was kind enough to share two of her tattoos, both from her right arm. The first piece is this hamsa:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKbZbLcWeMBiglfbIlNVKQw47xa7PWRjQ7Zz2hmc0CNcitZ8_uQZXz-BmcoUD-mgQwoY80OzzEFLJ3b0yTPxQW9v2sQJ2VgJ2vRkYi5Y7SCfYWpoCUYqc1mL6ohlyDBZxwYk2HkL_CCgA/s1600/hamsa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKbZbLcWeMBiglfbIlNVKQw47xa7PWRjQ7Zz2hmc0CNcitZ8_uQZXz-BmcoUD-mgQwoY80OzzEFLJ3b0yTPxQW9v2sQJ2VgJ2vRkYi5Y7SCfYWpoCUYqc1mL6ohlyDBZxwYk2HkL_CCgA/s400/hamsa.jpg" width="191" /></a></div><br /> Samantha explained that she got this tattoo in memory of her grandmother, or "bubbie," as they're known among many Jewish grandchildren. Samanthha's bubbie passed away a few months ago. I asked her what she thought of her tattoos and she replied, "Well, being a Jewish bubbie, I don't think she was too excited about them, but I always asked her if, as long as she still loved me, then it was okay; and she always said, "ach, yeah."<br /> <br /> This hamsa, a symbol often associated with luck and warding off the "evil eye," was inked by Josh Schlageter at Hand of Doom Tattoo in Buffalo.<br /> <br /> Samantha also offered up this dragon tattoo:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi32dOCwSPeBpPw0X-OLQe1a8kntSCM9Q9xyXVocZIJDq8al_la6e46rnrvO1pFTgwwkOZSkw5XVzgN-dOxvr2Lw8Ft-NOwkIO-7kd8PLnHgFQ7CWJyHTrA3Km7GfmJcb4gPUCG1I-5fb0/s1600/dragon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi32dOCwSPeBpPw0X-OLQe1a8kntSCM9Q9xyXVocZIJDq8al_la6e46rnrvO1pFTgwwkOZSkw5XVzgN-dOxvr2Lw8Ft-NOwkIO-7kd8PLnHgFQ7CWJyHTrA3Km7GfmJcb4gPUCG1I-5fb0/s640/dragon.jpg" width="250" /></a></div><br /> She got this from Steve Boltz at Smith Street Tattoo Parlour in Brooklyn, explaining:<br /> <blockquote>"It's called a  spaulding dragon - it's old sailor flash ... I just wanted to go to one of the guys that could do one really, really well. Everybody in the tattoo community up in Buffalo that I know said, 'you gotta go to Steve Boltz', so I traveled down here to got see him."</blockquote>

Two from Samanatha, Including a Tattoo for Bubbie

I met Samanatha last month in Penn Station and asked her about her many tattoos. She's 26, and has been getting inked since she was 18, ...

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Emma's Monarchs, and a Spalsh of Verlaine

At the end of July, a young woman named Emma missed her train in Penn Station and had some time to kill. Her wait was shortened when I chanced upon her and asked about this lovely tattoo she had going on her left arm:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNXer9qtPtABI7G6DHKN7v8JyEszoCVGpa5EWhbcfaBWBxoYKl1OjcZHuLq1HehjoIi1z7Q8d9lSVCK3rzqXuM3BFVk83TnAo9iECTL7372aftj92PoAwhNR4i0PMkRrzxz4Ocjl-K-og/s1600/monarch+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNXer9qtPtABI7G6DHKN7v8JyEszoCVGpa5EWhbcfaBWBxoYKl1OjcZHuLq1HehjoIi1z7Q8d9lSVCK3rzqXuM3BFVk83TnAo9iECTL7372aftj92PoAwhNR4i0PMkRrzxz4Ocjl-K-og/s400/monarch+2.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><br /> She explained the origins of this wonderful body art:<br /> <blockquote><div class="MsoNormal">"I knew that I wanted a monarch. And I knew that I wanted it on my arm. And I knew that I wanted it coming out of a chrysalis ... I did a lot of research online and ... didn’t know who I wanted to get it done by and was just in San Diego for the day with my cousin. Pacific Beach, actually, and was ... shopping in Pacific Beach and walked into a tattoo parlor, just like 'Oh, let’s go look at tattoo parlors!' and was flipping through all the catalogs and it was like dragon, dragon, dragon. Samurai guy, samurai guy, samurai guy. And then opened one and it was just all these amazing beautiful naturescapes and just amazing detail and I immediately, right there was like, 'whoever this is, I want this person to do my tattoo'. And they were like, 'Hold on. She’s in the back' … her name is Rebecca Min and I basically came to her with the idea and was like, 'You’re the artist, so I want it hanging from a dead branch. I want the branch to be black and gray and I love monarchs.'</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDn8PfGx67bJ-2OmYf2aS5QTL5dtIdU-0kKN9iL-kK907LfHZsbB8rozIGIIScp3kQsZ7dK1rCcvI2uNEz0Y6FJjstkfn773Ut0IS1b_qEkJ2Ehrv3QsO8DYOZe6jEkSsnrDMlDw_Io_s/s1600/monarch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDn8PfGx67bJ-2OmYf2aS5QTL5dtIdU-0kKN9iL-kK907LfHZsbB8rozIGIIScp3kQsZ7dK1rCcvI2uNEz0Y6FJjstkfn773Ut0IS1b_qEkJ2Ehrv3QsO8DYOZe6jEkSsnrDMlDw_Io_s/s400/monarch.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><br /> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">I have always loved monarchs for my whole life from when I was three. That’s one of my earliest memories, I found a monarch caterpillar with my great aunt and took it home from Wisconsin to, at the time, Chicago, in a jar with some milkweed and watched it spin a chrysalis and then hatch out of the chrysalis and then let it go and ever since then I’ve just loved monarchs …they’ve reminded me of the older women in my family, my grandmother, my great aunt.</span><br /> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal">It’s still a work in progress and she combined all these pictures, she put them together and I knew that I wanted the chrysalis to be empty, like it had just come out of the chrysalis, like a rebirth sort of thing and we both had the idea to make it translucent so that you could see the branch through the chrysalis...</div><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkg1KsSHFQMajZ3ZOd6O2HTiv_03EGyH5HXRWd5g_qWO6gzzf8_5eAbeyvH-N6u0zp68OnDMvaclFFM2mDpDdscJDvysF1_jkr78nk2JplVM54-wE_pb2p8ZEydaUUTrl_urpok3gu9_E/s1600/monarch+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkg1KsSHFQMajZ3ZOd6O2HTiv_03EGyH5HXRWd5g_qWO6gzzf8_5eAbeyvH-N6u0zp68OnDMvaclFFM2mDpDdscJDvysF1_jkr78nk2JplVM54-wE_pb2p8ZEydaUUTrl_urpok3gu9_E/s400/monarch+detail.jpg" width="262" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal">We’ve been working on it for over a year and a half now, just bits and pieces , my longest session was three and a half hours and I had the idea to do a whole swarm from different perspectives and once we have all of those one, she’s going to pick a light source from one direction and do shadows….and she’s  gonna do moss on the branches, a white lichen."</div></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal">The shop where Emma began to work with Rebecca Min was Chronic Tattoo. Emma says Rebecca has moved on to Eden Tattoo, although she is still listed as an artist on the Chronic website.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal">Emma also has these tattoos on her wrists:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLgOrLEMwlpXPsM6uhYfJu_zWFwnrh3-fD7ODTqY5BOd1g5enuZFt78pUgAk24eRR2bxupIJXaIHqeZW0PX5oay5DzHT_gUeqvCJ06dL80j7QuuFEGXX-KP5ytF61l6f1h3nZ5weTiwPw/s1600/monarch+wrists.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLgOrLEMwlpXPsM6uhYfJu_zWFwnrh3-fD7ODTqY5BOd1g5enuZFt78pUgAk24eRR2bxupIJXaIHqeZW0PX5oay5DzHT_gUeqvCJ06dL80j7QuuFEGXX-KP5ytF61l6f1h3nZ5weTiwPw/s400/monarch+wrists.jpg" width="352" /></a></div><br /> The left wrist reads, "Les roses étaient toutes rouges et les lierres étaient tout noirs" which translates to "The roses were all red and ivy were all black."<br /> <br /> The right wrist reads, "Voici des fruits, des fleurs, des feuilles et des branches" which translates to "Here are fruits, flowers, leaves and branches."<br />   <br /> <div class="MsoNormal">Emma elaborates: <br /> <blockquote>They are the first two lines of the last two songs in a set called "Aria T'oublie" by Claude Debussy. The poetry is by Paul Verlaine. I was a classical voice major in college and I wanted to do the set for my senior recital and I am obviously not your normal opera singer and my voice teacher said, 'Okay, that’s fine you can do the set, except for the last two songs. They’re too hard for you.' And I said, 'Fuck you.' And I took a year off and did nothing but practice and did lessons and studied and performed the set and was, too my knowledge, the first undergraduate ever to perform the set in its entirety. And so this was my badge of honor. Now seven year later, eight years later and until I’m in my eighties, I can look down and read these first two lines and remember every single word in French to both of these songs.</blockquote></div><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal">I was in West Hollywood, I was 23 and had 50 bucks and was like 'who can do this for really cheap?' and I don’t remember what his name was but I do know that at the time he had a sprained wrist and he was like 'I’ll do it. I’ll do it cheap. But I can’t believe you’re making me tattoo in a foreign language, upside down, with a sprained wrist.'</div></blockquote>

Emma's Monarchs, and a Spalsh of Verlaine

At the end of July, a young woman named Emma missed her train in Penn Station and had some time to kill. Her wait was shortened when I chanc...

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Gowrish Shares His Blessing, Amma in Ink

There are times when I feel lucky to find a tattoo by an amazing artist and then there are times I find something that is so breathtaking, I feel honored to be able to share work by a true master of the craft.<br /> <br /> Last week, I was walking down Crosby Street in SoHo when I met Gowrish after spotting a flash of color poking out of his short sleeve shirt. After he called the artist to make sure it was okay with her that I take pictures, Gowrish shared what I consider one of the finest tattoos I've ever posted on Tattoosday. Check out this piece by New York artist Denise de la Cerda, of Inkline Studio:<br /> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihoDoZIMZPfiZu8jMFncHhsFtwwcutR8lk5SUlGsRlu9aSbLLmRstMex4NRy2fB1Rj8cBG0LI9iM_p7yESkA0qvWdKRTKw2EKNvDZTtlOThyphenhyphen4twj34oJ7v5LMgz_5ey0_AY7nb3-rxID4/s1600/delacerda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihoDoZIMZPfiZu8jMFncHhsFtwwcutR8lk5SUlGsRlu9aSbLLmRstMex4NRy2fB1Rj8cBG0LI9iM_p7yESkA0qvWdKRTKw2EKNvDZTtlOThyphenhyphen4twj34oJ7v5LMgz_5ey0_AY7nb3-rxID4/s640/delacerda.jpg" width="313" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tattoo by Denise de la Cerda</td></tr> </tbody></table><br /> Gowrish explained who this tattoo depicts:<br /> <br /> <blockquote>"This is Amma, who is the Divine Mother and comes from India ... she's a great humanitarian leader and spiritual leader. She does a lot of good work. The 'Hugging Saint' they call her in the West...Denise [de la Cerda]  is amazing, one of the things is that it's really difficult to capture ...it's considered a great blessing  if you can have Amma's image like this ... Denise is very blessed because this is so real life that it's kind of unbelievable....<br /> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJEWAHi6CjTlMJkeIaKqe2YUiLIXnivAPew0F1X5_unBs7WTnab-gb6Au3gAzMcu3mvaxPEwHfvzLrBDB6WWsmcL2QKT39kL0Q0Iy0nTwM6kyuF5ZFQHDo_LQZx4gK_BHGO67Uk4ABvrA/s1600/delacerda+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJEWAHi6CjTlMJkeIaKqe2YUiLIXnivAPew0F1X5_unBs7WTnab-gb6Au3gAzMcu3mvaxPEwHfvzLrBDB6WWsmcL2QKT39kL0Q0Iy0nTwM6kyuF5ZFQHDo_LQZx4gK_BHGO67Uk4ABvrA/s400/delacerda+detail.jpg" width="250" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tattoo by Denise de la Cerda</td></tr> </tbody></table><br /> She tattoos the way that an artist paints, she's a real artist .... the detail of the fabric and everything you see her are traditional Indian offerings ...  the lotus, apples, bananas ... incense stick - see the smoke ... Indian sweets ... rice ... a lamp ...it's so amazing, right?"<br /> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPIoUgnjSnZvYsPt_P8nBjSHkrAo5DnWH_dD9WLh8hTgHAh0BS5Z13W9v8dn_vS3Z4EJ1xzA88qrHdhmrBGFvGfNeWVDFKmg3ARUGs6iPvE94xKLXvMDRufaQ6eInIAfHbwALraHnxQ5c/s1600/delacerda+detail+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPIoUgnjSnZvYsPt_P8nBjSHkrAo5DnWH_dD9WLh8hTgHAh0BS5Z13W9v8dn_vS3Z4EJ1xzA88qrHdhmrBGFvGfNeWVDFKmg3ARUGs6iPvE94xKLXvMDRufaQ6eInIAfHbwALraHnxQ5c/s320/delacerda+detail+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tattoo by Denise de la Cerda</td></tr> </tbody></table></blockquote>Take a look, also, at the amazing detail Denise created in the flower garland around Amma's neck. This truly is a sensational piece of tattoo art.<br /> <br /> You can learn more about at Amma at http://www.amma.org/. I first became familiar with Denise de la Cerda's talent when I posted these amazing tattoos over two years ago. I encourage people to visit her website, http://www.chicksdigtattoos.com to check out more of her work

Gowrish Shares His Blessing, Amma in Ink

There are times when I feel lucky to find a tattoo by an amazing artist and then there are times I find something that is so breathtaking, I...

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Kareem's Tattoo is So Brooklyn....

Earlier this year, I met Kareem, one of the many inked employees at the Upper West Side Trader Joe's. I gave him my card when I spotted him in the aisles, and saw him on subsequent visits, but I generally won't trouble people while they're working.<br /> <br /> Earlier this month, I spotted him on a break in nearby Verdi Square, and took the opportunity to snap a photo of this, one of his thirty (30!) tattoos:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKcIlqPgEdtGajkBnFImX6c9MdW7gLCViU49wVWGa4b1aFPAMej1k0prm1k5ts0xsr2WGbz8XemblNh7pTGaKL82HDpLEhFPILieFMRH8vNqd6urf94MyUVIl2TLWVc7Z5KITlF2KNb1Y/s1600/so+brooklyn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKcIlqPgEdtGajkBnFImX6c9MdW7gLCViU49wVWGa4b1aFPAMej1k0prm1k5ts0xsr2WGbz8XemblNh7pTGaKL82HDpLEhFPILieFMRH8vNqd6urf94MyUVIl2TLWVc7Z5KITlF2KNb1Y/s400/so+brooklyn.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> I know the photo is a little small, but clicking on it will give you better detail.<br /> <br /> It seemed appropriate, with much of the country focused on the northeast today as Hurricane Irene bears down (or is it up?) on us, that we celebrate Kareem (and my) borough.<br /> <br /> Kareem explained:<br /> <blockquote>"I came up with the idea of <i>So Brooklyn</i> ... I see a lot of people with a lot of just plain <i>Brooklyn</i> tattoos and I have yet to own a car, so I put the trains under it, as you can see, to represent <i>my</i> Brooklyn, and how I get around, far as the bridge and everything else. I took a lot of time to really design this tattoo and give it to my artist and it came out really well."</blockquote>He credited an artist named Chia at Big Fish Tattoos in Jamaica, Queens. It should be noted that their MySpace page says that Big Fish is no longer in business.

Kareem's Tattoo is So Brooklyn....

Earlier this year, I met Kareem, one of the many inked employees at the Upper West Side Trader Joe's. I gave him my card when I spotted ...

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Three Tattoos from Sabrina

I met Sabrina on Penn Plaza back in June after stopping to admire her tattoos. She has three and talked me through them chronologically.<br /> <br /> She explained , "I like to get [a tattoo] for every place I lived," and her first one was this butterfly armband:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1avRE2eB2MrztywcwMN4uVhYNIXWDIzFCcwm_Pz1ErRP3DmB97TVc-ifdl0mM7BN8zwIEtXkl9nPBUvDiTvym73Mn36FM14XiAMcIFHfzFb6WYYUPn9jGgRhIeSUuuzLNu98f0eblytk/s1600/butterfly+band+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1avRE2eB2MrztywcwMN4uVhYNIXWDIzFCcwm_Pz1ErRP3DmB97TVc-ifdl0mM7BN8zwIEtXkl9nPBUvDiTvym73Mn36FM14XiAMcIFHfzFb6WYYUPn9jGgRhIeSUuuzLNu98f0eblytk/s400/butterfly+band+1.jpg" width="276" /></a></div><br /> Sabrina is from upstate New York. She went to one of the shops in Utica and spoke to the owner about getting an armband. He dismissed her initial request, saying "I don't do armbands anymore, they're too 1990". So, Sabrina explained, "he designed a different sort of armband and went with that ... ".<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2jHcbFkhG0OBNTyTI0bsxuSZ70HjULteACk-nOY9cv15C5xktdYhAim8d5hJGHMbdW_93E4FmsyjzUsDr6XPknhTnPT_zICsrTDyw_xFpyGWTax06cdxojVDlL8Z1qiBjRg1yhJUkwLI/s1600/butterfly+band+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2jHcbFkhG0OBNTyTI0bsxuSZ70HjULteACk-nOY9cv15C5xktdYhAim8d5hJGHMbdW_93E4FmsyjzUsDr6XPknhTnPT_zICsrTDyw_xFpyGWTax06cdxojVDlL8Z1qiBjRg1yhJUkwLI/s400/butterfly+band+2.jpg" width="330" /></a></div><br /> She added, "I like butterflies because I like things that fly ... I feel like I'm a free spirit." One of the butterflies is based on a necklace that she wore every day.<br /> <br /> Her second piece is on her right forearm and is what she referred to as her "college tattoo":<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyEYy18z6XP2ESY4sTG_diG8Q0SBpVCryc7XH-KFhHEKGJ-i2zONJLoJu8X-sVr4jT0PwUriIr7RgT8TmFUzzUXp5ny53nTD4Q44Zn3geEWrztz4HPy3SdGjHgmJfANUqiNKAgxyJVkKY/s1600/hiero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyEYy18z6XP2ESY4sTG_diG8Q0SBpVCryc7XH-KFhHEKGJ-i2zONJLoJu8X-sVr4jT0PwUriIr7RgT8TmFUzzUXp5ny53nTD4Q44Zn3geEWrztz4HPy3SdGjHgmJfANUqiNKAgxyJVkKY/s400/hiero.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> Sabrina told me, "I just wanted another tattoo and I like Egyptian hieroglyphs." This is one of the symbols that really appealed to her, and she had this inked at a shop in White Plains, New York, near where she went to college.<br /> <br /> Her third tattoo, also inspired by hieroglyphs, is the one she got after coming to New York City:<br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrGnl7wms3AqPrd9yyxrZYCDX36LNQi5JfulHrfi9X555sRkrUTJJrXwY6kqNGSN9q_IlHuuiTixQH-qnfz7W_DLmV3fnSeblBRhy4-JtZPBavvskvk-Q3yFyzokp0OPER_vIymCSCFfY/s1600/bang+bang+owl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrGnl7wms3AqPrd9yyxrZYCDX36LNQi5JfulHrfi9X555sRkrUTJJrXwY6kqNGSN9q_IlHuuiTixQH-qnfz7W_DLmV3fnSeblBRhy4-JtZPBavvskvk-Q3yFyzokp0OPER_vIymCSCFfY/s400/bang+bang+owl.jpg" width="262" /></a></div><br /> This owl tattoo is more realistic, although she wanted it positioned like a hieroglyph. It is a great horned owl and was tattooed by Bang Bang at East Side Ink.

Three Tattoos from Sabrina

I met Sabrina on Penn Plaza back in June after stopping to admire her tattoos. She has three and talked me through them chronologically. S...

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Emily Picks Her Poison

It's always interesting when I meet someone with a lot of tattoos, trying to guess, when you ask them to pick just one, which piece they will choose to share. A couple weeks ago, I met Emily, who has two full sleeves, along with her chest and back tattooed. She selected this tattoo on her right forearm for our readers to enjoy:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqaG_oJGom5vg7LZFr4H7I4jH0IRDdAmyBgrPrIw9o6803WOmLJrQx16bofaEorhe1CBNNvNvVk7Vmo_c8_qtG55LWNnp6jcRnAX8LNMBXGvOT4SK1T3A5dQ56-k6ABmYr0lTJQTnQnw/s1600/Poison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqaG_oJGom5vg7LZFr4H7I4jH0IRDdAmyBgrPrIw9o6803WOmLJrQx16bofaEorhe1CBNNvNvVk7Vmo_c8_qtG55LWNnp6jcRnAX8LNMBXGvOT4SK1T3A5dQ56-k6ABmYr0lTJQTnQnw/s400/Poison.jpg" width="315" /></a></div><br /> This is a take on the famous Sailor Jerry design, like the one seen in this post from 2008:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJPIGi8bh741gNLsKzdchgTJRqBrV_7a1uk7b3keDI0aU2Ef8a-v0D5cxrNwLPYZMBU8X5N5MLN_LQUUmcRTyGr_1FDLg77litlTPHAZhhvshP9_Rg4caVXF5lctMz2YN3mnuz-qnBUms/s1600/PICT0759.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJPIGi8bh741gNLsKzdchgTJRqBrV_7a1uk7b3keDI0aU2Ef8a-v0D5cxrNwLPYZMBU8X5N5MLN_LQUUmcRTyGr_1FDLg77litlTPHAZhhvshP9_Rg4caVXF5lctMz2YN3mnuz-qnBUms/s400/PICT0759.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /> Emily created a male version of the classic "Posion" Sailor Jerry woman. She explained:<br /> <blockquote>"I was a Women's Studies major an an undergrad and when I started getting a lot of tattoos, I thought, 'This'll be funny'. That's what most of my tattoos are."</blockquote>The tattoo was done by Alex Franklin when he was at Sinister Ink in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Sinister Ink has long since closed (Revolver Tattoo is located in its place) and Alex has been working out of Brooklyn Ink in Bay Ridge for many years now.

Emily Picks Her Poison

It's always interesting when I meet someone with a lot of tattoos, trying to guess, when you ask them to pick just one, which piece they...

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Ryan's Tattoo Commemorates the Life of Dolly

Earlier this month I met Ryan, who has a whole host of tattoos. We were working on a project together, so we spent a bit of time chewing the fat, and he wanted to share this particular tattoo, which is on his right forearm:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhifWgX0V7b_OK8ASC4RfVvSZh7a1B9wkpfCt-yrD2QQz_jhSOtIjSE0IzJLgjHn6n8jPqkA65BLJk2gyalj_NK_TfdWkPw3tQc4Z99rhw-mUtKQ11-UBHVRftGg6g3nT5OEoFXJ6qiJhM/s1600/dolly+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhifWgX0V7b_OK8ASC4RfVvSZh7a1B9wkpfCt-yrD2QQz_jhSOtIjSE0IzJLgjHn6n8jPqkA65BLJk2gyalj_NK_TfdWkPw3tQc4Z99rhw-mUtKQ11-UBHVRftGg6g3nT5OEoFXJ6qiJhM/s400/dolly+1.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><br /> Ryan explained how he was raised by his grandmother, whose name was Dolly, but he just called Mom. She lived a full life, well into her nineties, and was pretty much the only mother he really knew. After she passed, he wanted something to memorialize her and got this tattoo which not only has her name, but a black rose, a skull, a sparrow, and a derringer. He elaborated about his grandmother's life:<br /> <br /> <blockquote>"Back in the day, when she was 19 or 20 years old, she was in the Irish mob and she made whiskey and hooch and she would basically run it back and forth across state lines and that's how she made her money. That's how she supported her family. That's what the derringer is for, because she would always keep a derringer in her bra, just in case something happened ... the black rose ... is symbolic of her life and her passing, which is the skull ... the bird - she's free - you know, God always keeps his eye on the sparrow ... it's a montage of her very interesting life."</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpj4d67uL87HFE6XOmT5n_QyByi3oiv66e8PQknUaN2DLI9HFTRW0KJK-YMdjcR9XST7xniqhgC1mUKgPhi5q8uw3t0fubPs7GAaUXGvwrqcsltmQlTJD3RTXReKBUOX9xn0YrjKRuWdA/s1600/Dolly+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpj4d67uL87HFE6XOmT5n_QyByi3oiv66e8PQknUaN2DLI9HFTRW0KJK-YMdjcR9XST7xniqhgC1mUKgPhi5q8uw3t0fubPs7GAaUXGvwrqcsltmQlTJD3RTXReKBUOX9xn0YrjKRuWdA/s400/Dolly+2.jpg" width="222" /></a></div><br /> Ryan had this tattoo done in Mobile, Alabama, buy an artist he only knows as 'Link,' a tattooist who spent a lot of time in Philadelphia and who also owns a shop in Pensacola, Florida.

Ryan's Tattoo Commemorates the Life of Dolly

Earlier this month I met Ryan, who has a whole host of tattoos. We were working on a project together, so we spent a bit of time chewing the...

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Daniel Gives Us a Lady Liberty Update

Last May, we featured this great tattoo, courtesy of Daniel:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVoZIE7HZTvKqdiJ5E9RojsxPsVfdHdWgdc_C3vKKe2D0lKHHQGSenZDNHZf9IJ4eo8Oyu93CPaLzXzyoVOl_n86wIABw0F-zcOl-lJbX9hyc0Seh7Jpa0YyVBF_6JASd1hoKsxjPyDSs/s1600/Lady+Liberty+Dead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVoZIE7HZTvKqdiJ5E9RojsxPsVfdHdWgdc_C3vKKe2D0lKHHQGSenZDNHZf9IJ4eo8Oyu93CPaLzXzyoVOl_n86wIABw0F-zcOl-lJbX9hyc0Seh7Jpa0YyVBF_6JASd1hoKsxjPyDSs/s400/Lady+Liberty+Dead.jpg" width="310" /></a></div><br /> Read the original post here.<br /> <br /> Daniel recently sent me updated photos of his sleeve, which I thought we'd share here. This work is all by the amazing Guido Baldini. He tattooed Daniel during a recent stint at Brooklyn Tattoo here in New York.<br /> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiezzHt5JGmIPP8HRM4SHrtdhPn2TibDZFiATCn1PNwuQjoqJTZEauVhQU924_eJoCS_ZcAdxsp2r7TfvAbaNIViBZFhS863HmyersP8WSxAIE25BvGNfWuk_kzuVAtuoh0vweaKr-qAVo/s1600/Lady+Liberty+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiezzHt5JGmIPP8HRM4SHrtdhPn2TibDZFiATCn1PNwuQjoqJTZEauVhQU924_eJoCS_ZcAdxsp2r7TfvAbaNIViBZFhS863HmyersP8WSxAIE25BvGNfWuk_kzuVAtuoh0vweaKr-qAVo/s640/Lady+Liberty+3.jpg" width="186" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Courtesy of Daniel Valvano and Guido Baldini</td></tr> </tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO_xwDMvvblTW6yCb-u4j1ku4ZTSbexr90oU3q2nX2CIa4iQbABggtXRcaaMsFmWrohQyn4msU9DOG1nlCI-N7gD8p64t53n0Y3dg3yMKd0K2mKZH8Ay8CwTndXV4pyDfUw80zmvbb20Y/s1600/Lady+Liberty+Update+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO_xwDMvvblTW6yCb-u4j1ku4ZTSbexr90oU3q2nX2CIa4iQbABggtXRcaaMsFmWrohQyn4msU9DOG1nlCI-N7gD8p64t53n0Y3dg3yMKd0K2mKZH8Ay8CwTndXV4pyDfUw80zmvbb20Y/s640/Lady+Liberty+Update+1.jpg" width="286" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Courtesy of Daniel Valvano and Guido Baldini</td></tr> </tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfqD4ghtJoT2hGqVsu9n_oDflXF007ko2VTLW01PAq2MsPZvZTkETA5gIhu41NFsfRflzx480Ba-EI5s_3VTJ0srdg0b8-8vSQrmfXbXgrHCbKpiQ1ldEiivtFqOjD-Gt6NaZi9Z7qts/s1600/Lady+Liberty+Update+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfqD4ghtJoT2hGqVsu9n_oDflXF007ko2VTLW01PAq2MsPZvZTkETA5gIhu41NFsfRflzx480Ba-EI5s_3VTJ0srdg0b8-8vSQrmfXbXgrHCbKpiQ1ldEiivtFqOjD-Gt6NaZi9Z7qts/s400/Lady+Liberty+Update+2.jpg" width="336" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Courtesy of Daniel Valvano and Guido Baldini</td></tr> </tbody></table>As Daniel explained it, he worked with Guido and<br /> <blockquote>"We wanted to keep the theme going so I said I wanted a creepy background and he just free handed the clouds and lightening. The rotten apple was thrown in there at the very end." </blockquote>

Daniel Gives Us a Lady Liberty Update

Last May, we featured this great tattoo, courtesy of Daniel: Read the original post here. Daniel recently sent me updated photos of his...

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Sean's Garnish, Inspired by a Friend

<div class="MsoNormal">When I met Sean last month, he had several tattoos to choose from. We ended up selecting this piece, on his left wrist:</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjq6-EdpElp5w6vyTr4LVK5yqV2IBoUEjvDQ7VV3rawXrM13rR2PxgcvK0xa4l9K4C1-2bICK63uccLoPqO-CVzUgKl6QgRnkyvDDb5z9QWdF7lC7e3fwR_qEbe5Gz2JwU7D0KpwIo3Vg/s1600/pineapple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjq6-EdpElp5w6vyTr4LVK5yqV2IBoUEjvDQ7VV3rawXrM13rR2PxgcvK0xa4l9K4C1-2bICK63uccLoPqO-CVzUgKl6QgRnkyvDDb5z9QWdF7lC7e3fwR_qEbe5Gz2JwU7D0KpwIo3Vg/s640/pineapple.jpg" width="284" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal">Granted, there's two tattoos in this photo, but I was fascinated by the pineapple and cherry tattoo. That's not something you see every day. Sean, who is a hairdresser from the Boston area, explained:</div><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal">"My best friend Sandrine Schaefer is a performance artist ... she did work where she would use pineapples and cherries on her body, because they're also used as common meat garnishes. And her artwork is a lot about feminism and veganism."</div></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal">Ms. Schaefer, whose website is here, is a prolific artist worth checking out.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal">The tattoo was inked by Lucky Matthews at Fat Ram's Pumpkin Tattoo in the Jamaica Plain section of the greater Boston area.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal">As for the "Mom" tattoo, above it on the forearm, there is really no explanation needed, but I did want to credit the artist, Edwin Marquez at Regeneration Tattoo in Allston, Massachusetts.</div>

Sean's Garnish, Inspired by a Friend

When I met Sean last month, he had several tattoos to choose from. We ended up selecting this piece, on his left wrist: Granted, there's...

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Alison's Violet Lotus

I spotted Alison's tattoo as in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, back at the beginning of July. She was kind enough to share this lovely lotus tattoo:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj7SdXQvj1w1QD9RxYxhak0HGwf2twCaMDRYx-3NafR56Uy38Cv56eSSqpzRDLz_QkZDQ3w4WLsZpRDWKxbSHDL-kP1cg3eXHqDgwlBJfygPKksM_DEeb9YG4W561qSRcHHQaf4Uapb4M/s1600/allison+lotus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj7SdXQvj1w1QD9RxYxhak0HGwf2twCaMDRYx-3NafR56Uy38Cv56eSSqpzRDLz_QkZDQ3w4WLsZpRDWKxbSHDL-kP1cg3eXHqDgwlBJfygPKksM_DEeb9YG4W561qSRcHHQaf4Uapb4M/s400/allison+lotus.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> This lotus has a spiritual meaning for Alison, and she pointed out the third eye at the center of the flower. This was also a cover-up of an older tattoo.<br /> <br /> Craig Messina inked this when he was at Lone Wolf Tattoo in Bellmore, Long Island. He has since moved to the Long Island shop of Red Rocket Tattoo.<br /> <br /> Work by Craig Messina has appeared previously on Tattoosday here and here.

Alison's Violet Lotus

I spotted Alison's tattoo as in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, back at the beginning of July. She was kind enough to share this lovely lotus tatto...

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Anthony and Evolver, Interpreting the Anatomy of Time

I spotted this unusual tattoo on the back of Anthony's arm in a Borders and just had to ask about it:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7EjZLeyfN83o_VfevC7pgpw73XjoFX4Yh-ZcZ4EnSceUnkT7Sqvi9sLoWbcaL48XZeunbhcbxOpE1kfNuTVbayL-h7BsAIaRGncCXioM8rzoJE28G6eKY_J9pAougb7DvZevukxXm3LA/s1600/album+art+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7EjZLeyfN83o_VfevC7pgpw73XjoFX4Yh-ZcZ4EnSceUnkT7Sqvi9sLoWbcaL48XZeunbhcbxOpE1kfNuTVbayL-h7BsAIaRGncCXioM8rzoJE28G6eKY_J9pAougb7DvZevukxXm3LA/s400/album+art+2.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br /> He explained that this image, called "Evolver," is his interpretation of the "anatomy of time". The design is from an album that Anthony's band, Dsciphire, recently released. Dsciphire is hard rock, infused with elements of funk, metal, and electro.<br /> <br /> He credited a freelance tattoo artist named Oak Newbury out of Ft. Myers, Florida. <br /> <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /> </div><br /> <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.dsciphire.com/" target="_blank"><br /> </a></div>

Anthony and Evolver, Interpreting the Anatomy of Time

I spotted this unusual tattoo on the back of Anthony's arm in a Borders and just had to ask about it: He explained that this image, c...

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A Panel's Worth a Thousand Words

A few weeks ago, I ran into Steve in the Trader Joe's on the Upper West Side. He has this striking tattoo on his upper right arm, and he kindly agreed to share it with us:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ytrrUR0juS_1uuq-5f-YwR6bPIXi_z0wu5TNXvEfLLj6lRKpV4R3pDy5DfGXjEDaE0FjfoIpP8OYiSWZa6UBdoAC8byOyD77drrGUb4GSu7jdzWmjJqgaydojWFYBw19kXVQ1s9sZJc/s1600/loveandrockets2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ytrrUR0juS_1uuq-5f-YwR6bPIXi_z0wu5TNXvEfLLj6lRKpV4R3pDy5DfGXjEDaE0FjfoIpP8OYiSWZa6UBdoAC8byOyD77drrGUb4GSu7jdzWmjJqgaydojWFYBw19kXVQ1s9sZJc/s400/loveandrockets2.jpg" width="253" /></a></div><br /> Steve explained that this tattoo is based on a panel from Love and Rockets, a comic by the Hernandez Brothers. "I just love the art," he told me.<br /> <br /> It really is a striking image that really jumped out at me when I saw it. He had this tattooed at En'vie Ink in the East Village.

A Panel's Worth a Thousand Words

A few weeks ago, I ran into Steve in the Trader Joe's on the Upper West Side. He has this striking tattoo on his upper right arm, and he...

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Mike Illustrates His Passion for DC Comics

Last month, I had it all laid out, and was doing a weekend of comic-themed posts coinciding with the opening of Comic-Con 2011 in San Diego.<br /> <br /> Alas, one such post went awry when the pictures I took of Mike's tattoos went AWOL on my computer, leaving me with a photo-less entry.<br /> <br /> Mike has since sent me pictures, which I have included below.<br /> <br /> On his right arm, he has this piece, which is an interpretation of Captain Marvel:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpg_W86VCSNr0enCpN08neG_Yc2fSfGEixrEjq4JGU8CtDmuo19nLQUvvp_qP8hYwm7Hqw8UWCb9JfdvI6bcQNy5F5eAAkIN9zDSobLtBwbLcFioUMZcc-53cgcYAjC3vC-vksDoDd9b8/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-07-23+at+8.09.49+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpg_W86VCSNr0enCpN08neG_Yc2fSfGEixrEjq4JGU8CtDmuo19nLQUvvp_qP8hYwm7Hqw8UWCb9JfdvI6bcQNy5F5eAAkIN9zDSobLtBwbLcFioUMZcc-53cgcYAjC3vC-vksDoDd9b8/s640/Screen+shot+2011-07-23+at+8.09.49+PM.png" width="218" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWOw1-qE0Cb99FqUUqIsyAon6PkdybXKwXEQXlUFxnN_gZfL3ZZXzUaTtULtkiFzmRhrW57nrcS_VQaW2WY4t1mOaLDiaLocLadExWG1WJ422MKAkmJi-lL1Zk0iYlIQ15XV7edfR-6sc/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-07-23+at+8.10.08+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWOw1-qE0Cb99FqUUqIsyAon6PkdybXKwXEQXlUFxnN_gZfL3ZZXzUaTtULtkiFzmRhrW57nrcS_VQaW2WY4t1mOaLDiaLocLadExWG1WJ422MKAkmJi-lL1Zk0iYlIQ15XV7edfR-6sc/s400/Screen+shot+2011-07-23+at+8.10.08+PM.png" width="220" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCy_bcpIzsNzN-qC_PQQBZfqrcZOgM1IXo0fFknSIg-Z8ZyQ5Whf05iXfxZBrsjl349C2A0msTlQOZfqDKn_MGwHvSmKDwJktM-P6FTTZSx-fU5JPKJYteipf6u6IGG9ztsu-wfPJvHUQ/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-07-23+at+8.10.17+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCy_bcpIzsNzN-qC_PQQBZfqrcZOgM1IXo0fFknSIg-Z8ZyQ5Whf05iXfxZBrsjl349C2A0msTlQOZfqDKn_MGwHvSmKDwJktM-P6FTTZSx-fU5JPKJYteipf6u6IGG9ztsu-wfPJvHUQ/s400/Screen+shot+2011-07-23+at+8.10.17+PM.png" width="173" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Mike explained that he collaborated with Ralph Velez at Venus Modern Body Arts in the East Village on this design. He told me, "I came up with a drawing and then he fixed [it] up so it would work on my arm ... this yellow is a mix he does himself...". He also credited Jhonson Eteng as the graphic artist for this tattoo.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /> </div>When Mike sent me the replacement photos, he sent along some extras, like this Superman piece from his leg:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv6JJ1g5qWQ8BRuVonJsOA3cgEbxW6DJ1y9K0_Kdv6EQfndKLiy2MCr-JHAtcJ-y_lZc7O6fwDMEQeEOUP9RYwSdANa15aSWtsklA1dtnRTdW7Pm0-9zl5cAUjXvgr0nDhyphenhyphenqWRH_IqqyA/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-07-23+at+8.09.25+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv6JJ1g5qWQ8BRuVonJsOA3cgEbxW6DJ1y9K0_Kdv6EQfndKLiy2MCr-JHAtcJ-y_lZc7O6fwDMEQeEOUP9RYwSdANa15aSWtsklA1dtnRTdW7Pm0-9zl5cAUjXvgr0nDhyphenhyphenqWRH_IqqyA/s400/Screen+shot+2011-07-23+at+8.09.25+PM.png" width="178" /></a></div><br /> and this Green Lantern/Blue Lantern combo on his arm:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKo0x7T2Bmq9zNBMAXMTt0vJGO5H1vltZ2eszKLvBafHyQHszVjB3qfXVp3nAEspLjukelRg_-Vm8L7DqCMii02vuyti1P8WEsfclOjNc7z1d-lfBHjBSPdq7OPcUIRMhWs0vAVXPcFc8/s1600/29889_10150170300010103_719560102_12517552_5844398_n+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKo0x7T2Bmq9zNBMAXMTt0vJGO5H1vltZ2eszKLvBafHyQHszVjB3qfXVp3nAEspLjukelRg_-Vm8L7DqCMii02vuyti1P8WEsfclOjNc7z1d-lfBHjBSPdq7OPcUIRMhWs0vAVXPcFc8/s400/29889_10150170300010103_719560102_12517552_5844398_n+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> As Mike puts it, he's "a big DC Comics fan".<br /> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"><br /> </div>

Mike Illustrates His Passion for DC Comics

Last month, I had it all laid out, and was doing a weekend of comic-themed posts coinciding with the opening of Comic-Con 2011 in San Diego....

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Ariel's Elm: Rising Upward, but Steadfast

I met Ariel last month in the soon-to-be-shuttered Borders bookstore on Penn Plaza and of her three tattoos, she shared this tree on her upper right biceps:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyi8VEdjzwEh9xw4-kbJLPUFbIAYkIJOEkmNwOWqUkfSP0xTPzSQVEX3wHbS6_LqTks0FOUk6jEEYh_tStgMWQHaOwL6z7CoeoGTmgOjPwHWgt02mcSFHmwcX9tPw71KHY2jVXWkwbA28/s1600/TREE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyi8VEdjzwEh9xw4-kbJLPUFbIAYkIJOEkmNwOWqUkfSP0xTPzSQVEX3wHbS6_LqTks0FOUk6jEEYh_tStgMWQHaOwL6z7CoeoGTmgOjPwHWgt02mcSFHmwcX9tPw71KHY2jVXWkwbA28/s400/TREE.jpg" width="166" /></a></div><br /> Ariel explained that this tattoo <br /> <blockquote>"was originally an actual photograph of a maple tree, but it was too difficult - you can see the shading is relatively delicate for it ... it looked better with a cloudier image ... so it looks more of a cherry blossom but it was originally a maple...</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaai7bB_Oap-GKBw5T3ABjnPEeNewncon3_oTzBNKiftyaZmxt3HVG6Dqm7vDKYNlF-He5fg8Lo7d7oMoEzaQyHSzZjbpLAkR73DxeFk3D88urSrvm_dYrgceM1doFcZh0kuql_5Rf2Po/s1600/TREE+DETAIL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaai7bB_Oap-GKBw5T3ABjnPEeNewncon3_oTzBNKiftyaZmxt3HVG6Dqm7vDKYNlF-He5fg8Lo7d7oMoEzaQyHSzZjbpLAkR73DxeFk3D88urSrvm_dYrgceM1doFcZh0kuql_5Rf2Po/s400/TREE+DETAIL.jpg" width="305" /></a></div><br /> As for the reason she included the roots of the tree in the design, she specified,<br /> <blockquote>"I really wanted it to be something that represents being rooted and grounded and steadfast, but still growing upwards and moving towards the heavens, something that is strong and can withstand the wind, but is adaptable and changes with the seasons ... so it's just kind of, who I would like to be."</blockquote>She credited Randall Muntz at Divine Machine Tattoo in Buffalo, New York with this work. Coincidentally, Randall started full-time (according to their website) at Body Electric Tattoo in Hollywood, California, just this week.

Ariel's Elm: Rising Upward, but Steadfast

I met Ariel last month in the soon-to-be-shuttered Borders bookstore on Penn Plaza and of her three tattoos, she shared this tree on her upp...

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Jacqueline's Blood Rose

Two weeks ago I spotted Jacqueline and knew I had to ask her about this large tattoo in the center of her back:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxSMt9OqR1Ij8u-YEKDDpO54-bHhkhw3nV3V5zFbyyOxmcbufVdrSuqTcDF5ziVrU9Aq8uS91qrBYNxMuHD2PGgIsMBWx0SjBi73TMoRM5t0DdODnkSh-aBNhvdfxPqPqADpTZh7L3TCQ/s1600/Blood+Rose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxSMt9OqR1Ij8u-YEKDDpO54-bHhkhw3nV3V5zFbyyOxmcbufVdrSuqTcDF5ziVrU9Aq8uS91qrBYNxMuHD2PGgIsMBWx0SjBi73TMoRM5t0DdODnkSh-aBNhvdfxPqPqADpTZh7L3TCQ/s400/Blood+Rose.jpg" width="242" /></a></div><br /> Jacqueline explained that she and her older brother got this same tattoo in the same spot. "We just wanted to get a matching tattoo," she told me, "and, you know, we're both blood relatives". It's as simple as that.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjvS6Qfj3W-NPP7cbh3I4zzrSd5OJuqROCYc-ZsdVpPnezcTudUSFUrevd-YLkcMyO96d6DnyrgvXfOaNsYdl_41lkrXwpoAR4oi_ANxdJme3ozcb96oFd3Vx9JdRf9w7QvK49EkSG1jk/s1600/Blood+Rose++detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjvS6Qfj3W-NPP7cbh3I4zzrSd5OJuqROCYc-ZsdVpPnezcTudUSFUrevd-YLkcMyO96d6DnyrgvXfOaNsYdl_41lkrXwpoAR4oi_ANxdJme3ozcb96oFd3Vx9JdRf9w7QvK49EkSG1jk/s400/Blood+Rose++detail.jpg" width="301" /></a></div><br /> She credits Seth Wood with this tattoo. Seth currently works out of Saved Tattoo in Brooklyn. Work by Seth appeared previously on Tattoosday just last month here.

Jacqueline's Blood Rose

Two weeks ago I spotted Jacqueline and knew I had to ask her about this large tattoo in the center of her back: Jacqueline explained that...

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