Cut off.

Meryl and I did it up right yesterday.

We started with pancakes at Seward Cafe,

took a drive to the St Croix River,

walked on an old railroad tracks path along the river,

went to an apple orchard,

stopped and got some pumpkins,

and took the long way home through Wisconsin

to check out some super nice foliage changing.

What could possibly make the day any better?

How about finally doing the long awaited,

best tattoo idea anyone has ever approached me with?

And done on one of my favorite people ever.

Katie's got a laugh that beats mine in every way possible.

She also has a penis she's not particularly into.

No kidding.

Extra baggage, if you will.

Leftovers from the move.

Eventually, it'll be reconstructed into a whole new deal,

but that might be a little while.

So until then, Katie wanted to hint at what's to come.

Foreshadowing foreskin, kids.

NSFW

Steve's Sleeve of Leaves Ushers in the Fall Season

Earlier this month, I met Steve on the D train, as we headed home to Brooklyn.

He had a veritable panorama of fall foliage on his left arm and he happily shared his autumnal tattoos with us here at Tattoosday.

It only seemed fitting that, as summer has ended, we celebrate the new season with some fall colors.

Behold, Steve's sleeve o' leaves:

The eleven maple leaves on Steve's arm were all inked free hand by Mark Harada at Manhattan's East Side Ink over four sittings.

Steve acknowledges that the leaves changing colors represent a change, and these colorful symbols remind him that change is good.

Happy Autumn to all! And thanks to Steve for sharing his fallen maple leaves with us here on Tattoosday!

Drifting into a beautiful October

It's been dropping in temperature this week, feeling exactly like October should.
Monday was a day of errands, a lot of which I did on my bike.
Above is a photo looking at MPLS from just north of the city on the Mississippi River.

I did more art at home than at work today.

There's a basket of autumn flowers in our house that reminded me of when we lived on the farm a few years ago. I used to do drawings of the flowers that were always in various stages of decay yet still in vases on the kitchen table. Autumn was the most beautiful there, with tons of pumpkins and mist in the morning and acres of trees changing color and bales of hay.
So tonight, with a 01 micron pen and computer paper, I drew these flowers while listening to a very seasonal selection of music dj'ed by my friend Julie on Olympia Free Radio that I pick up online most Tuesdays.


We had an old friend come out last weekend, we had a fire outside, and Meryl made some amazing cornbread.
In ten days my sister comes for a long weekend.
Visitors in this season are the best.

I've closed the windows.
I'm wearing heavier clothes.
I'm writing more letters.
I'm drinking more tea, but not any less Dr Pepper.

First Day of Autumn Tattoo Blues

To celebrate the end of summer (farewell, tattoos aplenty!) and welcome the beginning of fall (come out, come out, wherever you are!), I am posting this appropriate tattoo celebrating the new season.

I was fortunate enough to meet Brian on Friday, right in front of Borders on Penn Plaza.

As the last weekend of summer was upon us, it seemed bittersweet to find his tattoo above. Brian told me that it is a depiction of Sahmin, who is the god of Autumn in Irish mythology. When I went to research this further, I could not find a reference to such a deity, but I do believe that Brian was referring to Samhain, a traditional Celtic celebration after the end of summer.

As for the actual deity in question, let's just say it is perfect for the season, the arboreal face bestrewn with leaves. Perhaps my friend over at NeoPagan Ink can shed some light on this.

This piece was inked by Joe Ferzola (click for nice bio at About.com) at Inklinations in Copiague, New York. The link to Inklinations takes you to the Devil's Den in Copiague, run by a long-time associate of Joe's, Tony Lafemina.

Thanks to Brian for sharing his autumnal tattoo with us here at Tattoosday!