Tattoorism: Sean Returns, Part 1

Back in 2009, one of our loyal readers, Sean, submitted a whole slew of his work for our viewing pleasure. You can read the original posts, <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2009/02/tattoorism-seans-leg-piece-represents.html">here</a> and <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2009/03/tattoorism-sean-stops-by-to-unveil-more.html">here</a>. <br /><br />Why do I bring this up now? Last summer, Sean sent us more of his tat-alog of work and I had been saving it for a rainy day. Since it's a rainy, sleety, snowy day, I thought I should share more of what Sean sent along. And since he sent a lot, I'm splitting it into two posts. What follows is the first installment. Italics represent direct quotes from Sean.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg39089uzI3Di9SAKqKQKWymj0bOu4IMbAJKUq2GA_Ik21oev4v7dpcA-c1a-E2W_dyeQwRxjvB5ClNKWRM24-_wGGtQYfH34UxyO_XDYfCBRREL7DlzWHOhorgYQEhsXGoQaMHuB8Rxs0/s1600/Flower+Ditch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg39089uzI3Di9SAKqKQKWymj0bOu4IMbAJKUq2GA_Ik21oev4v7dpcA-c1a-E2W_dyeQwRxjvB5ClNKWRM24-_wGGtQYfH34UxyO_XDYfCBRREL7DlzWHOhorgYQEhsXGoQaMHuB8Rxs0/s400/Flower+Ditch.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><i>I got the ditch of my elbow done probably about a year or so ago.  It is a flower of sorts, of my own design, made up of various geometrical shapes.  The tattoo represents two parts of our world, nature (the floral shape itself, petals, leaves, etc.) and science (the geometric shapes making up the flower).  I believe that one should not base their ideals solely on nature or science/technology, but on a mixture of the two.  It represents my appreciation for both nature and science.  Basically, I am fascinated by technology and the sciences that are its basis, but at the same time do not feel that science should trump nature all together but rather, have the two working together in harmony.  It was done by <a href="http://electrictattoonj.com/section/6906_ROBERT_RYAN.html">Robert “Binky” Ryan</a> at <a href="http://electrictattoonj.com/home.html">Electric Tattoo</a> in Bradley Beach, NJ.</i><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJJ6Xw65zP7bCING-Lm4CtVZ4tLQoNO34zzRVN73ffkz4PUdWhtkLiTaivqwTjck4sTGj3vuLS42YBKi2LRcs3OMZa4v4RewpaQ-TDuFMalNrAuotxTEkjRsJbstUksAWdYwUc2a6PIc/s1600/Sparrows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJJ6Xw65zP7bCING-Lm4CtVZ4tLQoNO34zzRVN73ffkz4PUdWhtkLiTaivqwTjck4sTGj3vuLS42YBKi2LRcs3OMZa4v4RewpaQ-TDuFMalNrAuotxTEkjRsJbstUksAWdYwUc2a6PIc/s400/Sparrows.jpg" width="278" /></a></div><br /><i>The sparrows circling my outer elbow were my next pieces done.  I had attended a Marine museum in Philadelphia which had a great exhibit on the tattoo culture surrounding the Navy and sailors in general throughout history.  According to the exhibit, sailors would earn the right to a single sparrow tattoo after traveling 5,000 miles at sea and a second sparrow after 10,000 miles.  I am not much for sailing, but the idea of the sparrow representing travel and all the hardships, journeys, and successes that surround that travel appealed to me.  Further, I have a general appreciation for American Traditional tattoos and their overall aesthetics.  These were done by <a href="http://electrictattoonj.com/section/66139_Rich_Heller.html">Rich Heller</a> at <a href="http://electrictattoonj.com/home.html">Electric Tattoo</a> in Bradley Beach, NJ.  </i><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8r_Y_4dmR7cQAXeUCHYEN1oVSdmxA6lfUMZrtktmGKfcCt1jgSmSTgKW2VlUM8aHtVhFzk6i-O2MpNHt1zqVnYHmK6gxDbl_UtZHiezb2NJYRF6xrQAqU0k0Je8Ryj0D-I-lw3_XgxSc/s1600/bothfeet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8r_Y_4dmR7cQAXeUCHYEN1oVSdmxA6lfUMZrtktmGKfcCt1jgSmSTgKW2VlUM8aHtVhFzk6i-O2MpNHt1zqVnYHmK6gxDbl_UtZHiezb2NJYRF6xrQAqU0k0Je8Ryj0D-I-lw3_XgxSc/s320/bothfeet.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><i>Don’t quite remember when I got my feet finished up, but it was sometime within the last year and a half or so.  My feet are tattooed with a sun and moon, which I drew myself about 6 years ago.  The duality of the sun and moon, and various meanings that these two symbols hold are why I had them tattooed.  The idea that each represents night and day, or two opposites that work together to make up a whole, are what drew me to having the designs placed on my feet.  Further, it represents the two sides that I have to myself, a lighter, happy, and caring side and a darker, selfish side.  I feel a person cannot fully understand themselves without acknowledging and accepting all parts of their personalities.  I also gave the sun and moon, a dark, kind of macabre, look as I am a huge horror fan and have always been attracted to the darker side of things.  Originally, I had them inked by Robert “Binky” Ryan (then at <a href="http://www.bodytattoos.com/">Body Art World</a> in Pt. Pleasant, NJ but now Electric Tattoo in Bradley Beach, NJ) in 2004.  They were done in grey wash and I was happy with them for about 5 years, in which point I decided to have them colored in, and had some background added.  The color and background were added by Brody Longo at <a href="http://www.myspace.com/slingininknj">Slingin’ Ink</a> in Pt. Pleasant Beach, NJ.</i><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqrii1Z-iitVNP61yRB-1Es1gRE-VVI229p-UH2f3OF3H6wLthkv0Fq7tbyiG4PbMhYGh8RhevF4NKqak4A4jHPGF55zzn4WY2nuYswlWhJq3VbDiAEQ30MxE-6v2MQzWOsdFshLPHaOw/s1600/anchor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqrii1Z-iitVNP61yRB-1Es1gRE-VVI229p-UH2f3OF3H6wLthkv0Fq7tbyiG4PbMhYGh8RhevF4NKqak4A4jHPGF55zzn4WY2nuYswlWhJq3VbDiAEQ30MxE-6v2MQzWOsdFshLPHaOw/s400/anchor.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><i>The next piece I got was an anchor on my inner forearm.  The anchor represents all the things that drag me down in life.  Across the anchor is a banner that reads “P.M.A.” the abbreviation for positive mental attitude.  I feel the first step in pushing through any kind of hardship in life is to have a positive attitude, and the rest will follow.  I want to say the original use of PMA was in a <a href="http://www.badbrains.com/">Bad Brains</a> song, but I pulled it from its use in the <a href="http://glassjaw.com/">Glassjaw</a> song “Piano.”  This tattoo is also a throwback to the band Glassjaw, as they have been my favorite band for I would have to say at least 10 years now and I have experienced just about every emotion possible while listening to their albums.  So as an added bonus, the tattoo brings me back to all those memories.  The tattoo was done by Rich Heller at Electric Tattoo in Bradley Beach, NJ.</i><br /><br /><br />Thanks to Sean for sharing all of this with us here on Tattoosday, and for patiently waiting for me to post it!<br /><br />Stay tuned for part 2.....

Tattoorism: Sean Returns, Part 1

Back in 2009, one of our loyal readers, Sean, submitted a whole slew of his work for our viewing pleasure. You can read the original posts, ...

Read more »

Three's Not a Crowd

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I met a trio of friends hanging out in Penn Station in early October, waiting for their train back to Rhode Island.<br /><br />I spotted Darius first, which was understandable, as he has seventeen tattoos. Kenny and Katie, his friends, each boasted a modest three tattoos apiece, and offered up theirs as well.<br /><br />Let's start with Darius, who has this traditional Mom and Sparrow tattoo on his forearm:<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTmnUCotuss7WG0b6uDtR5md5lIU3rCexqDY6amg4jpAZVA_dMVTwKLBtRarJSJ0Y3JkmSGEPLK2MkVX0RyLKeI-hTFK_FDhxak_chmsEAhZnFzLwa5GIHmu-a8mC8Cj2_hBlA2CRdx6g/s1600/Mom+Sparrow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTmnUCotuss7WG0b6uDtR5md5lIU3rCexqDY6amg4jpAZVA_dMVTwKLBtRarJSJ0Y3JkmSGEPLK2MkVX0RyLKeI-hTFK_FDhxak_chmsEAhZnFzLwa5GIHmu-a8mC8Cj2_hBlA2CRdx6g/s640/Mom+Sparrow.jpg" width="434" /></a></div><br />He said that he and two other friends got the same tattoo.<br /><br />This was done by <a href="http://whiskeynotwater.com/home.html">Jae Audette</a> at <a href="http://mcinnistattoo.com/home.html">Mcinnis Tattoo Company</a>  in Providence, Rhode Island. Work from the shop appeared previously on the site <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/search/label/Mcinnis%20Tattoo%20Company">here</a>.<br /><br />The other tattoo, on his bicep, is this set of brass knuckles that says "Knuckle Up":<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI8y0DzAmuIf8GeU2DNHfiKMFU6w9NZ4cspzZ0ZYMnq6vSF5iBZigZ-xm5KD9ClzxNJ1ImxHVyDC2TTcCTJEVJbyju4gShXXf18mpVsK7S4E4kKo0enxuTfwyaFPSmLVdPfmBzXTViPjo/s1600/knuckle+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI8y0DzAmuIf8GeU2DNHfiKMFU6w9NZ4cspzZ0ZYMnq6vSF5iBZigZ-xm5KD9ClzxNJ1ImxHVyDC2TTcCTJEVJbyju4gShXXf18mpVsK7S4E4kKo0enxuTfwyaFPSmLVdPfmBzXTViPjo/s400/knuckle+up.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />This was done by <a href="http://www.alteredimagestattoo.net/forrest.aspx">Forrest Curl</a> at <a href="http://www.alteredimagestattoo.net/">Altered Images Tattoo Studio</a> in Cumberland, Rhode Island.<br /><br />Also from Altered Images is this still-in-progress rib piece on Kenny:<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipnk5GSUP1gaCg6S5HWmnMJSCSmrDtLLwb4MAXiuKth0gl27G68P52xd9tEqFZZz4ynTuzbF4GMOFRMekYk-aM3swq-YNvZOb3IuR6L1p3LuJ29zk8JCu4vRuaLeBR6SEb7ec_Qlksrtk/s1600/Crimson+King.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipnk5GSUP1gaCg6S5HWmnMJSCSmrDtLLwb4MAXiuKth0gl27G68P52xd9tEqFZZz4ynTuzbF4GMOFRMekYk-aM3swq-YNvZOb3IuR6L1p3LuJ29zk8JCu4vRuaLeBR6SEb7ec_Qlksrtk/s640/Crimson+King.jpg" width="278" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />This is a depiction of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimson_King">The Crimson King</a> from <a href="http://www.stephenking.com/index.html">Stephen King's</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Tower_%28series%29">Dark Tower Series</a>. As you would imagine, Kenny is a huge fan.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.alteredimagestattoo.net/rob.aspx">Rob Young</a> is the artist who is working on this piece.<br /><br />Katie then generously offered to show me her tattoo, which runs down her spine:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMK8K8O8f_UOxiSGow_Wu-hUAfdQWY_eb-VD-IQjB-Mnbf9zQnTTWc7qy9j515bz0cfRAX35CDBTeHgUd9uyVtzcRxZfSu4bLVGa3lct8ecrdLYlRHYoJOwS0vyS9ejfh1C1RxynyQdzQ/s1600/Family+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMK8K8O8f_UOxiSGow_Wu-hUAfdQWY_eb-VD-IQjB-Mnbf9zQnTTWc7qy9j515bz0cfRAX35CDBTeHgUd9uyVtzcRxZfSu4bLVGa3lct8ecrdLYlRHYoJOwS0vyS9ejfh1C1RxynyQdzQ/s640/Family+1.jpg" width="450" /></a></div><br />When I asked if she wouldn't mind sending me another photo, since the tattoo was partially obscured by her bra strap, she didn't hesitate to unhook it so I could photograph the whole tattoo, unobscured:<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ9yDNRHbpEiOsKMiOZpszlvL_KAJl43w3YctQdFA_8p1AbgETl0JOqTW2GK-86BcZMSAXQNDwRNselDlozVQFbEbcIJK3N1y4P-ZXGfRLkOQMOf1wx_SegePx9vX1eas56cHOsGwi-64/s1600/Family+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ9yDNRHbpEiOsKMiOZpszlvL_KAJl43w3YctQdFA_8p1AbgETl0JOqTW2GK-86BcZMSAXQNDwRNselDlozVQFbEbcIJK3N1y4P-ZXGfRLkOQMOf1wx_SegePx9vX1eas56cHOsGwi-64/s640/Family+2.jpg" width="368" /></a></div><br />Katie explained that her heritage is Armenian, and that the letters down her spine spell the word for "family".<br /><br />She added that two of her cousins have the same tattoo, but inked on their arms.<br /><br />She also noted that the infinity symbol at the base of her neck speaks to the Armenian text and symbolizes, for her, "family forever".<br /><br />She did not recall the name of the shop where she had this done, but recalled it was on Long Island, New York, and that the artist was "Joey D".<br /><br />Thanks to Darius, Kenny and Katie for sharing their tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Three's Not a Crowd

I met a trio of friends hanging out in Penn Station in early October, waiting for their train back to Rhode Island. I spotted Darius first, ...

Read more »