Nadine's Ankh and Orchids

I met Nadine last month and she was kind enough to share this beautiful floral piece with us:

The symbol in the foreground is her own "stylized version" of an ankh, a symbol dating back to ancient Egypt which means eternal life.

She has orchids added to the piece because her mother loves those flowers.The orchids were inked about five years ago which is remarkable because reds and yellows tend to fade more quickly on the skin and, Nadine notes, "so far my color has held true".

The ankh took about 45 minutes to do while the rest of the tattoo took five and a half hours over two sittings.

She wanted to point out that the outline is done in purple ink, not black, a nice artistic touch that she convinced her artist was a good choice.

This lovely tattoo was done at New York Adorned, by Brian Randolph.

Work from NY Adorned has been posted previously here (links to all posts tagged NY Adorned).

Thanks again to Nadine for sharing this fantastic tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Tattoosday Goes To Hawai'i: Mark's Sleeve Pays Tribute to East and West

I spent a good chunk of time at Ala Moana Center one of the days I was in Hawai'i. Even in paradise, malls are great places for inkspotting.

It was there that I met Mark, who had a full sleeve to offer up.

Now, before we begin, let me just say that I generally shy away from featuring full sleeves here on Tattoosday, out of respect to the host, the artist and, most of all, the tattoo. A work of art laid across flesh is often difficult to express in two-dimensional photos on a computer screen.

But Mark's sleeve was exceptional and I loved the color detail in the work. So let's check it out....

Items to note in this work:

Mark was born in the year of the Snake, which explains the serpent.

He was also born during Autumn, which is why the Japanese Maple leaves are sporting fall colors.

It's also generally non-traditional to see a bright red rose in a sleeve that is predominantly Japanese. He incorporated because he is, as he described it, "hapa," a shortened form of "hapa haole," or a person of mixed heritage, part of which is Caucasian. To make a long story short, the red rose is a nod to the "Western" aspect of his lineage, as it is more a traditional element in tattoos in the west. The rose is complimented by the chrysanthemum, which is a more traditional Japanese flower design.

Similarly, the skull element at the top of the arm is more of a Western flavor, juxtaposed nicely with another chrysanthemum.

I also love the multicolored pebbles in the design. They really pop out, especially among the milder tones of the autumn leaves and snake scales.

Mark informed me that the whole sleeve was completed in five or six sittings by Lucky Olelo at Soul Signature Tattoo in Honolulu.

Thanks to Mark for sharing his amazing work with us here on Tattoosday!

Tines for the Memories

In what can only be described as a true New York City moment, the poor luck of a glitch on my tax refunds, which required me mailing amended returns, which precipitated me popping into the James Farley Post Office, led to my spotting the following tattoo:

Of course, I had to ask.

This ink is sported by Michael, an actor-chef who is in town performing, through the end of May, in the off-Broadway production of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson at the Public Theater. Michael is in the role of Calhoun.

The tattoo represents a three-tined fork which, Michael asserts, is "the best kind of fork because you get less metal in your mouth". He also indicated that it carried a second meaning, in that it also represented Neptune's trident, which is significant in that he is a Pisces, a water-based astrological sign.

Host of four tattoos, this one was obtained as part of a two-day bachelor party he threw for a friend. The main focus of day one was getting inked. Day two was for, well, more traditional bachelor party fare.The artist was "Eric the Sandman".

Thanks to Michael for sharing his fork with us here on Tattoosday. Be sure to catch him at the Public Theater before the show closes at the end of May!

Tattoosday Goes to Hawai'i: Scott Shares a Pair of Unique Tattoos

I have mentioned previously that one of the first orders of business on my recent trip to Hawai'i was to attend a tattoo-related book signing and contest at the Barnes & Noble in Ala Moana Center. Head back here to read all about it.

While I was milling about post-signing, pre-contest, a gentleman named Scott approached me and complimented me on my Tiger tattoo.It's still a new piece and the colors are quite crisp and vibrant. However, coming from Scott, who has this amazing tattoo, I was speechless. In fact, despite the fact that I routinely ask people about their ink, Scott was the first person to ever compliment me out of the blue about the tattoo.

Needless to say, we struck up a robust conversation and watched the contest together. Scott ended up winning 2nd and 3rd place in the color category.

He was kind enough to share two of his very unusual, colorful tattoos, for the readers here on Tattoosday, and to subsequently elaborate on the works in question.

First, we have a rather militant-looking rodent: 

This was inked on the inside of Scott's right biceps by Seth Ulakovic of Liberty Tattoo in Libertyville, Illinois. Scott explains:

Seth is a long time friend of mine, I have known him since he was an apprentice. I always loved his original art and his entire artistic style, we refer to it as 'creepy cute'. I wanted some of Seth's work before moving to Hawaii, so I approached him and told him so. The only input I gave him was, it had to be a critter and it had to be funny. You can see the tattoo he came up with. I loved it immediately and it is probably my favorite piece.

Incidentally, Scott refers affectionately to this critter as "Napoleon Beaverparte."

Next we have a piece on Scott's left biceps:

Again, we'll let go to Scott for the tale of the tape:

I am a contractor and my tape measure is my most important tool, I cannot do a thing without one. I thought it would be great to have one with me at all times.I am still new to Hawaii and had yet to meet an artist with whom I felt comfortable...Odyssey Tattoo Gallery was the fourth shop I had visited.

The owner told me they had a traveling artist in [Rachel Schilling]. I had wanted to get work from a female artist for quite some time to see if there was a difference in the tattooing experience. However I would not let someone work on me just because she was a woman.

Then I met Rachel - immediately I was comfortable with her. She has such a great attitude, and was really into tattooing the tape measure from the beginning. She is also very obviously a real pro. I went from walking into the shop with a tape measure in my hand to 4 hours later having a completed tattoo That quite frankly exceeded my expectations. Overall it was one of my best experiences receiving a tattoo and I certainly plan I having her work on me again.

It was great meeting Scott and speaking to him at length about tattoos (his, mine, and others). I thank him profusely for his friendliness and making this post such a fun experience! Mahalo from Tattoosday!