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.

Allison's Tattoo Has Cutting Edge Style

Last week in Penn Station, I ran into Allison, a hair stylist at Revolver Salon's Upper West Side location. She was sporting this tattoo on her inner left forearm:

This is one of four tattoos she has, and she credits this piece to Greg at Electric City Tattoo Emporium in Great Falls, Montana.

Allison explains:

"I was in beauty school and I've always wanted to be a hair stylist. Whenever I get a tattoo it's always been a poignant time in my life, so I wanted to commemorate the fact that I was actually pursuing my dream ... I got it with a bunch of friends that I went to school with, and we all got a pair of shears (not the same ones) ... I designed it and the tattoo artist mate it even better."

Thanks to Allison for sharing her cool "tat-tools" of the trade 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.

Zoe's Tattoo Makes the Cut

I spotted this superbly-done tattoo on Zoe's upper left arm last month in the New Jersey Transit waiting area in Penn Station:

Straight up and simply, these scissors represent Zoe's tat-tool of the trade - she has worked as a hairstylist for two years.

She credits Mike Lucena at Fly Rite Studio in Brooklyn for the tattoo.

Thanks again to Zoe for sharing her scissors with us here on Tattoosday!