Phoenix's Sleeve is Out of This World

Back on August, I met a man named Phoenix in Penn Station who shared the sleeve on his right arm.

The work starts near his shoulder, with a traditional-style pin-up girl straddling a rocket in an outer space motif:

The cat perched on the rocket in front of the woman represents Phoenix's love of animals.

The centerpiece of the sleeve, however, is lower on the arm and represents his love of astrology:

From a practical purpose, he had his natal astrological chart wrapping around his limb. In theory, he told me, anyone who knows astrology could come up and read his arm and gain insight into his astrological makeup.

Phoenix was born with the Sun in Aries rising in Leo and with his moon in Gemini.

This work was done by Lou at Third Eye Tattoo in Park Slope, Brooklyn, about six years ago. Lou's handiwork has been featured many times over the years here on the site and can be seen here.

Thanks to Phoenix for sharing his spectacular sleeve 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.

The Tattooed Poets Project: Tantra-zawadi

Today, as we enter our final week of this year's Tattooed Poets Project, we are honored to have Tantra-zawadi as our tattooed poet.

Photo by Arnold Browne

Tantra shared the tattoo visible on her right arm:

This tattoo was done by Louis of Third Eye Tattoo in Brooklyn. Tantra explains:

"Swans usually mate for life…Passion is a given in my work and how I love...The inspiration to become a part of something or someone for the duration of the journey is deeply beautiful.  Breathing through the ripples, the illusions, the wounds, the truth, the laughter, the healing and the magic of letting love…Sharing life IS the adventure! My poetry, like the mating of swans has been a part of my consciousness since I was a girl child.  It has grown with me and in me; writing candid love notes on my heart to the groove of house music in my soul!  I am life poetry."

Tantra also shared this tattoo:

Photo by Arnold Browne

On her left shoulder is the line "We make love in the way of the spirit," from her poem "Third Eye Kisses" (Gathered at Her Sky - Poets Wear Prada Publishing 2010).

Tantra shared this poem with us:

Poem for Haiti

Toe nails painted red
Fingernails and
Lips thus stained

I look at her cleanly
Parted scalp
Plaited locks of wisdom

With lavender ribbons

Gathered at her sky

Vibrant energy skirted and

Pleated from waist to ankle

With her hands delicately

Placed upon her chest

One on top of the other
Motionless

She was gentle
(I think) Most likely
Waiting for her groom
for she was a good girl
before she was swallowed

They lay in piles
the brown people tinged gray
and I wonder
if the one with the chocolate hand
was her beloved

Respectfully waiting for his bride

He dreamed of her too
(I think)
before he was swallowed

Butthereweresomany

Thereweresomany

Thereweresomany

Fairies, maidens
Princes, poison apples
and ogres in the agony of
Hushed lullabies and wailing
Absent walls or petitions

Only tears of freedom

Gushing in perfect French
pooling into mud cakes and spirits
that rise from their dust

Excerpt from Gathered at Her Sky - Poets Wear Prada Publishing 2010

~ ~ ~

Tantra-zawadi best describes her work "by the love that I make through my art to the vision of the unseen reality."  Soulful and sublime, her poetry explores love in all its forms; from the rush of the first kiss to the bittersweet.  Born in Brooklyn, New York, as a performance poet and published author, Tantra uses her voice to support the rights of women to exist, think and create through art.

Tantra has performed to standing-room audiences at venues as far away as South Africa, London, Germany and Toronto as well as venues closer to home in the tri-state area.  She has performed original works in the off-Broadway productions of Girl – A Choreospective, A Night of Three God/desses: Soldier Blues and Powerful Women, An Evolution in Reinvention, the Numeral Three, Leaving My Apartment and Other Urban Adventures and projects with the vonduvoisdancecollective. Tantra's recent appearances include the New York Public Library of Performance Arts at Lincoln Center, Badilisha Poetry X-Change Festival in Cape Town, South Africa and the Montserrat Poetry Festival in Missouri.  Tantra is a 2010 Pushcart Prize Nominee and a recipient of the Kings County District Attorney's Office Women’s History Month Award for her artistic contributions to the borough of Brooklyn.

Tantra’s latest release, “Gathered at Her Sky” from Poets Wear Prada Publishing, is available at Amazon and LULU.com (June 2010).  Tantra, a mentor for Girl-Child Network Worldwide (GCN), will donate partial proceeds from Gathered at Her Sky to GCN to provide education, personal items and empowerment for girls in Zimbabwe.  Tantra is also the author of “alifepoeminprogress” by Chuma Spirit Books, and her poetry was featured in Essence Magazine and in spoken word publications such as Redeye, Spoken Vizions, defpoetryjam.com, Platinum Poets, Sunpiper Press, Souled Up and poetswearprada.com.

Tantra-zawadi is the host of her own spoken word series, WORDSPACE, and has made several appearances on cable television, local and satellite radio shows. Known for being on the cutting edge as an artist and for speaking out about issues such as HIV and AIDS awareness, Tantra’s poem and video “Scarlet Waters,” was featured on the Product(RED) video wall created by U2’s Bono and Bobby Shriver, to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS in Africa.  Her short documentary, “A Silent Genocide ~ A Brief Insight into HIV/AIDS” edited by Oliver Covrett, takes another look at the personal impact of this disease.   Tantra also participated in a public service announcement for BETAH Associates produced by Marc Herbert Productions aimed at promoting HIV/AIDS awareness.  Tantra’s videos and films may be viewed on-line @ www.youtube.com/tantrazawadi.

Tantra-zawadi is a member of Collective Spirits and their “Love Planet” EP produced by Jonny Montana and Neil Maclean (Camio Recordings), showcases Bennett Holland on keys, Tantra on poem and Dana Byrd on vocals (traxsource.com).  Tantra is also a contributing artist on poetry compilations such as the award winning “Liberation Sessions: Soul of the City CD” by Mwalim (cdbaby.com), “Summerbreeze EP” by Dolls Combers (traxsource.com), “Poetic Stimulus” by Atlanta Red (poeticstimulus.com), “EARTHOLOGY” by Floyd Boykin, Jr., poet/founder of Spoken Vizions Magazine (cdbaby.com), “Rizen” by Cendrine Marrouat, recordings with world renowned DJ Groove Assassin on “Love Seeker” (GKF Records), Soul Agenda’s “Don’t Let It Go,” Nastee Nev’s “Secrets of Life” and “Giant Steps – Back From Miami” with Dana Byrd on vocals for Do It Now Recordings - all available at traxsource.com.

Follow Tantra-zawadi Online:

www.tantra-zawadi.com

http://www.pw.org/content/tantra_zawadi

www.facebook.com/tantra.zawadi

www.myspace.com/tantrais

www.blackartinamerica.com/profile/Tantrazawadi

~ ~ ~

Thanks to Tantra-zawadi for sharing her tattoos and poetry with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.

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://satriasvc.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.

Tom's Homage to His Grandmother's Scottish Ancestry

I met Tom in a drug store in my neck of the woods in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

He has four tattoos and offered to share this one with us:

This piece celebrates his lineage, honoring the family crest from his grandmother's side.

The Scottish part of him is descended from the Clan Fergusson.The clan motto Dulcius ex asperis  means "Sweeter after difficulties".

This was tattooed by Lou at Third Eye Tattoo, in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn. Work from Lou and Third Eye that has appeared on Tattoosday can be viewed here.

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

Sasha's Cranes

I spotted this tattoo on the upper right arm of a Sasha in the Bay Ridge Century 21 store:

I love the dark colors in the piece and wanted to hear more about it.

Sasha explained that it is a cover-up of a moon tattoo, and that the design is Japanese in origin. The birds in the design are cranes, which have immense cultural and mythological significance. Among other valuable characteristics, cranes symbolize honor and loyalty.

This is one of "at least eight" tattoos that Sasha has. The tattoo was inked by Maya at Third Eye Tattoo in Park Slope, Brooklyn. We've seen a lot of work by Lou at Third Eye here, but this is the first piece, I believe, that we've featured from Maya.

Thanks to Sasha for sharing her cranes with us here on Tattoosday!

Mark's Gypsy Tattoo Pays Tribute to the Female Singer-Songwriter

I have mentioned before that I tend to shy away from approaching subway commuters about their tattoos.

However, like most of my self-imposed guidelines, I always make exceptions for work that is transcendent. That is, if the tattoos are supremely blogworthy, I will solicit, for the sake of the reader, people on the subway. One such case presented itself last week on the Brooklyn-bound N train.

I approached Mark Turrigiano as the N emerged from the subterranean underworld and climbed the Manhattan Bridge. He has phenomenal sleeves, intricate work that wraps and surrounds the limbs.

His right arm, with an Asian-inspired theme, is mostly attributed to Elio Espana at Fly Rite Tattoo Studio (whose work has been seen previously here). His left arm hosts an incredibly huge and colorful octopus, which was inked by Lou at Third Eye Tattoo (whose work has appeared on Tattoosday here).

Because of the scale of those sleeves, we opted to go with one of his newer pieces, a gypsy on the back of his left calf:


This piece, designed and inked by Craig Rodriguez at Hand of Glory Tattoo Studio in Brooklyn, is seen by Mark as "a good way to commemorate [his] work with female singer-songwriters".

I like this piece a lot because it contains a lot of traditional gypsy elements, but is atypical in its presentation. It seems much larger with greater detail than the traditional gypsy profile tattoos that are much more common. The vividness of the colors also helps the tattoo pop, and you can almost feel the texture of her scarf.

Mark says the piece was completed in about four hours over two sessions. He estimates that his body is about 30% covered in ink.

Feel free to check out Mark's website here.

Thanks to Mark for sharing this great gypsy tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Fabiana Shares Two More Colorful Tattoos

A couple of weeks back, I posted some ink from a guy named Tom (here), which featured the trinacria of the Sicilian flag.

The above example, from our good friend Fabiana (see her last post here - which links to her previous ones, as well), is a more colorful and elaborate take on the design.

Fabiana explains:

"The tat of the Medusa head I got because it's on the Sicilian flag. I was born there and it reminds me of all that I left behind, kinda just reminds me of my fam there and the time I lived there and all the things I went through! I love Sicily! It's such a beautiful place, hope I can return there some day! So now I look at it and it takes me right back to where my life first began."

This piece is on her upper right bicep and, like most of her work, was inked by Lou at Third Eye Tattoo in Brooklyn.

Another relatively new piece on Fabiana is this card on her left forearm:


Again, in her own words:

"The other new one I have is the orange one that kind of looks like a card. I got that because of my ex-girlfriend. I used to say to her 'I love you to the moon and back and all the stars in the universe.' So because of that, I got a moon and seven stars with the color orange because that was her favorite. She meant a lot to me but things just didn't work out. I will love her always!"

Yet again, a hearty thanks to Fabiana for letting me post her ink here, and for sharing the deep personal meanings behind the tattoos.