Four from Frank

It may be the middle of October, but I am still working with a handful of summer photos, like those I took of Frank, who shared four of his ten pieces with us.

The first one is by Cris Element at Puncture Tattoo Studios in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn:

He was reluctant to share the meaning of this tattoo, saying it was personal, but he did elaborate on three others, done by Taze at Groove Tattoo in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. This one, for example, he told me was because "I was born on June 7th [and] I got no luck so maybe I'll get some luck out of this tattoo...".

 

Frank indicated that the element of time figured into this piece, with the naked woman representing life, and the skull representing death:

 

And this one, also by Taze, represents that he had "the best times of [his] life skateboarding":

Thanks to Frank for sharing his ink with us here on Tattoosday!

 

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Aaron's Skater Days Represented in Ink

Aaron has this very unusal piece tattooed on the back of his right bicep:


When I stopped to speak to him on 7th Avenue in Manhattan, I was happy to hear this tattoo, along with many of his nine others, were inked by Peter Cavorsi at Body Art Studios in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Peter has done three tattoos on my wife and me and he comes highly recommended by us. To see all of Peter's work that has appeared on Tattoosday, click here.

This particular tattoo is based on work entitled "Shater Days" by the professional skateboarder and artist Ed Templeton. Templeton designs and sells skateboard products through his website Toy Machine.

Aaron felt that the design was perfect for a skater, with the image of a helmeted person hitting himself over the head with his board.

The inner skater never goes away, even as one gets older and spends less time on the board. The inner persona still courses under the skin and this particular art piece, can be, like all art, interpreted in different ways.

The act of hitting oneself over the head with one's skateboard is the ultimate expression of frustration, a sentiment that doesn't go away in life.

There are always people and things that frustrate individuals. I like how this specific work of art speaks not only to Aaron, but spoke to me as well.

Thanks to Aaron for sharing this unusual tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Anthony's Skate and Destroy Tattoo

Just a brief note...despite the Tattooed Poets Project for National Poetry Month, I still plan on spotting ink on the streets of New York, and posting it here. This is one of those posts....

I ran into Anthony outside of Madison Square Garden on Thursday, April 9, during the lunch hour.

He is a skateboarder with four tattoos, the most visible of which curves around his inner right forearm:


This tattoo features the pentagram logo for Thrasher magazine, a periodical devoted to the skateboarding lifestyle.


He added the "Skate and Destroy" text to the banner below the design, as it is a popular creed among skaters, and graces some Thrasher merchandise:


Anthony, who has been skateboarding for nine years, had this tattoo inked to commemorate his passion for the sport. The piece was created at Addicted to Ink in White Plains, New York and tattooed by Mike.

Thanks to Anthony for sharing his tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Nina's Ink, Part Deux

I'm following up from this post here.

Nina had offered up so many tattoos I had to split up the post, and then, well, she sort of got lost in the inkshuffle. Best to reacquaint yourself with her through the post above and then resume here.

Nina told me she was the product of Quaker and Jewish parents, and was raised in the Quaker tradition. The core values instilled in her upbringing were virtue and the importance of leading a simple life, known as the Testimony of Simplicity. She recalls the silence that is so prevalent in Quaker meetings. These values translated to the tattoo on her right forearm:


She says this is a reminder, based on her upbringing, that she can "find simplicity through silence".

The saying is punctuated by the recognizable symbol of the fleur de lis, which has been recognized as a royal French symbol for purity.

The fleur de lis is also a significant element in this tattoo, which is on the back of Nina's neck:


A closer look:


This piece has roots in her family. Along with the decorative aspects of the design, the letters N and T represent her name and the name of her brother Tom. The name Rita belongs to her mother. The crown represents her mother being the queen of her family.

The final piece Nina showed me was only partially visible the day I met her, only because modesty and a public setting prevented her from letting me photograph the whole tattoo:


The general design and the phrase "this will linger" is from a skateboard deck. Nina is avid longboarder and the design appealed to her. Not to mention that "this will linger" can be interpreted in so many ways, and can even speak to the idea of tattoos themselves. This could also be a reference to the final line in the song "Beside You Now" by the band, The Fold:

I've no regrets of yesterday, though these tears are falling
I will look to you, I will still remember (God help me now)
This will linger on, your memory deeper than the oceans

Note the fleur de lis just below the navel.

Added to this design, on either side, are two calla lilies, a la Georgia O'Keefe. They, to her, represent "the realm of possibility". Nina told me that she and the tattooer discussed adding white ink to the flowers to make them more "realistic". They decided against that, however, as the tattoo may have suffered due to what likely would have been an aesthetic issue with the ink and Nina's much darker skin tone. I would tend to agree that they made the right choice.

Nina credits most of her work to Dan at Amazing Grace Tattoo in Geneva, New York. She did however indicate that the lower abdominal piece was done by Noah at Extreme Graphix in Geneva, NY.

I would like to thank Nina for spending so much time talking to me about her ink. She showed me her whole catalog of tattoos, and I feel bad for neglecting "part two" of her post for these past couple of months.

Considering that she had all this work done in her eighteenth year, I can only wonder how much more has been added to her canvas since.

Thanks, Nina, for sharing your body art here with us on Tattoosday!