The Tattooed Poets Project: Ali Jacs

On this, the penultimate day of our fourth annual Tattooed Poets Project, we will be featuring a pair of tattooed spoken word artists.

First up is Ali Jacs, who shared her tattoo in its sketch stage

and in its final state:

Ali explains:

"I got the ... tattoo in January 2010 after a bit of a dark yet very enlightening stage in my life ... The tattoo artist Elton Buchanan is trained in the Maori style of the Te Arawa tribe in New Zealand. There is fair bit of symbolism in this - frangipani flower petals symbolize personal awakening, of which I did a fair amount in 2009! There are fish scales which symbolize the 'taniwha', or mythical Maori protector who dwells in the ocean, there is weaving to symbolize strength in family and friends and there are two Manaia - guardian spirits of the earth, sea and sky. Blending in some contemporary culture, there is a treble and bass clef to highlight my connection with music. 

Which ties in quite well with my poem, which I've provided [below] ... most of my poetry these days is focused on performance poetry and this particular piece focuses on the music that we hear in every day occurrences and the sounds that bring this world alive." 

Here is the poem that Ali has shared:

   

Ali Jacs is a performance poet from Wellington, New Zealand. After getting involved in the spoken word community in the Canadian prairies, Ali returned home to New Zealand in 2010. She won 2nd place in the 2011 Going West Writer’s Festival Poetry Slam in Auckland and in October 2011, won 2nd place in New Zealand’s inaugural National Poetry Slam. Having travelled extensively across Canada and Europe, Ali’s poetry is inspired by people, landscapes and cultures encountered on the road, exploring themes of politics, sexuality, social and environmental justice and the madness of these crazy times. Ali runs the monthly performance poetry series Poetry in Motion in Wellington, New Zealand and has recently finished her first chapbook Romantic Pragmatism. You can also check her out on her new website www.alijacs.com.  

Thanks very much to Ali Jacs for her contribution to the Tattooed Poets Project!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday. The tattoo is reprinted with the poet's permission. 

If you are reading this on another website 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.

Tattoosday Goes Tribal on Ink Master

What’s the hardest thing about being an ink-blogger and getting a tattoo on a televised competition show? Keeping my mouth shut for almost six months about the experience.

This is the tattoo that  I received back in August in the course of my stint as a "human canvas" on  the set of Spike TV's Ink Master.

What you didn't see on the show (if you watched last night) was the consulting session in which I sat down with the artist and hashed out the ideas and concepts that I wanted represented in this tribal piece that ultimately ended up on my left thigh.

The two main elements are the honu, or Hawaiian sea turtle, and the hibiscus, which is the state flower of Hawai'i. Having grown up in the Aloha State, I wanted something that represented my childhood home.

  
The end result far exceeded my expectations. I want to again thank Heather Sinn, my artist, for giving me an exceptional tattoo under less than ideal conditions. 

I also want to share a little bit more about how I lucked into being tattooed by such a wonderfully talented artist.

The episode that aired last night was dubbed “Botched Head Tattoo” by the network. Fortunately, mine was not the botched head tattoo, although I have stayed in touch with the human canvas who chose to have his scalp inked and can say, with 100% confidence, the only thing botched about it was that it wasn’t completed in the five-hour time limit. The artist, Bili Vëgas, ultimately finished the piece at his shop in New York, and Ryan, who shared one of his other tattoos with us here on Tattoosday back in August, is very happy with the end result.

Photo Courtesy of

Bili Vëgas @ www.bilivegas.com

Back in July, I wrote here about Ink Master’s call for candidates looking for a cover-up. Shortly after posting the piece, I sent in my own idea for a tattoo for the show, thinking it was a long shot.

Within the hour, I got a response asking if I could come in and discuss the idea in person. Fortunately, I was off that day, and I went into Manhattan and met with production staff, discussing what I wanted in terms of a memorial piece for my step-father, who passed away in April 2010. This discussion also included a mention of my almost having been tattooed with a Hawaiian tribal memorial band.

Things moved quickly from there and after a series of phone calls, my original idea was scrapped and I was confirmed to be a human canvas on an episode dedicated to tribal tattoos. I am not generally a fan of tribal ink, but I thought that if I could get something with a Hawaiian influence, I would be cool with that. Having grown up in Honolulu, and with family still in the islands, it made sense to get something along those lines. I was concerned, however, whether whoever was tattooing me would approach the challenge with an understanding and respect for the culture of Hawai’i.

On the designated day, I met at the rendez-vous point with three other human canvases near Times Square to be transported to the set by shuttle. The studio was set up at an old church building in Newark. We were shown to a holding room with five other canvases and, as is typical in television production, we waited.

We didn’t know who the judges were until moments before being led to the set, which was quite impressive, as is evident on the show. I was initially happy to pick the skull with artist Heather Sinn’s name on it and, after our consult, during which I threw idea after idea at her about what would be ideal in the tattoo, I was excited to see what she would come up with overnight.

On the shuttle from Manhattan to the set the next day, we all chatted about our artists and talked about how we thought it would go. Ryan, who was about to have his head inked, was chowing down on a big bowl of red jell-o, a trick some tattoo artists recommend to minimize bleeding (the gelatin aids with blood coagulation). We were also still abuzz about the one canvas who was dismissed because of his psoriasis. The guy had been a veritable comedian in the holding room, and his absence was surprising.

After getting miked up and led to the set, we met with the artists in their work rooms and saw our designs for the first time. I was blown away by what Heather came up with, especially having looked at her online portfolio the night before, and noticed that she wasn’t an artist that did a lot of tribal work.

There was one glaring concern that I did have, however. Heather was not a happy camper. This was episode 2, so they had just started production, and one show was already in the tank. Mind you, they don’t wait a week between episodes, they are often shot in succession, and the hours are long and grueling, even to artists who spend hours on delicately maneuvering a vibrating machine doing meticulous work on a canvas that moves.

Heather did not hide this sentiment from me, the client, and I was concerned, especially since the challenge was rigorously timed, and had dropped from 6 hours to 5 hours after the initial cover-up challenge of episode 1.

She assured me that she was going to do her best under the not-so-ideal circumstances. I would direct readers to this interview that recently ran with Heather in the LA Weekly. She wears her emotions on her sleeve and does not back down from her feelings.

Heather told me she would not be very talkative when she was doing the initial line work as she was not accustomed to this type of tattoo. Fine by me. The cameras were around us constantly and Heather was very concerned that she would not have the time to finish the piece. She also expressed to me that she was not very fond of any of the judges. After seeing the flash challenge that preceded our meeting, I can see why.

When all was said and done, however, she powered through it and knocked it out with time to spare. The result left me with an awesome tattoo, and I have nothing but praise for her craftsmanship.

As for the show itself, so much footage went unused, including scenes in which the human canvases saw their tattoos for the first time in a full-length mirror, met with the judges, and did candid interviews with the producers.

I can say that, despite all the tattoo flaws picked out by the judges in the show, none of the canvases on my episode were disappointed with the final result of their sessions with the Ink Master artists. And, as much as I would like to bemoan the massive amount of "canvas" footage on the cutting room floor, ultimately the artists were being judged on the quality of their work, not on the stories behind their clients' tattoos, or their feelings about the final product.

I think that this is one of the compelling aspects about Ink Master that makes the show so interesting from a technical standpoint. Sure, there's the reality show drama involving the artists' personalities, but the show seems committed, more than most of the other "reality" shows out there, to celebrating the tattoos for art's sake.

I'm not on any more episodes, but I'll keep watching. 

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.

Mercedes Honors Family Members with her Ink

Mercedes doesn't remember the specific shops where she got her ink, but each piece honors members of her family, both living and gone.

Mercedes is a make-up artist that has very close ties to her family, and these relationships have manifested themselves on her tattoos.

The piece I first noticed, on her right arm, was this one:


This is actually comprised of two parts, the rose and the ankh. The rose was her first tattoo, inked because her mother and grandmother were both named Rosa. The ankh and the name "Iggy" were done as a memorial for her brother who had passed away.

Her neck/upper back piece is actually three tattoos inked in succession:


Mercedes started with the top segments, which she described as tribal dolphins. They are in honor of her niece, who is a Pisces.

Next is the piece below the dolphins, which is a representation of fire that corresponds to Mercedes' birth sign Aries, whose zodiac element is fire.

Below that are flames rising from the number 3. This is for her nephew. The flames correspond to his sign, Leo, whose zodiac element is also fire, and the number represents that he is third in the family line.

Thanks to Mercedes for sharing her ink with us here on Tattoosday!

April's Tribal Piece

No offense to people with tribal tattoos, but they (the tattoos, not the people) generally don't generate much interest from me.

Unless they are incorporated into a bigger design concept (like this tiger lily piece), they don't seem particularly interesting. I know, I know, that's a sweeping generalization, and there will always be exceptions.

But tribal arm bands, anklets, or lower back designs are just that: designs. Often aesthetically pleasing, sometimes not. These tattoos (again, generally) are more about the look of the piece and the desire for a tattoo, than about a deep meaning about a specific person or event. Sure, you may have got that tribal piece to commemorate the time that your dog Lassie saved your son Timmy from a rattlesnake in the bottom of a well, but how does such a blogworthy event translate into an inked pattern?

But, I digress. The title of this post is "April's Tribal." On occasion, a tribal piece does call out to me, as April's did last Friday at the 86th Street subway platform in Bay Ridge. Again, there is no earth-shattering story behind it, and had it been smaller in scope on an ankle or lower back, I may have kept walking.

But April's tattoo is bold and striking:


She had this inked in Los Angeles in the early 1990s, by a friend with whom she has lost touch. He was just starting out as a tattooist.

She had initially envisioned having a short sleeve, but after the initial back piece was completed, she just never finished it off. April didn't seem too concerned, though: "It's on my back, so I never see it," she smiled.

Thanks to April for sharing her tribal piece with us here at Tattoosday!

Massimo Shares A Tribal Design

I met Massimo on the plaza in front of Penn Station last Friday and talked to him about this cool piece he has on his right foot.

He was visiting from Milan and, according to him, designed and tattooed this himself about seven years ago. He had a friend who was a tattoo apprentice around that time, who taught him the basics of tattooing.

He began by saying this was Hawaii-inspired, which is understandable, as it has the "look" of a Hawaiian tiki in its design.

He also said that the top part is inspired by the fact he had been doing a lot of cycling, which
lot of cycling, which influenced the top half of the tattoo. A closer look reveals a resemblance to a bicycle wheel:


He was also very candid with me and said that he was smoking a lot at that time and he would wake up the next day and find incredible designs lying around. This was one of them.

After I took the picture, Massimo had second thoughts, hesitating about letting me post this on Tattoosday. He was worried that his design would be copied. I appealed to him and I must have been convincing, as he changed his mind and assented.

Thank you, Massimo, for sharing this design with us here at Tattoosday!

Krystynna Shares Her First Tattoo

Krystynna walked by me on 7th Avenue on Monday, and her tattoos on her wrists, behind her right ear, and her left bicep were totally cool.

When I realized a sidewalk photo of her quarter-sleeve wouldn't do it justice, which she confirmed when she later told me it ran up onto her shoulder, I asked if she would rather have me take a picture of a different tattoo.

Kristynna surprised me by offering up her first tattoo, a large lower back piece. Remember, folks, I never take a lower back tattoo unless its offered, according to the Tattoosday Code of Conduct.

Kristynna got the initial piece on the lower back, some flash art on the wall at Armageddon Tattoo when she was 17, ten years ago. She subsequently added little bits and pieces to make it into a larger piece over the years.

She has 9 tattoos in all, all done by Iann at Armageddon. Kristynna works as a Special Needs Educator for kids and acknowledges that the children love her tattoos, and the parents have no issues with them, either. This is good news, because the tattoos she has visible are extremely well-done, and I am looking forward to her sending me shots of the arm that do the piece
justice.

Thanks to Kristynna for sharing her ink with us here on Tattoosday!

Two for Tattoosday: A Break-Up Tattoo and Some European Tribals

Sure I'm posting Wednesday but both of these volunteers were MSG plaza-dwellers on Tuesday and, rather than save then for separate days, I thought I'd put them together.

First up is Erik:

Sorry I cut this off, but I couldn't see the screen in the sun's glare. Erik has a 3/4 sleeve (left arm), his mother and grandmother's names inked on, a small back piece, a leg piece, and a diamond on his chest, but we went with this design, on his left forearm, because it is more recent.

Tattooed by Eric Newman at Silk City Tattoo in Hawthorne, New Jersey (the shop was credited previously only two days ago here), this piece, a dagger through a flaming skull, was purchased for Erik by an ex-girlfriend, after she broke up with him. It is meant to represent a new beginning.

At the end of the day I met Cesar, also in front of the Garden. This is the tattoo that caught my eye:


I'm not a huge fan of tribal pieces, but this one on his right calf is one of the nicer pieces I have seen in a while. I especially like how it is not a solid black design, but resembles a textured wood. Cesar, who is from Italy, is in New York for only two days, and we had some difficulty communicating. This tattoo was inked in Brescia, in Northern Italy, and cost $40. (He offered, I have decided asking is not polite.)

He then showed me a tiki piece on his inner right bicep:


There are two faces, one representing good, one representing bad, juxtaposed on the tattoo, which was inked on the island of Ibiza, which is part of Spain.

Cesar told me the name of the shop was Sara, but I couldn't find a listing. However, considering the type of tattoo he received, I am going to go out on a limb and guess he got this piece at Tahiti Tiki Tattoo.

Thanks to Erik and Cesar for making Tattoosday a true Tat-twos-day!

Chalk it Up to Teenage Angst

Sunday morning I was leaving Rite-Aid when a woman walked in. She had several visible tattoos so I turned around and walked back into the store. I introduced myself, Tattoosday, etc., and Courtney was happy to share her tattoo stories with me, offering up one of her seven tattoos:


All of her work is in black and gray. This piece is a tribal design, and is Satanic in origin. Courtney explained. She was a lapsed Roman Catholic who became involved in the Church of Satan. This piece is about 5 years old and was inked by Richie at Tattooing by Richie in Elmont, Long Island.

Incidentally, Courtney is no longer affiliated with that lifestyle and has returned to the Catholic Church. She says she was going through a phase and was experiencing teenage angst.


I had a nice chat with her about tattoos and how she is finding it challenging because she has a corporate job now, and finding attire that covers her ink appropriately can be tough. This almost limits her in her choice to get any more work done.

From what I can recall from our conversation and from seeing what was visible, she has three or four pieces in all on her legs, a tribal design on the lower part of her neck, an ankh on her lower back, and another piece on her right biceps. She did not show the biceps or lower back tattoos.

I explained to Courtney my policy is generally not to ask people, who are generally women, if I can photograph their lower backs. If they offer (like this woman did), I will snap away.

Thanks to Courtney for being so cool, talking tattoos with me, and sharing her Satanic piece with Tattoosday! Here's hoping she'll make a return visit here in the future!

Anger Management

It is my practice, when someone is heavily inked, and they've agreed to let me take a picture, to ask them to offer up the piece that means the most to them.

Last week I approached a guy named John in front of Madison Square Garden. He had numerous tattoos on his arms and looked like an excellent Tattoosday candidate. However, when I asked him what tattoo was the most special, he raised his right pant leg to show me this interesting design on his calf:

John described this "biomechanical" design as a shield that keeps his demons locked inside. The tribal symbol is an anchor that keeps him grounded. He was very open and acknowledged that he had anger management issues. The tattoo gives him strength to control those issues.

This tattoo is one of 15 that John has. It was inked by High Roller Tattoo, in Hicksville on Long Island, NY.

After thanking John, I asked the woman standing next to him if she had any tattoos she wanted to share. She did. Donna has two kanji characters on her lower back that I wasn't able to get complete photographs of. I asked her to, at her convenience, send me better pictures, if she was interested in joining these pages. She said the kanji meant a lot to her, so I am interested in finding out why.

Thanks John, again, for your participation. Here's hoping Donna will e-mail me about her tattoos.

Tattoosday #6: Going Mobile

Sorry for the delay in posting, I was worried I would have to improvise, but found two participants today. Last Friday I had my first rejection: a guy at 53rd and 6th Avenue sitting on a bench was the first person to decline. He had many colorful tats on both arms and seemed open at first, but was adverse to my taking any photographs.

On Tattoosday Eve, Labor Day, I still had nothing for the post. I stopped someone in front of my building yesterday with a really cool Hellboy tattoo. He seemed receptive but wanted to check out the blog first.

I found myself with many opportunities but passed, not necessarily out of lack of nerve, but because the tattoos were not so nice, old, faded, or blurred by too much sun. I
have seen a handful of dolphin tattoos like the one the Ancient One sent me.

Today was the kids' first day of school, so I took off from work. Around 11 AM, I decided to ride my bike, eventually making it to Coney Island, where I guessed I could find some good ink. Yet it was still sparse, I had ridden down the Boardwalk and had circled back when I found my first subject.

I approached two young ladies who were taking pictures. One of them had a tattoo on the back of her neck:


The Japanese characters spell out the woman's name, Fernanda. Unlike on the recently-aired episode of VH1's "Rock of Love," in which one of the contestant's gets Bret Michaels' name tattooed on the back of her neck, as a show of devotion, Fernanda has inked her own name. I see a lot of people that do their own names on their arms or legs (I work with many who have done so), and have never really understood the phenomenon.

But in Fernanda's case, I get the artistic expression a little more. These are Japanese letters that have a greater aesthetic impact than Roman letters. When I asked Fernanda why she tattooed her name, she merely expressed that she loved Japanese letters and Japanese culture. She was born and raised in Brazil and has only been living in New York for a year. She did not remember the name of the shop where she had the tattoo done, but narrowed it down to the Astoria section of Queens for me.

I have to agree, it's a pretty cool tattoo.

I made another pass and headed back home. Once I made my way to the Shore Road promenade, where I do the majority of my cycling. I have several spots along the several-mile route from which I can head home. I decided to go down to the 92nd Street footbridge. Standing on the bridge was a gentleman who seemed to be cooling off from running. He had earbuds in and a large biceps piece. He also had an ankle piece and another tattoo on his triceps.

I passed him while walking my bike and then headed back and said loudly, "Excuse me!" He removed his earbuds and I explained my mission. He was game. His name was Mike and he had 6 tattoos in all and didn't mind which one I photographed. I asked him which one was the most special and he held up his arm and pointed to the piece on his triceps. This one:


He explained it a tribal Native American designed mixed with the American flag which he got as a tribute after 9/11. The piece was done by Craig Cooley at Abstract Tribal Tattooing in Brooklyn. I asked him if he was a fireman, and he said, "No, a police officer." I thought, with the 6th anniversary of September 11 just a week away, it was a perfect punctuation mark to end a week of tattoo-spotting, and begin a week of reflection on this somber anniversary.

Thanks to Fernanda and Mike for their participation in this edition of Tattoosday!