Celebrate the Brooklyn Bridge at Brooklyn Tattoo and Urban Folk Art® Gallery!

The Brooklyn Bridge, an icon that represents our borough, was completed 130 years ago and the good folks at Brooklyn Tattoo and Urban Folk Art® Gallery are hosting their fourth annual celebration in honor of the anniversary.

Owners Willie Paredes and Adam Suerte (who recently tattooed yours truly - here) are hosting the Brooklyn Bridge tattoo special - $30 Brooklyn Bridge tattoos - today, from 12 Noon to 7PM. From the shop's event page on Facebook:

"Those interested in receiving a Brooklyn Bridge themed tattoo can show up at the shop-Brooklyn Tattoo®, 99 Smith Street, Brooklyn, and pick from several flash (pre-drawn) images that evoke the spirit that has defined New York’s iconic skyline. Tattoos will be done by several of the Brooklyn Tattoo® staff on a first come, first serve basis. Also, for those not committed enough to join ink to skin, copies of the flash design sheets will be available for purchase as well as a limited edition book Adam Suerte put together showcasing 50 Brooklyn Bridge tattoos he’s done in the past."

Here's what you can expect from past year's designs:

If you're not down for a new tattoo, you should definitely consider attending the opening of the art show, tomorrow, May 24, 2013.

Again, from the Facebook event page:

"Urban Folk Art® Gallery will be honoring the 130th anniversary of the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge with a group show of over 30 local artists of varying mediums. In their third show of this type, artists will be showing their homages to the bridge with one common element. In February 2013, curator and contributing artist Adam Suerte aquired five 5 gallon buckets of surplus paint from the NY Department of Transit that was used to do touch ups on the Brooklyn Bridge (http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/05/surplus-paint-from-the-brooklyn-bridge-now-could-be-yours/).

As an undying fan of the Brooklyn Bridge that is evident in his artwork, he was compelled to get some. Each artist in the group show will be using the 'Chocolate Brown Enamel' in some way within their piece. Painters, comic artists, graphic designers, photographers, screen printers, tattooers, graffiti artists, toy designers and artists of other mediums will be contributing. Suerte, as one of his pieces, has repackaged some of this paint in a limited edition quart size cans that will be for sale at the show. 

If you ever wanted to own a piece of the bridge, this could be considered pretty close.

The show opens May 24th from 7-10."

 Here are a few of the pieces on display:

by Dave Tree

by Steven Weinberg

by Paul St. Savage aka Angry Eel

Even if you can't make the opening, the work will be on display through the end of June, so, if you find yourself in the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn, you should definitely stop by and check out the amazing art!

Also, if you get a tattoo, feel free to e-mail us a photo at Tattoosday@gmail.com, along with a sentence or two about why you wanted to get this Brooklyn icon inked on you, and we'll share it on the site some time in the next few weeks.

Happy Birthday, Brooklyn Bridge!

This entry is ©2013 Tattoosday.

If you are seeing 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.

"Ladies, Ladies" Art Show at Tattoo Culture in Brooklyn Tonight!

Tonight at Tattoo Culture in Williamsburg, the second annual "Ladies, Ladies" Art Show is kicking off with a big launch event.

It was at a Tattoo Culture event several years back that I first met one of the curators of this show, Magie Serpica (who shared this tattoo).

Here's a work by one of the show's 100+ artists Itoyo Kinoshita:

Whereas last year's show was a tribute to "old school" female tattooers, this year's event has more of a New York-based slant, with an emphasis on female artists in the Big Apple. That said, I recognized, among the list of contributors, at least a dozen artists whose work has been featured on Tattoosday over the years.

I encourage you to attend if you are in NYC tonight and, at the very least, visit here to get a closer look at the Ladies, Ladies extravaganza.

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

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.

"First Taste" Art Show at Bound for Glory Tomorrow Night!

In case you're wondering where I'll be on Friday night, the plan is for me to attend the opening of Bound for Glory's first art show.

Now, I'm not a big fan of Staten Island (nothing against the people, just my least fave borough), but the fact that the show is curated by Friend of Tattoosday, Magie Serpica, makes it worth the effort. Magie originally appeared on Tattoosday here.

Here is the spiel from the show's Facebook page:

"First Taste"

This is our first art show at Bound For Glory! It will feature the art of many awesome local Staten Island artists, as well as select works from some tattooers nationwide.

The art will be for sale and a portion of the proceeds will go towards Project Hospitality, a local charity which feeds the hungry, shelters the homeless and cares for people with HIV/AIDS.

...The opening reception will be on Friday Jan 28th at 8pm. There will be refreshments, which will be generously donated by local businesses such as Starbucks, Jeans Fine Wine & Spirits, and The CupCake Bar NYC.

Everyone is invited!

This show is curated by Bound For Glory's lady tattooer Magie Serpica

Participating Artists:

Mike Shane
Richie Clarke
Kev/psyn of RobotsWillKill
Chris of RobotsWillKill
Ethan Morgan
Cynthia Von Buhler
Dave Borjes
Brendan Coyle
Amanda Curtis
Chris Sorrentino
Lauren Monardo
Terry Lee Chandler
Charles Tagle
Marina Inoue
Frank Kempo
Chelsea Bunn
Danny Loveridge
Justine Lordo
Veng of RobotsWillKill
Vinny Rega
Tara Anne McCloskey Chillemi
Jennifer McMenemey
Magie Serpica
Nick Caruso
Emma Griffiths
Alexander Rivera
Tom Connors
Victor Modafferi
Sarah Smith (sas photos)
Scott Bakoss
Steve Lapcevic
Sweety
Miss Elvia
Demetrius Felder
Maya Ventura
Bert Krak
Gina Venosa
Mike Hooligan
Eric Perfect
Alex Sherker
Dennis Del Prete
Charlie Foos
Steven Huie

We will be selling raffle tickets for an awesome gift package including: a gift certificate from Comic Book Jones, Some T-Shirts from Robots Will Kill, & "An hour in the chair" with Magie Serpica!

Assuming I can dig my sister's car out from under a new foot of snow by tomorrow evening, I plan to attend and report on it next week, with a photo or two, to boot. Hope to see you there!

Recap of Matty No Times Fundraiser at Yes Gallery

My trip to the Yes Gallery in Williamsburg on Saturday for the launch party of the Matty No Times benefit was complicated by the weekend suspension of the G train.

Rather than a 1-transfer commute from South Brooklyn, the trip involved a lengthy trip on the R train which took me through Manhattan and into Queens, where a shuttle bus skirted me back to Brooklyn. Are you kidding me?

But I didn't want to miss this event, not only because it was for a good cause as the NY tattoo community rallied to help one of their own, but because it would give me the chance to see some amazing art and possibly meet some of the artists behind the work.

I shed my backpack and just brought my notebook, stuffed with fliers, although I didn't necessarily expect to do the Tattoosday thing at the event. But you never know, and it was a long (1 hour, 28 minutes, according to HopStop) trek. Who knows who I might meet along the way?

I arrived relatively early, just in time to catch Thomas Hooper exiting the gallery. I have long admired Mr. Hooper's work (even his web site is art) and was hoping to meet him.

I introduced myself and he was soft-spoken and polite. I would have loved to chat with him further, but he was headed elsewhere and seemed to be in a hurry to go.

Inside, the Yes gallery's air conditioning was a welcome relief, as I started looking at the hundred-plus works of art that had been donated by artists from all over to help Three Kings' artist Matty No Times recover from staggering bills that resulted from an emergency liver transplant last Fall.

I introduced myself to Matty (Mr. No Times sounds weirdly formal) and chatted briefly as he ran the table where people paid for the art, left donations, and entered the raffle. He is a very nice guy and seemed genuinely appreciative of the turnout.

The list of artists who contributed their work was staggering. Check it out:



One of the bonuses in going to the event, for me at least, was seeing the work donated by Peter Caruso, who is the artist who created  my third tattoo.

And whereas, I had discussed with Matty and several other guests the etiquette of taking close-up photos of the art hanging on the walls, I did have Pete's permission to post his painting, which we were all excited to see sold early on.



I was pleasantly surprised to run into one former Tattoosday contributor, Elizabeth, along with her husband. We chatted awhile as they made their way around the gallery.

I also talked with Magie Serpica, who I ran into last year at a Needles & Sins event, and who made her own Tattoosday contribution here. An artist at Bound for Glory Tattoo on Staten Island, she had contributed a painting, as well:

As the crowd swelled, I began to become overstimulated. Do I look at the art on the walls? Or do I look at the amazing art on the bodies? Most folks would have assumed I would have gone hog-wild taking photos of peoples' tattoos, but remember, I tend to embrace the random encounter aspect of the Tattoosday mission, and just like one doesn't see a lot of photos from conventions and tattoo shops, I avoided interviewing people about their tattoos. It just didn't seem sporting to do so. I did however, take a couple of shots of Peter's tattoos, to be unveiled at a later date here on the site.

I didn't receive a call from Matty on Sunday, so I will assume I didn't win the raffle. No worries. I wasn't in a position to invest in any art, so I did my part to help raise funds for this worthy cause.

You can support Matty through Three Kings Tattoo, where he works, and you still have time to visit the Yes Gallery, at 147 India Street in Brooklyn, and check out the art through Friday, July 23.

Thanks to all the artists who participated and made for such a wonderful  visual experience, and to all the extended friends of Tattoosday who made the event more enjoyable for me, especially Pete and his wife Maria, who let me tag along with them at the gallery and spared me the subway after the show with a much-quicker ride home!

Where I'll Be Tonight - Matty No Times Benefit

This is where I'm heading tonight. It should be amazing!

More info at Tattoosday UK and Needles and Sins.