Wednesday, September 30, 2009

A Word of Thanks.....

With the onset of Fall, I compose this note as the month of September is coming to an end.

I look around sadly at the long pants, long sleeves, and covered frames that, just a few weeks ago, were so much more interesting to behold.

I am filled with sadness.

The past month has been a record-breaker for Tattoosday. When we first spun off from BillyBlog, we garnered 120 hits in the first three weeks of our infancy.

Last year, I was amazed by my progress, in September '08 we racked up 13,351 hits.

And this September, when I anticipated a drop off from a record August, Tattoosday soared into uncharted territory, on pace to top 38, 000 hits on the last day of the month. This may not seem like a big deal, but blogging is often lonely, and the number of hits is often the only measure of recognition we receive.

So, the summer ink is running dry, but despair not, I will continue to spot tattoos, although perhaps not at the dizzying rate of the past few months.

I have a backlog of posts and a head full of ideas to keep us entertained as the leaner months loom.

I thank you all for your continued readership and participation. I am very appreciative of your support!

Bill Cohen

Little Dead Riding Hood

I met Amy in Penn Station earlier this month and she agreed to share this, one of her eight tattoos:


Actually, she has since e-mailed me about her ninth, and I am waiting for a photo.

This tattoo represents an undead version of Little Red Riding Hood, which is Amy's favorite fairy tale.


She also likes zombies, so it seemed like a good match.

This tattoo was inked by T.J. Mcinnis at Mcinnis Tattoo Company in Providence, Rhode Island.

Thanks to Amy for sharing this cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Fingers and Toes? C'mon.....

My homeboys lead hazardous lives.
Rollerblading and phone answering have left two of the best crippled and complaining this past week.

By all means, send them some condolences and well wishes,
but save the high fives and trophies for my little brother.
He's been doing his share of pig-kissing at the University of Maryland,
and came down with a gluttonous case of Avian Swine Flu.

I do feel bad for him, and hope it doesn't leave any permanent changes, like feathers or a curly tail.
And I guess it's being passed around campus, and all the Terps are coughing.
So here's a sketch I did for a temporary logo/mascot change.




So keep on fighting, don't give in!
M-A-R-Y-L-A-N-D
Maryland is vomiting!

Zack's Spectacular Foot Tattoos

I met Zack earlier this month as he was walking north on Broadway. But, like many Tattoosday encounters, the ink I spotted (on his leg) was not what ended up here on the blog.

Behold, Zack's feet:

These incredible foot tattoos were created by Beef Stu at Bleed Blue Tattoo in Lexington, Kentucky. Zack recently moved to New York from the Bluegrass state.

Zack told me that the idea for these tattoos came to him in a vision. His right foot tattoo is comprised of a DNA strand, the key to life.
And the left foot. with the skull, represents death.


The word "LIVE" is spelled out above the pieces, with "LI" on the right foot and "VE" on the left. The tattoos, together, Zack told me, serve as a "reminder not to get caught up in the shit" and to "make the most of what you can between life and death".

It took three or four sessions (the feet are not easily inked) for these tattoos.

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

Monday, September 28, 2009

Stephanie's חַי

It was a string of elephants marching above Stephanie's right ankle that first made me stop and talk to her, but she offered up this, her first tattoo, as well:


She started with the Chai at the top of her left breast. At the time, Stephanie was dating a guy who was covered in tattoos., She was 35, uninked, and going through a mid-life crisis. The shop was in Brattleboro, Vermont, but it has been gone for years.

She liked the tattoo so much, she later added the Star of David and the leaves. The Jewish theme was a tribute to her cultural identity as a Jew.

It somehow seemed both suiting and slightly inappropriate to post these tattoos on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year on the Jewish calendar.

I am waiting to hear back from Stephanie for clarification on her string of elephant tattoos. But, in the mean time, I thank her for sharing this deeply personal tattoo with us here on Tattoosday.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Don't try this at home, kids.

I'm pretty good at the internet.

It's true.
I've been threatening to make stickers or buttons that say just that,
and I know you want one.

But I've got nothing on Molly, Meryl's fellow MFA'er.

Molly also just aquired a letterpress, and with grand visions of setting type for mail art and sexy promotional pieces, I plunged headfirst into a very scary project.
A full poem, cut-and-pasted into a readable image.
Normally, I'd say 'no way'.
A stenciling nightmare, and Linework Hell.
But for Meryl, Molly, and all of the people on the mail art list, I accepted.
Ha.

I Go Back to May 1937
by Sharon Olds

Re-arranged, stenciled and tattooed in the shape of two wings.
6+ hours of tattooing time alone, 1 sitting.

Molly did make one part super easy for me though.
She sat perfect for the whole time.
No kidding.

And no, don't even think about it.
I'll never do anything else like it ever again.



(click on the image to see it full-sized)

J.R.'s Five Elements

At the end of August, I spent a couple of minutes on the R train with J.R., who has quite a few tattoos. I didn't have time to take notes, just photos, and I hoped that she would e-mail me with all the details of her work. Fortunately, she did. So, what follows is her explanation of the tattoos, with a little bit of friendly editing.

"My left arm? Dedicated to the five elements...as I see them to be. Earth, Air, Water, Fire and Friendship.


The ants (done by Roni from Hidden Hand Tattoo in Seattle) represent Earth.


Ants are the closest social structure to mirror humans. They have no real strength individually, but together can achieve so much. As a human, I feel it is destined to feel lonely and when I got the tattoo, I came to terms with that and even found beauty in it. I want to feel less like an ant in the sense that there is something that I'm "supposed" to do and if I don't do it I'll be punished or kicked out of the colony, so to say. I want to feel more that there is a greater purpose for my life (or at least one that reflects me as an individual and not what society tells me to be) and that with the help of others I can realize that to it's fullest potential.


The clouds and birds (done by Jeff Cornell owner/artist at Hidden Hand Tattoo) represent Air.


There is a Leonard Cohen song called "Bird on the Wire" that I think is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. I feel the lyrics of the song so deeply and feel that they express such a core sense of who I am. Always, trying to be free. I aspire to someday be free instead of always trying and the tattoo is an attempt to remind myself that the feeling of trying is also a choice just as easy as the feeling of being free is a choice. The past tense nature of the words remind me to be light and free as a bird...





The blue tattoo on my inner arm (done by a girl in her apartment 10 years ago and I can't even remember her name) represents Water.


It is a play on yin and yang as well as a the symbol for Cancer, which is my astrological moon sign. Cancer is ruled by the moon and your moon signs make up your emotional nature. So, I feel this sign very strongly and luckily balances my Leo sun sign which I will get to more later. The symbol has stars instead of circles like a traditional yin yang because I wanted it to represent the universe within myself versus me questioning the universe around me. I got the box around it to express the feeling of being limited due to the human mind. I wanted to remind myself that any limitations are just an illusion and the healthy balance is one in which I'm learning from my experiences but also pushing my own boundaries.

The red and orange tattoo on my outer arm was done by the same forgotten artist though I will mention I was one of her first clients and that she was the perfect person for the job due to her own self-exploratory nature. She provided a healing space in which I was able to have an out of body experience.


The tattoo represents Fire. It captures my before mentioned fire sign of Leo, which is ruled by the sun. It is also Buddhist themed using a Tibetan mantra Om Mani Padme Hum which roughly translates to "the jewel is in the lotus," which to me is a beautiful way to live life. The lotus roots reach far into the muck and swamp but emerge with a beautiful flower on top. The tattoo is an attempt to capture the notion of living in the world yet being separate from it, as to not get burned or be consumed by it. The circle in the tattoo represents the sun and myself and the red is the part of myself that struggles to find my way in the world.


The beehive (done by Louis Barak here in NYC) is a tribute to Emer and Naomi, two best friends of mine, and the tattoo as a whole captures what I consider to be the fifth element, Friendship...It bears the lyrics of The Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends." We lived together in Seattle and called our lovely house the Beehive. We used to listen to The Beatles A LOT...though now I'm more of a Stones fan.

There are two bees buzzing to represent them


and the three forget-me-not flowers represent each of us. Emer and Naomi have known me the longest and have seen me through thick and thin. They mean the world to me and I love them both like sisters. I know in my heart that we will know each other forever."

A big thanks to J.R. for sharing her tattoos with me on the subway and then writing so eloquently about them for us to read here on Tattoosday!

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Fett et Fête

My official work week is over.
Of course, I'm working tomorrow on my day off, but I always seem to be doing that.
What an a-hole.

Ever meet anyone who raced an Ironman competition?
Ben and Todd had their hands full with two female Ironmen each today.
And while dotted M's were the only item on the menu for rooms I and II,
I was happily black and graying it up on some Boba Fett action.
I'm not so sure about that weird lamp post he always has sticking to the side of his helmet, but this was an awesome end to my week.




After work, Todd, Kyle Mack, Meryl and I went to 'Indelible', the art show made up of tattoo artists being put on by MPLS Deth Crew.
I have to hand it to them, they did an awesome job.
It'll be up for a month at the 33Design Gallery if you want to check it out.

Meryl documented the night for me.

The walls looked good.



So did Todd and Kyle in their matching 'Never Quiet, Never Soft' shirts.



Todd telling me who was who.



Meryl and I, in front of the pig piece.



And, the pig piece.
(The hippo was on the other side of the room, and we forgot about the camera by the time we got over there)



There was some super hot work showing, and I'm glad I was a part of it.
Thanks to Todd and Kyle for coming into Minneapolis and hanging out.

(Todd just posted a sneak peak of his IWYS submission that he finished today. Check it out here, cause it's dope)

Cogito Chuck Robbins (Literary Ink)

Sometimes I abbreviate post titles and they seem nonsensical, like one of those captcha messages, or a subject line in a morsel of spam.

So I'm sticking with this title "Cogito Chuck Robbins" because I like the way it sounds. So there. It will all make sense eventually.

I met Chris outside of Penn Station one Friday afternoon, intrigued by his forearm tattoo:


"Cogito ergo sum" is a Latin phrase that means, in English, "I think, therefore, I am." It is attributed to the 17th Century French philosopher René Descartes.

This was the first of Chris' three tattoos. He is a philosophy and creative writing major at SUNY New Paltz. This phrase is the "missing link in a belief system," or, in his words, "what I always knew, but never knew".

The tattoo was done at a shop in East Meadow, New York.

Chris also has this dead bird near his right elbow:


Inked at Skin Deep Tattoo in Levittown, this is inspired by the art on the cover of Chuck Palahniuk's Lullaby.

Work from Skin Deep has appeared previously on Tattoosday here. Palahniuk also has quite a cult following, and his work is the most often represented in ink here on Tattoosday. Check out other Palahniuk tattoos here.

And Chris' third tattoo is based on the cover art from one of my favorite authors, Tom Robbins:


This echoes the front of the great book Still Life With Woodpecker, which has made many people a fan of the writer.


The piece, which was inked by Mike Vlad at Triple X Tattoo in Manhattan, is a subtle nod in appreciation of Robbins and his great book. Work from Triple X has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

If you like these pieces, and are a fan of literary tattoos, you should certainly check out Contrariwise, a site dedicated solely to contributors' literary ink.

A hearty thanks to Chris for sharing his tattoos with us here on our site!




Friday, September 25, 2009

Colin's Left Leg is Traditionally Flash-y

I spotted Colin one afternoon while I was waiting for another tattooed individual to get off of her cell phone.

(Not only have I come up with individual terms for things that are associated with inkblogging, but I follow a code, as well. One of its tenets is to never bother someone talking on a cell phone.)

Colin ambled by and I bounded after him, stopping him and asking about his tattoos.

His left leg is covered with traditional flash, from swallows and bombs, roses, death's head moths,


and a pin-up girl, done in the Sailor Jerry style.


He explained that the sleeved left leg is a result of being "overzealous and excited" about tattoos.
Usually I try to talk about one or two pieces, but because most of his work is just flash, I captured most of his calf.

No fascinating stories to tell, just tattoos.

Thanks to Colin for sharing his ink with us here on Tattoosday!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Sweet Pea Shares More Classic Brooklyn-Style Ink

My last tattoo (here) was inked by Pete who uses the moniker "Sweet Pea".

I stopped by to say hi a few weeks back and I got a glimpse of him tattooing a koi on a client's leg.

Sweet Pea invited me to snap a shot of his own leg, recently inked by legendary tattoo artist Tony Polito:


This piece of classicly-inspired flash, signed by Polito himself, is another fine work of body art on Sweet Pea's canvas. See the original post featuring his ink here.

Thanks to Sweet Pea for sharing this tattoo with us here on Tattoosday.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Any Port in a Storm: Chris Wears His Clipper Ship with Pride

I spotted this beauty of a tattoo in Bay Ridge on the calf of Chris:


He explained that it is a cover-up and took Alex Franklin at Brooklyn Ink about four hours to complete. Work from Alex and the other artists from Brooklyn Ink have appeared previously on Tattoosday here.


Chris is originally from Boston and he said the clipper ship tattoo just "seemed like the New England thing to get". He later elaborated, in an e-mail:

"I wanted to get something true to where I've grown up and my heritage. A clipper ship is a very New England type tattoo and I was born and raised in Boston before setting off to NYC. Ships also mean a lot to me as 3 of my relatives left England for NYC on the Titanic and 1 of them perished at sea with the ship. In addition, my grandfather was aboard the Navy's USS Allagash in the Korean War. Any Port in A Storm is an important saying for me, because I am a cop in Brooklyn. Essentially it means, when you're in trouble, any way out is a good way out, whether or not you like the decision.
Thanks to Chris for sharing this wonderful tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

New seasons.

Happy First Day of Fall!

Did you feel it?
So nice.

We were feeling pretty good over at the shop today,
our first day back to work after the convention.
Instead of a ego boost from winning "tattoo of the day", though, I'm feeling lots of pressure to up my game.
The convention felt like a formal introduction to the Minnesota tattoo community after a very insular two years of working in Maple Grove.
This perceived sense of entering some new spotlight has me intent on raising the bar.

I'm looking forward to the Off the Map Tattoo guest spot that will be here in little over a month.
There's a few really exciting tattoos that I'll be doing there on a lot of my (ir)regulars.
I need to do 100 drawings this week, but I'm alright with that.

Today I had some open time and was very lucky to get such a creative walk-in idea given to me.
A camel in a lotus, marking the first day on the road to recovery.
What a lovely day to start.
I hope everyone enjoys the new season.

Claire's Tree of Memory and Strength

On a drizzly day in late August, I ran into Claire, a woman on my block in Bay Ridge, with this tattoo on her upper right arm:


When I asked Claire about the tattoo, she explained that her mother is mentally ill and that, despite being present, she really has not been there as a parent to her, due to her illness.


She remembers, as a child, that her mom often wore a suit with a floral pattern. When deciding upon this, one of her five tattoos, the design reminded her of that suit, and subsequently, the tattoo came to represent the absent parent.

This tattoo was inked by Charlie Foos at Fly Rite Studio. Charlie apprenticed there and is now working in Baltimore at Read Street Tattoo Parlour. Work from Fly Rite has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Claire for sharing this powerful and beautiful tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Monday, September 21, 2009

Lemonade



These were the Minneapolis Tattoo Convention shirts that I made and gave out to my clients/friends/supporters this weekend.

I always make some limited edition shirts for conventions and guest spots.
I had big plans for this convention since it was held on our home turf, but I failed miserably burning a screen.
Twice.

So, with very little to work with and only one day to make 30 shirts in, this is what I ended up doing.

I taped up an acorn-shaped metal cut out (that a customer had made for me a few months back) and placed it somewhere near front and center of the shirt.



I then sprayed bleach water at the metal acorn, let it sit for a full minute, and watched the bleach eat into the shirt.



The shirts get rinsed out, and hung up to dry.



I hand painted the messed up screen with screen filler, since even our drawing fluid was too old and chunky to use.
The antlers and the XI were then screened separately once the shirts were dry.
I did all the woman's shirts at Identity Tattoo, but had to do all the guys shirts in my basement a few hours before the convention started.

That's how you do things right the wrong way.

There's still a few left over.
I'll make a tally when I get to the shop tomorrow.
Stop by or email me if you're interested in picking one up.

Tessa's Tattoo Illustrates the Battle of Head Versus Heart

Yesterday, I wrote about two of Lindsay's tattoos. After talking to her, I spoke to her friend Tessa, who had this amazing piece on her left shin:


First, I need to commend Tessa on the quality of this tattoo, which looks crisp and fresh, as if it had just been inked a few weeks ago. She actually had this done in 2005 by Adam Barton at Samuel O'Reilly's Tattoo Parlour in Santa Cruz, California. The quality of the tattoo is judged not just on how well it is done, but how it sustains its vibrancy over time. Tessa won the lottery with this piece.

The theme behind this tattoo is head versus heart. The struggle between logical thinking and emotional feeling are universal, and Tessa acknowleges that this tattoo reminds her of the ongoing battle between the two sides telling her what to do.

Thanks to Tessa for sharing this, one of her nine tattoos, here on Tattoosday!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Minneapolis Tattoo Convention, all wrapped up.

I had two tattoos that I had wanted to finish today at the convention,
but apparently not enough time.
I didn't even mess around at all.




I had Jeff the Chef first thing,
he sat like a champ, and let me do whatever I wanted.
He didn't even get nervous when I took a break and told Ben that I had no idea how I was going to finish it.
I scared off some onlookers when I jokingly asked for color advice for the sky.
No kidding, this one kid looked so upset and took off.

But we got it figured out, mostly.
It went on to win the "Tattoo of the Day", which was super flattering.
I'll get a better photo soon.



Spending so much time working on Jeff's tattoo meant that Rachel's got pushed back, and we didn't get to finish it.
Sorry Rachel, and thanks for being such a good sport!
I took a quick photo at our stopping point because I liked it so much.
We'll finish it in two weeks, and I'll post the real picture then.



Ann came with Rachel for most of the day, and brought along an awesome present.
What's better than a case of Dr Pepper?
A bag of antlers!

A Ship and An Owl Sail in from California

I ran into Lindsay and her friend Tessa as they were coming out of Penn Station last month.

Between them they have seventeen tattoos, many of which are fairly amazing. Lindsay shared two of her pieces with us here at Tattoosday.

First up is a traditional ship tattoo on the front of her upper left arm:


Aside from the aesthetics, and the nod to the classic style of traditional tattooing, Lindsay told me that this piece is a steady reminder for her to "stay the course" in her life.

It was inked by Shawn Phelps at Integrity Tattoo in Campbell, California.


The back of Lindsay's arm hosts this incredible owl tattoo:


Owl tattoos are a popular tattoo motif. I've mentioned before this great blog dedicated solely to Owl Tattoos. On the far side of her upper left arm, she says her owl, aside from its decorative strengths, "watches [her] back". This great tattoo was done by Karl Fisher at Tattoo 13 in Oakland, California.


I humbly thank Lindsay for sharing her a little bit of her body art with us here on Tattoosday!

Be sure to check here to see what amazing piece Lindsay's friend Tessa offered up to the blogosphere!