Alison's Violet Lotus

I spotted Alison's tattoo as in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, back at the beginning of July. She was kind enough to share this lovely lotus tattoo:

This lotus has a spiritual meaning for Alison, and she pointed out the third eye at the center of the flower. This was also a cover-up of an older tattoo.

Craig Messina inked this when he was at Lone Wolf Tattoo in Bellmore, Long Island. He has since moved to the Long Island shop of Red Rocket Tattoo.

Work by Craig Messina has appeared previously on Tattoosday here and here.

Thanks to Alison for sharing this lovely tattoo 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.

Aisha's Stunning Back Piece

This incredible back piece belongs to Aisha, a former New Yorker who now resides in Florida.

I met her last month at the corner of 36th Street and Broadway in Manhattan.

The tattoo is an interpretation of the old adage, "See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil".

Inked over eleven years ago and representing about twenty hours of work, this huge piece was her second of eight tattoos.

She remembers only that the artist's name is Rodrigo, so it may have been Rodrigo Melo who currently owns and works at North Star Tattoo, but I am still working to confirm he was the tattooer behind this.

"I told him what I wanted," Aisha explained. "He just drew it on my back and I loved it and that was it."

The face is female, her eyes are closed and she has a mouth bit that represents her silence.

Despite the face's eyes being closed, she indicated that the "third eye" in the middle of the forehead is open. The third eye can be interpreted many ways, but often refers to looking inward and a greater consciousness.

Thanks to Aisha for sharing this amazing tattoo 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.

Oscar's Quartet of Tattoos

Born in Costa Rica, a one-time resident of Canada, and now a denizen of the Bronx, Oscar has traveled all over the world.

He expressed his passion for mountain biking to me as we talked in the Amtrak section of Penn Station.

This made sense to me as I had noticed his bike-themed tattoo on his left calf:


The wheel is specific to a mountain bike he owns, and it is connected around the back of his leg by a bicycle chain:


The detail is quite good, almost three-dimensional, and the tribal flourishes up and down the leg add volume to the piece.

This was his first tattoo, inked on his birthday, after many years of thinking about tattoos. He waited until he was ready, so that he could get something with deep meaning for him.

Since then, he has added three other tattoos, all created by Richard at Jent's Tattooing in Yonkers.

He graciously shared those as well. First is a tribal raven:


Oscar spoke of the raven's relationship with God. In the folklore, Raven helps the gods to raise the moon and the stars. He also is known as the prankster, who is always trying to catch the Sun.

In addition, there is a tattoo of Shiva, who Oscar acknowledges as a deity who "destroys ignorance and builds knowledge":


Finally, Oscar wears a Third Eye on his right bicep, which carries its traditional meaning:


Many thanks to Oscar for sharing his amazing tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!