The Tattooed Poets Project: Iris Cushing

Today's tattooed poet is Iris Cushing. Iris sent us this photo:

Iris explains:

"This is a drawing by the poet Elizabeth Bishop, which I found in her Edgar Allan Poe & The Juke-Box: Uncollected Poems, Drafts, and Fragments, edited by Alice Quinn. It illustrates a dream that Bishop had while she was at Yaddo in 1950, about an owl riding on the back of a rabbit. I love that Bishop was a poet who drew, who rendered her inner and out experiences in diverse ways. I was reading a ton of her work when I got this tattoo in 2009. There were a lot of barn owls and jack rabbits in the country where I grew up in Northern California. Reclusive, mysterious creatures. I wanted to have the image in my life always--it's something I decided to live with, those animals, her simple drawing. I got it done at Inkstop Tattoo in the East Village." 

Iris sent us this poem:

Sequence

Together, we identify
a single tendril of smoke
above the prairie
and follow it to a teepee
disguised as a wedding gown.
Two puffed-sleeve
chimneys and a satin
bodice catch wind.
The white tulle train
is full of spiders.
You circle the teepee
six times before lifting
its hem from the long grass.
When you turn your face
to nod me under, your eyes
reflect a fire.

Inside, we find
a medicine man who can
transform AA batteries
into AAA batteries.
We empty our flashlight
for a demo.
He wears a spangled robe.
Says he sews a single sequin
on his garment every time
something important happens.
He calls it the Sequins of Events.
He can see we were born
under the sign of Michael
Jackson’s hair in flames.
Each hair on your head,
he says, is a little circuit,
a limp lightning rod.
He strums a ukulele
strung with copper wire.
But when asked
if our visit this evening
will merit a new sequin
on his sleeve,
or even on his collar,
he hands us our batteries
and stares into the fire.

 ~ ~ ~

Iris Marble Cushing was born in Tarzana, California in 1983. She is an editor for Argos Books and for Circumference: A Journal of Poetry in Translation, both based in Brooklyn. In 2011, Iris was a writer-in-residence at Grand Canyon National Park. Her work has appeared in the Boston Review and other places.

Thanks to Iris for her contribution to the Tattooed Poets Project on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday. The poem and tattoo are reprinted with the poet's permission. 


If you are reading this on another web site 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.

Lola Loves Shoes. Here's One.

In late spring, I met a young lady down the block from me and, after noticing a tattoo of scissors on her foot, talked to her about her ink. She was walking her dog at the time, so she took a Tattoosday card and said she might be interested in sharing some of her work at a later time.

Fast forward a couple of months to late June, and I ran into her again, down the block, and she shared this tattoo:

Lola loves shoes, and she had this done by Eddie Carrero at Inkstop Tattoo NYC. Work by Eddie has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Lola for sharing her passion for shoes with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site 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.

Nadir's LA Ink

Last month, my lovely wife Melanie was hospitalized with appendicitis. A bummer by all accounts, but on one occasion, when I left Maimonides Medical Center to grab a slice of pizza, I ran into a guy on Fort Hamilton Parkway named Nadir, whose forearm tattoo jumped out at me:

Nadir is an Angeleno transplanted here in the Big Apple, but he wears his hometown on his sleeve. The distinct LA logo, most commonly seen on the apparel associated with the Los Angeles Dodgers, is a sign of civic pride. He credits Mikey Montoya, from Rube's Tattoo in Arcadia (east of Pasadena), with this piece.

Nadir also shared this tattoo, from the left side of his chest:

If that looks familiar, it is because it is the logo at the center of the Mexican flag.

This nod to his Mexican heritage was tattooed by Raul Suarez at Inkstop Tattoo NYC.

But most impressive was this piece on Nadir's right side:

 

Nadir explained that his father always listened to the musical group Los Tigres del Norte, and he grew up with their music playing in his home. He considers this also as an apt tribute to his heritage and upbringing.

He credits this incredible piece, which took six hours to complete (no easy feat, considering it's on his ribs), to Tom Tilden, co-owner of the aforementioned Rube's Tattoos, in Arcadia. 

Thanks to Nadir for sharing his awesome tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site 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.

Hannah's Parrot is a Love Bird

I spotted this avian tattoo on the right calf of Hannah one afternoon in a Duane Reade store:

Hannah explained that this tattoo is romantic at its core.

Married couples often have pet names for one another, or nicknames, at the very least. Hannah and her husband Kevin are no exception to this rule.

They refer to one another as birds, extending the metaphor to calling their apartment their "nest" and their car as the "moveable nest".

So Hannah wanted a bird tattoo, with the plan for Kevin to get an owl tattoo to give them an avian set.

She took a photo of a blue and gold macaw with her to the artist Nalla Smith at Inkstop NYC on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. This lovely parrot tattoo was the end result. Work from Inkstop NYC has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Kevin's owl is on hold while he finishes a Capricorn sea goat tattoo in progress on his right arm.

Thanks to Hannah (and Kevin) for talking tattoo with us here at Tattoosday and sharing their work. We're looking forward to sharing Kevin's finished tattoo in the future!

Jay's Incredible Chest Pieces

Last Friday, I met Jay on the 59th Street platform in Brooklyn. He had well-inked arms and he clearly had other ink peeking out from the edges of his shirt.

We chatted for a while on the platform and on the R train after it arrived. Jay was game for contributing to the blog, but wanted to offer up his chest pieces, of which he is most proud. Since taking off his shirt was not an option, he agreed to send me a photo later. That's what you see above.

Needless to say, Jay was right. His chest work is phenomenal. The artist is Eddie Carrero, who works out of Inkstop Tattoo NYC in Manhattan. It's all custom-designed and original art by Eddie. Let's take a closer look:



Not only does Eddie use phenomenal coloring on the koi and the dragon, but his shading work in the background is extremely cool as well.

Thanks to Jay for sharing his chest pieces here on Tattoosday!