Global Tattoos Female

Repost for Father's Day: Memorial for a Father

It only seems fitting that, on Father's Day, I repost a special tattoo for a father. I had several to choose from (here and here), but settled on this one, from December 4, 2007:

On a cold morning in the beginning of November, I spied a tattoo on the bare left calf of a guy at the corner of 31st and 7th in Manhattan. He crossed the street, walking the same direction I was headed and, lo and behold, headed into the Starbucks in my office building.

He was ahead of me in line and after he ordered, I expressed admiration for his tattoo:

Obviously, it's a memorial tattoo. The host's name is Jim and, as he explained, his father had passed away 3 years ago. I didn't notice until later when I uploaded the picture, the dates 1961-2005, making his father 43 or 44 when he died. The inscription reads "In Loving Memory James R. Frederickson".

Jim explained the tattoo for me. His father wanted to be cremated, so the tattoo is an ersatz grave site. He also added in the cheap, wooden cross, because his father always had been critical of people who spent a ton of money on grave markers.

Jim explained that the piece took him 2 1/2 years to design and get just right, so it must have been completed in the past year. It was inked at Lake Geneva Tattoo.

Thanks to Jim for sharing his tattoo with me!

Happy 2nd Bday - Immortal Tattoos

Immortal Tattoos, Singapore turns 2 !!

What better way to celebrate it than have a Indoor Beach Party @ Chillies !!

Ms.Kim and Myself

Ms.Kim rockin' out !!

Vicky - The Bouncer and Myself

Don't ask me how this picture came about..It just did !!

I am not part of it !! Really !! Oh My !!

Dave being the photographer - For few seconds and...

The Surfer Boys?!

Hate us for being party animals!!

Nethia - The new crew member...

Do the Egyptian walk, my friend..

Arghhhhhh !! Incredible Hulk - Part 27

Dust has settled for the Night. Too much magic in the system...

Now !! Get the paparazzis out !! out !! out !!

I thank everyone for the support over the 2 years !! Till then, you guys know where to find us !!

To be completely honest, it was Matthew's arm tattoo that I noticed first - the black and grey lotus flower with the word "HAUNTED" inked below it.

But, as Fate would have it, Matthew's most meaningful tattoo is the piece on his neck, and there is a compelling story behind it, so that is what we have above.

The tattoo was inked in Florida, at a now-defunct shop called Body Language. It is comprised of two elements, the name "Celestia" designed in Matthew's own handwriting. The other piece is the planet, which looks a lot like Saturn. This part of the tattoo was based on a sticker he had found, and the tattooist gave it a water-color look, which is why it appears slightly drained.

The story behind the tattoo is even more fascinating. Matthew has a belief system, in which he not only thinks aliens exist, but that they live among us.

Matthew is also a huge supporter of the actress Ann Heche. Ann wrote a compelling biography several years back entitled Call Me Crazy: A Memoir, in which she publicly discussed her childhood, and the abuse she suffered.

Heche relates how she survived the trauma of her childhood by developing, or obtaining, depending on one's perspective, a split personality.

Her other self was named "Celestia" and this "alien self" helped her survive the destructive forces in her life.

Matthew admires Heche for her being an example of a woman who "could overcome abuse and live a normal lifestyle".

He, too, has suffered from abuse and trauma in his life, and he relates to Heche's belief system, and feels that he has survived by the grace of that part of him that's from another world.

This is a theme about which he feels very strongly and it manifested itself in this tattoo, which he carries with him and displays in a very visible location. It's not somewhere he can hide it, so he has it a constant reminder of his belief and his reason for survival.

Thanks to Matthew for sharing this very personal tattoo with us here at Tattoosday!

SA Studios Archives

I was going thru Estevans archives and ran into this. This is the piece that Cartoon did for "The Vader Project" last May. Look out for what I find next week.... -Sal

I was camera-less on Sunday when I breezed through day 2 of the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (MoCCA) 2008 Art Festival. The whole time I kept thinking wow, cool, awesome, as I beheld the expectedly fantastic body art on multitudes of comic artists, fans, and publishers.

As fate would have it, two days later I ran into Jenny, who was in attendance at the same event.

I spotted the above piece, and when we started talking, and she mentioned her comic, Too Negative, did I think to ask her if she was at the MoCCA event.

This tattoo was designed by Jenny and inked by Sophie Crumb (daughter of the legendary master of comix R. Crumb and Aline Kominsky-Crumb), when she was apprenticing at Suerte Studios, in Brooklyn. Sophie has moved on and Adam Suerte moved his shop (Brooklyn Tattoo) from State Street to Smith.

The yin and yang symbols, a staple in Chinese philosophy, are popular emblems for countless people, and Jenny's design infuses the recognizable art with her own dark spin.

The circles in the standard yin and yang have been replaced with X's, a nod to one of her main characters in her comic, whose eyebrows are represented with a set of X's, as Jenny elaborated, "like a Manson girl who got over-zealous".

The flames surrounding the symbol refer to the devils that populate her comic. The blood dripping down is a nice touch, as well, definitely heightening the tension between Jenny's vision and the popular interpretation of the yin and yang harmony. Jenny's work is dark and twisted, and her influence on a design often associated with peace and balance, is unsettling and perfectly tailored to her artistic style.

Be sure to check out Jenny's site here. Her work Too Negative appears in the Comix section.

Thanks to Jenny for pausing during lunch on a blisteringly hot day to share her ink here on Tattoosday.

Billy has several tattoos, but he chose this set of eight, each letter spelling out the message.

"It's the endless question," he mused, "of the glass being half-empty or half-full."

"So," I interjected, "you're an optimist?"

On the contrary, he informed me, optimism does not come naturally to him. He "would like to be" more of a "glass half-full" person, but he has had his share of challenges, to say the least.

Billy has been clean for two years, after a long struggle with heroin addiction.

The letters on his fingers come together when he makes fists, and he acknowledged that he often has "to beat it into [his] head to think more positively".

"By ourselves, we are not complete," he said, and explained how this simple interaction, two strangers meeting and discussing a tattoo, it's this kind of event that is what life is all about.

Billy was very positive, talking about a tattoo that grounded him and gave him the strength to live his life in a more fulfilling way.

The fingers were inked at Cliff's Tattoo of Long Island.

Thanks to Billy for sharing his ink and taking the time to talk tattoo!

I spotted this traditional sparrow tattoo on Nicole's left shoulder as I was walking down Broadway on Friday.

She got this piece to commemorate turning 21, celebrating her independence as represented in the freedom of a bird in flight.

This was inked by Guy Pranstatter at Body and Soul Tattoo 2 in Jersey City.

Thanks to Nicole for sharing her first tattoo here!

Sorry. I couldn't resist.

Spotted this very well-done piece honoring what many consider one of the greatest hard rock albums of all time, Guns N' Roses Appetite for Destruction.

Edward didn't mind stopping in front of Madison Square Garde n and sharing his tattoo that was inked three years ago at Omega Tattoos in Queens.

This is Edward's only tattoo. Thanks to him for sharing it with the rest of us here at Tattoosday!

Demon

Feel the wrath !! Another random Demon tattoo.

ICE CREAM!!

Today was the last day that the Ice Cream Truck was at the Petersen Automotive Museum. It was at the museum for 8 months and during those 8 months Cartoon did 13 outreaches to at risk kids. The gift of giving back... A tribute to the history of Lowriding was a great thing to have in a museum. I want to congratulate everyone who had the chance to go out and experience history. Today was all about that history too. I never knew a something could Lowride so hard on the back of a flatbed. We went down Fairfax took it down Melrose Real SLOW so everyone could catch an eye full. Here are a couple flicks. If you didnt catch it at the museum Dont Trip! Cause you just might catch it at you local HOOD Car Show... -Sal