Kara's Kara-cature (and a Killer Back Piece, to Boot)

I spotted Kara on 7th Avenue back in July.

She was headed south while I was headed north. When I turned and saw her back piece, I whirled around and caught up to her to ask her about her work. She was kind enough to share. Check it out:

She credited an artist named Augustin Espinosa with this piece and most of her tattoos are "all about decoration." Espinosa was at A-List Industry Studios in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn when he did the back piece, but he was at New York Hardcore in Manhattan when he tattooed her left arm:

Kara explained,

"My arm piece is basically a caricature of me ... I am a marathon runner ... I wanted a pin-up tattoo and I'm a narcissist so I wanted it to be about me ... I gave Augustin basically what I wanted and he drew this."

Thanks to Kara for stopping when I asked her about her tattoos, and for sharing them with us here on Tattoosday!

UPDATE: I learned just recently, while researching this post, that Kara has joined the ranks of the many burlesque performers that have graced these illustrious pages. She performs under the name Magdalena Fox and is, by my best estimation, the fifth performer (that I am aware of) that has been featured here. Just one of the fun perks of being a tattoo blogger!

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Gavan's Hands, Folded in Prayer

This past Sunday, tens of thousands of runners gathered for the ING New York City Marathon. As luck would have it, yesterday I had the good fortune to run into Gavan, an Australian runner who had completed the marathon (his 24th!).
And where the rest of New York seemed bundled for a chilly, drizzly Autumn Day (with our first reported sleet of the season), Gavan was wearing shorts. This was great for me, as it allowed a view of this very nice tattoo on the back of his right calf:

Gavan explained that this was based on a work of art by Albrecht Dürer called Betende Hände, or "Praying Hands." One story behind the work details the sacrifice between two brothers.

He elaborated that it has a greater meaning that, although he has never been very religious, he found himself
praying during the birth of his second son, beseeching a higher power, "Please let him be okay".

He believes that the prayer travels with him, as he is separated and not always with his sons. His journey as a marathoner carries him to faraway places, as well, and these absences are tinged with worry over the well-being of his kids. Please let them be okay.

As life progresses and he grows older, these hands become more and more significant.

Gavan's tattoo is also striking in that the tattoo is on the back of his leg, and he is a runner. To complete a marathon, I believe, takes more than stamina and training. One must also have faith, whether it be in a higher power or the ability to push one's body to complete an astounding task of strength and endurance.

I also wonder how many runners this past Sunday saw Gavan's tattoo ahead of them, and drew strength from the image before them.

Gavan credits this wonderful tattoo to Jane Laver at Chapel Tattoo in Prahran, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. There's a nice profile of Jane here.

Thanks again to Gavan for sharing his hands of prayer with us here on Tattoosday! Congratulations on a race well-run and thank you for visiting our metropolis. We hope you have an enjoyable stay and pray that your return home safely to your two boys back in Australia!

New York City Marathon

Ok, so I am late with this post.

I live a half block from an early point in the New York City marathon route. Everyone is fresh and cheery, and the Kenyans are more of a blur than they are at the end of the race.

This year, I endeavored to see how many tattoo candids I could snap of runners as they passed by. I did not have high hopes. The mass of humanity that is 30,000 souls is a blur and by the time your brain registers something interesting, it is already gone in a trail of cells just starting to sweat.

I snagged one partial shot. (Don't forget, one has to factor in the photographer's ineptitude and the several-years-old technology of a Kodak Easyshare camera.

Of course, I'm not counting painted on flags like this one:

That's Pia Larsson from Sweden, by the way.

Anyway, I did catch this guy as he blew by:

I know what you're thinking...."What tattoo?" Take a peek at the guy on the right side of the photo and see what I salvaged:



And then lightened:


And then blew up:


I don't know exactly what it is, but there is definitely a patriotic theme here.

That's the best I could do. Sorry!