Jason's Two Stars Lead the Way

Last week, I spotted Jason walking through Penn Station and took the opportunity to ask him about some of his tattoos. He says he has about twenty-four in all, so I took a picture of his forearms, from the photo here you can see six of them, including a Celtic knot and the phrase "Let it be...".

However, Jason drew my attention to the two stars, which were his first two tattoos. I'll let Jason explain, in his own words:

"The crumbling star was originally meant for my broken aspirations, something I dreamt up when I was a kid. And then, the outline of the green star ... the green, for me, it means rejuvenation, you know, new ideas, new paths, just different things to inspire me."

The two stars were not done at the same time, but the crumbling star was inked at Addiction NYC in the East Village. The green star followed a couple weeks later and was completed in Brooklyn, at Inkman Tattoo Studio.

Jason told me he likes to get new tattoos when he travels, what I like to call a "tattoorist," if you will. New ink is always a great way to commemorate places one has visited.

Thanks to Jason for sharing these two stars with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement. 

Kristina: Aon Grá

Over the summer, we were having a yard sale, when Kristina stopped by to peruse the goods. She shared this, one of her four tattoos:

Located on the inside of her right arm, the phrase "aon grá" is Irish for "one love". This decorative tattoo with a powerful message was tattooed by Rob at Brooklyn Ink in Bay Ridge. Work from the shop which, due to its close proximity to "home base" for Tattoosday, has appeared often over the years on the site, and can be seen here.


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

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Musician Monday: Ryan from The Disconnects

Here on our second installment of Musician Mondays, we have a rockin', self-explanatory tattoo from Ryan, lead singer and guitarist from an unsigned band called The Disconnects:

From her mohawk to her Doc Martens, this punk rock girl and her "Too Fast to Live, To Young to Die" banner totally capture that raw, rock aesthetic.

I met Ryan last month, across the street from where I work, on Seventh Avenue and 31st Street, in Manhattan.

The tattoo was inked at Fat Kat Tattoos in Keyport, New Jersey. Work from Fat Kat previously appearing on the site can be seen here.

Thanks to Ryan for sharing his cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Home is Where the Star Is

Yesterday in Penn Station, I met Jonathan, whose one tattoo caught my eye when I passed him in the Amtrak waiting area.

Except, sometimes, a fragment of a tattoo doesn't necessarily reveal the whole piece. As in Jonathan's case, I saw the back of his arm, and this segment, which resembled (to me, at the time), a crude figure with the beginning of a speech bubble emanating from its mouth:

I felt rather silly, however, when Jonathan agreed to participate and showed me the full tattoo:

The figure I imagined, of course, is really Long Island, and the balloon was the southern tip of the state of New York.

Jonathan explained that he is from Rochester, marked on the tattoo with a star, and that he lived in the same house growing up there for eighteen years. It's a New York state of mind, indeed.

The tattoo was done at Big Joe & Sons Tattooing in White Plains, New York.

Thanks to Jonathan for sharing his stately tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.


If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Out With the Old.....

As we wind down 2010, and look ahead to 2011, I wanted to take care of one of my several loose ends from the past year.

Back in July, I met a guy named John on the D train. He had tattooed arms and we chatted a bit. He said he'd send me photos and he did a few weeks later.

I never posted the photos because the resolution was low, and when I tried to increase the size, they blurred. I was going to include these in the Christmas housecleaning post, but the work is just too good.

So hear you have them, small photos, but recognizably amazing:

I mean, what is there to say? This work is quite excellent. The koi, the tiger, the sailing ship, sugar skull, nautical stars - it's all quite a body of work!

The artist is Nacho, who appeared once before on the blog here. You can check out Nacho's work here. in New York, he tattoos out of Studio Enigma on Avenue U.

Thanks to John for sharing these amazing tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

And thanks to all of our fans and contributors for making 2010 a successful year of inkspotting!

A Series of Nautical Stars Guide Me to an Amazing Tattoo

I've said it before and I'll say it again: sometimes asking about a common tattoo reaps great visual rewards.

Carrie is a prime example. I spotted her nautical stars gracing her right arm near 39th Street and Broadway and I asked her about them. Had she only had one, I may have passed her by, but she had five running up the length of her inner arm, and I had to ask.

Well, like this tattoo, I knew when Carrie stood up from the chair on which she was sitting, that I would be seeing something more interesting than stars. And, well, let's say she took my breath away on Broadway:


This reminded me of this windjammer tattoo, but Carrie, who has always loved pirates, and is going to have this colored in at some point, specified that this is a pirate ship.

The detail is incredible:


and Carrie was particularly happy that the moon came out in the photo:


The brilliant piece was inked by Charles "Chuck" Denise at Revolver Tattoo in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Carrie told me he was voted one of the top 10 tattooists in the country. The stars were done at Philadelphia Eddie's Tattoo Haven by Topper in Philadelphia.

Thanks to Carrie for sharing her awesome ship on Tattoosday (and for being confident enough to reveal so much in the middle of Broadway). She works in the same building where I have a regular Friday meeting, so I hope to feature progress on her work in the future. She also mentioned that her boyfriend has some cool ink too, so we may see some from him as well in the months to come.

Ladybug Luck

Bridget loves ladybugs. They represent luck because, whenever bad things are happening, she will inevitably see a ladybug, and she is convinced they help her luck turn around.

She went to her tattoo artist, Stacey Sharp at Ink Alternative Studio in Ronkonkoma, New York, and told her she wanted a piece with ladybugs and stars. Stacey put together this piece with the negative space utilizing her skin tone. The effect is a pretty cool tattoo.

Bridget also has a back piece which she couldn't show me, but hopefully she will send me a photo for a later post.

A tattoo from Ink Alternative appeared here last October here.

Thanks again to Bridget for sharing her ladybug ink here at Tattoosday!

Update July 27, 2009: Stacey now tattoos out of Inkpulsive Custom Tattoos.

Two Tattoos, Starry Reminders of Youth and Friendship

I met Randy in front of Penn Station, where he was talking with Cait.

I spotted what appeared to be a Chilly Willy tatoo on his inner right forearm, but he dismissed it as a youthful mistake that he eventually wanted to get covered up.

He did offer me the three stars on his right hand as a tattoo that had much more meaning:


He got the three stars to remind him of youth and romance, an allusion to how kids tend to draw on themselves, often scribbling stars. The piece was inked at Lotus Tattoo in Sayville, N.Y.

He mentioned to me that Cait also had a tattoo. I asked her if she'd be willing to share, and she did. She peeled back a little of her top to reveal this beautiful piece on the top left side of her chest:
Cait and her friend Michelle have birthdays two days apart. When they turned 18, they took a design that Michelle had crafted to Da Vinci Tattoo Studio in Wantagh, New York. The artist she remembered as "Yoshi" inked matching pieces for the two.


Cait says the heart that encases the colorful stars represents their friendship, and serves to remind them of the bond. In the event that life ever separates them, the tattoos will link them, no matter where they are.

Work from Da Vinci Tattoo Studio has appeared on Tattoosday before here.
Thanks to Randy and Cait for sharing their ink with us here at Tattoosday!

Ian Jones Has Thirteen Tattoos. Here Are Four.

I saw this hannya mask outside of Penn Station and went up to talk to its host, Ian Jones, a Long Islander waiting for a train.

Despite a light rainfall, we chatted for ten minutes or so about his tattoos and the stories behind them.

Since the advent of Tattoosday, participants' reactions to the project range from total disinterestedness to moderate amusement. Ian, however, took it a notch higher, to the point of downright enthusiasm. He sounded sincere in his appreciation for the blog (and the idea behind it), and I got the impression that he would have let me take pictures of each tattoo, had time and weather permitted.

The big piece that first drew my attention was the colorful half-sleeve on his left bicep. The hanyya masks are traditional elements in Japanese tattooing styles, and he has two masks representing good and evil.


This tattoo, about ten hours worth of work so far, was done by Kristen at Artful Ink Tattoo Studio, in Bohemia, on Long Island. He noted that it was also a cover-up of a "bad sparrow and flower".

Ian says he gets the most questions about his Volkswagen logo on the inside of his right wrist.

He explains why he got an automotive emblem on such a prominent spot: he's always loved German engineering and has always had VW vehicles. His first car was a VW Eurovan, but his second car, a VW GTI 2-door hatchback, was what cemented his love of Volkswagens for life.

Ian told me how he was in his GTI when he was in a horrible crash. The other vehicle was purportedly going 100 MPH and Ian is convinced that the VW's structural shell protected him from critical injuries.

As a tribute to the GTI, and as an expression of his love of Volkswagen, he had the VW logo inked on his shifting arm (he now drives a VW Jetta) as a reminder of his survival from such a harrowing experience.

His left arm sports two tattoos:

There is Long Island on the forearm and a star on his inner wrist. The star was inked the same time as the VW logo to provide balance, but it grew to take on a more important meaning. It's a reminder symbol about a friend of his who is in the Marines.

The VW and star were inked by his friend and bandmate Tony Coffins at Resonance Tattoo, also on Long Island (Center Moriches). Ian and Tony are in a band, Phoenix Rise, together. See their MySpace page here and listen to them play.

The tattoo of Long Island, which Ian admits is not done that well (although I would say at least looks like Long Island), is nonetheless, still near and dear to his heart. Ian was adopted when he was a baby, and he feels that he could have ended up anywhere, and Long Island was his home. He is proud to be a Long Islander, and thus wears this as a badge of honor.

Thanks to Ian for his enthusiasm for Tattoosday, and let's hope we see more of his ink here in the future!

A Trio of Stars, Remembering a Father

A few weeks back, at our local fashion and accessories store, I noticed three stars tattooed on the store manager's foot. I made a mental note that, when I returned, I should ask her about them.

I was in the store yesterday and the opportunity presented itself. From the sound of it, every employee in the store has ink, and most of them seem to be open to talking with Tattoosday.

But Samantha took the lead and offered up the three stars on her feet:


These were inked by Joe at Studio Enigma.

The triad of stars is a memorial to Samantha's father, who passed away about five years ago. She initially got the one large star, but then added the two others about 2 months ago to make a set of three, representing her and her two siblings, a brother and sister.

She chose to do these on her foot because it seemed to her like a different spot.

Thanks again for shining your stars on the blog, Samantha!

The First Two Elements of Omar's Sleeve

I was sitting in my local coffee establishment Sunday morning when I overheard some words that got my attention. Among the words uttered were “traditional,” “sleeve,” and “work”. I looked up to see a guy talking to the barista. He had a tattoo on his wrist. I waited until he was done talking to the guy behind the counter and spoke up when he walked by.

His name is Omar and he has two tattoos, both on his inner right forearm:


His first one is the nautical star, definitely a traditional piece:

He explained that, as he understood it, the nautical star tattoo is a common piece that represents a star guiding a sailor home on the right path. He had flames added to symbolize change, as it so often does in tattooing.

This was not inked at any shop, but by one of Omar's friends who is just learning the art of the tattoo. He pointed out that the line work was not perfect, but I wouldn't have noticed it without a harder glance.

The second piece is a traditional sugar skull, very similar to the one that appeared in Tattoosday's "Rad Tattoo from Nebraska" post:


Omar had first gone into Brooklyn Ink and discussed his second tattoo it was there that the artist recommended that he should stay traditional to be consistent with the nautical star.

He ended up in SoHo at Whatever Tattoo II where he had the sugar skull added. I'll be frank, I thought that the design was just a Day of the Dead piece and only recently learned of the significance of the sugar skull. These items are usually associated with the Mexican Day of the Dead holiday, and are made specifically for the ocasion using colored sugar. In the context of the tattoo they represent the dichotomy of life and death. This tattoo is only about two weeks old.

Omar says he plans to have a full sleeve dedicated to traditional tattoo symbols. He next hopes to add to the background of the skull with some flowers and other designs.

Thanks to Omar for his contribution to Tattoosday!

Two Stars Shining on Nicole

A common Tattoosday ritual for me is to go to the bank at lunch and, time permitting, head over to the Manhattan Mall and make a circuit through the food court, before heading back to the office.

Needless to say, as any regular Tattoosday reader could tell you, pickings have been slim since the mercury dropped below 50 for the season.

Yet I am an optimist, and forever on the lookout for ink, as evidenced by last week's "Queen of Hearts" post.

However, my hopes were slim as I headed out at lunch and encountered a drizzle that the meteorologists hadn't forecasted until the evening. Nonetheless, I went to the bank on 6th Avenue and then visited the mall.

The location introduced me to Alex (here) and has had promising ink displays, discovered only when the weather drove me indoors. I passed out a flier or two in the food court earlier this winter, but to no avail. The one problem with the food court is inherent in its very nature. Most
denizens are eating, and I am reluctant to disrupt the meals of people, tattooed or otherwise.

On Tat-Tuesday, I made the food court pass, seeing nothing, and was on my way out when two
tattooed stars behind a young woman's ear caught my eye:


To be honest, I've never been bowled over by stars, but these were colorful, and it is January, and even the simplest tats can be fraught with meaning.

Nicole was sitting alone (another plus, on the approachability scale, as I tend to shy away from groups) and she had a coffee and Cinnabon on the table, as she played with her cell phone.

I approached and asked if I could talk to her about her stars and she gladly obliged.

Nicole and I discussed the two stars behind her right ear.

They have no significance, they are just decoration, "for the hell of it," done partially out of boredom.

So the next question is generally the "how many do you have" inquiry. Nicole reacted to the question like most people who have a ton of ink: uncertainty. My limited experience leads me to believe that, somewhere between twelve and eighteen, one loses count.

At that point the ink has taken on a life of its own, and the clusters, sometimes themed, sometimes not, become sleeves.

Such was Nicole's situation: under the winter coat and long pants blossomed an explosion of colorful ink. I did not see them, nor did I ask, but she catalogued a host of designs, "mostly girlie stuff," like stars, flowers, and hearts.

"About six years worth..." of accumulated ink.

Like most people, Nicole is loyal to one shop, New York Adorned (featured previously here and here on Tattoosday). The artist who inked the "baby pink" and "baby blue" stars was Bryan Randolph.

Thanks to Nicole and her two shining stars! Here's hoping she'll make a return to Tattoosday in the future!