Thursday, December 31, 2009

Happy New Year, 15(ish) hours ahead.

The Minneapolis Airport, snowy and cold on December 30th.



Welcome to Japan, more than a day later.



Oh man,
it's not even 5 am here New Years Day in Japan,
and I've already showered and been up for an hour.
We lost a day there, somehow, and I haven't completely figured it out.
13 hour plane flights aren't the end of the world,
but the whole time change thing is so weird.

We're off to go see the sunrise,
the very first sunrise of the New Year.
That's a special thing over here.
And since we're both wide awake,
we're ready to start 2010 off right.

I wish you all an awesome New Years,
whenever it reaches wherever you are.
No time for looking back at 2009,
we're off to see Japan.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Usher in the Year of the Tiger with a New Tattoo!

2010 Looks to be a great year and I am looking forward to ringing in the new decade on January 2nd by visiting a new tattoo shop of the Lower East Side called Thicker Than Water Tattoo Studios.

From Noon to 10:00 PM, artists in the shop, which just opened on December 1, 2009, will be inking Year of the Tiger tattoo specials for $50.00 apiece. It's first-come, first-served, folks, so don't show up too late.

In case you were wondering what kind of tattoo this deal will get you, we here at Tattoosday were thrilled to get a sneak peak of the flash from which customers can choose, and got the blessing from Shon Lindauer, designer, tattooer and shop manager, to share the designs with our readers:



So, come on down to Thicker Than Water and start the new decade with an appropriate Tiger tattoo to ring in the year!

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Getting out of Town





The footprints, and the footprint makers.

This was the quietest Christmas I can ever remember.
We usually spend the holiday with my parents,
my sister, and my brother in Maryland,
and that house's decibel level becomes terrifying.

If you think I get too loud,
get ready for this admission.
My brother Kyle is far louder.
The volume only multiplies when everyone is trying to shout over everyone else.
The first couple years Meryl hid behind the couch,
until she realized that we weren't actually fighting.

This year, there was none of that.
We had Adam around,
and Ryan and Rebecca brought sexy presents
and vegan cheesecake Christmas Eve.
Then Christmas Day we had Casey, Ardeshir, Adam, and Camden
around the table with us chowing down some banana pecan pancakes that Meryl made.
So good.
In between all of that,
there was a lot of shoveling happening,
and planning for Japan.

In 48 hours we'll be on a plane heading West.
So West It'll be Far East.
Lots of last minute preparations to get done today,
especially since tomorrow I'm cramming in one last work day.
What an a-hole.
(it sounded like a good idea when I booked it)


Someone stole a bag of melting salt off of our front porch last night.
And last year someone took our shovel.
But I won't have to worry about all of this after tomorrow.
It's a balmy 50º in Tokyo right now,
can't wait to be there.

Friday, December 25, 2009

It got even Whiter.

We're at a foot of snow now.

My snowman has antlers.
(and the scarf's for Albie)

All I Want for Christmas is a Tattoo with Teeth

On Christmas Eve afternoon, I was passing through Penn Station, I spotted Lindsay, a woman with what appeared to be a sleeve that had a water-inspired design.

It wasn't until after I approached her and asked if she wanted to contribute to Tattoosday that I saw, as she rolled up her sleeve, what awesome work she had done on her left arm:


Lindsay said that, like all of her 14 or 15 tattoos, none of them have "deep meaning". She just goes with whatever she describes as an "intense urge" at the time she's getting the tattoo.

The sleeve above started with her taking photos with stylings to the artist, saying she wanted a bloody shark. This was the first part of the tattoo:


She then expanded it with this segment of shark


which is certainly reminiscient of the movie poster for Jaws.


This piece was created in four sittings lasting 3-4 hours each, by John Reardon at Saved Tattoo (which was the shop responsible for yesterday's post, too).

Work from John Reardon has appeared here on Tattoosday previously. Work from Saved appearing on the site can be seen here. Reardon is also the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting a Tattoo.

Thanks to Lindsay for taking the time to share her incredible shark sleeve with us here on Tattoosday!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Whiter than White

White Christmases.
It looks like we're getting enough snow to last till next December.
We've received 7 inches so far,
and they're promising another 7 today and tomorrow.
Adam made it to Louderhorn Inn just in time to get snowed in again.

But good thing the snow didn't start till last night,
because I packed an entire week of tattooing into just two days.


Almost every time Adam comes to town,
he gets another tattoo.
This year alone I think we've done 5.
An octopus, a narwal, an aircraft exit diagram, and Kissena.
He got a puffin tattoo this trip,
and right before the close of the year.



Sheep goat hybrids are real.
And real dope.
(and real sterile, like mules)
Amanda is sleeving her arm with my weird little animals.
(that's her booby's blue foot right above it)



And Chef Ryan came in to work on his kitchen themed sleeve.
Antique wood stoves are so sexy.





Adam has been insanely helpful with this japan trip coming up.
He's the best ever personal travel agent, for sure.
He's been to Japan three times,
and uses the Google like no one else I've ever seen.

Adam gave us the insider tips,
Meryl found our passports and atm cards,
and Casey's staying at Louderhorn Inn with Shamira while we're gone.
So we're pretty much ready to leave on the 30th,
we just need to pack now.

Max's Spin on a Traditional Gypsy Tattoo

I was passing through Penn Station late yesterday when I spotted Max, who offered up this fascinating tattoo:


At first glance it looks like the traditional gypsy piece, but if you look closely at the back of the gypsy's head, you can see Max added an element that extended the design up and around his right arm:



That is a deer skull that the gypsy woman is wearing, complete with a set of antlers.

When I asked Max about this he acknowledged that the tattoo, in concept, had started as just the old-style gypsy profile but, growing up in Maryland, he said that there were deer everywhere around his home, and that this was a nod to his former home state.

Perhaps reading too much into it, I asked him if he was taking a symbol of home and tying it to the nomadic image of the gypsy to illustrate a dichotomy between the two contrasting lifestyles. He nodded and said he hadn't thought of it in those terms before, but it seemed to make a little sense if you looked at it like that.

This is one of nine tattoos Max has. The piece in question was designed by Paul Bosch at Saved Tattoo in Brooklyn. Max came to Paul with the concept and left it to the artist to design the tattoo. Work from Saved has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Max for sharing this fascinating spin on the traditional gypsy tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Woman, Deconstructed

With winter upon us, I have been tempted to bemoan the scarcity of visible ink on the streets (or subways) of New York.

But Mother Nature giveth, as well, by depositing the powdery white stuff and causing delays that held up commuters in Penn Station.

One such soul was Kaeti, a visual artist passing through NYC on her way from Philadelphia.

This pheomenal tattoo jumped out from her corporeal canvas on Tat-tuesday, catching my eye as I walked by:


Kaeti originally thought she was going to get a sleeve inspired by the work of Salvador Dali, but the scale and concept didn't converge in a final design.

She went to the artist, Andrew Johnson-Lally, at Body Graphics on South 4th Street in Philadelphia. She described for him the general concept behind what she wanted, something along the lines of a representation of a female figure, deconstructed. Kaeti also is very influenced by stitching, so she brought along examples of work she had, which included stitched sculpture and sketches. Andrew drew something up based on these styles that she liked, with her ultimately yielding creative freedom to the artist.


To me, she was describing a collaborative effort, which many tattooists and their clients create. Another example of her influence on the end drawing is the empty eyes, which Kaeti said was similar to a lot of the work she herself was doing around the time of the tattoo being inked.


The whole piece took about 3 and a half hours to complete. Initially she told me that when the tattoo was initially completed, she thought that it was finished. Like many people with large tattoos, however, Kaeti is tooling with the idea of expanding the work to include background, which might involve wrapping around her arm and making it a "true" sleeve.

Incidentally, work from Body Graphics has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

I want to thank Kaeti for taking the time to speak with me in a crowded Penn Station, and for sharing her fascinating tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Monday, December 21, 2009

And when the dark takes over, don't you worry dear...



Happy Winter Solstice, everyone.
The first day of winter,
and the Dark Dark Dark(est) day of the year.

Adam was supposed to fly out to MPLS on Sunday,
but the big snowstorm scared Delta into canceling all of their flights.
Then he went back and forth for a while,
and about ten minutes ago I found out he's landing at 1 am tonight.
Awesome.

He spent Xmas out here two years ago at our house,
but we weren't there that time.
No kidding.
He came out here to stay with Shamira (my dog),
and visit some of his other Minneapolis friends.
I'm excited he'll be here again this year, especially since we will be, too.

I don't really get into Christmas much.
(Meryl and I don't even usually exchange gifts)
But this year seems different.
Meryl decided that since we'd be around this year,
we needed a real tree.
So I bought some old ribbon at the thrift store,
and decorated it up.
We even got a real wreath for the front door.
I think it has something to do with owning a house.
It's got to look good, you know?
Louderhorn Inn is nicely put together,
it's the first day of winter,
and guests are on their way here.

While Adam was busy not arriving on Sunday,
Meryl and I were in Redwing with Molly and her husband Ryan.
It was snowing, but not too cold (read: above zero),
so we went for a little hike.
This winter thing hasn't been too bad yet,
but, of course, it's just the beginning.




Two More Tattoos from Josh

Well, more than six months have passed since I posted Josh's amazing Verrazano Bridge tattoo, and I almost forgot he sent me some additional shots, including the clock from the old Penn Station on his inner bicep, which is interconnected with the bridge piece:


This is a fairly accurate homage to this bygone historical monument seen at the top of the photo below:


Josh, being in the military, also has this back piece:


This tattoo consists of a pair of variations on the caduceus, surrounding the insignias of the 44th and 30th Medical Brigades - the two units he was assigned to in Iraq.















Thanks again to Josh for sending along these pictures and if you haven't seen the Verrazano tattoo linked at the top of the post, you must go check it out.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Never Quiet, Never Soft

Tomorrow's the big day.
Kyle and I will be rematching it up,
arm wrestling till I rip his arm off.

So tonight I got a little pregame present from Ben Rettke.
NQNS

I did a lip yesterday,
and immediately wanted one for myself.
And who's got a bigger canvas than me?
I've got a pink banana slug for a bottom lip.



Here's a little video of me actually getting it done,
thanks to Todd.



There will be more videos tomorrow of the competition.
But now I'm off to a dinner engagement.
My blueish teeth from the stencil
almost matches my shirt perfectly.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Better and Better

Nona and Marshall played the Kitty Kat this past Tuesday night,
and they rocked my blues away.
It's so dope having Dark Dark Dark as your home team.

I'll be missing their next show on Sunday,
but it's ok.
Meryl and I will be in Redwing either hiking or letterpressing it up
with Molly and Ryan.
(maybe we'll do both)

Tonight Meryl came up to Identity Tattoo,
and we stayed at the shop late working on her leg piece.
We've lost count on total hours, but we're almost done now,
and we're around 25ish?
Just a little more work in the clouds,
and it'll be DONE.
This photo from immediately afterwards obviously mixes
the old and healed with the new and hurty.
But you get the idea.
And healed photos will be happening once we get back from Japan.
(less than two weeks before we go!)

Tattoorism: Aaron and Brandi Share Their Ink

We here at Tattoosday love our fans. However, sometimes when someone sends us a submission from abroad, we may be slow to post it. Brandi and Aaron's submissions are the extreme case in point.

Brandi e-mailed me back in April. Yes, as in that part of the calendar six months ago.

Oh, I had grand plan for the post, planning to unveil it to coincide with a cinematic release, or a DVD release, but I could never get the timing just right.

In the better late than never category, let me introduce you to a couple of tattoos that have been patiently waiting for their moment in the Tattoosday sun.

I'll start with Brandi's tattoo, which is on the front of her right shoulder:



Brandi explains:

"This tattoo is one I got on my 25th birthday but it had been 7 years in the making. I lived in Seattle, WA for 10 years (currently in Texas) and have always loved snowflakes so for my birthday I decided to get this tattoo in memory of my life in Seattle."

The second tattoo is from Aaron. Just to show you how long it has been, when they first sent the photo in April, Aaron was her boyfriend. In a follow-up e-mail a few weeks ago, Brandi called him her fiance, so congratulations are in order as well!

Here's Aaron's tattoo:



Yes, that is the crest of Gryffindor, the crest of one of the four "houses" at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy in the the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.

Brandi explains:

This tattoo is the first installment of a sleeve project Aaron is in the process of that was started after I suggested to him he get it. He is a HUGE Harry Potter fan and I thought what better way to express his love for HP. The rest of the sleeve will be black and white illustrations from each book and I couldn't love him more for expressing his inner "dork."
I also am a fan of the series and have also share the qualities of dorkitude from time to time, so how could I not share this cool tattoo with our readers?

Both tattoos were inked at Epic Tattoos in Fort Worth, Texas. Nick Clark did Brandi's snowflake and Rudy Perez inked Aaron's Gryffindor piece.

Thanks to both Aaron and Brandi for sharing their work with us here on Tattoosday and for waiting so patiently for me to get around to posting their tattoos!

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Jack Shares His Love for Graphic Novels

I had somewhere to be and a few minutes before I had to be there.

At the intersection of Clark and Henry Streets in Brooklyn Heights, I saw a guy stride into a corner bodega. Something told me to peek in. I did. And there, on the back of his right arm was a cool-looking tattoo.

So when he exited the store I introduced myself and we walked twenty yards to a well-lit frame shop to talk about his work.

His name is Jack and he works as a framer but is also a painter and fine artist. Feel free to check out his website here. His work is quite good.

He shared two tattoos with us, the first being the one on the main section of his back upper arm:


Jack is a fan of graphic novels and this piece is based on a panel from the a Hellboy book (Volume 6: Strange Places) by Mike Mignola.


The words in the upper corner of the panel are "I will cast off my afflictions...". The tattoo was done by Erick Diaz at Asylum Tattoo in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

A Hellboy tattoo has appeared previously on the blog here. You may remember the name of Erick Diaz and Asylum Studios based on an appearance on Tattoosday previously from this amazing back piece.

Getting back to Jack, when he pulled up his sleeve, I saw this tattoo above the Hellboy design:


This art is based on the work from another graphic novelist, Anders Nilsen. The piece in question is from the award-winning Dogs and Water.


Jack credits this tattoo to an artist named Jasmine Morrell, aka Jazzy J, who he referred to as a "kitchen surgeon". In other words, this is an example of a home-inked piece, more commonly known as a kitchen table tattoo. Not to say that she is not a professional. In fact, Jack informs me that she is an artist at Atomic Tattoo in Austin, Texas.

Both pieces reflect Jack's love of graphic novels. He adds "I have 4 tattoos, all from comics, the earliest was a back piece from Winsor McKay's Little Nemo in Slumberland." Perhaps we'll see that here in the future!

Thanks to Jack for sharing his amazing tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Daniel's Machine Head Tattoo

I met Daniel in Penn Station yesterday, one of the few people with short sleeves, and certainly the only person with visible ink.

Visiting from Perth, in Western Australia, Daniel has seven tattoos, and he offered up the piece on his left calf:


Daniel is a huge fan of the band Machine Head, and fans of the group will surely recognize that the piece is based on the Machine Head crest:


The Roman numeral MCMXCII refers to 1992, when the band released its first album.

Daniel has seen the group perform seven times (as of this writing). When I asked if the band had ever seen his tattoo, he did tell me that he had met their tour manager at their airport in Brisbane and he had given him backstage passes to the show. Unfortunately, his plans fell through and he wasn't able to make it to the concert.

The tattoo was done by Jonny at Abandoned Art in the Wanneroo section of Perth.

Thanks to Daniel for sharing his tattoo with us here on Tattoosday.

As a postscript, the woman that was with Daniel indicated that his chest tattoo was also very cool, but Daniel understandably did not want to go topless in Penn Station. He indicated he might send a photo in at a a later date, so stay tuned......

Monday, December 14, 2009

Snowing on my Parade

The Geminid Meteor Shower last night.
Who saw it?
Not anyone in Minnesota, that's for sure.
Full cloud cover was the big grinch out here,
but we bundled up at midnight anyway to walk around Powderhorn Lake.
Which, I might add, is about one week away from being seasonally renamed Powderhorn Ice Rink.
Meryl and I did get some skates last year at the end of the season,
and we'll be having everyone over soon for some ice ballet.



The weekend didn't help my mood much.

I woke up to a lot of shoveling needing to get done.
I had forgotten about the dinner I was cooking in the oven tonight
until I could smell the smoke upstairs.
I didn't go to Naked Monday.
I mostly just did stuff around the house.

But it's cool.
Tomorrow there's a Dark Dark Dark show.

Sandra's Angel Reflects Her Vocation

I was folding clothes at the laundromat yesterday afternoon, bemoaning the fact that it appeared as if another weekend would pass without a new tattoo photo, when I caught a glimpse of some ink on the back of the neck of a fellow laundry-doer.

When I asked Sandra if she would share her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday, she kindly obliged:


Sandra said that she originally saw a variation of this design online, but added the "S" for her name. She likes that this design looks, from a distance, like a caduceus, an ancient symbol that is often associated with the medical profession:

Sandra is a nurse in an Intensive Care Unit in a hospital ward that specilizes in treating patients with bone marrow and other forms of cancer. The letter S symbolizes her name and reflects her commitment to her profession.

This was tattooed by an artist named Mike, who works out of his home in Brooklyn.

Thanks to Sandra for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Saturday night's alright for fighting...

I just had the worst clients in here today.
Well, they weren't really clients,
because they didn't actually get tattooed.
But they certainly were the worst.

This week was soul crushing.
I had lots of time to do whatever I wanted, since I certainly wasn't busy tattooing.
I got my new business cards done.
And I joined another hip internet thing.
Tumblr?
I'm there.



I'm so irritated.
Luckily, my work week ends in 6 minutes,
and then it's off to Louderhorn Inn.
Stay warm, kids.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Russian Criminal Tattoo Designs

If you're still looking for that holiday gift, you might consider some attire inspired by Russian criminal tattoos.

Last month, regular readers of Tattoosday may have noticed the ad that popped up on the left side of the blog, promoting a line of clothing from MiR1, an online shop run by a fellow Brooklynite named Roman, featuring designs based on and inspired by this style of tattoo.

Our good friends over at the Needles and Sins Tattoo Blog even featured Roman's online shop as part of their Holiday Gift Guide feature earlier this month. Their piece on Russian Criminal Tattoo Apparel appeared here. You can also check out their Facebook page here.

For the record, I have one of MiR1's hoodies and I'm very pleased with it. If the wind chill wasn't teens this morning, I might even wear it to work.

But I'm not writing about this to sell apparel. Of course, you won't be surprised to hear that Roman has tattoos that run along the themes featured in his clothing line.

He was kind enough to send along this picture:


As explained on the MiR1 site:

The cat has been a symbol in Russian criminal tattoo culture since the beginning, partly because the cat abides by it's own rules. There are many variations of the cat tattoo. The cat symbolizes a thief that is good at what he does. This tattoo can show a man's or woman's connection with the criminal world. The word CAT or "KOT" (in Russian)is an acronym as are many other normal words that are tattooed. KOT stands for "Korenoi Obitatel Tyurmi" or "Native occupant of Jail" as in Jail is my second home.

Roman was kind enough to elaborate on the origin of his tattoos:

The cats were done in Watertown Correctional Facility, by a man named Diablo. For 3 packs of cigarettes and some cakes, cookies, and various junk...Cats are supposed to bring good luck. One cat means u mostly act alone, two means usually with others or part of a crew. I really didn't care either way, I just like symmetry.

The hammer and sickles were done by a friend in the 90's...

I encourage readers to check out the clothing line over at their online shop here. And thanks again to Roman for sharing his own personal ink with us here on Tattoosday!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Everything but tattooing.

-5º.
I'll keep you updated on the weather conditions as the arctic Minnesotan winter keeps getting uglier,
since all of you non-Minnesotans can't help but take pleasure in our suffering.


For anyone who I didn't already tell,
I beat Kyle Mack in arm wrestling a few weeks ago.
And after being humiliated every time I retell the story,
Kyle finally demanded a rematch.
That's fine.
I'm doing clap push ups every morning,
I've shed a few pounds since quitting Dr Pepper,
and I've got vegan biceps.

On Identity Tattoo's shop blog,
the promoting has already begun.
It's happening Saturday, December 19th.
We'll be video taping it for every who won't be able to make it.
If you're into betting,
put your money on me.
I mean.... c'mon.



Tattoo Inkt (an online tattoo site/magazine/community)
sent me some questions which they put up in an interview on their website,
along with a bunch of my tattoos.
You can check it out here.
There's some really awesome tattoo artists up there,
check out Timmy B and Victor Portugal's interviews as well.

No tattoos on the books today;
but the shop is nice and warm,
the internet is fast,
and I'm about to order Indian food.

Darren's Trio of Tattoos

I was contemplating the best way to approach a rather imposing figure who was completely covered in ink, when Darren passed me at the entrance to K-Mart in Penn Station.

When I caught up to him in the store, I introduced myself and, being a piercer in a New York City tattoo shop, he was more than happy to indulge my curiosity.

Darren has three tattoos, all on his arms and crafted by Young Cho at Monster Tattoo in the Elmurst section of Queens.

The first piece, on his lower right arm, is a pin-up depiction of Lady Luck perched on a crescent moon:


The second tattoo is a half-skull that pays homage to Boys Night Out, a band in which one of Darren's friends plays:


This is the outer forearm on his left side.

Finally, we have this piece, which is more than just a few numbers and letters:

Located on his inner right forearm, this tattoo is translated as 40 degrees, 40 minutes, north latitude and 73 degrees, 9 minutes west longitude. These coordinates refer to a specific location in the world, in this case, a spot in the Great South Bay off the coast of Long Island. It was here that Darren's father loved to go fishing and the coordinates in question mark the spot where his father's ashes were scattered after he passed away.

I must emphatically state that this is one of the coolest memorial pieces I have seen. It is extremely thoughtful and creative, speaking to a point on the earth where Darren knows his father will remain, in spirit, for the rest of time.

I thank Darren for taking the time to stop and chat with me about his three tattoos here on Tattoosday!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Jason's Tattoo Reaps What it Sows

Today's tattoo belongs to Jason, who sports this nifty Reaper on his left forearm:


Inked by his younger sister, Mystie, who was an apprentice at the time in Savannah, Georgia, this is one of seven tattoos Jason has.

He had been working as a grave digger and headstone carver and, he said, "after burying kids younger than me," it made sense to get the tattoo. It's a reminder that "nobody's got forever".

Thanks to Jason for sharing his "grim" tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!