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...

A Bright Spot in December: A Phoenix and a Pin-Up

As one would expect, inkspotting is tough during December. Here we are at the end of the month, and I have only interviewed three people since the 1st. There were a few times over the summer when I interviewed three contributors during my lunch hour!The last person whose work I photographed was Megan,...

Two-for-Tattoosday, Brazilian-Style

Sometimes, due to a) a language barrier and b) the passage of time, we're not always able to give you the most in-depth story about our subjects' tattoos.Such is the case with Celso and Reginaldo, who I met back in September outside of Madison Square Garden.Both gentlemen were visiting from S�o Paolo,...

Christmas House Cleaning

Regular readers of Tattoosday will notice that, although I generally follow a chronological order when I share tattoos I have encountered.However, certain pieces, for various and sundry reasons, have been bypassed, and haven't made it to the blog, until now.I was originally going to post a dozen to...

Home Sweet Home for the Holidays

The saying is, "you can't take it with you," but there is a way to carry your home with you when you move somewhere else.Take, Adam, for example, who I stopped on Seventh Avenue between 29th and 30th Streets.He currently resides in Pittsburgh, but he has lived in Miami and New York City.His tattoos...

Two, No, Three from Lisa Marie

I ran into Lisa Marie in my local grocery store a few months back and she was happy to share a couple of cool tattoos:That is, for those who don't know, the symbol of Coney Island's Steeplechase Park.She got this because she loves Coney Island, one of the most iconic spots in Brooklyn. Lisa Marie later...

Luis Shares Two Loter�a Cards

I met Luis in Borders, Penn Plaza, last month and asked him about his tattoos. He has more than fifteen altogether, and three are based on Loter�a cards, which are used as part of a Mexican bingo game, as well as in fortune-telling.He shared two of these cards with me and explained that, as a first...

Marisa's Polychrome Calves

I met Marisa walking down 40th Street in Manhattan late one October afternoon. She had just crossed Broadway when I spotted her and asked her about her tattoos. Namely, these two gracing the back of her calves:These tattoos are based on the work of artist John R. Neill, who illustrated L. Frank Baum's...

Chris's Tattoos Motivate and Inspire

I met Chris earlier this month in Penn Station and he shared his 3/4-sleeve. He is the owner/operator of the Muscle Maker Grill at 92 Eighth Avenue in Chelsea.His sleeve is a collage of designs that motivate and inspire him, with a skull design thrown in, to boot.He has the phrase "Live Now. Shoot...

Darya's Bi-Coastal Peacock and Cherry Blossoms

I met Darya coming out of the subway in Bay Ridge and asked if I could take a picture of her tattoo. She kindly allowed me to do so and share it here with everyone on Tattoosday:Darya explained that she always wanted a peacock tattoo, and she has fourteen tattoos in all (not all peacocks). Joe Maggs...

They Call Him Mr. Spades

I met Matt in Penn Station last month and he was happy to share a couple of his eight tattoos. The coolest one was this heart on his left arm:A closer look shows just how intricate this design is:Matt explained that the idea behind this tattoo is simply that there are two sides to everything. He collaborated...

The Tattoosday Book Review: The Word Made Flesh

If you're looking for an awesome gift for an ink-loving special someone this holiday season, and you can't afford a budget-buster like Marisa Kakoulas' Black & Grey Tattoo, I'd strongly recommend The Word Made Flesh: Literary Tattoos from Bookworms Worldwide.As a lover of both literature and tattoos,...

Melissa's Feather of Memory

Back in October, I reviewed Kat Von D's The Tattoo Chronicles (here).I also went to a book-signing and met Ms. Von D.As you would expect, there was a long line to see the author, who is indisputably the most famous tattoo artist in the world.Despite the long line, I did have a chance to chat at length...