Tattoosday Goes to Hawai'i - Sylvia's Back Piece

The one day in Hawai'i when I didn't take any tattoo pictures, I did pass out a few fliers. One I handed to a woman sitting in a chair at the Safeway Center on Kapahulu Avenue.

She had what appeared to be an incredible back piece, the top of which was visible to passers-by.

Sylvia later e-mailed me and shared a link to a site that featured a photo of the tattoo, along with an explanation of the piece. I have extracted it here for the enjoyment of the Tattoosday audience.

First, the tattoo:

Sylvia explains:

"My tattoo represents my ancestry...from the family of the 'Royal Hawai'ian Ole' (chanters of the Alii court), from the snowy mountains of Japan, the homeland of Portuguese Bean soup, and the inter-mix marriages of American Indians and Puerto Ricans. I believe the seven I have on my back describe who I am the best. Most locals have meaning for their tattoos but we also have people like Lindsay who just go with their flow. Many families have several signs that make up their families even as far as the Scottish Clan "Duncan" like me..."

What's wonderful about this tattoo to me is that Sylvia has incorporated so many cultures and motifs into the design which, as she acknowledges, is based on the wonderful mix of heritage and ancestry that comprises her background. This is very typical of people who live in Hawai'i, which is host to such an explosion of multicultural intermingling.

I love how the honu/sea turtle brings all of the elements together. The eagle, dragonfly, bear paw, wolf, buffalo, and shark all join to provide a rich tapestry of images that each speak to a different aspect of her heritage.

Sylvia's tattoo was inked by Joseph Garcia, Trigga Happy Tattoo in Waipahu. Eagle, Dragonfly, Bear Paw, Turtle, Wolf, Buffalo, and Shark.

Thanks to Sylvia for responding to me initially and for sharing her tattoo via her post here. We here at Tattoosday appreciate your contribution!

Dispatch from the NYC Tattoo Convention - Greg's Amazing Back Piece

My wife Melanie and I were standing at the balcony, looking down at the floor of the Roseland Ballroom this past weekend at the New York City Tattoo Convention. This offered us a great vantage point of the stage and the mass of inked humanity in attendance.

Just to our left down below was one shop booth where a guy was standing with blue tattoos on his arms and you could tell he had color on his back, as well. Occasionally, he would turn toward our position and pull up his shirt to reveal his back to people in the booth. Camera clashes blinked and faces lit up with surprise, shock, and sheer admiration.

The first time I saw this, it piqued my curiosity, but so did a lot of things at the show. Then , we saw why he was eliciting such reactions. He turned away from us to reveal one of the more amazing back pieces I have seen. I decided that I'd love to have this as my obligatory post from the convention.

Behold, his work, up close:

Greg, the host of this astonishing tattoo, spent one and a half years having this worked on by Ian Shafer at Screamin' Ink Tattoo & Body Piercing in Fair Lawn, New Jersey.

Greg also has this pretty cool Jaws tattoo on his upper left arm:

and this amazing Great White shark on the inside of his biceps:

Greg explained to me that, aside from the obvious love of sharks that he has, the original film was the first movie he remembers seeing with his father. It doesn't hurt that he's a Pisces, either, one of the water-based astrological signs.

And, in case you were wondering, Greg told several of us who were admiring the work that the most painful part of this tattoo was the work on the buttocks. Ouch.

I took photos of several other tattoos that Greg had but decided they would just detract from this phenomenal tattoo.

A hearty thanks to Greg who was very cool in showing off his work on a day where I'm sure he had to remove his shirt more than a few times.

All I Want for Christmas is a Tattoo with Teeth

On Christmas Eve afternoon, I was passing through Penn Station, I spotted Lindsay, a woman with what appeared to be a sleeve that had a water-inspired design.

It wasn't until after I approached her and asked if she wanted to contribute to Tattoosday that I saw, as she rolled up her sleeve, what awesome work she had done on her left arm:


Lindsay said that, like all of her 14 or 15 tattoos, none of them have "deep meaning". She just goes with whatever she describes as an "intense urge" at the time she's getting the tattoo.

The sleeve above started with her taking photos with stylings to the artist, saying she wanted a bloody shark. This was the first part of the tattoo:


She then expanded it with this segment of shark


which is certainly reminiscient of the movie poster for Jaws.


This piece was created in four sittings lasting 3-4 hours each, by John Reardon at Saved Tattoo (which was the shop responsible for yesterday's post, too).

Work from John Reardon has appeared here on Tattoosday previously. Work from Saved appearing on the site can be seen here. Reardon is also the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting a Tattoo.

Thanks to Lindsay for taking the time to share her incredible shark sleeve with us here on Tattoosday!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!