Kristina Shares Two Stunning Virginia Elwood Tattoos

One of my favorite Tattoosday encounters involves Kristina, who I featured here back in 2010. As I recall in the post, I had originally met Kristina in Manhattan a couple years earlier, and had run into her again in my neighborhood when we were both picking up our kids from camp.

We've since become friends and I've kept up to date on some new tattoos she has had inked since we last featured her on Tattoosday.

Over the summer, we finally had a moment to stop, talk, and take pictures of her newer tattoos, both of which were tattooed by the fantastically awesome Virginia Elwood of New York Adorned.

This is the larger piece on her shoulder and upper chest:

She loves birds and the emblem on the chain was Elwood's idea. Kristina had wanted a compass but, as she put it "Virginia-ized." She added, "she [Elwood] does these beautiful geometric flowers like a spyrograph - I wanted it in that style."

Kristina also has this crane on her right ankle:

Kristina's son Oscar told her to get a crane, "which originally scared me," she said, "because he was little and I thought he meant a construction vehicle."

Clicking here will show you all the work I've featured by Virginia before on Tattoosday. Some day, I hope to get work from her, as well.

Thanks to Kristina for sharing her birds with us here on Tattoosday!

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.

Remembering Julien's Father

A couple weeks ago outside of Madison Square Garden, I met Julien, who shared this portrait of his father:

As it turns out, today, July 20, 2012, marks the twentieth anniversary of his passing. Julien was only seven years old when his father died.

This wonderful portrait was inked by the always-amazing Virginia Elwood at New York Adorned.

Via e-mail, Julien explained the name at the top of the portrait:

"I actually chose my last name rather than my father's name because I got the tattoo done a few months after my grandfather (father of my father) past away, this way paid homage to both of them, and honor my family name at the same time. Since my father past away when I was 7 years old, my grandfather became very important to me."

Thanks to Julien for sharing this lovely tattoo with us here on Tattoosday, and for agreeing to let me post it on the anniversary of his father's passing.

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.

The Story Behind Teddy Roosevelt and the Bear in a Wheelchair

Well, America is another year older, so it seems appropriate to honor our post-birthday euphoria with this unique presidential tattoo:

I spotted this piece back in May in Penn Station on the right calf of Emma. And, your eyes are not deceiving you, that's Theodore Roosevelt and a bear cub in a wheelchair.

The million dollar question, of course, was "Why do you have Theodore Roosevelt on your leg?" Emma replied:

"The short answer is that I think that he was super bad-ass and he's my favorite president. The long answer is that it came from a long decision process - I was gonna get Stephen Hawking and F.D.R, one on either calves, in wheelchairs, so then they could go for walks together and then I realized that that was just absolutely stupid. So I wanted to keep the wheelchair because I really like the way wheelchairs look and I decided instead of FDR, that I'd choose Teddy because he's my favorite president. And then I stuck the bear in the wheelchair so they could be friends because of all of his [Roosevelt's] naturalism...".

An interesting, well-thought out response, but certainly unusual. In fact, the artist, Virginia Elwood at New York Adorned, posted this on her website here, under the heading, What's the Weirdest Tattoo You've Ever Done? As Virginia says in her post, "this was her first tattoo and she sat like a champ. Teddy would be proud."


Thanks to Emma for sharing this wonderful and unusual tattoo 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.

Emily's Typewriter

Last week, on Eighth Avenue, I spotted an incredible tattoo on the back of a woman's calf and knew that I had to speak to her about it. Check it out:

This vintage typewriter belongs to Emily, and was tattooed by one of my favorite artists in New York, Virginia Elwood at New York Adorned. You can click the tag at the bottom of the post to see other work of Virginia's that I have been fortunate enough to spot in my Tattoosday travels.

Emily explained that she is a writer, and wanted a vintage typewriter inked to represent her vocation. My guess she had decided on one of these Royal typewriters, and then Virginia worked her magic. Emily elaborates:

"I asked her originally to give me a little typewriter on top of the books here:

but there wasn't enough room ... [Virginia] was like It'll be too small if I put it on your arm, we'll have to do a big one to get the best detail."

The rest, as they say, is history.

Emily has nine tattoos in all, counting a half-sleeve as one large piece, and all of her work has been done by Virginia.

Emily is managing editor for a website called xoJane, and has even written about her tattoos. She directed me to this article she recently wrote, called "My Tattoos Make Guys Think I'm Easy." She's got a smart style that really taps into the heart and soul of the subject. I'm sure many tattooed women can relate to the sentiment in that piece. She also pointed to a more current article she wrote, with some input from Virginia, as well, about sexism in tattoo shops, specifically with the drama in the premiere (and subsequent episodes) of the latest tattoo reality series, New York Ink.

I, for one, certainly recommend checking out Emily's site, xoJane, and exploring not only her contributions, but those of the other writers, as well.

Thanks to Emily for sharing her incredible work with us here on Tattoosday, and for talking with me, even though she was running late. I do appreciate it and hope we'll see more of her tattoos here in the future!

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.

Melanie's Marilyn

A trip to the laundromat on Saturday yielded a meeting with a young lady who had a couple visible tattoos on one of her feet and an ankle. Fortunately, my curiosity got the better of me because, when I asked her about them, she revealed much better work, namely this phenomenal Marilyn Monroe portrait on her inner right forearm:

This stunning work was created by the incomparable Virginia Elwood at New York Adorned. I have been fortunate to encounter Ms. Elwood's work previously here and here.

Melanie is a huge fan of Marilyn Monroe and she is proud to wear this icon on her sleeve. Clicking on the tag for Marilyn Monrow below will reveal other Marilyn tattoos that have appeared previously on Tattoosday.

Thanks to Melanie for sharing this phenomenal portrait with us here on Tattoosday!

Kristina's Rooster Crows in Honor of Her Son

It was funny, now that you think of it, the way everything came full circle.

I was picking my younger daughter, Shayna, up from camp, when I spotted a woman approaching from the opposite direction.

It was after six, on a weekday, and she had a small boy in tow, wearing a t-shirt indicating that he was in the same camp, albeit a younger group, as my child.

She was displaying an amazing rooster tattoo, covering her upper left arm.

Initially, Kristina seemed hesitant to let me take a photo, but as we talked, she changed her mind, and let me snap away.

This was inked by the incomparable Virginia Elwood, who does incredible work, especially with bird tattoos. Work from Virginia, at New York Adorned, has appeared previously here on Tattoosday.

In all fairness, the right side of the tattoo is compromised in the photo above by the sun (and the bane of a borrowed camera), so the best view is the front part of the rooster:

Kristina explained that she chose the Rooster because that was the year in the Chinese Zodiac in which her son was born. It certainly is a wonderful way to commemorate her child.

Almost as an afterthought, Kristina mentioned that a couple years back, on a subway platform, someone had asked her if he could take a picture of her tattoo, still in progress, for his blog, but she politely declined.

I thought about it for about a second when I smiled and exclaimed "That was me!"

In three years, I've approached a lot of people about their tattoos, and they all blur together.

But I still recall the disappointment I felt at 34th Street, when the woman with the unfinished rooster tattoo from Adorned politely declined my request.

Lucky me, time solved that missed opportunity, and I got to see the finished product, in the bright afternoon soon, years after I had asked.

And it was certainly worth the wait.

Thanks kindly to Kristina for sharing her incredible rooster tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Stevie's Tattoo Calms and Inspires

Last Wednesday marked the official end to the veritable tattoo drought this winter in New York has afforded us here on Tattoosday.

In addition to the three people I met at lunch, my train ride home and, subsequently, my day, was punctuated by a fleeting encounter with a woman named Stevie on the R train.

I had just plopped down in one of the seats after having moved car-to-car between stops, in an effort to get toward the back of the train. I mention this to illustrate how fortunate I was to be where I was, when Stevie boarded the train.

She got on at one stop and, by the time she had exited two stations later, I had had just enough time to take a picture of the wonderful tattoo on the back of her right calf, and pass her the blog info so she could contact me with more details.


Stevie has seven tattoos and this one came from the incomparable New York Adorned at the talented hands of Virginia Elwood. Stevie worked over several sessions with Virginia, ironing out the details of the piece, which was completed in one sitting.

There are three elements to the tattoo: the lotus, the hamsa, and the peacock feathers.

Via e-mail, Stevie explained:

I moved out here from the West Coast to teach in inner-city schools. When I first started teaching and things would get nerve-wracking I'd tap on this hamsa hand necklace I always wore. For whatever reason it calmed me down and reminded me that I was here to infuse some change and to do some awesome work. When I became an NYC Public School teacher I decided I'd like it on me permanently. The hamsa hand is a symbol of faith and clarity and that's what I think I found in myself, like my calling. The lotus flower goes along with this idea of rising to the surface and blossoming while the peacock feathers were an aesthetic touch.

Work from New York Adorned has appeared previously on the site here.

Thanks so much to Stevie for sharing her amazing work with us here on Tattoosday!