Joe is Armed with Words of Strength

Last month on 86th Street in Brooklyn, I met Joe, who shared this cool tattoo on his right bicep:<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNkK1m5yc_d-LyY4U2-ERcPTHvSspVUcjfqiQ7ewuDakNutXDejNRQXlTmW-zdkYaiZdqmSsxMBVoHjkLxuukPWGKwO74iQHmmq4S3Zs7oOH_4mTgNA4KcXEaCpYvNSIHwW9wtxlLGY5U/s1600/nietzsche.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNkK1m5yc_d-LyY4U2-ERcPTHvSspVUcjfqiQ7ewuDakNutXDejNRQXlTmW-zdkYaiZdqmSsxMBVoHjkLxuukPWGKwO74iQHmmq4S3Zs7oOH_4mTgNA4KcXEaCpYvNSIHwW9wtxlLGY5U/s400/nietzsche.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <span class="st">Joe credited Matt Van Cura, formerly of Lark Tattoo. Matt now works out of Da Vinci Tattoo in Watagh, New York. </span><br /> <span class="st"></span><br /> Joe came in with an idea for this piece, armed only with the phrase "<span class="st">Increscunt animi virescit volnere virtus," and worked with Matt for a couple of hours as they pieced the art together. Be sure to click on the photo to get a larger view of the exceptional shading, line work and detail. </span><br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtewqqgEvxd8HgIHmTzHs_mgBrEei29f-jPE8Lz1DtmfrrfuXJYAUx4S9lmZOPnTmXvxMTAGD1c1g_wiLgchCyWAGWhct8dkBlMDelCMzDmOH_sUIJqH2XOH1_bqOCZCiaTjQNnkflW1c/s1600/nietzsche+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtewqqgEvxd8HgIHmTzHs_mgBrEei29f-jPE8Lz1DtmfrrfuXJYAUx4S9lmZOPnTmXvxMTAGD1c1g_wiLgchCyWAGWhct8dkBlMDelCMzDmOH_sUIJqH2XOH1_bqOCZCiaTjQNnkflW1c/s400/nietzsche+detail.jpg" width="303" /></a></div><br /> <span class="st">When I asked what the Latin translated to, Joe told me it meant "the spirit grows, strength is restored through wounding." A little research on my end revealed that the exact translation,"the spirits increase, vigor grows through a wound," is a quote attributed to the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche from </span><u><span style="font-family: Palatino; font-size: small;">Die Götzen-Dämmerung (Twilight of the Idols)</span></u><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino;">.</span></span><u><span style="font-family: Palatino; font-size: small;"><br /> </span></u>

Joe is Armed with Words of Strength

Last month on 86th Street in Brooklyn, I met Joe, who shared this cool tattoo on his right bicep: Joe credited Matt Van Cura, formerly of...

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The Tattooed Poets Project: David Jonathan Newman

Today's tattooed poet is <a href="http://captainselfdestruct.blogspot.com/">David Jonathan Newman</a>, who sent along this photo:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXEt-rCdqjEEHu8LlsVA7lG-10SECs6pMvfG_gdKdEZCdnaSJ9T0-rLYrrfKjbfoesSyr_8k33nXhCxRPezNOpeETBKYdN7YlVyK-A3ZhxzMJ6dNktifqWRuDKp4vM5RnN8UrDLUA0L_M/s1600/bitter+end+rotate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXEt-rCdqjEEHu8LlsVA7lG-10SECs6pMvfG_gdKdEZCdnaSJ9T0-rLYrrfKjbfoesSyr_8k33nXhCxRPezNOpeETBKYdN7YlVyK-A3ZhxzMJ6dNktifqWRuDKp4vM5RnN8UrDLUA0L_M/s640/bitter+end+rotate.jpg" width="346" /></a></div><br />Dave explains:<br /><blockquote>"The tattoo is fairly literal; the state of Florida is burning, with the words "Til The Bitter End" aside it.  I moved to Miami for 4 years to pursue a relationship, and saw it out to its unfortunate conclusion.  The tattoo is born out of that experience, and I got it to help me put a finishing stamp on what happened there and what brought me back to Long Island.  None of us are perfect, but we can become stronger people if we have reminders of our mistakes and put them to good use to make sure they don't happen again.  This piece, along with most of the work on my body, was done by <a href="http://www.koutsistattoo.com/">Chris Koutsis</a> of <a href="http://www.davincitattoo.com/">Da Vinci Tattoo Studio</a> in Wantagh NY.  I told him exactly what I had in mind, and between my ideas and his talents I was very happy with the outcome." </blockquote>The following is my favorite of the several poems David sent me to choose from:<br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: small;">hello, atmosphere.</span></b><br /><br />I keep the eyes of a rapist in a jar by my bed<br />walk lightly<br />for that part of the room is glass<br />modern-day sorcerer, am I<br />blueprints and otherworldly photographs in my drawers<br />beakers and tubes filled with dust<br />the cold makes it feel like home<br />and when the mirror talks to me, it only says<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"I will wrap you in a sheet before this night is done."</span><br />well so says you, my sweet, but look what you've become<br />all my furniture, ghosts<br />rooms rife with other lives<br />no doors<br />my paintings are stolen from churches and are hanging backwards and are numbered one to infinity. <br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> ~ ~ ~</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>David Jonathan Newman has been a poet and vocalist/lyricist in bands, both on Long Island, NY and in Miami, FL.  He currently is working on a collection of poetry, writes music as a solo artist and has a blog (<a href="http://captainselfdestruct.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://captainselfdestruct.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com</a>) where he posts both his solid works and stream of consciousness ideas.  He's been winning poetry contests since 6th grade, and the poem above, "Hello, Atmosphere" won a writing contest at the <a href="http://www.oldwestbury.edu/">SUNY College Of Old Westbury</a> which was featured in <i>Harmonia</i>, their on-campus writing publication.<br /><br />Thanks to David for sharing his tattoo and poem with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";}</style> <![endif]--> <br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.<br /><br />If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit </span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</a> and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.</span></div>

The Tattooed Poets Project: David Jonathan Newman

Today's tattooed poet is David Jonathan Newman , who sent along this photo: Dave explains: "The tattoo is fairly literal; the state...

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