Corey's Traditional Creatures

I met Corey and Jessica last month outside of Madison Square Garden on a bright, sunny afternoon. Between the two of them, they have dozens of tattoos, so I had a lovely time chatting with them. They're originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and had been tattooed by a couple of artists who are friends of theirs working out of Perkins Road Parlor.

Corey credited Brent McCarron and Chris Handford with this pair of cool, traditional-style tattoos:

Corey, who has 14 or 15 tattoos, just asked them to draw him something and they did.  This sabre-toothed tiger and his newest piece, the spider, about two weeks old in this photo, have a very traditional feel about them. I particularly love the yellows in the spider.

Thanks to Corey for sharing these tattoos with us! Check back tomorrow to see what Jessica had to offer!

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Elektra and the Seven-Legged Spider (with Some Dresden Dolls, to Boot)

Elektra has, in her words, "nine and a half" tattoos, and was kind enough to share two of them with us.

First up is this spider on her left thigh:

It's not a specific type of spider (sorry, arachnophiliacs) but it does have one glaring detail to note. It is missing a leg. And the spurt of blood indicates that the leg has recently been detached.

What's with that? Elektra says that she considers arachnids with a lost limb to be "lucky omens" ever since she was little. This tattoo, in a way, enables her to have good luck with her at all times.

She credits this work to Anthony Audy at Yankee Tattoo in Burlington, Vermont.

Elektra also explained the tattoo on her right thigh to me, and she agreed when I asked if she would share that as well:

Fans of The Dresden Dolls will recognize this as the band's logo.

Elektra explained that this was designed with blue and red ink to have a 3D effect, when healed. However, she confessed, she didn't take care of it as well as she should have, and the effect is muted. Rob Dixxx, formerly of Yankee Tattoo is the artist.

Added to this piece is the signature of Amanda Palmer, lead singer of the Dresden Dolls, who Elektra met one night, after the band tattoo had been done. A friend with a tattoo machine made the autograph permanent.

Thanks to Elektra for sharing her tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Elaina's Ink: The Mermaid and the Tarantula

Elaina has eighteen tattoos. And not to heap loads of praise on her, but her work is brilliant.

It was the mermaid on her inner right forearm that first grabbed my attention:


She told me that the drawing was indicative of her state of mind at the time it was inked. Her boyfriend had just moved out and she was feeling reflective (thus the hand mirror).


Elaina later followed up with an email, further clarifying the tattoo:

"I realized today when you asked me the significance of my mermaid tattoo that I probably would have been better quoted saying the absolute truth. The underlying universal secret wish of all girls and women alike... I've always wanted to be a mermaid."

But Elaina had more to share. Much to my delight, she lifted her skirt on her left side to reveal this wonderful tattoo:


The spider is modeled after her mother's pet tarantula, Shelob, who is named for the giant spider in The Two Towers, book two of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

I asked her what Mom thought of her ink and Elaina rolled her eyes and said that her mother recently wept when she told her she was planning her nineteenth tattoo. And, Elaina added, her mom is no stranger to ink. She told me that her mom was tattooed by legendary tattooist Lyle Tuttle during the Rolling Stones' Tattoo You tour.

The mermaid was tattooed by Claire at Funcity Tattoo in Manhattan. The spider on Elaina's thigh was done by Neal Aultman at Physical Graffiti in New Jersey.

Thanks to Elaina for sharing her amazing ink with us here on Tattoosday!

Josh's Black Widow Tattoo Dangles on His Arm

Not much to elaborate here on Josh's black widow spider tattoo. His girlfriend was nicknamed Spider, so it seemed appropriate to have one tattooed om his left forearm.

This was inked by Pat at Pat's Tattooing Studio in Farmingville, New York.

Thanks to Josh for sharing his Black Widow tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!