We Interrupt Our Regularly-Scheduled Program for a Word from a Tattooed Poet...

Those familiar with Tattoosday know that April is dedicated to the tattoos of poets, in honor of National Poetry Month. It only seems fair that, six months on the other side of the calendar, we let one of our contributors from this past April share her newest tattoo.<br /><br />Theresa's original post can be seen <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2010/04/tattooed-poets-project-theresa-senato.html">here</a>.There you will also find links to her beautiful online literary magazine <i>The Holly Rose Review</i>, which combines poetry and tattoo art. Sadly, <i>Holly Rose</i> has ceased publishing, but Theresa remains a lovely supporter of Tattoosday, and her new tattoo is quite fetching. Let's take a look:<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;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifmAkEEvmTKAtk5b4HrLJSURzmUjDzRMBoIxz7JC7qlr4yzxtvgCb8_8XgV17GagJ-WODDtoxMLkyDuYgTocrXqYha07RYCsUbYlcnHWyjezGvDvRbHGGeQ8hGKvCayB2jUt52TUQ2/s400/Theresa+Paisley+1+rev.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="377" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of Theresa Senato Edwards</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I would also like to acknowledge that there, on her other leg, is a tattoo that says "life" in pink, with the ribbon representing breast cancer awareness acting as the "l" in life. Since October is <a href="http://www.nbcam.org/">National Breast Cancer Awareness Month</a>, it seems doubly fitting to share this photo here, even though the post is more about the paisley design.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But I'll hand the explaining over to Theresa:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><blockquote>It took quite a few months before I finally found the right tattoo artist to do my new tattoo: a ¾ calf, color, black, and grey shading of paisleys, thorns, and teardrops. And without naming names, I approached quite a few artists, either by phone, e-mail, facebook, or in person. Some said yes but then decided it wasn’t a tattoo he/she wanted to attempt, or said the tattoo would be limited because of price, or yes but, oh, the shop only takes cash. Or yes, but maybe hold off from getting the grey shading...<br /><br />Other reputable tattoo artists were recommended to me, and, hey, I’ve met a lot of great tattoo artists online because of <a href="http://www.hollyrosereview.com/"><i>Holly Rose Review</i></a>, but, honestly, I didn’t want to schlep too far from home.<br /><br />My oldest son, Richard, told me to check out <a href="http://www.gracelandtattoo.com/">Graceland Tattoo</a> in Wappingers Falls, about 20 minutes from Poughkeepsie—yay! no schlepping! I went to the website, checked out the artists’ work, saw that they were very decently mixing color and grey shading, went to the shop.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAWTheLHMhq8bsaB4gWzVfrQr0vM7lfYDbD5IhgPS2axK4CyDhlgy6fZJbe0ZbaPVfTGXYl7tyotJ6d2g0GudeLaUc3tMjVWIn6Mxc0AGJo5JeCG5d18ED9iLaiEcTVVusmxUeKfpe/s1600/POSTER2010A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAWTheLHMhq8bsaB4gWzVfrQr0vM7lfYDbD5IhgPS2axK4CyDhlgy6fZJbe0ZbaPVfTGXYl7tyotJ6d2g0GudeLaUc3tMjVWIn6Mxc0AGJo5JeCG5d18ED9iLaiEcTVVusmxUeKfpe/s400/POSTER2010A.jpg" width="283" /></a></div><br />Long story quick—the shop was clean, bright, and bouncy and Shane behind the counter was great. But when I talked to tattoo artist <a href="http://www.gracelandtattoo.com/gallery1_pe/static_hd/diego_new.htm">Diego Gonzalez</a> about the tattoo I wanted, that’s when I felt confident that I had come to the right place and that he was the one to do it. He was non-judgmental and very helpful.<br /><br />And throughout the entire experience: tattoo prep/design—discussion of what I wanted, where, and why (both in person and e-mail)—and both tattoo sessions, Diego was patient, kind, and very professional.<br /><br />Much respect and thanks go out to Uruguay-born Diego Gonzalez, who has been tattooing 12 years, 9 years professionally, the last 3 out of Graceland Tattoo; who also enjoys watching Syfy movies and Science channels; and who feels that “nature is the greatest muse.”<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;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRDd_rMxEDkmAkRbt92T7Lu-5QhJSMIzbN7JRmJLjInUHqMpRvF7zxwxYNoeimMuUTb-n5BvxLnSQIrl4YmmdubxJgHCaVBDRl2SFKfADzTD4-HybkPis0v5csRQiUyiuwk9ueUDcM/s640/Theresa+Paisley+2+rev.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="342" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of Theresa Senato Edwards</td></tr></tbody></table></blockquote><br />Theresa sent me an excerpt from what she e-mailed Diego prior to their sessions, which gets closer to the core of the idea behind the tattoo:<br /><br /><blockquote>"...just wanted to tell you why i'd like to get this tattoo. maybe this will help you as you finish drawing it. to celebrate turning 50, an age that i didn't think i would like too much, but i do. in india the paisley symbolized a time of harvest, and for me it is a positive symbol of a fruitful transition. yet the thorns are to show the pain that comes with life and what we endure before we learn and change, the tears (tear drops) to show the emotions. but tears and thorns both spill into those paisleys: that "hope" in which outweighs any despair. the art should say beautiful yet brutal--not necessarily a pretty, frilly tattoo but one that's pretty with touches of "darkness," if that makes sense...”</blockquote><br />We were originally going to run this in August but, as Theresa best can explain, "Being a perfectionist that I tend to be (not always a good thing), I realized after getting this tattoo that the pink just wasn't bright enough in the bottom paisley. So I e-mailed Diego to ask him if he could touch it up. He kindly said yes and did a great touch up of that bottom paisley, free of charge, no less. Now it's perfect!"<br /><br />Thanks so much to Theresa for sharing her lovely new tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

We Interrupt Our Regularly-Scheduled Program for a Word from a Tattooed Poet...

Those familiar with Tattoosday know that April is dedicated to the tattoos of poets, in honor of National Poetry Month. It only seems fair t...

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A Peek at the Final Issue of Holly Rose Review

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5jPb5tFV1ZskEvK6FDwpwiJMn-fSWynuEU-sWqp_ADitdzJITEWKLTQS9PtGS4q5wOSvCpvHvOkmRrevmIZYRx7WokoCBny8uEDNiz81uvCBbKIs6kwEBFTisVz8qKFCL0_WHwok4/s1600/s_herman_cover-599x793.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5jPb5tFV1ZskEvK6FDwpwiJMn-fSWynuEU-sWqp_ADitdzJITEWKLTQS9PtGS4q5wOSvCpvHvOkmRrevmIZYRx7WokoCBny8uEDNiz81uvCBbKIs6kwEBFTisVz8qKFCL0_WHwok4/s400/s_herman_cover-599x793.jpg" width="302" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> Tattoo by Sean Herman, from the June issue of </i>Holly Rose Review<i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Considering that one-twelfth of the year, Tattoosday sheds its inkspotting  mission and, instead, plays host to tattooed poets in honor of <a href="http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/41">National Poetry Month</a>, it only seems fitting that I should pay homage to the final<br />issue of <a href="http://www.hollyrosereview.com/">Holly Rose Review</a>.<br /><br /><i>Holly Rose</i> is the brainchild of <a href="http://www.tacse.blogspot.com/">Theresa Senato Edwards</a> (who herself is <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2010/04/tattooed-poets-project-theresa-senato.html">a tattooed poet</a>), who has given us four deliciously beautiful online issues that embrace both tattoos and poetry. The online literary 'zine juxtaposes brilliant tattoo work with the poems of an assortment of diverse and talented writers. Each issue bears a theme, and the last (and sadly, final) issue is "Worry".<br /><br />What's unique about <i>Holly Rose</i> is the juxtaposition of poetry and tattoos. It's an illustrated volume, but Edwards assembles poems that not only speak to the theme, but almost seem as if they could be captions to the body art displayed. Issue four features tattoos created by <a href="http://www.tattooartists.org/Gallery.asp?GalleryID=8641">Luba Goldina</a>, <a href="http://www.seanherman.com/">Sean Herman</a> and <a href="http://www.wix.com/MaximeLanouette/dermograph-art/Page-8">Maxime Lanouette</a>. And their work seems to transcend the description "tattoo" as the illustrations serve as works of art that correspond to the themes illuminated by the accompanying poems.<br /><br />But not every poem has a tattoo with it, which is fine, as it makes the appearance of ink more special, and allows the reader to focus on the poetry, as well. An added bonus is the audio player found on some of the<br />poems' pages, so the reader can not only read the poem, but hear it in the author's voice. One page even features a video of the poet reading her work.These added dimensions make <i>Holly Rose</i> a truly magnificent experience.<br /><br />All four issues are currently available for perusal on the website <a href="http://www.hollyrosereview.com/" target="_blank">http://www.hollyrosereview.com</a>. If you're not a fan of poetry, check it out anyway and see some amazing tattoos. Maybe you'll discover some poetry you'll enjoy. Issue four features work from <a href="http://doriannelaux.com/">Dorianne Laux</a>, <a href="http://www.jaynepupek.com/">Jayne Pupek</a> and <a href="http://modernpoet.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=changmingyuan">Changming Yuan</a>. Issue three contains work from <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2010/04/tattooed-poets-project-christine-hamm.html">Christine Hamm</a> and <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2010/04/tattooed-poets-project-joseph-millar.html">Joseph Millar</a>, both participants in the 2010 Tattooed Poets Project. Issue two has poetry by Martha Silano and Daphne Lazarus (whose tattoo appeared <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2010/04/tattooed-poets-project-daphne-lazarus.html">here</a>).<br /><br />It's easy to get lost in the site, admiring great tattoos and reading fabulous poetry, so head on over to Holly Rose and see what a lovely pairing tattoos and poetry make!

A Peek at the Final Issue of Holly Rose Review

 Tattoo by Sean Herman, from the June issue of Holly Rose Review Considering that one-twelfth of the year, Tattoosday sheds its inkspotting ...

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