Wednesday, March 31, 2010

The Tattooed Poets Project: Theresa Senato Edwards

We are launching this second volume of the Tattooed Poets Project with Theresa Senato Edwards.

Theresa seemed like the ideal candidate to kick off the month, as she is the devoted editor of Holly Rose Review, a poetry and tattoo literary arts journal.

Theresa has four tattoos, and picked two to share with us here on Tattoosday.

Her first tattoo was this Celtic symbol on the left part of her upper back:
A closer look:


Theresa tells us that this is the:
"Celtic symbol for motherhood, two dots representing my two sons. The goldish dot for Richard, his birthday in November (November birthstone); the red dot for Troy, his birthday in July (July birthstone). I had asked my younger son, Troy, if he thought it would be cool to have his artwork on my skin forever. He did, so he drew it for me, looking at a pic I got off the internet. Tattoo by Mike Calamita, Lasting Impression Tattooing in Hopewell Junction, NY."

My favorite of Theresa's four tattoos was the third one she received, this holly rose:

Theresa explains that this holly rose is
"a holly branch wrapped around a bloomed red/purplish rose with thorned stem.... [and] symbolizes my parents: my dad's birthday was in December; the holly is one of the plants that represents December. My mom's birthday was in June; the rose represents June. They have both been dead for more than 15 years. I had this done in their memory. That's also where the title of Holly Rose Review comes from, although I didn't know that at the time I got the tattoo. Also done by Mike Calamita."

Check out Theresa's poem "Holly Rose," about this tattoo, over at BillyBlog. You can read more of Theresa's work over on her blog here.

Thanks again to Theresa for helping kick off our second annual Tattooed Poets Project!

The Tattooed Poets Project, Volume II

April is National Poetry Month!

Last April, I launched, with the cooperation of poets across the country (and one across the Pond), the "Tattooed Poets Project".

In addition to the "regular" Tattoosday features, every day in April we featured the tattoos of poets. Each post featured poet-contributed photos, with a link back to BillyBlog, where one of their poems was posted on the corresponding day.

Not all the poems were tattoo-related, but many were.

This year, we are resuming the project again, featuring more poets, and a few returning ones.

I enjoyed this adventure last year and am looking forward to another successful April!

Tom's Sleeve is Based on Faith

I don't know what it was about March, but this final post of the month is the third featuring ink from a member of our Armed Forces.

Tom is eventually going to have a full sleeve that accentuates his faith. The top of the arm is done, with the main focus on the guardian angel on his bicep:


His grandfather passed before he was born and he has always thought of him as the guardian angel that watched over him.

This piece was inked at Aces & Eights Tattoo in Augusta, Georgia.

He also has a couple of tattoos featuring angels on the inside of his bicep and on the outer section of his upper arm as well:


These were done at Third Dimension Tattoos in Marshalls Creek, Pennsylvania

Tom is a member of HHC 1st Battalion, 109th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division.

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

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Two Tattoos from Taylor

I met Taylor where she works at Kaleidoscope, a toy store in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

I gave her a flier after admiring her really cool feather tattoo that was inked behind her right ear.


A week later, I was zipping by on my bike and saw her on a break outside the store. That was when I had a chance to speak to her about her tattoos and take the photos for this post.

This is one of her nine tattoos, and was done by an artist named Chris who works out of Puncture Tattoo in neighboring Dyker Heights, Brooklyn.


Taylor says the tattoo is inspired by the fact that she feels free-spirited, like a bird, and that her aunt, who died in a plane crash, used to call her a "little Indian girl". The dangling feathers behind her ear seem to capture both sentiments nicely.

Unlike the first time I met Taylor, on this occasion she was wearing a shirt that showed off this cool tattoo at the top of her back:


Taylor explained that she loves cats and her sister's gray cat Dusty passed away from breast cancer, which has also been a disease that has run in her family, as well. She had the tattoo artist, Peter Cavorsi, of Body Art Studios, model this piece based on Dusty's eyes.

As always, Peter did a superb job. He is no stranger to Tattoosday, having inked one of my tattoos (seen at the bottom of the page) and several of my wife, Melanie's. This link will show you all of Peter Cavorsi's work that has appeared on the site over the last two-and-a-half years.

Thanks again to Taylor for sharing her two beautiful tattoos on Tattoosday!

Monday, March 29, 2010

Mike's Incredible Aquatic Sleeve (and More!)

I had the good fortune of meeting Mike outside of Penn Station last week and, despite first noticing him because of his leg tattoos, he was extremely generous and unveiled an incredible sleeve that covered his right arm:


Mike is a fisherman and a loves the brightness, color and variety of oceanic life. Such things translate well to the body's canvas and make for some amazing tattoo work...


The giant octopus actually curls up over his shoulder and onto his chest, with one tentacle moving down his arm....


The deep sea diver punctuates the middle of his arm...


At the bottom of the arm are tropical motifs including a huge tiki god and a hibiscus....


On the inside of his inner bicep is this fish which is a cross between an anglerfish and a razorfish:


And we ended with this piece that was so fresh at the time, that Mike had to peel back the protective plastic covering this amazing blowfish:


The artist behind this amazing work is Steve Woison formerly of Electric Tiki Tattoo in Patchogue, and now at Studio 520 in Oakdale, on Long Island.

Thanks again to Mike for taking the time to share his amazing aquatic sleeve with us here on Tattoosday!

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Earl's Tattoo Honors the Fallen

It was the ring of bullets that first grabbed my attention when I spotted him in Penn Station:


As a soldier in New York City's 69th Infantry Regiment in the New York Army National Guard, Earl has had the honor and privilege of serving in our armed forces overseas.

But, like any one of these brave men and women can tell you, they have seen their share of sorrow when they have lost fellow soldiers in the war in Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

Earl's way to honor them has been to inscribe on his flesh "For the Fallen," and the initials of those that have died for their country, each bullet representing someone he knew.


On his right arm, he has this tribal piece with a military inscription:



The phrase "Mess with the Best, Die like the Rest" is one of those military slogans that is designed to inspire the soldier and intimidate the enemy.

All work was by Mark Madden at Madd Grafix Tattoo Shop in Buffalo, New York.

Thanks to Earl for his duty to this country and for sharing his memorial ink with us here on Tattoosday!

Dragon Arm Sleeve Tattoo Design

Dragon Arm Sleeve Tattoo Design

RANDOM TATTOO QUOTE: Anthropometamorphosis, Man Transformed or, the Artificial Changeling, Historically Presented, a Puritan diatribe published in 1653, railed against disfigurement of the body in pursuit of "ridiculous beauty," "filthy fineness" and "loathsome loveliness." John Bulwer


Gypsy Tattoo Design Female Arm Tattoo

Dragon Tattoo Design on Male Hand

Arm Band Tattoo Design

Colourfull Arm Sleeves Tattoo Design For Young Girls

Lion Tattoo Design on Sexy Girl Arm Sleeves

Picture of Koi Fish Tattoo

Picture of Koi Fish TattooPicture of Koi Fish Tattoo

RANDOM TATTOO QUOTE: In Tahiti, not all Europeans responded with the enthusiasm that had been exhibited by the British Admiralty's Captain James Cook, his Science Officer and Botanist, Sir Joseph Banks - who received a traditional Polynesian tattoo - and dozens of the ordinary sailors and seamen aboard Cook's ships. Missionaries who arrived in Tahiti at the end of the 18th century, turned tattooing from a standard practice into an embarrassing and punishable act of Paganism. King Pomare II was converted to Christianity in 1812 and he immediately put force behind a severe, regulated code that had been laid out by the missionaries. The death certificate for traditional tattoos was essentially signed in 1823 with the passage in the code that stated: "No one shall be tattooed and this practice should be completely abolished. This is an old and bad habit. Men or women who get tattooed will be judged and punished... The punishment for men will be work on ten measures of road for the first tattoo and 20 measures for the second tattoo... The punishment for women will be to make two big coats; one for the king and the other for the governor."


Flower Skull Tattoo Design on Male Arm

Cross Tattoo Design on Male Arm

Girly Tattoo Design - Stars Tattoo on Side Body Female

Sexy Nautical Star Tattoo Design on Female Chest

Dragon Tattoo design on Arms and Chest

Dragon Tattoo design on Arms and ChestDragon Tattoo design on Arms and Chest
RANDOM TATTOO QUOTE: "Not one great country can be named, from the polar regions in the north to New Zealand in the south, in which the aborigines do not tattoo themselves." Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man, 1871


Tribal Arm Sleeves and Back Tattoo For Men

Cool Tribal Tattoo Ideas For Men

Tribal Temporary Tattoo For Male back

Tribal Sea Turtle Tattoo Design

Simple Tribal Tattoo - Back Tattoo

Lower Back Butterfly Tattoo on Sexy Girl


RANDOM TATTOO QUOTE: "As for the primitive, I hark back to it because we are still very primitive. How many thousands of years of culture, think you, have rubbed and polished at our raw edges? One probably; at the best, no more than two. And that takes us back to screaming savagery, when, gross of body and deed, we drank blood from the skulls of our enemies, and hailed as highest paradise the orgies and carnage of Valhalla." - JACK LONDON


Lower Back Girly Butterfly tattoo Design

Beautiful Lower Back Tattoo For Young Girls

Cat Tattoo Design on Female Lower Back Area

Cherry Blossom Lower Back Tattoo Designs For Girls

Girls Butterfly Tattoo with Tribal Design for Lower back Tattoo

Ship Tatoo on Arms


RANDOM TATTOO QUOTE: A genuine tattoo.... tells a story. I like stories and tattoos, no matter how well done, and if they don't tell a story that involves you emotionally, then they're just there for decoration, then they're not a valid tattoo. There has to be some emotional appeal or they're not, to my way of thinking, a real tattoo. It tells people what you are and what you believe in, so there's no mistakes. ~Leo, tattooist, 1993, quoted in Margo DeMello, Bodies of Inscription, 2000


Full Arm Sleeves tattoo Design on Girls

Floral Tattoo on Back and Arm Sleeves of Sexy Girl

Male Tattoo Ideas for Arms

Arm Tattoo Ideas For Girls - Female Arm Tattoo Designs

Tribal Arm Sleeves Tattoo Design

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Blue Butterfly Tatoo Design On Girl back

Blue Butterfly Tatoo Design On Girl backBlue Butterfly Tatoo Design On Girl back
RANDOM TATTOO QUOTE: Not one great country can be named, from the polar regions in the north to New Zealand in the south, in which the aborigines do not tattoo themselves. ~Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man


Fairy Tattoo Design on Sexy Female Back

Tribal Temporary Tattoo For Male back

Feminine Back Tattoo - Flower Tattoo with Musical Note Tattoo Design

Sexy Girl with Dragon Tattoo on Her Back

Flower with Butterfly Tattoo design for Girls Back Tattoo

Women with Bird Tattoo

Women with Bird TattooWomen with Bird Tattoo

RANDOM TATTOO QUOTE: Your necklace may break, the fau tree may burst, but my tattooing is indestructible. It is an everlasting gem that you will take into your grave. ~Verse from a traditional tattoo artist's song, as quoted on pbs.org, "Skin Stories: The Art and Culture of Polynesian Tattoo," 2003


Beautiful Tribal Butterfly Tattoo on Female Back

Black Tribal Dragon Tattoo on Back

Female Back Body Tribal Tattoo with Butterfly Tattoo

Bird and Heart Tattoo Design on Female Back

Religious Tattoo Design on Female Back

Japanese Girl Back Tattoo design of Star Fish Tattoo

Japanese Girl Back Tattoo design of Star Fish TattooJapanese Girl Back Tattoo design of Star Fish Tattoo
RANDOM TATTOO QUOTE: We are all tattooed in our cradles with the beliefs of our tribe; the record may seem superficial, but it is indelible. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., The Poet at the Breakfast Table, 1872


Beautiful Butterfly Tattoo For Girls - Back Tattoo Design

Cool Tribal Tattoos on Back and Arms For Men

Tribal Tattoo on Male Back

Celtic Tribal Back Tattoo For Men

Tribal Arm Sleeves and Back Tattoo For Men

Asian Sexy Arm Tattoo Design

Asian Sexy Arm Tattoo DesignAsian Sexy Arm Tattoo Design. Full arm colour tattoo design
RANDOM TATTOO QUOTE: And this tattooing had been the work of a departed prophet and seer of his island, who, by those hieroglyphic marks, had written out on his body a complete theory of the heavens and the earth, and a mystical treatise on the art of attaining truth; so that Queequeg in his own proper person was a riddle to unfold; a wondrous work in one volume; but whose mysteries not even himself could read, though his own live heart beat against them; and these mysteries were therefore destined in the end to moulder away with the living parchment whereon they were inscribed, and so be unsolved to the last. ~Herman Melville, Moby-Dick


Sexy Girls Tattoo Design on Thighs

Peacock Tattoo - Full back Tattoo Design For Girls

Sexy Tattooed Girl with Lizard Tattoo Design on her Abdomen

Butt Tattoo Ideas for Girls

Full back Body Sexy Girl Tattoo

Amy's Sugar Skull from New Orleans

Amy shared this sugar skull with me a week or so ago:


Clicking this link will display the vast range of sugar skulls that have appeared here on Tattoosday over the years.

They are one of my favorite types of tattoos to post, because they tend to vary from one to another and can be uniquely personalized.

Amy got this one on All Saints' Day, in honor of her grandfather.

She was at the New Orleans Voodoo Tattoo Convention and an artist named Joey just free-handed the drawing on her arm.

Thanks to Amy for sharing her sugar skull with us here on Tattoosday!

Friday, March 26, 2010

Angel Tattoo on David Beckham's Back

Angel Tattoo on David Beckham's Back
Angel Tattoo on David Beckham's Back
(photo by getty images)
RANDOM TATTOO QUOTE: Tattooing is about personalizing the body, making it a true home and fit temple for the spirit that dwells inside it.... Tattooing therefore, is a way of keeping the spiritual and material needs of my body in balance. ~Michelle Delio


Wayne Rooney Tattoo

Fabio Cannavaro Tattoos - Celebrity Tattoo

Jon Bon Jovi Superman Tattoo

Alyssa Milano Right Shoulder Blade Tattoo Design

Pamela Anderson Barbed-wire Arm Tattoo band

Celebrity Alyssa Milano Foot Tattoo Design

Mike Tyson Tribal Tattoo

Celebrity Anthony Kiedis - Portrait Tattoo

Celebrity Anthony Kiedis - Portrait Tattoo
Celebrity Anthony Kiedis - Portrait Tattoo(photo by getty images)
RANDOM TATTOO QUOTE: Primitive tribes were certainly convinced that the spirit, having escaped from the body at death, retained a replica of its earthly tenement. They therefore used tattoo marks as a means of identification in the next world and a passport to future happiness. ~Ronald Scutt


WWE Superstar Jeff Hardy Tattoo Design

Celebrity Tattoo Eminem Tattoo

Celebrity Rihanna Tattoos

Tila Nguyen arm Tattoo

Mandy Moore Tattoo - Celebrity Tattoo

Audrina Patridge Tattoo

Kristen Stewart Tattoo

Celebrity Alyssa Milano - Cross Tattoo Design

Celebrity Alyssa Milano - Cross Tattoo Design
Celebrity Alyssa Milano - Cross Tattoo DesignAlyssa Milano has a rosary on her back in addition to a cross and angel on her ankle with the initials of an "ex flame."

(Photo by Picture)
RANDOM TATTOO QUOTE: Inking without a plan gives Booth freedom to explore the desires of those seated in his chair, he says, to feed off their energy, allowing his clients' demons to help guide the needle. ~Joshua Lipton, about tattoo artist Paul Booth, "Bad Skin," Rolling Stone, 28 March 2002


Alicia Keys Back Tattoo Design

Megan Fox Sexy Tattoo Design

Colin Farrell Celebrity Tattoo

Celebrity Lil Wayne Tattoo Design

Victoria Beckham Neck Tattoo Design

Cheryl Tweedy Cole Sexy Tattoo

Celebrity Tommy Lee Tattoo

Celebrity Amy Winehouse Tattoo

Celebrity Amy Winehouse Tattoo
Celebrity Amy Winehouse Tattoo(Photo by Getty Images)
RANDOM TATTOO QUOTE: Tattoo. What a loaded word it is, rife with associations to goons, goofs, bikers, tribal warriors, carnival artists, drunken sailors and floozies. ~Jon Anderson, "Epidermal Dalis," Chicago Tribune, 6 October 1994


Bianca Kajlich Tattoos - Celebrity Tattoo

Joe Jurevicius Bicep Tattoo, Celebrity Tattoo

Khloe Kardashian Tattoos - Celebrity Tattoo

Patsy Kensit Tattoo - Celebrity Tattoo

Maynard James Keenan Tattoos - Celebrity Tattoo

Josh Hartnett Neck Tattoo

Kelis Tattoos - Celebrity Tattoo