Tattoosday Goes to L.A. - Max's First Tattoo for Mom

On my way back to the airport last week, my father and I had lunch at La Sirena Grill in El Segundo.

The meal was delicious, and I'll certainly be raving about their spicy BBQ duck tamale for quite some time.

As an added bonus, our waiter, Max, had plenty of visible tattoos and, even better, he shared one with me to post here on Tattoosday:

Max explained that this was his first tattoo and he went big in honor of his mother, who is a cancer survivor. BCB in the banner are her initials, and the word "Láidir" is Gaelic for "strong".

This tattoo was done by Baby Ray at Bob & Charlie Roberts' Spotlight Tattoo on Melrose in Los Angeles.

Thanks to Max for sharing his tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

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.

Happy Birthday, Tina Tassels!

One of the perks of randomly going up to people with interesting tattoos is that I have, over the years, met several burlesque performers. Whether it be Annie Cherry from Kansas City, or NY-based performers Legs Malone and Miss Clams Casino, I occasionally find myself in the presence of some very talented artists.

Case in point, this summer I ran into a woman on the subway with a diamond tattooed on one of her knuckles. Although I didn't photograph it, we stayed in touch and I learned that she was none other than Tina Tassels.

Photo Courtesy of Molto Burlesque (via Facebook)

When I first met Tina in the spring, her arms were covered, so I didn't get to initially see the three pieces on her arm, but I subconsciously registered them. A few months later, in the middle of the summer, when I sat down on the train next to a pink-haired lady on the subway, I recognized the work, but couldn't remember where I'd seen it. After five years of inkblogging, such things are hard to instantly recall.

However, when I saw her diamond knuckle, it all came back to me, and Tina and I got to chatting again. In the glare of the R train's fluorescent lights, I snapped this photo from the back part of Tina's arm:

This may not be the best of Tina's tattoos, but it was her first, and it is near and dear to her heart.

She pointed out that it says Mommy instead of Mom, because she was concerned with how her mother would react to her getting her first tattoo. "Basically," Tina told me, "it was my first tattoo to butter her up."

The scissors and comb represent the fact that her mom is a salon owner and as Tina explained, "that's what I associate with her before anything ... she's a hard worker."

Tina had this done in 2009 by Derik Snell when he was at Hand of Glory Tattoo in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Derik now tattoos out of Flying Tiger Tattoo in New Britain, Connecticut. I have a Derek Snell design (inked by Brian Faulk) as well (documented here) and his work has also appeared on Tattoosday here.

I want to wish Tina a happy birthday and encourage people to check out her blog, Big Hips, Big Dreams. She's also performing in honor of her birthday tomorrow on Staten Island at the Full Cup!

Thanks again to Tina for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday! Have a Happy Birthday Tina!

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.

Kristen's Ink Honors a Generational Vocation

At the end of last summer, we saw a traditional-style tattoo from Kristen (here).

Since then, our paths have crossed several times in the neighborhood. Last weekend, I once again had the good fortune to be doing laundry at the same time Kristen was, and I asked if she'd share the piece above, which is dedicated to her mother.

Kristen explained that her grandmother and mother were both nurses, and she, too, is in the same profession. It's a tribute not only to her mother, but a symbol honoring three generations of dedicated women.

She explained that this, too, was inked by an artist named Twace who works in Brooklyn. You can see some of his work on the site for the Brooklyn shop Citizen Ink.


Thanks again to Kristen for sharing her ink with us here on Tattoosday. 


This entry is ©2012 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.

Sean's Garnish, Inspired by a Friend

When I met Sean last month, he had several tattoos to choose from. We ended up selecting this piece, on his left wrist:

Granted, there's two tattoos in this photo, but I was fascinated by the pineapple and cherry tattoo. That's not something you see every day. Sean, who is a hairdresser from the Boston area, explained:

"My best friend Sandrine Schaefer is a performance artist ... she did work where she would use pineapples and cherries on her body, because they're also used as common meat garnishes. And her artwork is a lot about feminism and veganism."

Ms. Schaefer, whose website is here, is a prolific artist worth checking out.

The tattoo was inked by Lucky Matthews at Fat Ram's Pumpkin Tattoo in the Jamaica Plain section of the greater Boston area.

As for the "Mom" tattoo, above it on the forearm, there is really no explanation needed, but I did want to credit the artist, Edwin Marquez at Regeneration Tattoo in Allston, Massachusetts.

Thanks to Sean for sharing his ink 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.

Three's Not a Crowd

I met a trio of friends hanging out in Penn Station in early October, waiting for their train back to Rhode Island.

I spotted Darius first, which was understandable, as he has seventeen tattoos. Kenny and Katie, his friends, each boasted a modest three tattoos apiece, and offered up theirs as well.

Let's start with Darius, who has this traditional Mom and Sparrow tattoo on his forearm:

He said that he and two other friends got the same tattoo.

This was done by Jae Audette at Mcinnis Tattoo Company  in Providence, Rhode Island. Work from the shop appeared previously on the site here.

The other tattoo, on his bicep, is this set of brass knuckles that says "Knuckle Up":

This was done by Forrest Curl at Altered Images Tattoo Studio in Cumberland, Rhode Island.

Also from Altered Images is this still-in-progress rib piece on Kenny:

This is a depiction of The Crimson King from Stephen King's Dark Tower Series. As you would imagine, Kenny is a huge fan.

Rob Young is the artist who is working on this piece.

Katie then generously offered to show me her tattoo, which runs down her spine:

When I asked if she wouldn't mind sending me another photo, since the tattoo was partially obscured by her bra strap, she didn't hesitate to unhook it so I could photograph the whole tattoo, unobscured:

Katie explained that her heritage is Armenian, and that the letters down her spine spell the word for "family".

She added that two of her cousins have the same tattoo, but inked on their arms.

She also noted that the infinity symbol at the base of her neck speaks to the Armenian text and symbolizes, for her, "family forever".

She did not recall the name of the shop where she had this done, but recalled it was on Long Island, New York, and that the artist was "Joey D".

Thanks to Darius, Kenny and Katie for sharing their tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Two for Tattoosday: Vanessa's Ink (Two Hearts Beat as One)

I met Vanessa last week and she generously shared two of her wonderful tattoos.

This piece on her inner right forearm was her first tattoo:



This design is based on the album cover of Poison the Well's You Come Before You.


Vanessa explained that this was the album she listened to when she was visiting her mother in the hospital. Her mom recovered, and she associates the record with this time of her life. The tattoo celebrates those moments.

The second piece she shared was inspired by her father:


Unlike with her mom, Vanessa does not have a relationship with her dad. The optimistic banner "may we meet again" is a glance forward, toward the possibility of someday reconnecting with him.

This large tattoo, on her right biceps, took eight hours, all in one sitting. The detail of the anatomically-correct heart is amazing. Vanessa pointed out how the artist added flowers to the design, as well as the rays of light in the upper right corner to create the shape of a figurative heart, as well.

Both pieces were created by Anthony Mealie at Tattoo Lou's in Selden, New York.

Work from that shop has appeared previously here.

Thanks again to Vanessa for sharing her wonderful tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Trina's Tattoo for Her Momma

The second subject of our March 10 tattoo bonanza is Trina, who sports seven tattoos, several of which are on her legs.

After her sixth piece, her mother chided her, saying teasingly, "You have all of those tattoos, and none of them are for me?"

The next tattoo solved that problem:


Reading "I'll always love my Momma," this piece was inked on the back of one of Trina's calves at Uptown Tattoos & Body Piercing in Harlem.

And what does the woman to whom this tattoo is dedicated think of it?

"Mom loves it," Trina grinned. As well she should.

Thanks to Trina for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Ashley's Two Little Birds

Last July, I met two tattooed women, Becky and Ashley, outside of Borders (Becky's post is here, Ashley's is here) on Penn Plaza.

A few months later, in one of my more embarrassing moments as an ink-spotter, I approached Becky again, outside of Macy*s, and asked her about her tattoos. She reminded me that she was already featured on Tattoosday, and I reddened, apologized, and moved on. In my defense, the tattoo I featured was on her foot, and it was covered in the subsequent encounter.

Flash forward to the last Friday in April, and I spotted both Ashley and Becky again, outside of Macy*s. I wasn't sure, but something seemed familiar, so I approached cautiously. Becky had dyed her black, so my failure to identify the two of them immediately was again explainable.

But unlike the previous encounter with Becky, this time I wasn't embarrassed and Ashley volunteered her two newest tattoos.

Ashley, a make-up artist, about two months ago, had two small "Mom" and "Dad" tribute tattoos inked behind her ears. Mom is on the left:


And Dad is on the right:


The birds remind her of something that her mother would tell her when she was a little girl. She would tell Ashley that if she wasn't good, the birds would get her. That, combined with the small forget-me-nots, make these small, pretty, tattoos nice tributes to her parents.

The work was done by Mohawk John at Three Kings Tattoo in Brooklyn. Work from Three Kings has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Ashley for re-visiting us here on Tattoosday and sharing her newest tattoos!

Mike Remembers Mom with a Traditional Tattoo

I met Mike in the Penn Plaza area and asked him, among his countless tattoos, which had the most meaning for him. I may have mentioned before that asking a multi-tattooed individual that is like asking a parent to choose his favorite among his multiple children. Mike shared this feeling,
but ultimately chose to offer up the piece above.

It's a traditional mom tattoo that he had to honor her memory after she passed away in January of this year from cancer.

The piece was inked by Tasha at NY Hardcore Tattoo in Manhattan.

Mike offered up his knuckle tattoos, as well:

Thanks to Mike for sharing some of his ink here at Tattoosday!