Usher in the Year of the Tiger with a New Tattoo!

2010 Looks to be a great year and I am looking forward to ringing in the new decade on January 2nd by visiting a new tattoo shop of the Lower East Side called Thicker Than Water Tattoo Studios.From Noon to 10:00 PM, artists in the shop, which just opened on December 1, 2009, will be inking Year of the...

All I Want for Christmas is a Tattoo with Teeth

On Christmas Eve afternoon, I was passing through Penn Station, I spotted Lindsay, a woman with what appeared to be a sleeve that had a water-inspired design.It wasn't until after I approached her and asked if she wanted to contribute to Tattoosday that I saw, as she rolled up her sleeve, what awesome...

Max's Spin on a Traditional Gypsy Tattoo

I was passing through Penn Station late yesterday when I spotted Max, who offered up this fascinating tattoo:At first glance it looks like the traditional gypsy piece, but if you look closely at the back of the gypsy's head, you can see Max added an element that extended the design up and around his...

Woman, Deconstructed

With winter upon us, I have been tempted to bemoan the scarcity of visible ink on the streets (or subways) of New York.But Mother Nature giveth, as well, by depositing the powdery white stuff and causing delays that held up commuters in Penn Station.One such soul was Kaeti, a visual artist passing through...

Two More Tattoos from Josh

Well, more than six months have passed since I posted Josh's amazing Verrazano Bridge tattoo, and I almost forgot he sent me some additional shots, including the clock from the old Penn Station on his inner bicep, which is interconnected with the bridge piece:This is a fairly accurate homage to this...

Tattoorism: Aaron and Brandi Share Their Ink

We here at Tattoosday love our fans. However, sometimes when someone sends us a submission from abroad, we may be slow to post it. Brandi and Aaron's submissions are the extreme case in point.Brandi e-mailed me back in April. Yes, as in that part of the calendar six months ago.Oh, I had grand plan for...

Jack Shares His Love for Graphic Novels

I had somewhere to be and a few minutes before I had to be there.At the intersection of Clark and Henry Streets in Brooklyn Heights, I saw a guy stride into a corner bodega. Something told me to peek in. I did. And there, on the back of his right arm was a cool-looking tattoo.So when he exited the store...

Daniel's Machine Head Tattoo

I met Daniel in Penn Station yesterday, one of the few people with short sleeves, and certainly the only person with visible ink.Visiting from Perth, in Western Australia, Daniel has seven tattoos, and he offered up the piece on his left calf:Daniel is a huge fan of the band Machine Head, and fans of...

Sandra's Angel Reflects Her Vocation

I was folding clothes at the laundromat yesterday afternoon, bemoaning the fact that it appeared as if another weekend would pass without a new tattoo photo, when I caught a glimpse of some ink on the back of the neck of a fellow laundry-doer.When I asked Sandra if she would share her tattoo with us...

Russian Criminal Tattoo Designs

If you're still looking for that holiday gift, you might consider some attire inspired by Russian criminal tattoos.Last month, regular readers of Tattoosday may have noticed the ad that popped up on the left side of the blog, promoting a line of clothing from MiR1, an online shop run by a fellow Brooklynite...

Darren's Trio of Tattoos

I was contemplating the best way to approach a rather imposing figure who was completely covered in ink, when Darren passed me at the entrance to K-Mart in Penn Station.When I caught up to him in the store, I introduced myself and, being a piercer in a New York City tattoo shop, he was more than happy...

Jason's Tattoo Reaps What it Sows

Today's tattoo belongs to Jason, who sports this nifty Reaper on his left forearm:Inked by his younger sister, Mystie, who was an apprentice at the time in Savannah, Georgia, this is one of seven tattoos Jason has.He had been working as a grave digger and headstone carver and, he said, "after burying...

A Roundabout Tale of a Swedish Tribal Tattoo

Yesterday, I joined my friend Janet for lunch at Chipotle on 45th Street.There was a fundraiser at which a $5 contribution bought you a burrito, chips, a drink, and an opportunity to meet Yankees manager Joe Girardi. His charity, The Catch 25 Foundation, was the beneficiary of all proceeds from lunch....

A Yellow Rose for a Fallen Friend

I met Dan outside of Penn Station last week on a balmy December day.He has 22 tattoos and shared this one from his right forearm:It's a memorial piece for a friend who passed away in 2008.Her initals are in the heart, which is pierced by a lone yellow rose. "She loved yellow roses," Dan told me, which...

Don't Worry

I was walking through Penn Station last week when I spotted Turner. Actually I spotted what looked like a tattoo on his wrist. So I stopped and asked him and sure enough, he had words on the inside of his wrist, still healing from a recent inking:The tattoo reads "A: Don't worry".Turner explained that...

Cleaning Out My Inbox: Ugliest Tattoos

I'm cleaning out my inbox over at Tattoosday and am sifting through the gold.My lovely wife Melanie sent me this link back in June (yeah, June).So get your fill out of Ugliest Tattoo...

Nathan's Luck

I first became friendly with Nathan over at KnuckleTattoos.com as a peer in the inkblogging community.Based in Texas, Nathan's site specializes in what you would expect from the name, Knuckle Tattoos.As a contributing writer, I have posted a handful of knuckles (ha) from people I have met in my Tattoosday...

A Love Story

Last Saturday night, Melanie and I went into Manhattan for a small holiday gathering. We were going to see her old high school friend Vibeke at her mother's apartment on the Upper West Side. It had been quite some time since we had last seen Vibeke. We weren't sure, but our best guess was 1998.Vibeke...

Tattoos I Know: Tracy Returns with an Important Reminder

We originally introduced Tracy on Tattoosday back in January 2008 here.Last Saturday night she was down visiting from upstate New York and she showed off her latest tattoo:Inked on the inside of her left wrist, this simple message "Breathe" is a reminder to herself to "slow down and take it all in"....

The Tattoosday Book Review: 7 Tattoos

First and foremost, let me clear something up: 7 Tattoos by Peter Trachtenberg is a memoir and is not a book about tattoos. Oh, there are tattoos within, and stories about them and how they were obtained. But tattoos help form the context of the story within, and the ink is often secondary to the action...

Cody's Eagle Braves the Storm

On the day after Thanksgiving, I was passing through Penn Station and I spotted this tattoo:This depiction of an eagle flying through a storm belongs to Cody, who was in town visiting from Key West, Florida.This symbol of strength and courage enduring the dangers of a powerful storm is fitting, as Cody...

Tay's Angel Reminds Him of a Battle Won

There are many things to be thankful for on Thanksgiving. I know that may clich� , but at its core, there is the kernel of truth. All it takes to remember this is to cross paths with someone who has overcome the odds to prevail in life.Yesterday I met Tay in the Borders on Penn Plaza, and he shared...

Doug's Dragon

Back on July 13, I posted a photo of Doug's Geisha. Doug was waiting around the Penn Station area before heading down to see Horisei, at tattoo artist working out of Rising Dragon's Chelsea Tattoo Company.Doug followed up his moment in the Tattoosday light by sending us photos of the work he had done...