Tattoo Design: Skull and Crossbones

Showing posts with label Skull and Crossbones. Show all posts

Timothy Shares a Luis Royo-Inspired Tattoo (and More!)

When I met Timothy in Penn Station last month, I approached him because I noticed a tattoo on the back of his calf. But when I introduced myself, and explained what Tattoosday was all about, he rolled up his right sleeve to reveal a much better tattoo:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLjgPCNWe20oRHEeTSXTY_ppnPwHU5kPQF9jsx6ePU9uKu51EEDVOyg-J0auPPfveGqTbH7oHsV48bi9-JfGVgYOooABonSfJc-vrNrd-taS7N0NZIDiJ4vvzDVGjlPPfR-1R5xlPW3KU/s1600/Royo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLjgPCNWe20oRHEeTSXTY_ppnPwHU5kPQF9jsx6ePU9uKu51EEDVOyg-J0auPPfveGqTbH7oHsV48bi9-JfGVgYOooABonSfJc-vrNrd-taS7N0NZIDiJ4vvzDVGjlPPfR-1R5xlPW3KU/s640/Royo.jpg" width="272" /></a></div><br />Timothy explained that the woman "is from a piece of artwork I love by <a href="http://www.luisroyo.com/">Luis Royo</a>, who worked for <i><a href="http://www.heavymetal.com/">Heavy Metal</a></i>." His tattoo artist, Tim McCormick at Wild Rose Tattoo in upstate New York, added the headdress to the original image "to make it more unique." Royo, Timothy, explained, has been his favorite artist since he was 13, and he got the tattoo at 29. The detail is incredible:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSolK2U0VUgLnnBYfnv4F4tM4L7q4-jZcq7G0diIZONrQHmVc7MmNTsVcD-pnYcKDeKG62PJU1R1b2pieIMfRIQ5RN7y_HQvD4X-u7bvHxnu9-DmMCvUSayJJRilR-o8Xm0cgboyWSnN0/s1600/royo+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSolK2U0VUgLnnBYfnv4F4tM4L7q4-jZcq7G0diIZONrQHmVc7MmNTsVcD-pnYcKDeKG62PJU1R1b2pieIMfRIQ5RN7y_HQvD4X-u7bvHxnu9-DmMCvUSayJJRilR-o8Xm0cgboyWSnN0/s400/royo+detail.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />But what about the tattoo I first spotted on Timothy that prompted me to approach him in the first place?<br /><br />"I've always been a big pirate fan since I was four....I got it in Puerto Rico. I drank a half a bottle of rum and my last day there decided to get a tattoo," Timothy explained. Considering the locale and the liquid that inspired the inking, the final product seemed more than appropriate:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhizfOzIUx-EcGF_56_oa7Rw_xp_9U0xKbiksdfPanIYewjPKLS1sXUkF3KTiGf8heu98vMrHoLxkzx1tjW7CfhCiTm2gyF4Xvl7ULEFQqNCsPYD5p1C7FhlPgffqMLydH2RoD5uYkeqWU/s1600/Pirate+Skull.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhizfOzIUx-EcGF_56_oa7Rw_xp_9U0xKbiksdfPanIYewjPKLS1sXUkF3KTiGf8heu98vMrHoLxkzx1tjW7CfhCiTm2gyF4Xvl7ULEFQqNCsPYD5p1C7FhlPgffqMLydH2RoD5uYkeqWU/s400/Pirate+Skull.jpg" width="333" /></a></div><br />Thanks to Timothy for sharing his tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br />  <br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. </span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;">  </span><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-size: x-small;">  </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">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 <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>

Timothy Shares a Luis Royo-Inspired Tattoo (and More!)

When I met Timothy in Penn Station last month, I approached him because I noticed a tattoo on the back of his calf. But when I introduced my...

3:25 AM

The Tattooed Poets Project: Gerry LaFemina

Today's tattooed poet is Gerry LaFemina. Gerry put together a narrative about his ink, which makes my job easier, and gives us a detailed view of his tattoos. Let's see what he has to say:<br /><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8sbTI_svYhzaJ7mKfRhvUUusLziY4NXTCPnD1ijC-b1uOkE-VXTJ-nBuVUHXkwYehNpuzdJDbejt8VGGTftipPe4F0E012fft3tGoB-OonIdqNArNQjlvn7k7HusSfFCUkh51ahvuYNI/s1600/tattoo+one+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8sbTI_svYhzaJ7mKfRhvUUusLziY4NXTCPnD1ijC-b1uOkE-VXTJ-nBuVUHXkwYehNpuzdJDbejt8VGGTftipPe4F0E012fft3tGoB-OonIdqNArNQjlvn7k7HusSfFCUkh51ahvuYNI/s320/tattoo+one+cropped.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="http://joygainesfriedler.com/default.aspx">Joy Gaines-Friedler</a></td></tr></tbody></table>"My first tattoo–I was 19, I was a punk rock kid, and I had been thinking about getting a tattoo for some time.  I had had a dream in which I had a tattoo of a skull and crossbones design in which the skull had peace symbols for eyes.  When I was shaving the next morning, I was surprised I didn’t have the tattoo.  So I called up my friend Melody, whose uncle was Tattoo Ray–one of the best tattooists on Staten Island.  She made the appointment and came with me to her uncle’s house.</div></blockquote><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">            In New York at the time (the mid 1980's), tattooing was still illegal: most tattoo artists worked out of their homes and their clientele was through word of mouth.  Ray was pretty famous–and I have met a number of people over the years on Staten island who had work done by Ray. He was funny, sarcastic, and quick-tongued.  I remember asking him about his needles (this was in the midst of the AIDS epidemic) after all and he asked me right back “How clean is your blood?”</div></blockquote><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">             I liked him immediately.  He did the work.  His niece and I talked.  I just remember being surprised how much the tattoo gun sounded like a dentist drill.  The little whine, the humming buzz.</div></blockquote><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">            My second tattoo: I got my senior year in college.  We found somebody in Westchester who did the work in his suburban neighborhood house.  I remember little of the experience.  The tattoo was not the one I wanted: what I had hoped to get – Tigger with a microphone and a mohawk jumping on his tail – I ended up not being able to afford.  Instead: I went with symmetry – and more pirate stuff: a rose with crossed swords above the left bicep.  In hindsight, this tattoo has held up better than Tigger probably would have....</div></blockquote><blockquote><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/AVvXsEg2rEPFozx0RDL9qz6nEMgLXrFD3Y7oMDDoWYBdpCg0zuPa4h0IZjPWzMaGaTTCWWgy5K72LkchSims52dZ4ZlfKvz875YOa6oOMUG5VP27zO2NF_mnj98tjbZl2DKJxDrnw2Inhi3qoiY/s1600/lafemina+and+tattoo+2+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2rEPFozx0RDL9qz6nEMgLXrFD3Y7oMDDoWYBdpCg0zuPa4h0IZjPWzMaGaTTCWWgy5K72LkchSims52dZ4ZlfKvz875YOa6oOMUG5VP27zO2NF_mnj98tjbZl2DKJxDrnw2Inhi3qoiY/s400/lafemina+and+tattoo+2+cropped.jpg" width="260" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="http://joygainesfriedler.com/default.aspx">Joy Gaines-Friedler</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">            What lasts though are the tattoos I wanted to get but didn’t: After the rose I wanted to get Charlie Chaplin tattooed on me.  I asked several artist friends of mine to make me a design, and I got a few of them, but none of them “worked.”  And for several years I wanted the logo for my old band tattooed somewhere.  But neither happened.</div></blockquote><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>            So I went with two for a long time: but I often thought about getting new ink.  I wrote.  I taught.  I created a program for young writers in northern Michigan called the Controlled Burn Seminar for Young Writers.  I committed 13 years to that project, and after the tenth seminar, I thought I would get its logo – a lit cherry bomb – tattooed on my right forearm.  The logo was important to me: I believe poetry and all art should be a lit cherry bomb.  It should be a potential explosion.  But it should be fun, too.  I looked into it a few times, but I finally made the decision on a lark a few days after my birthday.  I was walking on Carson Street in Pittsburgh – tattoo parlor row.  I liked the name <a href="http://flyingmonkeytattooshop.com/">Flying Monkey Tattoo</a>.  So in I went.</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><blockquote><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/AVvXsEic_2L48SmCZFJgdBCPH2T1fx8ViBWeDDMvFIt9QgQfOE_m58Vv3V6I8rPgFBrGriRhIWhPsC6DyBNmP4o1YS07i_WPi2xrtmUxAKYxUsvzuZzG-_yFe7DyNNSELrll-gUZX4obe8_RB40/s1600/tattoo+three+2+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic_2L48SmCZFJgdBCPH2T1fx8ViBWeDDMvFIt9QgQfOE_m58Vv3V6I8rPgFBrGriRhIWhPsC6DyBNmP4o1YS07i_WPi2xrtmUxAKYxUsvzuZzG-_yFe7DyNNSELrll-gUZX4obe8_RB40/s400/tattoo+three+2+cropped.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="http://joygainesfriedler.com/default.aspx">Joy Gaines-Friedler</a></td></tr></tbody></table></blockquote></div><br /><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">            The tattooist was a kid, He could have been one of my students–he was finishing up his apprenticeship and mine was one of his first tattoos.  The seminar after the ink ended up being the last one.  It seemed fitting that the creative writing kids got to see it before the seminar ended.</div></blockquote><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal">            And now I’m back to collecting designs: this time, though, I know who’s going to do the tattoos.  The next one will be a Buddha carrying a tattered pirate flag on my back.  These are the two strains of my life.  And I want the MG logo somewhere.  I’ve been driving an MGB for 15 years.  The tattoo is a commitment and the things I am committed too, the things that define me, that continue to define me I want inked on me.  I spend much of my life putting ink on paper.  I think it’s only fitting to have some ink on me, too."</div></blockquote>And now, for one of Gerry's poems:<br />   <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><b>Alphabet  City</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">            Avenues A through D, Lower </i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">East Side</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">, NYC</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">After the ambulances left but</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">before the sun finally rose above Avenue</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">C, I walked toward Tompkins  Square Park where the heroin </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">dependent rockers slept, addled on benches, while</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">ex-punks huddled in their leather jackets</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">for the morning was still damp. One of them called out,</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gerry? </i>What was I to do when I saw her, recognized</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">her hesitant familiar eyes. How could I have</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">imagined things would turn out this way when I’d call out <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">her </i>name —</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">Joanna — those sleepless nights of high school &</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">kept a photo of her deep into college.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">Longing has such a sense of history.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">Morning was approaching in its colorful coat.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">Not once those months of kissing her, had I wakened beside her, but</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">oh — I’d wanted to. She was thinner & glanced away when I nodded;</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">pigeons surrounded her bench but would take off</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">quickly with the first sudden movement or when the next squad car</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">revealed itself in flashers & sirens.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">So what did I do? What could I do?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">The three five dollar bills folded in my pocket, what</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">use were they to me? I gave them to her, she who’d once been beautiful. How</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">victorious I’d felt that first time I kissed her.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">We didn’t look at each other, nor did we look askance. I thought of the little</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">xiphoid syringes she might load with that money. This was my sin.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">Two young black kids with dreadlocks walked by singing</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Zion</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">! Take me back to </i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Zion</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">! </i>& I knew I’d never be saved.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">– Gerry LaFemina</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">from <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193469522X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=bill03-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=193469522X%22%3EVanishing%20Horizon%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=193469522X&camp=217145&creative=399349%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20%21important;%20margin:0px%20%21important;%22%20/%3E"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Vanishing Horizon</i></a>, 2011 Anhinga Press<br /><br /></div>Gerry LaFemina is the author of seven books of poems, most recently  <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193469522X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=bill03-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=193469522X%22%3EVanishing%20Horizon%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=193469522X&camp=217145&creative=399349%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20%21important;%20margin:0px%20%21important;%22%20/%3E">Vanishing Horizon</a> (2011, <a href="http://www.anhinga.org/books/book_info.cfm?title=Vanishing%20Horizon">Anhinga Press</a>) and a collection of short  stories.  He directs the <a href="http://www.frostburg.edu/cwcenter/">Frostburg Center for Creative Writing</a> at  Frostburg State University where he also teaches.  He splits his time  between Maryland and New York City.<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=bill03-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=193469522X" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe></div><br />Thanks to Gerry for sharing his tattoos and poetry with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">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 <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: Gerry LaFemina

Today's tattooed poet is Gerry LaFemina. Gerry put together a narrative about his ink, which makes my job easier, and gives us a detaile...

3:02 AM

The Tattooed Poets Project: Seth Berg Returns

Last year on the Tattooed Poets Project, the best ink we saw belonged to Seth Berg, hands down.If you don't believe me, check it out <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2010/04/tattooed-poets-project-seth-berg.html">here</a>.<br /><br />Seth has the honor of being the only previous tattooed poet to return to the site this year. And he has sent us a quintet of tattoos, choosing the theme of "<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">tattoos which have faces on them." And away we go:</span><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/AVvXsEjGiTR3P-gGuOOZB5MQC29KrqYLw5TPb6GG3MIR_2DqQu-K0KEttMBIccBS1qObomOCs8uGdItkSQOSvUj42zwRmNZGsXarAk8-OI5bxMjx927qgMdtxlCx0sc2Fs50E0mXElp87LPQS4I/s1600/seth+lady+one.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGiTR3P-gGuOOZB5MQC29KrqYLw5TPb6GG3MIR_2DqQu-K0KEttMBIccBS1qObomOCs8uGdItkSQOSvUj42zwRmNZGsXarAk8-OI5bxMjx927qgMdtxlCx0sc2Fs50E0mXElp87LPQS4I/s640/seth+lady+one.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Ashley at <a href="http://ashleybergphotography.com/" target="_blank">http://ashleybergphotography.com/</a></span></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/AVvXsEgRR_8eUISd2HYZ6QreiEWDqV01H087FlhgRTGmZiPHL_DTYhtD-Cp8oF1VxpwQEYw0tn5749MpTaiHHTkAmYtOvhLcaSs9Jf3Lb9RNxguQLMks7d_TsCvSq9dxguVe8JqOB_wAV7QHlRw/s1600/seth+lady+two.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRR_8eUISd2HYZ6QreiEWDqV01H087FlhgRTGmZiPHL_DTYhtD-Cp8oF1VxpwQEYw0tn5749MpTaiHHTkAmYtOvhLcaSs9Jf3Lb9RNxguQLMks7d_TsCvSq9dxguVe8JqOB_wAV7QHlRw/s640/seth+lady+two.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Photo by Ashley at <a href="http://ashleybergphotography.com/" target="_blank">http://ashleybergphotography.com/</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Seth explains that "the two faces depicted in <a href="http://www.audrey-kawasaki.com/">Audrey Kawasaki</a> paintings are part of a half sleeve on my right arm."  Why does he have Kawasaki art inked on his flesh? "</span>Audrey Kawasaki is one of my favorite living painters and the half sleeve is a tattoo combining two of my favorite paintings of hers," says Seth. "I have seen other Kawasaki tattoos," he continues, "but I am quite impressed with this double-painting-half-sleeve blend."<br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Next up is this <a href="http://www.lego.com/en-us/Default.aspx">Lego</a> piece:</span><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/AVvXsEiuYSCU30NQxVBr5kPy8ZSimidCkZPRPQFQboSI31mp5LTHjaTBphdI3-86REd6w3fmnl744SJj70w2gibHbWNyJQ9a5bDg6k0nswlemNKk3ZiX8flxW3rmMa9p-HpqLyD9D71xMowmXe4/s1600/seth+lego.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuYSCU30NQxVBr5kPy8ZSimidCkZPRPQFQboSI31mp5LTHjaTBphdI3-86REd6w3fmnl744SJj70w2gibHbWNyJQ9a5bDg6k0nswlemNKk3ZiX8flxW3rmMa9p-HpqLyD9D71xMowmXe4/s640/seth+lego.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Photo by Ashley at <a href="http://ashleybergphotography.com/" target="_blank">http://ashleybergphotography.com/</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Seth says "the Lego head is on the back of my left calf ... [and is]  </span>one of the few 'walk-in' tattoos I have. I had just purchased an <a href="http://www.lego.com/en-us/default.aspx?domainredir=exoforce.lego.com">Exo-Force Lego</a> set and was quite amazed at the progression of facila expression." He adds, "I decided to honor the old school original on my leg. I grew up wanting every Lego piece on the planet. I couldn't <i>not </i>get a Lego tattoo."<br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Next up is this piece:</span><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><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/AVvXsEjAD0PF5r5EF7wchpS9Gyc-PsGelb1u6aY6w6Go0eTPVSsNwvYh0TqcEX_iRSOf088-wTRtRwZVygGsv8mYQ_r4eEeDril3W9_62ZjCN-1MbUjbFvgCzusYBA3CtMYBSgttVbQuN9bhbeA/s1600/seth+skull.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAD0PF5r5EF7wchpS9Gyc-PsGelb1u6aY6w6Go0eTPVSsNwvYh0TqcEX_iRSOf088-wTRtRwZVygGsv8mYQ_r4eEeDril3W9_62ZjCN-1MbUjbFvgCzusYBA3CtMYBSgttVbQuN9bhbeA/s640/seth+skull.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Photo by Ashley at <a href="http://ashleybergphotography.com/" target="_blank">http://ashleybergphotography.com/</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"> Seth says "the skull is on the lower front of my left bicep...</span>I had always been drawn to a refined black and gray skull and cross bones."<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/AVvXsEjA2Nbu3b79NuwHsRzYD7becSDyZ87sP-DhRBiEd12zl0sD7IWhBZCFB_ZnfP4FwVWltrfXPzK3YTn_FVLjk4RNQOBcdFVMAGg3CJw9-7H-ZMtn-AVf89SF2qa3JKbG_9E_9EYYDMAEq2w/s1600/seth+skull+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA2Nbu3b79NuwHsRzYD7becSDyZ87sP-DhRBiEd12zl0sD7IWhBZCFB_ZnfP4FwVWltrfXPzK3YTn_FVLjk4RNQOBcdFVMAGg3CJw9-7H-ZMtn-AVf89SF2qa3JKbG_9E_9EYYDMAEq2w/s400/seth+skull+detail.jpg" width="295" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Detail of photo by Ashley at <a href="http://ashleybergphotography.com/" target="_blank">http://ashleybergphotography.com/</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">"Plus," he adds, "</span>pirate flag depictions are pretty cool."<br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Finally, we have a jack-o-lantern on the inside of  his left bicep:</span><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/AVvXsEjl2k_CxUvR-H1_RlOf_5bZ9jwY7_yKMJmyb6Gfcl4g_SldLcqTeOTdd-oJfQJbFC4F7by0DoDuZVGxs0ke2unvwlJ4dBXfAfx5e80kTUCZ7H-E0Y6-Ly3r0afaBmRzbZ-zrL_ulyrwpgs/s1600/seth+jackolantern.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl2k_CxUvR-H1_RlOf_5bZ9jwY7_yKMJmyb6Gfcl4g_SldLcqTeOTdd-oJfQJbFC4F7by0DoDuZVGxs0ke2unvwlJ4dBXfAfx5e80kTUCZ7H-E0Y6-Ly3r0afaBmRzbZ-zrL_ulyrwpgs/s400/seth+jackolantern.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Photo by Ashley at <a href="http://ashleybergphotography.com/" target="_blank">http://ashleybergphotography.com/</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table>Seth explains: "I am a sucker for Halloween--my wife and I had a Halloween-themed wedding the Saturday of Halloween weekend and we host a Halloween bash every year--thus, the Jack-o-lantern was a natural addition to the collection." In case you're wondering about the word "rain" in the photo, it is <u>not</u> a word in <a href="http://www.ineradicablestain.com/">Shelley Jackson's</a> <a href="http://www.ineradicablestain.com/skin-quilt.html">Skin Project</a>, he just loves the rain, and this is one of a "multitude of font and literary tattoos" that he possesses, so we know what Seth is giving us next year!<br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Seth explains that "all of the tattoos, with the exception of the skull and bones, were completed by <a href="http://bijoustudio-atx.com/artists/?page_id=14">Claudia "Billy" Baca</a> at <a href="http://www.saintsabrinas.com/">Saint Sabrina's</a> in Uptown, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Minneapolis</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">." He notes, "however, she currently works in </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Austin</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Texas</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"> at <a href="http://bijoustudio-atx.com/">Bijou Studio</a>."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">As for a poem, this is what Seth has offered to share with us:</span><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">"Constructing a Proper Torch"</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Douse the head of a cat tail</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">into a soapy mixture</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">of Dawn brand dish detergent</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">and gasoline;</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">reinforce the stem</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">with a steel rod or femur;</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">set the head ablaze;</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">open your face to the air.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">When paper cranes</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">spill from your mouth,</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">remember to light the dark,</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">  </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">sew feathers to your fingertips.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">When the cranes,</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">spilling and multiplying, </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">request grain and berries,</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">snacks of rodents and amphibians,</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">tell them that hunger is an essential</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">component of flight.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">When, from the ground,</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">they are unable to ascend,</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">lend them your stitched fingertips</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">and take to the sky on fire.</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> ~ ~ ~</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFN5gq6IvO3Z5xV_mdO5bF5nE0Ja8OxvqsXGOm4MBVF__2y9tCtVsQF5A2FPF8esDb_slp0cPu-KjyTU48LQ4iuwCsR2ic9-mOCHTXsH4E5xuWUL9dgEMgSnwldGv5rYO5Tw7IK8dovxg/s1600/Berg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFN5gq6IvO3Z5xV_mdO5bF5nE0Ja8OxvqsXGOm4MBVF__2y9tCtVsQF5A2FPF8esDb_slp0cPu-KjyTU48LQ4iuwCsR2ic9-mOCHTXsH4E5xuWUL9dgEMgSnwldGv5rYO5Tw7IK8dovxg/s1600/Berg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFN5gq6IvO3Z5xV_mdO5bF5nE0Ja8OxvqsXGOm4MBVF__2y9tCtVsQF5A2FPF8esDb_slp0cPu-KjyTU48LQ4iuwCsR2ic9-mOCHTXsH4E5xuWUL9dgEMgSnwldGv5rYO5Tw7IK8dovxg/s320/Berg.png" width="200" /></a>Seth Michael Berg earned his MFA in poetry from <a href="http://www.bgsu.edu/">Bowling  Green State University</a> in 2003 and since has been bouncing around the country teaching, tending bar, sculpting, writing, and occasionally snowshoeing. His poems and fiction can be found in <a href="http://www.ctstateu.edu/ctreview/">Connecticut Review</a>, <a href="http://www.pserie.psu.edu/academic/hss/lakeeffect/index.html">Lake Effect</a>, <a href="http://www.wordriot.org/">Word Riot</a>, <a href="http://jmww.150m.com/">JMWW</a>, <a href="http://www.asteriusonline.com/13thWR/">13th Warrior Review</a>, <a href="http://www.chironreview.com/">Chiron Review</a>, <a href="http://www.blazevox.org/">BlazeVOX</a>, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/pikemag">Pike Magazine</a>, and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10375519983">Disappearing City Literary Review</a>, among others. His first book, <i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0615357172/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=bill03-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0615357172%22%3EMuted%20Lines%20from%20Someone%20Else%27s%20Memory%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=0615357172%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20%21important;%20margin:0px%20%21important;%22%20/%3E">Muted Lines From Someone Else's Memory</a>, </i>was winner of <a href="http://darkskymagazine.com/books/">Dark Sky Books</a> book contest in 2009 and rolled off the press summer of 2010. He has since been city-hopping on lecture book tour and will next be in Chicago at the end of April. Berg lives in Chaska, MN with his photographer wife, Ashley, their supernatural son, Oak, and their Saint Bernard, Icarus. When not working, Berg can most likely be found indulging his addiction to hot sauce or slowing down somewhere in a forest. Here is a book link with audio poems and other goodies: <a href="http://darkskymagazine.com/books/seth-berg-muted-lines/" target="_blank">http://darkskymagazine.com/books/seth-berg-muted-lines/.</a><br /><br />Thanks to Seth, once again, for his invaluable contribution to the Tattooed Poets Project! </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=bill03-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=0615357172" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe></div><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">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 <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> </span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"></div>

The Tattooed Poets Project: Seth Berg Returns

Last year on the Tattooed Poets Project, the best ink we saw belonged to Seth Berg, hands down.If you don't believe me, check it out her...

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