Two Segements of Renae's Arm

I spotted a whole lot going on with Renae's left forearm, while browsing at the Chelsea Salvation Army store, so I just had to ask.

Let's deconstruct:

The first part of this tattoo is the dark heart on the inner part of the forearm. Renae attributes this to Rob at the Orlando branch of Hart and Huntington. In over three years of inkspotting, this is the first piece on Tattoosday that has been credited to one of their shops.

Renae, who has "no idea" how many tattoos she has (which is synonymous for "too many to count"), wanted to add to her arm, so she headed to Brooklyn Ink in Bay Ridge.

Alex Franklin was given free reign, according to Renae. Her exact quote was "use your imagination and run," which must be music to many a tattooists ears.

Alex did the flourishes around the original tattoo, along with the phrase "gutta cavat lapidem," a Latin phrase by Ovid which translates to "dripping water hollows out a stone," which is a shortened version of the line "Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force but through persistence." This quote is known to many New Yorkers who have seen it inscribed underground here (with a broader description here).




And he tattooed the piece on the other side of the arm:

Work from Brooklyn Ink (and a lot by Alex) has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

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

John's Root People

At the end of July, I coincidentally exited the A train at 14th Street at the same time as John, who was visiting from Nevada.

I had been admiring his sleeve on the train, but didn't have the opportunity to speak to him about it until after he got off the subway.

He referred to these creatures as "Root People":

It's an abstract collaboration with the artist, Rickett, at The Ruby Lantern in Carson City, Nevada.

They started working together in January of this year, and they're not yet finished with the whole sleeve. As you can tell, it's very unusual and has a very unique approach.

These designs are all on John's right arm, and I am particular to the female tree person above on his inner forearm.

Thanks to John for sharing his Root People here with us on Tattoosday!

Gina's Phoenix

In late June, I ran into Gina in Penn Station and complimented her on a tattoo she had on her back. At the time, she was wearing something with straps that covered part of the design. I gave her a flier and she remarked that she had just recently discovered the site through this post on the tattoo of Julie Powell.

Alas, like so many folks to whom I give fliers, I didn't receive any emails or photos. But a month passed and one day I was pleasantly surprised to see an email from Gina, with the following photos of her phoenix tattoo:

I'll let her explain the rest:

"... I had completely forgotten [about sending in the photo] until I found the picture I took for you on my camera... This was done by Junii at the Diamond Club in San Francisco. [Bill Salmon, Junii's husband, is the studio owner]. She does amazing line work.  She's also incredibly conscientious about design and her clients.  For both my tattoos, she spend a lot of time talking with me, looking at the 20 pictures I had brought in of bits or aspects of what I wanted, then went off and did her own research, always coming back with exactly the right drawing.

This one - I got it after a really, really difficult year. So, obviously, not the deepest symbolism - just wanted to remind myself of the possibility of renewal."

Thanks to Gina for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Alex Shares a Floral Tattoo, Roots and All

Sometimes I see tattoos before I see people.

Back in July, for example, I approached a guy on the West 4th Street subway platform to ask him about this tattoo on his right forearm:

It was only after I said hello to him that I realized he was someone named Alex who lives in my neighborhood in Brooklyn.

In fact, Alex had a tattoo featured here back in 2009, after I stopped  him in the laundromat.

This floral tattoo is a representation of how a flower overcomes obstacles and pain to lay down roots, rises up, and blooms.

He draws the comparison to life, as nothing comes without hard work and bypassing obstacles.

The tattoo was created by Shon Lindauer at Thicker Than Water in Manhattan. Shon is the same artist that did the tiger on my calf. Other work from Thicker Than Water has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Alex for once again sharing his work with us here on Tattoosday!

Kevin's Gravitational Tattoo

I love word tattoos so I couldn't help but stop Kevin at Barnes & Noble earlier this month. He had this tattoo inked on his inner right forearm:

He explained that he enrolled in school not knowing for sure what he wanted to do. He was on a path for a career in finance, but also has a keen interest in art and graphic design.

He says that the tattoo is a reminder that, although gravity is all around us, and pulling us toward the status quo, he should stay true to himself and never give up his interest in art.

He had this done by Betty Rose at Red Rocket Tattoo in Manhattan. Work from Red Rocket has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Kevin for sharing his Gravity with us here on Tattoosday!

Travis and Another Perspective of Ganesh

People who are familiar with being featured here on Tattoosday know that there is a process, in which I generally go chronologically, and it often can be several weeks before I post their work.

But there are always exceptions.

Take, for example, Travis, who I met on Monday near the corner of 32nd and 8th Avenue waiting for a bus.

Under normal circumstances, you'd have seen Travis's tattoo in September but, the next day, I got the following mysterious tweet: "@Tattoosday post pictures of that guys tattoos- you were talking to him yesterday outside MSG plzz! *stalker*".

What?

Well, a little bit of digging, and I discovered that the source of the message was Hannah, who appeared last month on Tattoosday here. And since I'm a sucker for my fans, I'll gladly oblige and share Travis's tattoo with us here today. Here it is:

Travis's tattoo depicts the Hindu deity Ganesh. However, unlike this Ganesh tattoo, this one has a twist.

Travis explained that one of the common beliefs is that Ganesh was born with a human head, but that he was beheaded as a boy, and his head was replaced with that of an elephant. He obtained a third eye so that he could make sure he was never betrayed again.

Travis says that he often feels "too aware" of others, to the point that it detracts from his enjoyment of life. Thus, his tattoo of Ganesh has him literally slicing off the third eye, wielding a sword with his trunk, which metaphorically translates to Travis "cooling out" and being less aware so that he can enjoy life more.

The "F.I.A." on the banner stand for "Fuck It All".

Travis has eight tattoos, which includes a full sleeve, all by artist Brad Stevens at Dare Devil Tattoo in New York City.

Thanks to Travis for sharing this interesting interpretation of Ganesh with us here on Tattoosday!

from: Sarah C.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Wed, Aug 25, 2010 at 5:53 AM
subject: My husband's old tattoo!

I stumbled across your blog and have had a great time reading it!!

My husband is an unfortunate teenage tattoo victim. He very proudly displays this tattoo on his shoulder blade which he swears means "dragon". However I've looked up the character for dragon and it is nothing like his tattoo!

Does his tattoo have any meaning or is it an attack of gibberish?

Thank you!

Sarah



辰 represents the fifth zodiac year which happens to be "the year of dragon", not the actual dragon. However the tattooed character has an unnecessary extra bit at left upper corner.

Dragon is typically 龍 (or 龙) in Chinese, and 竜 in Japanese.

from: Maija M.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 11:21 AM
subject: A promise to my Mom

Hi,

I got this tattoo to honor my Mom after she died from early onset Alzheimer's. At the time, I went back to school while I took care of her and got a degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The location has a special meaning to me and the characters were written for me by one of my teachers.

The two characters are supposed to read "Ma Carol" and the squired symbol then makes it Ma Ma and Carol Carol (my Mom's name and my middle name). Also, I believe the characters can be read as "path" and "promise" as in I promised to help care for others on my new path as a healer.

However, I'm embarrassed to say I've forgotten which character is which and also want to find about about other possible interpretations.

Thanks in advance,

Maija M.



Top character 媽 is correct for "mother".

However tattooed character is not 路, which means "road / path".

from: Julia P.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Mon, Aug 23, 2010 at 3:49 AM
subject: tatoo

Hello, Tian!

I like your site and my tatoo :))

But could you say me what it mean?

Thank you!

--
Julia P.



Hello Julia!

I don't know what your tattoo means.

You are welcome!

--
Tian

Under One Small Star - Two Tattoos from Anna

I met Anna earlier this month in Penn Station. I felt compelled to stop her when she walked by and I caught a glimpse of this amazing tattoo:

I love seeing ink that is new and original, and I had never seen a line of anything run up the length of a leg like this.

Anna explained that this was a line of poetry that reads "My apologies to time for all the world I overlook each second" that she heard on a trip to Cambodia. Her group leader, Jan, had shared the poem, "Under One Small Star" by Polish Nobel Laureate Wislawa Szymborska, and the verse meant a lot to her during her trip there. This one specific line really resounded with her, so she first "paid a Khmer translation site and then had a friend [she] made in Cambodia, Ponheary, check the translation just to make sure it was correct".

I love the international flavor of this tattoo - a poem originally in Polish, translated to English, then re-translated to Khmer, transcribed in flesh in America!

The line runs from top to bottom and was inked by Jason at Powerhouse Tattoo Company in Montclair, New Jersey.

The poem is reprinted in its entirety at the end of this post.

Since it is Tat-Tuesday, let's look at a second tattoo from Anna, this one on the back side of her right arm:

This is Joan of Arc, "a hero of mine," says Anna, who admires her from the feminist perspective and finds her an "unbelievably inspirational" historical figure.

This piece was tattooed by the wonderful Stephanie Tamez at New York Adorned. Stephanie's work has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks again to Anna for sharing these two of her seven tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Under One Small Star

My apologies to chance for calling it necessity.
My apologies to necessity if I'm mistaken, after all.
Please, don't be angry, happiness, that I take you as my due.
May my dead be patient with the way my memories fade.
My apologies to time for all the world I overlook each second.
My apologies to past loves for thinking that the latest is the first.
Forgive me, distant wars, for bringing flowers home.
Forgive me, open wounds, for pricking my finger.
I apologize for my record of minuets to those who cry from the depths.
I apologize to those who wait in railway stations for being asleep
today at five a.m.
Pardon me, hounded hope, for laughing from time to time.
Pardon me, deserts, that I don't rush to you bearing a spoonful of water.
And you, falcon, unchanging year after year, always in the same cage,
your gaze always fixed on the same point in space,
forgive me, even if it turns out you were stuffed.
My apologies to the felled tree for the table's four legs.
My apologies to great questions for small answers.
Truth, please don't pay me much attention.
Dignity, please be magnanimous.
Bear with me, O mystery of existence, as I pluck the occasional thread
from your train.
Soul, don't take offense that I've only got you now and then.
My apologies to everything that I can't be everywhere at once.
My apologies to everyone that I can't be each woman and each man.
I know I won't be justified as long as I live,
since I myself stand in my own way.
Don't bear me ill will, speech, that I borrow weighty words,
then labor heavily so that they may seem light.

--Wislawa Szymborska

Caitlin's Pin-up with a Heart on the Sleeve

Earlier this month, I ran into Caitlin as I got off the A train at West 4th Street. She has twnety-three tattoos and, as customary, I asked if she could pick one to share with us here on Tattoosday.

She obliged, selecting this, her most recent tattoo:

This is based on the artwork of the pin-up stylings of Baron von Lind. I believe the piece that this is replicating is his work "Daphne":

I wish I could give proper credit to the artist, but it was a noisy train platform, and I scribbled down Willie Childress, Asheville, North Carolina. If anyone knows who this is, or what shop he belongs to, please let me know so I can give the artist his proper due.

Thanks to Caitlin for sharing her pin-up with us here on Tattoosday!

Be sure to head over to the Baron von Lind website to see more of his art.

Jason's Pennsylvania Devils

I ran into Jason on the West 4th Street platform back in July. He was on his way to Smith Street Tattoo, to accompany a friend who was getting tattooed by Bert Krak.

I asked him if he wouldn't mind sharing some of his work, and he gladly complied.

I snapped some photos and chatted with him all the way to Brooklyn. Check them out:

Why a devil on his leg? Jason said he was considering putting something on his leg that he was afraid to place there. When he asked himself if he should really do that, he reasoned, just by asking himself that, meant he should do it. He also gave some advice that I thought was very valuable.

Jason said that when he is looking to get tattooed, and isn't sure what he wants, he'll go to an artist and ask them what they're currently drawing. Most artists in the shop, when they're not tattooing, are either drawing, sketching, painting, or creating something. Jason reasons that if you ask for what the artist is currently doing, he or she will be that much more passionate about the work.

This logic is behind several of Jason's tattoos.

The work above was created on Jason by Ryan Westvall at Old Soul Tattoo in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.

Thanks to Jason for sharing his tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

from: Travis L.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 3:33 PM
subject: My friend bobby got this dumb tattoo

A resident Japanese says it means “Green Vegetable”, so we have been laughing at bobby. We could never get him to say. One theory is "weed", slang for marijuana.

What do you say?

Thanks!



菜 indeed means "greens, vegetable, food dish".

Bobby needs to lay off smoking oregano, the gateway drug to catnip.

from: marisa r.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Thu, Aug 19, 2010 at 7:24 AM
subject: My husbands Tattoo

My husband being the hero that he is when stationed over in Bahrain (where tattoo's are illegal) went with some friends drunk to a guys HOUSE!!!! And my husband looked through a book, found the symbol for "strength" and got it.

Thanks so much

Marisa



First of all, the character is mirrored.

If it is be read as one single character 慉, it means "to bring up, to raise".

If they are two characters, 小 and 畜, which means "small livestock or young animal".

from: Joe I.
to: Tian
date: Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 7:20 PM
subject: Tattoo Translation Question

I found your website about a week ago and was wondering if you could translate what this says, the picture comes from a good friend. There are two different things, with the top character being separate from the other ones. I'm not sure what the top one is supposed to mean, and I'm pretty sure the bottom one is supposed to be her name. After reading through your website though I learned that there really isn't a way to translate specific characters, like for names so I'm interested in what the heck it actually is.

It might be in Japanese, I forget what she had told me.

Thanks.



Top character 氷 is Japanese-specific, meaning "ice". Second character 加 means "add".

"Smirnoff ice"?

from: Dana H.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 5:51 AM
subject: Tattoo Question

A girl I know from high school recently got this tattoo on her arm. She says it means "beautiful", but a friend of mine says that isn't so, and that 美 is the Chinese character for beauty. The top part even looks like a series of triangle brackets, not like any Chinese character.

So what does this really mean?



災 means "calamity, disaster, catastrophe", and definitely not "beauty", which is 美.

from: Clarity S.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Mon, Aug 16, 2010 at 9:26 AM
subject: Please tell me this means "chaos"

I love your blog!

Please tell me this means "chaos"!



屯 means "barracks, camp, station". In I-Ching (or Yi Jing), it was used to represent "sprouting". None of these uses meant "Chaos", which is 混沌 in Chinese and カオス in Japanese.

Garrett's Peacock Recalls the South

I met Garrett back in June in Penn Station when I was still reeling from the loss of my camera.

I had yet to replace my photographic equipment and I had yet to receive the loaner from my awesome friend Jill.

So, I did the best I could with a flash-less BlackBerry camera to capture Garrett's awesome sleeve:

Yes, folks, it's another peacock in our midst, in a summer during which we have been treated to a variety of peafowl.

Garrett's choice to get this tattoo stems from his love of these birds, combined with an appreciation of fashion, and how the peacock speaks to that sensibility. He also likes how the males are the fairer of the two sexes.

What's especially remarkable is that this is a black and gray tattoo, with no plans to take on any color ink.

The inclusion of magnolias, azaleas and violets, all in homage to the South, make this potentially dizzyingly colorful tattoo more remarkable in its basic palette. Rather than explosions of color, we are rewarded with subtleties of shading.

Credit goes to Myles Karr at Three Kings Tattoo in Brooklyn. Work from Myles has previously appeared here on Tattoosday.

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

Jessica's Chest Piece and a Tale of Two Tigers

There may be eight million people in New York, but it's still, at times, a small world town.

Last month in the Amtrak section of Penn Station, I spotted Jessica, a young woman with a beautiful tattoo across her chest:

This piece even was our banner here for a few weeks, thanks to Jessica.

The inscription reads "Never Love, Never Lose," which is certainly thought-provoking, a slight spin on the aphorism, "It is better to have loved and lost than never loved at all." It also recalls an Irish claddagh ring, with two hands holding a heart. Feathers on the ends of the hands were added to even out the design.

I particularly like the fact that Jessica is wearing a key around her neck and, in the photo, it is lying across the keyhole at the center of the heart.

Jessica collaborated with the artist known as Ollie XXX in Montreal. If you look at his portfolio on his site, slide 87 shows a brighter original version of the tattoo when it was first completed.

When I asked her how many tattoos she had, she said, twenty-two, and showed me her most recent, a Peanuts tattoo. When I inquired where she got it, she said Thicker Than Water on the Lower East Side. "Oh," I commented, "you got one of the $50 specials?" I knew that the shop had done a $50 tattoo event the previous Saturday. Jessica confirmed that she had, in fact, attended with a friend.


I continued, "Shon Lindauer was the artist for my tiger,"and I rolled up my pant leg to reveal the piece Shon had inked at the beginning of the year when they were in "Year of the Tiger" mode. Well, you could have knocked Jessica over with a feather and her aunt, who Jessica was seeing off at the station, was also surprised. Why?

Jessica pulled down her right sleeve to reveal a familiar, but more feminine version of my tiger from my calf.


Shon had inked a variation on the tiger for her in February. Jessica's aunt insisted we pose with our tigers together.

I love how the designs are so similar, yet hers is much more feminine (or mine is much more masculine).

Granted, inkspotting certainly reduces the odds, but nonetheless, our paths crossing still seemed incredibly amazing.

Thanks to Jessica for sharing her work with us here on Tattoosday!

Singer-Songwriter Ella Freestone Models for Tree of Life

You'll have seen our beautiful new model in the windows this week -

17-year-old singer-songwriter Ella Freestone, whose debut album drops September 13th!

At Tree of Life we love to swaddle our models...

We love having live music on set...

...And we especially love to foster the arts in any way!

Have a listen to Ella's beautiful voice on her website here.

Kristine's Globe and a Memorial for Mom

Kristine has seven tattoos, two of which she shared with us late last month in Penn Station.

The first one I  noticed when she walked by was this piece from the back of her calf:

This is an homage to her travels, having recently returned from ten months in New Zealand. The Latin phrase below the globe, "On Omnia Paratus" translates to "ready for all things".

She also shared this lovely floral tattoo on her upper right arm:

Kristine explained that these tulips are a memorial to her mother, who passed away from lung cancer.

These tattoos were done by Chris Pesonen at Fat Kat Tattoos in Keyport, New Jersey. Work from Fat Kat has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Kristine for sharing her tattoos with us hereon Tattoosday!

Claire's Hemaris Thysbe Flutters on Her Forearm

Butterfly tattoos can be a dime a dozen (no offense, butterfly fans), but moths, on the other hand often get a bum rap, taking a back seat to their more flamboyant insect cousins. To the chagrin of some inked lepidopterists, you don't see as many moth tattoos. This, however, is a lovely exception, perched on Claire's forearm:

This is Hemaris Thysbe, more commonly known as the Clear Wing Hummingbird Moth, a beautiful insect that gets its name from its large size and rapid wing speed.

Claire, who I met in Borders at 2 Penn Plaza, is originally from Vermont and this moth reminds her of back home. There are certainly no Hummingbird Moths fluttering about New York City!

She found a picture she liked and took it in to Yoni Ziebler at Brooklyn Adorned where he recreated this lovely specimen.

Work from Adorned appears here often and can be seen together under this tag.

Thanks again to Claire for sharing her Hummingbird Moth with us here on Tattoosday!

Carrie's Astonishing Peacock

Last year at this time, it seemed as if everywhere I turned I was photographing gypsy tattoos. Let's call this season, the Summer of the Peacock.

At the end of July, I ran into Carrie outside of Madison Square Garden and she shared this breathtaking tattoo:

This piece isn't yet complete, but represents close to sixteen hours of meticulous work by Norm Wright Jr. at Art with a Pulse Tattoo Studio in Glen Burnie, Maryland. The detail is incredible and Carrie explained that he free-handed the design with Sharpies, and then followed up with the tattoo needle.

Aside from the beauty of the peacock, Carrie explained that she was inspired by a trip to India, and that this beautiful creature is the country's national bird, which imbues the tattoo with even more personal meaning for her.

Thanks to Carrie for sharing her colorful tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

from: Cher S.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Sun, Aug 15, 2010 at 2:17 PM
subject: Translation request

Greetings,

I had this tattoo done over 12 years ago when I served in the U.S. Navy. To be completely honest, I do not remember much about that night. Can you work your magic and decipher my tattoo?

Thank you,

Cher S.



Top character looks like 伐 with an extra dot, which means "to cut down", and 福 is correct for "fortune".

from: Jamie D.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Sun, Aug 15, 2010 at 1:43 PM
subject: My tattoo artist is talented but doesn't listen

So...I was told this was the symbol for 'chi' - a giggling oriental girl told me it means 'rice' (which I actually find hilarious.) Any other meaning????



米 by itself alone means "rice".

from: Paul J.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Sun, Aug 15, 2010 at 5:49 AM
subject: another Hanzi Smatter

Hi Tian,

Ah yes, another victim gets a tattoo when they were a drunk teenager almost 16 years ago -- has a feeling it doesn't mean what they think it does.

Of course it means "STRENGTH", right??

Thanks! Your blog is hilarious, without trying to be.

Dr. P

ps, I can't wait to hear what it really means.



慉 means "to foster / to bear", not "strength".

from: W.J. H.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Sun, Aug 15, 2010 at 11:43 AM
subject: Please Translate Ex-Boyfriend's Tattoo

My ex seems to think that his tattoo means "Hell's Warrior". The fella isn't the brightest crayon in the box and I would honestly be very surprised if he managed to get an accurately translated kanji tattoo in rural Idaho. Care to clarify it's meaning?



Top two character 地獄 does mean "hell", however 武 by itself alone does not mean "warrior".