Clark's Tattoo Incorporates Utah Wildflowers and a French Surrealist

Back in October, I briefly met Clark when I was passing through Penn Station at the end of the day. He was waiting for a train, so we didn't have a lengthy discussion, but he did let me photograph his right forearm:

There are two significant elements to this work. Clark is originally from Utah, and he has chosen to acknowledge this in ink by having Utah wildflowers incorporated in the piece.



The figure is bordered by the French phrase "Nul n'est censé ignorer" which can be translated as "ignorance is no excuse." The figure is based on the work of French painter and poet Francis Picabia.





Clark credited both Jonah Ellis and Joss Macetti at Graceland Brooklyn for work on this tattoo.





Thanks to Clark for sharing this with us here on Tattoosday!

A Diversion: A Tattoo Across Time

Well, folks, at one point I had over fifty days of material backlogged, but I've been rationing of late, and tattoobernating a bit. I've less than seven days of posts remaining and this cold weather has everyone hiding their ink because of the cold.



So, until it heats up, check out this piece by writer Shonna Milliken Humphrey in tomorrow's New York Times.



It's a very nice essay and it is ink-related.



Read more about the author here.

Celina's Tattoo Gives Her Strength and Courage

Last month, I received a phone call when I was walking through the Borders at 2 Penn Plaza. I sat down in one of those comfy chairs and noticed, once I had finished speaking on the phone, that the young lady sitting next to me had an interesting tattoo on her right wrist. I asked her about it and Celina kindly shared it with us here:

Celina explained that she had originally hoped to have this done in Aramaic, but that she and her artist couldn't find the proper script, so she chose this one instead. It's an old Hebrew script, which I can recognize a significant part of, thanks to my many years of Hebrew school in Hawai'i.



The words translate to "Be strong and courageous," from Deuteronomy 31:6:

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

The Hebrew phrase,     

 חִזְקוּ וְאִמְצוּ

is spoken by Moses, on behalf of God, addressing the Israelites after they have fled Egypt and are about to embark on the journey that takes forty years and eventually leads them to the Promised Land.



This phrase resonated with Celina, who had this tattoo done before she moved to New York from the San Francisco Bay area, and was about to embark on a journey into the unknown.



She credited the artist Chris Evans, in Santa Cruz, California, with inking this tattoo.



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

Tattoorism: A Bee-autiful Tattoo from the Pacific Northwest

Among the several people who voted for my Thanksgiving tattoo last November, Jude sent along a photo of a tattoo she had recently received, on November 5, her first in fact.

I'll let Jude explain:

My married name is Beeman and next year will be our 20th anniversary. I had been searching for the perfect bee image for years.





The image is by William Wasden Jr from Alert Bay, BC. I found the bee online, one of a series of prints. I found contact info for William, and both called and sent emails twice over a two month period.  Unfortunately I did not hear from William. This due diligence did satisfy my tattoo artist, Shoko Sonoda, of Sumiya here in Vancouver and we proceeded with the work.

The tattoo measures 4" by 4" which Shoko thought would be the smallest  she would want to go to catch the details. The colours used are 'bee' yellow, black and white."

Thanks so much to Jude for sharing this tattoo with us here at Tattoosday. It's really quite lovely!

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, 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.



Let's start with Darius, who has this traditional Mom and Sparrow tattoo on his forearm:

He said that he and two other friends got the same tattoo.



This was done by Jae Audette at Mcinnis Tattoo Company  in Providence, Rhode Island. Work from the shop appeared previously on the site here.



The other tattoo, on his bicep, is this set of brass knuckles that says "Knuckle Up":

This was done by Forrest Curl at Altered Images Tattoo Studio in Cumberland, Rhode Island.



Also from Altered Images is this still-in-progress rib piece on Kenny:

This is a depiction of The Crimson King from Stephen King's Dark Tower Series. As you would imagine, Kenny is a huge fan.



Rob Young is the artist who is working on this piece.



Katie then generously offered to show me her tattoo, which runs down her spine:

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:

Katie explained that her heritage is Armenian, and that the letters down her spine spell the word for "family".



She added that two of her cousins have the same tattoo, but inked on their arms.



She also noted that the infinity symbol at the base of her neck speaks to the Armenian text and symbolizes, for her, "family forever".



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".



Thanks to Darius, Kenny and Katie for sharing their tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Jill Walks On with Her Ink

I spotted Jill in the beginning of November sitting in the New Jersey Transit waiting area at Penn Station.



She has eight tattoos, five are symbols and three are word-based, including this one on her forearm:

The one she shared with us is based on the song lyrics of U2 and their song "Walk On".

The letter G and the date refer to her grandmother and the day she died, March 2, 2010.



The lyrics are "And I know it aches/And your heart it breaks/You can only take so much/Walk on".



Jill said that listening to music got her through a difficult time and this song, in particular, carried and sustained her through the mourning process.



Coincidentally, March 2 marked the anniversary of her meeting the band in 2009.



She chose an Edwardian script and the tattoo was inked by Mike at Fat Kat Tattoos in Keyport, New Jersey.



Work from Fat Kat has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.



Thanks to Jill for sharing this special tattoo with us here on the site!



A little extra treat, video of U2's "Walk On":

Amanda's Irises (and a Quote)

This start-of-the-year post is courtesy of Amanda, who I met at the end of October in the Borders at Columbus Circle.



It was her sleeve of irises that first captured my attention:

These are inspired by the work of Vincent van Gogh, perhaps this one:

The tattoo was done by Dennis Halbritter when he was at Incognito Tattoo in Pasadena, California. He has since moved to High Voltage Tattoo, Kat Von D's shop on L.A. Ink.



Dennis also inked this on Amanda's inner right bicep:

This quote "IO FU QUELLO CHE VOI SIETE E QUEL CH'IO SON VOI SARETE" is taken from an Italian fresco credited to Masaccio. This is the artwork in question:

The Holy Trinity, with the Virgin and Saint John and donors, in Florence

If you look at the bottom of the fresco, right above the skeleton is the phrase Amanda has inscribed on her arm.



The phrase is translated as "I once was what you are and what I am you also will be".

These words remind her of her own mortality.



Thanks to Amanda for sharing these lovely tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!