Anthony's Tribal Tattoo, Inspired by Fiji

Last month I ran into Anthony in Penn Station with this interesting, yet unfinished, tattoo on his left arm:

A visitor from England, Anthony let me take the photo, but he was in a bit of a rush, so I didn't get too much information from him, other than this was a Polynesian-themed design, inspired by a trip he took to Fiji.

He credited Toni at Lycan Ink in Liverpool, England, with the work.

Thanks to Anthony for sharing with us here on Tattoosday.

Repost: Happy Independance Day!

Happy 4th of July. I am away for the weekend up in Woodstock, New York, so I'm reposting a patriotic tattoo that appeared here back in 2008. Have a safe and enjoyable holiday!


I ran into Rob in my neighborhood in late August and he gladly shared his patriotic tattoo.

Rob is a Revolutionary War buff and has a distinct interest in American history.

He wanted an "old school" tattoo back in 2000, and wanted something patriotic back "before it was fashionable". He's referring of course, to the explosion of post-9/11 red, white and blue ink. He wasn't disrespecting or being critical of patriotic tattoos done after 2001, he was merely clarifying for me that his piece was not a product of the huge wave of emotion that surged through the country after that day of infamy seven years ago.

Rob's "Land of the free, Home of the brave" banner with the original 13-star flag was inked by Darren Rosa at Rising Dragon in Manhattan. Work from Rising Dragon has appeared on Tattoosday previously here.

Thanks to Rob for sharing his red, white, and blue patriotic tattoo with us here on Tattoosday on this occasion.

Stephanie's Serpentine Strength

Under normal circumstances, I may not have stopped to chat with Stephanie about her wrist tattoo. However, she was playing with her new corn snake, which is not something you see everyday when passing through Pennsylvania Station.

Stephanie introduced me to her new friend Mu�eca (the Spanish word for "doll")

and then elaborated on one of her three tattoos, the word "Strength" on her inner left wrist:

She had this done at a time in her life when she was depressed, so she put the word on her wrist to remind her to always be strong.

What's truly interesting about this tattoo and the juxtaposition of the snake is the serpentine nature of the letter "S". My friend and co-worker Maida also pointed out, when I showed her the photo, that mu�eca also has the anatomical meaning of "wrist" in Spanish.

The tattoo was done at Progressive Tattoo in Lindenhurst, New York.

Thanks to Stephanie for sharing her tattoo and Mu�eca with us here at Tattoosday!

Kristina's Labyrinthine Symbol of Hopi

A few weeks back, I met Kristina, after spotting the top of her tattoo peeking out from under her shirt and reaching toward her neck.

I was intrigued and asked her about it. She revealed it to be a much larger piece than I initially observed and explained that it is a Hopi symbol of mother-daughter unity that accompanies her on her spiritual journey through life.

From what I can gather, this is a variation on the symbol for Tapu'a, or Mother Earth, and the maze-like construction of the emblem represents one's journey through life.

She had this inked at a shop in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.

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